Photographer of the Year (PotY) 2015/16 SACC Regional Round

Congratulations to Bill Power from Cork Camera Group who was the overall winner and recipient of the Seamus Scullane Memorial Trophy for his image ‘Lady in a Gothic Door’ at this year’s SACC Photographer of the Year which is also the Regional Qualifying Round of the IPF Photographer of the Year competition 2015 / 2016. This was formerly know as the Print & Projected Image competition (PPI). This competition is held in association with Canon.

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Please note that we are unable to show you the winning images as these have gone on to the national final of the IPF Photographer of the Year (PotY) which will take place in new year.

The competition was held at the Horse & Jockey Hotel in Co.Tipperary on Sunday Nov 22nd 2015 and was again well attended this year.  While the number of photographers who submitted images was the same as last year, the overall number of images had increased by almost 10%. We wish all those who qualified from the SACC region the very best of luck in the IPF finals.

We’d like to thank all involved in helping out on the day and particularly our team of judges: Carl Cutland FIPF AFIAP, Judy Boyle FIPF FRPS EFIAP and Tony McDonnell AIPF EFIAP – Platinum who did a great job staying focused while judging hundreds of images. We’d also like to thank all those who entered the competition and those who travelled to the event from the region to lend their support.

[singlepic=448,250,,right]Regional and national events such as this bring together IPF members who share a common interest in photography and are prepared to support each other in the pursuit of their hobby. However this shared interest has evolved into a community of people that are prepared to support each other in a much broader social context. The common interest in photography is the initial bonding catalyst, however, this evolves into a support structure that goes beyond the sharing of image making ideas; morphing into a community based on mutual respect for each other as individuals and artists. This was abundantly evident on Sunday last when those present showed their delight to see Morgan O’Neill and his family in attendance. Most IPF members will be aware that Morgan has had to battle serious health issues for the past 18 months, so all were delighted to see him at the event on Sunday. Morgan, who was awarded an honourable mention certificate for one of his images, received a standing ovation when he walked forward to accept his prize. It was a very emotional moment and the highlight of the day.

[singlepic=413,200,,left]Another demonstration of this camaraderie and support was the Get Well Soon message for John Doheny, former secretary of the SACC, which was held up by audience members, and photographed, during the event. John has also been fighting against illness this year and was delighted to get the photo. He hopes to be back among us very soon. We wish both Morgan and John continued recovery and look forward to seeing both fully active in photography very soon.

Individual report cards will be sent by the end of the week.

Click to view Results

Gallery:

Just a quick note to let those who weren’t at the event know that the results will be published and report cards will be sent by the end of the week.  Thank you for your patience.

We’re pleased to announce that the SACC regional qualifying round of the IPF Photographer of the Year 2015/2016in association with Canon Ireland is now open for entries. Please note that this is the competition formerly known as the IPF Print & Projected Image Competition.

To read more about this competition, the themes for this year, cost of entry etc please read this article.

To enter, you must be a member of an SACC affiliated club.

The competition takes place on Sunday November 22nd at the Horse & Jockey Hotel in Tipperary.

Closing date for entries is Friday November 20th.

Please note this year:

• You must use the new colour coded labels on the back of your prints – please print them in colour and attach securely to the back of your prints
• You must upload a digital copy of all prints at time of entry
• Make sure you enter the correct level as defined in the rules

Rules

The updated rules for the 2015/2016 are available to view on IPF website.

Labels

Labels can be downloaded from the IPF website. Prints without these labels will not be accepted. Please print the labels in colour and attach securely to your prints.

To Enter

Entry must be completed online via the online entry system. If you experience any issues with the entry system, please contact the IPF webmaster via their contact page. Please, first check that your system meets the requirements for using this software.

Judges

We are delighted to welcome the following judges for this years event:

• Carl Cutland FIPF AFIAP, Portlaoise Camera Club
• Judy Boyle FIPF FRPS EFIAP, Drogheda Photographic Club
• Tony Mc Donnell AIPF EFIAP/p, Dundalk Photographic Society

Schedule (note that times are approximate)

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the venue for Ray Spence’s talk in Cork on Tuesday November 3rd has moved to the Whitechurch Suite at the Imperial Hotel in Cork City. Start time remains 7.30pm and we aim to start promptly.

Ray’s talks in Carlow and Wexford over the last few days were inspiring to say the least and we know that Cork are in for a treat again tonight.  The talk is being hosted by Cork Camera Group and is open to other clubs also. Entry fee is €5.

Thank you for your entries. The competition is now closed for entry with judging taking place on Saturday 31st October at the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow.

As part of the day, we are delighted to host a lecture by one of our judges, Ray Spence at 11am. Full details and schedule below. There is a €5 entry fee to the talk as a cover charge. Full details of this not to be missed talk are available over here.

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The SACC Committee is delighted to announce that the 2015 SACC Creative Photography Competition will be held on Saturday 31st October at the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow.

The competition is open to members of all clubs affiliated to the IPF.

For those collecting Irish qualifiers for AFIAP applications, the top 35% of images in this competition qualify from this year onwards.

The rules of the competition, which was formally known as the SACC Creative Digital Competition, have been revised and updated and the competition will open for online entries at the start of October. Please refer to Rules for full details. The competition will be judged by Ray Spence FRPS and Brid Coakley AIPF ARPS.

There are two sections; prints and projected images, each catering for intermediate and advanced photographers. Entry fee is €8 for one section and €12 for two.  The definition to work to is:

“Creative Photography means different things to different people. To some, it means manipulation of images using image editing software and to others, it means breaking the rules/conventions using creative techniques in-camera such as slow shutter speeds, panning, creative compositions etc. Photographic content should predominate. For the purposes of this competition, anything goes.

The inclusion of stock images/clip art is not permitted. For example, if you wish to add a sunflower to your image, then you need to photograph a sunflower!”

To Enter: Enter Competition Here

System requirements are listed here.

Should you experience any issues, please don’t hesitate to contact us via our ‘contact page‘.

Closing Date: Midnight, October 28th.

We are delighted to announce that Ray Spence FRPS will be conducting a lecture tour in the SACC region this autumn.  There will be a €5 cover charge for each talk.

Rough details below with further details, times and venues to follow.

• Saturday, October 31st in Carlow (morning)
• Monday, November 2nd in Wexford (evening)
• Tuesday, November 3rd in Cork (evening)

Ray is a fine art photographer, author and lecturer.
He is the co author of five books on photographic technique and has exhibited extensively at many venues including The Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry,
La Manege in St Petersburgh, The Royal Albert Hall in London and the Royal Photographic Society in Bath.

He has lectured for many academic and private institutions including Warwickshire College and Birmingham City University.
His work spans all photographic genre from digital to wet plate collodion.
In 2013 he was awarded the honour of the Fenton Medal from the Royal Photographic Society.

www.rayspence.co.uk

We are delighted to announce that the SACC, in conjunction with the IPF (Irish Photographic Federation), will be hosting the Celtic Challenge competition this year.  The Celtic Challenge is an annual international photographic competition between federations from celtic nations.  The competition travels between countries and Ireland through the SACC finds itself once again in a position to host it this year.

The competition itself will be held in the Pembroke Hotel in Kilkenny City on Saturday, September 19th 2015 and we have organising a full weekend of activities as we look forward to welcoming visitors to beautiful Kilkenny and surrounding area. Take a look at this gallery from when we hosted the competition in 2013 in Cork!

The full schedule is outlined below, followed by the booking form. We’d be delighted to see you for any or all of the weekend, so book your spot now! Viewing the judging of the competition itself is free of charge! The competition features ten colour prints, ten monochrome prints and ten projected images from each federation. The federation receiving the highest overall score is announced as the winner!

Any questions or queries, please send them to us via the contact page on our website and we’d be delighted to respond!

• Friday, September 18th
  Join us for a visit to the Hook Head peninsula in Co Wexford which is approx 75 mins drive from Kilkenny. There one can visit one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, dating back some 800 years. The area is also home to the historic Dunbrody and Tintern abbeys. The day will also include a stop for lunch and a visit to the pretty village of Inistiogue in Co Kilkenny and to the Woodstock Estate and Gardens.  Cost is €30. For those wishing to avail of the guided tour, please note this costs €6 extra – payable directly to the Visitor Centre at Hook Head.
• Saturday, September 19th
  A morning tour of Kilkenny city’s highlights including Kilkenny Castle, St Canice’s Cathedral and Rothe House and Gardens. Cost is €15.
  On Saturday afternoon we will have the judging of the images while on Saturday evening we will have a dinner in the Pembroke Hotel. Viewing of judging is free of charge. Dinner costs €30.
• Sunday, September 20th
  Free time for those who wish to explore Kilkenny further. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for suggestions!

Bookings close on Friday September 4th 2015!

There was a great attendance at last weekend’s SACC interclub competition in Kilkenny with 12 clubs taking part and around 150 attendees for the judges’ comments in the afternoon. Thanks to our judges for the day; Ciara Drennan AIPF from Portlaoise Camera Club, Paul Stanley FIAP EFIAP EsFIAP from Dublin Camera Club and Gabriel O’Shaughnessy FIAP MFIAP FRPS EFIAP/b from Dundalk Photographic Society. They did an excellent job and their helpful comments on the various panels were very well received.

Thanks to Kilkenny Photographic Society for hosting the event and the many club members who helped make the day run so smoothly. A big thank you is also due to Niamh Whitty and Jason Town from Cork Camera Group for their expert assistance on the day.

Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny proved to be an excellent venue for the competition and thanks goes to staff at the school for accommodating every request made of them.

Several of our existing trophies had reached capacity and were retired at this event and several new trophies were donated. We’ll write a full post later in the year regarding all of these. Suffice to say, thank you to all trophy donators, old and new.

Congratulations go to Cork Camera Group who completed the triple by winning the competition for the third year in a row.  Wexford Camera Club took second place overall and Blarney Photography, a club that’s only a few years old, were delighted to be announced as third overall.  Blarney also took second place in Monochrome print with Wexford taking third in Monochrome print and second in Colour print. Mallow Camera Club claimed third spot in Colour print and joint second in Projected section. This was shared with Carlow Photographic Society – in their very first SACC Competition!   Congratulations to all clubs and special thanks to the team in each club involved in the selection of club panels who help make this such a great competition.

The individual award winners are as follows – and again, our congratulations!

Best overall & best monochrome print: Barry Walsh with “Empire” from Wexford Camera Club
Best colour print: Vladimir Morozov with “Poppy” from Wexford Camera Club
Best projected image: Roger Jones with “Up and Over” from Carlow Photographic Society

All winning panels & images are shown below – click to enlarge.  These, along with presentation & other images from the day are now available over in SACC Interclub 2015 Gallery here on our website. For even more images from the day, take a look at some of the preparations over on our Facebook page (and be sure to ‘like’ the page while you are there!).

For full results, please go to our results page.

Thank you for your participation and we look forward to an even bigger event next year!

We look forward to another exciting competition this coming Sunday as we wait to see the panels competing for the title of SACC Interclub Champions 2015.  The competition will be held at Loreto Secondary School, Granges Road, Kilkenny.

Can Cork Camera Group retain the title and make is three in a row?  Will long-standing title holders Mallow Camera Club reclaim the title once again?  Do the host club Kilkenny Photographic Society have the winning panels this year having being so close in previous years?  Will the trophy be moving to the South East with Wexford Camera Club & Waterford Camera Club in the mix? Or will it be one of the newer clubs?!

The trophy pictured on the right was donated by Enniscorthy Camera Club and is the trophy that the overall winning club receives. We have several new trophies this year as some of the older trophies had filled up, and we’ll be introducing these on the day too.

There are also trophies and certificates on offer at club level for each section and also gold medals for best image in each section individually!

Please note that there is a general meeting of the SACC scheduled for 10.15am. Please attend and welcome the new committee in their introductions, hear the plans for the coming year and get involved with your suggestions.

For some helpful advise on preparing panels, please read this article!

We extend our thanks to the members of Kilkenny Photographic Society who are helping to host the event and to Limerick & District Photographic Society for the use of their panel boards.

The judges are listed below. Please note that no competing club or member is permitted to approach any judge with regard to any scores or decisions in relation to the competition.

•  Ciara Drennan AIPF, Portlaoise Camera Club
•  Paul Stanley FIPF EFIAP EsFIAP, Dublin Camera Club
•  Gabriel O’Shaughnessy FIPF MFIAP FRPS EFIAP/b, Dundalk Photographic Society

Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all clubs the very best of luck.

The schedule for the day is outlined below and while we will do our best to ensure we follow it as closely as possible, please bear in mind that some parts of the day are always unscripted!  Please note that prints may not be removed from panel boards until the conclusion of the competition.  Each club will receive a printed copy of its scores at the end of competition – please be sure to pick up the copy for your club.

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