Romford Camera Club

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Romford Camera Club

Photography is the joy of capturing and freezing a moment in time. We are an active, friendly camera club that meets regularly in the North Romford area.

Our members are all keen photographers with a variety of skill levels and we love to
welcome new people of any age or skill level into our club. Our aim is simply to enjoy
and share all aspects of photography from film to digital, camera to phone,
black and white to colour. We hold regular monthly digital and print competitions
(some with an external judge); take part in inter-club battles; host guest speakers on
a variety of photographic inspired topics; organise practical evenings and
club "days out" with our cameras.

12/10/2026

Due to unforeseen circumstances we can no longer hold the Graham Caille B&W and Colour Competition this Wednesday (14th October). We will reschedule this competition for a later date and let everyone know when the date has been confirmed.

There WILL NOT be a club meeting this Wednesday and we apologise if you were planning to attend .

Next Wednesday 21st October however we will be meeting at 8pm for a presentation by Kevin Pigney on “How I process my nature images”.

Kevin Pigney is a highly respected nature and wildlife photographer, holding impressive ARPS, DPAGB and ASINWP distinctions. He has built a super portfolio of wildlife imagery and he is joining us to share exactly how he brings those images to life.

It promises to be a fascinating and very informative evening .

11/10/2026

October Monthly Digital Competition

Last Wednesday we held our October monthly Digital Competition; it was an Open one which meant we could submit images of our choice. There were 23 images entered in total, a bit less than we usually have as several club members were away on holiday. Nevertheless, those present enjoyed the variety of subjects presented and it made for an interesting and enjoyable evening. We used our in house marking system and constructive critique of the images was given from those members present.

Congratulations to the winning photographers and well done to all who were able to submit images. It is always enjoyable to see other members images and also inspirational too. And, because these internally marked competitions are informal and friendly, during the critique part of the evening (after marking has taken place) we have a chance to chat about the location, the editing, ask questions, and generally share experiences and knowledge which can only enhance everyone's photography journey.

The results for the October Monthly Digital are as follows :-

1st Hummingbird Hawkmoth - Lorna O'Keefe
2nd Clouded Yellow - Lorna O'Keefe
3rd Contemplation - Keith Upton
HC Thames Barrier - Mike Cole
HC First, second and third - Lorna O'Keefe
C On the way to camden - Ornella Walker
C X 1 multiplied - Ornella Walker

This coming Wednesday is one of our big annual competitions, the Graham Caille B&W and Colour Print Competition, held in memory of our former Chairman. Even if you are unable to enter prints please do come along and support the event. We have a very experienced judge in Roy Essary, who is coming from Colchester to judge our images. It is a special evening for the club and promises to be very entertaining.

04/10/2026

October 2026 Print Competition on "Portraits"

On Wednesday we had our monthly Print Competition. The chosen theme was "Portraits" and there was a variety of interpretations submitted, which made for a very interesting evening. We didn't have a guest judge so used our well tried and tested in house judging criteria where all members present chose and give marks out of 20 for their top 5 images. The images are presented in a light box run through first because we all know that it can make a real difference to the images when shown in that way. The images are then placed on the racks in an order decided by Pauline (our Print Secretary) and members can wander along , and look at them closely before making their choices on a laminated card (so changes can easily be made if you change your mind!!). Once everyone has submitted their cards then the critiquing begins:)

Ornella led the critiques but all members were encouraged to give their opinions and suggest ways the image could be improved, or admire the way it was taken and /or edited, with comments about good use of F stops, good crop, well composed shot, lovely colour tones, sharpness, etc, or needs a different crop giving more space for the subject to "breathe", check light areas in the background that draw your attention away from the subject, remove/clone out objects that distract etc . By critiquing images it helps understand what makes a good image and assists us in our own photography.

Well done to all who submitted images and congratulations to the winning photographers.

The results are as follows :-

1st Profile of a European Wildcat - Lorna O'Keefe
2nd Portrait of a Lynx - Lorna O'Keefe
3rd Thinking - Carol Khorsandyon
HC Behind the lenses - Lisa Burton
HC Pirate - Ornella Walker
C Sunflower happiness - Ornella Walker
C Beauty in the Caribbean - Rita Howe

26/09/2026

September Digital Competition (on a "Nature" theme)

On Wednesday we held our monthly digital completion, the first after our summer break.

We had already met twice since the summer and enjoyed a social evening with a photography quiz and a lively and interesting discussion on various aspects of photography using leading questions aimed at getting individual & personal opinions. Ornella also brought along a new piece of lighting equipment she purchased during the summer break which looked a lot of fun to use and we will possibly get to experiment with at one of our practicals. Our second meeting was a Camversation video presentation on Landscapes. It was very thorough, informative, and entertaining and gave us lots of ideas on how to enhance our landscape photography.

So, now to our Digital Competition. It was on the the theme of "Nature" and it was obvious that everyone had been out and about looking for suitable images to submit. And there were many great images submitted. We had an external judge, Mick Hahn, who gave us his expert opinion on the images presented. Mick has judged for us several times before and he always gives a detailed and thorough critique of the images, delivered in his friendly, but efficient style, which is much appreciated by the members.

After much careful deliberation he held ten images back and then chose the 3 winning images and gave highly commended and commended to the remaining images. The standard was high so it was not an easy task!

Many thanks to all who entered images... keep it up..... and many thanks to Mick for being our guest judge for the evening. A big shout out to Pauline, our print and digital secretary, who struggled in to fulfil her role in charge of the laptop and projector, despite still recovering from her recent surgery. You are a real treasure.

And, finally, many congratulations to all the winners of this competition. The bar has been set high.

Next week is our September monthly Print with a "Portrait" theme and then we have another open Digital on the 7th October followed by the Graham Caille Colour & BW Print Competition on the 14th October so it looks to be an exciting and busy few weeks sorting out (or going out and taking) images for these competitions !!

The winning images for the September Digital on "Nature" are:-

1st Bee on a pincushion - Jean Cuomo
2nd Spider and Honesty - Ornella Walker
3rd Chinese Lanterns - Ornella Walker

HC Flesh fly on leaf - Carol Khorsandyon
HC Female common blue butterfly - Lorna O'Keefe
HC A wet Shrew - Lorna O'Keefe
HC Vision in green - Pauline Blade

C Honey Bee on Helenium - Keith Upton
C Poppies - Gabriel Baloiu
C Gannets bonding - Lorna O'Keefe

15/09/2026

We are having a Camversation video presentation this Wednesday by a well respected photographer, Eddie Hyde .

Eddie is a highly accomplished photographer with a lifelong passion for the art form, a journey that began in his childhood with a simple Kodak Brownie camera. Based in Surrey, he is a prominent and respected figure in the UK photography community.

As a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS), Eddie holds one of the highest distinctions in the photographic world. He is a regular judge for the Surrey Photographic Association, and his work has been widely published and commended in major global competitions, including Landscape Photographer of the Year, International Landscape Photographer of the Year and the Siena International Photography Awards.

Eddie is also a key photographic resource for the National Trust at Polesden Lacey, capturing the seasonal essence of their historic environments. He is a passionate, dedicated educator who is known for his warm, encouraging style in both group workshops and personal tuition.

He will be talking about Landscapes, how to get the best photographs , and ways of approaching this genre of photography.
It promises to be a really interesting and informative evening 👍😀
Starts at 8pm on Wednesday 16th September ( ignore the date on the poster … that is the date it was recorded!!!)

08/09/2026

Reminder :-WEDNESDAY 9th OCTOBER 8pm is our first day back after the summer break.

To get us all in the mood for our next exciting Autumn/Winter session have a look through the winning images from our July Digital, which was on the theme Minimalism - Abstract. A very interesting theme which challenged our view on things and really got the creative juices going, as you will see from the images shown. A tough topic to judge as all the images entered were worthy winners so you may see others entered into our Annual Competition in April . Meanwhile enjoy these winning images.

08/09/2026

WEDNESDAY 9th SEPTEMBER is the start of our Autumn/Winter session .
But before we start back after the summer break we thought it would be good to have a look back at the winning images from our June and July competitions. There are some really cracking images there that provide inspiration for us all 👍😀 We start with our June Digital followed by the June Print images .

06/09/2026

Well, I hope everyone has had a good summer. Certainly can't complain about the weather in the UK this year. Plenty of sunshine to enjoy. ☀️And hopefully you have been out and about with your cameras 📷 getting some great shots which we all look forward to seeing in our monthly and other competitions held over the year.
It's been a lovely break but it's now down to business.
Check out the poster and please feel free to comment below on anything at all. We have a really great schedule with some exciting speakers (look at our club programme on our website) but we also have some TBC slots .... so what would YOU like to see or do in these slots?
Any requests/suggestions for topics greatly appreciated.
See you all very soon .

25/05/2026

May 2026 Digital Monthly Competition.

Wednesday saw us back with our monthly Digital Competition, which was internally judged and critiqued.

There were 22 images presented and wild life featured as a good percentage despite it being an open competition. Not surprising considering our surroundings and accessibility to some excellent places to photograph the critters and birds that are in abundance !! And the standard was high !

We all enjoyed viewing and then critiquing/discussing the images, and, because the voting takes place before the critiquing, the photographers, if they wished, could join in the critiquing and explain their thought process/editing views etc. It all made for a very interesting, informative, and interactive experience, hence a real learning opportunity.

Many thanks to all who entered images. Keep them coming !

Many congratulations to the winning photographers:-
1st Harris Hawk - Lorna O'Keefe
2nd Silent observer - Lorna O'Keefe
3rd Stark - Mike Cole
HC Soggy Egyptian gosling - Lorna O'Keefe
HC On Watch - Pauline Blade
HC Tamarin window gazing - Lorna O'Keefe
C Dreamy impressions - Keith Upton
C On alert - Keith Upton
PS: A little reminder for our next BIG annual competition, the Stan Doe Colour Print on July 15th with Judge Tom Peck. If you haven't got your images sorted then there is still time to get out and about and find that winning shot ;)

15/05/2026

The 2026 Ken Thorn B&W Print Competition

Wednesday evening saw our annual B&W Print competition held in memory of Ken Thorn, a much loved, respected and longstanding member of Romford Camera Club. A brilliant photographer, Ken loved his black and white prints and came into photography at a time when film and the dark room was the only means of producing prints. He quickly adapted to digital however when it became obvious that was the way forward and continued to produce excellent prints and digital images right up until his passing in 2021.

We invited Gill Adams from Witham to judge the prints offered up by our club members. There were 22 prints in total and the standard was very good. Gill was a discerning judge and gave a considered critique to all of the images, selecting 7 to be held back for further perusal. We enjoyed seeing a range of topics and we listened carefully to Gill's comments and appraisals. Ken would have been particularly pleased that none of them needed a crop to enhance them!! Gill did however comment on ensuring the dark corners were lightened sufficiently or that the image was equally lightened/darkened in some of the images. Once again it was an evening when what appeared to be an average B&W really came to life when mounted in the Lightbox; always a magical and breath taking moment. It takes skill and practice to achieve this and we certainly saw that in action!

Gill reviewed her held back images again in the Lightbox before coming to a decision.

The winning images are as follows:-

1st Place and the 2026 Winner of the Ken Thorn Shield for B&W Prints is :-

Lorna O'Keefe with "Great grey owl"

2nd Place "Echoes of speed" - Keith Upton
3rd Place "Morning in the park". - Gabriel Baloiu
HC "My one small wish". - Peter Wills
HC " Looking at self " - Ornella
HC "Pied Kingfisher". - Rita Howe
HC "The Shoal Stratford" - Ornella Walker

Many congratulations to all the winning photographers and especially to Lorna. It was quite an emotional occasion as she recalled how Ken Thorn had welcomed her into the club when she first joined and had consistently given her a lot of encouragement and help to gain confidence in her photography (and she is now our wildlife/bird expert !). So, winning this particular shield was very poignant and meaningful to her. And I am sure Ken is looking down with a big and knowing smile for his protegée :) I think we all know special people who go that extra mile to help and encourage and share their passion for photography. Who do you remember ?

Many thanks to all members who entered prints.
Thank you Gill for judging the competition and giving your critiques and insight into the images presented to you.
Once again an enjoyable evening for all.

Address

Forest Row Centre , 241 Lodge Lane , Collier Row
Romford
RM52LD

Website

http://www.romfordcameraclub.co.uk/

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