5 March 2021
Miss Jamie Gallagher, Head of Chemistry and originator and organiser of #PhotographersWold
#PhotographersWold, which was set up as a weekly competition to help keep our community of students, staff, parents and alumnae connected during this lockdown and to add some colour and creativity at a rather ‘grey’ time, comes to its finale this week with the announcement of the overall winners.
The weekly themes covered landscapes, sun and light, animals and close ups and these encouraged us to take a closer look at the wonderful world around us, often during our daily exercise. Our most popular week was, unsurprisingly, ‘animals’ week, where we enjoyed looking at photos of more than 30 different types of animals, including many of our beloved pets. Dogs topped the entry list with 38 photos, followed by birds, 34, and 19 cats!
We were delighted to receive more than 450 entries from all sections of our community and from right across the world.
Our weekly guest judges carefully chose two joint winners each week, one from the student category (Years 7 to Upper Sixth) and one from the adult category (staff, parents and alumnae). Our judges were local artist and illustrator Sophie Epperlein (@sophieepperlein), Woldingham’s very own Mrs Darby from the Art Department, Mr Kim Scott-Clark, newspaper picture editor, photographer and Woldingham parent, and LA-based professional photographer and former Woldingham Head Girl Anne Burkley.
A massive final thank you must go to all the judges and to everyone who contributed towards such a successful competition.
A final drum roll for our overall student and adult winners…
Student winner – Aye, Year 11, chosen by Kim Scott-Clark
“It was very difficult to pick an overall winner as all four category-winning images offer different technical ability, composition and intriguing content. But my overall winner is Aye’s “Sun & Light” entry because it is an image that is time consuming and engaging, with so much to absorb: the reflected light, the shape of the clouds, the different areas of light and dark and the noticeable water ripple in the foreground that then stretches calmly away in the distance. This is a lovely photograph that could only be improved by placing in a frame and hanging on a wall.”
Adult winner – Lola Makower, alumna, chosen by Anne Burkley
"The composition and framing is wonderful. The dog is perfectly situated in the foreground with the the mountains and sea a great counterbalance. The photographer has captured the dog beautifully: you sense the joy, energy and strength of the animal. It is a moment in time but not static. The photographer has delighted me by capturing the reflection of the dog in the ripples of the sand. Technically the image is very good. The texture of the fur, the waves, and the distant clouds are well exposed and the dog’s face is nicely lit. The animal ‘pops’ against the grey.”
Congratulations to Aye and Lola who win, respectively, a £40 book token and a WSHA pendant – the latter will be heading to New Zealand soon!
Aye’s photo is the main picture here and Lola’s photo can be seen in the gallery below.
A big well done also to the rest of our category winners, each of whom wins a £20 book token.
- Smile, Year 10 (“Landscapes")
- Ms Jones, Year 10 Housemistress (“Landscapes”)
- Miss O’Neill, Head of Health Education (“Sun & Light”)
- Suhwa, Year 9 (“Animals”)
- Theodora, Lower Sixth (“Close ups”)
- Mrs Mason, Upper Sixth Housemistress (“Close ups”)
