Our judge for the Abstract competition evening at NRPS, Geoff Wood, made clear his thinking about the difficult genre in his introduction.

He was clearly looking for pleasing images that used shape and form to good effect; images that filled an emotional void, not a tick box of technique, and those that begged interpretation without words. We were left in no doubt that his main criterion was that the photo presented needed to provoke an initial emotional response in him. After that, he considered if what he saw was a distraction or merited further study.

Geoff provided us with useful commentary and well considered critique that will be helpful when we have another go, and supportive when we are out and about and something simply catches our eye, or tugs at the heartstrings in ways we cannot quite understand.

Jill Toman deservedly won both the Colour and the Mono sections with “New Paint Job needed” (pictured) and “Nature’s Banding” and these clearly fitted the bill, but those placed were in hot pursuit featuring broken glass and glaciers, waves and water as well as the glow of autumn leaves, and one, which I personally loved, by Diana Walker, called ‘Rose Petals’. Geoff was warmly thanked for his hard work and well thought out comments on what we all know is a very tricky subject!

November Results – Colour: 1st Jill Toman ‘New Paint Job Needed’, 2ndTony Nineham ‘Redwood Waves’, 3rd Janice Cuer, ‘Water’.

Highly Commended: Suzanne Ladd ‘Tropical House’, and ‘Splash’, Jane Richardson ‘Books’, Commended: Diana Walker ‘Rose Petals’. Pamela Bruce Lockhart ‘Subtle Strength’, Graham Nicholls ‘Autumn Glow’.

Mono: 1st Jill Toman: ‘Nature’s Banding’, 2nd Suzanne Ladd ‘Lines and Circles’, 3rd Tony Nineham ‘Patterns on a Broken Mirror’.

Highly Commended: Jane Lewis ‘Glacier’, Janice Cuer ‘Stained Glass’, Jill Toman ‘Watery Waves’, Commended: Pamela Bruce Lockhart ‘Storm Ahead’, Jenny Short ‘Rise and Shine’ and ‘Circles That You Find’.

Jenny Short