COLBY-based cameraman, Dave Salter, has once again proved unbeatable in the contest to find the Western Photo club's top photographer of the year.

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Dr. Salter, whose freelance business takes him to far-flung countries around the globe, showed for the third year running that his stunning sub-continental street portaits, stormy seascapes and nature images were the best the Western Photographic Society (WPS) had produced, this time during the 2017-18 season.

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The Annual Open Competition, which decides not only our club's most successful member but also the Best overall image of the year, was adjudicated this time by Dave Killip.  He hed the task of sifting through scores of A4 and A3 prints and digitally projected images in the five classes the WPS sets itself in their competitions throughout each year.

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Mr Killip, considered to be one of the most enthusiasticm erudite and entertaining judge on the Manx camera club circuit, said the suitcase of prints and memory stick of DPI's , as handed to him for judging by the WPS this year, had once again greatly impressed him with their consistently high standard.

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Across the five classes, he said he had not only picked the first 25 placed images but had also highly commended 19 others which he thought were of a stunning quality.  He had further gone on to commend 23 others.  He again compared these awards to a pass rate ot University, which would have given the cllub a First-Class Honours degree.

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Starting his judging with the A4 prints section he selected a dramatic monochrome storm scene, as caught by Dave Salter, of the breakwater and lighthouse in Csstletown Harbour.  Captured at the moment a huge swell and wave swept over the structure,  the shot entitled  'Up and Over'  was awarded the maximum 20 marks. Another of Dr Dave's shots depicting an alligator  'On the Prowl'  was placed fifth in this class, with Carol Basnett {The Red Head}  and Arnie \Withers {Letter-Box Boot Scraper) in third and second places respectively.

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Moving to the Mono Prints sections the Judge - a  self confessed enthusiast for the large b/w image - picked three studdies of elderly gents as his top placed entries.  In third place was a portrait entitled 'Mr Wong' by Dennis Wood, second for Ruth Nicholls was a tight cropped image  of hands holing  an old pocket watch, (cleverly titled 'Old Time Hands') and in first place, again with the Maximum 20 Marks was an exquisite Salter portraight titled  'Advancing Years'.   The judge, describibg it as  'gritty snd characterful'  went on 'I absolutely loved it'.

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in  A3 Colour Prints class Dave Killip once again remarked on the standard of images presented to him, and the struggle he had in selection of winners.  As if to demonstrate the wide range  of subjectrs an open comp can throw up, his top five placings were - a street-scape  by Ruth Nicholls ('Home Fires Burning')  which looked like an industrial era northern mill town;  another street scene, this time by Patricia Tutt,  showing the Jubilee Clock and magnificcent former Grand Hotel behind it on Douglas seafrint; A Venetian canal scene from Chris Nicholls in 3rd place; a Scandinavian-style image of a harbour  with colour-co-ordinated boats, cars and houses by Arnie Withers as runner-up.

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It was the winner  of this section which stole the judge's greatest admirtion, however, and ultimately was  to be declared the Best Images of the Year.  This entry,  by Steve Babb,  was mostly solid black, with just a central section lighting the rear-end, back and profile left shoulder of a prone yound women in red underware.   Entitled  'Beauty Highlights' , Dave Killip described it as 'excitingly different and undeniably striking'.

Awarding it another  maximum mark, and later selecting it as Best Image Overall,  the judge said that for a small club, in a small town on this small island, to produce an image of such highly professional qualitey was a testament to the range of photographic abilities the club could muster.

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After a well-earned tea break, and moving on to the big digitally-projected images on the screen, in the mono class, he found the top image to be a sporting shot of a young lad powering his way through a swimming pool.  By Liz Boakes, it was given 19 marks.  Second placed was a pin-sharp image of a raptor by Doug Allan,  and third place,  another Salter Mumbai street portait of an old, sad and distrcted-looking man in ragged clothes.

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Finally, in the Colour DPI section, Dave Killip found what he descibed as the best landscape he head seen in the contest, a shot of Loughrigg Tarn in the  Lake District by Ian Knight, which he awarded third place.  The runner-up slot was given to Liz Boakes whith a ladscape of a very different sort, sweeping across a tree-less barren desert, with a cattle drover taking his herd to water.  He considered this a 'belting' image to be worthe of publication in the National  Geographic magazine.  Ahead of it in first place, however, was a shot by Dennis Wood, of a male dancer's disembodied lower legs on a colour floodlit dance floor.

Entitiled  'In the Footlights'   the judge said he had been torn between it and the  'Beauty Highlights'  colour print as the besdt overall shot but eventually fell on the side of the print.

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After a long, enjoyable evening,   David Killlip was thanked for all his efforts by the club treasurer   Eddie Fryer,  who remarked on the time and effort which he had so abviously given to each and every image.  ' Nobody can complain that their entries have not been given the fullest scrutiny and careful consideration,'  he added.

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All the WPS trophies and prizes were presented at their Annual Dinner in Filbey's Restaurant on Thursday May 3rd.