The Story behind the Annual Competition 2025-26

The story behind the winners of our Annual Competition and, for the first time in our club history, one person has won all four of the annual competitions as well as the league.

COLOUR

Having a Scratch - By Gillian Temple

This is a wildlife shot taken in the a field against a hedge on a very overcast day. I gradually and very slowly made my way towards the Hare stopping every so often until it accepted my presence taking several quick shots before it took off.  The image was taken on my Canon R5 100-500 mm lens at 500mm F7.1 ISO 3200 and 1/2500 sec It was processed in Camera Raw then into Photoshop, where it was cropped and a texture added to the background as the hedge was a bit cluttered and busy giving it a "fine art feel".

MONO

Grey Mare - By Gillian Temple

This is a composite shot taken with my Canon R5 100-500 mm lens at a focal distance of 500mm, F8, 1/4000, ISO 2000. This image was taken at a show and the horse was wearing a bridle, however I felt that it was spoiling the look of the horses head so removed the bridle in Photoshop and removed the background and added a complimentary texture. Cropping the image to a square made it a stronger composition.

DPI

Vixen and Cub - By Gillian Temple

This shot was taken while the Vixen had returned to feed her two cubs, however it was very difficult to get the mum and two cubs together at any one time as the cubs were running and playing.  I managed to get this shot of the tender moment between the mum and cub, before the cub disappeared again.  The shot was on my Canon R5 100-500mm lens at F8 focal distance of 123mm ISO 2000 and 1/500 sec.  The shot was originally as a nature shot with very little editing other than a slight crop, however I felt that the background was a bit cluttered so decided to give it a "fine art feel" so I flipped the image in Photoshop and added a texture.

NATURE

Stand Off - by Gillian Temple

This is a wildlife shot taken from a hide with my Canon R5 100-500mm lens. It was taken at a focal distance of 343mm F7.1 1/3200 sec and ISO 4000. Having my camera on a fast burst mode and taking multiple shots during the interaction of the birds ensures getting the action. Waiting on the birds to fly up into the air and taking it with a fast shutter speed gets the sharp shots. As the birds were under some trees the light is sometimes a bit lower so a higher ISO is required and lots of patience.