WWT Castle Espie to host local photographic competition
One of the highlights of the local camera club photographic competition scene will take place on 18th November (7.30pm) when Castle Espie Wildlife Wetlands Centre near Comber, Co.Down, will be the host venue for the annual Roy Finlay Memorial Natural history competition.
This annual competition, one of the premier events in the Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA) and Newtownards Camera Club calendar, has been running for over 25 years, and is held in the Autumn of each year in memory of Roy Finlay, one of Northern Ireland’s best known wildlife photographers.
The competition for the impressive Roy Finlay Memorial perpetual trophy, and the follow on exhibition which will be on display at Castle Espie reception during November and into December, is anticipated to attract considerable interest if last years entry of 200 entries from NIPA photographers from all over Northern Ireland is anything to go by.
During the final preparation for the competition, NIPA President Danny McCaughan announced “ NIPA is extremely proud to announce that the judge for this competition will be the eminent Banbridge based Natural History Photographer Robert Thompson. Not only will Robert provide his expert comments on the entries and a brief talk on natural history photography, he has also put up an additional prize by way of a copy of the book ‘The Natural History of Ulster’ which Robert and his friend John Faulkner co-authored. With over 600 images from around the province and beyond this extra prize will make this years competition extra special.”
The competition itself follows the FIAP rules for wildlife, allowing minor adjustments but not digital manipulation of photographs. Entries must be of wildlife in its natural habitat, ie the faithful representation of the subject at the taking of the shot must be maintained.
However, this year there will be an additional special category for photographs taken in Castle Espie itself with a special prize of a years membership of the WWT for the winner. With the relaxation of rules to allow photographs of any wildlife in the Castle Espie reserve this is likely to be a hotly contended competition.
Interest so far has been strong but a few very late entry spots are available if contact is made with Danny on 028 90428366 and entry forms are available for download from the NIPA website (www.niphoto.co.uk). There will be a small entry fee of £1 per image to defray some of the costs of the competition.
Pictured: Newtownards Rosemary Snoddon and Leslie Armour at the 2010 Natural History competition
