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The winners in the first round of Newry.ie Photographer of the Year have been announced. The winners were chosen by a combination of the Public vote on Facebook (40%) and our Judges vote (60%)
Coming out on top in the April Round is Gavin James Eaton with 96 Points, winning Afternoon Tea for two from the Velveteen Rabbit in Newry.
Overall April Point Chart
At the end of Round One the overall points scored as follows:
1: Gavin James Eaton - 96 points
2: Tomasz Pietruszka - 94 points
3: Janine McArdle - 62 points
4: Noel McCartan - 48 points
Joint 5th: William Carville - 42 points
Joint 5th: Ciaran Mathers - 42 points
7: Rory Murphy - 40 points
8: Gerry Rice - 28 points
9: Natasha Wright - 24 points
Joint 10th: John Burns - 20 points
Joint 10th: Alastair Chambers - 20 points
Other Point Scorers:
Linsey Powell - 16 points
Caolan Quinn - 12 points
Caolan Martin - 6 points
With another 8 rounds to go before the overall winner is announced it is still very much an open competition so if you haven't entered yet, get that camera out!
The first round saw a wide variety of entries. What separated the winners from others was pictue composition as well as the quality of the image. While mobile phone entries are as eligible as those taken with a £1000 camera, some mobile shots while potential winners lost out because of poor quality.
Other failings included not sufficiently relating to the theme. Quite a few entries weren't considered because they hadn't read the rules something that is always going to be an issue in the opening round of a new competition.
Rule Change
From our end we have reconsidered the rules a little and will now allow entries from photographers living outside of Newry, as long as they have a connection to the City and the photographs are taken in the Newry area as described!
Facebook Voting
1: Tomasz Pietruszka 40pts
2: Gavin James Eaton 36pts
3: Janine McArdle 32pts
4: Gerry Rice 28pts
5: Ciaran Mathers 24pts
6: John Burns 20pts
7: Linsey Powell 16pts
8: Caolan Quinn 12pts
9: Alastair Chambers 8pts
10: Rory Murphy 4pts
Judges Voting
1: Gavin James Eaton 60pts
Our judges likes this due to its composition, sharpness, and vibrant colour, showing the arrival of Spring. A deserved winner.
2: Tomasz Pietruszka 54pts
Tomasz narrowly missed out on the first slot. Judges liked the shallow focus and contrasting colours making the eye go straight to the bluebells
3: Noel McCartan 48pts
A beautiful almost timeless capture with good side lighting.
4: William Carville 42pts
In the framing the photographer has created a timeless image with vibrant colours.
5 Rory Murphy 36pts
The framing of this caught the eye of the judges. A good use of perspective.
6 Janine McArdle 30pts
Judges really liked this capturing childhood innocence. Would have scored higher with better framing.
7 Natasha Wright 24pts
A lovely capture of a bee looking for nectar.
8 Ciaran Mathers 18pts
Judges liked the colour. The 50/50 split in the image doesn't work completely, perhaps the rule of thirds might have helped.
9 Alastair Chambers 12pts
A good capture of the unseen beauty of a blackthorn bush in bloom.
10 Caolan Martin 6pts
We liked the hint of chill in the air in this. Could have been improved by cropping house out of it and concentrating more on the fence.
May Theme
The Theme for the May NPOY round is 'Newry Canal' Get your one entry emailed in to npoy@newry.ie by Midnight on 31 May 2022.
IMPORTANT Be sure to Check out the rules at: Photographer of the Year Competition
