camera club catastrophe

Tonight was just one big fat hairy balls-up...

From start to finish really...

I haven't been to Camera Club in quite a while, partly because last month's competition was for landscapes, and I can't be bothered with those...

But since tonight was a regular set subject, this time Close Up, I figured I should give it a try... I ended up putting a couple of shots in for the set subject, but they were old shots that I dug out of the archives that actually hadn't done that well their first time around, but then I wasn't actually that bothered about it, so I entered them anyway.

I should have known that the evening wasn't going to go well right from the start, since we didn't actually get inside the building until after 7:30pm... usually someone is supposed to be there to open up at 7:15pm or earlier... but not tonight... technically you could say that it was partly my fault, because the group that use the hall before us, the ballet dancers, usually we can sneak in before they leave and start setting up once they're gone. But I wasn't paying attention to what was going on, and so the ballet teacher managed to leave the hall and lock it behind her... leaving a bunch of us standing around outside like idiots waiting for someone with a key.

Then of course it was a mad rush to get everything ready...

And then there was the judge... I spotted him early... he was kind of like an evil Santa, but without the beard (or jolly disposition it turned out)... it was one of those instances where all my instincts just want me to get my photos and run... I never listen though... stupid me...

I didn't even have Stu there to keep me company... so I was imagining a very long and boring and lonely evening sitting there all on my own poking myself in the eye waiting for the judge to either get to my images, or just hurry up and finish. But then either the appropriate gods were smiling on me, or something, because young River, the random 15yo boy I mentioned that had adopted Stu and myself on previous occasions came over to ask me something about one of the upcoming competitions, and he ended up sitting with me down the back where we spent the evening checking out some of his photos on his iPod, looking through old photography magazines that someone had brought in to give away and making snide comments about the judge... it was kind of like having a MiniStu for the evening...

But one or other of us is a bad influence on the other, and we actually got told to be quiet, not once, but twice... by two different people... the second of whom I never actually answered, just stared at until he went away...

Anyway, eventually the judge got around to judging my stuff... and I had, with no exaggeration, the WORST night ever scorewise... and all completely (well, maybe not all) undeserved...

Red Enamel (center right) and Sweet Colours (bottom right) both got a 4... Looking Out (bottom left), Beautiful Youth (top left) and Torso (top right) which is actually a repeat from back in February, all got the very lofty score of 5... so yeah, two 4's and three 5's...

WORST! SCORES! EVER!

Bastard judge...

Seriously, I'm starting to wonder whether or not I'm going to bother renewing my membership next year... it's not like I'm actually getting anything out of the club at present... we'll see I guess...

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