Hot shots from Tain photographer see her scoop top awards at East Sutherland Camera Club annual competition

COMPELLING shots taken by an amateur photographer from Ross-shire put her in the frame for double delight at a camera club's prize-giving.

East Sutherland Camera Club’s annual competition is based on the top four images from the colour and monochrome classes of each of the six monthly competitions.

Nickey Fraser from Tain, a new member this season, scooped the top prizes in both colour and monochrome. Her powerful close up of an owl, Look Into My Eyes, could not help but draw the viewer into that compelling stare and won her the trophy for Best Colour Photograph of the Year. Her high key portrait, Contemplating, posed the question to the viewer as to what was being contemplated – compelling in a different way.

It not only scooped her the Best Monochrome Photograph of the Year trophy but also the certificate for the overall best image of the year.

Matt Sillars, a well-respected local photographer, former UHI lecturer in photography and director of FLOW Photofest, imparted a wealth of sound analytical appraisal of the images in the competition.

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Two other trophies were presented.

Points are awarded to the top six images in each class in each of the monthly competitions to decide Photographer of the Year awards. For the second year running Martin Ross from Golspie won the Colour Photographer of the Year trophy and Zoe Gray from Portmahomack won the Monochrome Photographer of the Year trophy.

The club has two more meetings before the end of the season and will resume in the Dornoch Community Centre on the second Tuesday of September.

Later that month the club is hosting the annual Highland Challenge competition, a day event involving camera clubs from the North Highlands and Shetland. It is expected it will attract in the order of 100 amateur photographers to Dornoch for the day.

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