GDPU Portfolio
The Glasgow District Photographic Union (GDPU) is a photography-centred organisation which offers services such as judges and lecturer lists to affiliated clubs. There is an annual competition where each member club can make four entries into each of three sections: colour, monochrome and nature. These are then scored on the usual basis – marks out of 20 – and the top 25 in each section are then put forward to create that year’s portfolio
The evening was an opportunity for club members to review the 2022 Portfolio and get inspiration from the 75 intriguing and exciting photographs on offer, as well as to sharpen our critical faculties. Many a cry of disdain came from members as an impressive image was revealed to have received a relatively low score - “they were robbed!” And inevitably there were a few rumblings about how much post-production editing is too much.
As for Hamilton, we got one image featured which is shown here – The Pollinator by Mairi Anderson. Mairi explained that the photo had been taken hand-held at a castle in Ayrshire. The judge had commented that the shallow depth of field emphasises the sharp eyes of the bee and that the bokeh glow of the background avoids the image becoming too dark, whilst the main yellow colour is vibrant and summery.