Photographer of the Year Paul strikes autumn gold
THE outstanding creative flair that has become a hallmark of Paul Reidy’s stunning images has secured him the prestigious title of The Irish Photographic Federation (IPF) ‘Photographer of the Year’ for 2016/2017.
Paul, a member of the Blarney Camera Club, won advanced gold and overall winner in the competition with his breathtaking image ‘Autumn Stone’. Paul also scooped advanced silver in the colour print open category with another one of his photographs entitled ‘ The Old Masterpiece’.
The IPF’s Photographer of the Year and Nature Photographer of the Year (which was won by Ita Martin of Malahide Camera Club) are the biggest annual competitions open to all members of Irish camera clubs affiliated to the federation.
The competition received almost 1,000 print and projected images for the four regional finals that were held across the country, with competition judges given the task of whittling those down to the eventual category and overall winners.
IPF president Michael O’Sullivan said this year’s competition was the most successful to date, with record attendances attending the public judging events.
“That in itself speaks volumes about the appetite in Ireland for this type of photography. The technical skill and knowledge of subject matter apparent in the imagery on display was amazing and the winners must be congratulated for achieving stellar standards,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
“Paul Reidy’s ‘Autumn Queen’ is a fantastic example of photography, combining great technical skill, control of lighting and vision which results in giving this image impact and beauty,” he added.
Paul, who won €500 prize from competition sponsors Birmingham Camera’s for his winning image, said the original idea had been to create a Baroque-style corset and headpiece for Cork model Aleksandra Nell Radosz.
“But, due to time constraints, we had to go to the autumn theme. Aleksandra made the
headpiece from dried leaves and the shoot was done in the grounds of Fota House and Gardens,” said Paul.
He said the inspiration for the photograph came from viewing Renaissance style paintings during a recent visit to Amsterdam.
“I was captivated by the colours and finish on these works of art. With the Autumn Queen series of images I wanted to the portraits to have a shallow depth of field, with the mains focus on the model’s face.
“I loved the way it printed, thanks to Don at Art and Frame Printers in Bishopstown,” said Paul.
“The winning photograph was printed on Permajet Fibre Gold, which had a slightly warm finish completing the image.”
Paul said it was a “huge honour” to win the overall award, particularly in light of the exceptionally high standard of entries.
“To bring back the award to Blarney Photography Club for the first time was something to be really proud of. What topped off the awards weekend was seeing fellow club members Charlie Lee, Eddie Kelly, Mark Gorman and Seamus Mulcahy also take home awards,” he said.
Other IPF awards winners from the North Cork region included: Breda Mullane of the Mallow Camera Club and Mitchelstown man Bill Power of the Cork Camera Club.