Cambridge Camera Club member Eric Hill was second overall in the Three Ways International Competition with his image “To Feed Both of Us”, taken in Tibet.
Cambridge Camera Club member Eric Hill was second overall in the Three Ways International Competition with his image “To Feed Both of Us”, taken in Tibet.
For 10 years, Cambridge Camera Club members have been inspired to reach new heights of photographic excellence by like-minded shutterbugs living 18,000km away.
Former Cambridge police detective and camera club member Scott McDougall, who died in 2016, started the Three Ways International competition in 2012.
At the end of every year Cambridge Camera Club pits its skills against two groups in Scotland – the Islesburgh Photographic Club, near the Shetland Islands, and Mearns Camera Club, near Aberdeen.
Each club submits 15 images, judged independently.
“You can submit any kind of image you like, so the scope is huge,” said CCC committee member Lou Kibby.
Lou grew up in Scotland and enjoys seeing photographs from her birthplace, despite occasional pangs of homesickness.
“It’s quite nice to see what the Scottish clubs put in compared to our ones and we all enjoy the Scottish connection,” she said.
“But we have to be quite strategic in choosing our images so their country of origin isn’t obvious.
“I remember one year we got caned on one photo that had done really well here in New Zealand and it had the green, green grass in springtime and they said the saturation was put way too high on the image – but it hadn’t been touched; it was just New Zealand’s green.”
Cambridge won by one point this year, taking out the competition for the sixth time in 10 years, with two CCC members taking top three placings overall.
Eric Hill was second with his image, “To Feed Both of Us”, showing a woman with her child begging for money in Lasa, Tibet.
Jennifer Burton came third with her photograph “Pointing to the Heavens”, which captures an historic church at Rangiaowhia.
Jennifer Burton was third with her photograph “Pointing Towards the Heavens”, which uses “astrophotography” to capture an historic wooden church at Rangiaowhia, near Te Awamutu, under the Milky Way.
Cambridge Camera Club meets on the last Wednesday of each month in the Resthaven Village Centre at 4 Vogel St and welcomes new members, from beginners to experts.
“Anybody who’s interested in photography can come, even if you’re just taking pictures on your phone,” Lous said. “You don’t need a flash camera.”
