This is the Scottish Photographic Federation's annual Digital Projected Image competition which takes place at the Stirling Court Hotel

This is our annual competition with Aspley Camera Club of Queensland, Australia.

The format of the competition is that each club submits 10 images for each of the following three categories: General, Landscape/Nature and People; 5 images each for Intermediate and Advanced - that's 30 images in total for each club. We send our images to Aspley and they send theirs to us. Each club then submits all 60 images to a Scottish judge and an Australian judge who will mark the images independently not knowing which club has submitted which image (although images of the Forth Bridge or Sydney Opera House are usually a dead giveaway!). Each club then presents their judge's scores on their respective club night. The combined scores of the two judges determine the winner of the competition.

Last year, Aspley won by 2 points!

Margaret works in some of Scotland’s most remote areas. She takes photographs, creates time-lapses and makes short films of some of the most peaceful places she can find. She believes that being in such places is the best way to nurture well-being and a balanced lifestyle. Not only for her as the photographer, but for the viewer as well. So her hope is that her photography gives to you the same sense of calm and tranquillity as both the scene before her and the way she felt in recording these images.

She has a passion for the Scottish islands and is exploring and documenting these islands frequently, finding wonderful places to stay and explore and bringing them to visitors to her website.

If you’d like to see what she means then take a look: https://www.margaretsoraya.com/ .

This is the second competition of the season. It will be an open competition (no predetermined subject) comprising only printed images. The results from his competition count towards the Annual League Table.

The RULES for submitting print entries are available on the Information page of the website. Summarised, the Print format requirements for club competitions are:

•The visible area of the print must be no less than 35 square inches e.g. 5 x 7 inches or any other size with an area of 35 square inches or greater.

•Prints may be monochrome or colour

•All prints submitted must be mounted on stiff mount board.

•Maximum size of the mount is 16 x 20 inches or 40 x 50 cm.

•Membership number, title, classification and ranking should be clearly written on the back of the mount at the bottom left hand corner when viewed with the image face down. This is important as judges expect the image title to be in this position; especially for abstract prints or prints where it is not clear which edge is meant to be the top. Prints with no classification included will be entered in the advanced class.

Print entries should be accompanied by a digital submission of the image entered, submitted via the club website on the My Images page. This copy may be used for collating, selection and projection on judging evenings; and also for presentation on the club website after the competition has been judged. Digital copies may also be handed in to the Competitions Secretary on digital media.

Digital images or prints submitted to a previous club competition MUST NOT be resubmitted for this competition.

Ross’s presentation tonight is on his passion for prints. His preferred genre is portraiture, both in the studio and on location.

Exhibition Photography is what 'floats his boat' - particularly the print exhibitions where your images are put on display. It doesn't matter whether it is in the local community centre, in an art gallery, a museum or a shopping centre - getting prints up on the wall is what it is all about!

He has his own large commercial photographic studio close to the Centre of Belfast. He runs workshops for studio portraiture, natural lighting, and Photoshop, and regularly gives talks and presentations to camera clubs throughout the UK and Ireland.

Here’s a link to Ross’s website: http://www.rossmckelvey.co.uk/ .

Tonight is a showing of the images which made it to the SPF Portfolio.