WOKING Photographic Society’s season of fabulous photography is well under way, and its recent Projected Digital Images (PDI) print competition showcased an incredible range of talent.

The subjects on view at a meeting packed with members included the natural world, landscapes and perfect portraits.

The prints were critiqued by award-winning Surrey-based professional photographer Graham Mansfield, who awarded certificates for the winning images in the advanced and open classes.

Among the prints in the Advanced Class that caught the judge’s eye was Donna the Dominatrix, taken by Steve Morris

“I’d arranged to photograph Donna, a bodybuilder, about four years ago, but COVID and other events stymied our plans until the 
autumn,” said Steve.

“In the discussion about the shoot plan, I found out that Donna was also a dominatrix, and I instantly knew that it was the Donna the Dominatrix I wanted to photograph.

“This is a standard studio shot using lights to show her body tone and posed to show her mental strength. An absolutely lovely lady in case you’re wondering.”

While it can take years to photograph a subject, luck sometimes plays a part.

Cath Ind was in the historic port town of Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, when she took Sunset at Whitby Abbey.

“I decided to visit the abbey as the sun was setting, but hadn’t realised it was an English Heritage site and had closed for the day,” she said.

“The only view I could get of the abbey with the sun behind it was by photographing over the top of a six foot-high perimeter wall.”

She had to time her shot while balancing on a grassy tussock on tip-toe, while holding her camera high and wait until the sun was peeping through the widow – delivering a lovely sunburst for her photograph.

Thinesh made a special journey to photograph a mountain hare in its natural, icy environment. He came prepared to withstand the temperature of -16C, and was wearing four layers of cold-weather clothing.

“I crawled like an army soldier to within three metres of the hare, and waited. I was lying on the ground for around five hours before the hare obligingly looked over its left shoulder,” he said.

Brendan McIlhargey was visiting family in County Mayo and stopped at one of the most picturesque small beaches in Ireland, Keem Beach, located on the west coast of Achill Island.

“It was fortunate that the weather was perfect that morning as there had been a 
ferocious storm the night before, which made the stream flow quite violent,” he said. “I was lucky to capture the sun as it broke through, showering the emerald landscape with the most perfect light.”

In the Open Class, Heather Seaton was learning how to photograph birds flying at different speeds at Birdworld, near Farnham, when she spotted a Dahlia Tartan flower in bloom.

“Its vibrance caught my attention and I just had to photograph it,” Heather said. “I excluded the background to focus the intensity and beauty of its individual petals.

“It just goes to show that, despite what you set out to find, always be open to see everything around you.”

Further afield was Annie Fluke, on safari in Botswana. “We were driving along a dusty track when I suddenly saw this bird bashing something on the branch and then tossing it up in the air,” she said.

“I quickly asked for the driver to stop, and we backed up to see this little bee-eater in action. I feel very fortunate to have got this shot.”

See the full double-page spread of pictures in the 12 January edition of the News & Mail, in shops now.

Woking Photographic Society runs a full programme of events, meeting on Tuesdays at Parkview Centre for the Community, Blackmore Crescent, Sheerwater, from 8pm.

For more details visit www.wokingps.uk, or Facebook at WokingPS, or Instagram at Wokingps.