Kilcullen Photography Club: Special Assignments for our Russborough House Visit.

We visited Russborough House in Wicklow on the 8th of June and this time we had a bit of an extra challenge. Our intrepid secretary, Dave, had done a recon the day before and when we arrived we were each handed an envelope with some cryptic clues. The idea was to take 4 photos, one for each clue. Now it wasn't as straightforward as it seemed, I think quite a few of us struggled to find the location and object of our clues! So I did encounter a few bewildered faces en route around the grounds and my last clue certainly had me stumped :)

Here are some of our wandering detectives -

Photo Credit - Dave Byrne

We all really enjoyed the day I think - it was nice to have a different spin on things and a specific focus for our photography.
We were also blessed with the weather and as it was deemed to be our annual club social event, we had a delicious lunch in the cafe in Russborough and they had assigned us a room to ourselves which was great.

The purpose of the clues was not just to make things more fun, Dave also suggested a competition - to be judged by Lesley and Rob, who couldn't attend.

Everyone who attended submitted their 4 photos and they were judged as a group. The judges didn't know who had submitted the photos as they were just identified by a number. It all took a bit of time as this is summer holiday season but the results were announced this week

In first place was Dan Kenny with the following pictures:

1. Columns, stout beams, no roof.
2. Correct combination to enter this field.
3. There lieth on lion's paws.
4. Underground bridge for little people.

In second place was Niamh O'Connor with the following pictures:

1. At rest.
2. Climbing the Walls.
3. Old Riding School.
4. Towering Green Giants.

In third place was Phil Cummins with the following pictures:

1. Bull's Eye.
2. Moo Home
3. Pink and large in a bed.
4. Sun Time.

I'm sure you will all agree the standard was really high, some fantastic photos here!

Last, but not least, there were some individual recommendations:

Firstly, special mention to Helen Coyle O'Connor who came along with her mum Helen and took this great photo entitled 'Behold my face mask', which got the juvenile highly recommended title.

Highly Recommended Individual Photo Winners are as follows:

1. Seats in the Summer Sun by Emily Coyle.
2. Old Chimney Stack by Paula Keegan.
3. Blossoms of Pacifiers by Carmel O'Connor.
4. Faithful Companion by Cliona Kelliher.

Big thanks to Dave for organising all this, and also to the judges! We had a fantastic day and it was a brilliant way of improving our photography skills.

Cliona