Blackwater Photographic Society ranks Among World’s Top Photography Clubs

We’re delighted to announce that our club has secured an impressive 32nd place out of 293 photography clubs worldwide in the 19th FIAP World Cup for Clubs 2024. This prestigious competition drew entries from 55 countries across the globe, representing the very best in international photography. We’re especially proud to rank as the third highest Irish club, following fellow photographers in Dublin Camera Club (13th) and Dundalk Photographic Society (27th) in this global competition. Our internationally recognised portfolio included these outstanding works which demonstrate the depth of talent within our club:

“Chorus on the Branch” by John Flynn
“On the Brink of Flight” by John Flynn
“Wings of Glory” by Paul Madigan
“Call of the Wild” by Jim Heffernan
“The Last Drop” by John Mullane
“Emerald Whisper” by Wendy White
“Rhythms in the Rain” by Kieran O’ Mahony

A Big Congratulations to the overall winners Catchlight Camera Club (UK) with 615 points. Our score of 543 points places us firmly among the world’s leading photography clubs. This international recognition reflects the exceptional standard of photography at Blackwater Photographic Society. To have our work recognised at this level is a testament to the creativity and skill of all our members. Congratulations to all our participating photographers and thank you for representing us on the international stage..

We’re delighted to share the results of our recent ‘Winter’ themed competition! First, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our external judge, Enda O’Loughlin from Solas Camera Club, who went above and beyond to review our entries. Despite being significantly impacted by Storm Éowyn, with losses of electricity and broadband, Enda still managed to provide detailed feedback and scoring for every image in time for our Monday meeting – truly demonstrating remarkable dedication!

The competition showcased stunning winter scenes, from snow-covered landscapes to wildlife in frosty conditions. Congratulations to our winners:

Advanced Category:

🥇 John Flynn

🥈 Tom Healy

🥉 Paul Madigan

Non-Advanced Category:

🥇 Valentina Timis

🥈 Brian Power

🥉 John Brennan

The standard was exceptionally high, with several images receiving perfect or near-perfect scores. Particular highlights included some breath-taking captures of wildlife in snowy conditions and atmospheric landscape shots that truly captured the essence of winter.

Thank you to all our members who participated and helped make this another successful competition!

Last Monday Blackwater Photographic Society – Held our One Print Competition

A big thank you to all our members who participated and judged this great event!

We had 13 stunning entries showcasing a diverse range of talent—from super landscapes to captivating portraits and incredible wildlife shots.

Congratulations to our Top 3 winning photographers!

1st Place: Donna Owens

2nd Place: John

3rd Place: John Flynn

Well done to all participants for your amazing work!

#BlackwaterPhotographicSociety

🏆 Exciting News from today’s IPF Nature and Wildlife National Finals in Kilkenny 🏆

Our club members enjoyed great success at today’s competition in the Hoban Hotel, Kilkenny, where nearly 500 images were entered. Here are the results:

Fauna Section:
🥇 Kieran O’Mahony – Gold Medal
🥈 Paul Madigan – Silver Medal
🥉 Kieran O’Mahony – Bronze Medal
🎖️ Paul Madigan – Honorable Mention

Wildlife Section:
🥉 Paul Madigan – Bronze Medal

Well done to Jim Heffernan and John Flynn who also had images in the competition which scored well! 👏👏

Congratulations to Kieran, Paul, John and Jim on your success today and for representing our club in the competition. 📸✨

Blackwater Photographic Society will hold their 2024/2025 season launch at the Social Services Centre in Mallow on Monday, September 2 at 8pm.

The social services centre is located beside the swimming pool in Mallow and everyone is welcome.

There are many activities held for members during the year.

They include a six week introduction for new beginners (30 minutes before the club starts), educational evenings, photography skills, printing and presentation, Adobe Photoshop, field trips, guest speakers and exhibitions.

On the launch night for the new season, the club members will hold a presentation of their work. The club programme for the 2024/25 season will also be outlined.

New members are always welcome. U18s must be accompanied by an adult.

The Blackwater Photographic Society’s annual Photographer of the Year competition was held recently showcasing exceptional talent across multiple categories.
We were honoured to have three renowned photographers as our judges, Dave Harris, Charlie O’Donovan (Cork Camera Club) and Mark Gorman (Blarney Camera Club). Their extensive photographic experience greatly enriched the judging process, where they evaluated 30 prints and 230 digital photos. We are grateful to the judges for their dedication and work on the night; they did an excellent job.

Thanks to John Brennan, our competition secretary and all members who contributed, whether by organising, assisting with setup, or providing baked treats for the tea break.

The competition featured three classifications: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, with additional accolades for Best Monochrome Photographer and Best Overall Image.

There were only a few points separating the victors in this close race.

Paul Madigan and Kieran O’Mahony tied for the night’s Best Overall Image, each achieving the top score of 30 points, highlighting the challenging decision faced by our judges.

The results are in…

Novice

1st: Donna Owens

2nd: Eamonn O’Dea

3rd: John Brennan

Intermediate

1st: Wendy White

2nd: Brian Power

3rd: Jim Heffernan

Advanced

1st: Kieran O’Mahony

2nd: Valerie Walsh

3rd: Paul Madigan

Best Overall Image: Kieran O’Mahony

Best Monochrome Photographer: Wendy White

Blackwater Photographic Society members would like to thank Cork County Council for €1,000 received in the 2023 Council Amenity grant.
This money was a big help in purchasing a new club Laptop as well as some essential lighting equipment.

We kicked off the night with a big congratulations to two of our members, Paul Madigan and John Flynn, for their fantastic achievements at the IPF Nationals Photographer of the Year awards last Saturday. Paul received an honorable mention ️ in the macro section, while John picked up an honorable mention in the landscape category ️. Well done, guys! 

But the excitement didn’t stop there! We were thrilled to welcome two award winning special guests all the way from Solas Photography Club : Des Glynn and Sigita Playdon. A huge thank you to both Des and Sigita for making the journey down from Galway to join us. 

Sigita kicked off the evening by sharing invaluable insights into her photography process, accompanied by a breathtaking display of images ranging from dramatic landscapes  to action-packed macro shots and creative portraits of her family.

After a short break ☕,  Des took the floor and wowed us with his stunning nature portfolio, 力礪 featuring everything from charming garden birds to majestic ospreys diving in Scotland. He also showcased some of his landscape shots through his own printing techniques which were fantastic.

With such a fantastic turnout from our members, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended. It was truly a super night filled with inspiration.

The club recently held a print and digital competition with the theme Action/Movement.
Members judged the prints at the club meeting while an external judge Enda O Loughlin judged the digital.images.
We are immensely grateful to have had Enda O’Loughlin as our esteemed judge for the competition. Enda’s insightful comments have helped us see our work through the eyes of a seasoned professional while also providing us with constructive feedback to aid in our improvement.
The combined scores from the digital and print were added to give us our overall winner’s.

Advanced
1st John Flynn
2nd Paul Madigan
3rd Kieran O Mahony

Non Advanced
1st Pat Lyon’s and Sheila Horgan Griffin
2nd John Brennan
3rd Katie Angland