2026 - Phil Atkinson Versatility Trophy

Judged by Alison Millard, 19-Mar-2026

Additional commentary/scoring input from Stuart Peaker & Mike Newman

Thanks to everyone who entered into this round. Please see the results here

Congratulations to Simon Raynor, the winner of this year’s competition! Below is Simon’s panel of 6 images

Round 1 - Shallow Depth of Field

A photograph which incorporates a range of focal lengths, but only one of them will be in focus. It could be a landscape with just the foreground or mid ground in focus.  It could be a person picked out in a crowd. Some blurred areas in the image are required.

Round 2 - Long Exposure

Whether it is exposed for 1/10th of a second or 30 plus seconds, this photo needs to show some passage of time. It could be of misty smooth waterfalls, star trails, traffic headlight trails, a lightning strike or stretched out clouds. As long as we can see that some time has passed.

Round 3 - Animals or Plants

All living things are acceptable. Including wild or zoo animals and pets, wild vegetation or cultivated plants. It could be a small weed somehow surviving growing out of a crack in the pavement, or a beautiful garden rose. It doesn’t matter if it was taken on a wild African safari or just a mini safari in your back garden. It it’s living it counts.

Round 4 - Dappled Light

Somewhere that the light has found a way between objects leaving patches or shapes of light on the subject. Maybe a cool woodland walk where the sun has filtered through the leaves and produced patches of light.

Round 5 - Tabletop Photography

This is a pretty wide subject but needs to be something that was created using a small setup. It could be a photo taken at a Club Practical Session or on your own table at home.  You can use either natural light or introduced lighting. It could be still life, a plate food, a macro shot of a flower or insect.  It could be any of the following: light painting, the interesting use of oil on water, water splash or mini action figures posed in a set, or using colourful reflective surfaces next to lightbulbs, crystal balls, wine glasses, shiny cutlery … the possibilities are endless.

Round 6 - A Different View

Something that has been taken from an unusual angle or different viewpoint. Possibly looking from a high or low viewpoint, or even looking through something else.

Round 7 - MonoChrome

This does not just mean Black and White. It can be sepia or different shades of the same colour.

Round 8 - Serendipity

A Happy Accident! One of those photos you took by mistake or it wasn’t quite what you wanted … but you liked it anyway. It could be an ICM or something photobombed. It could be something you didn’t realise you had taken until you saw it on your computer screen. Just something unexpected but you saw it’s potential.