Ballito Photo Club members put their best work on show at their July meeting, which doubled as the club’s annual “Oscars” celebration.

Held at Simbithi Country Club, the event recognised the club’s overall winners in each category from the previous year, with each receiving a framed print of their winning photograph. The evening also featured the club’s monthly competition, attracting 101 entries.

Judging was handled by experienced Pietermaritzburg photographer Des van Tonder, KZN regional director of the Photographic Society of South Africa.

Alan Nixon claimed the Monochrome category with Engineers. Van Tonder praised the photograph’s sharpness, tonal range and the matching pose of its subjects, which created a strong sense of cohesion.

Shannon Clark won the Nature (no birds) category with Yellow Mongoose Pair, capturing the usually fast-moving animals in impressive detail.

In the Nature (birds only) category, John Louw’s Yellow Billed Ducks took top honours, earning praise for its colour, light, detail and distraction-free background.

Avril Eshmade won the Negative Space and Minimalism category with Kingfisher with Dinner, which Van Tonder described as beautifully detailed and well suited to the competition brief.

Closer to home, Nicola Paul captured the beauty of the North Coast with Sunrise at Christmas Bay, winning the Scapes category. The photograph combined golden morning light with a slower shutter speed to capture the movement of the water.

Jacqueline Nel’s creative Treetops was named the Set Subject winner for the theme ‘Trees and Leaves’. Van Tonder described it as a refreshing, standout photograph, highlighting its composition, textures and colours.

Rung Button completed the list of category winners, taking Visual Art honours with Exotic Dancer. The multiple-exposure image was praised for careful editing that created a distinctive, sketch-like quality.

The Ballito Photo Club brings together local photographers to develop their skills, share their work and receive constructive feedback from experienced judges.

For more information about the club, contact Rung Button on 083 289 6806.