Jay delightfully demonstrated the ideal combination of constructive critical judging and entertaining repartee. She started by setting out her own approach - that she looks mostly for atmosphere and mood and the 'geometry of composition'. She loves monochrome and is concerned that backgrounds complement and support the main subject, with timing being crucial.
She gave us good advice about presenting images: small prints need larger mounts to give them more impact and there is 'a size at which an image is comfortable'. Although not overly concerned with sharpness, Jay was quick to say if an image 'needed more welly!' and that it must 'sing out' with luminosity. It was a pleasure to have a judge who gave her commentary in such lyrical, descriptive language and this certainly added to the enjoyment of the evening.