Rowland's Newsletter 2008
1/08/08
NEWTON ABBOT PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2008DEVON CAMERA CLUBS’ BATTLE
This popular annual event has been held since 1990. The competition was supported this year by 14 clubs and hosted by Exmouth Photo Group. Participants enter a panel of five prints and a set of five individually projected images. We had great hopes for our panel of “Hoodies” which was the most imaginative entry that I can remember, but, as is always the case, the standard seems to go up every year and we had to be satisfied with an award of “Highly Commended”. We thought it deserved better. However, Paula’s contribution to the panel was singled out as the second best individual print on display.
Nigel Cheffers- Heard has judged this competition on more than one occasion in the past and in thanking him the large audience gave him a standing ovation. As ever, his adjudication was sprinkled with touches of humour as he expanded on his philosophy as to what distinguishes an outstanding picture from the rest. Nigel intends to leave the judging circuit to concentrate on his own projects. Local clubs will miss him as a judge but I am sure he will reappear as a speaker in club programmes.
The results were as follows:-
Print Panels: 1. Crediton (“Primary Reflections”) 2.Exmouth (“Curvatures”) 3. Axminster (“Fruit of the Loom”).
Projected images : 1. Paignton 2. Exmouth 3. Plymouth.
EXHIBITION AT BROADHEMPSTON
Mike Higgins wrote to say that he was delighted by the support from the Club at the Broadhempston Festival in May. 20 of our members contributed some 80 prints which were rotated during the weekend so that all were seen. There were a few sales and some enquiries were made about the Club.
2008-2009 PROGRAMME
A copy of the forthcoming programme is enclosed with this Newsletter and even at first glance you will see it includes a very wide range of activities with speakers of national status. Our Chairman, Gordon Aspland, has asked me to point out that a great effort has been made to include more instructional opportunities. In addition to those in the programme, it is intended to run another digital camera course in October. This is available for members and non-members alike, so please mention this to your friends, particularly those who may have recently bought a new camera. Further details will appear on the website.
Anyone joining the Club can get help with almost any aspect of photography – you only have to let us know. Competitions play an important part in our activities and we are going to involve more members in the selection process for battles with local clubs and in regional and national events.
You will see that “Portraiture” is featured on 25th November and 24th February. There is no need to wait until then because we can all practise beforehand. Studio lights and backdrops are not really needed as cloudy but bright conditions out of doors will give good results. There are many approaches to portraiture and lots of hints and tips are to be found on the Internet but, just to mention one, try visiting www.ephotozine.com/article/tips-on-portrait-photography
This season we shall be asking all members to assist with the interval refreshments on a rota. This is preferable to expecting the same people to do it every week and it will not come round very often.
PUBLICITY
We are also going to do rather more to bring the Club to the notice of the wider public. Chris Brown is going to concentrate on this and he writes :
“I plan to do this through three channels as follows:
The club website
This is such a valuable portal to the club and we need to ensure we use it as best we can. The challenge for me as a novice has been first of all to learn the technological aspects of running a website while ensuring the site is up to date. Fortunately ClikPic is very straightforward and with the invaluable help of Sue Young and Alan Boothman progress has been made. One of the enjoyable aspects is replying to enquiries about the club which come to me via the website and result in some interesting correspondence and hopefully new members.
Club successes in competitions are well reported but I should like to hear from members who have news of their own which we could publicise as an incentive to others. This might include for example individual competition successes or details of work which has been published in new books or magazines.
Local press
It's surprising how many local publications there are when alongside the Mid Devon Advertiser, the Herald Express and the Western Morning News you include all the free publications. I plan to have at least details of forthcoming meetings in as many of these as I can plus whatever else I can get published about the club. If members are aware of any publications which I may have missed then they should please let me know.
Posters/handbills
As was touched upon at the AGM there is value to be had in advertising the club through this traditional medium. The present plan is to design and produce a leaflet which can be distributed via public libraries, parish/post office/shop noticeboards and the counters of shops and supermarkets, particularly those selling photographic goods. Once the leaflet has been created I shall be asking members to help in its distribution. Alan has promised to help with the design and once again if any other member has particular expertise, experience or just ideas in this field then please get in touch.”
FUTURE PROGRAMMES
Edrie Griffiths is taking over from Meg Pickup as Programme Secretary. Edrie writes :
“I shall find Meg a hard act to follow as she has planned some interesting programmes, and I am sure you would all like to join with me in thanking Meg for her hard work. I would like to enlist the help and co-operation of all members in the 2009/10 programme.
In view of the continued increase in travel expenses, I would like to have fewer speakers, but hopefully good ones. Therefore I have some suggestions for greater participation in club evenings, the following I would like to put forward for comments.
1. A “Match it” competition. Members endeavour to match the theme of a photograph put forward by other team members.
2. Members’ AV Presentations
3. 6 evenings a year, members bring in one photograph on a theme.
4. A panel evening where members bring in their panel on a theme of their choice.
5. An evening when we bring in our cameras /other equipment, and talk to each other on how we use it.
6. Practical evening, portraits candid table top, etc.
I feel that to try to save money we have a speaker every other month, filling in the rest with club evenings and member participation.”
Edrie would very much like to receive your comments and ideas.
CLUB COMPETITIONS
I don’t suppose we will ever satisfy everyone’s expectations with regard to competitions. After all, a judge’s decision has to be regarded as final but we may not necessarily agree with it. New members who do not wish to enter competitions straight away are most welcome to bring along some work on an informal basis to get advice from our more experienced members.
The committee has taken note of various suggestions that have been made recently and some new ideas have been incorporated for 2008-2009. Alan Boothman, our Competition Secretary has kindly sent me these details and they are enclosed with this Newsletter. Keep these notes handy and refer to them as required. Competition Secretaries have a lot of administrative work to do and it is important that members comply with requests to keep things running smoothly.
W.C.P.F.MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION 2008
Entries from members of the various clubs in the region go before a selection panel, so only a limited number are accepted for this exhibition. Our club has done exceptionally well this year with acceptances in all four categories. Mike Crowe, Paula Graham, Bob Pearson and Linda Pearson had nearly a dozen acceptances between them with their mono and colour prints. Those same members along with Geoff Ashworth and Alan Boothman gained 9 acceptances between them in the Projected Images (Digital) category. Geoff Ashworth and Paula Graham were awarded Selectors’ Ribbons. Bob Pearson also gained a Silver Medal and a “Highly Commended” in the Natural History section. Warmest congratulations to all.
MOUSE CLICKS
www.davrodigital.co.uk relates to ProShow Gold and Photodex Producer where there are tutorials and videos that may be viewed. Some of these are quite tastefully done and avoid the worst excesses of these audio-visual programmes. When a video begins, right-click on it and select “full screen”.
A book entitled “The Official Photodex Guide to ProShow” by James Karney has recently been published. It only goes to prove what a powerful programme ProShow Gold is. I realise I have only scratched the surface of this software. An instructional course is included with relevant material on a CD-ROM.
DIGITAL PHOTO magazine has been given a “new look” – actually not so very different from the “old look” – but starting with the August issue there are many new articles directed at beginners in digital imaging. A separate supplement is devoted to using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Elements 6. For those relatively new to the hobby the magazine is a mine of information and, as before, it comes with a CD-ROM of tutorial videos.
If you want still more. then visit www.photoanswers.co.uk . This is the website for Practical Photography and Digital Photo magazines and it contains a mass of video tutorials, galleries, camera reviews and topics of interest to photographers. There is also a Photoshop Quiz – it is quite safe as you need not tell anyone how you scored.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP is represented on dozens of websites but Peter Funnell recommends the following for interesting items, tutorials and links to other sites :-
www.photoshopuser.com www.planetphotoshop.com www.ephotozine.com has already been mentioned on page 1.
When I start compiling this Newsletter – usually in early June – I have the heading and a blank screen in front of me for weeks. I begin to wonder if a publication will be viable. But thanks to a number of contributors this edition has finished up as the largest ever. I am very grateful to all concerned and I hope all our members both new and old find it of interest.
Good wishes from your Chairman and Committee for another enjoyable season.
Newsletter compiled by Rowland White.