A visit to WWR site at Welney

 Twelve us met at Welney WWT site to explore the birdlife. However despite the glorious sunny day the birds were somewhat sparse and considerably too far away to get many decent shots. May be they were put off by the wind.

None the less some members managed a few bird images whilst others were more focussed on the smaller wildlife creatures to be seen, mainly amongst the stinging nettles.

A few images are shown below.

Pied Wagtail by Rachael Trivett

Mute swan by Jan Murphy

Red Shank by Mary Laing

Tree Sparrows by Maureen Cambell

Mute vs Whooper by Jack Mitchell

Red Kite by Robin Orrow

Whooper Swan by Rachael Trivett

Tree Sparrow by Rachael Trivett

Shoveller by Robin Orrow

Tree Sparrow by Maureen Cambell

Grey Herron by Mary Laing

Warbler by Jack Mitchell

                                                 

Whooper Swan by John Laing

Bug by Lyn Ibbitson-Elks

Hoverfly by Francesca Shearcroft

Spider by Lyn Ibbitson-Elks

Spider by Lyn Ibbitson-Elks

Bibio Marci Fly by Jan Murphy

Hover fly by Jan Murphy

Snail by Pam Rutty

Spider by Francesca Shearcroft

Tuesday 9th April – "Omdenken", a talk by Ady Kerry

We were unsure what sort of evening we were in for but we all very much enjoyed Ady Kerry's presentation, Omdenken. Ady used a wide variety of images to make us think about why we took an image and what it actually said. The talk was very interactive and members really enjoyed  the opportunity to  share their opinions.

Ady, a former RAF photographer, showed images from his past experience on why and how they were set up and all the thought processes that had gone into making them, emphasising that the photographer had to bear in mind the wishes of the client even if this meant staging an image that perhaps was not the ideal from a photographic viewpoint. 

To see some of Ady's images please check out his website: https://www.adykerry.com but bear in mind that this is only part of the story as you can not discuss the images in the way we were able to during his presentation.

A great evening enjoyed by all.

Tuesday 2nd April – Macro Photography: a talk by Justin Garner

A benefit of Zoom meetings is that we can access speakers from much further afield, so we were delighted to welcome Justin Garner, from Manchester, to give us an insight into how he takes macro images. The first half he shared many of his images and after the break delved into the techniques of Focus Stacking.

His presentation was most inspirational due to his passion and enthusiasm for the subject. No techno babble but techniques explained in such a way that all could understand them. I am sure many members have revived their passion for such a genre.

Tuesday 26th March – Print competition, Nature. Judge Wayne Davey

 A warm welcome was extended to Wayne Davey, BPE*5, DPAGB, AWPF, who was more than qualified to judge out Nature competition. Wayne's comments were helpful and constructive giving compositional and editing suggestions. He commented that many of the images in the Advanced group showed interactions between "creatures" which made them much more interesting.

He admitted he found it difficult to score many of them, however, the top scoring images are shown below.

Icelandic Fox in the dawn glow by Robin Orrow 20

Pelican dispute by Carol Martin 20

Black Winged Stilt by Pam Rutty 20

Mandarin Duck by Ann Barber 20

Alpha Dominance by Robin Orrow 19

Female Wheatear standing still by Jack Mitchell 19

Tuesday 5th March 2024 – Presentation by Richard O'Brien, titled "Architecture – Exposure to Edit"

On Tuesday 5th March we were teated to a very comprehensive Zoom presentation by Richard O'Brien, entitled, Architecture - Exposure to Edit.

In the first half, Richard showed us the surprisingly small amount of kit he uses for his work. He explained the great ingenuity and tricks he employs in order to get his shots of these amazing public buildings, devoid of any people. He concentrates on getting that unusual and somewhat unexpected angle, rather than the usual one that everyone else will use.

In the second half Richard demonstrated his editing process using Lightroom and occasionally Photoshop, with some nifty shortcuts and unique methods thrown in.

All in all a very interesting, intuitive and refreshingly different evening.

Tuesday 27th February - Digital Competition Round 2, 'Landscapes'

This year we decided to issue new guidelines to tighten up what a Landscape should be which included saying that they should be of our outside physical environment. We had a total of 56 digital images for our judge Nick Akers to look at. Nick is well known and respected at our club and did not disappoint giving well thought out critique for each image for the authors to consider. Nick held back a number of images in each class before awarding his scores out of 20.

Those scoring 18, 19 or 20 can be seen below.

In Members Class:

A WINTER SCENE by Ann Barber - 20

SNETTISHAM BEACH by Georgie McCall -19

THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING by John Laing -18

In Intermediate Class:

FOSSILISED TREES by Andrew Stringer -20

LITTLE OUSE by Andrew Stringer -20

TREE AT BINTREE WATERMILL BY Vanessa Robertson -19

BINTREE WATER MILL BY Vanessa Robertson -19

WAST WATER by Geoff Lingwood - 19

DYRHAM ESTATE GARDENS by Emma Moore - 18

WINTER SUNSHINE AT HUNSTANTON by Sue Baldwin - 18.

MISTY MORNING IN CROMER by Pam Rutty - 18

RING OF STONES by Geoff Lingwood - 18

KARESUANDO by Sue Baldwin - 18

In Advanced Class:

THE COLOURS OF THE WASH by Graham Frost - 20

THE STRID, WHARFEDALE by Graham Frost -20

ST AGNES BAY, CORNWALL by Roy Scrivener - 19

ROCKY MOUNTAIN MORNING by Dawn Osborn - 19

GROYNES by Sandie Jardine - 18

TRANQUILITY ON LAKE KERKINI by Carol Martin - 18

ALPINE GLACIER by Roy Scrivener - 18

STANDING PROUD by Carol Martin - 18

Tuesday 13th February - Members' critique evening

The main aim of this evening's meeting was to improve our own critiquing skills and look for the strengths and weaknesses when viewing our own images.  After a quick refresher from a recent presentation it was time to put into practice the tips that we had learned.  We split into small groups, who constructively looked for factors such as impact, atmosphere, composition, technique and presentation whilst keeping the feedback constructive and positive when looking at a variety of members’ images.  The session was both useful and enjoyable.  Thank you to all the members who submitted images for close scrutiny by their fellow club members.

SCENIC

BUG

MASTERCHEF

DUCK POND