Tuesday 22 April Third Digital Competition. Theme People

 On Tuesday evening we held our third digital competition. The theme was People and with such a wide open topic it gave members the opportunity to be very creative. The judge for the evening was Andy Swain. His task was not made easy, especially in the advance members group. He held back six images in the members group and twelve in the advance group.

He gave some very helpful tips. Such as: the title should reflect the image helping to tell the story, edge patrol, checking the parameter of the frame before pressing the button, cropping the image start from the inside and work outwards to help find the final image. I am sure some members will be trying some of this.

Here are the top scoring images:

Members Group:

THE BARBER by Sue Baldwin 20/20

A GOOD GOSSIP by Sue Baldwin 19/20

                                                        CONCENTRATION by Pat Weir 19/20

                                     BOY WITH A LARGE FROZEN DRINK by Ann Barber 18/20

   

DEEP IN THOUGHT by Ann Barber 18/20

Advance group:

TWO MORE THOUSAND GUINEAS ANYONE by Carol Martin 20/20

WORKING S A TEAM by Dawn Osborn 20/20

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR by Jack Mitchell 20/20

                                                               BUSKING by Pam Rutty 20/20

MOHICAN MAN by Jan Murphy 20/20

                                                                         LIZZIE by Jan Murphy 20/20

                                           EXTINCTION REBELLION by Carol Martin 20/20

                                                 THE DUTY WARDEN by Dawn Osborn 19/20

THROUGH THE GENERATIONS by William Conran 18/20

THE MAID by Geoff Lingwood 18/20

GONDILIER by Diana Graham 18/20

COLIN by Francesca Shearcroft 18/20

Tuesday 8 April Theory and Processing Monochrome Images

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Ian Howard to give a talk on monochrome/black and white. The title of his talk was The Truth is Black and White.

Ian's talk was very interested and inspiring.  He suggested that the camera should be set to black and white/mono so that the photographer can see what the image would look like before processing. Taking raw images is essential so that all the details are available when processing the image. He also stressed that the photographer should develop their own style and take images that they like.

He gave tips about what to look for when considering black and white images such as, tonal range, strong shapes and patterns.  Patience is also important - waiting for the right moment or that person stepping into the frame to make the composition complete.

He explained his processing method, especially using the gradient tool and even processing an image twice to get the right tone. After the session several members hinted that they might be trying his method out on images they had rejected.

Saturday 5 April Viking Festival Sheringham

 On Saturday the 5th April Sheringham came alive with the festival of the viking. A unique festival bringing together a variety of activities about the life of the Vikings. From battles to boat burning. Providing photographic opportunities. A group of members attended the event.

Here are some images:

THE BATTLE by John Kerr

GETTING THE BOAT READY by John Kerr

SETTING THE BOAT ALIGHT by John Kerr

THE BURNING by John Kerr

CHARGE by Sue Baldwin

FEEL THE HEAT by Sue Baldwin

NEARLY DONE by Sue Baldwin

THE BURNING RITUAL by Sue Baldwin

TALK OF THE BATTLE by Jack Mitchell

TALK OF THE BATTLE by Jack Mitchell

ON GUARD by Jack Mitchell

Tuesday 1 April Focus On: Theme Panorama

Focus On: Panorama.  Thank you to all those members who submitted images for the event. Focus On is an opportunity for members to critique each others images in a friendly atmosphere. Just one rule applies. Members cannot obviously judge their own image.

The images are shown several times on the screen and members select their top five images scoring 1st to 5th.

During the evening there was time for a short talk on external competitions by Dawn Osborn, a member of the club. Dawn holds the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society plus many other awards. Several member showed interest in gaining awards and Dawn has volunteered to help them.

Top five images:

BEECH WOODS by Jan Murphy 1st

LIVERPOOL DOCKS by Jan Murphy 1st

I'VE GOT YOUR BACK by William Conran 3rd

WRECKS IN PEACE by William Conran  3rd

NORWICH MARKET by Jack Mitchell 5th

Tuesday 25 March Print Competition Theme Scapes

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Wayne Davey to judge the second round of our print competition.  Wayne's main genre is scapes so he was well placed to judge the images.

The standard from both the members and advance group was vey high thus giving Wayne a challenge.

Here are the top scoring images from both groups.

                                        Members Group:

ANCIENT AND MADERN by Pat Weir 20/20

QUANTOR DROVE ROAS by Graham Jackson 20/20

CROMER REFLECTIONS by Sue Baldwin 19/20

BRUNDALL ON A STILL WINTER MORNING by Paul Hayes-Griffin 19/20

PACKHORSE BRIDGE by Daphne Lingwood 18/20

                                                     WASDALE by Daphne Lingwood 18/20

                                         Advance Members Group: 

HIGH TIDE AT THORNHAM by Francesca Shearcroft 20/20

CALM by Carol Martin 20/20

PEACE AND QUIET by Carol Martin 19/20

                              LENTICULAR CLOUDS OVER MT RUNDLE by Dawn Osborn 19/20

                                                 LOCH ARD GORGE by Jan Murphy 18/20

Tuesday 11March David Jenner Night and Day Panoramas

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed David Jenner to give a talk about his night and day panoramic images.

David bought his first camera in 2009 as suggested by his friend.  It was in 2010 that he discovered his style of photography.  Having spent the whole day at Canary Wharf he experienced the effects of the  changing light throughout the day and this set him onto the path of night and day panoramas.

Southwold in Suffolk was his next destination. He took around 750 images throughout the day.   The  whole process can take up to ninety hours which includes, travelling, sorting out the images and editing.

David showed us some amazing images which took us on a tour around the UK, Venice and Sydney Harbour.

To say that David is a little competitive is an understatement.  He has entered the Country File calendar competition at least five times without success.  However he has won several major competitions,  and also been awarded runner up and highly recommended several times.

It was a very interest evening but David's images are unique and requires time and patience to achieve.

Tuesday 4 March Practical demonstration - Lightroom and Photoshop

On Tuesday evening we welcomed Ian Wilson to a live demonstration on editing in Lightroom and Photoshop using images that club members had submitted.

Ian suggested that if images are processed against a white background this lets you know if you have true white and also shows up the different tones in the image.

Choosing your starting point:

    Before pressing the button on the camera allow extra space around the edge. This will            ensure that when you crop that you have the image that you saw in camera.

Some Editing things to remember:

    Look at the histogram

    Crop your image before doing anything else. This helps you to focus and also speeds up the     process.

    If you slide a button to the right, the next button should be in the opposite direction.

    Exposure brings out the mid-tones.

    Edit areas selectively using mask. This helps you to focus more closely.

    It's important to get the exposure right before altering the white balance.

    When sharpening enlarge your image to 100% as this helps to focus on the smaller details.

Ian also demonstrated the uses of filters, smart object, using Photoshop Raw Editing non destructively and also some of the AI features. The session was just a snapshot of what is possible in both Lightroom and Photoshop.

Many of the tasks he performed can be done in other editing software.