Tuesday 6 December 2016

Tuesday 6th December – Focus on Flash & Zimanga Slideshow

There were fewer than usual entries for the Focus on this time, only 17. None the less they were very varied in subject, including floral, portraits and still life. The top four winning images are shown below.

After coffee we were treated to a slide show from the Safari Adventure that some club members had attended in October. The birds were amazingly colourful and ranged from small bulbuls to very large Fish Eagles. As for animals, there were some spectacular images taken in daylight, some at sunset and some taken at a watering hole at night. Large elephants, small wild dogs, rhinos and lions and unusually some giraffes standing very close to a cheetah. Some have already been entered in club competitions whilst others I feel sure will be entered very soon.  Thanks to Di Jackson and Andy for putting the slide show together and thanks to Kim, Roy, Rachael and Robin for sending in some images.

The favourite four flash images judged by club members at the meeting were:


1st  TURBINE AT NIGHT by Jack Mitchell

2nd  PORSCHE THE RAGDOLL by Jack Mitchell

3rd  LADY SLIPPER ORCHID by Di Jackson

4th RED BUDS by Marnie Ball


Friday 25 November 2016

Tuesday 22nd November: Print Competition, Open

We welcomed Frank Blyth as our judge for the first print competition of the season. The bar was set very high with lots of great images, 68 in total, and as the subject was "Open" the range of images varied considerably, including abstract, landscape and wildlife, not to mention urban and transport. Thanks to all members who participated and thanks to Frank who said he had had an enjoyable if difficult task judging the images. The high scoring images are shown below.


Buffalo at Water Hole by Di Jackson 20/20

Castle Acre Church by Andrew Barnes 20/20



Elephant having a Dust Bath by Rachael Trivett 20/20

From the Gloom by Paula Cooper 20/20

Glowing Sunflower by Vanessa Robertson 20/20

Monitor Lizard by Roy Scrivener 20/20

Swan by Nick Healy 20/20

The Colours of Southwold by Jan Murphy 20/20

Zebra Drinking at Dusk by Di Jackson 20/20


Crashing Waves by Paula Cooper 19/20

Grey Heron with Stickleback by Jack Mitchell 19/20

Tawny Eagle on Carcass by Kim Scrivener 19/20

The Pier after Rain by Jack Mitchell 19/20




Sunday 20 November 2016

Thursday 17th November - Cambridge University Botanic Garden

In spite of the cold,wet, blustery weather conditions we were able to find plenty of fantastic photographic opportunities in the many glasshouses displaying an amazing variety of plants from around the world.

For those more hardy photographers who ventured outside there were still some autumn colours to be found.

See below for some of our images from the garden and the glasshouses:-


Autumn Colours by Diana Graham

Across the Rockery by Suzi Senior

Monkey Cup by Heather Ryder

Blue Flower by Reg Barber

Hydranga Leaves by Diana Graham

View across the Rockery by Ann Barber

Patterns by Francesca Shearcroft

Flower Detail by John Kerr

Fungi by Andy Caws

On Golden Pond by Heather Ryder

In the Glasshouse by Suzi Senior

Stem Detail by Francesca Shearcroft

Japanese Anemone by Di Jackson

Autumn Reflections by Andy Caws

Strelitzia by Christine Alcock

Leaf Detail by John Kerr

Lady Slipper Orchid Flower by Di Jackson



Wednesday 9 November 2016

Tuesday 8th November – Speedlight tutorial and workshop

The use of flash seems to be something which perplexes many photographers and something many shy away from.
Well after Robin Orrow's instructional tutorial there will be many members who will now have much better grasp of how to use their flashguns. Whilst demonstrating various techniques Robin had his camera tethered to the projector so we could all clearly see on the big screen, the effects of changing various settings. A very useful teaching aid. Robin answered all our questions in a helpful and easy to understand manner. 
We grappled with fill light, spill flash, high speed sync, rear curtain sync.....all now more familiar terms. Once we had a chance to use our own flash guns to take pictures of a variety of subjects, most of us felt a lot more confident. 
All we need to do now is practise, practise and practise.

A couple of Robin's demo images are shown below. 
Manual flash

Rear curtain sync

Wednesday 2 November 2016

Tuesday 1st November – “20 Nature Photography Projects Throughout the Year”.

We welcomed Kevin Sawford to our club on this evening, a Suffolk based photographer who takes images for the RSPB, runs workshops for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and has been Highly Commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards.
Kevin's projects started at our home and led us through to the garden, then more locally and finally ending up in India. East Anglia venues included, Holkham Deer Park, Strumpshaw Fen, Banham Zoo, Lackford lakes and Carlton Colville. Kevin showed us a wide range of images and impressed the need to practise, practise and practise, with a suitable amount of patience and persistence to get the shot. Knowing the behaviour of the animals and your location is critical.
Kevin certainal provided us with lots of ideas and the inspiration to go out and capture the living world of flora and fauna close to home as well as further afield.
To view his galleries please go to: http://www.kevinsawford.com


Friday 28 October 2016

Tuesday 25th October Digital Competition

We welcomed Vic Hainsworth as the judge for our first competition of the year. A busy evening as we had 80 images to be judged ranging from abstract to wildlife, from architecture to flowers. Vic's comments were really helpful and he repeatedly suggested that a crop would improve an image as would a key line, no more than 3-5 px and in grey. Thank you Vic for coming to us from Colchester.

The images scoring 20 & 19 are shown below.



African Wild Dogs by Rachael Trivett 20/20

An Oasis of Calm by Liz Blake 20/20

Concentration by Daphne Lingwood 20/20

European Mantis by Andy Lowe by 20/20

Going for the Line by Keith Mountford 20/20

Mud Crawl by Andy Caws 20/20

 Wild Dogs Confront Young Rhino by Di Jackson 20/20

Otter on the Run by Jack Mitchell 20/20

Polecat by Diana Graham 20/20

Red Deer Bellowing by Caroline Tillett 20/20

Red Deer Stag Roaring by Tom Thurston 20/20

Red Squirrel by Marnie Ball 20/20

Snow Leopard by Jim McConnell 20/20

Terminator by Chris Kot 20/20

Bees Knees by Martyn Anderson 20/20

Waves of Light by Paula Cooper 20/20

Alert by Christine Alcock 19/20

Banded Damselfly by Geoff Lingwood 19/20

Diamonds on the Sea by Pam Rutty 19/20

It Must be Time for Dinner by John Kerr 19/20

Lunch with the New Family by John Kerr 19/20

Peach Perfection by Christine Alcock 19/20

Sideways by Keith Mountford 19/20

Stairway to heaven by Martyn Anderson 19/20

The Woodland Floor by Francesca Shearcroft 19/20

Tin Cowboy by Suzi Senior 19/20

White Lipped Snail by Marnie Ball 19/20