Sunday 13 July 2025 Summer Social

                              What a Wonderful fun Summer Social!

We had fish and chips from Deniz Plaice in Watton. the weather was perfect for sitting outside at Wells Cole Community Centre to eat and chat. After we had finished we played Molkky and a lot of people had a game. It was very popular.

At The end of the afternoon 4 ladies played a round of croquet before we went home.

Thank you everyone who came along.

Emma

Social Events Coordinator

Here are some images from the event:

Serious thinking

The croquet ladies

Smile please

The trio

All eyes to the right

Having a try at molkky

Who will be champion

Having a good laugh

Getting into the swing

Enjoying the fish and chips

The smilers

Serious eating taking place

Enjoying each others company 

Taking advantage of the sunshine 

                                                              Finishing off the last mouthful

Tuesday 8 July AGM, Presentation and Awards Ceremony

 

On Tuesday evening we held our annual AGM. All relevant documents were circulated in advance, giving members time to read and prepare questions.  The Chair asked members if they had any questions for the various committee members regarding their reports.  Members agreed that they were satisfied with the various reports. At that point the Chair, Francesca Shearcroft, resigned from her post. She had taken on the responsibility of Chair once again, at a difficult time for the club, and kept it together. A huge thank you must be said for all her hard work and dedication to the club.  Pam Rutty was elected as the new Chair and was welcomed by all.

With the official part of the meeting over it was time to present members with their Certificates and Medals. There was a slide show with all the high scoring images of the year.  Then it was time for members to enjoy tea/coffee with home made cakes and socialising.

Congratulations to all those who were awarded cups and medals. Also thank you to all those who attended the meeting and to every member for keeping the club going.

 

Tuesday 2 July 20 Nature Photography Projects Throughout The Yeat

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Kevin Sawford to talk about his nature projects. His first image of the evening was a selection of various size lenses to stress that size does not alway matter, instead make the most of what you have. The most important thing is the person behind the camera.

A project can be about what is immediately available to you. Starting in the home, something as simple as a house plant - photographing the leaf and showing the finer details, trying out various F stops for different depths of field, taking the shot from different angles or even adding droplets of water.

When in the outside environment, think about what kind of background you want for your image. Try early morning or late evening for different lighting.  

He gave a few tips on creativity such as photographing your subject with the sun in front or behind. Perhaps try high key image by over exposing the subject, or slow and short shutter speeds.  He suggested making the most of the weather; for example, by photographing fury animals in the rain to get an action shot when they shake their fur.

Kevin is very passionate about nature and you could hear the emotion in his voice.  I would strongly suggest a visit to his website for more inspiration.

www.kevinsawford.com

Tuesday 24 June Competition Image of the year. Theme Open

 On Tuesday evening we had the final competition of the 24/25 season. Image of the Year, both print and digital. The scoring for the evening is from fifteen to twenty and there can only be one winner.

Nick Akers was our judge for the competition. The standard from both members and the advance group was very high, making Nick's task very difficult. He started off with the prints and immediately held the first one back. In total he held back nine print images. In the digital section he held back eleven images.

Nick took time to comment on every image, highlighting the positives and making suggestions the photographer might like to try on the image at a later date. But of course respecting that the final decision belongs to the photographer.

A big thank you to all those who participated and congratulations to the winners and runners up.

Here are the top scoring images in both print and digital.

Prints:

                                              1st Place Ghostly Gulls by Jack Mitchell

                                      2nd Place Quantock Drove Road by Graham Jackson 

                                              3rd Place Splashing Through by Carol Martin

Highly Commended Images:

                                               Fighting The Rapids by Dawn Osborn

                               Lower Manhattan InThe Blue Hour by Jan Murphy

                                                    On Aldeburgh Beach by Pam Rutty

                                                  Otter In The Rain by Diana Graham

Commended Images:

                                                      Derelict Croft by Roy Scrivener

                                                  Ancient  And Modern by Pat Weir

Top Scoring Digital Images:

                                                     1st Place Mohican Man by Jan Murphy

                                         2nd Place Banded Demoiselle by Carol Martin

                                               3rd Place Now And Then by Roy Scrivener

Highly Commended Images:

                                                                       3 In A Row by Pat Weir

                                        Juvenile Peregrine Falcon by Rachael Trivett

                                                          Tulip Stairs by Tom Thurston

                                                Stomping Little Owl by Sandie Jardine

Commended Images:

                                                             Ballerina Red by Liz Blake

                                           Canoeing On Emerald Lake by Emma Moore

                                                        Skilled Hands by Sue Baldwin

                                              Marsh Harrier Fly Past by Dawn Osborn    

Tuesday 10 June Beside the Seaside by Ann Miles

On Tuesday evening we welcomed Ann to give her talk about the seaside. She took us on a trip down memory lane, not with buckets and spades but with her camera, lens and tripod.

She started off the talk with images of a variety of piers in different conditions; some in perfect condition, some ablaze and others falling apart. There were images of beach huts, surfers, birds, flowers, mammals, starfish, people and even a few ICM. Quite a wide variety.

Ann is very creative with her images. She has been using Photoshop for decades to create composites, even before the use of layers was added to the programme.  Ann usually works on themes or panels as this gives her the opportunity to be more creative. 

She shared a lot of her tips and the techniques that she uses. Such as smearing vaseline on glass filters to get a blurry effect. Using a big stopper to increase the exposure time. In camera multiple exposure, then blending them together and where possible using texture, colour and slow shutter speed.  She mentioned the importance of choosing the right view point and  a composition before pressing the shutter button. Arriving at your destination at the right time of day to make the most of the light available and where possible avoiding the midday sun. Ann also mentioned that sometimes the photographer needs a bit of luck.

I am sure that members will look at the seaside with fresh eyes when they next visit.

Tuesday 3 June Playing with water

On Tuesday we had a practical session with lots of different activities; ranging from macro, flower photography and the use of water to create abstract patterns.

A big thank you must go to those members who ran the various workshops for all their hard work. Not just on the night but for the all preparation before the event. Also thank you to those members who turned up and participated.  With out everyones input the evening would not have been so successful.

For some members it was a refresher and whilst for others it was a chance to try something new.  A good time was had by all and I'm sure everyone learnt something new.

Here are some images from the workshop.  Because there were so many images available to me, I have included only two per member.

                                                       A Splash Of Blue  by Sue Baldwin

                                                  Looking through The glass   by Sue Baldwin

Bubblesby Francesca Shearcroft

                                                Back, White And Red by Francesca Shearcroft

Water Droplets On Flower  by Vanessa Robertson

Smarties In Bubble by Vanessa Robertson

                         

Colourful Glasses  by Tom Thurston

Black And White Shells by Tom Thurston

Red And Black by Pam Rutty

The Colour Purple by Pam Rutty

The Black And The Red by Graham Jackson

                                                BreedingCurves by Graham Jackson

Tuesday 27 May Third round of print competition theme Mono

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Andy Wilson to judge our mono print competition. Andy said that he would be looking to see if the images had impact. A story line.  He also talked about taking photos at an angle to give more depth to the image, and choosing the right quality paper especially for mono prints.

There was a wide range of genres. Such as action sport, architecture, wildlife and portraits. Giving him quite a variety to look at. He held back several images in the advance group.

Images are scored out of 20. Here are the top scoring images in the members group.

The Vase In The Window by Emma Moore 20/20

Rolling Stock by Pat Weir 19/20

                                                      Cley Windmill BY Pat Weir 18/20

                                               The Aldeburgh by Graham Jackson 18/20

Here are the top scoring images from the advance group:

Fighting The Rapids by Dawn Osborn 20/20

                                                Rushes In Winter by Dawn Osborn 20/20

                                                   Splashing Through by Carol Martin 20/20

Flowers For The Missus by Jack Mitchell 19/20

Flying Tackle by Carol Martin 19/20

                                              Otter In The Rain by Diana Graham 18/20

                                                Young Balinese by Jan Murphy 18/20