Thursday 28th April - Pensthorpe Wildlife & Gardens

17 of us made it to Pensthorpe on a beautiful Spring morning.  We split up with some starting out at the wader scrape and hides whilst others started in the wader aviary or the conservation area with the Cranes, Flamingos, Ibis and Red Squirrels.  After lunch in the cafe most of us ventured to the areas we hadn't visited in the morning.

Pensthorpe provides an excellent venue for practising your photographic techniques whether you're a novice or more experienced nature photographer - the Bearded Tits proved almost as difficult to photograph in the aviary as they do in the wild!

Some of our images can be seen below:

Bearded Tit by Jack Mitchell

Devoted Dad by Sue Baldwin

Smew by Graham Jackson

Mallard Drake by Caroline Tillett

Greylag Gosling Foraging by Tom Thurston

Jackdaw by Tim Leonard

Red Squirrel by Di Jackson

Crane by Francesca Shearcroft

Moorhen with Chick by Caroline Tillett

Face On by Jack Mitchell

Taking a Break by Tom Thurston

Avocets by Tim Leonard

Long-tailed Tit by Di Jackson

Feeding Time by Francesca Shearcroft

Ruff Displaying by Di Jackson

Skunk Cabbage by Francesca Shearcroft

Coot Chick by Graham Jackson

Egyptian Goslings by Tom Thurston

Mandarin Duck by Tim Leonard

Tough Love by Graham Jackson

Turning the Eggs by Sue Baldwin

Little Egret by Jack Mitchell

Tuesday 26 April - Round 3 Print competition - Close Up and Macro

We had 60 prints for tonight's judge, David Steel, DPAGB, to study, assess and score.  David's concise and constructive comments were much appreciated (perhaps more so than his jokes!).  He only awarded 3 top scores of 20 - well done Pam, Heather and Elaine for creating the best prints of the night.

Thanks to everyone who entered a print, it made an excellent evening.  The images which David held back and then scored 18 or more can be seen below.

ON TAP by Pam Rutty (20/20)

TREE MOSS FOREST by Heather Ryder (20/20)

BOOKWORM by Elaine Stubbings (20/20)

EAGLE OWL by Suzi Senior (19/20)

AN UPHILL CLIMB by Liz Blake (19/20)

FOUR SPOTTED CHASER DRAGONFLY by Robin Orrow (19/20)

POLLEN COVERED BEE by Caroline Tillett (19/20)

SUNFLOWER by Diana Graham (19/20)

THAWING MOSS by Graham Jackson (18/20)

NESTING by Di Daniels (18/20)

RAINDROPS HAVE FALLEN by Francesca Shearcroft (18/20) 

SIX SPOT BURNET MOTH by Di Jackson (18/20)

Tuesday 19 April - Dave Mason, street photography

We had a lively and entertaining meeting last night when Dave Mason presented his 'I shoot people' talk.  It was refreshing to hear Dave encouraging us to take photos for ourselves and not always to please camera club judges.  I know they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Dave's stories behind his images were well worth hearing!

You can see some of Dave's images on his website http://www.davemasonimages.com/.

Tuesday 22 March - Round 3 Digital competition - Nature

Our Nature competition was very well supported - we had a total of 74 images across the three groups.  We were very fortunate to have David Tipling as our judge.  David visited the club last year with an inspiring presentation featuring his natural history photographs from South Georgia and closer to home in Norfolk.  

Tonight, David gave a succinct critique of each image before scoring.  Here are the images which David scored highest in each group.

YESTERDAY I WAS AN EGG by John Kerr

SIX SPOT BURNET MOTH by Suzi Senior

FLOWER by Bob Fleming

SANDHILL CRANE by Suzi Senior

CLINGING TO THE ROCK by Sue Baldwin

A FLOCK OF GEESE by Sarah Pymer

TEASLE TANGO by Elaine Stubbings

CROCODILE ATTACK by Andy Caws

AUTUMN LIGHT by Paula Cooper

SALMON RUN by Robin Orrow

FLYING IN THE SUN by Jack Mitchell

MURMURATION by Paula Cooper

YELLOWSTONE COYOTE by Andy Caws

Sunday 20th March - Bury St Edmunds & Ickworth

We spent an enjoyable morning exploring the historic market town of Bury St Edmunds followed by lunch at the Mason's Arms.
The afternoon found some of us going on to Ickworth to enjoy the parklands and gardens while others ventured into the Rotunda to see the amazing art and treasure collections.  The restored servants basement showed an interesting comparison between life 'upstairs and downstairs'.

Here are some of our images:

Squirrel by Sue Baldwin

Abbey Ruins and Cathedral by Di Jackson

Garden Statue by Andy Caws

Queue for Lunch! by Graham Jackson

Window Shopping by Sue Baldwin

Reflections by Graham Jackson

I see the Light by Graham Jackson

Teatime by Di Jackson

Ickworth Interior by Di Jackson

Copperware by Ann Barber

Quick Snack by Ann Barber

Gardener's Cottage Ickworth by Andy Caws

Tuesday 1st March - Focus On ... Low Light

There was excellent support for this informal Focus On session which suggests the recent workshops by Tony Worobiec and Robin Orrow have inspired club members to take photos in more challenging light conditions.  Images from dusk, dawn, the middle of the night and dark indoor conditions were all in evidence among the 36 entries.  It was a tough job for the audience of 40+ club members to identify their top 3 favourite images.  But in the end, there was a runaway winner, Roy Scrivener's Lady Iris Under the Stars.  Well done Roy and Elaine and Andy whose photos were voted 2nd and 3rd!  The top 10 favourites are below.

We finished the evening with a quick discussion of the results of the recent online survey of members' interests, views and preferences.  Many thanks for the extra comments at the meeting.  The Committee will do their best to deliver meetings and events which reflect your views and expectations.  

1st  LADY IRIS UNDER THE STARS by Roy Scrivener

2nd  RIPE TOMATOES by Elaine Stubbings

3rd  MAKE A WISH by Andy Lowe

4th  ELEPHANT SUNSET by Robin Orrow

5th  EGYPTIAN GOOSE AT DUSK by Robin Orrow

6th=  OLD ST PETERS CHURCH by Martyn Anderson

6th=  ACROBATS by Di Jackson

8th=  MISTY LAMPLIGHT by Roy Scrivener

8th=  WELLS SETTING SUN by Christine Alcock

10th  INSIDE THE GRAFFITI SHED by Jack Mitchell