Sunday 14th January - Point to Point Racing at Ampton

The first WDPC event of 2018 found us at Ampton Point to Point races - a pretty good turnout from members and we were lucky with the weather considering what we have been experiencing - it wasn’t too cold, wet or windy - the light wasn’t brilliant but it is January!

Lots of action from what turned out to be 7 races (there were so many riders for one of the races they split it into two races) which gave us plenty of opportunities to capture that ‘special’ shot.

Some of our images can be seen below:

Neck and Neck by Jan Murphy

A Different View by Liz Blake

Eyes on the Leader by Sue Baldwin

Galloping up the Hill by Roy Scrivener

The Chase is On by Andy Caws

Shouting the Odds by Ann Barber

Lensbaby Effect by Christine Alcock

By Christine Frost

By Graham Frost

Hunting Red by Di Jackson

Neck and Neck by Roy Scrivener

Studying the Form by Sue Baldwin

Just Holding On by Ann Barber

Each Way by Christine Alcock

By Christine Frost

By Graham Frost

Going Good to Soft by Di Jackson

The Last Race by Andy Caws

Tuesday 9 January - My kind of photos

This was our first meeting of 2018.  We had a really varied programme provided by three of our members Chris Kot, Roy Scrivener and Mick Ladner.

Chris illustrated his progress in the field of portrait photography over the last few years and shared some tips on how he interacts with models, locates studios and outdoor locations, sets his camera and processes his images.  In his more recent portraits, Chris’ individual style was clearly evident.

by Chris Kot

by Chris Kot

Roy concentrated on several areas of interest architecture, landscape, industrial and low light.  Sometimes work gets in the way of photography, other times, for example when driving home in the middle of the night, it provides wonderful opportunities!  Roy's architectural shots showed some impressive structures and both these and the industrial locations took on a new dimension when taken at dusk or at night.

COTTAM POWER STATION by Roy Scrivener

JUNO OF MORTON by Roy Scrivener

Mick finished the meeting with an excellent selection of his wildlife images.  He started in Wales with red kites and dippers and ended up in his garden sharing his plans for attracting local wildlife.  Along the way, he showed us images of waders, pheasants, hares, deer and seals.  Mick stressed that the best approach is to sit and wait for the wildlife to come to you.  Mick clearly has a lot of patience and it has resulted in great wildlife photos.

KNOT TAKING FLIGHT by Mick Ladner

RED KITE by Mick Ladner

Many thanks to Chris, Roy and Mick for an excellent evening.

Thursday 5th December – A talk by Ruth Grindrod

Ruth is a locally based landscape photography and we welcomed her along to the club meeting to give a talk entitled "My Photographic Journey".
Ruth had brought along lots of prints, printed on a variety of papers and members enjoyed looking at them. However she gave an excellent presentation and talked about her photography in general...what were the key points in taking a picture..and then discussed some of her pictures. She gave many learning points along the way including tips on composition, tips on the gear used, in particular, the filters she used, and also how she had brought out various parts of the image in editing. She even showed some of her images which were not so good and explained why she thought that was so.
She finished by giving a brief demonstration of how she processed one of her images.
Her images had a softness about them which many members found very appealing. Many can be viewed on her website, https://ruthgrindrodlandscapephotography.co.uk
All in all a very worthwhile evening. 

Tuesday 28th November – Open Print Competition

We welcomed Andy Wilson to judge the Open Print Competition.There were 73 images in two classes ranging in subject matter from abstract to animals, from insects to portraits. Andy complimented the club on the high standard of images, particularly in the Members Advanced group. He then warned us that he would be using a wide range of marks!!.
The high scoring images are shown below.

Autumn Harvest by Pam Rutty 20/20

Before Gettysburg by Graham Frost 20/20

Insex by Dave Angood 20/20

The Wood Fairy by Chris Kot 20/20

Arch Down Under by Vanessa Robertson 19/20

Bernadette by Chris Kot 19/20

Hard Protection by Kim Scrivener 19/20

Inquisitive by Paula Cooper 19/20

Man's Best Friend by Jack Mitchell 19/20

Percy Penguin by Suzi Senior 19/20

Smoked by Francesca Shearcroft 19/20

Summer Sweet Pea by Suzi Senior 19/20

Tuesday 14th November– "Not Everything is Black & White"

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed Roger Hance to our meeting this evening, to give his talk entitled "Not Everything is Black and White".  Always a good speaker, Roger certainly lived up to expectations. He showed many prints, all printed on PermaJet papers, and throughout was generous in his comments about camera technique, lens choice, composition and post-processing techniques. Everyone was captivated and appreciated the chance to have a close up look at the prints shown from the front but then passed round.
Many of his images were recent but with the occasional one from his film days. Many had received awards at club, regional and national competitions.
Roger's images can be seen on his website, www.rogerhancefrps.com
Thank you Roger for a very enjoyable evening.

Thursday 9th November - Titchwell Marsh RSPB

Most of us had to work fairly hard to find any birds within range of our lenses and Fen hide and Patsy’s reedbed were disappointing as there was hardly a bird in sight!

We had more luck as we walked along the West bank path spotting various waders and wildfowl but most productive was the Beach, particularly towards the tidal creek at Saltmarsh, where there were plenty of obliging sanderlings, oystercatchers, godwits and gulls.

We met up for lunch at the cafe and enjoyed a variety of hot food and drinks then set out again before we lost the light. We were rewarded with a splendid sunset over the marshes and a glimpse of a distant harrier.

Some of our images can be seen below.

Titchwell Sunset by Andy Caws

Black-headed Gull by Liz Blake

Redshank by Francesca Shearcroft

Brent Flyover by Graham Frost

Curlew by Christine Frost

Red Kite by Mick Ladner

Turnstone Turning Razor Clam by Di Jackson

Snipe by Robin Orrow

Little Egret by Tom Thurston

Sanderling by Graham Jackson

Get Close to your Subject by Christine Frost

Turnstone off to the Beach by Graham Frost

Oystercatcher Under Attack by Di Jackson

Reed Bunting by Tom Thurston

Blacktailed Godwits by Mick Ladner

Redshank Dispute by Robin Orrow

Tuesday 7 November - Focus On ... People

Thank you to all the members who submitted images for the Focus on...People.
There were 47 entries and as usual members voted for their top 5 in order. Points added up in the break to arrive at the winning images.
After the break Robin showed the panel he had submitted to the Chelmsford Interclub competition. Very striking it was, animals in black and white.
Robin then kindly demystified the recent software updates from Adobe, DxO Luminar and Affinity. 
To complete the evening we watched a slide show of images which had been entered into an international nature competition. High key and lots of bokeh seemed to be popular but all members were inspired by at least some of them.
Congratulations to the winners of the Focus on..their images are shown below.

1st VICTORY IN SIGHT by Keith Mountford

2nd AND THEY CALLED HIM ERNIE by Graham Frost

3rd THE PAINTERS MIND by Andy Lowe

4th OLD TIMER by Christine Frost

5th THE BALLET DANCER by Chris Kot

6th AUTUMN MASQUERADE by Di Jackson

7th STREET MUSICIAN, BRICK LANE  by Liz Blake

8th STREET MEDITATION, SOHO by Liz Blake

9th YOU WANT WHAT BIGGER by Roy Scrivener

10th= HAPPY HOUR by Christine Alcock

10th= INNOCENCE by Vanessa Robertson