Banham Zoo - Thursday 20th June

Nearly half our club members turned out for this, our penultimate club event of the season. The weather looked threatening but at the last moment the clouds cleared and we had a dry, warm evening for our tour.

We were given free access to roam and photograph the animals or, if preferred, join the guided tour with one of the keepers.

After an enjoyable evening of photography we headed for the cafe ready for tea, coffee and cakes.

Some of our images can be seen below:

Meerkat by Marnie Ball

Bar-headed Goose by Liz Akers

White-faced Saki Monkey by Jeff Bowley

Legs by Heather Ryder

Watching by Sue Baldwin

Lookout by Christine Alcock

Little Egret by Graham Frost

Reclining Otter by Roy Scrivener

White-faced Saki Monkey by Andy Caws

Cheetah by Di Jackson

Who Has the Hump? by David Wilkin

Snowy Owl by Christine Frost

Pallas Cat by Vanessa Robertson

Scarlet Ibis by Jim McConnell

Kangaroo with Joey in her Pouch by John Kerr

Tuesday 11th June – A slide show of the club trip to Wells-next-Sea

Every year we have an evening meeting as a trip out, usually in June when the daylight lasts longer and often when the weather is better. However last week was slightly different as is rained, rained and rained some more. None-the-less a very small group of WDPC members met at Wells and having enjoyed a fish and chip supper proceeded to take some pictures around the town.
Some chose to use one specific fixed focus lens as an additional challenge.
The resulting slide show, which we saw last night, included a wide range of genres; from street to macro, from coastal views to urban detail, from colour to monochrome. All going to show that there is no such thing as bad weather just weather.  A few of our images can be seen below.

After the break we enjoyed a presentation by Liz Akers about her recently gained ARPS. Liz talked us through her photographic journey and then how she arrived at her theme and selected the 15  images for her panel.  Liz had displayed her prints for all to see.
Congratulations to Liz on this achievement.

For more details on how to obtain the RPS distinctions please see their website  RPS

NETS by Dennis Brown

HIGH TIDE AT WELLS by Graham Jackson 

LOBSTER POT by Marnie Ball

LOW TIDE by John Kerr

MAC by Christine Alcock

Arcade Amusement by Di Jackson

THE GRANARY by Andy Caws

DUSK by Jack Mitchell

Tuesday 28th May – Print Competition, Nature

We welcomed Paul Radden to be our judge for the final print competition of the season. In addition to being the EAF President Paul is also the Judging Secretary for the EAF and  is well qualified to judge images.
There were 50 images from two classes. 
His comments were constructive and helpful, focusing mainly on getting the right crop, making the best use of light and, perhaps more significantly, involved the audience in the judging process.

The high scoring images are shown below.

Fighting Arctic Terns by Liz Akers 20

Bracket Fungus with Sapling by Pam Rutty 20

Golden Eagle with Red Fox by Robin Orrow 20

Great Blue Heron with Young Marine Iguana by Dawn Osborn 19

Mountain Hare Grooming by Di Jackson 19

Coastal Wren Calling by Caroline Tillett 19

RSPB Strumpshaw Fen - Thursday May 16th

Over 20 of us met up for a return visit to RSPB Strumpshaw Fen.  We were a bit earlier in the season than our last visit and following a rather chilly spell of weather there were noticeably fewer birds, flowers and insects. However, with some perseverance, we managed to find some suitable subjects to capture!

A selection of our images can be seen below:

Moorhen Feeding Chick by Dawn Osborn

Landing Gear Down by Jeff Bowley

Nettle Weevil by Liz Akers

Young Bracken Frond by Nick Akers

Wary Pheasant by Jim McConnell

Mute Swan Preening by Di Jackson

Chinese Water Deer by Robin Orrow

Peacock Butterfly by John Kerr

Hover Fly by Andy Caws

Froghopper by Liz Akers

Looking to Land by Jim McConnell

Red-headed Cardinal Beetle by Nick Akers

Swan Stretching Wings by John Kerr

Azure Damselfly by Andy Caws

Shell Ducks in Flight by Di Jackson

Fighting Coots by Robin Orrow

Black-headed Gull in Flight by Dawn Osborn

Black-headed Gull by Jeff Bowley

Tuesday 14th May – A presentation by Christine Hart, ARPS, DPAGB

A good turn out from members to hear Chrissie Harts Presentation about how she achieved the images in her ARPS panel. All the images were takin in her back garden over a 4 month period one summer. They were all fine art rather than nature.
The panel was entitled "A Rabbit in Hole in my Garden". Her statement of intent truly reflected the feel and style of her images, all of which were on display.
After the break Chrissie showed us how she edited her images showing us the original image and then the various techniques she used in photoshop to achieve her desired finished image. 
Most members were able to glean some useful hints and tips about using layers, masks and blend modes within the software.
Her panel can be seen here.
A most enjoyable evening was had by all and I am sure we will be inviting her back.

Monday 13th May – Back to Basics visit to Pensthorpe

On a beautifully sunny morning five attendees and 3 tutors from the Back to Basics course run earlier in the year went along to Pensthrope to put into practice some of the things learnt on the course. There were lots of young birds, ducks, goslings and even avocets to try to capture. The bearded tits were very fast but some folks managed to get a shot of them and even the red squirrels were out in the open in their reserve. A challenge to get them sharp without the netting showing.
Not just animals and birds but lots of flowers out as well.
All in all a good layout. Some of the images are shown below.

Bearded Tit by Ann Barber

By Georgie McCall

Red Squirrel by Francesca Shearcroft

Smew by Jan Murphy

Allium by Jeff Bowley 

Splashing Duck by Kim Scrivener

Mandarin Duck by Jan Murphy

Moon Water by Jeff Bowley

Crane at Pensthorpe by Kim Scrivener

Gull by Georgie McCall

Tuesday 7th May - Jayne Odell 'The Monochrome Effect'

Club members were pleased to welcome back Jayne Odell ARPS to see her latest photography projects and hear the stories behind them.  After referencing the photographers who have inspired her, Jayne showed some of her most successful colour images.  Moving on to the monochrome images, we could appreciate the difference between Jayne's early work and later images which featured more graphic, atmospheric images.

Jayne gave us some good tips on planning for shoots as well as sharing lots of information on the locations and timing of her landscape, seascape and equine photos.  Many of the photos we saw were taken locally, so we have no excuses - we just need to get up early and get out there (says she looking out the window at heavy rain and thinking I'll have another cup of coffee)!

If you would like more inspiration, you can take another look at Jayne's work here http://jayneodell.com/home/4593735163.