Tuesday 24th January 2023 - Focus On Triptychs + post-processing demos

Tonight's meeting started with Focus On ... Triptychs.  Two of our guest speakers this season had given tips on creating triptychs and with further help from Google and YouTube, club members sent in 30 entries.  Our Focus On sessions are more informal or relaxed than club competitions because it is the members at the meeting who vote for their favourite images, there is no critique from a judge.  

We had an array of different styles, techniques and topics across the triptychs on display and those receiving the most votes can be seen below. The chocolate prizes for the top three went to Andy Caws, Jack Mitchell and Stephen Gregory.

In the second part of the meeting, two club members, Francesca and Jan, demonstrated their basic workflows starting from a RAW file to a jpeg file ready for a club competition.  Francesca showed us how she processes her images using Affinity which was the first time most of us had seen this software in action.  Jan demonstrated her workflow using Lightroom and Photoshop.  What we learned from both demonstrations was that with just a few steps in a few minutes it is possible to transform an image from the camera into an eye catching photograph. 

Thanks to Jan and Francesca for sharing their knowledge with fellow club members.

Here are the triptychs which got the most votes:

1st BIRDS IN THE GARDEN by Andy Caws

2nd PROFILES OF A GREY SEAL by Jack Mitchell

3rd AUTUMN FOREST by Stephen Gregory

4th A ROSE MONTAGE by Stephen Gregory

=5th FISH FACE by Robin Orrow

=5th PAPER ROLLS by Francesca Shearcroft

7th DREAMY GARDEN FLOWERS by Jan Murphy

8th MASAI VILLAGERS by Di Jackson

9th GLASSWARE by Francesca Shearcroft

10th RUTLAND WATER BIRDS by Di Jackson

Tuesday 10th January 2023 - An Introduction to Wildlife Photography by Colin Edwards

After a long break over Christmas and New Year, our 2023 programme of meetings kicked off with a lively meeting with wildlife photographer Colin Edwards from Haverhill.  It was clear from the start that Colin’s main priority was the welfare of the wildlife he photographs.  The photography and fieldcraft tips he shared will encourage us to explore our local habitats and take our time to learn about the behaviour of wildlife on our doorstep.

We sat in the comfort of Wells Cole admiring the images Colin had captured at dawn, in the rain, in the snow, in fog, lying in fields etc.  His enthusiasm inspired us to get out with our cameras but we will have to wait and see if these New Year resolutions produce results!

© Colin Edwards

© Colin Edwards

You can see more of Colin’s images on his website here.

Tuesday 6th December 2022 - Long Exposure Photography with Antony Zacharias

Over 40 club members joined tonight's Zoom meeting to hear Antony's tips and ideas about long exposure photography.  Using a variety of his beautiful images, Antony illustrated how he used long exposure photography in two main areas, first in low light situations and secondly when aiming for a more creative image.  In low light situations such as night photography or interior photography, Antony gave us tips on shooting in the blue hour, star trails, star burst effects, correcting white balance and combining shots when there's a large dynamic range in a scene.

In the second part of the presentation Antony demonstrated other long exposure techniques which can be used creatively to present an individual interpretation of a subject or location.  Like all aspects of photography, these techniques require a lot of practice but through trial and error, you can make some amazing images.  Antony talked us through examples of Intentional Camera Movement, panning, light trails and light painting.

From past experience, I know it won't be long before we see club members' images that feature the techniques we heard about tonight.

© Antony Zacharias London Skyline

© Antony Zacharias Montenegro

© Antony Zacharias Walkway

© Antony Zacharias Looking up

© Antony Zacharias Millennium Bridge and St Pauls

© Antony Zacharias Louvre Reflections

To see more of Antony's photographs, visit his website https://antonyz.com/.

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 - Print competition - Open

After an absence of three years, we were finally able to hold a print competition at Wells Cole.  A total of 48 images were entered across our three classes.  

This evening's EAF judge was Wayne Davey and this was his first visit to Wayland.  As he studied each print, Wayne offered a number of tips on camera techniques and post-processing before awarding his scores.  There was a good variety of topics represented and Wayne was familiar with many of them down to individual models and studios, scenic locations across the country and wildlife sites.

After holding back the candidates for the highest scores, Wayne made his final decision and they can been seen below.

In Members class:

HANDSOME FELLA by Ann Barber 20/20

FLYING HIGH by Phil Childs 19/20

In Intermediate class:

LIPIZZANER by Chris Kot 20/20 

RAJEEV by Les Thwaites 19/20

LOW SUN ON THE LOCH  by Kim Scrivener 19/20

TAFF by Chris Kot 19/20

DUNGENESS by Pam Rutty 18/20

A CANDLE TO LIGHT THE WAY by Graham Jackson 18/20

SLATERS BRIDGE by Daphne  Lingwood 18/20

In Advanced class:

STORMING THROUGH by Graham Frost 20/20

LYDIA by Caroline Tillett 20/20

LOWESTOFT LIFEGUARD HUT by Stephen Gregory 20/20

LEOPARD WATCHING FROM A GRASSY MOUND by Dawn Osborn 19/20

CAMBODIAN MONK by Carol Martin 19/20

PAIR OF SWANS by Diana Graham 18/20

REACHING FOR THE SKIES by Roy Scrivener 18/20

LOWER MANHATTAN SKYLINE REFLECTING IN THE HUDSON by Jan Murphy 18/20

NAVIGATING THE SLALOM COURSE by Di Jackson 18/20

MALE STONECHAT ON BRAMBLE by Christine Frost 18/20

Fungus Foray Dersingham (NNR) - Friday 11th November 2022

14 of us gathered at Dersingham Bog on an amazingly mild 15 degrees C November morning.

We were soon scattered far and wide throughout the woods searching for what proved to be the very elusive fungi.  Eventually we decided it was time to move on for some refreshments.  Tim had recommended The Granary just a few miles up the road at Snettisham so off we went and enjoyed some lightish lunches and/or cakes (or both!).  Excellent food, fascinating place with an amazing array of antiques, knick knacks and locally made handicrafts and produce for sale.

A few of us decided to drive down to the beach at Snettisham and were rewarded with a splendid sunset.

Some of our images are below:

 Bonnet by Marnie Ball

Small Bracket Fungus on Birch by Tim Leonard

Birch Polypore by Di Jackson

Hoof Fungus by Maureen Campbell

Milk-Cap by Andy Caws

Parasol by Sue Baldwin

Young Puffball by Tim Leonard

Bracket by Marnie Ball

Fly Agaric by Graham Jackson

Bracket Fungus by Tim Leonard

Candlesnuff Fungus by Maureen Campbell

Milk Cap by Sue Baldwin

Bracket Fungus by Graham Jackson

Fungus by Di Jackson

Knots at Snettisham by Marnie Ball

Snettisham Sunset by Di Jackson

Tuesday 8th November - Astrophotography - Mick Ladner and Dan Self

As dusk approached after a mostly dull, damp, cloudy day there was a short sharp shower followed by a double rainbow and lovely clear skies!  Just what we needed for tonight's meeting at Wells Cole where three members of Breckland Astronomical Society, Mick, Dan and Malcolm, gave us a practical introduction to astrophotography.  As soon as we saw the array of equipment they brought and the three dimensional graphs and measurements in millions of light years, we knew this genre was not for the faint-hearted!  But after some basic theory and some practical demonstrations, we were ready to have a go outside.

Light pollution is a major problem even in rural areas like Saham Toney but some club members managed to achieve some shots of the starry sky in the south west.  We are looking forward to visiting the observatory in Great Ellingham in January when we can put all their tips into practice.

 

10s at f3.5, ISO400, 70-150mm lens at 70mm on Olympus EM1-MKlll
by Mick Ladner

20s at f2.8, ISO 1600, 12-40mm lens at 12mm Olympus EM1-MKlll by Mick Ladner

Image by Di Jackson

Tuesday 1st November - Light Painting with David Gilliver

Having Zoom meetings once a month gives us the opportunity to hear from speakers further afield.  Last night's speaker, David Gilliver, joined us from Glasgow, Scotland.

To start, David described some more traditional approaches which he used in his early days - long exposures, star trails, light trails and ICM (intentional camera movement). He then took us into his world of light painting tools and demonstrated how he achieved the ethereal effects introducing light painting into different landscapes.  

Achieving these unusual effects will no doubt take some practice but judging by the questions club members were asking David, they are planning to have a go very soon!  I look forward to seeing the results.

You can see examples of David's light painting images on his website 

https://davidgilliver.com/portfolio/light-painting/.