Diss & District Camera Club Blog
2012-2013 Season
16/04/13
Angela Sharpe - My Photo Challenge
100 photos a day for 100 days
Angela presented a selection (around 180) of the images she captured during her 100-day challenge.
Angela took on the challenge to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer, in memory of her father Michael Jolly. Angela estimated that she probably took 50,000 images in total. An average of a staggering 500 every day for 100 days. Every evening Angela then had to prune down the several hundred images taken that day to arrive at her selection of the 100 images for the day. As Angela's presentation progressed it became clear that this challenge required great enthusiasm, not to mention stamina by Angela to complete her 100-day challenge.
Many thanks to Angela for a highly entertaining evening,
and also for her Q&A session after the break on the subject of "Press Photography"
Angela's website can be found at (please click links):
http://angelasharpephotography.co.uk
Her BLOG is at:
http://angelasharpephotography.tumblr.com/
and you can find Angela on TWITTER at:
@angelicangie
02/04/13
Landscape and Wildlife Photography
Ray Mears
Ray Mears presented a selection of his large
canvas prints to
showcase a sample of his excellent landscape and wildlife
images.
Ray described how careful planning (and a lot of patience!)
had resulted in capturing some stunning wildlife images.
Ray gave us his top tips for focusing and
avoiding camera movement to help
achieve successful landscape images:
1. Focus 1/3 of the way into the image (rule of thumb)
2. Use a tripod
3. Use the 'mirror up' option if your camera supports this feature
4. Use a remote control
Many thanks to Ray for an enjoyable and
educational evening.
Ray's websites are as follows - (please click links):
19/02/13
Abstract Workshop
Margaret brought along a selection of vegetables!
This was to provide source material for the members to photograph and construct abstract images.
After the break, club members shared their creations with each other.
05/02/13
Inland Waterways of France
Bernard Doughty
Yet more snow showers ensured that numbers attending were reduced, but those who made it
thoroughly enjoyed a talk by Bernard on the canals and rivers of France, illustrated by a selection of excellent images to bring to life the journey along the waterways and through the locks.
This was followed by an interesting group discussion where we shared details of the cameras and equipment we use and the photos we like taking.
18/12/12
XMAS Social Evening
Club members met for a buffet and a quiz. Many thanks to all those who organised the event and 'quizmaster' Rosanna for a very enjoyable evening.
4/12/12
Open Subject Images - External Judge
There was a good number of entries for the ' open subject' club
competition at our last meeting. These included both projected
images and mounted prints which were judged by Peter Hrebien.
Peter carefully considered the merits of each entry giving
helpful advice for the photographer concerned as well as
valuable general information regarding technique and
presentation of images.
Peter was most complimentary about our selection of images and
also commented that he was impressed with our ' young, vibrant
club' ! The following entries were singled out as being worthy
of special mention :-
Projected images:-
' Goat' by Charles Greenhough
'Garlic' by Alan Sarsby
Mounted images ' Sunset through the thistles ' by Margaret
Chapman
' Duck ' by Neil Powell
' Lonely Pebble ' by Alan Sarsby
Our next meeting on 18th December will take the form of a buffet
supper plus a quiz.
Rosanna's November 2012 Summary ...
Hi Everyone!
November has
been a busy
month for the
club with two
member nights, a
committee
meeting and the
movie making
workshop.
Our speed dating
night was on the
6th, where
Margaret had
arranged for
three of our
'in-house
specialists' to
provide us with
mini-tutorials
on Taking and
Making Panoramas
(Alan Sarsby),
Cutting Mounts
for Photographs
(Mike Wraight),
and High Dynamic
Range (Mike
Favager). It was
a very
interesting
night and I'm
sorry to say
that if you
weren't there,
you really
missed
something!
In the first
half of our
meeting on the
20th Bob
Chartier (whose
surname I can
now pronounce -
thanks Bob!)
shared his
Parisian
grandmother's
postcards. Many
of these were
created from
photographs of
her friends and
family at the
time, and
provided a
fascinating walk
through both
social and
cultural
history. In the
second half Alan
Sarsby talked to
us on the
Secrets of the
Crop Tool, and
gave us an
astounding
number of hints
and tips (I lost
track of the
total number I'm
afraid Alan..!)
which I hope
you'll have
found of use
whilst preparing
for our judged
evening this
Tuesday (4th).
There was also a
chance to
share/show off
how our ongoing
projects are
progressing!
On the 13th the
committee met to
discuss a number
of topics
including
increases to the
Club's
publicity, the
potential of
inviting paying
guests to
specialist club
nights, and the
creation of
practical
courses for
beginners which
would start next
year. If you
would like
access to the
minutes please
let one of us
know.
Thank you
to all
those of you
who've
contributed to
the running of
the club, and
supported it in
other ways, both
visibly and
behind the
scenes during
November.
Looking forward
to seeing all of
your photos on
Tuesday!
Best wishes
Rosanna
20/11/12
My Grandmother’s Postcards: Bob Chartier
Bob presented a fascinating
selection of postcards collected by his grandmother and old
family photos.
These included early postcards, when controls were strict and
correspondence could only be written on the front of the
postcard:
A family connection with Carlton Towers ...
Secrets of the Crop Tool including Resizing: Alan Sarsby
For the 2nd
half of the evening, Alan took us through a guided tour of using
the CROP tool.
This was packed full of handy hints, and the highlights will
appear on our RESOURCE page soon.
16/10/12
Firstly I have to say a very big THANK YOU to Charles Greenhough and Mike Wraight for hosting our photography skills refresher evening in October. The class was well attended, very informative and included a lot of good humour! Topics covered everything from depth of field tricks for landscapes, to suggested context-based camera settings, and the true meaning of the somewhat mysterious f-stop. Particularly useful examples were provided, including citing Mike and his Canon in the case of 'it's all about the photographer, not the camera'! In addition, the session was given a resounding 10 out of 10 by a thoroughly unbiased judge and observer - my Mum
--
Rosanna --
02/10/12
Guest speaker:
Kevin Sawford
“A wildlife photographer’s year"
A truly
inspiring talk from Kevin Sawford, whose photos proved him to be
a sensationally talented wildlife photographer (and demonstrator
of 'field craft'). Every creature and behaviour was exquisitely
showcased, from rare butterflies warming themselves in the early
morning sun, to swans floating dreamily through icy mists,
love-sick squirrels cuddling and even bugs waving!
"It's
left me itching to get out and start practising capturing nature
through the lens, as I hope it has you"
If you are feeling motivated by Kevin’s talk and are interested
in one of his workshops (or would like to know what all the fuss
is about), please see his personal website at
http://www.kevinsawford.com/
19/09/12
The History of the Camera
John Dixon
John presented a history of the camera, selecting from a table-full of cameras through the ages, to
talk through how the camera design and features had developed over a 100+ year span. Amazingly the cameras on show were just part of John's collection. If you see someone buying a box of old cameras at an auction it might just be John!
17/04/12
Macro photography with extension tubes
Matt Sarsby
Matt Sarsby gave an entertaining and informative presentation on the use of presentation tubes.
This was complemented by an impressive collection of images that Matt had taken using the techniques and equipment presented. Matt demonstrated how to take macro shots at very close quarters using a live feed to the overhead projector and some inventive use of lighting equipment 'stolen' from the Sarsby household!