At the Peer review workshop next week we will be looking at imitation as a technique to unleash creativity. To kick off the discussion I would like you to look at these famous monochrome portraits, select an image and have a crack at emulating the style. Bring your images along to the workshop where we can discuss how it went. Regards James.
Not sure what to do? Here is an example.
Above is an image I took that was inspired by the famous image below.
I am interested to see what you all come up with. Regards James.
The banner this week is a montage of what I considered were the great character portraits from the recent competition. The Authors were, Frances Allan (1&3), Shiela Gatehouse (2&4), Helen Whitford (5) and Steve Wallace (6). I chose these images because of their unwavering gaze. I was not the judge, but there would be several 10’s in this collection if I was.
The alternate (second) Banner comes from Vicki Crammer from the product photography competition with a strong image called the handbag. Of course all of the original images and a write up of the competition can be found on the club web page.
It is time to choose your favourite images for judging. The end of year competition looms. Of course this year the competition is only projected images, with 2 categories, colour and monochrome. In addition there are 3 special prizes, one for Landscape, one for Portrait and one for Wildlife. Entries are due in early November, refer to the wabpage.
So this month I am going to start a new feature. As there is a lot of trial and error in photography, I have decided to look at the problem solving aspect of capturing an image. This week I will pose a problem and once you feel you have the answer, have a look at the answer page. Best of Luck.
Enjoy this edition of Camera Clips.
James Allan
Post script:
There is a change of format this week. Word Press has updated it’s editor and I can no longer nest the pages within each months newsletter. Accordingly I have made each of the articles a post on the home page. However you can navigate to the articles in the usual way from the table of contents below.
Yes both the wind power, and the letters and number competitions took place in the last month. The Banner above comes from the wind powered competition. In this edition of camera clips we also have a write up of Howard Seaman’s workshop, 3 of the travelogue topics; Pildappa rocks, Rogues point and The Lavender trail and an explanation of Community judging. The answers are not blowing in the wind, they are buzzing in the ether. So check out this months edition of Camera Clips.
What a start to the year. We have undertaken the 31 day challenge in January. This year we have had unprecedented bushfires destroying property and taking lives. The club year started with our first two scheduled competitions and a workshop and now we find ourselves in Covid 19 shutdown. This edition of the newsletter represents all of the activities we undertook before the Covid shut down. We have 2 articles from the double exposure workshop, a photoessay from the 31 day challenge and an original article by Vicki Kramer. I hope you enjoy these articles. Next edition will be the “Stuck at home” edition.
I have just added an article to camera clips. A look at images on the theme of making an iconic Australian Christmas image. I wish you all well in the Christmas season.
I have just posted the December edition of Camera clips. This is our end of year edition and includes images and explanations of the top images from our annual end of year competition. The Banner is derived from one of the entries, “invitation to siesta” by Paul Hughes. Note we are still receiving submissions for the top images article, so don’t panic if you are a bit slow in responding to the request.
Also we have quizzes. We have a brand new macro quiz. Can you identify familiar objects from their close ups? I have also posted the Camera clips quiz from the final meeting, along with links to the respective articles, so you can brush up on your camera clips facts.
Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy this months articles. Don’t forget the 31 day challenge is still on, but has moved to January this year. For those who haven’t done this previously, you are required to take a photo every day for 31 days and post them on the club Flickr page. It’s OK to post even if you miss a day here or there. It adds to the fun of the exercise to have as many posting as possible. Previously we have done this challenge in December. I look forward to seeing your Summer snaps.
This edition features banners based on excellent spot colour photographs by Suzie Smith and Mark Pedlar. We have articles of travel to Borneo (Helen Whitford), Iceland (Duart McLean) and Scotland (Di Gage). Lastly we have a book review of a bird photographer, David Tipling. I trust that you will enjoy this months Camera Clips.
I am dreadfully late putting out the May edition of Camera clips. Above, the banner is an image of Victoria Falls by Kerry Malec. This appeared in our Elements competition and the element in this case was water.
I have included articles that were written before the elements competition to stimulate ideas, and again I apologize that they are being published after the event. Regardless have a read and let me know what you think. I have received very positive reviews about some of the camera clips articles from last edition. Thank you to those who have taken the time to give me feedback.
This edition of Camera Clips is late. I apologize to the authors who had their articles submitted quite early in the piece. (Banner above by Helen Whitford) There has been a lot happening in the club. We have had the architecture competition, an invitation to hear Ken Duncan speak and we have hosted Stavros Pippos. There has been a peer review night and an excursion. Make sure you catch up on the events in this months edition of camera clips. We also have articles from Helen Whitford, Ray Goulter and myself. Here is the link: March 2019 Camera Clips.
It always seems a surprise to me when I complete each edition of camera clips. Well I have done it again. This edition has an article by Anthony Kernich on airport photography. We have images from the recent excursions to McLaren Vale and Rundle Mall. Ursula Prucha a prolific photographer when I first joined the club has recently passed away after a period of poor health. In this edition I have showcased a selection of her images, including the banner above. There is an article on David Hockney and on HDR processing with the NIK HDR pro software. And there is more. Have fun exploring this months contributions.
I have just this moment released June Camera Clips. I have been experimenting with a different look this month. I am using the banners as navigational tools rather than the hyperlinks in the text. Accordingly every article get’s it’s own banner. Most of the banners are sourced from the club competition on the theme street photograpy. (see the article from Chris below)
This mid cycle edition pf Camera Clips is designed to deal with aspects of the upcoming Wildlife competition.
Last Sunday I attended the wildlife excursion to Belair National park. Most of the group were out orchid hunting, but Bruce and I had a lot of fun chasing birds. Have a look at the gallery to see the results.
Several discussions arose over coffee. The rules of wildlife competitions were discussed. What is the correct ethic? No Photoshop? No evidence of the hand of man? Almost but not quite. Have a read for yourself. I have a copy of the International Federation of Photographic Art, nature and wildlife rules that have recently been adopted by the Australian Photographic Society. Mark Pedlar asked participants to refer to these rules when entering this competition.
We also discussed camera setting needed to manage a telephoto lens to take hand held bird photos . It is called “Driving a big Lens.” I struggled with this dilema and eventually wrote an article back in 2013. So rather than rewrite the article I have republished this August 2013 newsletter on the webpage for anyone who might also be struggling through this problem.
It is nearly 4 and a half years since we had an excursion to Port Willunga. You can see the image gallery in the May 2013 Camera Clips. The image above is by Yvonne Sears. Now it’s time to do it again. But how do you cast a new light on a familiar subject? We are going to try light painting. I have made some notes about our previous experience.
We will meet at the Star of Greece restaurant car park at 4,30pm on Sunday 2nd July. I expect the sun to set around 5.30 and dusk to last until around 6.45pm. After that the sky will not be dark until the half moon sets at around 12.30am. If there are no opportunities for star photos I will be leaving around 7pm. Remember there may be up to an hour of travel time. It is worth sharing a ride with club members who live near you.
What to bring: Camera and lens – standard to wide angle, tripod, remote release, torches, light painting equipment if you have any. You will need warm clothing and sturdy shoes. You may want to eat before or after the exercise.
I am sure you will enjoy this excursion. Hope to see you there.
The year has started and we have another edition of Camera Clips. I have been away and I apologize that this is a lean edition of our magazine. None the less I am grateful to the authors who have written articles, and we have some great tips from Bruce Nankivell, Helen Whitford, Tariq Mohammad Abdul. I also draw your attention to Mark Pedlar who has written 2 excellent articles that have been released on the club web page.
The second outing for 2017 has been arranged by Tariq, Bruce and Ron.
“I am sure most of you have already been to Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens numerous times, but there is always something new to shoot. Given the theme is “Straight from the camera” also known as SOOC (pronounced “Souq”), we have got a limitless range to shoot. From birds, flowers, trees, lakes, landscapes, to macro shots of insects.”
Here are the details:
Sunday, March 5th at 11:00 am,
270 C mostly sunny (bring suncream )
Meet at lower car park, 11 Lampert Rd, Crafers SA 5152
Linked to the “Straight from the camera” Competition on March 16th
Required pre-reading – Tariq has written an article with tips. Link to article
I have finally put together the December Camera Clips. I have received contributions from most entrants in the end of year competition. It is good to read the story behind the photos. This is often the best work from the year for those who enter.
Also I have been given permission to publish the report from the sub-committee. This is a wide ranging review of the club and the opinions of its members. There has been a lot of work that has gone into this document and it is worth reading to see what the final conclusions have been.
Finally I have been working on a series of articles to try and answer (at least in my own mind) issues that were raised during the year.
I have been fortunate to score articles from 
I have just this moment released June Camera Clips. I have been experimenting with a different look this month. I am using the banners as navigational tools rather than the hyperlinks in the text. Accordingly every article get’s it’s own banner. Most of the banners are sourced from the club competition on the theme street photograpy. (see the article from Chris below)
It is nearly 4 and a half years since we had an excursion to Port Willunga. You can see the image gallery in the 
)
Blackwood Photographic Club of South Australia Inc. 