June’s competition saw us getting in close with Macro/Micro/Closeup as the set subject.  We took a fairly loose approach to the definition as not everyone has macro equipment.  The idea was simply to get in for close detail.  However image numbers were down significantly although there was a great turnout of members for a cold winter’s night!  We even welcomed a couple of new members!
Our judge, John Hodgson, provided thoughtful comments on each image, with lots of constructive tips.  It was great to see new member, Meredith Retallack, among the top images with “Dew Drops”.

Dew Drops – Meredith Retallack

And Judy Sara cleaned up in the Projected images Set Subject with three very different images.

Pollination Target – Judy Sara

Bird’s Head or Seed Pod? – Judy Sara

Sweat Sucker – Judy Sara

Kerry, Eric and Howard provided some other interesting entries in the set subject.

Fern Frond – Kerry Malec

HRH Coined – Eric Budworth

Just Add Cream – Howard Seaman

There were some great images displayed in the Open category as well!

Berry Fest – Heather Connolly

Those Ears! – Helen Whitford

Turning Alcoholic – James Allan

Little Ray of Sunshine – Helen Whitford

Adelaide Autumn Leaves – Anthony Kernich

Sam Solarised – James Allan

Red Brow – James Allan

Click the links for more Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images

Diners – Chris Schultz

Suzie Lipert from Eastern Suburbs Camera Club was our judge for an evening on the streets. Our competition was titled ‘Street Photography’ which is all about ‘storytelling images recording everyday life in public places’. Unsurprisingly she had some great images to critique and she did it in a mighty fine way, offering lots of positives on every image and mixed with suggestions for improvement. She reminded us that “photography is about coming up with something different.”

Suzie made the same comment for quite a number of images and that was that they could be “printed harder/stronger” to make a bolder impression. The colours or blacks and whites were sometimes just too soft and not jumping out of the image as much as they could she thought. Her strongest comments on this were for the black and whites.

In a similar way she saw opportunity for some images to be cropped tighter to give a greater focus on the real subject of the image. Another way of saying that might be to say ‘less is more’.

She enjoyed the story telling, the pushing of boundaries in some cases, the simplicity and detail, the filling of the frame for some images, the crispness and clean lines of well cropped photos.

In all she was highly impressed with the quality of images presented by members and that’s a credit to those putting their images out there. Congratulations everyone and thank you Suzie for a very positive evening.

Workmen, Sydney Harbour – Jenny Pedlar

Bench Rest – David Hancock

Is it Real? – Chris Schultz

Got it Licked – Eric Budworth

Au Revoir – Eric Budworth

Motorway – James Allan

Twenty Toes – Helen Whitford

Fibre Optic Dandelion – Helen Whitford

Common Garden Katydid II – Ray Goulter

Tao Dancers – James Allan

Diuris Orchid – Ray Goulter

Mangrove – Judy Sara

Chassis in the Desert – James Allan

Look At Me – Bruce Nankivell

In the Pink – Eric Budworth

Natural light portraiture, always a challenge and especially so in low light. For this competition we were fortunate to have plenty of images to admire for their ability to largely overcome the natural light challenges. These mixed with a yet again impressive array of open category photographs to admire including some members who stretched the creative boundaries with some experimentation.

Impressionist – Heather Connolly

The definition given to us for Natural Light Portraiture was: ‘No studio set-ups here, nor use of any form of man-made light source. It’s all about using natural light to produce portraits. Whether it’s outside during the day or using daylight coming through a window or even moonlight, you need to use the natural light available to illuminate your subject.’

Our judge for the evening was Peter Phillips from the Edwardstown Photography Club who once again provided us with much valued feedback and well considered advice. There was something to learn for everyone.

He spoke of such things as:

• Less is more, fill the lens.
• Flat lighting is a photographer’s challenge but use luminance in Lightroom to assist.
• Avoid front focussed direct light on subject.
• It is critical for the portrait to be sharp but be careful not to oversharpen.
• Black and white images require good tonal range.
• Numerous comments on the importance of space in the composition.
• He encouraged members to continue experimenting with such areas as abstract images.

Another enjoyable evening with plenty of good images to study.

Typsy Gypsy – David Hancock

Cocky – Helen Whitford

Nigel – Ray Goulter

Our Big Day – David Hancock

Kookaburra – Ron Hassan

Beach Sunset – Peter Miller

Grevillea – Gloria Brumfield

Picking up Breakfast – Ron Hassan

Selective Colour Kayaks – James Allan

The Ambassador – David Hancock

Stasy Calm 2 – David Hancock

Alone in the Mist – Judy Sara

Our first competition for the year was held on February 1 and was titled Landscape/Seascape and defined as: ‘An image featuring the natural scenery or terrain.’ In our programme for the year we were reminded that ‘Many people mistakenly believe taking a landscape is easy, but there are so many variables that getting that excellent landscape image can be quite challenging!’ So true.

Our judge for the evening was the affable and always welcome, David CG Smith from the Eastern Suburbs Camera Club. One of the most highly awarded amateur photographers in Australia, David’s comments are highly valued.

In the mix of feedback provided by David included:

• The importance of capturing a mood
• Considering the merits of landscape vs portrait when composing a shot
• The value of leading lines
• How shooting water with a slow shutter speed creates a soothing effect
• The need to be careful not to oversharpen images thereby creating a halo effect
• When cropping an image be careful not to make it too tight

There were many other valuable comments but this will give you a feel for where he was coming from.

We certainly had our share of high quality images in both the set subject of Landscape/Seascape as well as in the Open Section so we hope we enjoy some of the great work shown here.

Lightning Over Onkaparinga – James Allan

Sunset through the Rain – Helen Whitford

Onkaparinga River Mouth – Kerry Malec

Jetty Blue Hour – Anthony Kernich

Lighting up the Rain – Helen Whitford

Ijen Crater – Judy Sara

Bunyeroo Valley Panorama – Helen Whitford

Variegated Wren Eclipse – James Allan

Peace Rose – James Allan

Pie Dish Beetle – James Allan

Yarra Sunset – Anthony Kernich

Fall in the Forest – Helen Whitford

Kirribilli Sunset – Anthony Kernich