Blackwood Photographic Club of South Australia Inc.

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Annual Exhibition 2013

The year has gone

The comps are done

The judges scored

Awards were won!

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The Annual Exhibition on Thursday November 22^nd saw a great turn-out of members and guests to celebrate the year of photographic endeavour, learning, friendship and achievement that was Blackwood Photographic Club in 2013.

The club could not function without a huge effort from those willing to be involved, from our new President, Ashley Hoff, who did an admirable job of hosting his first Annual, previous President Chris Schultz who put enormous energy into ably guiding us through the greater portion of 2013, to all the members who help with setting up and taking down of equipment, organising supper etc., and of course, all who bravely fronted up to the judges with images for competition.

One person who has gone above and beyond the call was James Allan who was awarded the Bill Templar Award for 2013. James has put an enormous amount of time and effort into arranging outings throughout the year where many members have shared their knowledge, honed their skills and made new friends. He has collated and edited Camera Clips where he has gathered and written a range of interesting articles and shared images from the outings. He also put together another fabulous calendar, sourcing images from as many members as possible to make it a truly representative and inclusive showcase of the club’s work.

Thanks to Lydia Strutton AAPS, (SAPF Secretary) and Andy Smylie, AAPS, AFIAP, who judged our images earlier on November 9th, and to Lydia for returning on Thursday night where she was roped into presenting the awards. As for the results of the Annual Exhibition competition, it seems you had to have a name beginning with J or H to rank in the top images. Congratulations to James, Jo, John, Jenny, Jim, Heather and Helen for placings! (Sympathies to those whose names do not begin with J or H!) To all who entered the Annual and also the regular competitions through-out the year, thank-you and congratulations on a great effort! Regardless of scores and awards, it is you the photographers who courageously present images, knowing that the judging is incredibly subjective, knowing that not everyone will ‘get’ what you were trying to achieve, knowing that you are still learning and experimenting with camera and post-processing techniques, knowing that your printer might not be giving you the results you thought you had, knowing that you might feel ‘shot down’ or go home on a high because something you did struck a chord with someone, it is YOU who make the competitions and who make the club what it is!

Here are the Trophy Winners and a few of the other certificate recipients that were present

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Annual Exhibition Competition Results

Projected Images

Jo Tabe – More from Wana

1^st Hutt St Photos Award	Jo Tabe	More from Wana
2^nd	Heather Connolly	April Fog
3^rd	John Vidgeon	Waiting for a Grub
Merit	James Allan	Hanging Rock
WEA Landscape Tropy	Jo Tabe	More from Wana

Monochrome Prints

Helen Whitford – Hello There!

1^st I’ve Been Framed Award	Helen Whitford	Hello There
2^nd	Helen Whitford	Nice Kitty
3^rd	Helen Whitford	Otter
Merit	Jo Tabe	Keen

Colour Prints

Helen Whitford – King of Beasts

1^st Mal Klopp Award	Helen Whitford	King of Beasts
2^nd	Jim McKendry	Bird of Paradise
3^rd	Jenny Pedlar	Island Boats
Merit	Jenny Pedlar	That’s where I left Them!
Merit	Jo Tabe	Portland Lighthouse

Album Prints

Jo Tabe – Just a Donkey

1^st	Jo Tabe	Just a Donkey
2^nd	James Allan	Eric’s Frypan
3^rd	Helen Whitford	Dewy Cactus
Merit	James Allan	Mallee Buds

Annual Aggregate Results

Projected Images

1^st	Photographic Wholesalers Award	Helen Whitford
2^nd		James Allan
3^rd		Chris Schultz

Monochrome Prints

1^st	Blackwood Times Award	James Allan
2^nd		Jo Tabe
3^rd		Helen Whitford

Colour Prints

1^st	Blackwood Photo Club Award	Helen Whitford
2^nd		John Vidgeon
3^rd		James Allan

Album Prints

1^st	JV Spick Award	Helen Whitford
2^nd		James Allan
3^rd		Heather Connolly

To see all the Top Scoring Images from throughout the year visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.

Posted by hwhitford | 30/11/2013 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Annual Exhibition 2013

What happened at our 30th Anniversary High Tea!

30^TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS HELD AT MITCHAM CULTURAL VILLAGE INSTITUTE HALL ON SUNDAY 22^ND SEPTEMBER 2013.

On a beautiful spring day we celebrated 30 years of our photographic club with 65 members, family and colleagues in photography.

The afternoon began with a digital presentation of fabulous images that have been entered in interclub and competitions by our members over recent years.

A scrumptious High Tea was served, including cakes, slices and scones, along with a selection of teas and coffee. We then stepped back in time as I read a brief but interesting history of the club. Later a series of images were shown and many interesting and often amusing stories were told about days gone by. An insight into the people and events that established the club and its reputation as a very social and different club who don’t just want to take photographs, but want to have fun doing it.

Alberto Giurelli, the President of SAPF and his wife Katy and John and Maureen Mack, past and long-time proprietors of Photographic Wholesalers in Hutt Street were our special guests. A message was also read from the Mayor of Mitcham, Michael Picton, apologising that he was unable to attend and wishing us continued success in the future.

It was a great opportunity for new and old members to meet and for everyone to see the images of those who have since passed away.

The afternoon concluded with Ray Goulter getting all club members together, past and present, for a group photograph, taken with his Arca Swiss 4” x 5” View Camera.

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Yours in photography

Julie Goulter
Secretary
Blackwood Photographic Club of SA Inc.

But wait – there’s more! There is a President’s address:

Firstly from the Immediate Past President (Chris Schultz):

Before I give you the address from our current President, Ashley Hoff, I’d like to make two thank yous.

Firstly, I want to thank Julie Goulter, who has worked hard and almost completely single handedly (with special thanks to our caterers too) to make this 30^th Anniversary event happen. Without Julie we wouldn’t be enjoying our afternoon as we are now. Thank you Julie!

Secondly, the club itself needs to be applauded. We are a diverse group of people who come together to enjoy a passion. In doing so we work at sharing our knowledge, giving advice and embracing a community spirit which may seem lacking in the wider world. As a group we aren’t overly competitive, we value art as much (if not more) as technique, we like to share & help, we like being different from the mainstream photography clubs. While those things remain we will continue as a club for many years. For those reasons I feel that Blackwood Photographic Club as a gestalt entity needs to be thanked.

President’s address: Ashley Hoff

“Greetings from Singapore! I’m sorry I couldn’t make it today.

Firstly, thank you to all our invited guests for coming today and helping to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Blackwood Photography Club.

I am a strong believer that the strength of any club lies solely with the people that make and have made it all happen.

Initially, I wasn’t sure about being involved with a photography club. I must admit I had heard not too flattering stories from a few friends who had been to various meetings with a few different clubs (not ours mind you!), that I just wasn’t sure. Also, being part of the internet age, surely I would be able to engage online?

But with a little persistence from my good friend Matt Carr, I decided to give Blackwood a try.

Now, I don’t know whether it was dumb luck, or whether Matt was really onto something, but this club, just so happened to dispel my initial concerns. Straight away, I could feel it was a good fit – it was (and still is) a club that is very accepting of anyone who has a passion for photography, regardless of their experience, their style or equipment they use. Very rarely have I heard a ‘mine is bigger/better/more expensive’ conversation within the club (which is a blessing, considering how gear obsessed this hobby can be).

There are other strengths as well. When it comes to imagery, as a club, we challenge what might be accepted as ‘good photo club’ photography. We accept that sometimes what makes a good image that is engaging may not necessarily score a 10 (or even a 2…don’t I know it) in a competition. With the re-introduction of peer based review nights, we have given our members another outlet that can be used to explore their own individuality as photographers, without the apprehension of being judged.

The biggest strength, though, of our fine club is it’s membership, both past and present.

I would like to thank all our past members. You input over the last 30 years has gone a long way to forge a club I am proud to be the current President of.

Also, I would like to thank all our current members. Without you, we would have no club. Your attendance, efforts, good humour and willingness to help and be involved each meeting makes this club operate with minimal stress and concern.

Your efforts each meeting to keep the tradition alive puts us in good stead to hold our values well into the future.

Now, I probably feel a bit old fashioned doing this, can I ask for 3 cheers for the Blackwood Photography Club?

Thank you and have a fine afternoon.

Ashley”

Posted by ChrisS | 27/11/2013 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Club outings | Comments Off on What happened at our 30th Anniversary High Tea!

Getting Industrious – October 24th

Chris Schultz’ Steelworks

It was a hive of industry at the back of the room preparing prints to hang for this month’s Urban/Industrial Landscape competition.

Actually, while print numbers were down a little we had a great range of images and some interesting interpretations of the theme, as well as some impressive open section photographs.

Our judge Lindsay Poland, from Diamonds/Photographic Wholesalers, initially needed a little encouragement to elaborate on scores and make comments, but as he warmed up to the task he gave helpful hints and tips, added personal anecdotes and generally engaged the club members in a positive manner. We even squeezed a couple of 10’s out of him – congratulations to Jo and Eric who achieved this rare feat! Thanks to Lindsay for a great job. It was good to have your professional eye cast over our efforts!

It was interesting to note that females were few and far between on this particular night. Perhaps less interest in the selected theme? Perhaps purely coincidental. (Or did I miss a really good chick flick on tele? 😉 )

Check out the top images pages. Congratulations to Jo Tabe whose work particularly impressed our professional photographer judge!

To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.

Helen 😉

Posted by hwhitford | 04/11/2013 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Getting Industrious – October 24th

Emotions Ran High! Sept. 26th 2013

Artistic handling of a studio shot by Jo Tabe

When the prearranged judge called in sick a couple of days before the competition, (hope you’re feeling better David!) emotions ran high as the committee debated what to do. Should we swap with a Peer Review? Should we have some form of Community Judging? Should we run around in circles like a chook with it’s head cut off? The decision was not final until moments before the competition was to begin, when Alberto Giurelli, who had just signed up as a new member, (welcome Alberto!) kindly offered to be our judge for the evening.

The set subject of “Emotions” brought out some beautiful and engaging images, while the Open section was again well represented. Alberto judged with enthusiasm and a refreshingly positive outlook, talking about what part of an image spoke to him, what he thought the author was probably trying to communicate as well as technical aspects that were either well handled or could use improvement. He sprinkled his comments with welcome humour, survived being heckled by the crowd and overall helped to make the evening a positive experience for exhibitors. There was an impressive range of images of a high standard and it was great to see a couple of members braving the competition when they have been more reticent in the past, and doing quite well. The fact that there were relatively fewer entries than usual meant there was more time to chat and enjoy the images when the judging was completed.

By the end of the evening I think the emotions were mostly happiness and relief, with no sign of the angst and confusion that had been trying to get a foothold earlier in the week. Thank you to Chris (El ex-presidente) for handling the rearrangement of the evening (while new President Ashley had escaped to Singapore 😉 ) and to Alberto for filling the breach in a positive and generous manner.

To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.

Helen Whitford 😉

Posted by hwhitford | 28/09/2013 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Emotions Ran High! Sept. 26th 2013

BPC goes hunting for orchids! 8-Sep-2013

It is an amazing thing the Adelaide Hills orchids. The tiny little flowers, no larger than your fingernail are intricate, precise and exquisite. It is a special thing to find these small beauties.

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My Uncle Bob had told me to look for orchids on the October long weekend. But I have discovered that this gives only a small part of the whole picture. There is a progression of species that starts in mid winter (July) and extends all the way through to early summer (December). What you see depends upon what time of year you go looking. First there are the helmet orchids and greenhoods and mosquito orchid followed by the yellow sun orchid, the waxlip and the donkeys, the spiders then the various blue salmon and white sun orchids and lastly the hyacinth orchid. Thrown in amongst these are rarer species that I don’t see very often – bearded orchids, duck orchids and fire orchids.

So we planned this trip in early September. What happened? There was only a small group who met for this excursion. Kim and Glori had photographed them in Western Australia. Heather and Reg have been walking the trails of Belair national park and had a good idea where to look. Mark and Jenny have been volunteer weeders in the park for a number of years and were also aware of where the orchids could be found. Alan seemed to be quite familiar with them also. Jo, although she didn’t attended this excursion, had driven along the Sheoak road boundary to photograph them a day or two previously. You can see from the attached photographs what a wide selection we encountered.

Earlier on in the excursion Kim felt disappointed that we would see only 1 or 2 species. Mostly the donkey orchids. Heather however proved extremely valuable in adding to this number with a lot of discoveries. I had to leave early. As I departed, Alan arrived, adding further to the number of species encountered. Kim and Glori had brought black and white backing screens to help isolate the flowers in the picture. It is a funny thing seeing everyone getting down onto their haunches to train their macro lenses on the tiny flowers, a mere 5-10cms above the ground. It is amazing how a tiny breeze comes out of nowhere and starts to move the flower around, just as you thought you had it focused. Although a small group, we were passionate and enthused and it was an enjoyable excursion for all.

James Allan