Stuck Down – Helen Whitford
Final Inspection – Les Ludgate
With a large number of impressive but odd things from members gardens to consider our judge for the evening, Keith Siedel, had a busy task but as expected he once again did it very well.
Keith is well known to club members as a photographer with a significant portfolio of internationally exhibited and awarded work. His work has been exhibited in 35 countries and published widely. He as been a member of the Edwardstown club since 1986 and is the longest active member. Keith is also the Judging Co-Ordinator for the SAPF. With that sort of background he had plenty of wisdom to pass along.
Empty Pupal Case – Kerry Malec
Fungi Family – Bev Langley
Caught – Judy Sara
Ladybird Elle – Judy Sara
Some of the key points Keith raised were:
- Be conscious of the background and tone it down where necessary so that it does not distract.
- Any sharp, strong colours should be cropped as they are too noticeable.
- Quite a number of shots had a shallow depth of field, to their detriment. He definitely did not like soft edges.
- Fill the frame with detail, make it a tight composition.
- Some images just needed something added to tell a story and make it more powerful.
- Be careful of over-sharpening.
- Try and draw the viewer into the photograph.
- If using macro, think about what needs to be sharp and what is ok to leave soft.
- The time of day of course can have a major impact on the quality of the image.
There were once again a good number of entries in the Open category and they added to the wide variety on display.
Another great night with a larger number of entries from a broader membership mix and this was also reflected in the results.
Seed Pod – Judy Sara
Neglected Corner – Helen Whitford
Wolf Spider – Bev Langley
Void – Jenny Pedlar
In the Steps of the Templars – Mark Pedlar
Zurich Sunset – Anthony Kernich
Tram Lines – Anthony Kernich
City Lights – Anthony Kernich
15/10/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Odd Things in my Garden- October 11 competition
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It was chillier than expected so after adding extra layers or thicker jackets eight of us headed into the wetlands. The birds at Laratinga seem to be more tolerant of people which was great as it enabled us to get quite close to many of the birds. The group soon split up as different birds caught their attention.
The great thing about photography is that it slows you down and enables you to concentrate on the behavior of the birds. You need to watch the birds carefully to enable prediction of that special moment to get the great photo. Or you hold your finger on the shutter and hope that moment is captured somewhere in the burst!
The blaze of blue from the Superb Fairy-wrens captivated everyone. These birds flitted from the ground and into the shrubs feeding themselves and finding food for their begging young.
The Willie Wagtail flew out and came back with tiny sticks and cobwebs to build its nest.
The Red Wattle bird foraged in the litter and probed the tree bark for insects. I thought they were nectar feeders!
The Australian Spotted Crake scuttled across the path to the muddy shore then disappeared into the reeds.
The Mallards thrilled us with brilliant flashes of colour as they moved their wings.
As the Australasian Shovelers dived their tails rose up and their feet paddled.
The synchronized swimming of bird pairs was great to watch.
The freshwater tortoises sunned themselves on the fallen log.
We finally moved our eyes from our cameras and enjoyed a picnic lunch together. But was great to peek onto someone else’s camera screen to see what they had captured!
JUDY
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KERRY
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17/09/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Club outings | Comments Off on Laratinga Wetlands Outing – Sept. 16
Eastern Rosella Twirled – Kerry Malec
The challenge for us this time was to ‘…produce images that “break the rules” and challenge your own comfort zone.’ While down on entries this time, there were some excellent examples for us to consider.
Our judge for the evening was Lindsay Poland, who is a professional photographer and works at Diamonds Camera Video and Digital. To pinch words from James Allan in the September Camera Clips article ( https://cameraclips05.wordpress.com/2018-camera-clips/september-camera-clips/ ):
‘Lindsay has quite a reputation, conducting workshops and has just returned from judging in Victoria. Coming from outside the camera club circuit he has a different approach. He favours strong simple compositions and rewards well printed and presented images. He penalizes post processing that is obvious to the viewer, in particular if it increases noise and sharpening artifact. His attention to detail is phenomenal, viewing the images from close up he is uncanny in his analysis of camera technique and post production. It is hard to pull the wool over his observant gaze.’ Thanks James, well summarised.
He was certainly hot on spotting images where he saw evidence of over sharpening and it was clearly a focus for him.
We hope you enjoy some of the images from the evening.
Through the Door – Judy Sara
Alphabet – James Allan
Perfect Pangarinda – Bev Langley
Slinky and Vase – Judy Sara
Fractured Iris – Helen Whitford
One Loose Cannon – Helen Whitford
Up and Down – Anthony Kernich
Red Centre – Helen Whitford
Reading! It’s Beautiful Outside! – Judy Sara
Parisian Street Art – Anthony Kernich
Hello Sunshine! – Helen Whitford
Melbourne Docks – James Allan
Look Down to Look Up – James Allan
Fluff Up! – Bev Langley
Hint of a Camelia – Judy Sara
06/09/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Break The Boundaries – August 30th Competition
On Sunday August 12 a happy group of seven club members met in historic Strathalbyn. Our mission? Simple really, have fun together taking photographs. The bonus would be to try and take some images that would fit with the upcoming club competition entitled ‘Break The Boundaries’. In other words looking through the view finder it was an opportunity to break the rules and challenge our own comfort zones.
It was an alive township with plenty of weekend activities taking place. In amongst it all apparently there was a back of the truck wine sale complete with tastings and apparently the wine was quite ok. 🙂
After a couple of hours of roaming the historic streets and picturesque park areas in search of the “perfect” images we all enthusiastically joined the queue at the local bakery and enjoyed our health food with coffee. An enjoyable morning in excellent company.
Bruce – Concrete Blocks
Bruce – What Is That
Bruce – Angas
Bruce – Closed Shop
16/08/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Club outings | Comments Off on Breaking the boundaries in Strathalbyn
Hi All,
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.
To go to this edition – click here.
James
10/08/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Camera Clips | Comments Off on August 2018 Camera Clips
Our Set Subject for August 2nd was “Square Crop.” It didn’t matter what the subject of the image was, as long as it suited the square aspect ratio. A number of members came to the party with some creative use of the format. Ray Goulter’s “Alignment”, James Allan’s “Loch Luna”, Howard Seaman’s “Fine Dining”” and Helen Whitford’s “Soursobs” and “Cutie Pie” were all noted by judge, David Rowlands, as suiting the square crop particularly well.
Alignment – Ray Goulter
Loch Luna – James Allan
Cutie Pie – Helen Whitford
Fine Dining – Howard Seaman
Soursobs – Helen Whitford
David provided very fair, well rounded comments, elaborating on what he liked and where he could see opportunities to improve the image. I think we all appreciated the fact that he gave every image his full attention.
The Open category attracted some strong images too, with Anthony Kernich’s “Duomo” impressing, and Helen Whitford’s “Hello Sunshine” having impact. James Allan’s “Pigs” and Mark Pedlar’s “Grey Ghosts on Pulteney” both showed a different perspective.
Duomo – Anthony Kernich
Hello Sunshine! – Helen Whitford
Pigs – James Allan
Grey Ghosts on Pulteney – Mark Pedlar
Entry numbers were low again and we’d really like to encourage everyone to participate in the competition, challenge yourselves and your fellow club-mates and take the opportunity to access feedback on your images from both the judge and other members.
Click the links for all of the Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images.
04/08/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Thinking Inside the Square – August 2nd Competition
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
11/06/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Getting in Close – June 7th Competition
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)
We have two articles from Judy Sara, on Macro Photography and on the Tailem Bend excursion. Ray Goulter has an explanation of the Johnson “Cutplate” Developing Tank . Frances Allan has described the creation of a rather impressive product photograph. I give Google sights map a test run, and lastly a short explanation of solarisation.
Well worth the time reading. Here is the link to this edition.
Regards James
01/06/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Camera Clips | Comments Off on June Camera Clips
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
10/05/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on A NIGHT ON THE STREETS – April 26th Competition
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
25/03/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Natural Light Portraiture! – March 15th Competition
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
08/02/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on Landscape/Seascape on Show – February 1st Competition
A few dedicated club members undertook the 31 Day Challenge on Flickr for December 2017. We have done this each year since 2010 (wow – that long?). The idea if you haven’t seen it before is to take a photo a day and post it on the club Flickr page. No prizes other than a satisfaction in completing a fairly daunting task and keeping it fresh.
For me, it was certainly a challenge and I approached it in two parts. Firstly all posted images had to be black and white. Secondly, I tried to maintain a theme for a week to create a little photo essay (for later use). The second part sort of worked and I think I can get some essays together on commuting, street life and some dark imagery. But more importantly, I’ve had some fun along the way and got some shots I’m very pleased with.
The participants that managed to post a photo a day were Judy Sara, Jennifer Williams, Bruce Nankivell and myself. One notable near daily posters was club life member David Douglas-Martin. James Allen threw a few into the mix as well.
Both Judy and Jennifer tried the black and white treatment too – and the results were very good. Hopefully that means a few more monos next year in competition.
I had a look through the images and selected my top 5 – with myself excluded from that mix (conflict of interest!) and chose the following (click the image to see it full size on Flickr) with comments as to why:
Judy Sara – “Feathers and Curves”
The rim light tells me what the subject is, and the negative space is perfect
Bruce Nankivell – “Mood Lighting”
Clever use of shadow and a clean surface
James Allan – “Eurobin Falls”
The twist through the rocks of the water works so well – sharp yet soft
Jennifer Williams – “Protea – Day 6”
This has the feel of the Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange et al Farm Security Administration images from the 1930’s
Judy Sara – “Henley Beach”
Low key, wide angle, unusual patterns, good use of perspective – what else can I say?
How about you? What about selecting your favourite shots and telling us why? Click on this link to see the full set for the 31 days and choose your own favourites. Let the photographer know what you think as well or post here and share your thoughts.
Cheers
Chris 🙂
03/01/2018 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News, Challenges, Opinion | Comments Off on 31 Day Challenge – December 2017
The final meeting for the year was over, but for a seven of us (plus a couple of very patient partners) the final excursion for the year was a chance to freely take shots with no competition in mind. Unsurprisingly much of the fun was simply in bouncing ideas off each other.
Our meeting point was the Adelaide Railway Station which is where we began taking shots, mindful of the restrictions placed on us by Adelaide Metro. It’s an interesting place if only to observe people as they pour off the trains heading for their Christmas celebration events among other activities on a Saturday night.
We progressed very slowly and some more than others up the side of the InterContinental Hotel to the Torrens River banks and for a few, over the new Adelaide Oval foot bridge.
A quick thanks to Ron Hasan for his as ever enthusiastic willingness to offer guidance/advice where required on all things photography.
We finished the night observing more of Saturday night life in the city as we sat outdoors drinking coffee, eating waffles and sharing our experiences.
As you will observe we were all looking at the same space but, no surprise, we all saw things differently. Such is the beauty of photography.
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17/12/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on OUR FINAL EXCURSION FOR THE YEAR – Happy snapping by the river!
Blackwood Photographic Club celebrated the work of our members with our 2017 Annual Exhibition on Thursday November 23rd.
It was great to see a range of seasoned and new members enter the competition (although it would always be good to have more!). Awards were presented for Aggregate Scores for each section for the year as well as individual images in each section for the end of year Annual Exhibition.
There were many fantastic images both among the award winners and those which may not have caught the judges’ eyes. Some of the prints will be on display at the Coventry Library, Stirling, from December 31st 2017 to January 14th 2018, so please take advantage of the opportunity to check out our photography.
Annual Exhibition Awards
Projected Images
Hutt Street Photos Award
Good Morning Mum – Ron Hassan
Ron receiving his award from BPC President, Mark Pedlar
WEA Australiana Landscape Award
Fall in the Forest – Helen Whitford
Helen receiving an award
Monochrome Prints
I’ve Been Framed Award
White Naped Raven – James Allan
James receiving one of his awards
Colour Prints
Fotoswift Award
Variable Sunbird – James Allan
Album Prints
Edge Malpas Award
Yellow Rumped Thornbill – James Allan
Click here for the complete Projected Images slideshow
Awards
2017 Aggregates
Projected Images – Photographic Wholesalers Award
1st James Allan, 2nd Chris Schultz, 3rd Kerry Malec
Projected Images Novice
1st Liliana Prucha, 2nd Al Falah Dhanji, 3rd David Hancock
Monochrome Prints – Blackwood Times Award
1st Mark Pedlar, 2nd James Allan, 3rd David Hancock
Mark receiving his award from Julie Goulter, BPC Secretary
Colour Prints – Blackwood Photographic Club Award
1st Jenny Pedlar, 2nd Mark Pedlar, 3rd Howard Seaman
Jenny receiving her award
Album Prints – JV Spick Award
1st James Allan, 2nd Howard Seaman, 3rd Helen Whitford
2017 Annual Exhibition Awards
Projected Images – Hutt Street Photos Award
1st Ron Hassan – Good Morning Mum
2nd James Allan – Purse Slipper Nest
3rd Helen Whitford – The Three Faces of Moyo
Merits – James Allan – Jewel Bug, Jennifer Williams – Kuitpo
WEA Landscape Trophy – Helen Whitford – Fall in the Forest
Monochrome Prints – I’ve Been Framed Award
1st James Allan – White Naped Raven
2nd James Allan – Zebra and Young
3rd James Allan – Stints
Merits – Helen Whitford – Blue and Gold Macaw, Mark Pedlar – Port Willunga Shower
Colour Prints – Fotoswift Award
1st James Allan – Variable Sunbird
2nd Chris Schultz – Antony and the Guitar
3rd Eric Budworth – Match Point
Merit – Eric Budworth – Lake Maligne
Album Prints – Edge Malpas Award
1st James Allan – Yellow Rumped Thornbill
2nd James Allan – Web
3rd Helen Whitford – Malabar Parakeet
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24/11/2017 | Categories: Annual Exhibition, Blackwood Photography Club News, Competitions | Comments Off on BPC Annual Exhibition
In what has been a rare occurrence in recent years, entries in the Set Subject of Wildlife far outweighed the Open section in the October competition and a larger than usual number of individuals entered images.
It seems we are wild about Wildlife! Perhaps because several of our members have had wonderful safaris overseas, but there was no shortage of Aussie Wildlife in the mix.
James provided a cuteness overload with Purse Slipper Nest.
Purse Slipper Nest – James Allan
Judy wowed us all with her stunning Jaguar image.
Jaguar – Judy Sara
Steve’s Shy Albatross was not so shy.
Albatross, Stewart Island – Steve Wallace
Howard’s Old Master made an impression.
Old Master – Howard Seaman – Open
and Helen’s MY Grevillea raised a smile.
MY Grevillea! – Helen Whitford
Paula McManus of Port Adelaide CC made her debut as a judge and did a great job! As a first timer she was cautious and rather generous with scores but gave constructive criticism and positive feedback aimed at helping people see what they did right and what could be improved. It seems we helped her feel relaxed enough to share a joke and enjoy the experience. 🙂 Thanks Paula!
There were fewer Open entries but some stunning images – notably Anthony Kernich’s Singapore Blue Hour.
Singapore Blue Hour – Anthony Kernich
And Jenny’s Blue Horses provided an artistic touch.
Blue Horses – Jenny Pedlar
Click the links to see all of the Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images .
14/10/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Wild about Wildlife
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.
I hope these articles will prove helpful.
25/09/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Wildlife Update
My last blog post as President of Blackwood Photographic Club – and my last El Presidente musing for your viewing pleasure.
It’s been a fun ride the last 6 years – as President, Vice President, President and from this Thursday commoner.
In that time with my friends and the committee I’ve tried to steer our club to a more enlightened photographic view – sometimes successfully, sometimes failing. My wish is to see the successes continue – but that is up to you.
Whatever the outcome, I hope you continue to evolve whilst I contemplate my future in photography club land…..
Cheers
Chris 😉
12/09/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | 2 Comments
The club meeting on Thursday August 31 dealt with that most changeable and often most talked about subject of ‘Weather’. It’s a sure fire way to get a conversation going with almost anyone, especially farmers, apparently.
The definition of weather for this competition was: ‘An image that conveys weather as the major feature, not simply the effects of weather.’
Our judge for the night was well known Edwardstown photo club identity, Peter Phillips. With some 35 members present and around 85 photos to work through it was a busy night.
Foggy Cliffs- Heather Connolly
Here are just a few of Peter’s comments from the evening:
- Colour contrast can often help
- Simple images work, they don’t need to be colourful to tell a story.
- We don’t get points for difficulty of taking the shot.
- Animals need sharp eyes
- Sometimes a clear blue sky is more value than a cloudy one to help highlight the focus of the image.
- Macro shots need to be ‘pin sharp’.
- An image needs something to hold the viewer’s attention.
- Shooting in the city on a wet night is always good as you can get great reflections etc.
- Don’t be afraid to make your image square….presentation is important.
- Don’t crowd the image in a shot, give it room.
- Wait up to half an hour after sunset and you’ll still get good colour.
- In the mono set he commented that it is ‘good to have something dark in the image for contrast’.
- He suggested several times on ways to crop certain images to maximise the focus and impact.
- “Is it an image I’d want to look at for a long time?”
One important comment that stood out for me was “Shoot for yourself not for a photo club judge”.
Approaching Summer Storm – Kerry Malec
Turbulent Sea – Heather Connolly
Flight Cancelled – Huw Rosser
Low Cloud – Kerry Malec
There’s Rain in those Hills – Judy Sara
Joy Sherriff – Surf’s Up
Striking Brighton – Helen Whitford
Storm Brewing – Lilliana Prucha
Above are some of the high scoring weather shots and below a few examples from the open section.
Just Hanging Around – Gloria Brumfield
Yummynuts – Helen Whitford
Three Little Kittens – Helen Whitford
Dusk at Darling Harbour – Anthony Kernich
Sydney Under Lights – Anthony Kernich
Morning Light – Sam Savage
Fireworks – Lilliana Prucha
For more images from the night visit our Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images pages.
07/09/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on WEATHER – IT’S ALWAYS CHANGING
It seems that despite a workshop and an outing dedicated to the set subject Light Painting proved a bit too much of a challenge for many of our members, with entry numbers in the Set Subject very low. But a few brave souls tested the waters with some interesting and creative results.
Kerry Malec turned her image into a Monster Mask which also looks a little like an owl.
Monster Mask – Kerry Malec
Ron Hassan and Duart McLean each had a different take on the Port Willunga sticks.
Seaside Sphere – Duart McLean
The Sticks by Torch – Ron Hassan
And Helen Whitford momentarily fooled judge Matt Makinson with her fake Northern Lights.
Northern Lights – Helen Whitford
Matt, a professional photographer whose business Black and White Photographics provides great service to many photographic club members on the north side of town, gave constructive criticism of every image from a different perspective. As someone who works with illustrative or art photography he focused on techniques to improve the presentation and sale potential of images, addressing elements such as paper type, vignetting and selective treatment to part of an image. Members appreciated Matt’s fresh approach – even if he didn’t grant any 10’s!
For more images from the night visit our Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images pages. (More images coming – check back in a couple of days!)
25/07/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Light Painting – July 20th Competition
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.
25/06/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Return to Port Willunga
Have you attended a BPC Peer Review this year? If not you may not be aware of the changes. The format has evolved in response to feedback at the end of 2016 and now takes the form of round-table, small group discussion where everyone has the opportunity to voice their thoughts in a non-threatening environment.
We’ve discussed features to look for in an image, placing Impact, Emotion, Story-telling and use of Light ahead of the technical aspects (Composition, Focus, Exposure etc.). We still offer the opportunity for members to ask for feedback on specific aspects of their image and to compare images eg. “Is this image better in colour or mono?”, “Which works better, the low angle or the high angle?”
I asked this week which people preferred out of this “straight out of camera” shot and a different image taken on the same night which has been edited. It was interesting to hear the outcome!
Under the Milky Way – Straight out of Camera
Under the Milky way II – Different image, edited
We’ve also dedicated Peer Review nights to either Prints OR Projected Images to ensure that everyone gets to have at least one or two of their images viewed. The next Peer Review night on August 3rd will be Prints Only and everyone is encouraged to bring along at least one print, more if you have them, to share with other club members. The discussion over images has been very animated, thoughtful and has provided useful feedback to those who have shared while inspiring others to have a go at different ideas and techniques presented.
As an added point of interest we’ve introduced a brief presentation at the start of the night where a specific technique may be discussed or famous photographer presented. This time Chris gave us an insight into the work of Trent Parke, challenging us to change our perception of photography and art. You can see the presentation in El Presidente’s Musings.
So if you haven’t been to a Peer Review for a while come and check out the new format and take advantage of the chance to share your images and receive genuine, constructive feedback. 🙂
24/06/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Peer Review/Critique Nights are Evolving!
Bwindi Mountains – James Allan
The set subject proved very popular this month, with only two Colour prints entered in the Open section and 24 in Landscape/Seascape and twice as many Set Subject entries as Open in Projected Images. There were some very atmospheric images like James Allan’s Bwindi Mountains and Chris Schultz’s Dusty Sunset.
Dusty Sunset – Chris Schultz
Sam Savage showed us why New Zealand is called the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Long White Cloud – Sam Savage
And Anthony Kernich avoided cliches with a beautiful panorama of the Three Sisters in the rain.
Three Sisters – Anthony Kernich
We welcomed Alberto Giurelli back as our judge (thanks for stepping in at the last minute Alberto!) He entertained us with his stories as he considered each image and tried to see the photographer ‘s intention and view the images with an artistic eye.
It was fantastic to see new member and first-time competitor Bron Williams among the top scores with two of her images.
Cape Leveque – Bron Williams
We didn’t get a triptych but James came up with a quadtych of the Maasai Mara with images taken from a hot air balloon – rather a different take on the landscape theme.
Maasai Mara – James Allan
For more top images visit Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images
10/06/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on Landscape/Seascape Competition June 9th
The May Newsletter has been published.
This edition is packed with “how to do” tips, for star photography, workflow, photographing flying birds, light painting and Seascapes. In the last month we had a brief presentation on art photography. The quotes from the presentation can all be found here. There is also an article on the Australian art photographer Bill Hensen. Have you been to zed ward? This edition has a description of the Victorian era criminal assylum. Lastly Ray has another fascinating camera that he explores. It’s all in Camera clips. Check it out now.
James
30/05/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Comments Off on May 2017 Camera Clips
I don’t normally post here – it all goes into El Presidente’s Musings where it can be lost for all excluding the hardiest site readers.
But on this occasion I’ll make an exception and point you to the latest musing where I lose my cool a little.
Make of it what you will
Chris
08/05/2017 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | 2 Comments
Blackwood Photographic Club of South Australia Inc. 