| 'From Here to Eternity' | 29 October 2019 |
Members enjoyed an evening of Audio Visuals created by Paul Keene FRPS MPAGB EFIAP/p MFIAP showing a wide range of photography set to popular music.  Paul has been an enthusiastic photographer for many years and gained his FRPS in 1991. Pauls interests began at an early age with birds and wildlife but his selection of AV’s showed something of the wide range of photographic interests he now has.AV’s consist of a number of still images, arranged and set to music. Paul began with an AV titled ‘Art or Junk’ which effectively demonstrated how a simple idea could be made into an interesting sequence’ Paul took just 10 minutes to take the photographs which he later edited to look like abstract paintings. The sequence gradually revealed that all the images were close ups of the interesting patterns of rust and old paint on an old derelict car.  The next AV was ‘Belén’ featuring an attractive Spanish girl posing with a horse. There were well taken close ups of both the girl and the horse blended together to great effect.Paul enters many photographic competitions and said that bluebell images were rather scorned by judges in Britain as they are so commonplace but in other parts of the world they gain high praise. His next AV featuring a bluebell wood titled was ‘Midnight Blue’ and was set to music with the same title by the Electric Light Orchestra. The images were taken at all times of the day over 2 weeks. It took Paul several years to get all the images he needed for ‘The Life of Swans’ and by taking his time and watching the swans closely he photographed the swans lifestyle with some delightful images of the cygnets. The images were put together with music from Enya.  The last sequence before the break was ‘Wish You Were Here’ The stunning images were taken on the coast of Queensland, Australia – a place Paul calls paradise. Lovely shots of the sunrise over the waves, deserted beaches, crystal clear water and even some underwater shots.An invitation to visit Tibet to photograph the people and their way of life resulted in 2 colourful AV’s. First shown was ‘Portrait of Tibet’ showing the interesting faces of both young and old in their colourful costumes. Next was ‘Tales from Tibet’ which showed the lifestyle in the high mountainous area, elaborate temples with their robed monks, religious festivals, prayer flags and coracle making.  ‘Ascension’ was the final AV of the evening with very creative images exploring how life on Earth might have started. Inspired by the music 'Songs of the Distant Earth’ by Mike Oldfield images of snow crystals, water droplets, spacemen all cleverly mixed together to give a sequence out of this world!. A reminder to members – the club has an Audio-Video competition later in the season so hopefully you have drawn some inspiration from tonight’s selection and can make some AV’s of you own. Maybe some photos you have already or ideas of where you might take some or maybe some music you love inspires you. Paul uses Pictures to Exe software which is an excellent programme – visit the wnsoft.com website for information or see helpful information for mac users in this websites members’ area. If you are new to making AV's then experienced club members will give you some help to get started. David Wilkinson thanked Paul for the wonderful evening of AV’s in a wide variety of styles. PM Images © Paul Keene |
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| Frome-Wessex CC v Devizes CC Battle - a win for Devizes! | 25 October 2019 |
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Our return Battle with Frome-Wessex Camera Club was an away fixture held at the Beckington Memorial Hall Frome. The judge on the night was Eddy Lane ARPS DPAGB EFIAP, who had decided to judge the entire set ‘cold’, or as he put it, ‘both judge and audience are seeing each image for the first time and through fresh eyes’.
The Battle consisted of 30 Projected Image photographs from each club, with rules specifying that no more than 2 images could come from any one photographer, that at least 5 images must come from less experienced photographers, and there should be no more than 6 Nature images.
Each image was scored out of 20, although Eddy Lane decided only to use a restricted range of marks, so overall on the night, the lowest score was 16 and the highest was 20.
The evening began cautiously, with few very strong or very weak images, and in the whole of the first half, only one image received the full 20 marks, that being our own Robert Harvey’s ‘A Rabbit Before Me’ snow landscape of rabbit tracks leading to a tree on Martinsell Hill. At half time, Devizes had just about edged ahead, leading by 267 points against 262. Someone remarked that something had been added to Eddy’s coffee at half time, because the second half brought an avalanche of no less than 12 images receiving 20 points, of which 7 came from Devizes. These included images from Gina Gordon, Sue Wadman, Dave Gray, Martin Stokes, Tim Tapley, Pam Mullings and another from Robert Harvey. Our other entries also reaped a rich harvest of points, so that by the end, Devizes had scored 558 points against 540 for Frome-Wessex.
Although disappointingly few of our members were able to attend on the night, we were very warmly welcomed by our guests. Our thanks go to Frome-Wessex for organising the evening, and to Eddy Lane for his thoughtful and constructive comments on each of the images shown on the night. DG
Well done to Devizes CC See the Devizes scores |
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| 'Pushing the Boundaries, Artistic Intent & Technology in Wildlife Photography' | 22 October 2019 |
The club was delighted to welcome photographer, conservationist and author Paul Colley CB OBE ARPS. Paul uses his photographs to help publicise a number of conservation issues that he is involved with and strives to create unique images showing animal behaviour.  The presentation began by showing the undersea images that Paul has taken in many parts of the world. He showed how fragile ecosystems can be ruined by man but also how they can spring back to life when nature is allowed to take over. Using video and still photos images of colourful corals and the creatures that inhabit them. By knowing how to hold his nerve and behave correctly underwater, Paul can get really close to large and dangerous marine life allowing him to take incredible close up images of manta rays, sharks and sea snakes. Paul writes articles for many marine and conservation publications pointing out how vital it is to protect the seabed and all the creatures that depend on it.As a successful photographer, Paul says you need to stand out from the crowd and images need to have impact. He experiments with many different techniques and showed some interesting shots of life above and below the water at the same time and unusual views such as ‘Mallard Photo Bomb’ right  By being extremely patient Paul was able to show the abundance of life in a freshwater chalk stream. He needed to use different techniques as the water is shallow and the silt easily disturbed so he has worked out ways of setting up his equipment and using live view he can remotely control the camera from the bank.Paul taken many award winning images and has spent many months working out how to take unique images of bats as they go about catching insects in the dark. This presents many challenges as the bats fly very fast and are tiny so even seeing them is difficult. Infra-red light is not visible to bats so Paul can use a specially adapted camera to see in the very low light. Technology helps as bat detectors can pick up the sonar sounds and even pick out the species.  To take successful wildlife images the photographer needs to study the behaviour of the creature. With bats he needed to work out where and when the prey insects would be likely to appear and then the likely flight paths of the bats. Standing waist deep in water he experimented setting up laser camera traps, flash guns and getting the camera set up ready. Great care must be taken as the bats must not be disturbed in any way.Paul has created bat images that show behaviour that has not been seen before and he went into a great deal of detail about how managed to get such superb images. He showed Incredible close up images of bats reflected in the water such as the ‘Bat Mirror Image’ above and others were taken using a strobe light showed the bats flight path. His image ‘Contrails at Dawn’ right won him the 2018 British Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. In some bat images he experiments using double exposures to show some background interest or the moon and stitched panoramas give a different view. Paul is an extremely dedicated photographer and is working towards gaining his fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. Dave Gray thanked Paul and said it was one of the most interesting presentations the club had seen. PM Images © Paul Colley |
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| Nature Competitions - Results | 15 October 2019 |
 The judge for the club’s annual Nature competition was Victoria Hillman BSc MSc who with her extensive knowledge of flora and fauna and degrees in wildlife, conservation & zoology was very well qualified to take on the task. Victoria has travelled extensively and has a deep knowledge of all wildlife.  Victoria is a self-taught photographer herself and has visited the club previously to present her own excellent wildlife images.Before showing the Nature print entries Victoria commented that flaws will show up especially with prints on images that are cropped too heavily and recommended that at least 70% of the original should be kept. Victoria had taken a really close look at all the images, wrong depth of field and over sharpening were other issues with some images. The point of focus was also not always where it should have been and the eyes of a bird, mammal or bug should always be pin sharp. However, despite the faults Victoria said the standard of entries was high and that she had enjoyed looking at the entries which were from all club sections – Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. There were 24 prints entered and Victoria gave her comments as each one was displayed. First place was awarded to ‘Parson’s Chameleon’ right by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP with the judge saying it was an excellent image – good composition and the colours of the creature were well printed.   Another image by Robert was second ‘White-tailed Sea Eagle Hunting’ above left caught the action as the bird swooped over the water. In third place was ‘Mountain Hare’ by David Wilkinson which was well composed and exposed. Four other prints were awarded Highly Commended. After the break the 56 projected images were shown and again Victoria pointed out areas which were not quite sharp where they should be. There were also some examples of distracting backgrounds where if the photographer had moved slightly one way or the other the image would have been improved. Victoria understood from her own wildlife photography experiences that you have to be quick to catch the moment so there is often no time to check that the camera is all set up correctly. Again first place went to Robert Harvey – this time with an image titled ‘Southern Hawker in Flight’. In second place was a very different image showing the varying flight patterns in a flock of starlings titled ‘Moving Murmuration’ taken by Kyra Wilson. ‘Red Squirrel, Brownsea’ was a charming image by David Eagle which the judge said was well composed and the colour correct and she awarded it 3rd place. Seven other images were awarded HC’s.  Very well done to Robert who won both the print and projected image nature competitions but was away on a professional photographic assignment and so was not there to collect the trophies which he has won on many previous occasions.Very well done to all those who entered such an interesting variety of wildlife images and many thanks to David Eagles as Competition Secretary for organising the competition.  Special thanks to Victoria for looking so carefully at the images and giving her helpful comments.See list of awarded Nature images All the awarded images can be seen in the Galleries |
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| ‘Post Processing Images’ | 8 October 2019 |
This week we welcomed Dave Gray, our very own Lightroom guru to enlighten us about the mysteries of processing images. Using a PowerPoint presentation linked to live Lightroom, Dave very effectively showed us how to use the more basic functions of Lightroom, how to manage and catalogue images and what has changed since his last presentation in 2017.In the first half Dave concentrated on the Lightroom catalogue and then how we can change the appearance of an image looking at the major adjustments which can be grouped into colour balance, exposure, contrast and saturation. Colour Balance can eliminate colour casts and render whites and greys as neutral colours. RAW files are needed and its is important that your monitor is correctly colour calibrated. Exposure – Dave talked about using the histogram and also that the exposure slider may be rather heavy handed so use the Highlights and Shadows sliders. Contrast depends on the author’s intent – again the contrast slider can be heavy handed so Dave talked us through the use of the clarity, dehaze and texture sliders. Saturation makes the image more or less colourful and again that slider can be quite forceful so the use of the Vibrance slider should be considered. Having processed images he then went on to explain the importance of saving and disaster backup. Recommendations include a mirror copy of all images and the Lightroom catalogue held on another drive with a possible third cloud-based copy. After the break Dave introduced Range masks - Luminance and Colour – and how to use them, new profiles and changes to presets. Another very recent update includes batch processing which is very useful for dealing with the multiple images associated with HDR’s and Panoramas. Dave then demonstrated how to create virtual copies, rename and organise images using Folders and Collections including a dire warning about only doing the moving within Lightroom itself. To finish the evening we were then reminded how to prepare images for club competitions, resize them and export in the correct format. Plenty of questions and answers made this a most informative evening and we heartily thank Dave for the huge amount of work that had obviously gone into producing such an excellent presentation. SH For more information see Dave's 2019 'Editing in Lightroom'and 'Photo Mangement' and if you missed the presentation here are the images |
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| 2019 Print Exhibition - People's Vote | |
| The Members' Biennial Print Exhibition held in the Devizes Heritage Museum during the month ofSeptember has now closed. We hope that you all went along to see the wide variety of framed images. Thanks to all those who made it happen and made it look so impressive. The judge gave his opinion on the images he liked best but during the exhibition visitors could pick the image that they thought appealed to them most. The voting slips have been collected and the image with the most votes is titled 'Fisherman's Cottage on Hoy' and the photographer of this delightful image is club Chairman Steve Hardman so very well done to him. Out of the 96 votes cast, Steve's print gained 8. Robert Harvey's ‘Rainbow Over Salisbury Plain’ scored 5 votes and Sue Wadman’s ‘Emergence’ and Steve Burgess’ ‘Landing Lights On’ were joint 3rd with 4 points. Of equal significance is that 47 different prints had at least one person who thought they were the best which just goes to show that opinions vary widely. Well done to everyone and now we can look forward to 2021 when we will have another chance to display the club's talents in the town! |
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| 'Creating Stunning Star Trails" and "Astrophotography Highlights' | 1 October 2019 |
An interest in astronomy started when Mary McIntyre was very young and she was captivated with the moon and said she wanted to be an astronomer when she grew up. The interest never waned and she showed her enthusiasm in her presentation. Mary has a shed in her garden that she shares with her husband which is equipped with an array of telescopes and other instruments as they both have the same passion for exploring the heavens but go about it in different ways Mary began by saying that photographing star trails was easy and could be done with any camera or even a smartphone! However, to get the best results you need to experiment to get the settings right and you need a sturdy tripod as any movement will spoil the sequence. A cable release is also necessary to avoid camera shake when pressing the shutter. Mary then talked in great detail through the techniques she uses. These can be seen on the PDF which you can study. She advises finding somewhere with as dark a night sky as possible to avoid too much light pollution. Be prepared to spend many hours on often cold nights while the camera is set up to automatically takes an image every few seconds. After taking the many individual images they then have to be processed to make up the final star trail photograph. Star trail images are composed of hundreds or even thousands of images ‘stacked’ together to give a final image but luckily these days there is software that makes the job fairly quick and easy. You can either finish up with a single stacked image or software can be used to make a time-lapse video of the changing star trails. The many hours it takes to photograph the night sky can be reduced to a few seconds on a video! Mary illustrated her presentation by showing examples of her own work. Star trails can have a foreground subject which can either be in silhouette or lit to show some colour and she experiments with different ways of showing the trails – they can be central by lining up on the pole star or by looking East or West when just part of the trail is shown. The image can also be cropped to give different effects.  Mary then went on to show how extremely knowledgeable she is about anything related to space. She showed us images of solar eclipses, phases of the moon, comets and deep space galaxies and nebula.  Using a camera attached to a telescope she is able to photograph extreme close ups of the moon and even the solar flares. Mary experiments to get ‘earthshine’ on the dark areas of a new moon. The milky way can be photographed with a landscape in the foreground to make a stunning image. Mary is interested in photographing any phenomena seen in the night sky such as the aurora borealis which can be sometimes be seen from as far south as Oxfordshire. Lightning strikes are another interest and Mary showed many amazing single shots or stacked images. Unusual cloud formations, rainbows and crepuscular rays featured in other images. Mary ended the evening by showing that her photographic knowledge is not only in the sky but she takes an interest in the natural world. She takes extreme close ups of snow flakes and uses a microscope to see tiny creatures that can’t be seen by eye. Chairman Steve Hardman thanked Mary for her very interesting presentation and summed up the evening by saying it was lovely to hear someone conveying so well, the passion she has for her subjects. PM Images© Mary McIntyre Top left :Star-trails, Top right: Earth-shine 0n Moon, Left: Rolling Clouds, Right: Lightning stacked image |
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| Open Projected Image Competition 1 | 24 September 2019 |
The judge for the first competition of the 2019-2020 season was Sandie Cox ARPS DPAGB who was welcomed back to the club by Chairman Steve Hardman. Sandie has kindly judged club competitions several times previously giving her expert advice on how images could be improved and selecting the winning entries.  As usual in Open competitions the entries are divided into 3 sections – Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced and Sandie remarked on the very high standard overall. The evening began by projecting the Beginners section with a good entry of 27 images. Sandie spent some time giving her comments on how some images could have been improved by some cropping of unnecessary areas and the positioning of the subject in the frame. There was a wide range of subjects with some outstanding landscapes, wildlife subjects and some interesting ethnic portraits.  A member fairly new to club competitions did really well with Sandie awarding Paul Wells first and third places. A mono image by Paul titled ‘Days End’ right of a nostalgic harvesting scene with old machinery appealed to the judge and was placed first with a striking panoramic image also by Paul awarded third place. In second place was a well captured image of blackbird feeding her hungry offspring by Mark Somerville. Mark also gained a Highly Commended for an extreme close up titled ‘Longhorn Beetle’ Well done to all the Beginners who entered – some for the first time.Next came the images entered in the Intermediate section. Again the standard was very high with some excellent wildlife photographs. First place was given to David Wilkinson with a stunning image ‘Skylark with Bugs’ left and second was also given to David with ‘Green Woodpecker’ with both images having the subjects well positioned.  Third was another nature image titled ‘Leopard Lacewings’ by Steve Hardman with judge commenting on the good depth of field keeping the whole image sharp. Steve also gained an HC with a very well taken landscape.Sandie said that several more wildlife images in the section were worthy of awards but she had to limit the number given. After the break came the turn of the Advanced images to be judged. After picking out 8 of the images for awards Sandie gave a creative image ‘Great Tit with a Bee’ right by Tim Pier first place. The image showed a Great Tit on a fence but a texture had been added which really made the subject stand out and Sandie said she would have liked the image on her wall! In second and third places were images by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP. The colours in the well taken image titled ‘Sandstorm, Namid Desert’ appealed to the judge and in ‘A Rabbit before me’ Sandie remarked on the foot prints in the snow and the beautiful lighting. Five Highly Commended's were awarded. The judge was thanked for taking the time to look so carefully at all our entries and for giving her very helpful comments. Thanks to all those members who entered the competition and especially to those entering for the first time. Thanks also to our new Competiton Secretary David Eagle who collected all the entries and ran the competition.A very good start to the competition season so we very much look forward to seeing many more top class images from members. PM See the full list of awards All the Awarded Images can be seen in the Galleries Members can log in to see the 2019-2020 points table |
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| 'Visions of Silence: Chernobyl 32 years on' | 17 September 2019 |
Welsh Photographer Graham Harries was welcomed to the club by Chairman Steve Hardman. Graham has a wide interest in photography including nature, landscape, portrait and wedding photography and he began the evening by showing some of his images.  Tonight Graham was giving a presentation on his 4 day trip to Chernobyl where tourists are now allowed into parts of the site where the Soviet nuclear reactor exploded in 1986. Residents of the city nearest to the explosion had only 3 hours to leave their homes never to return. Surprisingly only 32 people died directly from the blast but thousands have since died from ill health caused by the radiation.The excellently presented evening started with a countdown and then the sound of a warning siren. Video, still images, news broadcasts of the time, archive images were all expertly combined with sound effects and appropriate music to make the rather grim topic very watchable. Places visited on the tour were the abandoned top secret areas with the grim looking corridors and the radar jamming structures, the now derelict hospital and a school where pupils had to leave everything behind. Even a whole city with its rows of identical tower blocks of flats was left to decay. The actual reactor is now entombed in concrete to help keep in the radiation and it is estimated that the area around will be unsafe for at least 300 years. The total area affected was 1,000 square miles with all cities, towns and villages within the area all abandoned. It is now considered reasonably safe to visit areas over 20 kms from the reactor  site but precautions still have to be taken – no touching anything and avoid getting any mud on you and checks to make sure you are not contaminated.A notice scrawled on a wall as you enter the area ‘Welcome to Hell’ gives a good idea of what you are about to see. Many poignant images showing what the residents at the time had to leave behind, clothes, books and even pianos now covered in debris in the litter strewn rooms.  Little touches sometimes show that the area was not as grim as the Soviet Union is often conceived to be, some elegant sculptures and painted walls in places and surprisingly a fairground although that had not yet been used before the area was inhabitable. At the time of Grahams visit there was a covering of snow on the ground which enhanced the outdoor images, the many derelict vehicles, trains and even boats in the docks with its towering cranes made interesting photographic subjects. Graham had put together a remarkable presentation with excellent images so thanks for giving the club such an interesting insight into such a grim tragedy. PM Images © Graham Harries. Top left Abandoned Bus, top right: Radar Jamming & Danger Zone. Bottom left: Mural of a Cosmanaut, bottom right: Abandoned Fairground Ride. |
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| The Landscape Group Presents...... | 10 September 2019 |
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In the second week of our new season, and much earlier in the year’s programme than usual, we had our “Landscape Group Presents…” evening.
Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP got the session under way with a presentation entitled Landscape Photography in Autumn. He started by saying that it it is many photographers’ favourite time of the year for photography as the light is softer and the emerging colour in trees make for more interesting compositions. Splitting his talk into four parts, he started with images taken in Mist. The Vale of Pewsey is often shrouded in mist on early mornings in Autumn which can provide an extra dimension to the landscape. He illustrated this with a sunrise photograph taken from Milk Hill, where the subtle pink dawn light suffused the mist.  Caen Locks (left) in Devizes is, said Robert, one of the most popular photography sights in Wiltshire, especially when there is mist, and he urged us to consider heading there to take sunrise shots one week before the autumn equinox. This is when the sun rises directly in line with the top of the locks as seen from the bottom of the flight. The best time this autumn, he said, would be at 07:01 on Monday 16th September.He also recommended using a longer lens to foreshorten perspective, as demonstrated in misty images taken at Martinsell and Corfe Castle.  Waterfalls constituted Robert’s second section saying that they looked their best on bright overcast days in autumn when colours become well saturated. Fallen leaves on rocks or swirling in the water added extra dimensions to the images. He pointed out that there is constant debate about the best shutter speed for waterfall photography. Using a series of images taken at Tavy Cleave on the River Tavy in Devon, Robert took a straw poll of the audience preferences. Photos taken at 1/80th (crisp water) and 1/2 a second (Milky water) received a reasonable number of votes, but that taken at 10 second (very blurred) was not popular. The favourite for this group, however, was the image taken at 1/6th second in which there was some blurring that showed the movement of the water. A top tip from Robert was to collect loads of fallen leaves in a bag. These can then be used to tip into swirling water before shooting at a slow shutter speed to capture the swirl in the stream. They can also be placed artistically on convenient foreground rocks to add interest and colour. These techniques were demonstrated in further waterfall images taken at Venford Falls on Dartmoor and a series of waterfalls at Ystradfellte (right) in the Brecon Beacons.  Robert’s third section turned to the pastel colours that become evident in the early morning in Autumn, particularly on frosty days. Showing images of millstone grit rocks in the Peak District and granite stones on Dartmoor, he showed how the early morning glow can infuse the rocks with pastel tones along with the muted shades of bracken brown and grass green. He said that the best light often occurs before dawn, as shown in images taken in the Lake District of Derwent Water and Buttermere, where he was able to capture the pastel tones of the sky reflected in the waters of the lakes. He also showed shots of the muted colours on a cloudy day at Castlerigg Stone Circle and the gleaming wood of a jetty on a rainy afternoon at Ullswater.For his fourth section, Robert talked about the golden leaves that are characteristic of Autumn. Several further photographs taken in the Lake District showed the splendour of trees in the landscape as the leaves change colour. He also showed how the use of a 10-stop neutral density filter can smooth out the waters in a lake to obtain crisp reflections. Images taken on Exmoor at Robber’s Bridge and Tar Steps (left) also showed the beauty of yellow and orange-leaved trees at the river’s edge. |
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| 'What Makes a Good Photograph?' | 3 September 2019 |
Standing in for the club Chairman, David Wilkinson welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the 2019-2020 season and said it was good to see so many potential new members. David said the season had already started with a bang as the members print exhibition had been opened a few days previously. The exhibition showed the high standard of photography by club members and he urged any that had not seen the exhibition to go along to the Devizes Museum. Due to Caroline Wright organising workshops and encouraging members who had never seen their images printed. David said that 25% of the print entries were from those in the club’s Beginners Group and some had also been awarded Highly Commended’s.David then introduced tonight’s speaker Andrew Mills ARPS. Andrew has been a professional photographer for all his working life with a wide range of experience in advertising and commercial photography as well as studio work.  He has travelled widely and held many exhibitions of his photographs and now lectures in photography at degree level so is well qualified to give his opinion on what makes a good photograph. Andrew explained that he was going to take us on a journey through some famous photographer’s work. Although the photographs he is about to show he regards as good or interesting they would probably not be marked highly in camera club competitions. Many of the images were experimental in their time and were taken with the limited equipment available. Early photography was regarded as an art and was mainly the prerogative of the wealthy aristocrats. The photographer had to have a good knowledge of chemistry, how a camera works and how to take an image with the equipment of the time which was bulky and heavy. Setting up a plate camera took a long time and exposure could take several hours but nevertheless superb images were produced which have stood the test of time and are highly regarded today. Great care was taken over posing and lighting studio images and photographers of the day managed to set up their equipment outdoors to record events and street scenes of the time. Images showing the fashions, living conditions and events of the time are of great historic value. War scenes, industrial landscapes and street scenes were among the many images shown in the presentation also beautifully posed portraits that rival any taken today.   Lighting is very important as well as good composition but equally photographs need to catch a moment in time that can never be repeated.Most images shown were in monochrome but coming more up to date there were some superb colour shots, many taken before the convenience of digital photography and modern equipment. Faster speeds now allow more scope to catch the action but the old photographers were very inventive and managed to photograph some amazing events. Shown above is a stunning image 'Glass Tears' by Man-Ray taken in 1932 and above right is an early image of 'Marilyn Monroe by Richard Avedon. Images were also shown by many living photographers such as Tim Flach & Richard Cook but images are still under copyright. Andrew himself takes many candid shots portaying life and events in many countries and also superb wildlife images. Shown left is a poignant moment taken in Tienenman Square, Beijing and shown right is one of Andrews many images of Romanian peasant folk going about their daily lives. See Andrews website for many more images. Many thanks to Andrew for sharing his knowledge and giving such an interesting and inspiring presentation. PM |
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| Biennial Print Exhibition is now Open | |
 On Sunday 1st September in the Gallery of the Wiltshire Heritage Museum Craig Purvis welcomed the Mayor of Devizes Cllr Judy Rose and thanked her for giving up her Sunday to open the event, Craig introduced the Judge Ralph Snook ARPS, EFIAP/b, DPAGB and welcomed members and visitors to the opening of the 2019 Members Print Exhibition. Craig thanked the museum for their hospitality and the help during the set-up, Caroline Wright for all the work organizing the entries and all those who helped set up this exhibition. The judge was thanked for judging the very large number of prints entered and for coming along to today to award the photographers with the winning images, finally thanking the Mayor councilor Judy Rose for giving up her Sunday to open this event.The Mayor said that she enjoys photography herself and thought the images were ‘absolutely amazing’. Craig handed over to the judge who said, he thought the images looked very impressive on the walls of the gallery and commented on the impressive layout due to the fact all the frames were of a similar size and colour. Ralph made point the standard was very high, which made his job very difficult and on several occasions had moved HC’s into 1,2, or 3rd placings and visa versa and then moved back again. He thought the idea of one part of the competition being photographs taken in Wiltshire was very good and the club may benefit from a greater interest from local photographers because of it. He made use of as many HCs as he could because the standard was so high. With everyone waiting to see who had won the Trophies and gained awards the judge read out the titles of the prints and the photographers who had gained awards.  Altogether there were 105 prints from 30 members entered in the competition of which 29 were entered in the ‘Photographed in Wiltshire’ section. Space was limited in the museum but 85 prints were framed and on show in the Gallery. Some new members were showing their prints for the first time and were very pleased when they saw how impressive their prints looked when framed and hung on a gallery wall!In the best overall print competition, the judge Ralph Snook placed ‘Golden Eagle in the Snow by Gill Cardy FRPS DPAGB EFIAP (right) in first place and presented Gill with the Leaze Cottage Trophy. This Trophy was donated by Gill in 2009 so it was very appropriate that she won the competition and the trophy! Eighteen of the prints were also awarded Highly Commended  In second place was a creative image by Tim Pier titled ‘The Princess’ and in third place was ‘Male Kingfisher and Two Fish by Kyra Wilson.In the competition for images taken in Wiltshire first place went to ‘Rainbow over Salisbury Plain’ by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP (left) and he was presented with the Derek Parker Plaque. ‘Golden Sunset, Cherhill Down’ by Dave Gray was placed second and David Wilkinson’s ‘Barn Owl Feeding’ was in third place. In addition, Highly Commended’s were awarded to six more of the prints. Many congratulations to all those with awards and thanks to all those who entered and helped make this such an interesting and inspiring exhibition. Particular thanks to Caroline for all her hard work and all those who had the difficult task of hanging all the prints and making the gallery look so special. Many thanks to all those who helped with the difficult job of hanging all the framed prints on the walls of the gallery and those that helped in many different ways. The exhibition is open during Museum opening times until 28 September so if you haven’t seen it yet then go along and see the wide range of subjects shown and the very high standard of prints by club members. Also would members tell friends and neighbours that the exhibition is well worth a visit. The judge has given his opinion and picked his favourites but anyone can go along and vote for the print that they would have put first by posting a voting slip in the box. Also please leave your comments in the visitors book as its interesting to read how the general public feel about the club’s efforts. PM Images by Caroline Wright & David Wilkinson See the full list of awarded images Top placed Prints |
| Summer Social Event 2019 | |
| Members of the club gathered together on a hot June afternoon in the Melksham garden of Ian & Gill Cardy. Members brought along some salads, sweets and cakes for all to enjoy and Frank Collins was in charge of the BBQ. Many thanks to Gill and Ian for hosting the event. Thanks to Joan Ryder Rathband for the photos. |
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| Landscape Group trip to Cornwall | |
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May 2019 saw the Devizes Landscape Group venture down to Tintagel on Cornwall’s sunny North Coast for a spring photoshoot weekend.
 The weather forecast was set fair and the group had been booked in to stay at the Camelot Castle hotel, with its commanding views over the coastline including views toward Tintagel Island and Tintagel Haven.  The Camelot Castle hotel dates back to 1894 and was originally constructed under the auspices of a Victorian entrepreneur, by the name of Sir Robert Harvey (no relation?). It is now owned by John Mappin (of Mappin and Webb fame) and is run jointly as a family home and hotel welcoming visitors to Tintagel on the Cornish North coast.Tintagel Island is famous for its connection with the legends surrounding Merlin, King Arthur and Camelot. However, the ruined castle on the island dates from Norman times, much later than the time of the Arthurian legends, however the island does hold signs of much earlier settlements. Sadly, we were unable to explore the castle as the island was closed off in preparation for the installation of a ‘no steps’ foot bridge to allow access to the island without the need to climb the existing steep cliff path.
Probably feeling somewhat cheated, Dave Gray seemed to take this as a bit of a challenge and established an interesting photographic itinerary for the group that made absolutely sure that we didn’t miss out on our fair share of steep cliff paths.  On the Saturday, the first day’s excursions started with an early a trip out to the cliffs near Trevelga between Tintagel and Boscastle to see the rock arch known as the Ladies Window. With the sun in the right direction the window casts its shadow on the cliffs opposite, which we duly photographed, ably assisted by some willing models to add some human interest and a sense of scale. Although only a half mile walk, this introductory walk was sufficient impetus to split the group into ‘Walkers’ and ‘Non-Walkers’. The Non-Walkers took the eminently sensible option of letting the car take the strain, while the ‘Walkers’ were to be subjected treated to yet more cliff path challenges.Boscastle was next on the agenda, back in 2004 the town of Boscastle was devasted by floods, but 15 years later the buildings around the harbor have now been rebuilt and refurbished such that you would never know that the flood had taken place.
The classic view of Boscastle harbor is from Penally Hill looking toward Willapark and its small castellated coastguard lookout perched on the opposite headland. The climb up Penally Hill is yet another steep walk, which although a well-worn path with steps, is still a bit of a challenge to the fully laden photographer. From Penally hill we walked out to the headland and back into Boscastle Harbour, ready for our next destination, the ominously named Strangles beach.
Strangles beach is located on a stretch of the Cornish coastline well known for its high cliffs (there’s a surprise), with one of the nearby cliffs being ‘High Cliff’ which stands at some 700 feet above sea level. The beach itself is reached by negotiating an undulating section of the South West Coast path followed by descending several hundred feet down a very steep cliff to the beach, the last stage of this descent being facilitated by a length of ships hawser to allow the steps to be safely negotiated.
Once on the beach, the focus of our photographic efforts was to be the rock stack and arch known as Northern Door. The Northern door marks the division of the Strangles into two beaches here which join up at low tide.  The smaller beach to the north of the rock stack is known as Little Strand and although Little Strand is said to be popular with naturists, we confined our photography to the stack and the arch (honest!)Having survived the descent to the Strangles and subsequent ascent and return to the cars, we set off for Crackington Haven ready for the sunset and high tide, but not before an excellent early supper at the Coombe Barton Inn. The beach at Crackington is surrounded by cliffs of some 400ft, the cliffs feature some dramatic sedimentary rock folds, while the beach itself hosts some spectacular quartz veined ledges and ridges which made for great photographic subjects as the tide advances. The tide at this beach, in common it seems with a number of beaches in North Cornwall, has great potential for cutting off the unwary photographer, so care had to be taken to work out both the chosen composition and also an escape route from the rising tide. continue reading Day 2, |
| Annual General Meeting and Presentation of Awards | 14 May 2019 |
| Chairman Steve Hardman opened the proceedings for the clubs 2019 AGM by saying how surprised he had been to find he had been made chairman in his absence at the previous AGM! One of the things Steve particularly noticed when he first joined the club was that there was a huge wealth of experience and photographic knowledge amongst members which they only too ready to share if asked.
Steve said that there is a very hardworking, dedicated and enthusiastic committee who beaver away in the background trying to make things happen and deserve massive thanks. In his Annual report Steve went on to thank the committee members starting with Roly Barth who found himself as Competition Secretary after Stephen Burgess could not take on the role because of work commitments. Roly also took on the role of Vice Chairman and has stood in for Steve when he has not been able to attend meetings. Dave Gray was thanked for his dedicated work as Club Secretary and also for leading the Landscape Group. Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP has been a member of the Club for many years but over the last 4 years as Programme Secretary he has excelled in producing an ever-improving speaker programme which must be the envy of other clubs far and wide. The quality and range of speakers he has organised has attracted many visitors to come along to club presentation evenings. Robert has organised and led many of the clubs Landscape Group day and weekend visits to many parts of the UK. As a thank-you for all the work he has done for the Club Robert was made a Life Member. Battle Secretary Frank Collins was thanked for his role in organising the outside competitions and battles with other clubs and will be standing down for next season as the club has a rule that and roles have to be changed after 4 years. Richard Atkinson AFIAP was thanked for stepping in early in the season when work prevented Lynda Croft from continuing as Treasurer. Richard has been ably assisted by Peter Tasker taking attendance fees on the desk. Caroline Wright as Membership Secretary had done a great job and Craig Purvis has hugely raised the profile of the club, and kept it up to date, on social media in his role as Publicity Officer. A big thanks went to Mike (Mr Fixit) Saunders who arrives early and sets out the chairs and equipment and attends Sports Club meetings on behalf of the club. Mike stepped in to sort out the trophies and has even built the secure cupboard for the club equipment. Jean Ingram stepped down from organising the break-time refreshments for many years and the Role has been taken over by Pam Mullings. Although no longer on the committee, Steve thanked Pam for her work in many different roles for the club since joining in 2007 and was made a Life Member. Continue reading |
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| Ladies V Gents - a win for the Ladies | 7 May 2019 |
Members have been looking forward to the Battle between the Ladies & Gents of the club which is a bit of friendly rivalry between the sexes. So that there is not a cry of bias we invite a male and a female judge to come and award points to each image without knowing who has taken the images. This year we welcomed experienced judges John Tilsely ARPS and his wife Di CPAGP to take on the task of judging the 60 entries. The judges had both viewed all the entries separately and told us had not conferred at all so they had no idea what scores each had given. John and Di both gave their comments on each image and then each gave a score out of 10. In most cases they completely agreed and in only a few cases did they slightly disagree but as they said a lot of judging comes down in the end to personal preference. Both had looked very closely at all the images and picked up on things like buildings and objects that stood out and detracted from a scene and could have been removed as his was an Open competition. Unnecessary areas on some landscape images could have been cropped and a few distracting light areas toned down.  To encourage entries from the Beginners and Intermediate sections a bonus of 2 points was added to the scores of those in these categories. The Gents had 30 bonus points and the Ladies who managed to persuade some new members who had never entered a competition before to show their images had 38 bonus points added.At the end of the first half the Ladies were ahead and that lead continued with the final scores being Ladies 553 and the Gents 536. It was pleasing that the ladies won by 17 points so it was not just the 8 extra bonus points that made the difference. Four of the images were highly regarded by both judges and scored a 10 from each – these were an interesting forest scene titled ‘Alive in the Forest’ by David Eagle who also had 2 bonus points as he is a fairly new member and in the  Beginners Group so very well done to him. Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP also scored a total of 20 for the Gents with his image ‘A Rabbit Before Me’ with its footprints in the snow.The Ladies with the top scores were Gill Cardy FRPS DPAGB EFIAP with an impressive ‘Golden Eagle’ and Kyra Wilson with ‘Kingfisher with Catch’ Close behind were 2 Ladies from the Beginners Group with 19.5 points plus bonus for Helena Chambers with a dirt biking image ‘Tight Corner’.Entering a competition for the first time, Gina Gordon with a monochrome portrait titled ‘The Matriarch’ was awarded 19 points plus bonus and also scored 18.5 for ‘Chapatti Baker, Amritsar’. Kyra Wilson’s ‘Llyn Padern’ scored 19 as did Clive Rathband’s ‘Malachite Kingfisher’  Another new member entering for the first time was Bridget Codrington who scored 18.5 for ‘Blue Hour at Silbury Hill’.Also doing well with 19 points were Tim Pier with a colourful creative image of a pheasant ‘Loud and Proud’ and Steve McCartney with monochrome ‘Lovers Moon’  Well done to all the other entrants who hopefully learnt something from the judges’ comments.Many thanks to the team captains - Sue Wadman for the Ladies and Martin Stokes for the Gents who collected the entries and organised the selections. Thanks to Battle Secretary Frank Collins who listed and put the competition together and Roly Barth and Dave Gray who ran the competition and Steve Hardman who kept the scores. A special thanks to John and Di who had taken such a lot of time and trouble to look so carefully at the entries and give their comments and scores. This was a very pleasurable light-hearted event to end on as this is the last competition for the season. It all starts again in September when we hope for good competition entries from all who took part in the Battle. PM Just some of the images not seen in competitions before are shown. |
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| Print and Projected Image of the Year competitions | 30 April 2019 |
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Entered in this final competition of the season were the ‘best of the best’ and the judge Peter Orr ARPS had the onerous job of selecting the award winners. All the images had been placed either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Print and Projected Image competitions held since September.
Entries covered wide variety of subjects and styles as the club has competitions for nature, landscape, creative and monochrome as well as the images in  Open competitions which can be of any subject. In this case the judge said his particular interests were nature and landscape but he likes to see the trends and fashions that come and go in photography but he felt that usually nothing beats a good classic image.Peter had not visited the club before and was surprised that he had the luxury of studying all the images closely beforehand rather than judging cold on the night. He usually judges for the Southern Photography Federation clubs where it seems judging on the night is the norm. Peter certainly did a thorough job of looking closely at the entries and noticed the tiniest of blemishes - dust spots that had been missed and the eye was drawn to tiny light areas once they had been pointed out. Peter was very knowledgeable and gave very comprehensive comments on every image. Members whose image was placed first in each section were awarded the Print or Projected Image Trophy for their section.  As usual the prints were shown first starting with the Beginners section. In first place was a simple image titled ‘Thistle Do’ right by Richard Blackbourne. The judge commented that the seed head was well focussed and stood out well against the dark background. Richard was also awarded second place with a colourful image titled ‘Forest Funghi’ ‘Deer Hunt’ by Helena Chambers was in third place.Next to be judged was the Intermediate section where Peter placed ‘Moonscape’left - a very atmospheric seascape by Steve McCarthy first. The judge commented that the exposure was just right and he liked the panoramic format. In second place was an image of a kestrel titled ‘Winter Arrival’ by David Wilkinson and third in the section was ‘Log of ages’ by Craig Purvis.  The last print section was the Advanced with fifteen entries with a range of stunning wildlife, landscape and architectural images to be judged.Not surprisingly Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP was awarded the trophy for at least the fourth time! In first place was a stunning close up image titled ‘Cold mountain Hare’right which the judge said the detail in the fur was incredible. Second was another nature study by Robert ‘Striated Caracaras, Falklands’ in which the two birds were perfectly photographed as they perched on a seaweed covered rock.  Tim Pier’s tranquil seascape ‘Morning Light at Whitby’ was in third place and images by Chris Wilkes-Ciudad and Pam Mullings were awarded HC’s.Trophies were presented to Print competition winners present by chairman Steve Hardman. After the break came the three projected Image sections starting with the Beginners. An action shot of three dirt track riders caught the judges eye – ‘Tight Corner’left by Helena Chambers. The well caught image showed the flying mud as the riders negotiated the racing track. In second place was ‘Dam Built with Elan’ by Craig Purvis and in third place was ‘Crash’ an expressive monochrome image of a dog by Avril McCarthy. Roly Barth, Helena Chambers and Hilary Tapley were all awarded HC’s. (Craig & Roly have since been promoted to Intermediate’s)  Martin Stokes had a great evening with his PI’s gaining 1st, 2nd & 3rd in the Intermediate section.Winning him the Trophy was a stunning early morning image ‘Mount Snowdon’ right with a very colourful sunrise over the mountain reflected in the lake below. Second was ‘Tiny Racer’ - a well captured image with a great sense of speed and third was a seascape ‘Storm’ which showed excellent lighting on the shore and a rainbow over a pier.  Last but not least came the Advanced group with tough competition from all of the 19 excellent entries. Unfortunately,Robert just missed out on his haul of all the Advanced Trophies this year as Pam Mullings was declared the winner of the Projected Image trophy. The image that caught the judges eye was ‘Despair’ left with a Victorian mother and children in a dark alleyway. Robert came in 2nd & 3rd and with 3 HC’s as well! In second place was ‘Rainbow and Beech Clump’ – the judge commented that the photographer was lucky to be in just the right place to get that shot but no doubt Robert knew exactly where the rainbow would appear! Third was Robert’s Milky Way, Mars and Meteor’. Steve Hardman presented the PI Trophies to those present – those winners not there for the competition will be presented with their trophies at the AGM on 14 May. See - Club Competition Awards 2018 - 2019 Steve then thanked Peter for judging the competition and giving his comments. Congratulations to all and thanks to all who have entered competitions this year. Get prepared and look out during the summer break for interesting ideas ready for the busy 2019-2000 season! PM |
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| 'Wild South West’ | 23 April 2019 |
| The club welcomed Nigel Hicks who described himself as a professional photographer covering many types of photography including travel, wildlife and architecture. Trained as a biologist Nigel’s images appear in books and magazines and he also runs his own workshops and tours. As a professional photographer he takes on commissions to photograph hotels, people and cityscapes often used to illustrate travel brochures and guide books. In the first half of the presentation Nigel explained about the projects he has been working on and showed us some of his images taken in Iceland with its mountains, waterfalls, glaciers and geysers. Nigel says he looks for something different and tries to photograph the landscape from unusual angles and likes simple uncluttered compositions with a limited colour palette. He seeks out hidden gems that others might not notice.   Another project that Nigel has worked on for many years is the wildlife of the Philippines where he wrote and illustrated a book 20 years ago when little was known about the diverse wildlife unique to the area. The country with its many islands has many volcanos and rain forests with a vast variety of flora and fauna and Nigel even went underwater to photograph the life found on the coral reefs. He has recently returned and stayed for a few months photographing the country for a new updated version of his book recording the scenery, wildlife and the people. In the second half of the presentation Nigel came much nearer to home and showed a few images from his project to photograph his home county of Devon as well as Dorset and Cornwall. About to be published is his book titled ‘Wild Southwest’ which is a guide to the finest landscapes in the area which visitors might like to explore. From the heather moorland through the deep valleys down to the rugged coastline Nigel photographs the diverse landscapes. Also in the book will be images of some of the wild flowers, insects and birds found in those counties as well as some spontaneous images of the people who live and work there. Club vice chairman Roly Barth thanked Nigel for giving us an insight into the commercial aspects of his photography and the images of the southwest. PM Images from 'Wild Southwest' © Nigel Hicks Left: Dipper Right: Cornish Tinmine |
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| Inter-Club Battle with Frome Wessex CC - a win for Devizes | 16 April 2019 |
| The club were delighted to welcome members of Frome Wessex Camera Club for a projected image ‘Battle’ The judge for the evening was Peter McCloskey FRPS APAGB who had previously had a close look at all the entries but had no idea which images came from which club. Each club had entered 30 images and no author could have more than 2 images in the selection. Devizes entries came from the Beginners section as well as Intermediate and Advanced so very well done to all of them for having their images selected to represent the club.  The judge gave his comments on each image and then according to his opinion of the image he gave it a score out of 20. Only one image out of the 60 in the competition was rated highly enough to score the maximum points – this was ‘A Beautiful Trio’ by Alan Denison from Frome Wessex CC. The image was well photographed with excellent lighting and portrayed 3 attractive models in a studio pose. Alan also gained 19 points for his image ‘Flour Power’ with models throwing white powder to create interesting shapes against a black background.  Another Frome Wessex image also gained 19 points – this time a delightful portrait of a young girl holding a rose titled ‘Poppy’ by Loveday Powell so many congratulations to those 2 photographers.Hilary Tapley was one of 2 Devizes entries that was awarded the highest score for the club of 18 points. The image was a macro shot of a pair of common blue butterflies left. The judge said that the image was well captured and the focus and the positioning in the frame were excellent. Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP was also awarded 18 points for his astro-photography image titled ‘Milky Way, Mars and Saturn over Durdle Door’ right. The judge commented that the lighting on Durdle Door was well potrayed and that the milky way and planets were well photographed. Devizes had 6 of its entries gaining 17 points and the rest of the entries ranged between 13 and 16 points. At the halftime break the scores from the 2 clubs were equal and that continued until the last few images were shown – then Devizes managed to just creep ahead with the final scores Devizes 467 and Frome Wessex 464. Club Chairman thanked the judge and remarked that the standard of entries was extremely high. Battle Secretary Frank Collins was unable to get to the meeting so Roly Barth operated the computer and Steve did the scoring so many thanks to both for stepping in. Many thanks for the members of Frome Wessex for travelling over for the evening. We will look forward to a return ‘Battle’ between the two clubs at Frome next season. PM |
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| Competition 3 - Open Projected Images | 9 April 2019 |
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This was a return visit to the club by Simon Caplan LRPS who recently gave a presentation but this time he came to judge the last Open Projected Competition of the season. Full results All the awarded images can be seen in the Galleries.
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Starting as usual with the Beginners section the judge said there were many interesting images and it was good to see the wide range of subjects among the 23 entries.
Next the judge commented on the Intermediate section which had many superb landscapes and nature images.
In first place was a stunning image of a Yellowhammer set against a field of yellow oilseed rape by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP. Although the brown and yellow bird was surrounded by yellow flowers it was well placed and stood out well from the background.| 'Photographing Landscape Whatever the Weather’ | 2 April 2019 |
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Tony Worobiec made a welcome return to Devizes Camera Club on Tuesday to present his talk and was quick to say, however, that he would prefer to think of it as a workshop, rather than a lecture, and that he would welcome and encourage questions.
He told us that the idea for this talk originated during a workshop he attended some years ago somewhere in America when the delegates were restricted to their motel for 2 days because of poor weather. He felt that was a terrible waste and wanted to show photographers what could be done whatever the weather conditions.  He explained that he tends to expand his definition of “Landscape” from merely images of the countryside to include Coastal Landscapes, Industrial Landscapes and Urban Landscapes. Then he tries to match the feel of his chosen landscape to the weather. And if it isn’t working, he will change location. Tony illustrated these ideas with images of derelict farm buildings in Montana with dramatic, threatening skies, and shots of piers glistening in the rain. Tony proceeded to work his way through various weather situations, giving hints and tips as to how good images can be achieved in any conditions. He showed us how dramatic cloudy skies can enhance an otherwise lifeless, flat scene. How breaks in the cloud can provide fantastic illumination on dull days. He enthused on the beauty of clouds, presenting images of Super Cells, Mammatus clouds and the approach of a dust storm. And he illustrated how breaking clouds can be illuminated from beneath after the sun has set, transforming a landscape with its glow, as a sequence of images taken at the Grand Canyon showed perfectly.Many people avoid going out with their cameras when its is raining, but Tony implored us to rethink. Dressed properly, armed with a waterproof camera cover (maybe a shower cap from the hotel bathroom!), a lens hood and a microfibre cloth to wipe your lens, many subjects are transformed by the extra luminosity of light on wet surfaces. His wonderful images taken on various piers round the UK bore witness to the truth of this. He also pointed out that the pathos and abandonment of derelict buildings can be enhanced in the rain.  After the rain, Tony said, the light can be magical as the rain clouds recede. Rainbows add drama to images and can infuse the sky with its colour. Puddles can provide beautiful reflections and foreground interest.Wind can be an interesting challenge as it can’t be seen - you can only capture the effect of the wind. Tony showed how this can be done in images of the shapes of trees swaying, the spume on waves, moving clouds and fields of barley with poppies. The steam billowing from cooling towers was another effective image of wind.
And the lack of wind can be shown in images of still water and smoke/steam ascending vertically. Tony talked about the phenomenon of Atmospheric Decoupling - the stillness that occurs about 40 minutes before sunrise and 35 minutes after sunset as the temperature of the air and the land equalise. An image of a line of trees on the banks of a canal perfectly reflected in the still waters illustrated what he meant.  Tony expressed his love of foggy and misty conditions. He suggested using a telephoto lens to compress the composition of a woodland scene so that clutter disappears in the fog and simplifies the image. He talked about rising mist that forms about 40 minutes before dawn after a cold night which can provide an extra dimension to a landscape.He showed us how frost, ice and snow can provide their own kinds of magic. He illustrated the minimalism achieved in snow with high key images of landscape, the structure and texture that emerges in images of fields with a thin layer of snow, and the fascination of ice patterns formed on his car windscreen and in puddles with low early morning light. While photographing landscapes when there is a blue sky, Tony told us to remember that blue is a primary colour and to select a landscape with complimentary colours, such as desert sand dunes or orange cliffs like those found at West Bay in Dorset. With bland skies, he suggested thinking of them as a sheet of white paper on which lines can be drawn such as the tracery of trees or structures such posts and telegraph poles. On bland cloudy days, try to make images where the sun is a mysterious presence glowing threateningly through onto the composition. Tony finished his presentation by imploring us not to let the weather stop us from going out with our cameras, reminding us to dress appropriately and try to select locations that complement the weather conditions.
Our Deputy Chairman thanked Tony for a fascinating evening with some wonderful images which he felt would inspire our members to try to emulate. DF Images © Tony Worobiec |
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| Inter-Club Battle at Stratton CC | 27 March 2019 |
 The latest in the long running series of Annual Battles between Devizes CC and photographic clubs in the Swindon area took place on 27th March. This year the other participants were Swindon, Stratton and Royal Wootton Bassett and the event was hosted by Stratton Camera Club at their premises in north Swindon Each Club was represented by 15 images, with no more than two being allowed from the same photographer. Images from 10 different members represented Devizes, with images coming from members in each of our three competition sections. Judge for the evening was Sandy Watson, a new judge so far as Devizes are concerned, judging on the evening without having seen the images prior to the night. He gave commentary on each image before giving it a score out of 20, with his marks being in the range of 15-20. Ten of the 60 images were awarded the full 20, including 4 from the Devizes entry, and from the Judge’s comments it was clear that Kyra Wilson’s ‘Kingfisher with Catch’ was the ‘Judges Choice’ image of the evening – congratulations Kyra. As always, judging brings into play the judges preferences and personal opinions and, quite rightly, two different judges will not necessarily see the same image in the same way. This evening therefore was one in which the “creative” images did not find the judge’s favour, and he also expressed a preference for images to be more tightly cropped to the main subject matter. Nevertheless, in addition to 4 images scoring 20, a further 4 each received 19 points, and in a contest which in its early stages looked very tight,  these contributed to Devizes final winning score of 273 points, 9 points clear of Royal Wootton Bassett in second place.Our thanks go to the Sandy Watson for his judging, and to Stratton Camera Club for organising the event and hosting it, including providing a very splendid buffet at half time. FC Images gaining the maximum 20 points from Devizes CC Top: Kingfisher with Catch by Kyra Wilson Top right: Living Dangerously by Craig Purvis Left: Common Blues by Hilary Tapley Right: Is that me? by Frank Collins Full Scores |
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| ‘Street Photography My Way’ | 26 March 2019 |
| Peter Crane ARPS began his presentation by describing Street Photography as ‘fishing for people’ and catching a moment in time. Peter said that you need to always be alert and have your camera ready because you never know when something might happen that will make an interesting photograph. Described the kit he takes out with him Peter gave some tips on how to blend in so that people do not even notice that you are taking photographs. Once people spot a camera pointing their way they might get annoyed or alternatively stand and smile which is not what you want. The idea is to watch people going about their everyday lives and capturing the interaction or something that stands out to make an interesting image.  Peter displayed his ARPS panel of prints – all in colour as it is colour that often attracts him. He likes to find someone’s clothes or hair that harmonises with the scene such as the shoes against the painted pavement right or the coloured hair with the painted wall below. Images are occasionally changed to monochrome when the background colour takes attention away from the situation that caught his eye. Use a smallish zoom lens for flexibility as you have no idea how far away your subject might be and Peter also suggests setting the camera manually, pre focussing if you can and then using the camera back button to set the focus. Using a wrist strap you can then ‘shoot from the hip’ without anyone noticing by reaching for the back button and pressing the shutter. A spirit level on the hot shoe can make sure the camera is level.  Use a fast shutter speed and continuous shooting to catch the moment. Or conversely use a slow shutter speed to blur the movement of people as they hurry by. Find a quiet viewpoint to observe what is going on without being noticed – look up or look down and you get a different aspect.Wear inconspicuous clothing and comfortable shoes as you may be standing around for a long time – street photography takes a lot of patience. Peter often sees a poster or shop sign and just waits until someone passes that conveys what he has in mind and he showed many examples. Some situations were quite odd, others humorous and nowadays the subject is often so engrossed looking at their phone that they have no idea what’s going on around them. Good places to look for subjects are café’s, markets and train stations where people are busy just getting on with their lives. Reflections can be found in wet pavements and shop windows giving interesting effects. Look out for dogs or other animals behaving oddly or looking cute. Images can be found with or without people or pets by looking for interestingly worded signs or graffiti or strange vehicles. Use your imagination and see what you can find. Keep your eyes open, keep alert, keep your camera ready and hopefully catch that decisive moment! Dave Gray thanked Peter for showing his interesting images and giving such an inspiring presentation. PM |
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| Club Member's Successes | 21 March 2019 |
 The results of the selection for the 2019 WCPF Members' Exhibition have just been announced and Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP has had 8 of his entries accepted for this prestigious event.Members from any of the clubs affiliated to the Wester Counties Photographic Federation which includes the counties from Wiltshire to Cornwall could send in print and digital entries. The entries have now been judged and all those with a score of 12 or over will be displayed in an exhibition which takes place at Bovey Tracey Golf Club TQ13 9NG from Sunday 5th May to Sunday 19th May Congratulations to Robert for his acceptances. All the accepted images can be seen on the WCPF website.
Image © Robert Harvey - 'Langdale Valley' accepted in the Open Digital Class
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| Competition 2 - Open Prints | 19 March 2019 |
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Derek Gale was welcomed back for his second visit to the club to judge an Open print competition.
Unfortunately, there were not many entries in the Beginners and Intermediate sections but quite a good number in the Advanced section. Maybe newer members think that printing and mounting their images is going to be difficult and expensive but it need not be as commercial prints are allowed and they can cost very little. Derek gave some comments on how to best present prints and said that the right mount can make a big difference as it can complement the image. Select ta colour that enhances the image as the wrong colour can make the image appear rather too dark or too light. Leave space around the image so that it does not appear cramped. Starting with the Beginners entries Derek said these members were probably new to the club and by entering a competition it was a good opportunity for them to learn more about the presentation of their prints. Small details are important and Derek said that distracting light areas should have been toned down.
‘Thistle Do’ left - a close-up image of a seed head by Richard Blackmore gained first place. The judge liked the simplicity and the dark complimentary background. Second place went to Helena Chambers with ‘Hello, I’m up Here’ a monochrome which portrayed a man playing a violin on a tightrope. Although some of the bystanders shown were rather distracting the image was well caught.  Members who had progressed to the Intermediate section should achieve a higher standard and show more imagination said the judge.An image of a lone deer titled ‘Surprised’ right by David Wilkinson was well presented with the subject in focus and the background blurred. The colour was good and it was awarded first place in the Intermediate section. ‘Log of Ages’ by Craig Purvis was an image of a log lying on a beach – the judge liked the simplicity and the composition and placed it second. Next came the Advanced section with 21 entries to judge. Derek said that those who had reached the club’s advanced level should have images with no faults such as poor focus or composition so he expected great things! He really did not have too much to criticise – just some tiny details that might have been better removed. He had some comments about painted mounts and in one case the mount would have been better another colour.  Finally Derek made his selection with a creative image titled ‘Bald Eagle‘ left by Tim Pier in first place saying that the eagle stood out well against the dark background.Derek liked the interaction between the two birds in ‘Striated Caracaras, Falklands’ by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP and awarded the print second place. Tim Pier gained third place with a landscape ‘ Morning Light at Whitby’ an area that the judge knew well. Congratulations to all. After the break Derek showed us some of his macro images and gave some tips on macro photography. He showed several ways of taking close up images that could be tried out before deciding to buy a special macro lens – he even improvised using the cardboard tube from a toilet roll! He suggested trying to get as close as you can with a standard lens set to wide angle or if you have them try adding extension rings. With a compact camera good results can be had by using the close up setting. It is essential to use a tripod to keep the camera absolutely steady and use a timer or cable release to avoid any shake when pressing the shutter. If you want to get more extreme macro images then you will have to get a specialist macro lens. Derek said that you see the world in a different way when you see the tiny details on an insect or a flower that you would not even know were there. Thanks to Derek for giving his helpful comments on the prints, Roly Barth for organising the competition and to all those who entered. PM Full results All the awarded images can be seen in the Galleries. |
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| ‘Four Seasons in One Day’ | 12 March 2019 |
Four Seasons in One Day, or as Stephen Spraggon suggested, “Four Seasons in One Evening”. That was how Stephen introduced his presentation on his welcome return to Devizes Camera Club. He explained that he had got into photography when he bought a Nikon D70 with his student loan while studying for a degree in Packaging Design, and that most of his early landscape work was done in Somerset, centred on his home town of Glastonbury, and on Exmoor. Since then he has explored other parts of the UK, particularly the south coast and several of our National Parks. Stephen doesn’t think of the seasons as just the differences in flowers and foliage, or sunshine and snow. He thinks also about the differences in temperature and light, and the effect they can have on the landscape - and on photography. He illustrated this by showing us 4 images of Glastonbury Tor taken at the same time of day, from the same position, but during the different seasons.In winter, he said, in Southern England we get about 8 hours of daylight, whereas in summer we get about 16.5 hours. Using screenshots from The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE), Stephen showed just how much the angle of sunrise and sunset differs between the seasons, and explained how this can mean that some locations will only work photographically at certain times of the year. He suggested that TPE is a valuable tool that he uses extensively, together with weather forecasts, to plan his photography. He illustrated how he had found the best viewpoint for an image of Colmer’s Hill, near Symondsbury by using TPE. Using short audiovisual (AV) introductions, Stephen talked to us about the sort of images that can be taken in each of the seasons. He interspersed some wonderful images with hints and tips to think about when photographing landscapes.  Starting with Spring, which he feels starts around March as flowers add colour to the landscape and foliage starts to emerge on trees, he showed us images of fields of Oil Seed Rape, where he had managed to find leading lines left by tractors. Misty sunrises and woodland compositions are other subjects, especially with new leaves on beech trees. At Badbury Clump in Oxfordshire, there is a small wooded area where bluebells grow. Using a long lens to compress perspective, Stephen used the woodland path to provide a leading line through a composition of tree trunks and bluebells. Coastal landscapes can also be special in the spring with thrift and sea campion as foreground interest on clifftops, as shown in Stephens image from Hurlstone Point above Porlock Marshes.There are some locations that work better during the summer months. North facing coastlines and hills have better light because the sun rises and sets further north. The bays around Weston-Super-Mare and the north Devon coast are examples. Poppies and heather are good subjects while in flower, but once the colour is fading at the peak of summer, Stephen suggested heading into town for images of people and architecture, as shown in a great picture of a car park spiral. Stephen also suggested getting out and shooting the moon or the Milky Way.  Once Autumn hits its peak the warm oranges and golds of the foliage can be spectacular. And even fallen leaves can enhance the forest floor. Stephen said he likes to use a slow shutter speed, even in windy conditions, to convey a sense of movement in the branches. He said overcast days are good for images of trees and water as the shadows will be softer. He also recommended using a polarising filter to reduce glare and enhance colours. Autumn is also a time for mist which can be used creatively to produce more abstract images, especially when cropping in to a scene. An image of Wastwater bathed in the pink light of the setting sun was especially captivating.In Winter, with the sun rising and setting further south, Stephen suggested that the south coast becomes a particularly attractive prospect. Also snow can transform a landscape by hiding distracting elements, like clumps of grass, under a blanket of whiteness. An image of a circular shaped tree in a hedgerow, with tractor patterns in the snow in the field behind, and blank white in the field in front reminded Stephen of a flag of an unknown country. To round off his excellent presentation, Stephen showed us an image taken at Draycott Sleights in Somerset. Earlier he had shown us an image of a stand of trees in the fog in spring with a branch of new leaves providing a highlight. This last image was of the same stand of trees, but taken after a heavy snowstorm. Both images were great in their own right and served to show us how different seasons can produce different photographic results. These and many other excellent images can be seen on Stephens website at www.spraggonphotography.co.uk Our Chairman thanked Stephen profusely for an entertaining presentation with lots of hints and tips for us to consider. DF Images © Stephen Spraggon |
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| Members’ Speed Critique | 5 March 2019 |
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Eight of the club’s newer members took the plunge and brought along a selection of their images for fellow members to look at and give their views. The idea is to provide positive feedback on images to help members get the very best out of their images – this might involve the presentation and any editing that might enhance the image in some way. The critique is always done in a very gentle manner anyone showing their images should go away with helpful comments that will help them get the best from their photography.
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Wildlife is the passion of Tim Tapley 
All the previous members displayed their images as projected images on laptops but John Hoskins | Creative & Audio Visual Competitions | 26 February 2019 |
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The judge for the competitions was Tony Byram EFIAP ARPS AWPF DPAGB who together with his wife Jennie has visited the club many times – both as a judge and also to present his own images and AV’s.
What is a ‘creative’ image? asked Tony - a question that members ask themselves. It may not be apparent how an image is created and that does not matter for this competition but the resulting image should cause a reaction suggests Tony.  There were many interesting and imaginative ideas entered by members – some had fun photographing water droplets others went for abstracts and there were also some humorous ideas. Clever use of software turned straightforward images into something rather different.Tony picked out 9 very different images for awards giving first place to Pam Mullings for ‘The Sorcerer’ left - a colourful image which depicted a wild haired gent and his book of Spells. Second place went to ‘Fun with Milk’ by Kev Ferris LRPS in which the falling droplets had formed into the shape of a mushroom. Third was an image of trees titled ‘Winter to Autumn’ by Chris Wilkes Cuidad ARPS which transformed a scene of woodland trees from monochrome to colour. After a break Tony set about judging the Audio - Visual sequences entered explaining how the images should flow well together and have appropriate music. The order in which the images are shown is important with each sequence telling a story with a beginning, a middle and an ending. The club has not held an A-V competition for a few years so for some members it was their first attempt. Lively music accompanied a surfing sequence and sea water swimming featured in another.  First place went to an informative sequence that had taken Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP many hours to compile. Titled ‘Visions of Heaven’ it showed in detail the wonders of the universe and asked ‘how far can we see with our naked eye’. Using Robert’s superb images, it started with the Aurora Borealis which is comparatively close and within the Earth’s atmosphere and went on to the phases of the moon and an eclipse showing a ‘blood red moon’ Then further out in space to the planets in our solar system and an eclipse of the sun itself. Deeper in space there were images of the Milky Way which is still in our Galaxy and even further away we can just see the Galaxy of Andromeda which is an astounding 2.537 million light years away. There was so much information in Robert’s A-V that it really needs to be seen many times to absorb all the interesting facts.Right: One of the many images in 'Visions of Heaven' In second place was ‘Isle of Skye’ with its stunning images taken by Chris Wilkes Ciudad which showed the beautiful mountains and lakes of the area. ‘Dawn to Dusk’ by Martin Stokes was a sequence taken in the New Forest with its landscapes and wildlife which included a clever sequence of woodland bird images and their calls. Martin’s A-V was in third place. Tony suggested that members wishing to learn more about making A-V’s should join WAVES which meets locally 4 times a year. David Wilkinson thanked Tony for judging the competition and for giving his helpful comments.PM Full results Most of the awarded images can be seen in the Galleries. |
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| 'Night Sky Wonders' Landscape Astrophotography | 19 February 2019 |
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In a change to our programme, Alyn Wallace travelled over from South Wales to deliver his presentation entitled Night Sky Wonder - Landscape Astrophotography. He introduced himself by telling us that he had studied Astronomy and Physics at University and had always had an interest in photographing the night sky, even before he could afford to buy a camera. Among his first astrophotography images was an excellent beach scene taken at a frequently visited, but under-commercialised holiday destination in Turkey.
 Living near the Brecon Beacons, he would often spend nights taking images around Pen-y-Fan and share them with friends and family. Eventually, he acquired some sponsorship which has enabled him to turn his hobby into a full-time job. Alyn proceeded to show us a range of images from various international destinations, always explaining how, and why, he had taken them, usually including an amusing anecdote, or a time-lapse or vlog to illustrate the process. From Northern Lights in Iceland, through star trails in the Dolomites, a moonrise in the arc of the Milky Way on Las Palmas, to strange night-time landscapes in Cappadocia, Turkey, each image had something different and captivating.The remainder of his presentation was illustrated with images taken in the UK, predominantly taken in his native Wales or around Durdle Door in Dorset.
He started this section by talking about the equipment needed for successful night time photography. Cameras, lenses, tripods and head torch were obvious elements, but he showed us how different lenses can be used to provide different images. He stressed the need for warm clothing, advising that merino base layers and down jacket insulating layers are the best way to go. Hand warmers and hot drinks were also on his top tips list. He also discussed camera settings, post-production tips and light pollution.  Alyn moved on to cover what can be photographed at night, a list that was much longer than one might expect. It included Stars, Constellations, Planets, the Milky Way, the Moon, the Northern Lights, International Space Station, Meteor Showers, Star Trails, Solar and Lunar Eclipses and Bioluminescent Plankton. He had advice, stunning images and interesting stories to illustrate each of these, together with a number of Apps that can be used to help with planning and research.Alyn’s website and his YouTube channel are worth a visit to see some of his fantastic images, videos and time-lapses. His Blog is the place to find some of his stories, including the trials and tribulation of photographing his Yoga Teacher friend against the rising moon on Pen-y-Fan.
Alyn’s attention to detail and extensive planning have enabled him to take some breathtaking images and made this one of the best presentations we have had at Devizes Camera Club. Our Chairman commented on the obvious passion that Alyn has for his photography and thanked him for a very entertaining evening. DF
Images © Alyn Wallace Top left: Milky Way from the Gower Coast Right: Startrails Left: Northern Lights from the Brecon Beacons |
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| Warminster Annual Multi-club Print Battle | |
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On Saturday 16th. February the Club entered the Warminster Print Day, competing against six other local clubs. As ever, the organisation by the host club was superb with a good venue and an even better buffet afternoon tea!
It was a really exciting afternoon and we were in the lead from the start right up to the final print when Frome Wessex pulled the rabbit out of the hat with their final image which scored 20 and also was judged the best print of the day. Many thanks to all members who provided images for the competition and to Frank Collins and the selection committee for their hard work. Congratulations to Tim Tapley who was awarded 20 for his image of a Marbled White and Small Skipper Butterflies left and to Pam Mullings who was also awarded 20 for her image of Claire Austen Roses right. SH
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The competition was judged by Syd Jones from Dorchester Camera Club who began the afternoon by demonstrating his own experiences behind the lens, when giving a short talk entitled ‘Monolands’. Sid amused everyone when displaying some of his stunning landscape black and white images; almost every image had a story attached. He made a very good point about the light and your own eyes (and head) being the most important factors. His judging was most informative, and he clearly explained his reasons for scores.| ‘RAW Nature: Images Uncovered' | 12 February 2019 |
Oliver Smart’s excitingly titled presentation attracted a large audience on Tuesday evening. Oliver, who studied ornithology at Birmingham University, took us through his approach to Wildlife photography, providing many, and sometimes surprising, tips along the way. His presentation was accompanied by an array of wonderful images, many of which have appeared on the covers and in articles of magazines and books. He started by going through the equipment that he regards as essential for photographing wildlife. He prefers full-frame cameras and has a vast array of lenses, from 600mm coupled with 2X converter, through mid-range and wide angle to fish-eye and macro lenses. He uses low-tripods, angle finders, extension tubes and bean bags (filled with rice, sand, earth or similar on arrival at his destination). Oliver advised taking binoculars to find wildlife and he also uses waist belts on location so that he doesn’t have to keep taking off is back pack when tired. And who knew that a kitchen tray with a tripod head screwed to it was ideal for getting down low and protecting your camera from wet grass! And for keeping other accessories to hand! Another tip for keeping all your camera equipment with you on flights was to take a large coat with lots of pockets and remove lenses and other equipment from your camera bag to reduce its weight! You don’t even need to wear the coat as it won’t be included in the bag weight!  Moving on to planning your photography, Oliver advised that the key question should be “What is your end goal?” What wildlife do you want to photograph and where will you find them? Think about where the animals can be found, how scarce they are and the difficulty of getting to them and being able to photograph them.Oliver made a distinction between captive and controlled subjects. He showed us a Merlin on a post set up for one of his workshops at the Hawk Conservancy as an example of a captive subject. He talked about how butterflies can be moved from one position to a better composition location before they have warmed up sufficiently to fly, and how birds can be controlled by the judicious positioning of feed. Research is also important, Oliver said, and, as well as knowing sunrise and sunset times, includes checking the weather forecast, location access and the behaviour of the subject. Depending on how close you want to get to the subject, the availability of cover, be it hides, topography or greenery, should be investigated.  Oliver also talked about the techniques he uses to maximise his chances of getting commercially useable images. The most important issue is to focus on the eye of the subject using an aperture of between f5.6 - f8. If the eye isn’t sharp, the image won’t work. He also advocated using AV mode to control depth of field and to use lighter exposures (load the histogram to the right) to maximise the flexibility of image processing. He showed us a series of images of a stone curlew where he had adjusted the depth of field to illustrate the camouflage effect of the bird. He told us not to be afraid to play with depth of field or to increase the ISO in low light to ensure a higher shutter speed as it is important to get a sharp image even if there is some noise. He told us how props, such as plant clamps, are useful to help prevent movement or to keep plants out of the way of the main subject. and the use of sets to generate a stage to lure animals in with food is also a good way of bringing subjects closer to the camera. He also talked about more advanced techniques, such as shooting birds in flight, capturing the interaction of different animals and showing animals in their habitat. He said that he tries to tell a story through his images. He showed us a series of photos that illustrated these techniques including birds carrying nesting material, surfing Gentian penguins and feeding Striated Caracara on the Falkland Islands. Oliver ended his presentation by telling us about his workshops and the availability of a hide he runs near Avebury where we could photograph Kites, Buzzards, Ravens and Jackdaws. Details are on his website Our chairman closed the evening with heartfelt thanks for a very informative session which demonstrated Oliver’s passion for his subject. DF Images © Oliver Smart |
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| Results of DPIC and GB Cup Battles | |
| The Digital Projected Image Competition (DPIC) is organised annualy by the Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) and all affiliated clubs from the area which stretches from Cornwall to Wiltshire can enter. The competiton was held in Exeter on Sunday, 10 February - with 57 clubs entered. Battle secretary Frank Collins and other members attended what was a very busy day with over 1,000 images projected. The 3 judges can award up to 5 points each so the top mark is 15. Two images from Devizes were awarded 13 points and seven images were awarded 12 points and the club was in 18th place. The results have also been announced for the GB Cup Open and Nature projected image competitions which are organised by the Photographic Federation of Great Britain (PAGB) which covers the whole of the UK.. Points are awarded by 3 judges with a maximum 15 points as with DPIC. 2 club images gained 12 points in the Open competition and the club top mark was 11 in the Nature competition. Thanks to Frank Collins for organising the club entries and to those who chose the images to be entered. Full results and the top placed images can be seen here |
| The Landscape Group presents... | 5 February 2019 |
Dave Gray has been the leader of the DCC Landscape Group since its inception in 2010 and gave us an update on its history and the latest activities. Members had in 2010 requested more feedback on their images and also a chance to learn more about using their camera and software so a special interest group was formed for those with a particular interest in landscape photography. More experienced members arranged visits to suitable locations and later weekend visits were organised which allowed members to get to know each other better and give a more social side to the club. The group has monthly indoor meetings where members can discuss their images informally with others and learn new techniques. Dave together with Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP have organised very many trips in the last 9 years which members have found very enjoyable. Dave and Robert have had years of experience and can lead the field trips showing others how to find the most scenic areas.Dave showed images taken on these visits during the last year. Starting with the very successful weekend visit to the Snowdonia area in February 2018. Stunning photographs of snow-capped mountains, lakes, valleys and a disused quarry as well as the Menai Bridge were shown. Images taken during that weekend have since won many of the club competitions and Dave showed a selection. A full report on the Snowdon trip, reports on other visits and more information on the Landscape Group can be seen on the Groups page of this website. Dave went on to show images from field trip combined with the Nature group to Skomer.  A group met at the Caen Hill locks early on 15 September to capture the sunrise as for a short time on that date the sun is aligned directly down the flight. Many times before the group has visited Stourhead to capture the autumn colours but in 2018 the visit was earlier than usual as the hot dry summer made the colour change early and were not quite as spectacular as in previous visits but members still managed to capture some beautiful scenes. The latest field trip was to Dorset this February where members captured images of dawn over Corfe Castle and then went on to the spectacular Jurassic coastline. Members photographed stunning Lulworth Cove and Kimmeridge Bay as well as other scenic places in the area. The group finished the busy day trying to capture some sunset shots over the rock pools and the limestone pavements. Thanks to Dave and Robert as well as Sue Wadman, Roly Barth, David Fraser, Martin Stokes, Frank Collins, Craig Purvis and Dave Evans for sharing some of their many landscape images Taken when out with the group. The next Landscape Group trip is a weekend visit to North Cornwall and other visits will be organised during the year. After the break Dave Gray gave a presentation titled ‘Walking with my Camera’  Dave is a very dedicated hill walker and explained that photography and long distance walking do not always go well together. For walking dry weather and nice blue skies are preferable but for good atmospheric photographs it is better to have cloudy skies and even storms to give good light and shade. Dave showed us images taken on his walks in the Lake District with high peaks, deep valleys and spectacular views over the lakes. Next Dave showed images of another of his favourite areas and that was the coastal paths of the spectacular Purbeck coast taking in the many spectacular bays and rocky coastline. Interesting images of the unusual rock strata to be found in the area were shown.Another area Dave often visits is Scotland with its mountains and lochs. Dave has captured images of dramatic skies, unusual rock formations, waterfall and deep valleys many of which require walks of many miles over difficult terrain to reach. Dave finished with an amazing image of a complete rainbow which he managed to photograph on a sudden break in the weather on a very stormy day. Frank Collins thanked Dave for his presentation and for showing a selection of stunning images not seen by the club before. PM Images: top - Lulworth Cove by Sue Wadman, top right- group members by Craig Purvis, left- Corfe Castle by Roly Barth below right- Westmoreland Cairn by Dave Gray. |
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| Landscape Print and Projected Image Competitions | 29 January 2019 |
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The Landscape competitions were judged this season by Adrian Herring DPAGB ARPS who has judged the club competitions many times before. Adrian praised the generally high standard of the entries and gave helpful comments on those images where some improvement would be needed. Some images Adrian felt were unbalanced and many of the ‘reflection’ subjects cut the image in half.
The judge remarked on the high number of images featuring sunrises and sunsets. Many entries were taken in the Snowdon region which a group of members visited last year and Skye was another popular destination, rocky coastlines and lakes were featured in many images and also local hills, fields and woods. Some images the judge felt did not fit the criteria of ‘an extensive area of natural scenery' and man-made structures were rather too prominent in others. In the projected image competition images must be taken within the British Isles and the judge said he very much enjoyed looking through the large number of entries.  ‘Langdale Valley’ right by Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP was the judge’s favourite and Robert was again presented with the annual Derrick Turner Memorial Trophy for the 5th time in a row.A ridge in Snowdonia was the subject of Dave Gray’s ‘Early Light on Crib Goch’ left which was in second place and in third place was another image from the same area ‘Mount Snowdon’ was by Martin Stokes.  Eleven entries were awarded Highly commended with many of those images taken in the Snowdon and Cumbria areas but a misty Pewsey Vale and Knapp Hill also featured in the awards as well.In the print section the landscapes could be taken anywhere in the world but all except one of the 14 entries again featured either local or British scenery. Again the most popular areas were the Isle of Skye and Snowdonia with a few more local landscapes as well.  Once again Robert Harvey was awarded first place with ‘Frosty Morning, Old Man of Storr’ right Robert was presented with the the Silver Birches Trophy for the third time in a row and 5 times in total Another Skye image was in second place with ‘Storr Reflections’ left by Chris Wilkes Ciudad. In third place was another print by Robert this time taken in the Snowdonia area titled ‘Ogwen Valley & Cwm Idwal’ Adrian was thanked for judging the entries and for travelling a long way on such a cold snowy evening. Thanks to Competition Secretary Roly Barth for compiling the entries and running the competitions and to all those who entered such beautiful landscapes for all to enjoy. PM See all the awards All the awarded images can be seen in the Galleries |
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| ‘Extraordinary Ordinary' Look differently at your photography! | 22 January 2019 |
 On a frosty evening Simon Caplan LRPS was welcomed to the club for a presentation which he described as looking for 'the beauty hidden in the environment'.  Simon has a creative eye for finding subjects that most people would not even notice – patterns on a floor, textures, peeling paint, rusty iron as well as shiny metal objects – even air conditioner fans can make a good subject for him!! Interesting images can be found anywhere if you look hard enough – look beyond the obvious he said. Simon has had many exhibitions of his prints some of which now hang in public places and he brought along a selection to show the club. Giving his humorous presentation Simon described some of the problems he finds when taking photographs of rather unusual subjects – often in odd situations. Setting up a tripod can cause problems sometimes as industrial areas, churches and shopping centres have ‘health and safety’ rules about such things. When you have found a suitable subject the background is very important – try and find a complimentary colour by moving around or even take something with you that can be used for an out of focus colour. Decide exactly where your point of focus is going to be as Simon believes that every image should have a really sharp area however small. Learn how to use depth of field to have just the amount of the image sharp that compliments the subject.  In his travels Simon looks around for interesting buildings and often contrasts old with modern and looks for unusual views and suggests sometimes using the camera at an angle to get something a bit different. Laying on the floor looking up or looking down can give a completely different image – move around and take the subject from lots of different angles.  He looks out for geometric shapes, symmetry, interesting colours and often focuses on just a tiny area that is just a few centimetres in size.Look out for subjects in scrapyards, fairgrounds, dockyards, railways and museums – even in the home a cheese grater or sieve can be used. Sometimes Simon combines photographs making a montage of images that work well together. When post processing - make sure that straight lines and angles are perfectly lined up to give a clean looking image. Sometimes making a monochrome image high key can give very clean blacks and whites to enhance the image. Simon went on to show that he also takes landscapes, sets up still life’s and even people photos as well and encourages photographers to have fun and try out different things. Steve Hardman thanked Simon for travelling from Bristol to give such an inspiring presentation and he says will now look at everyday objects in a different way. PM Images© Simon Caplan LRPS Top right: air conditioner fan, top left: detail in a church, left: old an modern buildings, right; rusty metal |
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| PI League results 2019 | |
 Members handed in their scoresheets at the end of last weeks PI League Competition and the results have been calculated by Competition Secretary Roly Barth. The scores were averaged and the scores of the 3 sets entered added together to give the winner.Many congratulations to the winner Robert Harvey ARPS EFIAP who was presented with the Hewitt Cup by club chairman Steve Hardman.  In 2nd place was Kyra Wilson, Chris Wilkes-Ciudad was in 3rd place and Caroline Wright was placed 4th.Dave Gray was in 5th place, Pam Mullings in 6th place, Craig Purvis 7th and Steve Hardman in 8th place, Frank Collins came in 9th and David Eagle was in10th place out of the 16 members who entered. There were 48 sets shown and the set with the most points was 'Kingfishers' by Kyra with 'Snowdonia in Winter by Robert second. Images - above: from Robert's 'Snowdonia in Winter' right. from Kyra's 'Kingfishers' set The top sets can be seen here. |
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