Photos from the park

Here's a selection of the photos presented last week as a result of Photocraft's trip to Beddington Park.

It's always interesting to see how we can all walk on the same route but the result can be to such a diverse range of photos.

New version of PhotoCraft disc now available!

A new version of the disc (Version 3) with a collection of presentations on photography given to the club is now available. Several new talks have been added since the last version was issued some years ago.

The disc now has the following slide shows covering many aspects of our art:

1. Using your camera basics 1

2. Using your camera basics 2

3. Colour management

4. Photo Critique

5. Composing pictures

6. Influential Photographers

7. Perplexed about Pixels?

8. Sharpening basics

9. PhotoShop Layers and Masks (handout)

10. Macrophotography

11. Coping with Contrast

The talks start with the absolute basics of each topic and build from there. So whether you consider yourself a beginner or advanced, you should find something interesting here.

The disc is available to club members only. If you want a copy (in exchange for a donation of £5 to club funds), please ask David P.

Beddington Park Field Trip

The annual field trip to Beddington Park was held last Wednesday with the customary drink afterwards in The Grange. The weather gods were good to us this year with a clear sky letting us get the most of the light.

Note, we will be looking at the photos this Wednesday 20th May. (This is a change to the programme, the AGM will now be held on the 3rd June.)



Photocraft at large in Beddington Park

If photo walkabouts are your thing then why not sign up for Brian's coach trip to the Historic Dockyard in Dunstable and Whitstable on Sunday 7th June. Time is running out to book a place, so see Brian at this weeks meeting. 

Life is a bowl of cherries - the ballot results

It got a bit rushed near the end of our "bowl of cherries" evening so I'll repeat the results of the votes on here.

Before I do so, let me thank everyone who submitted photos, contributed to the discussion and of course did the voting. Here is a sample of the diverse range of images entered on night. Who would have known "tabletop" could mean so many things to different people.

First vote was based on "first impact" 3-sec run through. Total (71 votes cast)

3rd place (4 votes)
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Floating Gerbera
Showoffs
Iberis

2nd place (5 votes)
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Euphorbia
On the beach

1st place (7 votes)
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Vase
Cityscape




The second vote was taken after each person had a chance to present their photo and answer any questions. (Total 39 votes cast)

3rd place (3 votes)
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Showoffs
Cityscape

2nd place (5 votes)
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Vase

1st place (7votes)
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Euphorbia


Congratulations to Lynne W (Cityscape), Mark B (Vase), and David P (Euphorbia) for their first places.

Life is a bowl of cherries - change to description

A quick change to the programme description of next weeks meeting. 

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 29 April 2015 – Life is just a bowl of cherries Or anything else you can photograph on a tabletop. Have a go at still life or tabletop photography and send to photocraftwallington@gmail.com by 7pm on Tuesday.

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Rather than bringing the photos on the evening, can you send the photos in advance to photocraftwallington@gmail.com. 

A max of 6 photos per person (but 1 or 2 is fine also). Jpegs only. 

If you send them by 7pm on Tuesday I will compile them and randomise them for presentation and make a summary sheet so we can have a just-for-fun vote to get the most popular photos on the evening.

Remember this doesn't count as a competition so you can enter rough work and still modify your photos for a proper judged competition later. 

(sorry, I couldn't find any cherries this time of year, this is the best I could find)

On the night there will be 2 rounds:

Round 1

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There will be 2 quick run-throughs of all the photos (about 3 secs on each photo) 

Each person will get 3 voting slips to mark the number of their 3 favourite photos, (each vote gets equal weighting). I will make up a summary sheet to remind people of the photo numbers. Please, no voting for your own photos.

Drop the votes in the ballot box.

Round 2

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There will be slower discussion-type run through where each person gets a chance to talk about their photos and answer any questions.

At the end of the discussion, each person gets another 3 voting slips to vote again. The result might be different when people get more time to view the photo or get to learn more about the photos. 

The top 3 photos in each vote will get a ... 

...

...

...

...

wait for it

...

...

...

...

...

A special clap of appreciation from the room.

 

SCOLA Photographic Competition 2015

This is just to further promote the SCOLA competition Lynne has emailed details to you recently. And to let you know, in case you didn't, that it was won last year by a PhotoCraft member (David P). If he can win it, anyone can, and with a first prize of £100, it's worth a quick trawl through your archives.
The theme last year was something like 'Secret corners of Sutton' and the winning image was of The Hermitage, a folly in the grounds of Carshalton Water Tower.

The trophy you may win is an impressive block of acrylic with bits of old cameras embedded in it on a wooden plinth and weighing in at - well, the kitchen scales which can handle up to 3 Kg just went EEEEEEEE.

The eggcup is for scale, so make sure your mantelpiece is firmly fixed to the wall.
This year's theme is 'Faces of Sutton', so why not give it a try?

Print Competition No 3

Judge: Don Morley

In camera or in processing ?

The age old question, which was always there but it has really come to the fore in the last few years given the sophistication of the processing software now available. 

I felt a certain amount of sympathy with the judge this week. How could he choose between the two final photos. We had been through the comments on each photo, some were graded, some (quite a few) were "held back".  We then got the next round of grading and we were down to two photos. 

And they were like chalk and cheese, how could a judge make any rational reasoned decision.

One photo was heavenly scene, a solitary hilltop with a well placed clump of tress surrounded on all round sides by white wispy clouds. A Straight from a painters imagination, there was nothing out of place, and maybe more critically absolutely nothing the judge could deduct even a fraction of a point for. The work of an artist at the top of their game.

The other photo was a more definitely more down to earth, a black and white portrayal of Conwy waterfall surrounded by woods and mossy rocks. Everything sat together well in the composition, the exposure and printing was absolutely perfect in every part of the photo, from the pure white and the pure black and every shade in between. A true reflection of the photographers art.

At this stage both had ten points but which one deserved the ten plus ????

I swear I could see the judge changing his mind three of four times as he lingered in front of the easel containing both prints. 

After an age, the judge went for the hilltop, an ex professional photographer who doesn't have any of his photos hanging in his house, he said he would consider putting this photo on his wall. 

It didn't seem important, in the end, who won and I think congratulations are due to both photographers, Dave S and Dave P for bringing us their photos.

I'm sorry for not mentioning the other photos shown this evening, and there were quite few. Special mention should go to John O and Mark B who took the spoils in the Level 1 competition which as it turns out was another colour vs black and white decision the judge had to make. This time though, the black and white won.