This was our first face-to-face meeting of the year (our January 2nd meeting being held over Zoom). After Julia, our Chair, reminded us about the WCPF (Western Counties Photographic Federation), we continued with a talk on "Shutters" given by Tony Bamford of our own parish.
He covered:
- How shutters work (two curtains, called "first" and "second", or alternatively "front" and "rear")
- How, for short exposures, the second curtain "chases" the first, leaving a narrow gap
- How, for really short exposures, this narrow gap really is very, very narrow
- Rolling shutter
- Using flash with various shutter speeds
- First curtain vs. second curtain flash (with thanks to Brian the snail, for making a guest appearance)
- The way sensors write their data
- Sensor write speeds for various modern day cameras
- Taking photos using Electronic First Curtain shutter
- Taking photos using the electronic "shutter"
- Taking photos in "mechanical shutter" mode
- and finally... Global shutters and the Sony A9III
The links for the talk were:
- Slow Mo Guys - Inside a Camera at 10,000fps
- Smarter Every Day - Rolling Shutter Explained
- Pal2Tech - Best Shutter for Fujifilm cameras
Although the last of these would seem to be only for Fujifilm cameras, it works for any kind of mirrorless camera.
We then reviewed our "One picture one month" submissions for December:
![]() |
© Amanda Gregory |
![]() |
Christmas by the Sea © Ann Horne |
Corsham Court © Brendan Whyte |
![]() |
December Winter Trees © Caroline Howe |
![]() |
Bosak Family © Craig Purvis |
![]() |
Lacock at Christmas © Danny Wootton |
![]() |
Baldies Barber Shop © David Sage |
![]() |
1st Sunrise after Solstice © Derek Liversidge |
![]() |
© Helen Day |
![]() |
Blowing Bubbles © Julia Lloyd-Parks |
![]() |
© Lesley Cadger |
![]() |
© Phil Selby |
![]() |
© Philip Male |
![]() |
© Rob Macklin |
![]() |
Lola © Roger Parry |
![]() |
Wisley © Rose Porfirio |
![]() |
Snowy Smile © Sue Power |
![]() |
Bottle Photography © Tony Bamford |
We then reviewed the results for our letter "N" challenge:
![]() |
N for Nautical © Amanda Gregory |
![]() |
N for Nets © Ann Horne |
![]() |
N for Nails © Caroline Howe |
![]() |
N for Not Impressed © Craig Purvis |
![]() |
N for Neoprene Head to Toe © Danny Wootton |
![]() |
N for Nose © Derek Liversidge |
![]() |
N for Niagara © Helen Day |
![]() |
N for New Zealand © Julia Lloyd-Parks |
![]() |
N for Nightscape © Lesley Cadger |
![]() |
N for The Needles © David Sage |
![]() |
N for Negative © Pam Bamford |
![]() |
N for Northumbria © Philip Male |
A special shout-out to Rob Macklin for using AI to generate these two images:
![]() |
N is for Nails (generated using Leonardo) © Rob Macklin |
![]() |
N is for Nettle (generated using Leonardo) © Rob Macklin |
![]() |
N is for Narrowboat © Rose Porfirio |
![]() |
N is for Naughty © Ruth Baldwin |
![]() |
N is for Nuts © Sue Power |
![]() |
N is for Nunny Castle Ruin © Tony Bamford |
Our next meeting will be on January 30th