MEETING 20.01.22

An excellent  Zoom talk by James Rushforth, the travel, landscape and extreme sport photographer, allowed us to wander the Italian Dolomites and Iceland from our own homes as the Covid uncertainty continues.  His photography amazed us, whether through memorable images taken while hanging from or skiing down severe mountainsides, exploring ice caves or capturing stunning light in both familiar and unfamiliar landscapes.  Plus a sprinkling of nature shots for good measure!  

James has published well regarded books on the Dolomites and Iceland - a must for when we feel able to get out there again!  If not climbing, there is always walking!  Check him out:

https://www.jamesrushforth.com/

Our next meeting: 

A face-to-face in our usual meeting place to check out places closer to home; including member's presentations on York and Pembrokeshire

 MEETING 25.11.21

Peter Crane ARPS (https://www.petercrane.co.uk) gave an interesting and informative talk about his street photography passion.  He talked about his techniques, including shooting from the hip using pre-focus and auto ISO or following an interesting person to get the shot he wanted.   Not the easiest kind of photography without being challenged, he also likes to shoot in colour rather than taking the monochrome route and is prepared to spend time waiting for the right colour combination to come along!

Next meeting: Members' November images and a member's presentation on 20 things from 20 yards, plus our Christmas Social with Jean's super snacks!

MEETING 16.09.21

Robert Harvey delivered his presentation entitled “Photographing Wiltshire”.  It was a very interesting and informative talk, illustrated with great photographs of Wiltshire, both of well known and less familiar sites.  It was a great stimulus for ideas of places to visit.

 Robert advised the links below which may be of interest:

• Robert's book “Photographing Wiltshire” contains many images from the presentation and full details of how to take them.  This can be viewed and purchased here: www.naturalworldphotography.net/section874465.html

• He invited members to join his Facebook group Inspirational Outdoor Photography.  The group only accepts images from the British Isles taken within the last seven days, so it is focused on what is happening in the countryside now: www.facebook.com/groups/InspirationalOutdoorPix
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• Details of Robert's photography tours focused on landscapes, wildlife and night sky can be found here: www.naturalworldphotography.net/section844883.html

• To sign up for his email newsletter four times a year go to: www.naturalworldphotography.net/section853925.html. 

The next club meeting is on 30^th September.  The meeting will cover the following:

• Julia - Shetland
• Challenge - split toning/colour grading - one picture -  before and after
• Shoot review - Atwell-Wilson Car Museum 

MEETING 02.08.21

It was great to be meeting up again, the first time in the Manor Room since March 2020. We welcomed back our members, both old and new.  Advice to make our meetings Covid-compliant was discussed, seats were socially distanced and coats were kept on as doors were left open to allow air circulation.  

We started our new term with reviews of the challenge 'Our favourite images' taken during the 2020-2021 year and the first of our summer shoots 'Lacock River Walk'.  While our own selection processes were challenged by the first, finding interesting subjects for the second proved tricky! Below is a small selection.

FAVOURITE IMAGES 2020-2021

© David Sage 2021

© Derek Hawkins 2021

© Geoff Castle 2021

© Julia Lloyd-Parks 2021

© Philip Male 2021

© Amanda Gregory 2021

LACOCK RIVER WALK

© Mike Hayter 2021

© Kevin Mahon 2021

© Danny Wootton 2021

© Sue Power 2021

NEXT MEETING: Sept 16 - Robert Harvey presentation 'Photographing Wiltshire'

NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE COMMENDATIONS!!!

How proud are we as a club when one of our number enjoys success!  So it is brilliant news that Philip Male has been commended for three of his images in the 2018 British Life Photography Awards.  He will be going to London on February 19 to enjoy the Prizewinners night.

Commended in the Urban Life category © Philip Male 2019

Commended in the British Weather category © Philip Male 2019

Commended in the Urban Life category © Philip Male 2019

Meeting: Thursday 3 November 2016

Members will be reviewing images taken for the following challenges:
(1) Trains, Boats, Planes (3 images allowed)
(2) Industry ( 2 images allowed)

Learning points and other items will be covered as time permits.

Our previous meeting featured speaker Philip Mugridge, who showed plentiful DPIs of his wildlife photography mostly taken in the Forest of Dean where he lives. He explained about his use of portable hides and pre-focusing technique, bird feeding habits, cameras and lens used and setting up props from a handy wood nearby.  His images included both common and unusual garden birds and birds of prey such as redpoll, raven, hawfinch.  Philip also showed some mammals such as deer, wild boar and water vole as well as butterflies and dragonflies.  A very entertaining evening!

Meeting: Thursday 20 October 2016

An evening with a speaker - Philip Mugridge - who specialises in wildlife photography is planned for our next meeting.  Members plus friends and family or anyone interested in wildlife &/or photography are welcome to join us for the evening for a small donation.

Our last meeting proved there is a strong interest and a lot of ability for wildlife photography as we reviewed images for the subjects Birds, Bees and Butterflies.  Birds proved the most popular category, bees second and a concern that not many butterflies had actually been seen this summer.  

Member Howard Morland showed his first AV composed of images taken in Denmark - we enjoyed the waterside scenes, the Danish palette and a reminder of sunny days!

Members' Exhibitions news

Members David Sage and Bob Bray's images of Lacock are being shown again in Chippenham, see details below:

Meeting: Thursday 6 October 2016

This meeting will include reviewing members' images of Birds, Bees and Butterflies and a slideshow on landscape by Howard Morland.

The previous meeting saw AVs or slideshows produced by the following members - Bob Bray, Pate Shaw, Philip Male, David Sage, Derek Hawkins and Sue Power - which were enjoyed by all attendees.  Each explained about their show including the process and software used.

Meeting: Thursday 22 September 2016

Our next meeting is an AV & slideshow night which may include: 
AVs by Sue Power (Copenhagen); Pete Shaw (Svalbard), Philip Male (Rich Pickings and Just for Ewe); Bob Bray (Ugly Bug Ball and Blackbird Family);  slideshow by David Sage (Chippenham)
Also, Learning Points - How to create an AV! 

Our first meeting included a review of images under the titles 'A Pair of...' and 'Movement' .  Images seen showed a healthily broad range of interpretations though we debated what might be appropriate in a Judge's view!  

We also discussed our use of Wiggio and resolved a few problems that had been arising. It was agreed that some members would have a go in the Calne Multiclub DPI battle.

A good start to the club year with plenty of contributions both visual and verbal!!

Meeting: Thursday 8 September 2016

The new season will start with:
(1) Tribattle subject: A Pair of.... (2 images max)
(2) Tribattle subject: Movement (2 images max)
(3) Learning points (a) How to use Wiggio (b) resizing images
(4) Challenge for the year: Photobook
(5) Discussion: Calne Multiclub Battle

The final summer photoshoot in August saw 7 of us meeting in Malmesbury.  We went down steps to a view point of the Abbey, then up steps to the Cloisters, then down steps to the Weir and up steps past the Abbey Gardens - at which point the light was fading fast, our legs tiring and our thirst directing us pub-wards (as usual!)

Reflecting life in Malmesbury

© Stuart Barnes 2016

Reflecting the sunset at the Abbey

© David Sage 2016

Going pink in the garden?

© Derek Hawkins 2016

Well we were getting hot after climbing all those stairs...

© Amanda Gregory 2016

At least the duck had its own way of cooling off

© Paul Housell 2016

... and the cat had its own opinion about our antics!

© Sue Power 2016

Summer shoot 5: Thursday August 18 2016

Our fifth and final summer photoshoot will be in Malmesbury. Meet Ruth Baldwin & Amanda Gregory at 7pm by the Market Cross.

A brilliant nine of us turned up in the Car Park next to SS Great Britain, Bristol, on our fourth outing.  Six visited the restored boat and said they climbed the rigging (hmmm) ...... while three went in search of other challenges (photographically possibly!)  There appeared to be many other photography groups around the harbour with the same idea!  

Turns out it was actually a young boy who climbed the rigging!

© Bob Bray 2016

While some mad men threw themselves off a crane...

© Sue Power 2016

And possibly found themselves not where they expected!!

© David Sage 2016

Meanwhile Amanda found Goth glamour at the water's edge

© Amanda Gregory 2016

Summer shoot 4: Sunday August 14 2016

Our 4th photoshoot will be at Bristol Docks.  Meet at 11am in the SS Great Britain Car Park in Bristol.

Our third photoshoot at Avebury went off smoothly with 7 members taking an interesting variety of images in fairly good weather.  The route taken was through the village, the churchyard, past the Manor House and then around the stones which led, inevitably, back to the Red Lion!

Avebury Manor © David Sage 2016

Scruffy! © Philip Male 2016

Tracing roots © Amanda Gregory 2016

Evening sun © Bob Bray 2016

Summer shoot 3: Thursday 4 August 2016

Our third photoshoot will be at Avebury.  Meet the contact, Philip Male, 7pm at the Red Lion, Avebury.  Please note that the National Trust Car Park is not open evenings so parking will have to be found in the village.  Please car share where possible.

As for our second photoshoot - despite a week of fine summer weather, we are getting very good at picking the only evening with challenging light, plus rain on this occasion!  Nevertheless, there were ten of us wandering through the backstreets and riverside of Chippenham, juggling weather protection for ourselves and our cameras as well as taking a shot or two.

Some found small details to concentrate on or the unusual while others experimented with capturing movement of canoeists and walkers before a thirst-quenching drink at the Angel Hotel......

A grey heron takes to the trees when it sees LP photographers coming!

© Stuart Barnes 2016

Rowers create graphic lines on the River Avon

© Sue Power 2016

Ghost boats....

© Pete Shaw 2016

Walking speed

© Philip Male 2016

Catch me while you can!
© David Sage 2016

Graffiti humour!
© Amanda Gregory 2016

And the sadder side of graffiti land....

© Paul Hounsell 2016

Summer shoot 2: Thursday 21 July 2016

Our next destination - meet David Sage at the Buttercross, Chippenham at 7pm. 

Our first summer trek was around the river and canal area at Bradford-on-Avon.  The light was disappointing with a wall-to-wall grey skies but nonetheless 5 of us had a go, seeing a kingfisher, waterrat or vole?, a few canoeists, boaters and runners en route.  The grey weather beat us in the end but a gentle stroll with a few clicks here and there was enjoyed by all.

Finding enough light on a very overcast evening!

© David Sage 2016

Summer shoot 1: Thursday 7 July 2016

Now that Summer is officially here (even if not always obvious!), we have plans to continue meeting over the next few months at various town locations for evening shoots.  The first trip will be to Bradford-on-Avon, meeting at 7pm at the Station Car Park and the contact there will be Derek Hawkins.

Our last meeting was one of several parts.  We held our AGM and the committee for 2016-17 was agreed: Chair - Derek Hawkins, Deputy Chair - t/f, Treasurer - Ruth Baldwin, Programme Lead - Sue Power.  Plus: Paul Phelps will plan the 2017 exhibition, Bob Bray will look after the photography book library and Jean Drewett will continue to be i/c refreshments and represent the club on the Village Hall Committee.  Among other items discussed: the membership and meeting fee will remain the same and reviews of the way we conduct critiques of members' images and how we pass on information from more experienced members to those with less need to be held.  Thanks were given to all contributors to the club.

Next, we enjoyed Howard Morland's presentation of the work of Thomas Heaton, a landscape photographer based in Tynemouth.  This featured both slide images and a video showing Heaton's work in Iceland and Scandinavia, and both prompted a good discussion.  

The plan had been to show members' images for the first of the Tribattle challenges but technical difficulties meant we had to postpone this until the Autumn.  So we wrapped up the evening with an 'end of year' social by enjoying Jean's overflowing table of strawberries, meringues, cream and other delectables! 

The next meeting in the Manor Room will be September 8 2016.

Meeting: Thursday 23 June 2016

At our next meeting we will be taking a first look at images for the challenge 'A Pair of...'.  Howard Morland will be talking about a photographer he admires - Thomas Heaton (www.thomasheaton.co.uk) from Tynemouth.  And to round it off we will conduct our AGM and enjoy a social drink!

It was a shame that fine weather or holidays maybe prevented more people coming to our last meeting as we had an excellent evening.  To start, members' low level images from 9 June were shown - Derek showed one with a GoPro camera half in and half out of the River Avon while Amanda stood in the river to take one of hers!   Jane looked up at birds and signs while Philip showed an AV of 'grave' images taken on a 16-35mm lens at f/2.8.

Philip Male talked on 'Wildlife and I' and took us through his photographic career from his start as a young teenager discovering that shooting wildlife with a camera is better than doing it with an air rifle.  He talked about the cameras, lens and hides he has used over time and showed excellent images of birds and animals taken in his garden, the UK and the USA.   

Bob Bray then showed results of taking motion-triggered infra-red video in his garden.  We were amazed at shots of an athletic fox and hedgehog.

Derek Hawkins shared results of some of his long-term projects.  The first was a sequence of time-lapse images from 2015 set to well-chosen music and secondly, a different look at well-known monuments and White Horses in and around Wiltshire.  Derek uses GoPro & Mobius cameras & his I-Phone to get his great output.

Meeting: Thursday 9 June 2016

As members made the most of a light, warm summer evening at our last meeting to take low-level images around Lacock, we will take the opportunity to review these before we listen to Philip Male and his 'Wildlife and I' talk and watch the timelapse prepared by Derek Hawkins.

Meeting: Thursday May 12 2016

Next meeting will include Pete Shaw talking about Flash Photography and Ruth Baldwin giving a presentation on Tim Flach, photographer specialising in animal images (especially horses and dogs).  There will also be a review of the Club's Annual Exhibition, due to take place over the Spring Bank holiday.

Last meeting saw Amanda Gregory giving a slide show of her favourite images from 2015, covering her many travels over the year around Europe and the Caribbean, the South West of England, the Lake District and Yorkshire.  She particularly enjoyed the Whitby Goth Festival and showed images of those people who love to get dressed up and be photographed!

Phil Selby gave a presentation on the rules of composition and what our unconscious visual preferences are.  He covered the Golden Triangle, the Rule of Odds and the work of Leonardo Fibonacci (1170 - 1250) which led to the discovery of the Golden Ratio and the importance of 1: 1.618 as it applies to the universe, plus Phi grids and the Rule of Triangles.   Phil pointed out that while televisions, laptops, tablets and mobiles observe this ratio, cameras do not, especially DSLRs (2 x 3), so that cropping to a better visual proportion can play an important part of post-processing.

The Club is going for the third round of the Tribattle with Corsham and Trowbridge photography clubs.  The list of subjects to prepare images for was announced (sent to all members by email).

Sunday 1 May & Monday 2 May: Lacock Positive Exhibition - Roll up! Roll up!

The Annual Exhibition of photographs by Club members will take place in Lacock Village Hall on the Sunday & Monday of the early Spring Bank Holiday.  100 images will be on display, many of which will be on sale.  Tea, coffee and biscuits will also be available!  Free Entry!

Also on display, in the Manor Room behind the Village Hall, will be a display of images from the 'Lacock - A Changing English Village' project which was undertaken by Bob Bray & David Sage in conjunction with Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre.  Copies of the book of the project will also be on sale.  Free Entry!