A month by month summary of the Society activities.
DECEMBER 2017:
A welcome return to the Society was made by John Credland ARPS for our December meeting. John has his own very distinct style of presentation with the accent definitely upon humour. His entertaining presentation was titled “Intensity in Ten Cities”, and he laughingly acknowledged taking his title from an early record album. His theme was preparing a panel of photographs for submission to the Royal Photographic Society for a distinction award. John started by talking about the present trend for the popularity of square format prints, which often seem to be used regardless of subject matter. He then displayed his mounted panel of twenty prints submitted for ARPS distinction. (All square). His theme for the panel was the present nature of city centre activity and buildings. A few centuries ago the main central building in a city would be the cathedral, and the central image within the cathedral is that of Jesus Christ. Today, he argued, the importance of the cathedrals in city centres is being replaced by the massive shopping malls. Attractive stained glass windows are replaced by large advertising posters or even LCD screens exhorting us to buy. His photographs showed various activities of people in shopping centres. Some hurrying and dashing about holding brightly coloured plastic carrier bags and cartons of coffee. Others lounged in doorways sitting on blankets, and street corner preachers appealing to the shoppers passing by, while buskers with instruments entertained the moving mass of people, many of them eating on the move. The predominant style of his pictures was created mainly using the HDR technique, and multiple exposure camera settings to create impact and the sense of movement. John went on to discuss the trend for using multiple exposures in camera and deliberately blurred images, particularly of people on the move. Our meeting continued with photographs for the monthly challenge. This month’s topic was…”I love…..”, interpreted however the author wished. The challenge produced a wide range of images, from children to landscapes.
NOVEMBER 2017:
At our meeting on 1st November the Society was pleased to welcome back Robert Harvey who gave us an excellent presentation titled “Winter Photography”. He started by explaining why he considered winter to be the best season for serious landscape photography. The quality of light in winter is friendlier than the glare of high summer. In midwinter the angle of the sun is only 14o above the horizon and the direction of the sun creates side lighting effects most photographers hope and wish for. As the sunlight passes through winters atmospheric conditions the “golden hours” of early morning and late evening will last longer than in summer, giving us more photo opportunities than any other time of year. ( And no small consideration is that we don’t have to be out of bed at 4 am as we have to in summer !).
Robert then continued with more superb illustrations of how the low angle of the winter sun emphasised the contours of mountains and hillsides with the subtle modelling effect of the light direction, using pictures of The Lake District and North Wales. The low angle of light direction also enhanced the photographs of wildlife, particularly birds in flight, removing the dark shadows beneath their wings which the high summer lighting produces. Some beautifully crisp shots of Dartmoor showed the pictorial opportunities of winter frost on rock outcrops and foliage. Photographs taken in fresh snow then illustrated the sharp sparkling effects low angle winter light produces. These brilliant snow pictures ranged from Yellowstone in the deep grip of winter, to the Norwegian fjords and North Cape. The obvious benefit of long clear dark nights was demonstrated with beautiful star shots and star trails. Particularly effective were the starlight pictures using Stonehenge as foreground. Robert rounded off his presentation answering questions from the audience. This hugely enjoyable presentation ended with loud applause.
Our next meeting on the 6 th December will be titled “Intensity in Ten Cities” by John Credland, and will be in the Christopher Rawlings School, Aynho Road Adderbury. All are welcome to attend.
OCTOBER 2017:
In October, we were treated to an inspiring presentation by Viveca Koh FRPS on ‘Phoneography to Fellowship: My Continuing Journey’.
The first half of the evening was devoted solely to ‘phoneography’. Viveca explained how the iPhone, or smartphone, has become her camera of choice for certain situations – perhaps where stealth is required or if a candid shot were not possible with a long lens. She described several iPhone apps that enhance the images and accompanied her talk with an excellent slide show.
In the second half of the evening, Viveca showed how she illustrated Star Blossom, a book of poems by her uncle, Fergus Chadwick, and which led to her FRPS distinction in 2014. Each poem evoked a different sense in her where she created wonderfully intricate and artistic images.
Viveca is a self-taught Fine Art photographer; her work is varied, covering many areas and genres, including the use of background textures and overlaying several images to great effect. She became interested in smartphone photography mainly because of its portability and unobtrusiveness. Its versatility in the special effects of apps such as Hipstamatic has taken this medium to a very high level, to specialise, for instance, in Urban Exploration (UrbEx) photography, collecting her material from abandoned and disused buildings, such as asylums, care homes, and schools.
Travelling from her home in Surrey, Viveca has visited our Society on two occasions to share her knowledge and passion. Her presentations are delivered with professionalism, humour, skill and modesty – it is always a pleasure to see Viveca and we look forward to seeing her here again very soon. You can see more on her website https://vivecakohphotography.photoshelter.com.
MAY 2017:
At our May meeting we welcomed Mary McIntyre from Tackley. Her objective was to share her passion for astrophotography, (photographing the skies). Her topic for the evening focussed on capturing Star Trails. This is achieved by taking long exposures (up to 30 seconds) of the sky repeated many times (up to 600) and then “stitched” together using software to produce a generally circular picture of the stars’ progress through the sky. Most of her images are captured in this way using a standard digital SLR camera with a remote shutter lead to automatically take repeat images. This needs a good level of dedication as some of her shoots last for 3 or 4 hours. She explained the need for a low level of light pollution but found Tackley to be acceptable. The main irritations, bearing in mind the long exposure time, being car headlights, commercial aircraft and pets setting off neighbours’ security lights. She explained how to include land based objects in the foreground to enhance the star trails. She also showed some useful accessories she had devised to keep herself and the camera free from condensation. Many of those present indicated they would be spending more time outside on cold clear nights trying to replicate the imaged shown by Mary. Mary’s website is www.tackleyvillage.co.uk/astronomy.html
APRIL 2017:
Our Club Night on 5 April started with the all-important AGM at the Cartwright Hotel, Aynho. The chairman, Richard Broadbent, opened the meeting and stated that the Society has had a successful year, with the total membership at a steady 51, five new members replacing the five who have left the district. Our exhibitions in 2016 were well received and have helped establish the Society as a recognised part of the local community. The treasurer, Martyn Pearse, presented the audited annual accounts to March 2017, declaring the Society was in a sound financial position and the annual subscription would remain at £30. A vote of thanks to the Cartwright Hotel was passed for allowing the Society regular use of the Apricot Room. Retiring committee members this year are Wendy Meagher, secretary; Richard Broadbent, chairman; Brenda Difford, social events; Gail Girvan, workshops. Gail will continue as Facebook administrator. The meeting elected John Prentice as the new chairman, the position of secretary being vacant.
The Society’s monthly programme has been further extended during the past year by establishing a special interest group. The new critique circle is proving to be successful and rewarding. The critique circle meets on the third Tuesday of the month at the Holly Tree Club in Deddington. Members bring along a print for their colleagues to criticise, comment or advise on, thereby improving photographic knowledge and skills.
Normal Club Night continued with a friendly ‘What Is It?’ competition composed from ingenious photographs submitted by members, often taken from strange angles. The usual monthly challenge followed. April’s topic was ‘Cemeteries and Monuments’ and produced many well-composed pictures and amusing interpretations of the subject.
MARCH 2017:
In March, Robert Harvey gave a talk entitled ‘By The Sea’, and began by explaining that his early childhood attraction to the seashore led to his becoming a Coastal Scientist, and that although Great Britain has a coastline of 11,073 miles, this depends upon which map scale is used: the larger the map scale, the more inlets and bays are recorded! His beautifully photographed coastal features ranged from Sussex to Isle of Skye, and Lundy Isle to Norfolk.
When visiting a particular coastal area, Robert planned well ahead, using tide tables and a sun rose (i.e., a chart showing sunrise and sunset at different times of the year). Cliff features at dawn and sunset were stunning. Very clearly his photo trips were down to meticulously planning ahead to coincide with the tidal situation, the sun positions and lighting level on the date in question. The day of the year is important in using the angle of the sun to highlight certain features of places such as Lulworth Cove, Beachy Head or Dunvegan Castle.
The second half of his talk covered man-made features such as sea defences, military buildings and lighthouses. Creative use of angle of view and light produced good shots of breakwater and old wooden groyne installations standing at odd angles. More sombre and thoughtful were the derelict military buildings near Orford Ness.
Robert’s concluding pictures were dramatic shots of storms along the South Coast and the Gower Peninsula in the winter of 2013/14. Robert revealed he always uses a tripod, AE and 100 ISO exposure setting, and often uses ND Grad filters to slow the motion of waves and produce atmospheric mood shots. The membership showed their appreciation with a loud round of applause.
FEBRUARY 2017:
In February, member Paul Brewerton gave a presentation on his trip made with his wife to ‘Alaska and the Yukon’. Starting with a boat trip and sunrise at 4.30am up the Prince William Sound, we were treated to fascinating photographs of Orca killer whales, sea otter, humpbacked whale, sea lions, seals, Horned Puffin, and beautiful blue-hued ice floes. Further along was the Drunken Forest, made up of the four main species of trees growing there in spite of the permafrost – Black Spruce, larch, willow and aspen. Places visited/seen along the way were the Alcan Highway, Carcross Town, White Pass Railway, the railyard terminus at Skagway, with its old and impressive black and red engines, the Klondike Gold Fields Mine, the Chillkoot Pass and then on to the Yukon River.
Passing the Five Finger Rapids, wonderful autumn colours were seen in the Alaska Rift Valley. From Midnight Dome, the boat moved along to Dawson City, the former capital city of Yukon (now Whitehorse), then to Bonanza Creek where the great gold rush started. Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Saloon was an interesting sight, with colourfully dressed can-can dancers, as was the river crossing on the Yukon Ferry. We were shown an oil pipeline from Prudoe Bay to Valdiz, which is resistant to seismic shock due to its zig-zag design, and some fascinating images of Iditerod dogs and their breeding kennels, a Chum salmon smoke house, and a stunning Chief’s mink, beaver and ermine coat (valued at some US$80,000!). From the train from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Paul and his wife alighted at snow-dusted Denali National Park. Mt. Denali, formerly Mt. McKinley, is the highest mountain in N. America, standing at 20,368 ft asl. There, they saw moose, snow, ptarmigan changing into winter plumage, eagles, and bears!
This was a well-recorded trip with photographs showing the breath-taking beauty and vastness of the Alaskan landscape, accompanied by charming images of the wildlife there, all of which delighted Paul’s audience.
JANUARY 2017:
In January, the Society’s first Club Night of the year started with a Members’ Evening, entitled “My three best images of 2016”, whereby members had been invited to say why they had selected the subject, where it was taken, and what had been learned from taking it. A wide range of images was shown on many diverse subjects, covering a comprehensive range of geographic locations, treating fellow members to an enjoyable display. In addition to speaking on their own pictures, members were invited to add their comments and observations. This gave a mixture of constructive points and friendly banter, resulting in a very enjoyable evening.
Concluding the evening was the review of our monthly photo topic, entitled “Spires”. A broad range of photographs was shown which varied from local scenes to widely imaginative interpretations of “spires”. Once again, this gave rise to helpful comments and plenty of friendly banter among those present.