Club News

Our first night of the new season was very well attended with over 30 bodies including four new faces who we hope will join us permanently. They will be most welcome.

Chris West, our new Chairman, confessed immediately that he had never been to a first night before as he had always been on holiday. So, not knowing really what had gone before he took matters into his own hands and told us all about himself and his family, finishing with his latest Photographic Experiences.

Two car loads of members visited Hayling Island today leaving at about 2.30pm with the weather looking slightly unreliable.

However when we reached our first stop by the bridge to the Island near Langstone Mill, the weather was set fair. The mill is nearly unique (when working, now a pivate residence) in that it was both a windmill and a watermill, but according to John Goodfellow there is another in Norfolk. Anyway, it made a good subject for some very nice landscape pictures.

On Saturday August 2nd, we held our first summer event. For the last few years now we have had a Barbecue, usually held in the Chairman’s garden.

Our new Chairman Chris decided that for a change it might be nice to have a cream tea this year instead.

And so the call went out to members asking those attending to bring sandwiches, cakes, scones, strawberries, blue berries, raspberries and of course chairs.

After a couple of statutory items, Anne Nagle gave a very comprehensive report of this seasons events and achievements, adding that she felt we were improving as a club with our results. She then mentioned especially how much hard work Glenn Donnelly had put in on our behalf as our first Publicity Manager, and how successful she had been at the job. Well done Glenn. She will be missed and we do need someone to carry on the good work. Anne herself will carry on in the meantime as she is to stay on our Committee.

We were joined by our old friend Walter Benzie ARPS on 15thMay for our Best of Year competition. He started by shaking several peoples’ hands, then telling a story about a photographer in Bombay, who just happened to be Henri Cartier-Bresson. I have since discovered a Cartier-Bresson quote, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”Perhaps there is something in my 365 obsession!

Ex member Mike Eddowes was going to instruct us on' out of doors’ portraiture this evening for as long as the light lasted; but the day dawned very wet with not much prospect of improvement.

So the powers that be decided to ask Martin Tomes to introduce us to our new lighting set (INTERFIT EX 150) which was kindly donated to the club by someone who had purchased it but had never used it. It will be available for club members to borrow and use.

Our final print competition was judged by Lindsey Green fromLittlehampton Camera Club. She described herself as coming to photography from an art background, and certainly enjoyed the artistic endeavours she was shown.

Starting with a 17 for Norman Kirby’s warm vibrant ‘Slow grey morning at Southsea’ then a held back image ‘Osprey – Just up’ from Derek Grieve, we might have been lulled into a false sense of security. However, her marking was from 14 to 20, with only twelve images (25%) getting 18 or more.

Robert Canis gave us a truly memorable presentation of some of his work at our show of the year held at Washington Community Centre once again. When we host an event like this, it is impossible to know ahead of the evening how many folk are going to attend. So the worry is firstly will we cover our costs and secondly make a profit. This year the attendance was a little disappointing, possibly because the subject matter did not attract the public?; or maybe because it was held on a Friday instead of Saturday. We shall never know.

Our great friend Leslie Cutting visited us again tonight to give us some more Adobe Photoshop tuition. Leslie uses Elements 12 which is usually considered the best editing programme for photographers. Photoshop CC is a more comprehensive alternative. but it now requires a monthly subscription of nearly £9, and is not available unless you have had CS 6 or maybe some earlier versions of CS. I do not believe that it gives photographers very much more than Elements anyway.

Thursday saw thelast PI competition, and it was a hard fought one. Marks varied from 12 to 20, with seventeen being held back. The judge John Bradshaw showed us a few of his wonderful images first: he likes to try and replicate 19th century darkroom techniques digitally, also working on projects such as following the Greenwich meridian across the UK.