thru the lens morelandcameraclub.org.au/news/2012/thru the lens - april 2012.pdf · sporadic travel...
TRANSCRIPT
Thru The Lens
April 2011
Our website
www.parklandsphotoclub.org.au
Newsletter email
Hello All,
We have an exciting month coming up with the VAPS inter-club on
May 19-20th. Held Ballarat this year, you will be able to view the
amazing winning entries as well as have many photographic
opportunities in the area. The VAPS weekend is usually a great event.
We also have our own event coming up – our annual Hunt ‘n Shoot will take place in the Dockland’s this Thursday. It’s a fun photographic
challenge and a chance to shoot some ‘After Dark’ photos too!
As a quick reminder, we ask everyone to pack away their chair at
the end of the night and make sure all dishes are washed and put
away. Many hands make light work and all that.
Keep Snapping, Paula
Novice Print competition – “Looking Up”
(Previously B Grade)
1st – ‘Gazing Up’ – Sue Martin 2nd – ‘Don’t look Down’ – Sue Martin
3rd – ‘Eyes in the Sky’ – Anna Small
Image Unavailable
HC – ‘St Stephen’s Tower’ – Sue Martin
Experienced Print Competition (Previously A Grade)
1st – ‘Fall’ – Paul Grinzi 2nd – ‘Phoenix 6’ – Clem Warren
3rd – ‘Up in the Air’ – Mathew LaSala HC – ‘Seal Awe’ - Paul Grinzi
Mini-Focus – Hunt ‘n Shoot – Docklands
We have planned our annual Hunt ‘n Shoot as a night time
walk this year – great news for those of you thinking of
September’s ‘After Dark’ theme.
The aim of the night is to “hunt” out the 4 topics of the day
and “shoot” at least one image of each. You will be advised of
the 4 set subjects on arrival or by ringing Clem on 0409 439
023 after 7:30pm if you are arriving later in the evening.
Photos from the day will be shared at the mini-meet on 28th June.
This is a fun event, a chance to rub shoulders with fellow
members and maybe even learn a few new tricks. Hope to see
you all there!
When: Thurs 26th April, 7:30 pm
Where: Meet at the corner of La Trobe and Spencer St, Melb
Club Meeting –
Next month’s meeting is on Thurs 10th May, 7:30 in the library as
usual. The theme is ‘Open’. This theme is usually very popular so
don’t forget to correctly label your prints. Prints are due to Mat by
Sunday 29th April.
Don’t forget you can also submit your entries for the following month
‘Abstract – Nature’ –at the next meeting. (Check out the article below
for the definition and meanings of Abstract)
VAPS Weekend – 19 – 20th May @ Ballarat
The Victorian Association of Photographic Societies holds a
conference each year with an exhibition of winning entries, a
variety of talks, workshops and a formal dinner. It is a great
weekend with many photographic opportunities.
When: 19-20th May
Where: University of Ballarat Mt Helen Campus
What’s on: http://www.vaps.com.au/Files/Downloads/3VAPSCONVENTIONPROGRAMME.pdf
Library Display – This month’s winner’s will be on display at the
Glenroy Library.
Parkland’s flickr group and Facebook page Our club has a facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23051597114
We have set up a flickr page, - all you need to do is sign
in/register at http://www.flickr.com/groups/parklandsphotoclub/
- we’ll be using this to post photos, discuss club events, ask for
club member critiques, etc.
Flickr also hosts our “Lets Discuss” topic each month. This
month’s topic is ‘Cleaning Your Camera’ so jump on and join in!
Upcoming Event – Weekend Away – August
The Parklands committee is looking to organise a weekend
away in the second half of the year. The destination is yet to be
confirmed, but will have ample photographic opportunities. We
will also be conducting a fantastic workshop over the weekend.
At this stage we are looking to get an idea of the numbers of
members who are interested in going. The weekend should be in
the tail end of August. Please let Paul or Joe know if you are
interested. This is not a commitment to go on the weekend –
just an indication of interest.
Experienced Digital Competition (Previously A Grade)
1st – ‘Tower Crane’ – Charlie Scicluna
2nd – ‘Heavenly Morn’ – Clem Warren
3rd – ‘Hot Dog’ –
Paul Grinzi
HC – ‘Southern Star’ – Charlie Scicluna
Novice Digital Competition
1st – ‘Reach’ – Ralph Haller-Trost
2nd – ‘Docklands icon’ – katriona Fahey
3rd – ‘Sky Flyer’ – Felicity Shanahan
HC – ‘Please Dad Up’ – Ralph Haller-Trost
HC – ‘In the Clouds’ – Katriona Fahey HC – ‘Beautiful Blue Mosque’ -
Gail Crennan
HC – ‘Art Centre’ – Ruth Martin HC – ‘Bella Donna’ – Ralph Haller-Trost
Exhibitions, Events & Competitions
Exhibition - Fire
Fire is presented by Photonet Gallery & Fine Art Printing in
Fairfield, is a visually exciting group show and part of the Four
Elements series. Featuring works from established and emerging
photographic artists from throughout Victoria, the exhibition is
also held to raise funds for the CFA.
When: Until May 5
Where: Photonet Gallery & Fine Art Printing, 15a Railway Place
Fairfield
Exhibition - Men Undressed
Is showing at the Centre for Contemporary Photography in
Fitzroy, is an exhibition of works by Mark Beehre. An exploration
of the naked portrait, the exhibition features men of various ages
and from different walks of life, allowing themselves to be seen
for who they are.
When: Until May 27 - Wednesdays to Sundays
Where: Centre for Contemporary Photography
404 George St Fitzroy
Event – The Digital Show
Showcase the following:
- Professional imaging
- Business and home connectivity
- Home and mobile entertainment When: 26-27th May
Where: Melb Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sth Wharf
Check out the following link for a free ticket (save $20)
http://www.michaels.com.au/index.php/component/content/article/284
Event – Tasmanian Photography Tour
The Gippsland Photographic Club is organising a photography
tour to Tasmania next month. For more details see the end of
our newsletter.
Workshop – Pet Photography with Sharron Plummer
2 full days packed with practical, useful and directly applicable
information about the creative and technical aspects of pet
photography. When: 9-10th June
Where: Melbourne, Victoria
Paterson Suite – Hotel Bruce County See website for more details http://www.wetnosefotos.com/pet-photography-workshops/
Definitions
and guides
Did you know we have two abstract competition themes
coming up this year? In June, our club competition theme is
‘Abstract: nature’, and in October we have ‘Abstract: Man-made’.
So now is the time to start thinking about abstract photography
and looking for opportunities to create abstract images.
* Your first stop should be the definitions of ‘abstract’, ‘nature’
and ‘man-made’ that the club has decided to use for these two competitions. We have included this below.
* The following articles have advice for making abstract images.
http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/theory/creatively-approaching-
abstract-photography/
http://www.photopoly.net/the-art-of-abstract-photography/
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/tips-for-creating-great-abstract-photography/
* And here are some abstract photos to get you inspired!
http://www.thephotoargus.com/inspiration/40-astounding-
examples-of-abstract-photography/
There has been a fair bit of discussion regarding how to
interpret the various competition themes for this year. The March
judge's interpretation of the 'My Melbourne' theme particularly
created a fair bit of discussion. Accordingly, for the following
themes, we will provide a definition to guide both the submissions
and the judge: abstract-nature (June's theme) and abstract-
manmade (October). The definitions are included below.
The remaining themes, 'open', 'looking up', 'solitude' and
'afterdark' will remain without specific definition and will remain
open to creative interpretation.
Whilst the club gives each judge some direction on how we prefer
the competition to be judged, their style and comments are
obviously out of our control.
Definitions:
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, colour and line to
create a composition which may exist with a degree of
independence from visual references in the world. Abstraction
indicates a departure from reality that may range from only
slight, partial, or it can be complete. Total abstraction bears no
trace of any reference to anything recognisable.
Nature refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors,
and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes,
wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.
Nature photography shouldn't include any elements that are
manmade (no 'hand of man'). Regarding animals, for the
purposes for our club competition, captive animals are permitted,
but there should not be any manmade elements included in the
image.
Manmade - Made by humans rather than occurring in nature.
Here's an excellent summary article...
http://natureshealing.hubpages.com/hub/Understanding-
Abstract-Photography
Cleaning your camera
No matter what kind of camera you use, we can probably all
agree that dust or fingerprints on the lens are not going to help
you in creating great images.* But how to go about cleaning your
camera? There are lots of different cleaning products available –
it would be great to hear about what you actually use and find
helpful!
Here’s a run-down on ways to clean a camera lens: http://digital-
photography-school.com/how-should-i-clean-my-dslrs-lens
And a step-by-step on lens cleaning:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-clean-your-digital-slr-
camera-lens/
If you have a digital camera, cleaning your sensor is a more
complicated and perilous procedure. Some people send their
cameras to professionals for sensor cleaning, and some people tackle it themselves. If you’re inclined to try that latter, BE
CAREFUL! (Can you tell that doing anything with the sensor
makes me very nervous?) There are some sensor-cleaning tips
here: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-
sensor-cleaning.htm
So, how do you clean your camera? Log onto our club Flickr
forum and share your methods! If you haven’t cleaned your
camera for a while, why not have a look at some of these tips and take some time soon to give it a spruce up, then let us know
how you did? And if you’re a dab hand with cleaning fluid and a
lens pen, hop onto Flickr and share your secrets!
*Having said all of the above, marks on the front element of a
lens don’t always affect the resulting image as much as you
might think. The main point that stayed with me from a talk Paul
gave last year about camera cleaning was that even a smashed-
up lens still works surprisingly well – see this link for a similar
demonstration! http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html
Member of the Month – Sharon McDowall
My father introduced me to photography when I was growing
up and taught me about shutter speed, aperture, ASA, depth of
field, etc. When I was 15 years old my parents bought me an SLR
camera (an Olympus OM1) and I continued using that until about
6 years ago, when I got my first digital SLR camera. I did mostly
sporadic travel photography until I had my first child 9 years ago.
At that time I started doing portrait photography, and my desire
to produce high-quality images was fuelled by the fact that my
daughter was very sick in her first 4 years and there was a good
chance that we would not have her for very long (all is well now, thank goodness). Having a digital SLR opened up a plethora of
new possibilities in terms of being able to experiment by taking
lots of photographs and enhance the photographs in Photoshop.
I’ve been a member of Parklands for a year. I like the fact
that I now have other people who are interested in photography
to talk to – I no longer feel like I am working in a vacuum. I also
like the fact that I can get some feedback on my work.
I like photographing children and trying to capture their
natural essence in a photograph. I also like photographing many
other things that can make an interesting photograph, such as
landscapes, cityscapes and animals. Late last year I set myself
the task of taking photographs around Brunswick to make a
series of photo cards. I’d like to learn more about doing high
dynamic range (HDR) photography.
I don’t know that I have a favourite photographer, but I do
like the work of Steve McCurry. He has great skill in capturing images that seem to look inside the soul of his subjects.
Websites of the month
Want to shoot portraits, but not sure how to pose your model?
Check out these links with ideas (and diagrams) for male, female
and child poses. Male poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/21-sample-poses-to-get-you-started-
with-photographing-men
Female poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/21-sample-poses-photographing-
female-models
Child poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/posing-guide-21-sample-poses-to-get-
you-started-with-photographing-children
Photographer of the month – John Gollings
John Gollings is an Australian architectural photographer. He
has worked extensively in Australia and internationally, creating
images of buildings ranging from skyscrapers to residential
buildings to ancient ruins. He was interested in photography from
an early age, and began working in wedding and fashion
photography before melding his passion for images with his
career as an architect. Gollings was profiled in a fascinating 2009
documentary, ‘John Gollings: Eye for Architecture’.
A biography/mini-interview: http://www.specifier.com.au/architects/16090/John-Gollings.html
About the ‘John Gollings: Eye for Architecture’ documentary:
http://www.360degreefilms.com.au/eye-for-architecture
And a trailer for the documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CFCKw6xCQ
Quote of the month
‘Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.’
Ansel Adams
Photography tour:
Greetings to Club Members,
Our club is planning a tour of Tasmania in November and we would like to invite members of
your club to join us on the trip. Whilst we have considerable amount of interest from our
members, we expect to have a limited number of places left for other photographic enthusiasts
who may like to join us. The bookings need to be finalised by 30th May 2012.
A base price of $899.00 includes all accommodation, Airfares or Spirit of Tasmania
fees, Airport long term parking, and entry into the Rhododendron Gardens. In
addition to this price you will need to purchase food, pay for vehicle fuel, and pay for
elected activities that you plan participate in.
The costs are based on four people sharing a 4 x 4 vehicle, with one person travelling on the
Spirit of Tasmania with the vehicle and the others flying to Launceston. Needless to say we are
counting on at least 25% of attendees having a 4 x 4 vehicle and willing to share it with others.
An itinerary and registration form can be downloaded from our web site.
http://www.egps.com.au/images/Forms/tassietour2012.pdf
Should any of your members require any further information please contact Stephen Smith on
5155 3505 or by email [email protected]
The Gippsland Photography Club