I think that the ‘Critique Night’ went well with many of the images ‘straight out of the camera’, which was what was wanted. So that it could be seen how many could have been improved by using the ‘crop tool’ where the main subject could be identified, the ‘clone tool’ where problem areas could be corrected and ‘levels’ where parts of the image could be darkened, lightened or the ‘contrast levels increased to get a more dramatic look to the image. Using the ‘magic wand’ to select an area will also make it easier to make adjustments.

John Napier has come up with a web site offering a video on Photoshop Elements (good early Christmas present) –  go to:-

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/products/dvd/learn_elements_today.html

Allan Cameron gave us an introduction to how a large posters can be created with an A4 printer by using a free software ‘PosteRazor’ and a ‘Pritt Stick’ or other stick glue. Go to:-  http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/

If anyone else have such ideas, please let me know and we can then share them with all members.

The benefits of joining the MCC web site can be seen by  a recent ‘Post’ relating to filters –  a stream of comments and surplus equipment offered for sale. So if you have not yet signed up please do so.

I really want the club to get a lot more from the web site – we have a gallery, which was last year contributed to by a number of members – if those members want to update their images, please let me have a CD with new jpeg images and I will arrange for them to loaded onto the site. It is also open to all members, so if you want to be included, please let me have your pics via a CD.

I had mentioned earlier that we can hold ‘help sessions’ prior to a meeting (7-7.30pm) and we will try to get someone to help.

Mike Clarke has some knowledge of lens filters, so if you want some advise come early next week and he will give some assistance. Lets make the most of this type of help, let me know of any other areas that can be dealt with in this time frame.

To those that are going to join in the club’s Christmas merriment, please bring along £21 next week or asap, (to David Howie)  which will cover the cost of the meal and the tip, not the ‘booze’ thought!

Next week Sandy Cleland (who judged our recent Digital Image comp.) is returning to talk on Nature and General Photography.

See you all next week
Clive

Last night Dougie Allen, from Beeslack CC gave us his considered opinion of the 46 images in the  Coloured Print Competition from 23 members. The marking was very close and I have put details on the web site under  ‘Competitions’.

If you like your image the way it is that is OK, but if you make a digital copy of it and take up some of the points made by Dougie and then see what you think of it – if it does not then look right to you, then ‘delete it’.

He did point out some ideas:-

Take a number of images of what you are photographing, as a slight angle change or s few seconds later could provide a better result.

Try to get something that immediately catches the eye ( main subject) and have this in sharp focus.

If you are taking a ‘total person’ don’t cut off feet! – the same goes for item ‘sticking up’ i.e boat masts – if there is a cut off item, you can always try to ‘clone’ in a substitute. I have done this with closed eyes, by taking more photos, but this one is what is wanted, clone from ‘an open eye’ one.

Dougie did comment on ‘Art paper’ – I do not necessary agree with this, this medium can be effective. It does need to have a correct ‘paper profile’ so that the colours are correctly reproduced. Jennifer’s ‘Through the Gate’ was a good example of this.

Dougie did recommend using Grad and ND filters for enhancing skies, this is an area we need to talk about at the club. Any volunteers who uses them?

Next week we are having a ‘Critique’ night, where we would like everyone to bring in up to four digital images on a stick or CD, we want to have a general but brief helpful comments on them, there will be no actual judging or marking, hopefully much can be learnt.

Also please bring in your two prints for the Human Portrait Comp. (check on web site if you are not sure of the rules). I would like to get a larger entry that with last night’s images, so please make a real effort.

See you all next week

Clive

While I was away, I had the opportunity to put my ‘nose’ into the specialised book on my recent purchased camera. The benefit of this type of book over the basic manual is that it does explain why it is better to do certain things with various recommendations to menu settings and general operation. I can now get the camera to do certain actions which I was not aware of before, therefore if you do not have such a publication for you camera, I would recommend that you have a look on Amazon and see what they have.

Following the meeting of three weeks ago regarding the PAGB awards, Rod Wheelans spoke about presentation and types of paper. He is sponsored by Perma Jet and showed the different types of photo paper they supply.

I looked into this and found that you can purchase ‘Test Packs’  and decided to buy their test pack for ‘DigitalPhoto 1’, consisting of five sheets each of five types of paper(there are others for different papers) – the best price was from Amazon at £13.10 (free delivery).

From their web site you can download an image which you can print on each type of paper and send it to them and they will run a test and come up with a dedicated ICC Profile based on the output of your printer, which they e mail and can easily be loaded onto your printer file.

I did this and got the profile by return and the print I now get gives me the image on the monitor, certainly improving upon my usual ‘hit or miss’.

I plan to get other test packs in order to experiment with different types of paper so that it will be easier to decide which paper type suites which images.

Have a look at their web site – http://www.permajet.com

Many members have their own ideas on papers, but if any members are interested we could have an informal group where we could ‘swop notes’ and purchase photo papers (boxes of 25, or cheaper 50) and split them up. Let me know if there is any interest and we can then take it further.

Tonight we had the benefit of hearing from Liz Sowler and Joe Fowler who gave us an insight into their interest in photography and things to look for. The two entries which Joe had accepted for the very high standard of the Dingwall Photo comp. was ‘Flat Out'(cyclist), which was highly commended and the cows at the Targ Mahal.

If you go to     www. http://photoexhib.co.uk/dingwall/results/results/awards_slideshow.htm you will be able to see the award winning images.

Jim Todd swopped his contribution with Liz, so we can see his at the meeting on 7th Feb.

Next week we will be able to see the entries for the Colour Print Comp. with Doughie Allan, from Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club, to give us his thoughts on the images.

Clive

What an evening I missed – David Howie was so impressed that last might he sent me the following which really sums it up:-

“I’m just in from the Camera Club. You missed an amazing presentation from Mike. He gave us some of his own background, the type of equipment he uses, and an overview of where to dive in Scotland and the types of wreckage and marine life one is likely to encounter. His images were outstanding and quite literally out of this world. It just shows what talent we have within our own members. He even brought along the camera he uses though he did comment that he was a bit concerned about taking it out on such a wet   night !!”

Many thanks to Mike, I will have to get him to give me a private viewing.

We apparently also collected in the colour prints, which was less than I had hoped for, but we all will be able to see them on the 25^th October, when they will be commented on by Doughie Allan.

I hope that might inspire more of you to enter the ‘Human Portrait Comp.’ where we need to have entries in by Thursday 1^st November meeting. The images can be of anyone, family, friend or foe. Even crop a person from one of your images, experiment and have a go.

Next week we are to see and hear about some of the photographic work of Joe Fowler and Jim Todd, so come along and see what your fellow members have been up to.

Hope to see you all then.

Clive

Liz has kindly informed me that there was ‘a good turn out’ for the judging of the Digital Print Competition, fortunately I had a preview of the 68 entries and they were all of a good standard and quite variant in the type of images.

I hope you all got some benefit from his remarks, as I did not feature in the top six I can’t  mage what he thought of my two! (perhaps I can!!)

Liz did say he suggested  “Why not get up high or low down for a different and original viewpoint to stand out from the crowd ? Worth thinking about.

I have posted the top 6 winners on the MCC web site under ‘competitions’.

With respect to the web site I have just registered all current members onto the site – those that have not been on before should receive an e mail asking you to agree/confirm (not sure of the phraseology), but please reply and then I can dispense with ‘the chairman’s report’ via normal e mail and thus cut out the duplication.

With any matters that fall outside the web site environment I will continue with normal

e mails

Next week members will see how photos can be taken even if it is pouring with rain! Mike Clark will introduce us to ‘Under water photography’, with vision and sound, only sorry that I will miss it, so make sure that you don’t miss out.

Also please remember to bring two mounted prints (with a CD if possible),with title and club number on the back. It would be nice to have everyone participating, so lets have a good increase in entries.

Thanks

Clive

I hope that everyone who has joined the club this year are getting my e mails – we aim to get better use of the web site and those members who have ‘signed up’ to the web site also get an e mail  notification of the ‘chairman’s report’ which is a duplicate of the e mail I send out.

So our plan, over the next few weeks,  is to enter all members names on the web site so as to cut out this duplication. A further benefit will be to receive additional posts and notices automatically sent to your ‘in box’. If any member does not want for this to be done then let me know and we will take you off, lets give it a try and the benefits will be apparent.

Last week Mark Davy spoke about ‘flash photography’, instead of spending out £6 grand, I use a useful piece of kit which is a soft box by Lastolite ‘Ezybox, which cost £50 on Amazon. This fits onto a flash gun and is excellent for ‘fill in light’ and a softer light for general use, also no red eye. There was not time last night to show you this, so I will bring it along to a future meeting.

We had 34 members enter the Digital Image Competition which will be screened and judged next Thursday.  the next one is the ‘Colour Print Competition’ – I would like to see a higher entry so will everyone have a go. Last week I sent an e mail giving details, but if anyone has any queries  or requires help, please ask.

I shall be away for the next two weeks, so Joe will ‘front’ next week and on Thursday 11th October David Howie ‘will be in charge’.  On the 11th there is a change in the programme, the Portrait Photography will be replace by something very different,  Mike Clark will give us an illustrated talk, with sound, on ‘underwater photography’. So now you can add a wet suite to your Christmas list!

Last night Rod Wheelans, supported by his wife Ann  enlightened us on the PAGB awards and what to look for and how we could further develop our skills. He described how the judging takes place and what they look for in respect of the quality of the photo and the presentation. There are three grades of qualification, ‘Credit’, which based on the example that Rod showed us I am sure that many of our members could achieve. With a little more development and help many more of our members could also have a go for it.

The second award is ‘Distinction’ which has much higher expectations and the top one is Master, not only Rod and Ann have achieved this, when living in Southampton Del Stonehill achieved this and obtained the highest marks ever awarded.

Full details of the PAGB can be seen on the web site:-   www. pagb-photography-uk.co.uk

Be reassured that you do not have to aim to get such qualifications, just enjoy your hobby and you only need to get involved if you want to, the club will support you and your development based on what you want not what we want.

Next week we will see the 68 Digital Images and get the reaction of the Judge, take on board what he says, if you do not agree with any comment or mark (you will be in good company);  what matters is if you like it  ‘it is OK’.

Two garments were left last night, they are in the Fisherrow Office.

Clive

We had the benefit of Mark Davey from Calumet last night to introduce us into the skills of using ‘Flash Photography’. One of his main points was to, in the main, disregard the ‘speed’ and to select the appropriate ‘aperture’ and focusing depending on the depth of field that we  want.

The easy way is by utilizing TTL (through the lens metering) so that the camera can determine the amount of light required based on the setting you have put in. This should give a balance overall lighting effect, especially for ‘fill in flash’. which can make a selection of an image stand out even in daylight.

However to get it ‘really right’ you need to work on manual and use a separate light meter to take a reading of the area that really matters and set the camera accordingly.

He also showed us some real professional equipment which if you can come up with £6-8 grand and have a strong arm you can have a powerful mobile studio lighting – beyond most of us, but worth knowing about.

Pop into Calumet (address on their web site) this Saturday and save 20% on their own brand equipment.

Next week we have a talk by Rod Wheelans on the PAGB awards – certainly worth coming along to.

When David Howie gets the pre booked tickets for the Charlie Waite talk he will swop them with those who put their names down for the £10 fee.

I have now received 31 entries for the Digital Image Comp. – if anyone else wants to enter, please e mail me two Jpeg images by this Sunday AM at the latest, as I will be sending the final CD to the judge on Monday.

Remember to go along to record some of the ‘Battle of Prestonpans’ this Saturday & Sunday – full details on their web site.

Hope to see you all next week – the tea and biscuits are free, so stay behind after the main meeting and have a chat – just ‘barge in and join a conversation – this is what I do!

Clive

I was pleased to welcome everyone and especially to a good number of  prospective members who have come along tonight.

We have an interesting and challenging syllabus this season taking us through each Thursday evening until the middle of April.

All clubs and organizations whether it is sport, cultural, craft or horticulture etc, do have some area of competition where  members have something to work towards  and have their effort judged.

Whether it is an umpire, ref or judge – although there are rules they all have their own interpretation of their subject and it is very easy to criticize their judgement.

We have five  competitions this year – the purpose of having these is to have something to work towards and to develop one’s skills and have comments made on our efforts, even if you do not agree with them they usually have some elements that if taken on board can add to our photographic development.

There are  always certain people who have that extra talent and will come out on top, so winning is not the purpose of this club’s competitions.

So as they say ‘it is the journey and the experience’ that really matters and brings its own rewards.

Building on one’s skills, enjoying  this splendid  hobby and creating that image which  is above the average is what matters.

We all work together as a team – and if you need any advise there is always someone in the club that will help you – just ask.

We rent this room from 7pm so there is an opportunity to have some training in the half hour prior to the meeting, so if you need help or want someone to look at some of you pictures. then let me know and I will arranged for one of our more experienced members to spend some time with you.

Our meeting on the 22nd Nov. will be held at Beeslack CC at Penicuik, where Charlie Waite the Landscape photographer will give a lecture. This is a ticketed event ( £10) and we have asked for 20 tickets, which we have  to pay for in advance. Therefore I have put up a notice on the notice board, so if you would like to go please put your name down or send me an e mail and David will collect the money from you over next couple of weeks.

Del is still not yet mobile and we again send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery as we need him back at the club – so we ask Anita to send our best wishes to him and hope he is back soon.

Last night we had an introduction to Photoshop Elements, a demonstration of mounting prints and advice on printing and the types of photo paper to use. Again if anyone wishes for more help or information’ please let me know and I will arrange for someone to help you.

Hope to see you all next week.

Clive

On Thursday we had the opportunity to see the 2011 winning entries of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain, where MCC came 37th out of 400 large clubs that entered.There was a range of subject matter and in the first section there was quite a number of ‘composite’ images where there has been a great reliance on Photoshop. These are challenging and are basically artistic and if one has the time and inclination then there is some credit in them.

However the second section of images were more ‘straight’ photographic images which the majority of us prefer and in fact the top three winning clubs were nearly all of this type. Much can be learnt from seeing a good selection of work where we can get inspiration and help us to strive to continue to improve our output. But as always enjoy what you do and if you (and your granny) like your work then don’t worry about what the ‘judges say’!

We are still missing images from about ten members for the Library Exhibition, so if you have not yet brought an image in then please sort one out so that we can truly have a display that fully represent the MCC members.

Next Thursday we are again visiting Beeslack so either go straight there or meet up at the Fisherrow leaving there at 6.45pm.

The following week, Thursday 12th April will be the last meeting of this season, although we will be organisation monthly summer outside shoots, details in due course. We will be having our AGM followed by the Trophy presentations and then a social ‘get together’ afterwards. So please make a real effort to come along and hear about what we have been up to and what is in store for members starting in the next session in September.

Charlie and I visited Del yesterday and we were able to ‘waffle’ away which for the period we were there helped to take Del’s mind off of his pain and discomfort which he was most grateful. Del has done so much for the club and is such a talented and great person, so please try to make some time and go along and see him. Visiting times are 3-5pm and 7-8.30pm and he is in ward 18. Anita can be contacted on anitanutter@mac.com

For better communication to all members we wish to rely on the ‘Post’ on the web site, where if you sign up to it you will get an automatic e-mail notification from the web site as to a new post. If you have not yet ‘signed up’, and you are not sure how to do it e-mail Rob McCann on ramccann@hotmail.com (as shown on the front page of the syllabus) and he will put you on.

Regards to all

Clive