Author Archives: stevenmbeard

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About stevenmbeard

I am the chair of Musselburgh Camera Club, and also a software engineer at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh.

17 February 2022 (Andrew Lanxon Hoyle: Expanding Your Mental Kitbag)

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This week we were delighted to welcome our second face-to-face speaker of the season. Andrew Lanxon Hoyle is an Edinburgh-based photographer and senior editor for the technology publication CNET.com, responsible for shooting automotive, product and editorial images. Andrew has his own web page displaying his work, where you can find many of the images he showed us tonight.

http://lanxonphotography.com/

He is also well-known for posting photography stories and advice on his many social media channels:

In fact, you can find now a recording of his talk here:

Andrew gave us a presentation entitled “Expanding Your Mental Kitbag”. If you find yourself running out of ideas as a photographer, or are not happy with the images you are creating, it is tempting to try expanding your kitbag. Surely, buying an expensive piece of kit like a new lens will help improve your work? But Andrew pointed out that you could just end up pointing your new lens at the same subjects. Instead he recommends expanding your mental kitbag. Don’t let yourself be categorised as just one type of photographer (landscape, portrait, macro, still life, etc…) if you happen to be good at that one thing. Try new ideas, new situations and new techniques. You will find that ideas that work in one area of photography can be adapted to a new area and bring sometimes surprising results.

Andrew took us on a fascinating photographic journey from when he started with simple product photography to his later, more sophisticated use of lighting. He learned an off-camera flash lighting technique for wedding photography and then found he could use that same technique for his editorial images. Andrew’s signature is to find unusual ways of showing a subject. Where most product photographers would show someone holding a phone, Andrew would show the phone against an abstract landscape. And instead of showing a distillery manager sampling his whisky, he photographed him in the grain silo! The more techniques Andrew tried, the more he learned how to use lighting. A DJ’s spotlights could be used to make a unique wedding shot. A high speed flash can be used to freeze the motion of a water splash, whatever the shutter speed. The highlight of the evening was Andrew’s story of how he photographed the Bugatti Chiron. Instead of settling on the usual “on the road” shot, Andrew proposed to shoot the Bugatti at night against a popular landmark in Madrid. The photoshoot required a road to be closed by a police escort. The shot was created using a light painting technique where the car was lit from different angles and dozens of shots stacked together to give the final result. Andrew impressed Bugatti so much they nicked his photo. That must be the definition of success!

Thank you very much for inspiring us with a fascinating talk.

10 February 2022 (Audio Visual Evening)

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This week we once again hosted our annual audio visual evening with Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club. Little did we know when we hosted this meeting a year ago that a year later we would still be hosting it by Zoom. A major difference this time was that the meeting was also broadcast in room G3 of the Fisherrow Centre.

The meeting began with a presentation from Beeslack about The Union Canal, following the route of the canal from its beginning in Edinburgh to its merger with the Forth and Clyde Canal at the Falkirk Wheel. With a combination of ground-based photographs and drone shots, were treated to a virtual journey, visiting the many landmarks which the canal passed (such as the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena the Almond Aqueduct, Linlithgow Palace and the Falkirk Tunnel).

Next, Musselburgh showed the long-awaited presentation from John Knox and Gus Langlands’ Landscape Group entitled “The Herring Road”.

The Herring Road. A Landscape Group Presentation

The presentation began by describing the history of the fishing industry at Dunbar and, through archive photographs, telling the story of the Dunbar fishwives. The presentation was in several parts, each introduced with a reading by Jennifer Davidson. It took us on a 29 mile journey along the Herring Road, which the fishwives used to carry their heavy baskets and creels of fish to sell at the market in Lauder. We were again taken on a virtual journey along this route, visiting landmarks such as the village of Spott, the Witches Stone, the Whiteadder Reservoir, and through the Lammermuir Hills to Lauder. It looked difficult enough to make that journey with photographic equipment, let along while carrying several stone of fish. After the fishwives had sold their fish in Lauder, they had to make the return journey back to Dunbar, being careful to avoid thieves who might want to steal the money they had made. The presentation returned to Dunbar and, by contrast, showed us the modern view of the town and described the modifications which made Dunbar Harbour the way it looks today.

We finished the evening with a series of short presentations from Beeslack, bringing us introductions to the Scottish Wildlife Centre, the City of Edinburgh, Shetland and Australia. All in all it was a fascinating and entertaining evening. Thank you to Beeslack for joining us. You didn’t get any tea and biscuits for a second year running, but I hope we can correct that the next time we host this meeting.

03 February 2022 (Set Subject Competition – Travel in Scotland)

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The second of our 3-part set subject competition took place this week.  The competition was judged by George Todd, who won last year’s competition.  13 members had entered 39 images altogether. The theme of “Travel in Scotland” had been interpreted fairly loosely. Some images showed beautiful Scottish landmarks or landscapes which could be reached by travelling in Scotland. A group of trees with a beautiful sky were assumed to be in Scotland. Other images showed Scottish transport, such as a road, ferry, bridge, railway station or viaduct.

George commented on the composition of each image. The landscape images were stronger when they contained three elements: an interesting foreground, a middle ground and a distant background. Some of the images were good in part but were spoiled by containing too much of a particularly uninteresting element, such as a car park or an expanse of water, grass or greenery. George suggested cropping these area to reduce their dominance and rebalance the image. Some of the images showing an empty scene would have been improved by a focal point, such as a person standing in the railway station or a boat on the water.  Images of landmarks were better if they could tell a story by including some characters, and there were some fun images of highlanders, tourists and highland cattle.

The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (47 points)
    • Lorraine Roberts
    • Kevin Johnston
  • 4th place (48 points)
    • George Smith
    • Jennifer Davidson
  • 3rd place (49 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Gordon Davidson
    • Carol Edmund
  • 2nd place (50 points)
    • Joe Fowler
  • 1st place (51 points)
    • Steven Beard
    • Mike Clark

The top images were:

  • Glenfinnan Viaduct (Steven Beard) – 20 points
  • Racing Along (George Smith) – 19 points
  • Bow Fiddle Rock (Mike Clark) – 18 points
  • Hebrides to Uig Ferry (Jennifer Davidson) – 17 points
  • Scotland for Ever (Joe Fowler) – 17 points
  • Scotland the Brave (Joe Fowler) – 17 points
  • Packhorse Bridge Carrbridge (Malcolm Roberts) – 17 points
  • Mystery Island Cruise (Mike Clark) – 17 points
  • Blue hour at the 3 Bridges (Gordon Davidson) – 17 points
  • Melrose Abbey (Carol Edmund) – 17 points

Steven Beard and Mike Clark have both won the right to judge next year’s competition! Well done to both. The league table after two competitions looks like this:

Joe Fowler (52 + 50 = 102)
Mike Clark (50 + 51 = 101)
Steven Beard (49 + 51 = 100)
Carol Edmund (49 + 49 = 98)
Malcolm Roberts (– + 49 = ??)
Gordon Davidson (45 + 49 = 94)
George Todd (47 + — = ??)
Lorraine Roberts (– + 47 = ??)
Kevin Johnston (– + 47 = ??)
Jennifer Davidson (45 + 48 = 93)

Joe Fowler is in the lead, but only 1 point separates the top 3 places. Entries for the final part of the competition on “Street Photography” are due on 3th March 2022.

20 January 2022 (Underwater Photography)

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This week member Mike Clark gave us a talk on his experiences with underwater photography. Mike had given us a taster of his underwater work more than a year ago at our “International Dutch Members Evening”, which we enjoyed so much we asked him to give this full presentation. We were joined by Mike’s new fans from the Netherlands: Hans van der Boom and Denise Gielen.

Just like our previous underwater speaker, David Keep, Mike had also been inspired by watching “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”. Mike began the evening by showing us his equipment. Mike fits his camera into a waterproof housing which lets him operate his Nikon DSLR camera underwater. The housing has a spherical transparent outer shell which gives even wide-angle lenses a panoramic view. Cleverly placed levers and mechanisms allow Mike to operate the controls of his camera from outside the housing. The housing is fitted with two strobe lights and flotation tanks, which can be manoeuvred on flexible arms. Mike usually operates the strobe lights at less than the maximum brightness because their battery life is limited. Most of the camera’s automatic systems don’t work properly underwater, so Mike needs to adjust the settings manually. Underwater photography requires a lot of concentration, since Mike not only has to watch out for photographic opportunities and adjust his equipment, but he also needs to monitor his air, depth and diving time.

Mike went on to show us a video presentation describing different aspects of his underwater photography. Most of the photographs had been taken around the coastline of Scotland. There were impressive shots of marine wildlife: from seals and monkfish, to squid and colourful sea slugs, ending with sharks and a truly gigantic skate! There were beautiful marine landscapes with delicate anemones and fish. There were also were ship-wrecks with barnacle-encrusted, twisted metal shapes, with a ladder leading invitingly into a dark and dangerous hold from which some divers have never returned. Mike also included some of his signature images: stunning split shots showing a shark or seal underwater together with the diving boat and fellow divers. If you are interested you can see more of Mike’s work on his web site or Flickr photostream (below):

https://9-mike-clark.pixels.com/

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Mike Clark’s Flikr Photostream

Thank you very much, Mike, for preparing and giving us this presentation. It was very well received, and the Zoom chat was full of admiration for the stunning photographs shown. Best of luck with your future underwater adventures.

Two different image submissions this week

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The next Musselburgh Camera Club meeting will be at 7:30 on Thursday, 13th January 2022. This meeting will be an informal “Christmas Members Evening”, where we will discuss our Christmas-themed images and vote on our favourites. George Todd will be presenting the evening, so please email George JPEGs of your 3 Christmas-themed images by this Thursday morning. (Note that images sent on Thursday afternoon might not make it before George travels to Fisherrow.)

We have two different image submissions this week. George is also collecting images for the second set subject competition on the theme of “Travel In Scotland”. Please also send George 3 JPEG copies of your “Travel In Scotland” images by this Thursday.

Change of Programme for 13th January 2022 & Human Portrait Competition

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Sadly, we have had to cancel the “Match an Image” competition scheduled for 13th January 2022. After taking suggestions from members this week, we have decided to make 13th January a themed members’ evening. Everyone is encouraged to take some Christmas-themed photographs during the festive season and send up to 3 JPEGs to George Todd. George will shuffle them and show them on 13th January for comments and feedback. The event will be similar to our socially-distanced photoshoot roundup last year.

George is going to contact Gordon Scott and suggest that we make the “Human Portrait Print” competition a true print competition this year. This will give members a chance to practice and get feedback on their printing and mounting skills. You can either bring your prints to the Fisherrow Centre on 6th January or can arrange with George to hand them over at a convenient location. Don’t forget to send George 3 JPEGs as well.

I hope you all have a happy, successful and enjoyable Christmas break.

Steven

02 December 2021 (Black and White Print Competition)

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Our black and white print competition took place on 2nd December 2021.  Like the colour print competition judged earlier in the year, this competition was also judged digitally. The competition was judged by Gordon McMann CAPGB of Queens Park Camera Club, Glasgow.

15 members had entered 45 images altogether. There were landscape shots, some shots of local architecture and artwork, a selection of portraits, some sporting action shots, and a few shots of flowers and wildlife.  Gordon commented on the impact and composition of each image. In some cases there was a loss of detail in the highlights or the shadows, and in other cases the dynamic range had been compressed so the image lacked contrast. Gordon recommended solving both of these problems by dodging and burning. The photographer can “paint” regions of brightness or shadow onto the image to enhance some areas and dampen others. Some of the portraits could have been improved by this method: brightening the face while darkening the light shining through a window; darkening the shadows under the chin to enhance the contrast and give the image more depth. While a lack of contrast can make an image seem flat, so can a blank background.  A portrait or flower image on a plain background can look two-dimensional. Carol Edmond’s image “Dying Roses” was an example of a background that worked. The subtle gradient of tone in the background maintained the depth in the image. Gordon also warned photographers to beware of photographing artwork, like the Kelpies, where the sky shows through the holes. If you darken the sky you need to darken everything shining through the holes as well.  Also, watch out for odd shapes at the edge of the artwork where the shadows don’t look right.  One of the most striking images in the competition was Kevin Johnson’s abstract portrait called “Neg”.  A portrait of a model with a tattoo had been boldly presented as a negative black and white image.

Gordon had classified the images into commended (16 points), highly commended (17 points) and then 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The top images were:

  • Highly commended (17 points)
    • In Control (Jennifer Davidson)
    • The Cove (Jennifer Davidson)
    • What a Scramble (Joe Fowler)
    • Nepali Priest (George Todd)
    • Dramatic Sky over East Neuk (Gordon Davidson)
    • Kelpies (Gordon Davidson)
    • Dying Roses (Carol Edmond)
  • Top 3 images
    • Watching for Danger (Charlie Briggs) – 18 points
    • Emotion 2 (Malcolm Roberts) – 19 points
    • Dreaming of Days Gone By (George Todd) – 20 points

When the points were added up, the top scorers were revealed to be (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (46 points)
    • Charlie Briggs
    • Jennifer Davidson
  • 4th place (48 points)
    • Joe Fowler
    • Mike Clark
  • 3rd place (49 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Carol Edmond
  • 2nd place (50 points)
    • Gordon Davidson
  • 1st place (52 points)
    • George Todd

Congratulations to George Todd, Gordon Davidson, Malcolm Roberts and Carol Edmund. Next week we have our second members evening, and our last meeting at Fisherrow before Christmas. Jennifer Davidson, George Todd and Gavin Marshall will be presenting their work.

See you on Thursday,

Steven

29 November 2021 (4 Way Inter-Club Competition)

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The 4-way inter-club competition between Musselburgh, Kirkcaldy, Stirling & Edinburgh took place on Monday, 29th November 2021. The meeting was hosted by Edinburgh Photographic Society via Zoom. Some Musselburgh Camera Club members joined the meeting by Zoom and the rest watched the competition from the Fisherrow Centre. Unfortunately, the Zoom format meant we couldn’t socialise with the other clubs over tea and biscuits as we normally do.

Each club had submitted 15 digital images, making a grand total of 60 images. The images were judged by Campbell Skinner, who is based in Greenock. Campbell commented on the composition and quality of the images presented. He suggested that many of the images could be improved by an increase in contrast to make them more punchy. Some of the compositions could be improved by cropping more tightly on the subject, whereas other compositions had the subject too close to the edge. Campbell suggested using the “content aware fill” facility in Photoshop to add extra background to an over-tight composition.

There were several examples of the clubs submitting similar images. There were two examples of white water canoeing, images of interacting birds, empty streets photographed during lockdown, and several flower images. In each of the cases when Musselburgh had a similar image, the other club’s image had a better background, was sharper or had a punchier contrast. Musselburgh had submitted some good images, but this year the other clubs submitted better ones. The final scores were:

  • 1st place: Edinburgh Photographic Society, 273 points.
  • 2nd place: Stirling and District Camera Club, 257 points.
  • 3rd place: Kirkcaldy Photographic Society, 260 points.
  • 4th place: Musselburgh Camera Club, 247 points.

None of our images were awarded 20 points this year, but the following images came close:

  • Cheeky Fox Cub (Mike Clark) – 18 points.
  • Stylish (Carol Edmund) – 19 points
  • Mountain Gem Humming Bird (George Todd) – 19 points

Well done to Mike, Carol and George for keeping up the good standard. Commiserations to everyone who had an image in this competition. The scoring was the exact reverse of the 4-way competition from 2019. We have won this competition several times in the past, and we can do it again in the future.

18 November 2021 (Connecting with the Coast through Photography)

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This week Kim Grant visited the club virtually and gave us a Zoom talk entitled “Connecting with the Coast through Photography”. Many members were familiar with Kim’s work through her YouTube channel, where she describes her adventures as a landscape photographer and gives hints and tips for other photographers:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvkiZKobeYV4qO-KSvrL_9w

Kim also has her own web site, where you can see more of her work and find out about her training programme:

https://visualisingscotland.co.uk/

Kim began by describing her love of the Scottish landscape, which inspired her to take up photography and start her YouTube channel in 2017. She then explained how there was so much to see in the landscape even if you narrow the scope to just coastal photography. The coast can be viewed in different ways. You can take panoramic views from a clifftop. You can take wide angle views from the beach, showing the shape of the coves and rocks, or show people and activities. There are rocky beaches, sandy beaches, caves, lighthouses, coastal villages and harbours. You can take a wide angle shot showing the sweep of the landscape, or zoom in and highlight one intimate detail on the beach, such as an object washed up by the tide or the striking shapes and colours made by a group of rocks or a patch of seaweed.

Kim described how the timing and weather might dictate what kind of photographs you take. The very best time to capture a wide vista of pristine sand is when low tide happens at sunrise. The tide will have washed away all the footprints from the previous day. An early morning low tide is also the best time to find interesting objects washed up on the beach. Low tide also offers the chance to photograph rock pools and capture beautiful sunset reflections. If you stay a while after sunset you can capture lovely twilight shots during the “blue hour”. And if you are really lucky you could capture an image of the Northern Lights over the sea. Low tide is also the best time to photograph caves. High tide is the best time to photograph harbours and coves, which will be full of water, and the boats will be floating. In calm to moderate weather you can create serene, minimalist seascapes by using an ND filter and long exposures. You can also use Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) to create abstract images which enhance the colours and shapes. Kim recommended experimenting with different exposure times and amount of movement, as you will never capture the same shot twice. Bad weather brings the opportunity to photograph crashing waves and perilous scenes, contrasted with the shelter offered by a coastal village.

Kim ended the evening by showing us some of her favourite coastal shots, followed by a long question and answer session. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening, and Kim gave us all inspiration to go out and photograph the Scottish coastline.

04 November 2021 (Colour Print Competition)

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Our colour print competition took place on 4th November 2021.  Since we are still in a period of hybrid meetings, with not all club members able to attend at Fisherrow and deliver prints, this competition was judged digitally. Clive Watkins, president of Irvine Camera Club, judged the competition and presented the results by Zoom.  Clive told us he had been a photographer for more than 20 years and, after being at the receiving end of judges’ comments for a few years, he decided to become a judge himself. He told us that a photograph first needs to look good and be technically well executed. But photography is a work of art, and a photograph also needs to make a statement or have an emotional impact.  You can view some of Clive’s work in the Irvine Camera club gallery or on his web site (Siglov).

16 members had entered 48 images altogether. There were wildlife images of birds, insects, a hare, and a fox. There were photographs of flowers, landscapes, sport and urban architecture and one or two portraits and still life compositions.  A popular image with the audience on the night was Carol Edmund’s lovely portrait “Stylish”.  Clive commented on the composition of each image, the shapes formed by the components, and the separation of the subject from the background.  Some of the landscape images could be improved by cropping out areas of dull lighting.  Some of the images had a large expanse of green grass in the background. He suggested reducing the contrast of the background and reducing the green saturation so that the grass didn’t detract from the main subject.  Some members had photographed their subject against a plain black background. While this helped to separate the subject technically, Clive felt that a plain background didn’t help to present a subject (and made it look cut out). He suggested choosing a background which harmonises with the subject. For example, photograph flowers against a background of greenery, and photograph nuts, cones, seeds and spices against a natural background of wood or slate.

Clive ended his presentation by taking us through his top images in reverse order, which were:

  • Following the Leader (George Todd) – 18 points
  • Poppy Girl (Gordon Davidson) – 18 points
  • Stylish (Carol Edmund) – 18 points
  • Humming Bird (George Todd) – 19 points
  • Cheeky Fox Cub (Mike Clark) – 19 points
  • Lone Tree Last Night (Mike Clark) – 19 points
  • The Race Is On (Mike Clark) – 20 points

When the points were added up, the top scorers were revealed to be (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (49 points)
    • Elaine Gilroy
    • Carol Edmund
  • 4th place (50 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
  • 3rd place (51 points)
    • Jennifer Davidson
    • Gordon Davidson
  • 2nd place (53 points)
    • George Todd
  • 1st place (58 points)
    • Mike Clark

Congratulations to Mike Clark, who managed to secure Clive’s top image of the night and two of his second placed images, making his total just two points short of a perfect score. Congratulations also to George Todd, Jennifer Davidson and Gordon Davidson for winning silver and bronze medals.

Next week we have our first members evening. George and Joe will show some of their work, but we may have some time to fill. If you have any images you would like to show please bring them along to Fisherrow or have them ready at home if you are connecting by Zoom. Don’t forget to submit your 3 JPEG images for the “black and white print” competition this week.

See you on Thursday,

Steven