Category Archives: Syllabus

27 April 2023 (AGM and Presentation of Trophies)

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The 2022/23 Musselburgh Camera Club season ended on 27th April 2023 with the AGM and the presentation of trophies. The AGM was organised as a hybrid meeting, with most members attending at Fisherrow but a small number joining by Zoom. Next year we plan to go back to face to face meetings as the norm and restore our regular tea and coffee breaks, but we’ll use Zoom as an occasional tool for reaching out to more distant speakers and clubs.

Members had an opportunity during the evening to suggest and vote for the topics for next year’s set subject competitions. The top results were:

  1. Macro
  2. Contrasting Textures
  3. Flowers
  4. Water

The first 3 topics become set subjects A, B and C and the last topic will become the subject of our digital knockout competition. For beginners who may be reading, “Macro” is a close-up photograph of something small, as defined in this article: Macro photography definition. It’s an opportunity to look at the small things around you. You can use any of the special equipment described in the article (macro lens, reversed lens, extension tubes, close-up lens) to take macro photographs, but here are a few tricks you can try if you don’t have such equipment:

  • Use a telephoto lens at its minimum focus distance. Some lenses can take surprising good macro photographs even when they are not labelled as “macro”. You can use a larger subject to disguise the fact that you are not that close.
  • Take a photograph through a magnifying glass. A close-up lens is merely a magnifying glass that clips onto the front of you camera.
  • Use your mobile phone. Mobile phones can take close up photos because their cameras are small.

The AGM finished with a presentation of trophies and medals and with a delicious selection of snacks and refreshments provided by Jennifer Davidson, Liz Sowler and George Smith, who also received the club’s “Golden Teapot” award. The full list of trophy and medal winners can be found on the following page:

Trophy Winners – 2022/2023

Although the AGM brings the formal 2022/23 season to an end, there will be informal meetings by Zoom every Thursday evening throughout the summer. We also have an exhibition in The Wee Hub at Ocean Terminal and at various libraries. The timetable can be found at the following page:

2023 Library Exhibitions

Our first meeting of the 2023/24 season will be on Thursday, 7th September 2023. We have another programme packed with speakers, competitions and special events to look forward to. In the meantime, best of luck and I hope you have a summer packed with fun photography.

See you in September if not before. All the best,

Steven Beard

20 April 2023 (Justin Minns: Interesting Stuff)

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This week, in our last club meeting of the 2022/23 season, we joined Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club for a fascinating Zoom talk by landscape photographer Justin Minns. His talk “Interesting Stuff” was inspired by a 1947 quote by photographer Jim Richardson:

“If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.”

Justin began by showing us some landscape images he had captured around his local environment in Norfolk and Suffolk; mostly beach and woodland. He tended to capture his images around sunrise, but would sometimes stay longer and walk around to see what other opportunities were available in the area. His advice was to go with the flow and work with what you have. Look at the shapes and textures in the landscape. Even ugly subjects can become interesting if you apply the right technique, as demonstrated by a long exposure shot of Felixstowe docks taken during the blue hour after sunrise. The blue hour provided just enough residual daylight to balance the artificial lights of the docks. Justin advised us to compose shots carefully. Try to avoid overlapping objects in the frame. If you have taken a landscape shot which seems to look great on the back of the camera, zoom in and check it carefully for small mistakes before walking away. Justin referred us to his books “Photographing East Anglia” and “Photographing Essex” for more details.

The second part of Justin’s talk was on the theme of “Making it Interesting”. He demonstrated the following techniques you can use to enhance landscape shots:

  • Using motion: Photographing a moving subject with a long exposure, or moving the camera when photographing a stationary subject, can add drama and movement to a shot. Keeping the camera still for a while and then moving it before the exposure ends can create a striking double exposure effect. Justin recommended a shutter speed of 0.3-3 seconds for creating a “swoosh” effect which emphasises the motion of water or a long exposure of 30-120 seconds to render moving water into a minimalist mist. When only part of the scene is moving, a long exposure can make stationary subjects stand out.
  • Using focus: Most landscape photographers will try to make everything sharp, but you can make a shot more atmospheric by deliberately blurring part of the scene. Justin showed a woodland image where some heather in the foreground had been turned into a blurred mist by throwing it out of focus with a narrow depth of field. There was also an atmospheric shot of some blurry, back-lit seed heads.
  • Using infrared: If you have an infrared-converted camera, or use a conversion filter, infrared shots can make dramatic black and white images of woodland or old buildings.
  • Framing: Using a wide angle lens and including small figures in a scene can give a sense of space. Conversely, a telephone lens can pick out important details from a scene and cut out distractions. For example, woodland images look more dramatic if you cut out areas of distracting bright sky. A scene can also be improved by viewing it from an unusual angle, for example by looking down using a drone.

The third part of Justin’s talk was about “Interesting Places”, where he showed us fabulous shots of his favourite places for photography, which are:

Justin’s final section was about “Interesting timing”; how your approach to landscape photography might change with the season or time of day. The golden hour and blue hour are good times of the day, but if you can’t visit a place at those times you can make the best of what you have. Frosty conditions during the winter can transform a landscape into something unusual, especially when the combination is unexpected, such as a frozen beach. Another example of “going with the flow” was a snowy scene where all the sky detail had been lost. Justin used the opportunity to create a minimalist image. The same thing can be done in foggy or misty conditions. In calm conditions look for interesting reflections. Some of the most dramatic scenes happen at the transition point where good weather ends and bad weather begins. Justin finished the section with a collection of images of the aurora borealis. If you are lucky enough to capture an aurora, don’t forget to include some foreground interest to make a more balanced composition.

Justin concluded that he disagrees with Jim Richardson’s quote. You can visit and photograph lots of interesting places, but the really good photographs arise from your own ideas, inspiration and creativity. He felt this quote by Henri Cartier-Bresson was closer to the mark.

“To photograph: it is to put on the same line of sight the head, the eye and the heart.”

Thank you to Justin for a fascinating and inspiring presentation, and to Beeslack for hosting it. Next week we will be holding the club’s AGM at 7pm in our usual room, G3, at the Fisherrow Centre. Please come along with ideas for set subjects we can use next year.

See you there.

Steven

16 February 2023 (Alan Walker: Discovering Nature Photography – Japan and Beyond)

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This week we joined Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club for a fascinating talk by Alan Walker of Keswick Photographic Society, who described his experience discovering nature photography around the world. This particular talk, Japan and Beyond, is part 4 of Alan and Julie Walker’s “Discovering Nature Photography” series. You can find Keswick’s summary of this talk at the following link:

Julie and Alan Walker “Discovering Nature Photography Part 4 – Japan and Beyond” October 30th

Alan began by showing us the photographs he had taken from a visit to Japan in February 2018. The trip began in the Japanese Alps, where macaque monkeys gather to warm themselves in the hot pools. The two main problems in photographing these monkeys are the large numbers of people who gather round them and the steam from the pools. Alan avoids these problems by getting in close and waiting for moments when the steam subsides. He uses a Canon 200-400mm zoom lens with a built-in 1.4x converter, which can take the lens to 560mm. Photos were typically taken at ISO 1600, f/5.6 and 1/1000th second. Next he showed us photographs of the iconic red-crowned cranes at the Akan-Mashu National Park. These cranes are black and white birds photographed against a white snow background, so are difficult to capture. Alan recommended an exposure compensation of about +2 stops to get the whites looking right. The birds can be darkened in post-production. The best images are taken by getting down low to capture the birds against an out of focus distant background. Alan also described his experience photographing Steller’s sea eagles in the Sea of Okhotsk, birds which make great silhouettes when captured in profile.

Next, we were treated to a collection of nature photographs captured at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA. Here Alan photographed snow geese and sandhill cranes in dim lighting. He experimented with photographing the flocks of birds at slow shutter speeds (e.g. 15th-60th second) while panning, which created images with movement. He also captured individual birds when taking off or landing. The birds look better when taking off, because they are looking up, but it is much harder to catch a bird doing this.

Alan moved on to show us photographs of mountain hares and red squirrels captured in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, and photographs of tawny owls and other birds captured from a hide in Otterbourne in Hampshire. Alan also showed us photographs of big cats captured in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. He explained that the Kalahari is not a good place to visit for a safari if you want to see lots of animals, but if you are a photographer you go for the yellow grass and the lovely light. Alan finished by showing us images of polar bears captured in the arctic tundra around Churchill in Canada. This is a very bleak and cold place, and the polar bears are out to get you! Alan showed how polar bears are photographed safely from large viewing vehicles. In the question and answer session Alan gave some tips on keeping your camera operating in the extreme cold:

  • Keep your batteries warm at all times. Keep charged batteries in your pocket, not in your camera bag. Be aware that even the discharged batteries need to be kept warm, or they won’t charge properly.
  • Be aware of condensation when you return to a warm room after being out in the cold. If you need to take your batteries out do it before you come in. Opening the camera in a warm room when it is still cold could let condensation form inside.

All in all this was a fascinating talk from beginning to end. Thank you Alan for entertaining us with the talk and thank you to Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club for organising it.

Steven

08 December 2022 (Julian Elliot: Breathless in Nepal)

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Our last meeting before Christmas was another joint Zoom talk hosted by Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club and joined by Earlston Camera Club members. Julian Elliot, an award-winning landscape and travel photographer, connected with us from France and gave us a fascinating talk about his experiences. You can find more about Julian on his web site:

https://www.julianelliottphotography.com/profile/

Julian began his talk by describing his kit and explaining his techniques. He normally travels with a Canon DSLR camera plus 6 lenses (3 zoom lenses and 3 tilt/shift lenses), although 90% of his travel photography is made with the following gear:

  • A 24-70 zoom lens. Julian finds this lens makes great portraits, and is also useful for landscapes and use in cramped spaces. He likes to photograph hands with this lens.
  • A 100-400 zoom lens. Julian uses this lens to make landscape images of distant mountain scenery. Some people are surprised that a telephoto lens can be used for landscapes, but mountains tend to look more impressive when the depth is compressed. The lens can also pick out interesting details from the landscape. Julian also uses this lens to make panoramas, and to take distant portraits with a compressed background.
  • A 24 tilt-shift lens. Julian finds a tilt-shift lens invaluable for photographing architecture. It gives superior results than taking a picture with a normal lens and using a lens correction filter because you can see the result you are going to get in-camera, and there is is no cropping of the image at the edges. Julian showed some examples of what could be done with this lens: a superb shot of the inside of a cathedral, or a photograph of a statue in front of a temple taken from only a few feet away with all the verticals vertical.
  • A 1.4x extender, which Julian uses to extend the capabilities of the above lenses/
  • A carbon fibre tripod (lightweight for travelling).
  • A polarizer filter and a neutral density filter. Polarizer filters can enhance the sky or remove reflections, and the neutral density filter allows longer exposures.
  • A decent camera bag. Julian explained that most bags are designed to be used in an airport, and it is hard to find a bag that is versatile enough to use on a flight and carry outside.

Julian went on to explain how he plans his travels. He learns about destinations by reading travel magazines and using travel guides for research. He looks at photographs published by other photographers to get an idea of the possibilities. You can follow particular photographers on social media, but you can also follow specific hashtags, such as “#vietnam”, to see all the posts made about a particular place. But he warned us that landscapes are constantly changing. What you see described in a guide or shown in a past photo might not be there any more, so be prepared for the unexpected. He uses the following tools to plan his shots:

  • Google street view can be used to explore a destination virtually, but not all countries allow it.
  • Once Julian has decided on a destination, he uses Google Mind Maps to plan his travel. It can be linked to maps, and the application can be used on a phone to create an itinerary.
  • The Photographer’s Ephemeris can be used to plan your shots and investigate where the light will come from at different times of the day. The PhotoPills application is also a very useful planning tool.

After taking us through the basics, Julian then took us on a journey to Upper Mustang in Nepal, showing us the spectacular landscape images he had take on the trip, the portraits of the people he had met on the way, and his architectural photographs of the towns and temples. Travelling to Upper Mustang was like travelling back in time, with very different norms and customs. He became friends with a local guide who introduced him to interesting people. Julian would often ask permission to take his shots from unusual vantage points, such as the roof of a temple. On his journey through Nepal, Julian needed to climb to some high altitude view points, and on one of these excursions he suffered from serious altitude sickness. Julian told us the story of his treatment and recovery and warned anyone else travelling to Nepal to be aware of the effects of the altitude and not to push themselves too quickly. Julian finished his presentation with a selection of portraits and images of more spectacular temples. It was a very entertaining and enlightening evening.

That was the last club meeting at Fisherrow until the New Year. Next week we will be meeting at the Ravelston House Hotel in Musselburgh for the club’s Christmas social evening.

Steven

Set Subject Competition: Castles

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A reminder that this coming Thursday, 8th December, is our last meeting at Fisherrow before the Christmas social evening. It is also the submission date for our first set subject competition of 2022/23. Please send your 3 JPEG images on the theme of “Castles” (sized to 1600×1200 pixels maximum) to George Todd this week. Submitting them now gives Joe a chance to judge the images over the Christmas break. The results will be announced when we return on 5th January.

Best of luck.

20 October 2022 (Paul Money: Astrophotography)

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This week was another joint Zoom talk hosted by Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club. Paul Money, an astronomer and ‘Reviews’ editor of the BBC ‘Sky at Night’ magazine, connected from Lincolnshire to give us a guide to astrophotography. Paul has written a book on astrophotography called “Nightscenes: Guide to Simple Astrophotography” and mentioned that a new version of that book is about to be published.

Paul began by describing his early forays into astrophotography, using a Zenit film camera and high ISO slide film. Those were difficult days for astrophotography because the relatively low ISOs meant you needed long exposures, and you couldn’t see what you were getting until the film was developed. Paul was enthused by the latest developments in digital photography. His latest Canon camera can go up to 120000 ISO, and even modern mobile phones can now capture hand-held images of the night sky! Canon and Nikon cameras seem to be equally good at capturing good images of the night sky. We were given the following hints and tips for good astrophotography:

  • Turn off the noise reduction in your camera settings. Faint stars look like noise and will be removed.
  • Set your camera to manual exposure and manual focus. Most night shots are too dark for your camera’s autofocus to work properly. You can focus on a bright street light at least a mile away or use the “live view” option on your camera to adjust the focus to make the stars look as small as possible.
  • Most exposures will need a high ISO setting, but Paul recommends going no higher than ISO 1600 to get the best quality. Shots of the Moon or bright planets can be done at lower ISO settings.
  • Use a wide aperture, ideally a stop down from the widest setting of your lens. Paul tends to use f/5 but recommends stopping down to f/11 for scenes which include the full Moon or bright lights.
  • Use a decent tripod so you can take long exposures without camera shake. You can fit the tripod with a ball and socket bracket that allows you to point the camera upwards at any angle.
  • Also use a remote shutter release; preferably one that can make a timed exposure or take several exposures at regular intervals.
  • Don’t use a filter. You need to get as much light into your camera as possible through as few glass surfaces as possible.
  • Use a red light to help you see without spoiling your night vision. You can buy a special red torch or just cover an ordinary torch with a red wrapper.

Paul then gave us a quick introduction to the night sky. The stars rise in the east and set in the west and appear to rotate around the north celestial pole. If you point a camera north and take a long exposure you will see star trails revolving around the pole. The stars tend to move more slowly in the sky around this point, so you can get away with longer exposures before they start to trail. If you point your camera away from the pole the stars will move across the sky more quickly and you’ll need a shorter exposure. The exposure also depends on the kind of lens you are using, with telephoto lenses requiring the shortest exposure. Paul gave us the following guide to maximum exposure time before the stars start to trail:

  • Wide angle lens (18mm): Near the pole (60 seconds), Away from the pole (40 seconds)
  • Standard lens (50mm): Near the pole (30 seconds), Away from the pole (20 seconds)
  • Telephoto lens (135-300mm): Near the pole (20 seconds), Away from the pole (10 seconds)
  • Super telephoto (500mm): Near the pole (2 seconds), Away from the pole (1 second)

Paul took us on a quick-fire, enthusiastic and fascinating tour of various types of astrophotography, ranging from wide-angle shots of the constellations, star trails with foreground objects, telephoto views of the planets, a lunar eclipse, Earthshine on the Moon, noctilucent clouds and shots of the aurora borealis. Paul mentioned that, although most photographers like Adobe Photoshop, he prefers PaintShop Pro. He also recommended StarStax software for combining multiple images of the night sky.

If you would like more information here are some of our previous talks on astrophotography:

Ford Renton: Practical Astro-photography

Andy Bennetts: Astrophotography & Action Photography

Next week we have a Digital Photo Feedback session. This session replaces our old “Photo Advice Night”, which was based on prints. Please bring along up to 6 digital images (or email them to me) to get feedback and advice from other members. See you on Thursday.

Steven

29 September 2022 (Tesni Ward: Wildlife Photography)

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This week, in a joint Zoom talk hosted by Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club, wildlife photographer Tesni Ward told us about her experiences in wildlife photography. Tesni is based in Sheffield. She first took up photography in her childhood as a way of encouraging her father to spend less time setting up photographs in a theme park and more time taking her on the rides! Her interest in wildlife photography began with a photographic holiday to Alaska, where she had the opportunity to see bears in their natural habitat. Her trip was spoiled when her main telephoto lens was damaged in flight. She saw other photographers taking superb clear shots while she ended up deleting hundreds of blurred attempts, and vowed never to be caught out by substandard equipment again. She learned from her experience with a damaged lens not to rely solely on long-distance telephoto shots. Tensi now takes shots at all focal lengths, with her wide angle shots taken after days of patiently getting to know her subjects and winning their trust. Tesni became a professional wildlife photographer when she was made redundant from her job, coincidentally just after buying new equipment and booking an African wildlife safari. A conversation with another photography on the trip convinced her to take the opportunity to change career and make a living from what she loves doing.

Tesni treated us to a breathtaking slide show of her photographs; ranging from her early shots of bears in Alaska, her photographs of big cats on her African safari, her shots of pelicans and coypu on a trip to Greece, and mountain hares, pelicans and seabirds closer to home. Each image came with a story of how Tensi had waited for hours for the light to improve, or how she had crawled over frozen mud to get to the correct spot. Other photographers sometimes laughed at her tenacity, but she eventually achieved the shot she wanted. A selection of these images can be seen in Tesni’s gallery (below).

Image Gallery

During the tea break we had the opportunity to find a bird hiding amongst a photograph of jumbled rocks. Although several members could identify something strange in one part of the frame, it was Mike Clark who managed to home in on the exact spot. Well done Mike.

Tensi encouraged us all to try wildlife photography. You can check her web site to find out more about her workshops. She encouraged us not to be snobbish about the subjects. Shots of geese, ducks and pigeons are just as important as shots of pelicans and swans, as these creatures are just as important to their environment and might one day become rarer. All in all it was a very enjoyable and entertaining talk. Tensi showed us all just what can be achieved with a little determination and tenacity.

Next Thursday, 6th October 2022, Doug Bernt will be judging our Digital Projected Images competition. George Todd will also be collecting prints for the Colour Print competition. Please bring along your 3 mounted prints, if you haven’t already given them to George.

See you there,

Steven

22 September 2022 (George Robertson: The Snows of Kilimanjaro)

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This week we had our first speaker of the season. George Robertson, who last year gave us a fantastic talk on his journey to K2 in “Into the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods”, returned to talk about “The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Climbing on Africa’s Highest Mountain”. George’s talk was shared with Beeslack Penicuik Camera club, with some Beeslack members opting to join us at the Fisherrow Centre and others opting to join by Zoom. George began his talk by repeating the introduction he gave us last year, explaining how his photography had begun from a need to record the experiences of the clients on his mountain adventure treks. You can find out more about George Robertson’s photography and mountain adventures on the following web sites:

https://georgerobertsonphotography.com/

https://www.mountaintreksphotos.co.uk/

http://www.mountaintreks.co.uk/

George first showed us a map of the routes he uses to take his clients to the summit of Kilimanjaro. His talk would show us highlights from two routes to the summit: one beginning at Machame and the other from Rongai. He explained that climbing Kilimanjaro is not a cheap option: it takes 6-7 days to complete the climb, and costs $120 per day to stay in the national park.

George’s trek began with civilisation and then moved up though the rainforest zone, with some beautiful photographs of the plants and wildlife visited on the way. The route then rose above the clouds and made way for moorland vegetation, and we started to see some spectacular views of the mountain ahead. George showed us pictures of the campsites, which had toilet blocks teetering on the edge of cliff! As George’s party climbed higher, the photographs became ever more spectacular; gazing across the clouds to the summit of Meru. We were taken into the Alpine Desert zone and shown pictures of a huge lava tower and the steep cliff face of the Barranco Wall, the hardest part of the climb. Eventually, we were treated to jaw-dropping shots of the icy glaciers on the mountain summit at sunrise, atmospheric shots of cloud formations, night shots of the campsite, and unique views of a rainbow surrounding a nearby peak and the Kilimanjaro’s shadow against the clouds. The final shot from the summit was of an American tourist sitting at the summit reading Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. George finished by showing us the route down the mountain back to the exit at Marangu. This time, more members were able to chat with George face to face after the talk. Another fascinating talk.

Next week we will be sharing a another speaker with Beeslack and will be treated to a wildlife photography talk from Tesni Ward. Tesni will be talking to us on Zoom, but her talk will be broadcast at the Fisherrow Centre (starting at 7:15 this Thursday). Zoom information will follow in due course.

See you there,

Steven

Our next meeting: George Robertson’s presentation on “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”

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Our first speaker of the club season, George Robertson, will be visiting the club this week to give a talk entitled “The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Climbing on Africa’s Highest Mountain”.

The talk will be shared with Beeslack Penicuik Camera club. George will arrive in room G3 of the Fisherrow Centre at 7pm, and the talk itself will start at 7:15pm. You can find out more about George Robertson on the following web sites:

https://georgerobertsonphotography.com/

https://www.mountaintreksphotos.co.uk/

http://www.mountaintreks.co.uk/

George gave us a talk last year entitled “Into the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods” which was enthralling and entertaining. Click below to read more about it.

23 September 2021 (Into the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods)

I look forward to seeing you this Thursday. We are in for a treat.

Steven

Welcome to the 2022-2023 Season!

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Our first club night of the new season began on 1st September 2022, where we were happy to introduce some potential new members to the club. For the first time since 2019 we had all the attending club members in the same room! We took the opportunity to chat over tea and biscuits, catch up, and look at some of the work that club members had produced over the last year. I gave a presentation which introduced members to the new club programme:

Programme 2023 – 2024

There have been some changes to the club meetings since the last season:

  • There are no longer compulsory covid restrictions at Fisherrow, although members are welcome to wear a mask and use the hand sanitizer. We are still intending to broadcast the meetings by Zoom but hope that most members can join us in person.
  • Our club meetings now start at 7pm, which allows more time for tea and coffee before the 9pm Fisherrow closing time. Meetings which involve another club might start later, so check your programmes.
  • The club has a new, faster laptop with a high-resolution screen!
  • Our print competitions are back to normal, which means that we are back to accepting 3 mounted prints plus 3 JPEGs.
  • The storage space at Fisherrow is being reduced. We now have a new cupboard in room G3 which will store our most commonly used items. The club lighting equipment will be moved to the cupboard under the stairs.

During the meeting I gave the following announcements:

I hope you all enjoy the new season. Please don’t forget to contact Stephen Williams (sgpwilliams@outlook.com) to rejoin the club.