August:2016
Transcription
August:2016
DarkRumours www.workshopcameraclub.org.au Monthly Newsletter of the Workshop Camera Club in Riverton, Western Australia Issue 7 August 2016 See all the images from the May Exhibition Night, See all the award-winning images from the August Exhibition especially those of the “Animal Portrait” subject photos. featuring Architectural Abstract In this issue … Page 2 President’s Report Page 3 Exhibition Director’s Report Coming events Pages 4 & 5 Exhibition Results Page 5 Photomarket report Interclub competition Page 6 Book review on Nik suite Page 7 Gadabout to Broome Page 8 Five minutes with … Isabel Yap Page 9 Program Director’s Report Royal Show update Page 10 Silver Awards Pages 11 & 12 Bronze Awards Judge Steve Marshall awarded four Golds only for August, with his favourite image of the night being Intense Incense by club newcomer Kim Stewart (top left). Others to receive the top award were Green Cactus by Frans Hugo (second from top at left), Balconies from Robin Doble (bottom left), and Fish Eye from Nola Sumner (bottom at right). Other award winners are shown on inside pages. Workshop Camera Club Committee President Diederik Speijers Membership cards – new cards have been printed for those members who have paid their fees. Please collect them from Jane at the door on meeting nights. Lotterywest grant for new projector – the wheels of bureaucracy move slowly but our application has now been assessed and is awaiting the deliberations of the Grants Committee on 21 August. If successful it then goes to the Premiers Department and then back to Lotterywest for more processing. With a bit of luck we might hear by mid-September. Some other clubs are awaiting our result. New computer – we have purchased Adobe CC for the new machine and it should be in use at the next opportunity. We intend to make the old one available for members in preparing talks and other activities. Vice President Lucy Mandyczewsky Secretary Judith Shields Treasurer Jane Speijers Program Director Dennis Friend Exhibition Director Jill Luha Newsletter Georgina Wilson General Members Steve Green Richard Sydenham Gary Louth PRESIDENT’S REPORT Diederik Speijers Your dedicated committee continues to work hard keeping the wheels of Workshop Camera Club turning, although occasionally one falls off like the recent demise of one of our sponsors, Gerry Gibbs Camera House. The good news is that the business has been sold and will re-open on 15 August as DigiDirect, apparently with the same staff in place. We have also received unofficial advice that the agreed sponsorship will continue under the new ownership. At a rather extended committee meeting on 9 August we discussed the following: Facebook – a proforma page has been tested, administrators and moderators appointed, and the rules spelled out, so members can expect the new WCC Facebook page to go live shortly. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea if potential users familiarised themselves with the WCC Media Policy on the website which will be strictly enforced. It has been changed slightly to cater for the Facebook page. End-of-Year Function – Kerry Dunstan has done an excellent job of sifting through suitable venues, and we have provisionally selected the Fremantle Sailing Club. They have given us a great deal and the change of environment will delight many members. Mark down Wednesday 7 December in your diaries. 2 I have been asked to explain the operation of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These are member-driven entities and simply represent listed groups who are interested in a particular genre or other photographic topic. Putting your name down does not mean anyone will contact you but provides a list of people to contact if you wish to share an activity with other members of like interest. You need to be pro-active if you want this to work for you. Currently, the most active current SIGs are Darkroom and Abstract. Others are intermittently active. By their nature SIGs come and go as photographic subjects gain and lose popularity. If you wish to start a new SIG then go to Members: SIG Maintenance on the My Menu tab after you log in. This will also give you some information about how active each SIG has been. Diederik The Members' Choice for both Print and Projected went to the same person — Nola Sumner for Three in a Row and Fish Eye. I don't know if this has ever been done before but it's a considerable achievement. It's also worth mentioning that Robin Doble was a very close second for the Projected category. Next month's exhibition is Landscape and the definition is on the website calendar. This exhibition is always well supported so make sure you get your prints to the club in good time on the night and certainly before 7.15pm. Let's hope the rain stops and we have a chance to get out there and capture some incredible scenes. Good luck EXHIBITION DIRECTOR’S REPORT Jill Jill Luha Coming events Our subject for this month was Architectural Abstract and our judge was Steve Marshall. Wednesday 17 August at 7.30pm: Macro/Close-up workshop from WCC specialists Alex Graham, Lucy Mandyczewsky, Marilyn Honeybun and Phil Unsworth. Bring your cameras, tripods and macro lenses, plus read http:// www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/technique/ macro_photography/top-12-macro-photography-tips2429. New members may not know Steve because, sadly, we don't see him at the club very often these days. But Steve is one of our oldest members (in terms of membership not age!!) and was the original architect of the club's website. He is also an excellent photographer, especially in the field of architectural and nature abstract, and therefore eminently qualified to judge this month's exhibition. Wednesday 24 August at 7.30pm: Travellers’ Tales — Anne Kuhl to Antarctica and Georgina Wilson to Ethiopia. Steve has a very specific view of architectural abstract, which he explained at the start and applied consistently throughout. His comments were succinct but always relevant and helpful. Wednesday 31 August at 7.30pm: Learn about WCC Abstract and Darkroom special interest groups. Golds and Silvers were awarded sparingly and so members with such an award should feel very pleased with their efforts. Several members told me afterwards that they had really enjoyed Steve's judging (and not just those who gained awards). Sunday 4 September: Early outing (maybe 8am but to be confirmed) for Gran Fondo World Championships (bicycle road race). Race starts in Perth, with first group away at 7am and finishes at Kalamunda. Zig Zag Scenic Drive, Kalamunda is likely location. This links to the Sport Photography exhibition in October. There were two outstanding photographers. The first was Robin Doble who was awarded Gold for his architectural abstract Balconies and Silvers for Looking Up and Contrasts. The second was Nola Sumner who gained Gold for Fish Eye and Silvers for Three in a row and Glass Reflecting Steel. Tuesday 6 September: WCC Committee meeting. Wednesday 7 September at 7.30pm: Landscape Exhibition with two trophies to be decided. Wednesday 14 September at 7.30pm: Guest speaker Ben Walton from Team Digital on printing. Frans Hugo was awarded Gold for Green Cactus and Silver for Blocks and Lines. The other Gold winner was Kim Stewart for Intense Incense, which also was the Judge’s Choice. Wednesday 7 December: Awards night and announcement of Image of the Year at a new venue (probably Fremantle Sailing Club). Diederik Speijers and Sandra Stewart both gained two Silvers, and individual Silvers went to Catherine Williams, Chris Hawkins, Greg Bell, Isobel Pearson, Jane Speijers, Marilyn Honeybun, Phil Unsworth and Richard Sak. Very well done to you all. Keep the date free! This will be the last meeting of 2016. See WCC website for more details. 3 Club Special Interest Groups August Exhibition Awards Printed Subject Frans Hugo 10 entries Green Cactus Gold Robin Doble Looking up Silver Nola Sumner Glass Reflecting Steel Silver Diederik Speijers Reflection on apartments Silver Katie Park Bricks Bronze Kim Stewart China Terminal Bronze Nadiia Rebrova Print Abstr Arch Bronze All Things Macro Gregory Bell laneway Bronze Nola Sumner The Morning After the Night Before Bronze Group leader is Roger Severn Portraitists Group leader is Tom Kirk Architects Group leader is Anne Barden Abstractists Group leader is Anne Barden Projected Subject Robin Doble 25 entries balconies Gold Nola Sumner Fish Eye Gold Nature Marilyn Honeybun City Block Silver Isobel Pearson shadows Silver Group leader is Marilyn Honeybun Frans Hugo Blocks & Lines Silver Jim Lewis High and Low Bronze Toni Segers Looking Up Bronze Neil Winfield Urban Mirage Bronze Lucy Mandyczewsky Arrows Bronze Darkroom Kim Stewart Opera House 2 Bronze Group leaders are Glen Moralee & Greg Bell Chris Hawkins Queen's Wharf Bronze Alex Graham What Price Promotion? Bronze Rotto Project Margaret Laing Sydney curves Bronze Julie Marian Right Angles Bronze Group leader is Andrew Marriott Jill Luha Under and Over Bronze Printed Open 10 entries Sandra Stewart A window into one's soul Silver Diederik Speijers Bonded Silver Robin Doble contrasts Silver Jane Speijers Farewell Lucinda Silver Gregory Bell Engaged Silver Frans Hugo Emu Bronze Nadiia Rebrova Open Sub Print Bronze Projected Open results on page 5 4 Landscapers Group leader is Melissa Dewar Members can log onto the club website to register with any or all of these groups. Locate the leader’s email in the Members Register in order to make contact with them. PHOTOMARKET REPORT August results … continued Projected Open Kim Stewart 29 entries Intense Incense Gold Richard Sak Lake Wakatipu Sunset Silver Phil Unsworth Brief Beauty Silver Sandra Stewart All that glitters is not gold Silver Nola Sumner Three in a Row Silver Chris Hawkins Les Portes De Pere Lachaise Silver Catherine Williams Needing New Paint job. Silver Christopher Sambrooks Aurora Australis from Mt Dale Bronze Robin Doble Roof tops Bronze Toni Segers Colours of Autumn Bronze Jill Luha Nature's Art Bronze Neil Winfield Under the Coral Bronze Glen Moralee Portrait Bronze Frans Hugo Echidna Bronze Brian Dunstan Swing Bridge Bronze Marilyn Honeybun Twin Towers, Perth Bronze Jane Speijers Ani, ancient capital of Armenia Bronze Total entries: 74, 24 in monochrome Judge: Steve Marshall Interclub competition update The interclub competition run by the West Australian Photographic Federation is one of the most important challenges accepted by WCC each year. Several months ago members were invited to nominate both monochrome and colour photographs captured in the last year. From these,15 digital images were selected in each category and went forward for appraisal by a panel of three judges. Earlier this week the results of round 1 were revealed when five mono images and four colour from WCC were announced as going forward for round 2 for which they will be printed. Congratulations to Greg Bell (Grass), Bianca Koehler (The Warehouse), Lucy Mandeczewsky (Looking up), and Susan Vearncombe (Boules and Filmstrip) for mono. Colour images came from Carolyn Carson (New), Jill Luha (Icarus), Frank Mancini (Deadpool), and Judith Shields (Red eyed tree frog). Images are on our website with others. Log on, go to Galleries and then scroll down to 2016 WAPF Interclub Colour and Mono. Bob Halligan The Photomarket on 17 July was a ripper. Following days and days of heavy rain, cold, doom and gloom, we woke to a beautiful Sunday morning, birds singing, crowds gathering and sales forthcoming. The 260 buyers who went through Leederville Town Hall like locusts carried off a real wealth of bargain gear. To steal a line from Time Magazine, we had a great big bowl of wonderful. (Okay, Robert, simmer down.) We really did have a great day out. There was everything you could need: a forest of tripods from lightweight to monster, lighting gear, bags, books and filters galore, recent model digital cameras, older film cameras, cine cameras, and a great range of excellent lenses to match. Collectors had a bit more choice than usual, including some rare Leica gear and I have to mention the Ricoh 500G that one young collector bought from my table. If he sees this, please get in touch, because I have since found the original 1977 invoice ($69.95 and $4.90 for a 20 exposure film; how times have changed). Everyone seemed to enjoy the day – always the best part – with smiles galore and a real feeling of good times around the hall. The Three Dollar Café was going great guns (they had record takings), and I have to tell you about the lady of the cashbox. Clearly a Junior School maths genius, totally assured, her Dad looking very proud in the background, she doled out correct change every time. Add that to the bowl of wonderful, please. Finally, a big thank you to the diligent volunteers and organisers from both Clubs. We did well. To everyone else, a gentle reminder to mark your calendar and save your pennies for the next market on Sunday 23 October. Results are announced at the WAPF Conference at Busselton at the end of September. They will be at the Epson Gallery at Team Digital from 24 October to 12 Gideon Sacks, Glen Moralee, Katie Park, Bob Halligan and Richard Sydenham photographed on film with Glen’s Olympus OM1n at last photomarket. November. 5 It will be every bit as good as this one. You have been warned. Bob H camera for your next photo shoot. Color Efex Pro has an amazing library of unique filters and presets that allows the user to “focus on being creative without getting bogged down in all the technical ins and outs of how an effect was created”. During the time I have been writing this review I downloaded the software from Google, installed it as a preset to my Lightroom 5.0 and started using Color Efex Pro for the first time. Within minutes I stumbled upon the Graduated Fog pre-set and was having a wow of a time! Book Review Al Edgar Librarian Plug in with Nik John Batdorff Peachpit Press, 2013 Workshop Camera Club Book 1126 Haven’t you wished we had fog more often here in WA? Well, at the press of a few buttons you can make this and many more special effects a reality. Dfine 2.0 is the Nik Suite’s noise reduction package and although Lightroom has made huge advances in noise reduction since the introduction of Dfine, the Nik package still has an important place in this demanding task. A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Dynamic Images with Nik software The Nik Suite of software comprises seven desktop plug-ins for Lightroom or Photoshop that provide a powerful range of photo editing capabilities — from filter applications that improve colour correction, through to retouching and creative effects, as well as image sharpening and B&W processing. It is particularly useful in selectively altering the chosen parts of your image while leaving the other parts untouched. As the author points out, although camera technology is always improving and noise is less of a problem these days, photographers will always push the ISO boundary and so we will always need advanced noise reduction techniques. In short, the Nik Suite is a complete software plug-in for enhancing your photographic images. And best of all, from March this year the whole suite has been free. The complete suite contains: Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. I have used the Silver Efex Pro package for many years to fast track the editing of my monochrome images and can attest to the simplicity and effectiveness of the package. This book by John Batdorff describes each package in detail providing many hints and tips to incorporate the Nik advantage into your editing workflow. Silver Efex Pro contains an excellent range of B&W pre-sets which allows the user to quickly home-in on the “picture in your mind’s eye” before refining the image for printing with the extensive range of controls. The essence of the Nik Suite is captured in this quote from the book’s introduction: “I’m a photographer at heart, and my number one goal is to take more images and spend less time processing. I’ve always been drawn to solutions that help achieve my vision without bogging me down in a technical labyrinth.” The program is intuitive, easy to use and thoroughly recommended for the beginner and experienced photographer alike. The Nik suite is all about using short cuts to creative solutions for your photography. It uses the unique UPoint technology to analyse the image and provide some amazing control at your fingertips. In fact, the whole Nik Suite is a highly recommended addition to every photographer’s editing arsenal and has a distinct advantage over most other software as it reduces editing time considerably. A wide range of pre-sets and filters encourage the user to “cut to the chase” by choosing the rendition which most closely meets the “picture in your mind’s eye” and then refining it from there. The whole editing process is shortened considerably allowing you to get back to the As photographers, we should own software that makes our life easier and that helps our visions come to life and the Nik Suite does just that! 6 Melissa's 50th birthday celebration in Broome In July while in Broome, I took a few happy snaps just to capture the essence of what I saw. I was with friends so did not do any serious photography. I missed the staircase to the moon by a week, for which you need a full moon rising when the tide is out. The best time to take photos was definitely as the sun was setting. The sunsets were amazing!! The following is my perspective on what I found to be a different and unique part of our State. “There is contrast, contradiction, clash of cultures and of scenes, red cliffs by the seaside, red dirt flat and plain, And there's sand dunes white and pretty, far out tides seem always gone, drawing back then slowly trickling in again … … drowning mangrove trees, while white gums slim and tall line suburb roads, boabs guard and palms wave on Cable Beach. Blue skies clear one moment, cloudy all the next, bringing stunning colours to the setting sun, red and pink and peach. Busy tourists are a playing, in the hot Broome searing sun, ticking off every well known destination, Local Aboriginals are chilling out on oval greens, no time checks here, just a life of resignation. Cheap goods sold at market mornings, send the township all abuzz, shiny pearls are always twinkling on display, Like the pearly whites of the indigenous when you ask to take their image, some think it gives a part of them away. Isolation brings its hardships, but then Broome sinks in the heart of all who like to call this town their home. For they love its timeless lifestyle, hot weather and wandering crocs and they all love a drink at pubs so well known ... … for their entertainment value, when the tourists come to town, for that’s when locals really pick up the pace. Come the quiet times, they close up, stay inside to all keep cool, there’s not even the sign of a hermit crab race. Cable Beach, a resort hotel, smooth lawn, cafes and camel treks in three coloured teams, a strolling down the sand, Then Town Centre, lined with old shop shacks, in the outskirts scruffy gardens struggle to survive in the hard, dry land. Some are bound by secure fencing, just to keep the looters out and taxis bring the inebriated to trashed homes. Back at Cable, the 4-wheelers drive out on the beach to drink to beautiful sunsets, all lined up in rows. Handsome eagles always soaring, and the turquoise water clear, is featured in many pictures by our fellow photo friends. The sunsets and quaint cafes, massages and staircase moons, are just a few treats on a list that never ends. So although there are many cultures, running on parallel tracks and time and locals slowly wander down the line, Broome is changing and it’s growing to a place where nations mix and pearls are not the only stars that shine.” 7 Five minutes with ISABEL YAP from Roy Miller I haven’t been interested in photography for very long. And even less as a WCC member. I started photography in 2012 because of a photography class. Girl in a hat - DSLR From the first lesson I just found everything so interesting. From talk about aperture to the structure of a camera. I then decided to pursue this new interest and bought a Canon EOS 600D at the end of 2012. Before any of this I had barely taken any ‘proper’ photos, only ‘point and shoot’ ones of important documents that I had to remember, or for friends when they said: “I want to remember this on Facebook!” Nothing at all interesting. Street view - film I then started taking my camera to all my family holidays photographing anything I thought was ‘photo’ or ‘art’ worthy. I took lots of macro images and by the end I found all my images were the same: a close-up subject with a blurry background. Same aperture, same shutter speed, practically the same subjects. So I decided to try some people photos. I tried fashion shoots at one stage for aspiring model friends and shooting sports events for family members. Only when I started photographing with film did I really feel my photography taking off. From the first day I just fell in love with it. You always feel you are there, in the picture; a 3D feel that digital doesn’t capture. Mountain - film That’s how I found out about WCC, since it’s the only club in Perth with a darkroom. I’m still finding my way around much of the film and processing equipment. But it really has been an enjoyable journey so far! The people in WCC have been great in helping me, especially those in the Darkroom SIG. I’m still not sure what kind of photography I am most interested in. But I definitely dislike macro now that I have done so much of it, and street photography is a bit of a bore when you’re always pointing a camera in everyone’s faces. The film camera that I currently use is a Pentax Kx with a 55mm f/1.8 fixed lens. Above: Drama Left: An ad for Pentax created by Isabel. 8 DIRECTOR’S Faye showed us many images of all shapes, forms, sizes and colours as well as the environment where they can be expected – mulch, fallen logs, and moist environments. These were taken at her property in Jandakot or south-west WA. She also showed a time lapse exposure of a puff ball expanding, taken over several days. REPORT Faye spoke with infectious enthusiasm. This is reflected in the name of her Facebook page Botanic Obsession. PROGRAM Dennis Dennis Friend We had two inspirational guest speakers in July and one inspirational member speaker. The first guest was Georgina Steytler, a renowned bird photographer. Her talk had two parts – her photographic journey and her tips for bird photography. Her photographic journey has included shooting for stock libraries (iStock, Red Bubble, fotolia), The West Australian travel section, and entering competitions (such as ANZANG, York). She supplies images to numerous organisations for conservation purposes, including Bird life Australia. Her tips for bird photography are: 1. No photo should be at expense of the subject. 2. Get close, low and dirty. 3. Keep the eyes sharp. 4. Watch the bokeh – front and back. 5. Get up early ... Catch her website at wildandendangered.com.au. The second guest speaker was Paul Dowe, who is a WAPF Committee member and runs a photo gallery in the Swan Valley. He initially trained as an artist, is a self-taught photographer and acquired many skills working as a film processor. His tips for landscape are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Consider the Golden Hour. Use a tripod always. Use ND and graduated filters. Shutter speed up to 6 seconds for beach shots Study and make a connection with the landscape before shooting. Shoot forest scenes when it’s wet and green, so not in summer. Use f8 so the background is slightly out of focus. Plan the shot so it's all done in camera. (Who took up photography to spend hours in front of a computer!) Always have a plan A and plan B in case of poor weather, bad light or crowds. Keith’s photo the world record breaking Russian balloon as it crossed Perth in July. He used a 400mm prime lens and 2x extender. Well done Keith! Royal Show 2016 The highest level competition in WA, the 31st Perth National Photographic Exhibition, more commonly known as the Royal Show, will be held from 24 September to 1 October 2016. While many members of WCC may be waiting to see if entries have been accepted, others have important roles in the overall competition. Gregory Bell is a member of the organizing committee, and judges include Glen Moralee for Nature, Ben Funnekotter in Creative/Altered Reality, and Alex Graham, Tony Luha and Tomas Pradas for both Australian Rural Life and Youth sections. Paul’s talk was illustrated with many beautiful images, all shot at WA locations – Cottesloe, Broome, Karijini, Hamelin Bay, one exception being Sydney Harbour. His website is pauldowe.com.au. First stage acceptances based on digital images were to be mailed out on 12 August and creators then provide prints from which the winners are selected. Club member Faye Arcaro gave a presentation of her fungi shots at short notice. We had a sponsor’s evening planned, but sadly the sponsor, Gerry Gibbs Camera House, went into voluntary liquidation a day before. Best of luck to all involved! 9 SILVER AWARDS All that glitters is not gold (Sandra Stewart) Looking up (Robin Doble) Les Portes de Pere Lachaise (Chris Hawkins) Engaged (Greg Bell) Reflection on apartment (Diederik Speijers) Brief Beauty (Phil Unsworth) Lake Wakatipu Sunset (Richard Sak) Bonded (Diederik Speijers) A window into one’s soul (Sandra Stewart) Shadows (Isobel Pearson) Blocks & Lines (Frans Hugo) Contrasts (Robin Doble) Glass reflecting steel (Nola Sumner) Farewell Lucinda (Jane Speijers) 10 Three in a row (Nola Sumner) Needing new paint job (Catherine Williams) BRONZE BRONZE AWARDS SUBJECT AWARDS Looking Up (Toni Segers) High and low (Jim Lewis) Sydney curves (Margaret Laing) Urban Mirage (Neil Winfield) Arrows (Lucy Mandyczewsky) What Price Promotion? (Alex Graham) Queen’s Wharf (Chris Hawkins) Opera House 2 (Kim Stewart) Right Angles (Julie Marian) Laneway (Greg Bell) Under and over (Jill Luha) Bricks (Katie Park) China Terminal (Kim Stewart) 11 Print (Nadiia Rebrova) BRONZE OPEN AWARDS Roof tops (Robin Doble) Portrait (Glen Moralee) Nature’s Art (Jill Luha) Emu (Frans Hugo) Aurora Australis from Mount Dale (Christopher Sambrooks) Open sub print (Nadiia Rebrova) Swing Bridge (Brian Dunstan) Ani, ancient capital of Armenia (Jane Speijers) Under the Coral (Neil Winfield) Echidna (Frans Hugo) Colours of Autumn (Toni Segers) 12