Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Don’t forget your Round 3 Competition entries on the 6th Jan and submissions for the Battle of the Clubs which we are hosting in February.

See you all in 2011!

LensHero

Every now and then I find a website and think "that would be a good place for club members to visit". We'll I've discovered a site that may come in handy for those of you wanting to splash the cash on a new lens for your dSLR but aren't quite sure which lens is best for the pictures you want to take. Sorry those of you that don't use dSLR's I'll find something great for you soon.

If your wondering what lens you should buy next or feel that your current lens just doesn't work for the type of photography you like to do then go take a look at the LensHero website. They've come up with a great idea and it's so simple I wonder why no one else has thought of it before. We'll OK someone might have but I haven't seen it.

When you first get to the site your asked to enter your make & model of camera. So for me it would be "Canon 400D". Then you simply move the slider to correspond with the amount you wish to spend on the lens.
It looks as though the site uses B&H photo (it's a USA based store) for their prices and converts those prices into the viewers local currency (if I'm wrong then let me know). You just need to understand that the prices will probably not be correct for us in the UK. Unless they figure out a way to show prices from a good reputable UK distributor the site will probably be best used as a guide to help you decide on a lens that suits your style of photography and you should then shop around for the best UK deals for that lens.

The next step is just as easy. You can either use the yellow boxes with the arrows in them to select a specific type of photography (e.g. Macro, Portraiture, Wide Angle) or you can click the zoom tab and choose the minimum and maximum range of the lens you want. There's one other box which is labelled  "Suggest" and you can enter a lens that you already own and it will suggest others that compliment it. My only complaint about the selection process, and it really is a minor one, is when you choose the zoom tab and increase the maximum range of the zoom. The picture zooms in but becomes blurry and out of focus. In my view that's a little off putting. I know the picture has nothing to do with the lens you are trying to decide on but it kind of gives the impression that whatever lens it suggests will do the same.

Once you've entered or selected all the options on this screen you just hit "Go" and your presented with a selection of lenses and their specifications for you to peruse and choose from at your leisure.

The information for each lens is presented clearly and is easy to follow. If your not sure what something means there is a small 'i' next to each bit of information just click that and it and your given an explanation that is relevant to that section.

For those of you that need help choosing a lens this is probably one of the best and, more importantly, easy to use sites. You don't need to have spent ages researching the various lenses. Good suggestions are given to you in just a few mouse clicks.

Yo Ho Ho

Thursday night was the last meeting of the year and as it’s Christmas we had our usual fiercely fought Christmas competitions.

Starting off the night we had our lovingly titled “Bucket Competition”. It earned its name in the mists of time when Slides were used. To ensure fairness and to spread out the slides between each team they used to be placed into a bucket and each team would take it in turns to pick one until they were all gone. Nowadays of course we don’t have many people that still shoot slide film so we use prints. Each team member was supposed to bring along six prints to use. I’d love to say the rules were strictly adhered to but only one team stuck to the six prints per member rule! Amazingly at the end of the competition, when all of a teams prints are supposed to be used up, one team still had about 20 left on their table! Never mind though, we’ll get our own back next year.

Next up was the part some of us were dreading. The Yo Ho Ho competition. It’s just strange, funny and weird pictures you’ve taken recently. Now I knew Ian had something planned, as usual. It was just a case of wondering who was going to be the target this year. Unfortunately it was me again! I really am going to have to stop wearing that pigeon costume in public.

Thanks to everyone who brought along some food and to all our members that turned up to make it a great evening full of Christmas fun.

I’d like to finish this post by saying Farewell to Dominique. She’s leaving us to go back to Holland. It’s been great having you in the club and I hope it’s not a permanent move and that we’ll see you again soon. Keep in touch.

Thanks from Luis

Luis Bustamante, our guest speaker last week, has sent us an email in which he thanks each and everyone of you who came along to the talk. He wanted to let you all know that he was very impressed by the way in which you not only listened to what he had to say but also the questions that were asked. Actually I think I'll quote him as he put it so much better than I could;

I was really impressed with the way you organised my contribution. The hall was just right and just a bit bracing. The show was perfectly managed despite a non-cooperating remote. The audience were encouraging and alert, with an inquisitive edge.

I think the "just a bit bracing" comment was his way of saying it was bloody freezing. Despite the radiators being on full for an hour before the meeting started!

One of his pictures was chosen as a favourite of the decade by the Guardian newspaper and was published last weekend you can take a look at it HERE.

Last meeting of the Year

Reproduced with Permission. ©Luis Bustamante

First off I want to thank Luis Bustamante for a fantastic talk last night which was very insightful and interesting. I know some people went away mulling over what they had heard and thinking about the way in which they approach their photography. Also you should look out for some of his work being published in the Guardian this weekend or go take a look at, and maybe buy, his book "Brief Encounter".

This Thursday.

It's time to show your funny and strange pictures to add a bit of cheer to the proceedings. If you've taken a picture that makes you laugh, smile or is just of something weird, strange or stupid, bring it in. Share the humour with us. It doesn't have to be sized, mounted, framed or anything special, just bring it in. If it's a digital file you can also send it in via email or our preferred method, Dropbox.
If you keep hearing Dropbox being mentioned and want to use it then just follow THIS link to sign up, it's free. Once you've installed the software, as long as you use the link supplied here, I will get an email telling me when you've signed up and installed it. Which means I can send you an invite to share a folder with the club and that's all you really have to do. Ask me if you want to know more.

We're also going to have a fun little competition so bring along some prints, any prints. Don't worry about the subject's, just make sure they don't really have anything in common. So do NOT bring all portraits, or all Landscapes. Mix them up. we just need you to bring up to 6 prints and all will be explained on the night.

Also, as it's the last meeting before Christmas, if you feel like bringing along some nibbles or snacks so we can make it a bit more of a social event than a normal meeting that would be great.

Don' forget Thursday 16th is also the last day for entries to be submitted for Round 3 of the Open Competition. Prints need to be brought in on the night and Digital Files can either be emailed or sent via Dropbox to me by 10am on Friday 17th.

Luis Bustamante

This week is the Chair’s evening and he’s decided to invite Luis Bustamante around to
give us a talk on his photography.
If your into street photography then this could be your favourite night of the season.
If you’ve always wanted to give this style of photography a go or wondered what sort
of reaction you would get if you started walking around the streets and taking pictures
of strangers then come along and listen to what he has to say. It’s also a chance to ask
him any questions you have about his style or pictures. You can also see a preview of his
book "Brief Encounter" by visiting THIS link

 
Photographs copyright Luis Bustamante and reproduced here with permission.

Day Release

This Sunday several of Reflex Camera Club managed to get a day release pass and took a trip to Stonehenge.
Braving freezing fog, blizzards and worst of all Ian’s jokes we all arrived safely only to find hardly any snow on
the ground but a fairly thick fog making visibility pretty poor. Luckily though the sun soon broke through and we
ended up with glorious blue skies. Loads of pictures were taken and a good time was had by all. Check our Flickr
group over the next few days for more photo's.
Afterwards several of us decided to carry on and take a trip to Avebury. Of course the first stop was the pub for
a spot of lunch. We even managed to order some food which was pretty good although Alison couldn’t resist
trying to make everyone wish they had chosen the fish despite the T.V. in the background mentioning shark
attacks.

On day release were (left to right) Kev, Geoff, Roger, Eddie, Rich, Barrie, Ian, Mark and trying to hide behind her camera was Alison.

Worrying Phone Call!

So I'm just about to walk into the school playground to pick my daughter up when my phone rings. I answer and the guy asks for me by name. Then he tells me that he's from the Avon & Somerset Police Federation and I immediately think OK what's going on, have I committed a murder in my sleep or something! So then he tells me that the latest Police Handbook is about to go to print and an advertising opportunity has arisen. Would the club like to take out an advert. I politely declined. Not that great a story but I just thought I would share it with you all. They must have been desperate for the revenue considering the attitude most police forces in the UK have towards photography lately.

Barry Mead

This week we have Barry Mead visiting us and to steal the heading from his website

The main categories of work are Wildlife of Namibia, Zambia and the Falkland Islands. The images from Namibia are the result of a number of trips in recent years and the Zambia images from a trip to the South Luangwa National Park in 2003. The Falkland Islands were visited at the end of 2006. Landscape images come from a number of trips to the USA as well as images from Namibia and the UK. The Creatve work has a strong Sci-fi and Fantasy influence. Recent images include Kenya,Florida,Yellowstone and Greylag Geese as well as new work taken at Slimbridge.

It should be a good night and if you want to take a look at some of his work before Thursday you can visit his website by following THIS link.

Practical Night

Last night was our second practical night of the year. We had demonstrations on editing
using various different pieces of software, Macro Photography, mount board cutting and how
the different apertures affect the depth of field and we also tackled a lot of question's. Although how to add
zombies to a graveyard photo was probably the most original one of the night. It was a great evening
and everyone who attended said they had learned something new. Which was exactly what we
hoped would happen.

The feedback we had was great and we’re already planning the next practical night in February.

Cutting mount board

What's new

Unless someone just poked your eyes out you will notice that over on the left of your screen is a new addition to the Blog. We now have a Facebook page. If you scroll down a little bit more you will also notice that there is a section called "You might like....". What someone has dug your eyes out with a spoon! At least that explains why no one has commented on it yet. Anyway, inside that section you will find links to a whole page dedicated to the various Exhibitions & Salon's around the country, listed in month order. Our very own Dominique compiled it for you all so a big thank you goes out to her for doing such a fantastic job. Also there's a link for "Where to go and What to do!" that page is still being worked on but all the information that is being used was collated by Hanneke. I've been a bit slow to put up the information but I am doing it slowly.

Anyway tonight's the practical night so bring along your camera's, questions, laptops and anything else you want to use or learn about. We're going to try our best to impart as much knowledge as possible to you all. So please do make sure you come along. If you think tonight would be a waste of time for you then come along, help out and share some wisdom with those of us less fortunate one's.

Round 2 Results

The results of the 2nd Round of our Annual Open Competition have been announced! It's great to see so many of you taking part and submitting such wonderful photographs. I've managed to get all but one of the winners to show here. Hopefully next time I'll be able to get them all.
Our thanks also go to  Eddie Lane for taking the time to go through and judge them all.

I've tried a slightly different way of laying out the shots on this blog. Please let me know if it works for you or if it still looks as though I've randomly thrown the images across the screen. They really need to sort out a decent system for laying out multiple pictures on these blogs.


The winner for the Digital Projected Image Category was Adrian Cook with his picture entitled Kilve

In 2nd place, Digital Projected Image was Richard Price with Flaming Rose


Adrian Cook also managed to get 3rd place in the Digital Projected Image's with Tokyo Station
 
Barrie Tovey claimed one of the Highly Commended spots with his Digital Projected Image, Puffin in Flight

Highly Commended Digital Projected Image, Roy Williams with Bluetit
 
Last Drop by Julie Coombs, Highly Commended Digital Projected Image
 
Rosie Tomlinson Highly Commended Digital Projected Image titled Do It later
 
Simon Xu with the Digital Projected Image Mask at St. Mark's Square Highly Commended

Highly Commended Digital Projected Image Ian Coombs with The Mystic

The winner of the Print category for Round 2 was Richard Price with Brown Lipped Snail

2nd place Print was Barrie Tovey with Monkey

3rd Place print was Ian Coombs with The Lord is My Shepherd

Highly Commended Print. Amber Glare by Alison Davies
 
Ian Coombs Highly Commended Print with Surf Rider



Also Highly Commended in the Print section was Joe Scudamore with Whose Looking at Me.
Unfortunately I'm unable to display his entry here as I have no access to a digital version.

Congratulations to everyone who placed and a big thank you to all that entered.

Ding Ding Round 2

It's that time we all dread, hate and loathe but just cant resist turning up for. It's results night for round 2 of the open competition. After last time when Ian wiped the floor with us it's time for revenge. It seems he decided to photo-shop moustaches onto every entry this time! Very strange way to try to win but apparently someone told him the judge likes moustaches. Yet again we had lots of entries and which means the judge has loads of pictures to get through. So please do your best to be punctual.

Shadow's

Congratulations to Dominique on winning our Shadow themed print competition. The pictures below are the only ones entered into the competition that I have either been sent or have been posted on Flickr. The top one is the winning entry from Dominique. The second picture is also from Dominique and grabbed a runners up slot. The third shot is from Teagan who was also a runner up. Congratulations to you two and also to the other runners up. Sorry this is only a short post but Blogger is being a pain in the ass as usual when I have to post more than 1 picture in an article.

Printing Shadows

Next meeting we have our annual Print only competition. This year the Subject is "Shadows". Later in the year we have the companion to it with the Digital only competition and the subject for that is "Highlights". If your really paying attention to the programme then you'll notice that there is also a "Trio" competition and the John Hankin & Stan Scantlebury Shields. Why am I mentioning this now? Because when I first joined and saw these were coming up I wondered just what they involved and got a bit confused by the answers I was given. So I'm going to try and explain them to you over the course of this and the next few Blog posts.

Now I very rarely enter prints into any of the competitions, not because I don't like to see my pictures in all their glory, but because my middle name is Scrooge. So if I get anything to do with the print side of things wrong I hope someone who knows better will let me know and I'll correct it.

The Print Competition
In theory you can enter absolutely any size print you want as long as it fits onto a piece of mount board that is 50 by 40cm. The reason we have that as the maximum size is it's the recognized standard size for National and International Photographic Competitions. The size of print that we have found fits best in that size mount is 16 by 12inches, 40 by 30cm. Those are the size of the pictures you most often see when we have a guest speaker who shows their mounted prints. The best place to get your photo's printed? Well a lot of the club tend to use Keynsham Photographic, mention Reflex Camera Club and you might just get it at a better price. There are lots of places that you can use, even the local supermarket if you want. The choice is yours.

Sorting out the Mounting of the pictures is something that I haven't quite got my head around but lots of club members are very good at it and if you ask then someone will be able to help you with it. I'm supposed to be writing a tutorial on that but I've only ever done it once and watched it done twice. So if anyone wants to write it up then go ahead and we'll gladly let everyone else know that you've done a fantastic job.

You don't have to have the print as large as possible within the mount. You can mount a 5x7 print into a full size piece of board. You also don't have to have the board at the maximum size. Any variation is allowed as long as the mount board is no larger than the maximum size allowed. Smaller mounts or small pictures in full size mounts are fine. If the picture is strong enough to suit a different size of mount then go for it.

Of course if you can't for some reason get it printed at the preferred size or mounted then there is nothing to stop you from bringing in a normal print and using that for the "Shadows" competition. Although for the open and external competitions your pictures HAVE to be mounted. So make sure you bring along a shadowy picture to enter on Thursday. Any size, mounted or not. Just take part and have some fun.

Natalie & Charlotte

Natalie & Charlotte, originally uploaded by Mark-Stone.

I wasn't at the meeting this week so I can't comment on it. Instead I thought I would let you know about a model shoot several of us took part in a few weekends ago. I should of written about it earlier but it totally slipped my mind.



Barrie was kind enough to lend us his front room for a model shoot with Natalie and Charlotte. For some of us it was the first time we had ever had the chance to use studio lights and to direct model's. There were so many of us that wanted to take part Barrie had to split the day up and have time slots for everyone. I was in the morning slot along with Alison, Phil and Rich. It all started out a bit nervous as Natalie & Charlotte had never taken part in a shoot either. But as the day wore on everyone relaxed a little and started to enjoy themselves. It was a brilliant morning and I know that Nat & Charlotte are really pleased with the pictures they have so far.

If you still haven't handed over your shots from the day then can you please make sure that you get them to Alison.

Too see more pictures from the day then visit our Flickr Group and look through the Group Pool.

It's Guest speaker night

This week Bob Bishop is our guest speaker. He's going to give us a talk entitled "There's a first time for everything". If you would like to see some of Bob's work before you meet him on Thursday then just follow THIS link.

One of our new members, Richard Johnson, has some of his artwork on display in an exhibition at Broadwalk Shopping Centre from the 18th to the 23rd of October. It's just inside the main entrance in one of the shop spaces on the left side and is open between 10:00 to 16:00. So go and show your support for our local artists.

Please don't forget we need your Architecture photographs. Thanks to those of you who have already used dropbox and sent some in. But come on there are more of you and I bet you have a picture of an office block, block of flats, house, church or anything else that matches the subject. Email them to me or use Dropbox (if you still haven't signed up for it and want to. Drop me an email and I'll explain it and send you the link).

On the 4th of November we have our Print only competition. This year the subject is Shadows. So make sure you have a print ready by then if you want to take part. If your not sure how it works then please do talk to someone at the club about it over the next few weeks. It's easier to explain it face to face than try to type it out here.

The results of Round 1 Annual Open Competition.

The results from the first round of our Annual Open Competition are in!  Loads of amazing photographs were entered and unfortunately there could only be one winner in each category. The Judge, Roger Mallison, gave superb constructive comments on every picture, which everyone appreciated. There was no getting away from it though in the end he had to make the difficult decision and choose the winners. 

Ian very nearly had a clean sweep across the board with five pictures amongst the winners! So he gets to wear the bullet proof vest to meetings for the next few weeks. Apparently he was heard to say "the beers on me" but were not sure if he just meant he was washing in it or offering to buy us all a drink. Lots of our new members entered and just to prove it can be done Louise came top of the Digital Projected Image Section. Superb picture and an amazing win for her.

Louise Iddon first in the digital projected section with "Legs 11". Which was fantastic for her as it's the first time she's ever entered a photographic competition and she's only been in the club since the September! Everyone had better watch out, she may just be the one to beat from now on. 

First in the Prints section was Ian Coombs with "The Appeal". Which is a great shot and he owes me a pint for the wings! haha!

Congratulation's to the winners and a HUGE thank you to everyone that took part.

The Appeal by Ian Coombs 1st in Prints

Legs 11 by Louise Iddon 1st Place Digital Projected Image

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd in Prints, "Clevedon Rocks" by Richard Price

2nd in Digital Projected, Ian Coombs with "Waiting"

Lazy Daisy by Mark Stone. 3rd in Digital Projected Images

. 

3rd in Print's Section, Ian Coombs with "Billy Whizz"

Carnival Focus by Simon Xu. Highly Commended Digital Projected Image

Highly Commended Print Alison Davies "Concarneau Brittany"

"Manx Sunset" Ian Coombs, Highly Commended Digital Projected Image

 

Richard Price Highly Commended in the Print Section with "Common Blue"

Hanneke Ter Veen, Commended Digital Projected Image "Cloud Cowboy"

Commended Print, "Slow Pour" Ian Coombs

If anyone is still reading this far down. I have a question. If you know of an easy way to get Blogger to allow you to design a page with multiple photographs then please let me know. Hopefully I'll have figured out a better way to do it by the time the results for the next round are due. Because I can virtually guarantee the way you see this page on your screen is not how I had it laid out when I designed it!

Whose it going to be?

There's going to be plenty of nail biting, gnashing of teeth and worried looks this week as we hear the results of the first round in our Annual Open Competition. Whose won? Well you don't have long to wait. Soon we'll all be sitting in that darkened room listening to the judge and either inwardly seething or annoying everyone with a big smile.

There is something really important that you need to remember though. No matter what the outcome. Don't take it personally. The judge may love your picture, which is great and vindicates all the hours you spent agonizing over it. Or they may absolutely hate it. Just remember it's only one person's opinion. Sure for that night they have the power to make you feel wonderful or just as easily they can make you feel deflated and never want to take another picture ever again. Normally they make good constructive comments. Rarely their wire's short out and they seem to go a bit power crazed. Sometimes you wonder if they have even looked at the pictures. But one thing, the most important thing, is don't let anything they say worry you or get you upset. More importantly

Don't let it stop you taking pictures.

Light's, Camera, Oh hang on a minute.....

I know I'm a bit late putting up the post for last Thursday's meet but here it is.

If you were there then what can I say apart from "Wow what a great night". If you weren't there. Then where the hell were you? When I arrived it looked a little bit like we would be a bit thin on the ground. I was soon proved wrong. Loads of you turned up and had a fantastic time. After the introductions Steve started off with a little bit of theory concerning strobes and their relation to your camera settings. After that we really got stuck into the practical side of things and pretty much everyone had a go. It was a good job Steve had brought so much equipment with him as everyone was keen to try the technique out. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Steve for such a great night.

Picture by Barrie Tovey

We were also lucky enough to have Ben, Jack and Joe model for us. They gave up their entire evening, when I'm sure they would of been much happier lazing around like most teenagers. In return for them modelling we promised them some great pictures from the night. So if you took some send them in to the club via the normal email address or use Dropbox. Please just send them as the boys would really love to have them.

This weeks meet and does anyone want to go to the Fair?

Those of you who are new to the club get to experience your first practical night this Thursday and your going to love it. (Of course if you don't enjoy yourself then it's not my fault and you really shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet!). We have Steve Cox coming along to do a practical demonstration on 'Off Camera Flash'. If your wondering what it is then take a look through this Blog and the pictures in this Flickr Group.. Some of you may remember Steve from the very start of last season when he was a judge for one of the rounds of our Open Competition (I believe he's wearing a bullet proof vest when he visits from now on). It should prove to be a good night with the chance to take some great images. So make sure you bring along your camera and join in. If you want a quick peek at some of Steve's work he has a Flickr 'Stream and a Website.

It's also a chance to grab someone and ask questions on just about anything related to photography. Although I'm afraid we don't know how to get any supermodels to pose for you or their phone numbers.

Hanneke is interested in visiting the Bridgewater Fair on the 2nd October to try out some Candid Street Photography, before any of you ask no it's not some new kind of sweet. There's plenty of discussion about it taking place on our Flickr Group Forum. You can go straight to the relevant thread by following THIS link. Although to add anything to the conversation you will have to be logged in. Which also means you need to sign up for Flickr.

This week the Practical Night stars..........

This week we have Steve Cox coming along to explain the mystical skill of 'off camera flash'. It's a style of photography often called Strobism and takes its name from the Strobist Blog. It involves using your flash gun's as if they were studio lights and firing them using remote triggers. It should be a great night so be sure to bring along your camera, flash and some extra batteries.

I highly recommend coming along to get some great pictures.

If you would like to see some of Steve's work you can either visit his website or his Flickr 'stream.
...

Lost in Goblin Combe

Goblin Combe. Lovely peaceful gentle stroll in a circular route, not to easy but not to difficult either. It's a shame we didn't really get to see it. As at the very first turn we went the wrong way! Although if we hadn't then its quite probable that we would not have discovered the ancient and mysterious Porridge Mine. For somewhere dark and mysterious it was certainly well signposted. Although the going was tough and we had to evade trolls and an over active imagination. We made it in one piece.
If your wondering just what all this porridge mine stuff is all about, your not the only one!

O.K. back to reality. Even though we took a wrong turn right at the beginning, it was a really enjoyable afternoon. We took great pictures, but more importantly we all had fun. Keep an eye out on the club's Flickr Group or individual photostreams as it's a fair bet pictures will be appearing soon. I'm sure there will be another walk organised soon. Though this time we are going to pay more attention to where we're going.


The motley crew that went in search of the Porridge were (left to right) Jack, Rich, Steve, Mark, Ian, Louise, Vicky, (front row) Jack the dog, Barrie, Hanneke.

Last nights meeting was full of stars.... You!

Last night we had an evening to showcase members pictures and everyone of you that took part were the stars of the evening. It was great to see what you had been doing and some of the amazing pictures that you had taken.

Yet again we welcomed some new faces and I hope you all enjoyed visiting us and seeing the kind of things we get up to. Although I have to apologize for the Combine Harvester joke. We've tried to get that member barred but apparently the landlord says he is single handedly responsible for keeping the pub in profit on a Thursday night!

Next week we have to make our selections for the Ace of Clubs Competition. So please bring in what you consider to be your best shots and we will all go through them and try to decide on the ones we are going to enter. I know some of you try to hold back the ones you are planning on putting into the clubs open competition but please remember this is for the club. You don't have to tell anyone its something your entering for the internal competition.

So bring it in. Your picture could be the difference between us winning or losing.

Come explore the Legendary Porridge Mines!

Were going to explore the Legendary Porridge Mines of Goblin Combe on the 19th of September. Come along and join us in our search for the Sacred Spoon of Everlasting Porridge!

Ahh well OK were actually planning on going for a walk through Goblin Combe. Read on to find out the real details.

The plan is to meet at 2pm in Goblin Combe car park. Which is free, at Cleeve Hill Road (turn off A370 at Lord Nelson pub). The route is 5.25 Miles (8.4km). Which, apparently, should take around 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. It consists of Path's, Track's and one steep-stepped ascent. Also there are two stiles to climb over. It's supposed to be an easy walk and if I'm willing to give it a go then I'm sure everyone else in the club are more than capable of completing it.
Here's a link to the car park on Google Maps. If your using Sat Nav then the postcode is BS49 4NR. Which will take you to the pub and the car park is just down the road. You should be able to get some superb Landscape shots and of course the compulsory candid's of club members either falling flat on their backsides (yes that will be me) or doing something strange.I've attached a PDF of the walk with notes that Hanneke provided. So you can have a look at the route. If you need a PDF reader then you can download Adobe's free one HERE. I recommend, if your downloading it, to remove the tick from the "Free McAffe Security Scan Plus"

If your still wondering what all that porridge talk was about then you should visit our Flickr Group.

I know what you did last summer!

This week its bring your summer photo's in and show us just what you got upto during the break. (See what I did with the title clever wasn't it!) Don't be shy pick out the ones that show your holiday, day at the park, whatever you got up to. Well maybe not everything. Just the legal and non perverted stuff! It might seem scary to have your shots on show to everyone but it's great fun and you'll not only enjoy yourself. You'll probably get some constructive comments that could make you think about how you take pictures. I know I have!

Also don't forget to bring in your Print entries for the First Round of the Open Competition. The rules and some walk throughs on how to resize your pictures have been posted on the Website and Blog. I've also sent out an email with them in. If your going to enter Digital Files for the Projected Image section then please email them in NO LATER THAN midday on Friday See if you use email you can get an extra day to prepare them. Of course you can bring your digital files in on a memory stick and hand them in on the night but the preferred method of entry is by email. So please, if at all possible, email them in. Also try to remember that they should be named Similar to the following examples

01_My Title_Fred Bloggs.jpg
02_My Other Title_Fred Bloggs.jpg
03_My Last Title_Fred Bloggs.jpg

Yep I still forgot it!

Well as usual my memory let me down again and for the second week running I forgot to take in the Arctic Butterfly. The club and I are not endorsing that product I only provided the link so those of you who thought I was lepidopterist know they are wrong (There now not only did I save you money the other day with that discount code I'm also teaching you new words!).Which resulted in getting told off yet again. My only defence is I have a lot on my mind. Blinking and Breathing take a lot of concentration.

Last night we had Ray Grace showing some of his landscape photographs and I'm sure you'll all agree the pictures were superb. He also gave a talk on Photoshop. Unfortunately he had a few laptop problems and was a bit flustered because of the terrible traffic problems on his trip to us. Despite that he managed to teach a few of us some new techniques. Although I'm sure more than one person who took notes will wake up today and look at them as though they are in another language.

It was fantastic to see all the new faces from last week back again and don't forget, at next weeks meeting you should bring in up to 10 of your most recent pictures. Digital files or Prints. Don't be shy I know it can be daunting and a you might feel a little embarrassed but it's a great feeling when you realise everyone enjoyed looking at your pictures. It's not just for the new people though. Anyone who is coming along should bring in work. It's going to be a night to show what you did last summer!

Also if your reading this and think you might like to be on the clubs mailing list. Drop me an email and I'll add you to it.

My pictures shrunk in the wash!

If your on the clubs mailing list you already know that we have a couple of PDF's doing the rounds on how to resize your pictures so they can be entered into the club competitions. I'm basically just going to bore the pants off you now by repeating myself. We've got, not one, not two but THREE! (see surprised you there didn't I) tutorials on the website dealing with resizing your pictures. Two of them you already know about, the one's for Lightroom and Photoshop. The third was created by our very own Steve Hallam (there now he gets the blame if any of it is wrong) and shares the arcane art of resizing in Paint.net. If you've never heard of it then you should check it out. It's totally free and very good. The have a great community on their forums with lots of people regularly posting help and advice to anyone using the software. If you need a good piece of editing software for your photo's the best free option, if your using a windows pc, is probably going to be Paint.net.

To find the tutorials on resizing visit our website and goto the links page. Find the Reflex member downloads part and all of them are listed there. At the moment you only have those three tutorials and the competition rules available but we are planning on adding more soon. So if you want to know how to do something in Photo Editing Software or what settings you should be using to take a particular shot. Basically anything photo related. Get in touch!

A fantastic offer for you

The kind folks over at Photopaper Direct have generously given us a Discount Code to use for the next YEAR!
It doesn't matter what you want to buy from them using our code will get you a 5% discount from their entire range of paper and cartridges. So if your like me and go to print something only to find that your kids have emptied the entire house of all paper. Visit their site and stock up. But don't tell the kids. What? I've forgotten something? OH the code. Well I'm not about to put it up on here am I! It wouldn't exactly stay exclusively for us would it. I shall be emailing it out to you all and also bringing it in to put on the notice board. Don't forget if you need paper check out Photopaper Direct.

See were even saving you money now. What more could you ask of us? Just thought, maybe I shouldn't have asked that question.

Reflex Camera Club Competition Rules

Below are the rules of entry for the Club Competitions. I know at first glance they seem daunting and confusing but they are pretty simple really. If you want to download them to your own computer to print or read them at your leisure then they are available to download in PDF format from the club website HERE. If you need it then Adobe's free PDF reader can be downloaded HERE. Make sure you remove the tick in the box that says you want the McCaffe Security Scan Plus.
Please do take the time to read through the rules if you are planning on entering. As there is important information in there. They tell you everything you need to know on HOW to enter the competitions. What they don't tell you though is how to prepare your images. However, if you keep an eye on this blog then you will see over the course of the next few days a series of articles explaining how to resize your pictures using Photoshop, Lightroom and how to resize them for printing if you are planning on entering prints this year.

If you have any comments or need something explained you can either get in touch at the usual email address or ask on a Thursday night. There are two other ways that you can get help though. One is to sign up to Flickr and ask in our Clubs Group page (you will however need to be a fully paid up member of Reflex to join our Flickr Group), or you can ask in the Comments section of this Blog as we have now turned comments back on.



Open Competition

1. Members may enter up to three prints and/or three digital projected images in each round.
2. Prints and Projected Images are judged separately.
3. Prints may be of any size as long as they are mounted on card not larger than 50 x 40 cm.
4. Digital projected image entries: see Appendix for conditions of entry
5. Entries should be handed to the competition secretary by the closing date, as displayed on the notice board and in the programme.
6. An entry that has been awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Highly Commended may not be entered in the Open competition again. Any not placed may be entered once more in another round.
7. Entrants are awarded points according to the scheme shown below.
8. At the end of the season, the entrant with most points in the print section will be awarded “Print Photographer of the Year”. The entrant with the most points in the projected images section will be awarded “Projected Image Photographer of the Year”. Points gained in print and projected images sections will be accumulated and the entrant with the greatest number of points overall will be “Photographer of the Year”.
9. Entries should reflect the entrant’s recent work.
10. All entries must be the work of the member. However, trade-processing of prints is permitted.
11. Any variation to these rules will be announced at club meetings and shown on the notice board.
12. The Competition Secretary’s decision is final, and he/she may:
a. Refuse to accept any entry that they consider does not comply with the spirit of these rules.
b. Vary the rules in exceptional circumstances provided the spirit of the Club is not prejudiced.
Points system
1. Entrants will be awarded one point for each projected image or print on the first occasion it is entered in the open section.
2. Additional points will be awarded for “placed” entries:
First - 8 points, Second - 6 points, Third - 4 points, Highly Commended - 1 point.
Trio Competition
All rules as “Open” but with the following changes:
1. The competition is judged “live” on the night.
2. Points awarded count towards print, projected image, and overall photographer of the year.
3. You may enter up to three sets of three projected images and/or prints, to be judged as sets. See appendix for special rules for digital projected images.
4. Entries may be brought on the night, but earlier submission will help the Competition Secretary.
John Hankin Shield (prints) & Stan Scantlebury Shield (projected images)
All rules as “Open” but with the following changes:
1. Each member may enter prints, projected images or both, up to a maximum of 3 each.
2. The judge will select the best image, print & projected image.
3. No points will be awarded.
4. Only images that have been entered in the Open section during the current season can be entered, including those that have been “placed”. Individual images from Trio entries are acceptable.
September 2010

Appendix
Digital Projected Images – conditions of entry for all Club Competitions

1. Images will be projected in a landscape format of 1400 by 1050 pixels maximum and should be sized accordingly.
2. Portrait (vertical) images should be no larger than 1050 pixels high.
3. Images must be correctly aligned for projection.
4. The image must be in jpeg (.JPG) format with sRGB colour space. The JPG should be saved at maximum quality (this is not a requirement but is in your own interests!)
5. A title MUST be provided for each entry – the title will form part of the name of the file.
6. The file name will consist of:
a. A serial number (01, 02 or 03) followed by an underscore (_)
b. The title of the entry (which may include letters, numbers and spaces but NO other characters) followed by an underscore
c. The name of the entrant (which may include letters, numbers and spaces but NO other characters)
d. As an example: “01_My wonderful image_Fred Bloggs”
7. Entries may be submitted by email, on CD, or on a memory stick.
a. PLEASE ENTER BY EMAIL IF POSSIBLE! Send an email to reflexcc@gmail.com with the image files as attachments.
b. If you have to submit entries on CD or memory stick, you MUST create a folder with your name (e.g. “Fred Bloggs”) containing your entries. This allows rapid copying of entries on Club nights
Digital entries for Trio Competition
1. Your sets of three images must be contained within SINGLE jpg files.
2. The overall projected image size limits are the same as for all other Club competitions
3. As long as the above rules are observed, you are free to do what you like with your images.

NOTE
External competitions (such as the WCPF inter-club digital image competition) have their own entry requirements which are different from ours. PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY before submitting entries.

A great start to the season!

So we've had the first meeting of the new year. It was a great night. Lot's of new faces and returning members from last year. We had members prints on show and presented a slide show (digitally, not slides so sorry to disappoint!) of members pictures. Which everyone enjoyed and as usual ribald comments and in jokes were thrown about when some of the pictures went on screen.

The meet also marked a change in leadership and Rosie certainly enjoyed giving Kevin the horn! No I'm not going to explain you should of been there. As it was his first meeting as Chairman Kev naturally got a bit of stick and was duly presented with his very own whip to complete his Indiana Jones look. Although as he gave Ian a squashed pig biscuit I think he came out of it about even.

I've already had quite a few comments on how the meeting went and I'd like to share one of them with you. Although I won't let on who said it unless they want to be credited that is.

"Thanx for a great night - the club was all you said it would be - friendly, fun and easy going. You underplayed the amount of talent within the room which has given me something to aspire to. I'm glad I made the effort ( I  wouldn't normally walk into a strange pub on my own ) and will def come again - Thanx !!!!!!"

So it would seem that despite having a Werewolf (again you should of been there) who stalks club members at night we're a friendly lot!

I'd like to thank everyone who attended and I hope to see you all again next week when we have Mr. Ray Grace, who I'm led to believe is a member of Crown Monochrome Group, giving a Photoshop Workshop and presenting a selection of his images. So please, if you have any Photoshop related questions, send them into me at the usual email address or, of course, you can ask them on the night.

Something Wonderful and New

I know your all expecting me to put up something about how the club is starting back tonight after its Summer Break. Well I'm afraid your going to be disappointed!
 
Instead I want to tell you about a website I've found called Strobox. Recently some of you went on a Studio Lighting Course held by Andy Milne. What have the two of them got in common? Well Strobox is all about lighting. But it's not just a site that says you should light your subject like this and do that to make it look a certain way. It's much better than that. When someone uploads a picture to Strobox they HAVE to upload a lighting diagram to show everyone just how they used studio lights, strobes or even the living room lamp. So this means that if you like the way a picture looks on the site and want to know just how it was lit all you have to do is look at the lighting diagram the photographer has supplied! How cool is that. So those of you that want to learn how to use various lights and light modifiers can visit the site and see great examples on how to use them.

www.strobox.com

Oh and in other news Reflex Camera Club starts its regular weekly meetings again tonight. So be at the Langton Court Hotel for 7.30pm

Studio Lighting Course

4StevieP by Alison Davies

On Sunday some of the club attended a Studio Lighting Course run by Andy Milne at our meeting room.  I've seen a few of the images that were created and have to say they look great. The course took them through setting up the lights and light modifiers and then it was onto taking the pictures. Starting out with a little portraiture, progressing onto Lingerie and then Figure work. Louise was superb and needed little direction which helped make everything run smoothly.

Everyone that attended would like to thank Andy and Louise for making it such a brilliant day. Of course those of us that couldn't go are just waiting for him to arrange the next one.

Here we go.......

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to "just how cold can it get in the meeting room?". We kick off with a meet & greet evening. Bring along your pictures or digital files so that everyone can see what you've been photographing over the break. Will there be more strange people staring out the windows of a pub or will the elusive Indiana Spiers put in an appearance. If your wondering just what on earth I'm talking about, then sign up to Flickr and join in the wonderful, if a little strange, goings on in the Reflex Camera Club Group.

Rosie stepped down at the end of the last season and I'm sure you'll all want to join me in thanking her for the work she put in during her time as Chairperson. So the new season also brings a new person at the helm and I'm sure your eager to make sure he gets a warm welcome to the job. Rotting fruit can be had at the back doors of most supermarkets at very cheap rates. Allegedly.

Last year was fantastic for the club and we want to build on that and give everyone the opportunity to get more involved. There's lots of idea's bubbling under the surface, some need a little work and others are ready to go. Don't worry though. No one's going to feel pushed or forced to do anything. By now I hope your all eager to find out what's planned. Well you'll just have to wait and see. Some things will be introduced early in the season and others will gradually trickle in over time and you may not even realise they've been implemented. There have already been a few changes the most obvious of them is the new website. We've also made changes to how emails are sent out and a lot more of the things you don't see, that happen behind the scene's, have changed.

So put the date in your diary 2nd September 19:30 at the Langton. Don't be shy, bring along pictures or digital files to show. Most importantly though, bring yourselves along, catch up with your friends and have a great time.

One last thing. Hopefully you've enjoyed having the regular emails and updates during the break. If you haven't then speak up. If you think it should be done differently or have any suggestions. Tell me. I won't be offended. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

New Season, New Look

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If your reading this then the chances are you've noticed it looks a little different. What you haven't? Go put your glasses on and look again. It's not just a new colour scheme for the Blog its a whole new website for the club. I'd like you all to join me in thanking Joules for doing an outstanding job and putting up with all the demands and moaning from those of us involved.
Here's a short walk through some of the biggest changes.
When you visit the new site you'll see that it looks a lot different. First thing is slap bang on screen a photograph from one of you! Remember a while ago, seems like months to me, I asked you all to be on the lookout for invites into a new Flickr group. Well this is where we are putting those images. Right in the face of anyone who visits the site. The picture changes randomly each time you visit that page. So if you feel left out and want one of your pictures there, sign up to Flickr and add me as a friend or email in a link to your Photostream.

Wait there's more!

The about us page now gives people a much better idea of what we as a club like to do.

The programme page has received one of the biggest overhauls. Now as well as being able to download a PDF file of the meetings you can also look at a Calendar which not only lists our meetings but also shows events in our local area. So with a simple click of the mouse you can see what's on. Hanneke does a superb job of keeping that calendar up to date. So you should all buy her a cup of tea next time you see her!

The News link still takes you to this Blog but does so with much more panache.

The Galleries, my personal favourite. Remember the old one, just a few stale looking links to various websites. Well it's all high tech now! Slap bang in the middle is something you may not have seen before. It's called Cooliris. Remember the pictures on the front page? Well this shows all of them at once. You can even make it fill your screen up to see the pictures in all their glory. Just click on the bottom left icon of two white, diagonal arrows. Hang on though because, if you scroll down the page you will see links to individual members Flickr sites. Not just boring links though, click on one of them and you will see just how magnificent the pictures from your friends are. Of course if you haven't replied to my email telling me its ok to feature your Flickr page here then your name won't be on the list. No Flickr account? Then go sign up, it's free! I have to stress you have to have told me,by email, its ok to put you on this list otherwise you can't be added. If you have agreed to it and your name still isn't on it then just give it a week or so. We're still addressing a few issues.

The contact page just lists different ways to get in touch with the club. It looks great though. As does the Find Us page. Yeah I know its missing the clubs meeting address, it's being added soon.

That brings us to the last page. The links to other website's. If you have a private website that you want added to the list then tell us about it.

If you think we need to add a website to the list. If we've forgotten something. If something isn't right. If you feel we should be doing something differently.

Tell us about it! Because if you don't we won't be able to correct it.

Oh and of course if you've never visited the club website before, shame on you, here's a link



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Unsavoury characters seen around Bristol Docks

On Thursday night we had our walk around the Docks. It was supposed to be a meet at Weston Super Mare but those inconsiderate people who are rebuilding the pier are behind schedule.
Ten of us turned up outside the Ostrich Pub and we had an enjoyable stroll along under the three cranes and up to the Buttery, which unfortunately was closed. Lots of pictures were taken and we all had a great time until a boat full of topless rowers went past, shameful display if you ask me, and someone got all excited!

We all enjoyed ourselves and I'm sure you'll get to see some more of the pictures that were taken. This, terrible, picture was at the end of the walk when we decided to rest our weary legs and get some much needed refreshment back at the Ostrich.

Keith Neil Crispin

I'm sad to say that Keith lost his battle with cancer and has passed away. I joined Reflex after he left so never knew him but those of you that did will, I'm sure, miss him. His funeral was held on 11th August at Haycombe Crematorium in Bath.
The photo was taken on Reflex's first ever trip to Skomer.

August

August is a month packed full of opportunities for photographs. We've just had the Harbour Festival, which broke its previous attendance record and was a huge success, and the Balloon Fiesta is only a couple of weeks away! But those large prestigious events are not the only things happening. Oh there are loads and loads of things to do! Fancy visiting a steam fair? Well all this month Carters Steam Fair can be found on the Beach Lawns at Weston Super Mare. Opening at 11am until late.

On Saturday 7th there is an event close to many a west country man's heart. Bristol's Cider Festival is being held at the Brunel Shed, Temple Meads Station. On offer will be over 100 ciders and perries.  The best in local entertainment. Somerset's premier Wurzels tribute band The Mangledwurzels will be playing a full show at all three sessions. You can find more details HERE

On the 8th is the regular monthly car rally by the Avenue Drivers Club. They meet at the Avenue Cafe, Queen Square. Around 9am. Might be a bit early for some of you especially if you've been to the cider festival the day before.

All these events and more can be found on the Google Calendar that we maintain HERE

Get your thinking caps on!

The Kingswood Salver is fast approaching and we need you to think of a theme. We need 5 photographs from five seperate photographers. It's best if they follow a theme and last year we chose reptiles. This year we need suggestions, so come on get thinking and give us your ideas.

Two Day Trips and a Studio Training Course

Fancy a trip to Marwell Zoological Park, Southampton, and an evening stroll along the front at Hill Head, Lee on Solent? You do! Fantastic just get in touch with Barrie or Rich, you could even let me know and I'll pass it on.
Entry to Marwell is £18 per adult. It's going to be an early start on either Saturday 14th or Sunday 15 August.

If you read the Blog you will have noticed that a few of us went to Snowshill Lavender Farm. Well they now have a field full of Sunflowers that are in full bloom. If your interested and want to get in for free then contact Barrie as he has four tickets for free entry (try saying that fast!), it normally costs £2.50 per adult, £1.50 for children.

Now for the once in a lifetime not to be missed opportunity (imagine a drum roll, big brass band intro, fireworks bursting into the sky.)

Some of you may remember Andy Milne. A while back he was a member of our club and Kingswood's then he moved up north. Well he now regularly runs Studio Tuition courses throughout the U.K. and is coming to Bristol to catch up with old friends and because he loves us so very much he's giving Reflex members the chance to do a three hour studio course, going from how to set up lights and how they work , the light shaping tools ,  metering from them and setting up a shot... working from a 1 light to 3 light set up...  and working with a subject. Running from Portraits to Artistic Nudes. The model can be male or female it depends on the preference of the group doing the course and Andy will supply the Lights,backgrounds, Location and other kit. All you would need to supply is your camera and a pen & paper if you want to take notes. Oh and don't forget your battery & memory card.

We've all seen the price of courses in the magazine's, so how much is this going to cost? £100? £150?  Nope its just £45 that's all.

If enough of us are interested he can run two courses both lasting three hours. The dates that have been suggested are somewhere between the 23rd to 30th August. With the timings probably 1200-1500 for the first course and 1530-1830 for the second session. The weekends would probably be the best bet as I know a lot of you work.
We will have to ask for a deposit of £20 and this will secure you a place. If you are definitely interested then please get in touch with me and I'll start the ball rolling.

If you want to see some of Andy's work it can be found at these three sites One Model Place , Purestorm or Model Mayhem.

The Berkeley Skirmish

This weekend, 24th 25th July, is the Berkeley Skirmish. Lots of people dressing up in heavy metal suits and trying to knock each others brains out with big pointy bits of metal. Its being held, as usual, at Berkeley Castle. Google Map Link) . Opening times for the skirmish are 11:00 - 17:00 hrs

Lots of things to do at the Skirmish including

• Knights jousting for the lady's favour.
• Demonstrations of mounted skill-at-arms.
• Two armies battling over disputed territory.
• The Lord's falconer will demonstrate the hunting skills of his lordship's hawks.
• The Master of Ordinance will show off the power of Berkeley's arsenal of guns through the ages.
• The children can experience games from the Middle Ages and you can all try your hand at archery.
• Wander through the soldiers' camps and chat with them about everything from weapons and armour to cooking or cannons.
• Visit the Artisans' Court where trades such as smithing, pottery and fletching will be displayed.
  You can talk to the artisans to gain greater insight into the skills required for these specialist crafts.
• And of course make time to visit the castle, all as part of your ticket price.

Mind you with the price they are asking for admission it had better be damn good. Prices are;
£14 for Adults, £7 Children (under 14 yrs), Free for Children under 5 yrs and £38 for a Family (2 adults & 2 children). Apparently you can get them cheaper if you book in advance HERE.

Also I want to thank Hanneke for doing such a great job adding events and other items to the Google Calender that we use to keep a list of everything we think might be worth a photo of! She does a much better job of it than me. You can find the Calender HERE.

Making Flickr Work for Us!

For those of you that don't know there has been discussion on better ways to use Flickr and we've come up with a few suggestions including changing the website to utilise the clubs pool of photographs. One of the things that is in the process of being created is a separate Flickr group, called "Reflex Camera Club - Admin". The aim of creating this group is so that we can invite photographs, from club members that have Flickr accounts, into it and thus make it easier for them to be used on the club's website. So far only a few of the club are members of this group and only those that are members will be able to choose photographs to be added into this group. The intent is not to invite all members into it but only have, at the most, all committee members in the group. That does NOT mean only a select few people will have photographs in the new group it just means that only a few people will be able to choose the pictures that go into it.

There is no intention at all to create an elitist group of members or to create anything that only a select few ever get to do. One of the aims is to use at least one picture from each club member.

Of course we can only use the pictures from members that are on Flickr. Hence the push to get people to join and upload pictures. By doing it this way we can have a tighter control of the images used on the front of the website. If you want to have your pictures on the new club website you will need a Flickr account as that is the only way that we will be using to add pictures to our website to start with.  Starting from Friday we will be inviting individual photographs into the new Flickr group. You will see a request for you to add a picture into the group. If you accept you are agreeing to us using it on the clubs website and for promotional purposes (not to make money but to increase the profile of the club). The copyright for any of the images we use will remain with you and if we want to use it for anything other than the website we will make every effort to contact you and check that it's O.K. to use it first.

We also have some other ways which we hope to use Flickr to promote the club and to get you more involved. I hope you will join us on Flickr. It really is easy to use and it lets you see and show more images than you otherwise would.

If you have any concerns or want to talk about this, joining Flickr or anything else, then let me know either by email or phone me on 0797 1283819.

This new group will also be used to hold copies of the club's competition winning photo's so that I can use them on the Blog, which for a photography club, is sadly lacking in photographs. If you have any ideas for the Blog then let me know them as well.

Mark

Lavender

Lavender, originally uploaded by Mark-Stone.

Last Saturday a few of us headed over to Snowshill Lavender Farm in Worcestershire. We got there around 8am only to find it didn't actually open until 10! So after a quick look along the road to see if there were any fields farther along that we could wander into Barrie spotted the farmer and we got his permission to climb over the gate and pay on the way out. As you can see it was a glorious day, blue sky, fluffy clouds and great sunshine. We were a bit late for the best light of the morning but it was still a great day and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. When we first went into the field it sounded just like being at one of the South African World Cup matches. There we so many Bee's buzzing around although you couldn't really see them. The other surprise was how there was virtually no smell from the lavender we were all expecting to be overwhelmed by the gorgeous perfume wafting up from the flowers but it wasn't to be.

I'm looking forward to our next outing on August 12th to Weston Super Mare. A reminder will go out closer to the date.

M.V. Jubilee

A reminder for those of you going on the boat trip. It's Thursday 8th and you need to meet up at 6pm for a 6.30pm departure. The boat is the M.V. Jubilee and is berthed at "The Canal Centre", Brassknocker Basin, Limpley Stoke, Bath (Google Map Link)

Directions (taken directly from their website) are;

By Car:
On the Bath / Warminster A36 turn at Viaduct Inn traffic lights towards Limpley Stoke on B3108. After 50 metres turn left into Visitor Centre car park.
By Bus:
Routes X4 and X5 from Bath, Frome, Trowbridge. Alight at Viaduct Inn and follow the signs to Visitor Centre.
The trip will take you to Avoncliff where it will stop for 35 mins and you can wander around to take pictures or just go into the pub. There's a fully licensed bar on board for those of you who don't wish to get off the boat and it also sells tea / coffee. If you want to see a bit more about the boat then you can visit the website.


Due to the timing of the boat trip, I can appreciate how difficult it will be for some people who will most probably be rushed due to leaving work and having to be there at 6pm, So there will be a selection of sandwiches available which Alison is also organising.


The cost of the trip will be £10.00 per person including sandwiches.  Below is a list of those that have confirmed.

If your on the list but can't go or if your not on the list but want to go then please let us know A.S.A.P.!


1.        Alison
2.        Steve Hallam
3.        Janet
4.        Kevin Spiers
5.        Carol Spiers
6.        Richard Price
7.        Vanessa Price
8.        Graham Grout
9.        Graham's wife
10.        Rosie Tomlinson
11.        Peter Tomlinson
12.        Barrie Tovey
13.        Pauline Tovey
14.        Ian Coombs
15.        David Waters
16.        Teresa Driscoll
17.        Arthur Belton
18.        Pat Belton
19.        Hanneke Ter Veen
20.        Simon (new member as of September - Hanneke's mate)
21.        Simon's wife
22.        Eddie House
23.        Roger (mate of Eddie)
24.        Jackie (Roger's wife)
25.        Roy Williams
26.        Joe & Wife 
Alec - possibly



If Ian falls in and you get a picture of it then there could be a pint in it for you! Sorry Ian I just can't help it.

I think that's it.  Have a great evening, take some pictures and send them to me so I can use them on the blog to embarrass people!