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.