10x10

Now if your a member of the club you probably looked at the title of next weeks meeting and wondered just what the hell it meant. I suppose that we really should explain it to you although it really is very simple. All we want is for some of you to volunteer to show around 10 images that you’ve taken and give a little talk about them. Ideally the talk and showing the images should last about 10 minutes. Hence the title 10x10. If you don’t feel like talking then maybe you could just show us the pictures. Please don’t be shy about this, after all you put your images up on Flickr for people to admire so why not put them up on the screen at the club, sit back and enjoy the “ooh’s”, “ahh’s” and “Wow’s” as each image is shown!

You can either bring the pictures in on a memory stick or, preferably, send them in via Dropbox. Go on give it a go you know you want to.

Back in the Day

 

This was the club in 2008. Three years later we now have over 45 men & women that regularly come along to meetings. From 10 year old children to 60+ grandparents. They range in ability from some that have only just started to those that have been taking photographs for most of their lives.

I’ve been going through the club’s laptop to see what pictures are on it in case there is anything that I can use to blackmail club members. Unfortunately, for me, there isn’t but I have discovered some photographs from the 2008 prize giving and for the lottery funding which we successfully applied for in that year and if you’d like to see them just go here.

From Right to Left; Joe Scudamore; David Walters; Roy Williams; Kevin Spiers; Alec Williams; Steve Hallam; Pete Tomlinson; Rosie Tomlinson; Theresa Driscoll; Ian Coombs; Larry Whetton; Arthur Belton; and unfortunately I don’t know the names of the last two people.

Round 3 results

The results of Round 3 of our Open Competition are in. Thanks to Nick Ball for taking the time to judge the competition for us.
Congratulations to Arthur Belton on winning the Print section and Alison Davies for her first ever win in the Digital Projected.
Thanks to everyone that took part and congratulations if you managed to get in the scoring. Scroll down to see the winning pictures.
I’ve done a few things differently this time. If you have a Flickr account then I’ve made it so that if you click your name you get taken to your Flickr ‘stream (if you have one and even if you haven’t posted anything to it for ages). If you have your winning picture on your Flickr stream then clicking that picture will take you to it on your Flickr ‘stream. If it’s not on your Flickr then you will get taken to the Clubs Flickr ‘stream.
I’m also trying out a new, and hopefully better, way of laying out the pictures. So If something doesn’t seem to be right with the layout then please let me know.

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Winner Digital Projected: Naughty Girls Night Out Alison Davies	Winner Print: Bag, Towel & Shoes Arthur Belton
2nd Digital Projected: Ceratophrys ornata Mark Stone	2nd Print: Dee Barrie Tovey
3rd Digital Projected: Ice Tree Richard Price	3rd Print: Contemplation Richard Price
Highly Commended Digital Projected: Art Gallery Barrie Tovey	Highly Commended Print: Leopard Barrie Tovey
Highly Commended Digital Projected: Sky Dance Julie Coombs	Commended Print: Stand & Deliver Alison Davies
Commended Digital Projected: Flasher Richard Price

This week you get two guest speakers for the price of one!

This week we have not one but two guest speakers! They are going to dazzle you with their "Conventional and Digital Dabblings"!
We need to start either dead on time or a little early for Keith Cooper and Brian Swinyard to get through the wealth of photographs they want to show. But not only will you get to see lots of great prints they are also going to be giving a slide show not digital projected images. Which will be great as long as Roy can dig the projector out from the back of his cupboard!
If you would like to get some idea of the work that will be displayed you can visit Brian Swinyard's website. So come along and have a great time viewing some fantastic images.
Please try to turn up a little bit earlier than normal as we would like to start promptly at 1930 as there as so many images to get through.

Vivian Maier Street Photographer

You’ve probably never heard of her, and maybe you never would of if you hadn’t read this blog. Who was she? Well her working life was spent as a Nanny to various families in the USA. In her spare time however she was a prolific street photographer. The reason hardly anyone, until recently, has never heard of her is because she didn’t show anyone her photo’s! A few years ago a storage locker was repossessed and inside it they found boxes and boxes of negatives. These were put up for auction and one guy bought one of the boxes for $400. Inside he found 30,000 negatives. He scanned a load of them and then decided to try and contact other people who had bought boxes of negatives and buy them from those people as well He now has around 100,000 negatives and a lot of those are still on the rolls undeveloped! The video I’ve posted above is an interview with the person who bought the box. If you want to see more of the pictures or see more videos (including videos of the pictures in the form of a slideshow) then just follow this link which is a YouTube search for her name. It’s worth sitting and looking through the ones of her pictures as she took some amazing shots. It’s sad that in 2008 she slipped on some ice, hit her head and died a few months later. She was in her 80’s.

Happy Birthday Barrie

It’s Barrie’s Birthday today. I’m sure he won’t mind me showing you all that he has a soft and gentle side. This was taken at a lavender farm and he thought the flower would look lovely if he put it in his hair. Unfortunately he’d forgotten he doesn’t have enough of it left! Have a great day mate!

Shooting the Hollywood Stars

I don’t tend to watch TV very much but this Saturday there’s a show I might actually sit down and watch, hell I may even record it. Below is the description lifted straight from the BBC webpage. Here’s the link to the shows BBC2 site. It’s being repeated on BBC HD Sun 9 Jan @ 01:20
BBC2 20:00 Saturday 8th Jan.

Shooting the Hollywood Stars

 

Rankin, the UK's leading fashion photographer, reveals the rich history of Hollywood photography and how its most influential and enduring images were created. From Hollywood's golden age, epitomised by gorgeous images of screen goddesses Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to brooding shots of Marlon Brando; from the unparalleled allure of pictures of Marilyn Monroe to iconic black and white stills of Charlie Chaplin, Rankin immerses himself in the art of the Hollywood portrait and explores the vital role it has played in both the movie business and our continuing love affair with movie stars.
To understand how the image makers of Hollywood created these iconic photographs, Rankin recruits a cast of leading Hollywood actors to help him recreate some of the most important - including Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin); Selma Blair (Legally Blonde, Cruel Intentions), British actor Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters, Dylan Thomas's biopic The Edge of Love); actor extraordinaire Michael Sheen (The Damned United, Frost/Nixon), and living Hollywood legend Jane Russell.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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!