Last Monday was the first round of this year’s Walker Trophy for prints and the judge, Robyn Claydon, held quite a few back to choose from. Here are the results:
1st: Morning Light, Kolkata Flower Market by John Cross (12 points + 2 = 14 points) 2nd: Bryggen District, Bergen, Norway by David Hall (10 points + 2 = 12 points) 3rd: Fallow Bucks, Sparring by James Thatcher (8 points + 2 = 10 points) 4th: Oban Sunset by Naomi Furnace (6 points + 2 = 8 points)
Highly Commended: Mallard Lift Off by Thomas Barry, and Sheffield Sunset by Naomi Furnace.
Additionally held back: Praying Lion, and Resting Leopard, both by Sue Shickle; Three Fawns in Frosty Bracken by James Thatcher; Skegness Lifeguard Hut Out of Season by David Hall; Sunrise Over Leyton Marshes by John Cross; Dilemma and Horseshoe Lane, both by Mick Ralph.
A belated write up from Saturday’s Cambridge Camera Club 36-club competition.
First of all congratulations to Cambridge Camera Club for such a well run and efficient day with a magnificent selection of cakes for the tea break. I think Lemon Drizzle became my main source of nourishment that day. It was also great to see such a wide range of images from all the different clubs.
In the competition itself, we started off well. The first round was the black and white category and my image of ‘Vlore, Albania’ was entered. The judge liked the overall image but felt adding a dog or similar would have created additional interest. It scored 17. The average score for that round was 16 and this put us in joint 6th place with 10 other clubs – in the top half of the rankings.
Then we had the People round. In this, we entered Andy’s ‘Ella After Her Fall’, as the image came up there was a gasp from the audience. Photography is all about communication and this definitely hit the mark there. It is the sort of reaction you want from an image like that. The judge felt the skin of the woman on the left was too rich and warm in tone and he would have liked a slightly different crop. It scored 16, the average score for that round was 16 so we were still doing ok. We were now joint 10th with 6 other clubs and still in the top half of the scoreboard.
Then we got to Peter’s image ‘Seaside Dreams’. The photo before ours was a subtle minimalist coastal scene with birds on sandbanks between streams of water and the judge felt it was too simple for a PDI and that it did not have enough impact. I knew at that point we were in trouble. He did not say anything negative about Peter’s image other than he felt it would have worked better as a print or as part of a panel and that it lacked impact. He recognised the use of ICM (intentional camera movement) and did not criticise it technically. He gave it a 12 however. This was a very low mark for the image and more a reflection of his personal taste than the image itself. This, unfortunately, dropped us right down the leader board to joint 31st place.
Collecting ourselves we moved onto the Nature round, represented this time by Tom and his photo ‘Take off’. The standard in the nature comp was very high as it is a very popular genre and therefore we were slightly nervous. However, the judge liked the image although felt the crop was a little tight and he would have liked to have seen some more of the scenery around the bird. Tom scored a very respectable 17 which was the average mark for this class. There was no change however in our ranking.
Then we got to the open class with Giulia’s image ‘A quiet word’ which has done very well in other competitions. As you remember from Peter’s image he did not like simple quiet images and his comments were that the image looked as if it was a scene waiting to happen and needed more going on. The image scored a 14.
So at the end of the day, we finished 34th out of 36 but the marks were very close with only 7 points separating the bottom 18 clubs.
The final winner of the day way Cambridge, a well-deserved victory and a good reward for all the hard work they put into the day.
The 2018 course proved to be very popular with over 30 people attending, a number of whom still regularly attend and are active within the Society.
In 2019 the course will run from 26th June until 14th August – Monday evenings 7.45pm – 10pm.
It is highly likely to be oversubscribed so if you are interested in attending please sign up as soon as possible.
Click the link below to buy tickets online.
The course is both practical and theoretical with the simple aim that by the end of the course you will take better photographs.
Over the years hundreds of people have attended, enjoyed, and gained from taking part in the course.
We find that people attend for a whole variety of reasons with common reasons being;
Stuck in a rut of taking snapshots and wanting to take quality photos instead
Buying a dSLR and never taking it off the automatic setting
A rekindling of an interest in photography
Technique and science of photography
Photographic outings
Practical assignments
There will be at least 3 outings on weekends in the Walthamstow area. Additionally each week practical assignments will be set which relate to what has been covered that week in the course.
This practical work is optional and whilst reviewed this is done anonymously. Many people find this the best aspect of the course as it stretches photographic skills into areas they may not previously have taken.
We find that most people tend to own dSLR cameras but bridge or compact cameras are often owned. In the Society many people use bridge or compact cameras including competition winners.
The price of the course is only £75
This includes membership of the Society until September 2020 (worth £70!)
“I did not arrive with any particular preconceptions or specific expectations. Course has been very enjoyable and I am very happy with the content.”
“From my perspective the course has had a nice balance. I have sought to attend on Monday evenings and to participate in the field events.”
“As a novice I have learnt a great deal about photography and camera settings”
“I joined the 2013 Walthamstow Photographic Society Summer School. Prior to this my photography was limited to trying to get better holiday photos than my friends, and I had never taken the camera off auto.
“At the Summer School I learnt about the different settings on my camera, how to technically take a good photo, how to be creative taking photos, and most importantly from the homework I was encouraged to try photographing a whole range of different subjects pushing me out of my comfort zone.”
“Two years later, thanks to the start given at the Summer School, my photography and confidence has come on in leaps and bounds.”
“I enjoy entering the club competitions and interclub competitions and in 2015 I won the 1 in 100 interclub competition had 6 acceptances for the Southampton International Exhibition.” – Caroline Preece
Previous attendees have came from Walthamstow, Leyton, Leytonstone, South Woodford, Woodford, Wanstead, & Chingford.
Understanding your camera
Understanding all the knobs, buttons and symbols on your camera and what menu items mean.
How to use the Shutter Speed to get the correct exposure or use it to create creative images.
How using different Apertures impacts on what is in sharp focus in your images and how to use this Depth of Field for creative image making.
Understanding the Aperture/shutter speed relationship.
How to Focus and the different in-camera focusing modes available.
How to use ISO to cope with different lighting and photography conditions and for creative image making.
How to expose images correctly using all the above to improve your images and how to utilise this for creative effect.
How to use your camera’s light meter and the various options for in-camera light metering.
How to hold a camera and various ways of supporting one for different photographic tasks.
Holding the camera – low shutter speeds, technique for different lenses.
Exposure modes and what they are best for.
What lenses to use for what tasks and understanding focal lengths.
How to look after your equipment.
Composition
Understand the different rules that can help improve the composition of an image
Rule of thirds
Keeping horizons straight
Using other aids such as framing, lead in lines etc to improve your image
Understand what format to use; landscape, portrait, square, letterbox, panorama
Understanding how your position impacts on the final feel of the image
Knowing when to break the ‘rules’
Coping with changing environments
Moving objects.
Panning.
Difficult conditions
Digital files - editing, storage & printing
Managing your images digitally.
Moving your images from camera or card to computer
Understanding workflow and adopting a workflow model that works for you
File management including filing structure, tagging, naming and cataloguing images
Looking at software options; free, hobbyist and professional
Preparing your images for printing or other media
Presenting your images
Portrait photography
A overview on Portrait photography from a professional portrait photographers point of view.
Image editing
Digital Processing and image adjustment.
Basic adjustments in Windows or Mac Photos:
Levels.
Shadows and Highlights.
Brightness and Contrast.
Straightening.
Cropping.
Cloning.
Red Eye Elimination.
Resizing images.
Sharpening.
Lighting - indoor/outdoor
Understanding lighting and the effect it has on your final image.
How the quality of light changes though the day.
How different conditions may cause a Colour shifts and how to rectify this.
Working in adverse weather conditions that change the quality of light.
The 2017 course proved to be very popular with over 20 people attending, a number of whom still regularly attend and are active within the Society.
In 2017 the course will run from 25th June until 13th August – Monday evenings 7.45pm – 10pm.
It is highly likely to be oversubscribed so if you are interested in attending please sign up as soon as possible.
The course is both practical and theoretical with the simple aim that by the end of the course you will take better photographs.
Over the years hundreds of people have attended, enjoyed, and gained from taking part in the course.
We find that people attend for a whole variety of reasons with common reasons being;
Stuck in a rut of taking snapshots and wanting to take quality photos instead
Buying a dSLR and never taking it off the automatic setting
A rekindling of an interest in photography
Technique and science of photography
Photographic outings
Practical assignments
There will be at least 3 outings on weekends in the Walthamstow area. Additionally each week practical assignments will be set which relate to what has been covered that week in the course.
This practical work is optional and whilst reviewed this is done anonymously. Many people find this the best aspect of the course as it stretches photographic skills into areas they may not previously have taken.
We find that most people tend to own dSLR cameras but bridge or compact cameras are often owned. In the Society many people use bridge or compact cameras including competition winners.
The price of the course is only £79 and this includes membership of the Society until September 2019 (worth £50)
“I did not arrive with any particular preconceptions or specific expectations. Course has been very enjoyable and I am very happy with the content.”
“From my perspective the course has had a nice balance. I have sought to attend on Monday evenings and to participate in the field events.”
“As a novice I have learnt a great deal about photography and camera settings”
“I joined the 2013 Walthamstow Photographic Society Summer School. Prior to this my photography was limited to trying to get better holiday photos than my friends, and I had never taken the camera off auto.
At the Summer School I learnt about the different settings on my camera, how to technically take a good photo, how to be creative taking photos, and most importantly from the homework I was encouraged to try photographing a whole range of different subjects pushing me out of my comfort zone.
Two years later, thanks to the start given at the Summer School, my photography and confidence has come on in leaps and bounds.
I enjoy entering the club competitions and interclub competitions and in 2015 I won the 1 in 100 interclub competition had 6 acceptances for the Southampton International Exhibition.” – Caroline Preece
Syllabus
[toggles class=”yourcustomclass”]
[toggle title=”Understanding your camera” state=”closed”]
Understanding all the knobs, buttons and symbols on your camera and what menu items mean.
How to use the Shutter Speed to get the correct exposure or use it to create creative images.
How using different Apertures impacts on what is in sharp focus in your images and how to use this Depth of Field for creative image making.
Understanding the Aperture/shutter speed relationship.
How to Focus and the different in-camera focusing modes available.
How to use ISO to cope with different lighting and photography conditions and for creative image making.
How to expose images correctly using all the above to improve your images and how to utilise this for creative effect.
How to use your camera’s light meter and the various options for in-camera light metering.
How to hold a camera and various ways of supporting one for different photographic tasks.
Holding the camera – low shutter speeds, technique for different lenses.
Exposure modes and what they are best for.
What lenses to use for what tasks and understanding focal lengths.
How to look after your equipment.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Composition”]
Understand the different rules that can help improve the composition of an image
Rule of thirds
Keeping horizons straight
Using other aids such as framing, lead in lines etc to improve your image
Understand what format to use; landscape, portrait, square, letterbox, panorama
Understanding how your position impacts on the final feel of the image
Knowing when to break the ‘rules’
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Coping with changing environments”]
Moving objects.
Panning.
Difficult conditions
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Digital files – storing, editing and printing”]
Managing your images digitally.
Moving your images from camera or card to computer
Understanding workflow and adopting a workflow model that works for you
File management including filing structure, tagging, naming and cataloguing images
Looking at software options; free, hobbyist and professional
Preparing your images for printing or other media
Presenting your images
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Portrait photography”]
A overview on Portrait photography from a professional portrait photographers point of view.
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