In the first part of this lecture Janey showed us a whole range of different textures that she has collected and
showed the images that she has produced using the textures.
In the second half she demonstrated in
Photoshop how to actually add the textures to the images including some images that club members had sent her
during the first half of the evening. She also showed how to produce you own set of unique brushes.
Many
members said that this was probably the best lecture that heyhad seen. If you'd like to see some of Janey's work
she has a Youttube channel
This week Club member Phil Hadley shared with us the different projects that he has undertaken during lockdown.
Being restricted to taking photographs very close to home Phil set up a number of different projects in his
garage and he shared his images with us.
Among the different projects undertaken were Spirograph images involving a swinging torch, Soap Bubbles, Water
droplets, Christmas lights and Oil on water. Very interesting and very informative.
Composition by Sue Clarke
Our latest Zoom meeting featured a return visit by Sue Clarke from North Wales who recently judged one of our
Open competitions. This was an absolutely excellent lecture leading us throough many compositional 'rules',
their origins and how they are used. Many of these 'rules' are older than photography and Sue showed how they
were used by artists down the ages. Sue also explained how and when the 'rules' should be broken. This
talk is highly recommended by most members of the club that attended
the lecture.
Monochrome Competition 2021
We recently held our annual Monochrome Competition which was very ably judged, via Zoom, by Staffordshire
based wildlife photographer, ecologist and conservationist Scott Latham who was very complimentary about the
standard of images entered.
Lone Beached Boat by Steve Finch
The Scarecrow by Baden Bowen
In an entertaining evening Scott discussed the merits of each image, awarding marks out of twenty, and
holding
seven images back. He finally decided that the runner up was 'The Scarecrow' by Baden Bowen and that the
winner was Steve Finch's image 'Lone Beached Boat'.
The Art of Macro by Tony North
Tony joined us all the way from Salford via Zoom for a very entertaining and informative evening to discuss his
approach to the art of macro photography.
As well as showing us several of his very good images Tony gave us several useful tips about his approach and
the methods he uses to obtain the images.
Tony North's Macro Site
The Art of Composite Photography by Robert and Sharon Prenton-Jones
Our guest speakers joined us from North Wales via Zoom for a very entertaining evening were Robert and Sharon
Prenton-Jones who each spoke for half of the evening on their respective works using Composite
Photography. They spoke about how they take their respective background images for compositing before they
add their main subject and gave some very good tips on how to seamlessly composite the layers to create a very
believable final image. As has been stated before, if it hadn't been for lockdown and the surge in Zoom
meetings we would probably never have seen this talk, which would have been a real loss. Examples of their
work can be seen at :-
Prenton-Jones Photography Site.
Orchids of Kent by Ian Hadingham
We were treated to a very interesting talk about the
orchids found in Kent by Club Member Ian Hadingham. Ian proved to be
very knowledgeable about the orchids, where they could be found and
how to photograph them. Very interesting!
1st Open February 2021
We have now held our first Open Competition of the 20/21 season
via a Zoom session. In some ways having competitions judged via
Zoom is advantageous in that we can have competitions judged by a
wider set of judges. This proved the case last night when our
competition was very ably judged by Susan Clark all the way from
Wales.
Sunrise Swimmer by Dee Hogwood
Out of the Dust by Chris Allen
The Stare by John Swanborough
Having had the images sent to her beforehand gave Susan time to
edit copies of a selection of the images to demonstrate how her
suggested edits would improve the images in the way she described.
She had also taken the time to lookup via the internet the
locations where some of the images were taken.
Susan marked the images as she commented and the three images
shown all scored the maximum of 20 points. We found Susan to be a
very competent judge and would certainly welcome her back in the
future.
