Photography Group August Meeting

The Group met at 10:15 on 14th August with the theme ‘Shadows’.

Anjie Sargeant and Teresa Twitchell sent their apologies. Only 5 people attended.

Member’s responses to the theme were mainly exterior pictures. Overall best pictures were John Hawke’s ‘Alium’  and Rosemary Crumplin’s ‘Ghostly Lady’ – a tied result because of low attendance numbers!

                                  Ghostly Lady – Rosemary Franklin

 

                              Alium – John Hawke

September’s theme is ‘Black and White’.

John Hawke gave some advice on camera settings on a subject that could produce very bland results. Discussing the exposure triangle, he emphasised various settings to make the photo ‘pop’ – mainly by using a wide aperture (low f-stop) to bring out the subject against a blurred background. He also suggested that the theme was best suited to simple shots. Landscapes were best avoided unless one could accentuate shadows to enhance the ‘mood’ of the picture. He suggested that the menu be set for monochrome – this has the advantage that the screen would also be monochrome and the aperture/speed changes would more accurately reflect the final result. Finally he suggested that, with the camera set on ‘Manual’, it would let the photographer to get the depth of field and contrast required.

Photography Group July Meeting

The Group met at 10:15 on 10th July with the theme ‘Ruins or Decay’.

Pam and Mike Liberson and Teresa Twitchell sent their apologies. Only 4 people attended.

Member’s responses were varied with photographs of both ruins and decay in their portfolios. Overall best picture was John Clark’s ‘Derelict Caravan’  – a serendipity shot!

August’s theme is ‘Shadows’.

The meeting was foreshortened because John Hawke had an afternoon commitment.

There was some debate regarding holding meetings in July/August in future as it was a holiday season – it was decided that, as most members took their holidays outside of prime season, to continue the meetings throughout the summer.

Photography Group June Meeting

The Group met at 10:15 on 12th May with the theme ‘Wildlife in Nature’.

Teresa Twitchell sent her apologies.

Member’s responses were varied with photographs of birds, animals and insects – most were of very high quality. Overall best picture was Anjie Sargeants’s ‘Moorhen Chick’ that emphasised its huge feet.

July’s theme is ‘Ruins or Decay’.

The meeting was foreshortened to allow a presentation on Astrophotography by Trevor Lloyd. (arranged by Rosemary Crumplin) Trevor started by describing his telescope which was on display. The maintelescope was a Newton Reflector that used a concave mirror to collect the light that reflected on a focusing mirror to an eyepiece/camera. Using a motor-driven equatorial mount synchronised to the Earth’s rotation and a dedicated computer to drive the telescope to objects of interest. The telescope assembly was calibrated by focusing on the Pole star to establish the GPS position – the computer could then be programmed to move the assembly to any one of >2000 objects of interest. During a lively Q & A session, Trevor revealed that his average exposure time for the attached digital camera was between 2 and 3 minutes with several exposures being taken that were the focus-stacked and blended to produce the final photograph. He overcame the (high) Andover light pollution by observing at 1 a.m. onwards until about 4 a.m. when the street lights were switched off!

He finished with a selection of his photographs which ranged from global clusters through to planets including galaxies, nebulae, comets and the Milky Way. All were of excellent quality and evoked many comments from the members present.