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THE LENSPublished bi-monthly by the

AUSTRALIAN PORTFOLIO PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Vol. 70 No. 2 March/April, 2014

Riding Foam by James Heriot - Circle 6, Folio 620

Crossing the Bar by Peter Robinson - Circle 7, Folio 633

A few weeks ago I tried to take moon pictures. Notordinary ones, but of the moonrise during a total eclipse. Ihad a wonderful position with the moon rising across thebay.

Unfortunately low cloud was present on the horizon,and by the time it rose over the cloud the total eclipse hadfinished and the sun was just starting to strike the edge.But it is not this lunar event that is really interesting.

This week I read an article on the internet aboutpictures from the Lunar Orbiters taken in 1966. They weretaken on 70 mm film from around 30 miles above the lunarsurface, processed in the satellite and scanned into stripscalled framelets.

The pictures were in high fidelity on the tapes, butthen copied from projection screens onto paper. Thepictures were used to identify possible landing sites, andthe tapes stored in boxes and forgotten.

Happily they were not thrown out, finally finishing instorage and well kept.

Engineers, in 2005, recovered the tapes and were ableto restore them. This involved finding the old tape drivesand rebuilding them into operational condition. Some taskwith 40 years old equipment.

After much hard work these framelets werereassembled using Photoshop, ultimately the pictures werenow in much greater detail than those originally obtained.

While I have said in the past the original negative isthe most valuable item to keep in this case the negativeswere lost when the satellites were finally crashed onto themoon.

Happily the original engineers had done an excellentjob with their scanning and this secondary record had beenmaintained, giving us top quality pictures taken long ago.Probably these are the oldest digital pictures in existence.

If anyone wishes to look at the article it is athttp://www.wired.com/2014/04/lost-lunar-photos-recov-ered-by-great-feats-of-hackerdom-developed-at-a-mcdon-alds. (A Google search for "lost lunar photos" may beeasier than typing in this long address.)

I received a note from Don Estell the other day say-ing that he must resign from Treasurer, CompetitionSecretary and Secretary of Circle 6.

He has performed these tasks efficiently for manyyears, and I know he has had health problems recently.Not forgetting membership of 54 years.

Thank you Don for your excellent service to APPSover this period. Especially for putting your hand up a fewyears back when a Treasurer was needed.

So we urgently need a new Treasurer and alsosomeone to look after the annual competitions. If anymember believes they can help by taking on one or both ofthese tasks please contact either myself or Secretary JennyDavidson.

As a result of this we realised that we need to haveelections, this month. So a notice will be placed in thisnewsletter advising of the election, and nomination paperswill be circulated to all members later in May with thisissue of The Lens.

Please, would you all give a consideration to thesenominations, or in reality volunteering, to assist keepingthe APPS running.

Some members of the Committee have held the samepositions for many years, and while I not having spoken tothem I believe some are willing to continue.

But perhaps offering to take over one of the tasks for

a year or so would be welcomed, or offering to assist in therole, with a view of taking it over in the future. Rememberif we lose some of these valuable members then our veryexistence will be in doubt.

If you have any queries on this please do not hesitateto contact either Secretary jenny or myself.

Jim Thyer (Hon. President)

The Lens - March/April, 2014

President’s Pen

Divisional Secretary’sReport

We are well into the new year but no new members toreport.

Circle changes: There is going to be a change to theway that Circle 20 works. Because C20 is a slide circleand members were running short of slides, it was thoughtthat when Folio 600 came, in a few months time, the Circlewould close.

But now all members have agreed to keep goingunder a different format. There will only be one folio incirculation and it will be slides or prints. So, if you areinterested in receiving a mixed folio every four months, Iam sure Stephen would be glad to hear from you.

I have been advised of the passing of Peter Walton. Inrecent times he has only been receiving The Lens.

Peter has been a member of APPS for a long time. Iam not sure, but I think he may have been a member whenI joined in 1963; I know his name goes back a long way. Idon’t know what circle Peter was in, but it was not one thatI took part in.

Notice is hereby given to members that a postalballot shall be held in the month of May for

Committee positions. Members may nominate themselves for any

position.A nomination form is included with this issue of

The Lens

ValeIt is with regret that I have to inform you that Peter

Walton passed away on January 20, 2014.Many years ago he was an active member in one

of the Circles but I’m not sure which one.He had a stroke on January 12 and then went into

Cardiac Arrest within a few hours. I was at his bedsideduring the days but during the early hours of the 20th hehad another stroke and because he was so weak fromthe first stroke and Cardiac Arrest he wasn’t able to berevived.

He hadn’t taken very much interest inphotography over the last few years and only tookphotos for his own enjoyment. We both belong to theFinley & District Camera Club where I have beensecretary for the past 28 years and Peter always enjoyedthe club photographic outings if he was interested inwhere they were held. He always enjoyed reading TheLens.

He was awarded an SSAPS by APS some yearsago for his involvement with photography but healways maintained he took photographs for his ownenjoyment so he never entered very many photograph-ic competitions. Marie Walton


Members Gallery . . .

Abandoned by Jeff Monro - Circle 2, Folio 734

Fremantle Hall by Don Estell - Circle 6, Folio 618

Kronach, Germany by Wolfram Borgis - Circle 7, Folio 638

Girl in the Mist by Jenny Davidson - Circle 9, Folio 117


Circle 2 -10” X 8” B & W PrintSecretary - Keith Smith-

Folio 7401st Keith Smith Rachel2nd Tony Lockerbie Clock Tower3rd Alan Morcom Oscr W

Folio 7411st Peter Robinson Settlers Fire Place2nd Alan Morcom Out of Here3rd Jim Thyer Old Road Grader

Point score: Peter Robinson 8, Tony Lockerbie 5, JimThyer 6, Alan Morcom 4, Keith Smith 8.

Keith

Circle 7 - General Colour SlidesSecretary - Judy Heath-Folio 649

1st Peter Robinson Smokey ChimneyWolfram Borgis Berlin, Town Hall Passage

2nd John North Young Engineer #23rd Ian Bock Eilean Donau #2

Folio 6501st John North White Rhino calf & Mother2nd Wolfram Borgis Berlin, Town Hall & TV

Tower3rd Judy Heath Granite Landscape

Ian Bock Tintern Abbey WindowFolio 651

1st Judy Heath Globe and Trellis2nd Wolfram Borgis Town Hall Kopernik (Berlin)3rd John North Spider Fixations

Folio 6521st Wolfram Borgis Powerplant2nd Judy Heath Pinnacles Landscape3rd Ian Bock Lyn Twin

Folio 6531st John North Telstra Tower2nd Ian Bock Half Dome & a Half3rd Judy Heath Tassie in Spring

The folios are moving round OK. Rita England istaking leave of absence for a while as she has too much onher plate. She is missed and hope things ease up for herand she can come back. Congratulations to Ian Bock onbeing awarded the OAM for service to the Arts through arange of photographic associations and the community.

Judy

Circle 9 - Any type of printSecretary: John Pratt-

It's good to see our newest member, HelenaArmstrong, scoring so well. It is also pleasing that allmembers of the Circle have registered points in the currentyear.

Results from recent folios are:Folio 135

1st Helena Armstrong I’m Busted2nd John Pratt Rakaia River3rd Pat Murray Fishing Boat Reflections

Folio 136 Set subject - ‘What is it?’1st Peter Hunter Double D2nd Pat Murray Colour Swirls3rd Helena Armstrong What is it?

John

Circle Reports

Circle 20 - 35mm Colour Slides - GeneralSecretary - Stephen Straube-

No report - last folio #595Stephen

Circle 6 - General Colour SlidesSecretary - Don Estell-No report - last folio #627

Circle 21 - 35mm Nature Colour Slides/PrintsSecretary - Dorothy Deverell- Folio 571

1st Wolfram Borgis St Bararra2nd Peter Robinson Drought3rd Judy Heath Webbed Thistle

Folio 5721st Dorothy Deverell Give Nature an Inch2nd Peter Robinson Ostrich3rd Wolfram Borgis View of Grosglakner

Folio 5731st Peter Robinson Burrawang

Judy Heath Tenaya Lake2nd Wolfram Borgis Fritollaria3rd Rita Ward Gum Blossom

All members well and keeping folios flowingsmoothly.

Dorothy

Circle 24 - Circle SecretariesSecretary - Rita England-

Folio 1091st Jenny Davidson Vivid Light

Judy Heath Grasstree Silhouette3rd Jim Thyer Rosella

Since last folio John Pratt has been tripping aroundand doing a lot of walking in New Zealand and hasrecorded some great shots to show us. Jim Thyer has hada trip to the Flinders Ranges and another to Birdsvillewhere he saw James Morrison and his band perform.

Rita

Circle 14 - Any Type of PrintSecretary - Margaret Gilet-

Folio 1791st Una Brown Alpaca’s Pedicure2nd Margaret Gilet Smart Style3rd Jusy Heath Wistful

Folio 1801st Jean Trollope Iron Lady

Lex A Bit RoughUna Brown SnailMargaret Gilet The Power & the Glory

2nd Wayne Taylor Overhead Bubbles3rd Judy Heath Gullendah Sunset

I don't know if this is a competition landmark, but wehave four members sharing first place in Round 180.

Circulation has been a bit slower this time - maybedue to the Easter holiday season. Over the past few monthsthree of our octogenarians have had significant birthdays.It must be the love of photography that leads to happy,active seniors. Keep up the good work ladies. Ill health hascaused Wayne to take a little time out. We all wish him aswift and complete recovery.

Margaret


A.P.P.S. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:PRESIDENT: Jim Thyer,6 Beach Close, Point Lonsdale, Vic., 3225 03 5258 3213

e-mail: [email protected]

GENERAL SECRETARY: Jenny Davidson,6 Yackerboon Place, Orange, NSW, 2800 02 6361 2792


TREASURER:ONE WANTED

DIVISIONAL SECRETARY: Rita England,East Street, Ulamambri, NSW, 2357 02 6842 7846

EDITOR - “THE LENS”: Graeme Collins,24 Church Street, Quirindi, NSW, 2343 02 6746 1147


STATIONERY OFFICER & CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS:Keith Smith,10 Owl Place, Ingleburn, NSW, 2565 02 9605 1164

e-mail: [email protected] SECRETARY:

ONE WANTED

HISTORIAN: John Pratt,16 Oakfield Ave., Clarence Park, SA, 5034 08 8371 1934

e-mail: [email protected] OFFICER:

One wanted

WEBMASTER: Wal Phelps, PO Box 2A, Fairfield Heights, NSW, 2165 02 9604 3542www.australianpps.wordpress.com

Circle Reports continued

General Secretary’s ReportHi Everyone, As I write this you have probably already read that we

are calling for nominations for all positions, this issomething we should do every two years all committeemembers stand down and generally make themselvesavailable for re-election.

However this time we are looking for a new Treasurerand Competition Secretary as we have received noticefrom Don Estell that he will not be standing for re-election.

Don has been a member of our organisation for 54years and during that time has worked hard for the society.

He will be sorely missed by the committee buthopefully we will still see his images in some of the folios.

I would also like to see someone come forward andnominate for Secretary. I commenced the position inNovember 2007, which is not a very long time consideringthe long term commitments made by people like Don andRita England who has been Divisional Secretary for many,many years and of course our President Jim who has heldthat position for 17 years.

Often a new committee brings with it new ideas andalthough our organisation does not have any problems weare not growing or changing direction, perhaps we are allhappy with the way things are run, we have made somechanges.

The major event in recent years was the swift changesdigital imaging made to all aspects of photography but weseem to have made the transition without too much fuss.

We don't have big expenditure or big membershipfees but we still seem to manage to balance the budget, ofcourse this is also due to the fact all work for the society isvoluntary so our only expenses are The Lens and theAnnual Competition and trophies.

All organisations struggle to fill the positions on theexecutive. I know the FCC the NSW state bodyrepresenting Photographers is having difficulty in seekingpeople to take on positions, and has had some executivepositions vacant for some time.

The APS also has difficulty in filling all positions soI guess we have been lucky with so many people willing toremain on the committee and support the society. Now itis your turn to give it a go.

If you would like to contact me and find out what thepositions involve please call, email or write to me, if I amnot sure I will find out for you, I can tell you the Secretary's

position is not a difficult one. I write this report every two months, we used to have

a meeting which only involved contact by email withcommittee members and of recent times we have only hadcommittee contact when it was needed, perhaps a newsecretary is needed so better communication betweencommittee members could be maintained.

I hope to hear from some of you in the near futureregarding executive positions, until then see you next time.

Jenny

COPY DEADLINEArticles are copyright by the contributors but can be reproduced in other Camera Club

newsletters provided that acknowledgment is made both to the author and to “TheLens”.

If the words “Copyright by” followed by the author’s name isprinted after the article, the author should be asked for permission

if reproduction is desired.All submissions for the next issue of THE LENS

May/June, should be forwarded toThe Editor, Graeme Collins, no later than

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2524 Church Street, Quirindi, NSW, 2343

OR e-mail: [email protected]

Circle 26 - Commercial/Home Processed Small Colour Prints

Secretary - Helen Mackenzie-

Folio 333 “Challenge”Photo of a room in almost darkness

1st Martin Finzel Dark Room2nd Linda Robinson Twilight3rd Colin Barnes Darkroom

Folio 3341st Martin Finzel Cuppa2nd George Phelps The Old & the New3rd Linda Robinson Catch

Our Challenge rounds, prove very interesting,interpretation individually, is certainly amazing withinitself. Great to see members fully participating with theChallenges. Keep up the good work.

Helen


Surfers by Colin Barnes - Circle 26, Folio 319

Sunny Gorge by Judy Heath - Circle 21, Folio 559




Arrival by Steam by Jim Thyer - Circle 2, Folio 731

Old Windmill by Tony Lockerbie - Circle 2, Folio 730

Beach Landing by Margaret Gilet - Circle 14, Folio 162

Ripe for Harvest by Pat Murray- Circle 9, Folio 126

Rusty Ripples by John Pratt - Circle 20, Folio 581

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