fjkf hills camera club october, 2005 issue 2 at castle ... · ivan finlay 4 focus on bokeh 5 tulip...
TRANSCRIPT
Page 1
FJKF
October, 2005
Issue 2
HILLS CAMERA CLUB AT CASTLE HILL RSL
Special Interest
Articles:
• New
Website
• Robert’s
Ramblings
• Tulip Farm Pics
Individual Highlights:
Club News 2
FCC & Night Tips 3
Ivan Finlay 4
Focus on Bokeh 5
Tulip Farm 7
M/Profile 9
Berowra Valley 10
Point Scores 11
Contact Us 12
President’s Report
Welcome to the month of October.
Our outing to Canberra and the Tulip
Farm last month was the highlight and a
great weekend. The tulips in both the
Tulip Farm and Floriade were a great
challenge, to get that perfect shot.
Although it rained, (who am I to suggest
that it was inconvenient) we still made the
best of the day after a fabulous lunch and
went to the National Museum of Australia
where the architecture was designed for
photographers to have fun. Every shape,
shadow and angle lends itself to great
architectural and pattern photographs.
Discussions about various aspects of
photography and questions and answers
throughout the day enlivened the
afternoon and added to certainly my store
of knowledge throughout the day.
With pouring rain and no prospect of
sunset where we could see it, we headed
off to dinner, later moving to one of the
cabins to immerse ourselves in the
sparkling company and free flowing
interchanges. A very enjoyable night. The
Tulip farm has been covered later in the
newsletter so catch up with details there.
Please make a suggestion of where to go
next year for our weekend away. See if
we can top this one.
The selections have been made for the Federation of Camera Clubs (FCC) Interclub. Unfortunately we missed out on a few peoples’ entries as their mounts were too big or they had either stuck their certificates, or written their names directly onto the back of their photos. These then show through. There were also a few with a lot of scratches, dirty marks etc. For competition the prints really need to be pristine. However that said we have put some great images in and we’ll see how we go. Don’t forget to go to the FCC if you are able. I will see you there. Next meeting, the night outing meeting at the tennis courts behind C2K at the RSL upper car park will be an interesting night with the details sealed in an envelope. Be there to see the project for the night, rain or other wise. APSCON (the Australian Photographic Society Convention) is starting on 15
th
October, which I will be attending. See you at our next meeting.
Margaret Fagg
Page 2
FJKF
CLUB NEWSCLUB NEWSCLUB NEWSCLUB NEWS Next Meeting 11th October: Night Outing (The photographs from this outing will be judged at the Nov. 8 meeting.) Workshop will meet at the tennis court end of the C2K car park at the Castle Hill RSL at 7.30pm. Set subject for the photos will be announced then. We will all receive details of what to take on the night. 25th October: Digital Photography, Lecture. ‘The Myths of Digital’ This meeting is to demystify Digital Photography. Keith Gillard will be discussing digital Photography and the digital workflow in a down-to-earth way, taking away the mystique and helping to establish a good working knowledge of digital cameras and their interfaces, such as data bases for storage and software programs for photo adjustment. New Digital Users Group - 1st Meeting 15th November 2005 For those of our members who are relatively new to the digital world of photography we have started a new group to help with information about digital cameras and the management of the images once they have been acquired. This will be of benefit also to those who are using film but scanning their images for manipulation and printing at home. This is intended to be an informal group where members can ask questions or request assistance from the more experienced members of the club. Keith Gillard will kick off the first of these meetings. The meetings will be held at the RSL Club on the 3rd Tuesday of the month unless notified otherwise. Committee News We now have three Assistant Program Coordinators. They are Elizabeth Goff, Max Carter and James Watkins. New Web Site We are proud to announce a new website for the club, www.hillscameraclub.org.au. You will find all of the latest information on the site including newsletters, programs and outing information. You will also find club members photos on the site, keeping the photos on the site up to date largely depends on club members’ efforts. At this stage being a new site we have only a small selection of photos. Uploading photos is quite easy and can be done by anyone with access to the Internet and digital files of their photos. A photographer login and registration page are available, once registered you may upload your photos. Instructions are on the site, if you require help there is a support page that you can use to get the webmasters attention. If you want to upload your photos and do not have access to the site or a digital version of your photo please ask someone that can scan it for you. Files being uploaded need only be 400dpi wide. If you do not know how to change the size of your photos that is no problem, the site will do it for you and delete the original file from the server. We require your commitment to keep the site freshly updated with photos. We would like all photos that receive awards to go onto the site. As well as the new site there are many new email addresses for committee members, which you can find at the end of this newsletter or on the website support page. Please send me any comments on the site and what you would like to see added, it is a work in progress. Robert Hoehne [email protected].
Page 3
FJKF
COMPETITIONS AND EXHIBITIONS
FCC INTERCLUB 2005
Hosted by Canterbury Bankstown Leagues Club.
SUNDAY 30th
OCTOBER. Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Address: 26 Bridge Road, Belmore 2192
1st Speaker: Alan Davies, Curator of Photography at the NSW State Library.
Judges: Barbara Bryan, Daniel Chan, Ray Finneran.
Sixth annual National Creative Competition: Entry form available from
www.northsidecreativephotography.org.au Entries close Friday 11th
November, 2005.The only rule is that the main elements in the work must be
images captured by the author and must be prints (slides & digital files cannot
be accepted). Cash prizes to be won. Judge is Len Brown.
Exhibitions
Our Community – Great Place to Be at National Museum of Australia
(Canberra) 30th June to January 2006.
Night Photography Tips
1. A tripod is essential for night photography. It is extremely hard to
hold your camera still for the length of time needed for a good
night exposure.
2. Use a cable release if you have one or use the self-timer, it’s a
good alternative.
3. You definitely need a little torch, for adjusting and reading your
camera settings.
4. Best night photographs are made after sunset but before total
darkness. Photo here on the right is a little on the dark side.
5. Use a higher speed film or adjust the ISO setting higher on your
digital camera to allow the use of a faster shutter speed. Some
digital cameras show higher than usual noise levels for long
exposures, see if your digital has noise reduction.
6. If you’re a beginner, use Night Program. This mode will adjust
your camera settings, tuning it to low light conditions.
7. Long exposure time is needed to compensate for the low light. On
a sunny day you may only need the shutter to remain open for
1/250th or 1/125
th of a second, but in low light conditions may
require decreased shutter speeds of 1/15th of a second or longer.
8. Don’t forget about the moon, and include it in your photos.
9. Bracket your shots. Take one exposure as your meter has
determined, then make others up to one stop over and one stop
under. Out of the three one will be perfect.
10. Once again, have fun and if you’re going to an isolated area, go
with a friend, it’s DARK.
Berowra Valley Regional Park 28/8/2005
Page 4
FJKF
Lecture with IVAN FINLAY Landscapes lecture with Ivan Finlay on the 13th September was very inspiring and very educational. He showed us samples of his own photography. He had images of different formats like Landscapes, Buildings Environment, Abstract, Landscapes with people in them and also beautiful images with leading lines in them. We saw how his work has progressed through the years, his advice was to move from the ‘chocolate box’ photography and make them more dynamic images with impact.
“Landscapes should have
a foreground, middle
ground and a background”
– Ivan Finlay
Ivan was past President and current Vice President of North Sydney Leagues Club Photographic Society, also served on FCC NSW and Sydney International Exhibition of Photography committees. Recently won FIAP Gold Medal in Maitland International Salon of Photography and 3rd place in the FCC Top Shot. Plus many acceptances in National and International Photographic competitions.
Photos by Robert Hoehne
Page 5
FJKF Focus on Bokeh
Also spelt boke, how do you pronounce it? Bo as in boat and ke as in kept. What does it mean? The word is Japanese and is often used to describe absent-mindedness in the elderly. In photographic terms it has been adopted to describe the out of focus areas of a photo. Some lenses are said to have good bokeh, others bad. Lets first look at the characteristics of bokeh and then see why some are considered good and others bad. Bokeh can be most easily seen in circular out of focus highlights.
Figure 1. The good, OK and ugly, samples of bokeh created using Photoshop.
The circle on the left in Figure 1 is considered good bokeh and will render out of focus areas as a soft gentle blur leaving the main subject standing out, the background will just melt away. A lens with good bokeh is said to be ideal for portraits. The center circle shows neutral bokeh, this type of bokeh has well-defined edges and is evenly lit. A neutral bokeh will allow objects in the background to keep their shape and stay recognizable. The circle on the right represents bad bokeh, the darker center and well-defined outer edge make for a distracting out of focus areas. Often out of focus objects, especially those with highlights, demand the attention of the viewer. Bad bokeh can not only be easily seen in circular highlights but also single twigs of a branch on a tree will become two twigs running in parallel, spots of light shining through a tree become donuts and blades of grass become a mess of dashes leaving the viewers eyes busy as each item competes for attention. The different types of bokeh are caused by spherical aberration. I won't try to explain it in detail, but basically, if a lens has good bokeh for backgrounds, it will have bad bokeh for foregrounds, and vice versa. This is due to under or over corrected spherical aberration. Given that "good" bokeh is actually caused by imperfection in the design, most lenses are actually designed to achieve neutral bokeh. Many older lenses, which are said to have good bokeh, have spherical aberrations but produce very romantic photos due to those characteristics. There are lenses available that let you adjust your own level of spherical aberrations. These are usually found in the portrait range of focal lengths, the old Minolta gear I use has a 85mm version that can produce varying types of background blur, many other lens manufacturers also have this type of lens. Since bokeh is simply the look of the out of focus area it is subject to many factors; the distance of the background, the chosen aperture, the amount and shape of aperture blades, the background objects and the lenses characteristics. For this reason bokeh is not a measurable item and you will rarely find it mentioned in lens manufacturers brochures. Instead lens manufacturers concentrate on giving MTF charts as the criteria for choosing a lens.
Page 6
FJKF
Figure 2. Even bad bokeh can be used to artistic effect.
There is no real good or bad bokeh, as long as it does not distract from what is meant to be the main subject. What is generally considered bad bokeh may be used in an artistic way as well. If you take a look at Figure 2 you will see the typical bokeh of a catadioptric lens. A catadioptric lens, also known as a mirror lens, has a light path that folds back on itself using a mirror, this allows the lens to be much shorter and lighter. I took the photo just for the effect the 'bad' bokeh gives. Getting results with this type of lens without a distracting bokeh is quite difficult and is why it usually stays at home.
Figure 4. The bokeh of this lens is in my opinion fantastic.
Figure 5. My son grinning because of his new bike, I’m grinning because my lens did not turn those spokes into a web of distracting double lines.
Some brands have better bokeh than others and that is simply that. Some focal lengths are better than others and in general a prime lens will out do a zoom. There are many aspects to a photo and bokeh is just another one of them. Take an interest in the bokeh your lens produces, notice how it may help or hinder the presence of the main subject. I make a conscious effort to consider the bokeh in my photos, you might say I focus on it. You need not be as obsessive as I am but hopefully it is something you can consider in your photos. Robert Hoehne [email protected]
Figure 3. Bright, hard edged out of focus areas = bad bokeh. But I love the result here.
Figure 3 also shows bad bokeh, the lens has quite sharp in focus objects but background blur can be distracting. In this case I found it gave extra definition to the hexagonal highlights, the hexagonal shape shows us that the lens had 6 aperture blades. Once you have seen what your lens can do in all situations you can start using it more effectively, having said that I sold this particular lens as the bokeh was distracting more often than not.
Page 7
FJKF
Margaret and Alia at work at the National Museum Of Australia
Tulip Farm Outing 17th Sept - 9th Oct
Facts on the Tulip Farm:- It was established in 1997. Just 15 minutes from Canberra on the Federal Highway. It has 16 acres of exhibition gardens. There are over half a million of flowers including Tulips, Daffodils and Annuals planted at the Tulip Farm together with 1000 blossom trees. It’s a family owned and operated business. On the property are also waterfalls and ponds. They also have daily live music and entertainment. ‘Yum Yum Tree Café’ in the garden marquee offers a full range of coffees served with morning teas and lunches. Dutch pancakes served with icecream, is their specialty. For the photographers it’s great, not only do you have colour variety but also great for close macro shots of the blossom trees from white and different shades of pinks all planted in rows. For people in the club that didn’t make it this year, it is a must to do for next year with your family and while you’re there, pop into the National Museum of Australia. There’s lot to see and photograph.
Rob, Maria, Margaret and Hari
Oops
Simon Finch in action
Party time – Simon, Max & Charles
Photos by Alia, Margaret & Irena
Red among the yellow
James contemplating the possibilities in Canberra
Page 8
FJKF Tulip Farm Outing
cont.
Back row: Hari and his wife, Tony, Simon, Alia, Charles, Max and his wife. Front row: Rob, Mary, Maria, James, Irena and Margaret.
Photos by Rob Brear
Page 9
FJKF
“A photograph is usually
looked at – seldom looked
into – Ansel Adams"
Member Profile –
ELIZABETH GOFF
How and why did you start in photography?
“We used to go camping and I enjoyed taking
landscape photography”.
Do you remember your first camera?
“A little point and shoot Agfa”.
Do you use film/digital or both?
“I recently changed to digital and I’ve learned more
and have gained more knowledge technically than I
did with my film”.
What type of photography do you find the
hardest to take?
“‘Still life because of the lighting”.
What photos do you like to take the best?
“I don’t have a likes or dislikes. Photography to me
is expression and mood. All forms of photography
are an art form”.
Whose photos in the Camera Club do you
admire the most?
“Jonno’s”.
What are your thoughts on today’s Judges?
“I would have to say probably 40% are helpful and
offer constructive criticism and the rest look for
what they like rather than offer technical advice on
how to improve your photos”.
What advice would you give to a new beginner
in photography?
“Have fun and enjoy your photography”.
Do you follow any sport or team or have a hobby?
“Only photography”.
What has been your favourite holiday and travels?
“Favourite holiday would have to be Canada and Alaska and
also various parts of Australia”.
Name one thing we don’t know about you?
“I used to sketch and paint”.
Where do you see the Camera Club heading?
“I see progression in all aspects. Enthusiasm has risen this year
and growing membership will make the club succeed and grow”.
“This is all getting a little too heavy”
Photo taken at our Nature Walk at
Berowra Valley Regional Park
28/8/2005.
Page 10
FJKF
Photos below were taken at Berowra Valley Regional Park.
Bad light, the sun is going down
Tips on taking a photo – legs apart, firm grip, and then click
Nice hat (who’s under there?)
Barry Collier (centre) teaching us the finer points on Nature Photography
What's funny?
It's a bird, it's a plane. Oh it’s nothing
Photos by Alia and Irena
Page 11
FJKF
Point Score 2005
Leading Five Members
as at 27 September 2005
A Grade
Slides Colour Prints
Jono Ferns 117 Keith Gillard 162
Brian Coleman 109 Jo-Anne Windsor 136
Ron Glinn 55 Brian Coleman 127
Warwick Mahoney 7 Jono Ferns 64
Margaret Fagg 60
Mono Prints Mini Prints
Jo-Anne Windsor 85 Jo-Anne Windsor 93
Warwick Mahoney 52 James Watkins 30
Brian Coleman 40 Brian Coleman 18
Keith Gillard 9 Margaret Fagg 10
Malcolm Kleu 2
B Grade
Slides Colour Prints
Robert Hoehne 162 Mark Eagles 198
Alia Naughton 87 Tony Spence 116
Allan De Saxe 47 Robert Brear 115
Jacy Harding 36 Irena Hayes 103
Ron Jessel 6 Maria Brear 102
Alia Naughton 102
Mono Prints Mini Prints
Alia Naughton 96 Alia Naughton 114
Tony Spence 73 Tony Spence 95
Nikolai Belousov 63 Ron Glinn 65
Steve Wiessner 62 Irena Hayes 48
Maria Brear 49 Allan De Saxe 45
RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER POINT SCORE COMPETITION
Special Thank You to Rob and Maria Brear, for adding up all the Point Scores for September while Bob Cook was away on holidays.
Page 12
FJKF
COMING UP IN NEXT ISSUES
Buy/Sell & Borrow (Do you have anything to sell?)
Image of the Month
Photography Tips & Tricks
Share your Story (Send us your holiday snaps & stories)
Member Profile (Who will it be?)
Robert’s Ramblings
Outing Photos (Please send your photos to the editor)
Other News (please feel free to add to this back page of any new info)
CONTACT USCONTACT USCONTACT USCONTACT US
President Margaret Fagg
Vice President
Bob Palmer [email protected]
Secretary Mal Hobson
Treasurer Bob Flegg
mailto:[email protected]
Web Master Robert Hoehne
mailto:[email protected]
Program Coordinator
Alia Naughton [email protected]
Competition Coordinator Bob Cook
Publicity Coordinator
James Watkins [email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Irena Hayes [email protected]
THE HILLS RSL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY INC. ATRIUM CASTLE HILL RSL, LEVEL 6 LANCELOT ROOM, 77 CASTLE STREET CASTLE HILL
P.O. BOX 25, CASTLE HILL, NSW 1765 WEB: HILLSCAMERACLUB.ORG.AU E-MAIL: [email protected]
CONTRIBUTIONS
Contributions to this Newsletter are
most welcome. The deadline for the
November Edition is Oct 26th.
Articles are preferred in Microsoft
word or plain text format. Send your
contributions to the editor via email or
printed copy
Images as JPG.
Other News
Canon have just release the EOS 5D.The EOS 5D is aimed to slot in
between the EOS 20D and the EOS-1D. Full – frame (35mm sized) high
resolution sensor. (12.8 megapixels) with a relatively compact body
slightly larger than the EOS 20D. For a Hands-on Preview and
specification differences between the 5D and 20D, go to
www.dpreview.com/articles/canoneos5d/.
Tamron have recently released an 11-18 wide angle lens for APS-C
sized sensor Digital SLR Cameras. “APS-C” covers sensors with
“multiplier factors” of 1.5x and 1.6x, which means most DSLR’s except
the Canon 1D and 1Ds series and the Kodak full frame DSLRs. It is NOT
for use with film cameras. See more information on the site below.
http://www.photo.net/equipment/tamron/tamron_11-18.html