Thru The Lens

April 2011

Our website

www.parklandsphotoclub.org.au

Newsletter email

parklandsphoto@people.net.au

Hello All,

We have an exciting month coming up with the VAPS inter-club on

May 19-20th. Held Ballarat this year, you will be able to view the

amazing winning entries as well as have many photographic

opportunities in the area. The VAPS weekend is usually a great event.

We also have our own event coming up – our annual Hunt ‘n Shoot will take place in the Dockland’s this Thursday. It’s a fun photographic

challenge and a chance to shoot some ‘After Dark’ photos too!

As a quick reminder, we ask everyone to pack away their chair at

the end of the night and make sure all dishes are washed and put

away. Many hands make light work and all that.

Keep Snapping, Paula

thruthelens@parklandsphotoclub.org.au

Novice Print competition – “Looking Up”

(Previously B Grade)

1st – ‘Gazing Up’ – Sue Martin 2nd – ‘Don’t look Down’ – Sue Martin

3rd – ‘Eyes in the Sky’ – Anna Small

Image Unavailable

HC – ‘St Stephen’s Tower’ – Sue Martin

Experienced Print Competition (Previously A Grade)

1st – ‘Fall’ – Paul Grinzi 2nd – ‘Phoenix 6’ – Clem Warren

3rd – ‘Up in the Air’ – Mathew LaSala HC – ‘Seal Awe’ - Paul Grinzi

Mini-Focus – Hunt ‘n Shoot – Docklands

We have planned our annual Hunt ‘n Shoot as a night time

walk this year – great news for those of you thinking of

September’s ‘After Dark’ theme.

The aim of the night is to “hunt” out the 4 topics of the day

and “shoot” at least one image of each. You will be advised of

the 4 set subjects on arrival or by ringing Clem on 0409 439

023 after 7:30pm if you are arriving later in the evening.

Photos from the day will be shared at the mini-meet on 28th June.

This is a fun event, a chance to rub shoulders with fellow

members and maybe even learn a few new tricks. Hope to see

you all there!

When: Thurs 26th April, 7:30 pm

Where: Meet at the corner of La Trobe and Spencer St, Melb

Club Meeting –

Next month’s meeting is on Thurs 10th May, 7:30 in the library as

usual. The theme is ‘Open’. This theme is usually very popular so

don’t forget to correctly label your prints. Prints are due to Mat by

Sunday 29th April.

Don’t forget you can also submit your entries for the following month

‘Abstract – Nature’ –at the next meeting. (Check out the article below

for the definition and meanings of Abstract)

VAPS Weekend – 19 – 20th May @ Ballarat

The Victorian Association of Photographic Societies holds a

conference each year with an exhibition of winning entries, a

variety of talks, workshops and a formal dinner. It is a great

weekend with many photographic opportunities.

When: 19-20th May

Where: University of Ballarat Mt Helen Campus

What’s on: http://www.vaps.com.au/Files/Downloads/3VAPSCONVENTIONPROGRAMME.pdf

Library Display – This month’s winner’s will be on display at the

Glenroy Library.

Parkland’s flickr group and Facebook page Our club has a facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23051597114

We have set up a flickr page, - all you need to do is sign

in/register at http://www.flickr.com/groups/parklandsphotoclub/

- we’ll be using this to post photos, discuss club events, ask for

club member critiques, etc.

Flickr also hosts our “Lets Discuss” topic each month. This

month’s topic is ‘Cleaning Your Camera’ so jump on and join in!

Upcoming Event – Weekend Away – August

The Parklands committee is looking to organise a weekend

away in the second half of the year. The destination is yet to be

confirmed, but will have ample photographic opportunities. We

will also be conducting a fantastic workshop over the weekend.

At this stage we are looking to get an idea of the numbers of

members who are interested in going. The weekend should be in

the tail end of August. Please let Paul or Joe know if you are

interested. This is not a commitment to go on the weekend –

just an indication of interest.

Experienced Digital Competition (Previously A Grade)

1st – ‘Tower Crane’ – Charlie Scicluna

2nd – ‘Heavenly Morn’ – Clem Warren

3rd – ‘Hot Dog’ –

Paul Grinzi

HC – ‘Southern Star’ – Charlie Scicluna

Novice Digital Competition

1st – ‘Reach’ – Ralph Haller-Trost

2nd – ‘Docklands icon’ – katriona Fahey

3rd – ‘Sky Flyer’ – Felicity Shanahan

HC – ‘Please Dad Up’ – Ralph Haller-Trost

HC – ‘In the Clouds’ – Katriona Fahey HC – ‘Beautiful Blue Mosque’ -

Gail Crennan

HC – ‘Art Centre’ – Ruth Martin HC – ‘Bella Donna’ – Ralph Haller-Trost

Exhibitions, Events & Competitions

Exhibition - Fire

Fire is presented by Photonet Gallery & Fine Art Printing in

Fairfield, is a visually exciting group show and part of the Four

Elements series. Featuring works from established and emerging

photographic artists from throughout Victoria, the exhibition is

also held to raise funds for the CFA.

When: Until May 5

Where: Photonet Gallery & Fine Art Printing, 15a Railway Place

Fairfield

Exhibition - Men Undressed

Is showing at the Centre for Contemporary Photography in

Fitzroy, is an exhibition of works by Mark Beehre. An exploration

of the naked portrait, the exhibition features men of various ages

and from different walks of life, allowing themselves to be seen

for who they are.

When: Until May 27 - Wednesdays to Sundays

Where: Centre for Contemporary Photography

404 George St Fitzroy

Event – The Digital Show

Showcase the following:

- Professional imaging

- Business and home connectivity

- Home and mobile entertainment When: 26-27th May

Where: Melb Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sth Wharf

Check out the following link for a free ticket (save $20)

http://www.michaels.com.au/index.php/component/content/article/284

Event – Tasmanian Photography Tour

The Gippsland Photographic Club is organising a photography

tour to Tasmania next month. For more details see the end of

our newsletter.

Workshop – Pet Photography with Sharron Plummer

2 full days packed with practical, useful and directly applicable

information about the creative and technical aspects of pet

photography. When: 9-10th June

Where: Melbourne, Victoria

Paterson Suite – Hotel Bruce County See website for more details http://www.wetnosefotos.com/pet-photography-workshops/

Definitions

and guides

Did you know we have two abstract competition themes

coming up this year? In June, our club competition theme is

‘Abstract: nature’, and in October we have ‘Abstract: Man-made’.

So now is the time to start thinking about abstract photography

and looking for opportunities to create abstract images.

* Your first stop should be the definitions of ‘abstract’, ‘nature’

and ‘man-made’ that the club has decided to use for these two competitions. We have included this below.

* The following articles have advice for making abstract images.

http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/theory/creatively-approaching-

abstract-photography/

http://www.photopoly.net/the-art-of-abstract-photography/

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/tips-for-creating-great-abstract-photography/

* And here are some abstract photos to get you inspired!

http://www.thephotoargus.com/inspiration/40-astounding-

examples-of-abstract-photography/

There has been a fair bit of discussion regarding how to

interpret the various competition themes for this year. The March

judge's interpretation of the 'My Melbourne' theme particularly

created a fair bit of discussion. Accordingly, for the following

themes, we will provide a definition to guide both the submissions

and the judge: abstract-nature (June's theme) and abstract-

manmade (October). The definitions are included below.

The remaining themes, 'open', 'looking up', 'solitude' and

'afterdark' will remain without specific definition and will remain

open to creative interpretation.

Whilst the club gives each judge some direction on how we prefer

the competition to be judged, their style and comments are

obviously out of our control.

Definitions:

Abstract art uses a visual language of form, colour and line to

create a composition which may exist with a degree of

independence from visual references in the world. Abstraction

indicates a departure from reality that may range from only

slight, partial, or it can be complete. Total abstraction bears no

trace of any reference to anything recognisable.

Nature refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors,

and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes,

wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.

Nature photography shouldn't include any elements that are

manmade (no 'hand of man'). Regarding animals, for the

purposes for our club competition, captive animals are permitted,

but there should not be any manmade elements included in the

image.

Manmade - Made by humans rather than occurring in nature.

Here's an excellent summary article...

http://natureshealing.hubpages.com/hub/Understanding-

Abstract-Photography

Cleaning your camera

No matter what kind of camera you use, we can probably all

agree that dust or fingerprints on the lens are not going to help

you in creating great images.* But how to go about cleaning your

camera? There are lots of different cleaning products available –

it would be great to hear about what you actually use and find

helpful!

Here’s a run-down on ways to clean a camera lens: http://digital-

photography-school.com/how-should-i-clean-my-dslrs-lens

And a step-by-step on lens cleaning:

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-clean-your-digital-slr-

camera-lens/

If you have a digital camera, cleaning your sensor is a more

complicated and perilous procedure. Some people send their

cameras to professionals for sensor cleaning, and some people tackle it themselves. If you’re inclined to try that latter, BE

CAREFUL! (Can you tell that doing anything with the sensor

makes me very nervous?) There are some sensor-cleaning tips

here: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-

sensor-cleaning.htm

So, how do you clean your camera? Log onto our club Flickr

forum and share your methods! If you haven’t cleaned your

camera for a while, why not have a look at some of these tips and take some time soon to give it a spruce up, then let us know

how you did? And if you’re a dab hand with cleaning fluid and a

lens pen, hop onto Flickr and share your secrets!

*Having said all of the above, marks on the front element of a

lens don’t always affect the resulting image as much as you

might think. The main point that stayed with me from a talk Paul

gave last year about camera cleaning was that even a smashed-

up lens still works surprisingly well – see this link for a similar

demonstration! http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html

Member of the Month – Sharon McDowall

My father introduced me to photography when I was growing

up and taught me about shutter speed, aperture, ASA, depth of

field, etc. When I was 15 years old my parents bought me an SLR

camera (an Olympus OM1) and I continued using that until about

6 years ago, when I got my first digital SLR camera. I did mostly

sporadic travel photography until I had my first child 9 years ago.

At that time I started doing portrait photography, and my desire

to produce high-quality images was fuelled by the fact that my

daughter was very sick in her first 4 years and there was a good

chance that we would not have her for very long (all is well now, thank goodness). Having a digital SLR opened up a plethora of

new possibilities in terms of being able to experiment by taking

lots of photographs and enhance the photographs in Photoshop.

I’ve been a member of Parklands for a year. I like the fact

that I now have other people who are interested in photography

to talk to – I no longer feel like I am working in a vacuum. I also

like the fact that I can get some feedback on my work.

I like photographing children and trying to capture their

natural essence in a photograph. I also like photographing many

other things that can make an interesting photograph, such as

landscapes, cityscapes and animals. Late last year I set myself

the task of taking photographs around Brunswick to make a

series of photo cards. I’d like to learn more about doing high

dynamic range (HDR) photography.

I don’t know that I have a favourite photographer, but I do

like the work of Steve McCurry. He has great skill in capturing images that seem to look inside the soul of his subjects.

Websites of the month

Want to shoot portraits, but not sure how to pose your model?

Check out these links with ideas (and diagrams) for male, female

and child poses. Male poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/21-sample-poses-to-get-you-started-

with-photographing-men

Female poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/21-sample-poses-photographing-

female-models

Child poses - http://digital-photography-school.com/posing-guide-21-sample-poses-to-get-

you-started-with-photographing-children

Photographer of the month – John Gollings

John Gollings is an Australian architectural photographer. He

has worked extensively in Australia and internationally, creating

images of buildings ranging from skyscrapers to residential

buildings to ancient ruins. He was interested in photography from

an early age, and began working in wedding and fashion

photography before melding his passion for images with his

career as an architect. Gollings was profiled in a fascinating 2009

documentary, ‘John Gollings: Eye for Architecture’.

A biography/mini-interview: http://www.specifier.com.au/architects/16090/John-Gollings.html

About the ‘John Gollings: Eye for Architecture’ documentary:

http://www.360degreefilms.com.au/eye-for-architecture

And a trailer for the documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CFCKw6xCQ

Quote of the month

‘Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.’

Ansel Adams

Photography tour:

Greetings to Club Members,

Our club is planning a tour of Tasmania in November and we would like to invite members of

your club to join us on the trip. Whilst we have considerable amount of interest from our

members, we expect to have a limited number of places left for other photographic enthusiasts

who may like to join us. The bookings need to be finalised by 30th May 2012.

A base price of $899.00 includes all accommodation, Airfares or Spirit of Tasmania

fees, Airport long term parking, and entry into the Rhododendron Gardens. In

addition to this price you will need to purchase food, pay for vehicle fuel, and pay for

elected activities that you plan participate in.

The costs are based on four people sharing a 4 x 4 vehicle, with one person travelling on the

Spirit of Tasmania with the vehicle and the others flying to Launceston. Needless to say we are

counting on at least 25% of attendees having a 4 x 4 vehicle and willing to share it with others.

An itinerary and registration form can be downloaded from our web site.

http://www.egps.com.au/images/Forms/tassietour2012.pdf

Should any of your members require any further information please contact Stephen Smith on

5155 3505 or by email stephen@egps.com.au

The Gippsland Photography Club