A Falklands Journey was the topic illustrated and described last week by Barrie and Liz Hatton of Cambridge. The presentation and photography were top class. Being naturalists and bird photographers they were at their best in a select group seeking the wildlife of the islands in the south Atlantic. Their journey started at RAF Brize Norton travelling via Ascension Island on the equator to Stanley and the small community that live there.We saw some remains of early sailing ships and the quartzite white sands and rocks on which the islands sit. Ten-seater Islander planes ferry people and provisions to the other islands where there are solitary hotels and sheep farms. The bird life was so prolific that dozens of different species were photographed and displayed on both large prints and digital projection. Three species of penguin, four of geese and countless ducks, albatrosses, wrens, some vultures, a grebe, gulls, cormorants, thrushes, larks, a giant petrel, a rufus chested dotterel were among the most impressive images. What made the show come to life however were the sound clips played as we saw various birds, seals, walruses and the striated caracara. Bruce Gray, chairman, asked the audience for any questions at the end of the talk. Among these we learned how miniaturised sound equipment can be even though some excellent long focus lenses proved their worth. It was certainly a most outstanding evening and very tempting to sign up and go there in person.
This week the Club enjoyed a talk by Jack Bates from Croydon. He is a member of an elite group of photographers, (the Mirage Group), who produce images that are rarely seen or made by Club members. Some could be described as experimental or unconventional but nevertheless fascinating even if some members were not so keen to try the styles for themselves. Images were of dying sunflowers likened to tortured people. This theme was carried even to a stick chair being tied with string and thrown on the floor. There were some plain images of a brickwall, a field of grass, various leaves in close-up and seaweed. Some of the pictures showed deliberate discordant elements in order to make a strong statement. He exploited shape, line, colour and rhythm. A series of 20 pictures were of Trafalgar Square taken at 20 second intervals so that the viewer worked at tracing people who came and went and those who stayed still. Another series was of some ancient olive trees with fascinating contorted shapes in a preserved tree museum in France. Jack had provided us with both the prints to display and a digital projector display of each image ably synchronised by Tony Cockrell.
There was a digital projected competition this week when 88 pictures were entered for the invited judge to evaluate. Bernard Turnbull gave considered comments and a mark to each one. In the Entry Level the 3 runners-up were Yellow Warbler by David Bishop, Don't forget Extra Fries by Paul Griffiths and My Parachute by David Heath. Those with top marks were Lolita Leistromaite with Reachless and Tom Peacock with My Second Face. Moving on to the Advanced Level images Bernard was impressed by the high quality both of imagination and skill of the photographers. There were 11 runners-up but only two with top marks.These were Garry Fish with Redcoat (a Civil War reenactment) and Steve Docherty with Losing their Footing chosen as best image of the evening. On 10th March there will be a projected image competition when each entry must be to the theme of "3 in a frame".
From 1st to 6th March The Royal Photographic Society East Anglia Region shows its 2009 Print exhibition at the Central Public Library Chelmsford. Entry is free and open as the Library hours.
Every year the Club invites members to submit sets of three prints which can hang together on display. They must therefore have some linking features such as time, colouring, theme or style. Last week was the occasion to show these for an invited judge, Ron Pain from Clacton to evaluate and award the Burley Cup for the year. Altogether 25 panels were entered which made a very interesting and lively evening. In judging the qualities and detail of each panel in turn, Ron finally announced five panels for Highly Commended from Andy Donn, Derrick Cutts, Steve Docherty, Ann Burley and Pat Frewin. Then Third Prize for Exotic Flower Abstracts went to Melvyn Frewin, Second Prize went to Pat Frewin for Fantasy Forest and the Cup this year was awarded to Colin Birch for Amaryllis, a set of high key close-ups of a perfect bloom.
Ann Miles was this week's visitor from Cambridge to present her collection of prints of wildlife from all over the World. In her talk she described her passion from an early age then training in biology and botany. The earlier pictures were of oxlip, wood anemone and various orchids, each one superb. Animals, insects in large close-up then birds followed. We were treated to some exotic locations and wildlife including a carmine beetle, a poplar hawk moth, various spiders, the gannets on Bass Rock, snow bunting and red deer. Pictures gathered in Switzerland, Finland, South Africa and Ecuador brought us close to humming birds, lions, antelopes, zebra and a stunning one of an elephant. Ann's camera technique was described so that anyone could attempt to follow her methods together with the materials she uses in printing the many beautiful images. Colin Birch, deputy chairman, thanked her for such an inspiring talk.
The fourth print competition was held with a record 103 pictures for the judge. Colin Birch, deputy chairman introduced the visiting judge, Sue Dobson from Epping. It was unfortunate that only a minute could be spent for commenting on each entry but Sue managed the task very well with just a minute to spare by the end of the evening. In the Entry level Monochrome group Phil Voyez with Dragon Slayer came top with Jackie Bale only a half point below with All Saints Springfield. In the Entry Colour section Andy Donn claimed the top mark and best with Auto Barn Stormer followed equal top with Dave Blaydon's What's That!. Half a point below came John Shears with By the Camp Firelight. The best Advanced Monochrome group entry chosen was Pat Frewin's Soul Mates, equalling top with Ann Burley for Distracted from Prayers and Nine Posts by Barry Henshaw. Finally the Advanced Colour workers produced two with top marks: Nick Burley (best) with A Barren Land and Barry Collin with Tower Bridge. The runner up was Garry Fish with Seagull in Flight.
The club was treated to an impressive series of prints this week from Ron and Maggie Tear from Loughton. They called their evening The Large Print Show. Normally the prints we see conform to the national standard maximum size of 20 x 16 inches but these were up to 36 x 24 inches and displayed well for all the audience to see. The presentation described many of their memorable journeys to many parts of the world. We were taken from the highest ridges in the Lake District in winter snow via New York skyscrapers, the Eiffel Tower, Barcelona and Gaudi and the Guggenheim in Bilbao to African real village life. Turning to wildlife, Ron and Maggie showed us stunning shots of African birds and animals in Tanzania. Altogether the evening gave us inspiration to go out and enjoy magical days with our own cameras.
Digital projected images in club competition number three were shown this week. This time the theme for the entries was "Creative" which encouraged the same large number of pictures as the usual open subjects. The invited judge was Dave Wilcox from Hornchurch Club. He was introduced by Colin Birch, deputy chairman. In the entry level Adam Rowe, Paul Griffiths and Hemant Patel got 9 marks, David Heath and Andy Donn each had and extra half mark and the best with 10 was Adam Rowe with Abbey Choir. The Advanced group, with 46 entries showed some very imaginative images. Those just missing top by a half mark were Bruce Gray, Veronica Rice, Ray Lawrence, Barry Collin and Mark Elvin. The judge chose Memories of Summer for the top mark, won by Jackie Bale.
The third print competition of the season was held last week with a record number of 109 entries. Vic Hainsworth from Colchester judged them starting with the entry level members. The best monochrome picture chosen was Sitting Pretty by Jackie Bale with The Maitre d' entered by Mike Smith and The Artist's Shoes by Derrick Cutts both with top marks. In the entry level colour entries 5 pictures scored full marks. They were Riverside Development by Paul Griffiths, The Thomas Mildmay by Elaine Butcher, October Brambles by Jonathan Reynolds, Windows by Andy Donn and the best one, Preparing for Friday Prayers, Kashgar by John Shears. The advanced level workers came up with 6 monochromes gaining top marks. They were from Veronica Rice, Mark Elvin, Nick Burley, Barry Collin, Colin Birch and Trevor Burley whose Kashmiri Schoolgirls was chosen best. The largest group, advanced colour produced 7 with top marks. They came from Barry Henshaw, Veronica Rice, Garry Fish, Mark Elvin, Ann Burley, Colin Birch and the best one, from Trevor Burley with Woman in Blue with Saucer. Colin Birch thanked the speaker for his careful advice and judgment of such a large number of images.
Infra red was one of the principal subjects presented to the club last week by the speaker Colin Southgate from Shillington. His use of the technique, both using film and digital, was quite delightful in producing creative and ethereal images. The results however are not always predictable because the eyes do not see beyond the red end of the spectrum. Digital cameras are very useful for this because the results are available immediately. The scenes he showed were mainly from his local area, Wrest Park and the woodlands around. The images were improved by reducing colour saturation and subtle toning. We then saw the panel submitted to gain fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society which comprised close ups of Henry Moore sculptures. Colin Birch, deputy chairman thanked the speaker for such an interesting evening.
Pat Frewin, the external competition secretary announced yet another win for the club at Colchester in a four-way print battle against Halstead, Clacton and Colchester. The best print was again Trevor Burley's Hope. Also, Andrew Pickess picked up a Highly Commended award for 'The Beach' sequence in the East Anglian Novice audio-visual competition.
Liz Hatten from Cambridge was the chosen judge for the digital projected image competition between members. Colin Birch, deputy chairman introduced her. In the entry level two were judged with top marks - The Joy of Motoring by David Bishop (best image) and Waiting for the Tide by David Heath. Runners-up were Lolita Leistromaite with Connection of Loneliness and Marnie Smith with Washday. In the advanced group winners were Bruce Gray with Foredeck Shadow and Gary Fish with Saxophone Player (best image). There were three runners-up: Steve Docherty, Barry Collin and Brigitte Whiteing.
Another win for Chelmsford Club was achieved on Tuesday last week when we hosted the annual Baddow monochrome print competition. Ten clubs from the area entered six each for the invited judge, Paul Radden, to discuss and award marks for the quality of each. After the scores were checked it was found that Brentwood came third with 48, Clacton second with 48 and Chelmsford top with 56. The best print of the evening was also awarded to Chelmsford for Hope by Trevor Burley. Paul Harden, vice president of Baddow Camera Club, gave the vote of thanks to the judge. The Chelmsford Club met the following evening to view and discuss the East Anglia Federation 2009 print exhibition projected. Colin Birch, deputy chairman, presided over the discussion of the images which included a number from six of our own members.
The Club held the annual CAPS print competition last week between the nine member clubs from the Chelmsford area.The invited judge to evaluate the many prints submitted was Malcolm Tinn from the Harlow club, introduced by Melvyn Frewin. There was no set subject and all prints were in one class. After marking, the judge chose ten images that gained the maximum 10 marks. In totalling the scores for each club it was found that in third place was Ongar Photographic Group, then in second was Photofold from Billericay and in top position was Chelmsford. The judge awarded the Best Print of the evening to Phil Shaw of Photofold for A Fearful Symmetry.
Digital Photo Art was the title of the talk last week given by Brian Beaney of Woodbridge, introduced by deputy chairman Colin Birch. Trained in fine art the speaker explained his approach to enhancing photographs was altering reality. The result of this for many images was to recreate a painting in the style of Rembrandt or Constable. To each straight print he showed us how he could add light, mood and atmosphere with layers of mist and successive blur into the distance. Most of the subjects were boats on the Essex and Suffolk coast and some forests and woodland.
In recent interclub competitions Chelmsford had succeeded in regaining the Basildon Rosebowl, an annual event of several decades, with Best Print being awarded to Trevor Burley for one entitled Hope, as well as Best Slide going to Ann Burley for Life Behind the Grill, both Chelmsford members. Also at the Halstead club our team won the trophy from three other clubs for prints including Trevor's Hope as Best Print of the evening.
The second print competition of the season was held on 21st October with a record entry of 103 prints. The invited judge was Barrie Hatten from Willingham of many years experience in both darkroom and digital techniques. Marking first the entry level monochromes he chose the best to be Leaving the Scene by Mike Smith, then a close second, a shot of the Astronomical Clock by Jackie Bale. In the colour section the best photograph was Gordon, a portrait taken by Roger Brian, Annie Ringland and Andy Donn being runners up. Moving then to the Advanced group representing more experienced photographers the best monochrome was chosen to be Mark Elvin's Prospect Avenue, sharing top marks with Nick Burley's Rosamul Beach Isle of Harris. Finally in the colour group the judge chose Misty Lakeside by Barry Henshaw as best then Melvyn Frewin, Barry Collin and Garry Fish entered the close runners up. The chairman Bruce Gray thanked the judge for such a heavy task for the evening who had given such helpful comments throughout. On the following evening the monthly instructional session was held by Arnold Cleaver with a talk and discussion on Basic Camera Skills.
Chelmsford and Benfleet Camera Clubs came together for their annual print battle on Wednesday 14th October. The invited judge was Peter Crane from Heybridge with his over 20 years of experience. His constructive evaluations were appreciated by all. In the monochrome section he chose Trevor Burley's "Hope", a detailed profile study of an elderly lady. This encouraged the Chelmsford team but the colour print best went to Benfleet for "Taking Flight", a picture of avocets flying by Ursula Fuller, a well known wildlife photographer. Announcing the final marks, chairman Bruce Gray found that Chelmsford secured the trophy with 159 against the visitors with 152.5
The club presented a total of 86 digitally projected images to the visiting judge, Rosie Pines from Clacton. Two winners in the Entry Section, John Everett for St Peter's Chapel and Elaine Butcher for Fox were followed by runners up John Everett again for Ripples and Matt Poulson for Where's My Mum?, In the Advanced Section 9 images rated highly with Hover Fly by Jackie Bale selected best and Curtains by Barry Collin equal top. Runners up were Japanese Sunshade by Bruce Gray, Black Headed Gull by Derek Cutts, Banded Damselfly by Malcolm McGregor, and Accordionist by Veronica Rice. Bruce Gray, chairman, thanked Rosie for such a huge task for the evening.
On Saturday 10th October the club hosted the second Panel of Six competition for the trophy. Fourteen East Anglian clubs came to take part each with 2 sets of print panels. The invited judge was Joy Hancock from Mundesley. Each of the sets of six separate prints were displayed on a large rack and the judge considered the image selection and positioning on the display Highly Commended was the panel from Brian Beaney of Ipswich for Low Water. Third came the Cuillins, stormy shots from Skye from the Icon group. Second was Chelmsford with Foot Works by Steve Doherty, the trophy for best panel being awarded to Harlow club for Swimmers by Marilyn Steward. Bruce Gray thanked Joy for her work and the appreciative comments she made.
A large audience enjoyed the digitally projected images of Scottish Wild Life shown by Richard Revels from Biggleswade. As a trained biologist Richard has specialised on the photography of plants, animals and birds. This talk concentrated on four locations of Scotland. In the first half we saw many shots from Skye including the Scottish Argus butterfly unique to the Western Isles, skylarks, oyster catcher, bog asphodel and a superb sequence of a sea eagle diving down to a catch in a sea loch. Next we were shown the Uists with the machar of sand, redshank, peewit, short-eared owl and water avens. After a break the images moved to Islay where there were hares, wheatear, meadow pipit, whimbrel, dunlin and many types of geese and duck. The last collection was from the tiny Island of May in the Firth of Forth, a National Nature Reserve. Here images of puffins, guillemots, razorbills and fulmar were captured. It seemed that every wooden post in Scotland had a bird standing on top. Richard's pictures have been used by many publications and several picture libraries. The speaker was thanked by chairman Bruce Gray before the audience posed a few questions.
Colin Birch introduced the evening this week with the invited judge, Roger Winter from Ingatestone. The event was the annual battle of prints and slides with Basildon Camera Club. Each side showed first their 15 colour and monochrome prints in random order for the judge to comment and mark.Three of the prints gained top marks with a number of very close runners up. After the break 8 slides were projected from each club again in random order and 2 of them reached full marks. When marks had been totalled they showed a resounding win for Chelmsford with 197 against 177 for the Basildon Club. The vote of thanks to the judge was given by Arthur Perry Basildon's Chairman. Colin also praised the judge for his excellent critical comments and impartiality.
On Thursday 24th the Club held the first of its monthly practical evenings when the results of the summer trek competition were shown. 21 entrants had each taken 20 images of set subjects. Set by Andrew Pickess as a friendly match, the 421 images were shown to three judges in rapid succession. John Fildes, Steve Docherty and Arnold Cleaver judged the shots by keypad, a laptop adding the scores. Andrew announced a tie for second place between Jacquie Bale and Elaine Butcher then an overall winner, Bridget Whiting. President Barry Collin commented that he often claimed that the ladies took the best pictures while men studied their cameras.