30 April 2015
The competitions are now over for the season and this week at the club it was the Annual General Meeting and presentation of trophies.
Chairman Ray Beckwith opened the proceedings and each of the committee members were invited in turn to give their reports on the seasons activities. The election of Officers and Members of the Committee took place next with the re-election of those who had not completed their three term after nomination. This was followed by nomination and election of new officers to fill vacancies which had arisen.
After the break, Dr Colin Tourle, who has completed his own term of office as President, presented the trophies to all the members who had won the various competitions during the season. They are permitted to keep the trophy for one year and are also given a “keeper”, an engraved medallion in a case.
This was the last of the society’s meetings until the autumn when the season opens again at the beginning of September.
Your newly elected committee is as follows:
President: David Mills
Chairman: Ray Beckwith
Secretary: Terry McGhie
Treasurer: Carole Parish
Programme Secretary: Peter Stafford
Print Leader: Bob Sherrard
PDI Leader: Gerald Hartley
Digital Co-ordinator: Jean Mills
Social Secretary: Pam Maclay
Member: Louise Pemberton
Member: Roy Broad
23rd April 2015
It was the Projected Digital Image final this week, with judge Frank Page LRPS, who hadn’t been to the club for some time. Since the beginning of the season last September, there have been four rounds of PDI competitions where members are invited to enter two images in each round.
In the beginners class for the Swallow Cup, third place was awarded to Pam Maclay for Reflection Of We Three, second place went to Linda Busby for Storm Clouds Coming, and the winner was Pam Maclay for Shetland Summer Night, a beautiful picture of a sunset with lovely pastel colours, reflected in the water, taken through the reeds in the foreground.
In the intermediate class for the Sussex Shield, Peggy McKenzie received highly commended for November Afternoon, third place was awarded to David Philips for The Drone, second place went to Peggy McKenzie for San Bushman, Kalahari Desert, and the winner was Terry Maskell for Survivor, a stunningly simple image of a single piece of dried vegetation which been blown along a gritty roadway.
In the advanced class for the Albert Hillman Cup, two images were awarded highly commended. Alan Clark for What Is It Fred?, and Roy Morris ARPS for Western Ghats. Third place was awarded to John Deller LRPS for Alone In The Corn, second place went to Louise Pemberton for The Engine Shed, and the winner was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for Glencoe, a wonderful vista of mountains, hills and misty clouds with houses nestling in the valley, lovely golden undergrowth beautifully lit in the foreground with a snaking river running through.
After the certificates had been awarded, Frank said there were many lovely images, and the standard of work was stunning.
This is the last of the competitions and lectures for the season, with only the AGM and Annual dinner to look forward to, before a break until the Autumn.
16th April 2015
This weeks lecture was by Ian Wright ARPS entitled “The Documentary Project - From Planning To Prints”. Ian was accompanied by his wife Kitty Wright APRS who assisted with displaying his work. They are both widely travelled and organise many tutorials and workshops, and until recently, also ran a wedding photography business.
The evening began with a set of ten brightly coloured images taken in Skegness on Easter Monday. It was very cold and sunny with typically seaside scenes but with only a few people about.
Then there was a set of minimalist seascapes taken at Camber Sands and St. Ives with only one or two people in each shot and plenty of sand, sea and sky. Next was a set of portraits in monochrome, mostly taken abroad in India, Cuba and Nepal. Ian said it is a good subject if the person is looking at you in an interesting way, just like his stunning picture of an eleven year old girl dressed in national costume with beautiful intense eyes. All the photographs were displayed for members to enjoy during the tea break. Next was a set of ten colour images taken with a long lens in Cuba, of a tenement block. Each picture was of a window, some of which had been personalised with blinds and curtains, and some had people looking out as if they were imprisoned. On a group trip to the Amazon, and walking back to the boat, Ian noticed some fallen leaves decaying on a stony beach. He took a series of photographs, and processed the images by desaturating them almost to monochrome. They made a really unusual panel.
It was a very enjoyable evening as Ian presented several different styles of photography and was due to visit Eastbourne Photographic Society the following evening.
9th April 2015
This weeks guest speaker was Gavin Hoey, a full time professional photographer. His work can be seen in various photographic magazines and he is driven by a passion for sharing his photography and Photoshop knowledge, regularly making tutorial videos which have been viewed by people across the world. His current workshop, entitled Camera Shake Up, was designed, as the name suggests, to blow away the cobwebs of camera club members, by demonstrating a range of creative camera and Photoshop techniques throughout the evening. Gavin showed how to compose and edit a picture to obtain the best result and how to make a panorama by taking several photographs, moving the camera round a little with each shot, and stitching them together to make a wonderful picture.
After the tea break, he talked about how to get creative by joining a camera club or searching for images online. He held a live studio session with a photography shoot in which he used everyday objects, for example fairy lights and a household light bulb, to create some truly memorable images. Gavin also showed how to take a 3D image and handed out special glasses so all the members could appreciate the end result.
It was an extremely inspirational evening, full of fun and lots of tips and hints on to take and produce the best photographs. Although Gavin’s time is limited due to his lectures being so popular, the club really looks forward to his next visit.
2nd April 2015
This week saw the culmination of several months work since the beginning of the season last September in the print final. The judge was Richard Walton FRPS, who travelled from Kent for the occasion.
In the beginners group for the Pavilion Cup, highly commended was awarded Linda Busby for Wooden Door and Carole Parish for Grazing. Third place went to Carole Parish for Storm Clouds, in second place was Halina Martin for Novice Buddist Nuns, and the winner was Carole Parish for Chocolate Box, a pretty picture taken of Hever Castle with the moat and cottages in the background.
In the intermediate group for the Keith Donald Shield, highly commended was awarded to Jean Mills for The Saxophonist and Martin Rumary for Yamaha Vee Twin. Third place went to Peggy McKenzie for Walking In The Rain, in second place was Peggy McKenzie for Waif And Stray, and the winner was Jean Mills for Greylag Goose, a stunning shot of the head and neck of the bird with dark feathers and an orange beak against a muted background.
In the advanced group for the Founders Cup, highly commended was awarded to Ray Beckwith for Then I’ll Begin, Janice Payne ARPS for A Wintery Feeling and Liz Scott ARPS AFIAB for Luke, Chapter 2 Verse 12. Third place went to Alison Morris ARPS for Ganges Fisherman, in second place was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for Lost In Thought and the winner was Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP for Yellow House, Iceland, a beautiful photograph of a yellow house set against a snow scene with a couple of trees and lovely sky.
Richard, who always enjoys his visits to the club, is very highly thought of by the members as he is superb in the way he judges and gives really informative opinions of the images is appraising.
26th March 2015
This weeks competition was the PDI Photographer Of The Year for the Southern Cross Trophy. It is a competition designed to allow members of the society to submit a portfolio of six digital images that demonstrate the photographer’s versatility. There were sixteen sets submitted altogether for judge Clive Tanner FRPS to evaluate and he commented on each picture individually in its own right then as a panel.
Highly commended was awarded to three entrants, Sean Keen, Gerald Hartley and Bob Sherrard LRPS. In joint third place was Jean Mills, and Janet Monk ARPS, and second place went to Roy Morris ARPS. The winner was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for her six wonderful pictures. A monochrome of a spiral staircase looking upwards towards a circular window, a beautiful landscape in autumn colours with a river in the foreground with misty mountains, a close up of some rocks in lovely muted shades with a yellow pebble near the centre, a drop of water which created a bubble and ripples as it landed with a reflection, the standoff between a wolf and bison in the snow, and an Indian child smiling straight into the camera in black and white.
Clive made a very good job of appraising all the images with lots of amusing anecdotes and certificates were presented at the end of the evening.
19th March 2015
This weeks speaker was Bob Webzell ARPS, a frequent visitor to the club, who gave a talk called African Dreams. It was about his biennial trips to Tanzania and the charity Serian UK where Bob has served as secretary since its establishment in 2005. It is a registered charity that aims to promote education for sustainable ways of living in the UK and Tanzania. Serian UK has supported Noonkodin Secondary School in a remote Maasai Village in northern Tanzania, and most of Bobs fundraising, which helped build the school, is via photographic exhibitions and illustrated lecturing using images taken in Eluwai and the Monduli Mountains.
A couple of years ago Bob worked with renowned South African author and poet Wayne Visser, who wrote the ever popular I Am An African poem. They put together a selection of Bob’s photographs to go with some of Wayne’s poetry to create a book called African Dreams, a celebration of the people, landscapes and wildlife of the continent. An exhibition and picture sales also helped to raise money.
Some of Bob’s wonderful landscape images shown were of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti Plains and Olduvai Gorge, a steep sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley. Many stunning wildlife pictures included elephant, wildebeest, baboon, vultures, lion, cheetah and buffalo. There were also many candid portraits. A Maasai woman with baby who looks after Bob when he visits, grubby children looking distressed and neglected in their own environment with ill fitting clothing, elders and warriors of the Maasai tribe in their scarlet and purple robes, and a very elderly lady who is still revered and asked advice daily due to her seniority and wisdom. Bob knows them by name due to his frequent visits.
It was an extremely interesting evening with Bob telling stories as well as showing images of his incredible journeys, going to places he said he never thought he would visit.
12th March 2015
This week at the society was the last round of the Projected Digital Image competition before the final next month. The judge was David Eastley ARPS who was at the club last December to assess round two.
In the beginners class for the Swallow Cup, there were two images to go though. Lily Stamen, a close up of an orange stamen with pink petals in the background, by Dee McNabb, and Marching Snails, an image of some rusting metalwork coiled to look like snails, by Pam Maclay.
In the intermediate class for the Sussex Shield three went through. Brimstone On Echinacea and Hayle Bay, both by Rob Shepherd, and A Sheepish Look by Peggy McKenzie, with a herd of sheep standing in the middle of the road, completely blocking it, with a motorist waiting patiently behind them.
In the advanced class for the Albert Hillman Cup four were picked for the final. Western Ghats by Roy Morris ARPS, Crocus by Janet Monk ARPS, Early Purple Orchids In Morning Dew by Janice Payne LRPS, and Skunk Clownfish On Anemone by Sean Keen, an underwater scene of a peachy coloured clownfish with greenery all around and a colourful anemone.
Ray thanked David at the end of the evening for doing a terrific job and giving insight into what he thinks makes a good image.
5th March 2015
This week was round four of the print competition, the last one before the final next month. There was no external judge this time but three of the clubs own members, Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB and Ted Sturgeon LRPS were asked if they would do the honours. They took it in turns to critique each photograph, offering their comments and evaluation, and at the end of judging each class, they made a joint decision of those chosen be put through to the final.
In the pavilion cup for beginners two images went through. The Phantom Belly Dancers, a picture of brightly coloured costumes hanging up in a market, and Gone To Lunch, which looked as if the artist had left his pitch leaving behind all his painting equipment. Both were by Halina Martin.
In the Intermediate class there were three prints to go through. The Greenhouse by Jean Mills, John, Tilly And The Pensioner(Traction Engine) by Nicola Stone and Walking In The Rain, a wet weather picture of a couple walking down a street, by Peggy McKenzie.
For the advanced class there were six prints chosen. Ewe And Me by David Mills ARPS, The Great Court By Janet Monk ARPS, Luke, Chapter 2 Verse12 and Conifers both by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Glen Etive In Winter by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB and Bluebells And Beech, a pretty photograph of a carpet of bluebells in a wood which was entirely hazy with the exception of a single beech tree branch left in focus, by Janice Payne LRPS.
Judging by club members is always an enjoyable and interesting evening for the rest of the club and one which is usually repeated every year.D
26th February 2015
It was the Village Competition for the Stafford Trophy at the club this week and members were invited one day last September to travel to the village of Steyning, West Sussex, to take photographs. They were then to present six as a set of images to depict the essence of the area and there were ten portfolios on display. The judge was Keith Gibson who had actually travelled to Steyning the previous day for some research, because, although he knew the area well, he wanted to view it in relation to the competition. Luckily the weather was fine on the day and to include a social occasion, lunch was booked at the Star Inn for those who wished to enjoy refreshments during their visit. There were many iconic points of interest to take. St. Andrew’s Church with the modern statue of the founder, St Cuthman, the Clock Tower, and the Steyning Tearooms where people sat outside enjoying their coffee in the sunshine. Independent retailers like the Sussex Produce Company which nearly everyone included as it was so colourful with all the fruits and vegetables displayed outside, and The Cobblestone Walk with its café’s and small workshops selling goods. Much architecture with Tudor style half timbered houses and some smart Georgian town houses too, thatched cottages, The Old Grammar School, and bang up to date was the modern library. All the entrants showed a wide variety of images and it was very interesting to see all the different panels. Keith decided to award the following positions. Third place went to Carole Parish, second to Janet Monk ARPS, and the winner was Fiona Flower, and they were all presented with their certificates on the night.
19th February 2015
No meeting.
12th February 2015
This week at the club there was a competition for The Strong Trophy. This is a set of six photographs exhibited as a coherent panel which is logically or aesthetically consistent and holding together as a harmonious or credible whole. The judge was Trevor Gellard FRPS who is a regular visitor for both talks and judging. There were thirteen panels entered in the competition for him to review and he said it was extremely difficult to pick a winner as there were so many different types of style. Six were held back for Trevor to see again and he awarded highly commended to three. La Sagrada Familia by Graham Wilkinson, Avian Expressions by Terry McGhie ARPS and Pett Levels Geology by Ray Beckwith.
In third place was At The Turner Contemporary by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP. Pictures in both pastel and bright colours with strong lines, graphic shapes and part of a person captured in each one.
In second place was Snow At Dyrholaey by Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP. These were minimalist snow scenes, a barren wilderness of intense cold which left the viewer feeling chilled.
The winner was I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside by Alison Morris ARPS. This set of monochrome images resembled pages from an old photograph album. Each picture had a black mount with photo corners and was of two little girls playing on a beach with buckets and spades.
Trevor greatly admired the work shown and members enjoyed a witty and humorous evening.
5th February 2015
At the society this week it was the third round of the PDI competition. The judge was Ray Bridges LRPS CPAGB ADPS BPE3 who had visited the club earlier in the season to give a lecture.
In the Swallow Cup for beginners, two images went through to the final. Storm Clouds Coming by Linda Busby, an atmospheric monochrome of the West Pier in Brighton, and Pier by Carole Parish, a view of Eastbourne Pier from the beach, taken at sunset, before the fire last year.
In the Sussex Shield for intermediates, four pictures were selected. Clematis Nelly Moser and A Cricketer’s Nightmare by Graham Wilkinson, Fresh Paint-Loch Torridon by Rob Shepherd and Flowing By by Jean Mills, a lovely picture of a large rock mottled with many colours, water flowing around it and taken with a slow shutter speed to show the movement.
Lastly was The Albert Hillman Cup for the advanced group which had five successful images picked. Street Prayers by Alison Morris ARPS, Impala Drinking by Terry McGhie ARPS, Dawn Mist by Janice Payne LRPS, Long Nosed Hawkfish and Pastel Impression, a hazy image of a man walking along the beach with birds in the sky in beautiful golden and purple tones, both by Sean Keen.
Ray said it was a real pleasure to judge the competition and he really enjoyed looking at the pictures and gave each image due consideration and helpful comments.
29th January 2015
This weeks speaker was Colin Westgate FRPS MFIAP who gave a PDI lecture titled Wild Britain. It was all about landscapes, in colour and monochrome, weather and light.
The presentation started in Sussex and Colin showed several images of the famous coastguard cottages at Cuckmere Haven. Firstly, they were atmospheric in the mist, then at sunset with pale pink cliffs, and lastly after a snowfall with the sun shining.
Colin them moved onto Yorkshire and showed a limestone pavement with a dead tree in the snow, and a waterfall taken with a slow shutter speed, Colins preference, to create a milky effect of the spray cascading over the rocks.
Next came the Scottish Highlands with a picture of Destitution Road, Dundonnell. There was light on the wet road which meandered along the foot of a mountain shrouded in mist and had a small croft by the side. There were also some wonderful photographs of sand patterns left by the tide which had subtle orange colours, with puddles reflecting the blue and white sky, and many gulls dotted about.
Colin was extremely knowledgeable about the UK as he organises many photographic field trips and workshops each year. He also travels much further afield including Iceland, India, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was a very inspirational evening and the club was very lucky to see him as he doesn’t make many presentations now.
22nd January 2015
At our meeting this week, we held Round 3 of the Print Competition which was judged by Roger Crocombe, ARPS. It was Roger's first visit to Hailsham and he assessed the pictures in a sensitive and understanding way, at the same time giving helpful advice, especially to the beginners and intermediates.
In the Pavilion Cup (Beginners) two prints went through to the final: 'Grazing' by Carole Parish and 'Wooden Door' by Linda Busby.
There were three successful prints in the Keith Donald Shield (Intermediate section): 'Early one Morning' by Keith Deverson, 'Eryngium and Leaf Hopper' by Rob Shepherd and 'Resting' by Jean Mills. In the Founders Cup (Advanced Group) there were six prints to go through and these were: 'Freesia' by Phil Smith, 'Yellowstone Canyon'' by Bob Sherrard, 'Feeling Wintry' by Janice Payne, 'Margate in the Rain' by Roger Scott, 'Dangerous Play' by Gay Biddlecombe and 'Yellow House - Iceland' by Pat Broad.
15th January 2015
This week at the club there was a special competition where the subject changes each year, and this time it was Yellow. There was a separate print and PDI section and there was a huge variety of images entered by members ranging from flowers, birds, fields of buttercups to cheeses, mustard and sweet corn.
In the print section, third place went to Terry McGhie ARPS for Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill, second place was awarded to Wendy Chrismas LRPS for On The Wing, and the winner was Rob Shepherd for Iceland Poppy, a beautiful close up of an open pale yellow flower.
After the break, it was the PDI section. Third place went to Alison Morris ARPS for Admiring The Palace, second place was awarded to Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB for Misty Dawn Walk, and the winner was Peggy McKenzie for The Yellow Umbrella, an atmospheric picture taken down a side road of two people walking along a wet pavement and holding up umbrellas against a really misty rainfall.
The judge was Glyn Bareham LRPS CPAGB, who has been to the club to give talks in previous years, and although it was a difficult subject to assess, Glyn did a really super job. He gave considered judgment with good reasoning behind all his comments.
8th January 2015
Hailsham Photographic Society’s President, Dr. Colin Tourle’s evening began with a friend of his, Commander Roger Paine, who told us some interesting stories, with photographic back up, of animal mascots in the Royal Navy. Animals were originally kept on board for fresh meat but sometimes the sailors became too fond of a particular animal and it was kept on as a pet. Many types of animals became mascots including pigs, cats, dogs, monkeys, parrots and even a possum and a wallaby. On HMS Highflyer, a pet Gazelle was named ‘Bill’ and a Russian Black Bear on HMS Ajax would often get lost after a swim in the sea and not know to which ship he belonged. One cat, which had been on three different ships which had in turn sunk, was not allowed on yet another as the sailors feared for their lives and the animal ended its days at a sailors’ home in Belfast.
Next was Dr. Colin Tourle’s lecture of his recent visit to the Lebanon to give medical treatment to the Syrian refugees. He told us a little of the background history of the area and the troubles there and showed pictures of the camps with each family having one or two rooms and very little furniture. They existed on very little meat and dairy which was very expensive and ate mostly lentils and vegetables as they have no money. While he was there he treated mainly infections and sickness because of the dirty conditions but also saw some horrific injuries because of the indiscriminate bombings.
On a lighter note, in the second half of the evening, we were entertained by Marie Stone, a local photographer, who purchased land locally. Using Permaculture, a growing system which works with nature, she has now planted fruit trees and grows many vegetables to become self-sufficient.
This varied interest evening welcomed us back after the Christmas break.
11th December 2014
This week a new speaker, David Plummer, was invited to the club to give his talk A Year In Wildlife Photography. David is a freelance photographer specialising in wildlife and travel and writes magazine articles, gives lectures and slide shows. He also works as a photographer for the Sussex Wildlife Trust in his home county and runs photographic trips to places like Rwanda, Kenya and India, and is passionate about a new local venture in owl conservation and protection.
The evening began with images of this years trip to the Masai Mara where he prefers to spend prolonged periods of time with just one subject rather than chasing around taking a single shot then moving on. David explained on how getting low and level with the animal gets more intimacy, a soft background, and produces the best shots. There were many pictures of big cats, including a cheetah sitting in the pouring rain with its eyes closed and a family of lions with cubs yawning, playing and sleeping. He followed a serval for hours and a leopard for a few days showing it with its kill, a bushbuck, which was eventually dragged up a tree.
David then moved onto Rwanda with shots taken through the vehicle at the street scenes with walkers cyclists and children together with images of the trek through the jungle to the mountain gorilla with young. He then moved onto birds and told of how he prepares bait and an attractive perch creating a scene for them to appear in to obtain wonderful pictures, many for magazine covers. Another set of images was on how David uses a hide both on land and in the water to take some lovely pictures of kingfishers, small birds, foxes, badgers, and water fowl.
It was an extremely interesting and informative evening full of stories on how David’s outstanding pictures were taken and it is hoped he will be able to return another time.
4th December 2014
This week was round two of the PDI Competition and the Judge was David Eastley ARPS who has been to the club on many occasions. David is always very welcome and when assessing a print or projected image he gives really useful constructive advice as well as being supportive of the photographer.
In the Swallow Cup for beginners two images were chosen to go through to the final. Nuts And Bolts, an image of an old wooden door with a lot of rusty hinges by Linda Busby, and Rusting Angel by Pam Maclay, a picture of the Angel of the North viewed from behind with a couple of people standing by the feet to give it great scale.
For the intermediates, competing for the Sussex Shield the following were successful. The Drone and Time For 11’s by David Philips, both stunning pictures of a bird of prey, one in flight and the other with its kill, The American Cemetery by Jean Mills, row upon row of white crosses to mark the graves of American Military who died in World War 11, and November Afternoon by Peggy McKenzie, a misty wet street scene with a person walking out of the shot complete with umbrella.
In the advanced group for the Albert Hillman Cup five went through. Travels With My Chair Asda Carpark by Roger Scott, Glencoe by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, Juvenile Beech leaves by Janice Payne LRPS, Bexhill Cupola At Night by Ray Beckwith, and A Long Tail by Roy Morris ARPS.
It was a real pleasure to see David again and a very enjoyable evening. His comments on how some images may be improved were invaluable as he is a very fine judge and the club looks forward to seeing him again.
27th November 2014
It was the Landscape Competition this week with members entering both prints and PDI’s, but this time not in separate classes, and the judges were two of the clubs own members.
The prints for the Girling Award were first and judged by John Staples who awarded Highly Commended to Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP for Snow At Dyrr Holaey and Roger Scott for Cuckmere Valley, Alfriston. Third place went to Peggy Mckenzie for Early Morning Mist, second place to Janet Monk ARPS for Buckholt Wood, and the winner was Gerald Hartley for his photograph Advancing Dunes, which was a superb image of sand dunes in the desert in different hues with a single tree in the foreground.
After the tea break it was the turn of the PDI section for the Betty Wells Trophy. The judge was Chris Coates who admired so many of the images he had a difficult job to make a decision. Highly Commended was awarded to Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB for Yellowstone Dawn and The Farm On The Downs, Peggy Mckenzie for The Cuckmere, and John Deller for Fairifeld Church. Third place went to Terry McGhie ARPS for Brighton West Pier, second place to Shaun Freeborn for Littlehampton, and the winner was Ray Beckwith for his image Ben Venue, a stunning picture of snow capped mountains against a mid blue sky complete with a half moon, and skeletal trees in the foreground.
It made a very interesting evening with the two members judging their colleagues work, and after the presentation of certificates was made, Ray thanked them both for dealing with such a large number of entrants in the competition.
20th November 2014
This week the club invited Clive Tanner FRPS DPAGB to give his print lecture called Is This The Printer Of My Disc Content? He is one of the clubs favourite speakers and said how nice it was to be back and that he was really looking forward to the evening as he knew what was coming! Clive first explained how he became interested in photography by getting out of the rain one day and entering a lighted building. He found himself viewing Tonbridge Camera Clubs annual print exhibition which he joined and later went onto join Maidstone Camera Club.
Clive mentioned the equipment he started off with and showed some darkroom prints in black and white. A spiral staircase with wrought iron railings and a round glass window in the roof, and a statue inside a church showing the hand resting on a prayer book. He later moved onto digital photography and colour.
There was a selection of images of people in Venice costumes of very bright colours, you must be able to see the eyes behind the mask, and the titles were in different languages. Then followed some pictures taken for a museum, a dragon boat carved in ivory, and an old English red silk handbag several hundred years old.
Next there was some work created for the panels required for his distinctions, fifteen prints of the insides of cathedrals in Southwark, Chichester, Canterbury, Wells, to name but a few. It was a stunning collection of pictures in pastel colours, cream, gold, and bronze, polished wood, stained glass windows, flowers and ivory coloured pillars.
It was an absolutely superb evening with a lovely touch of humour, and Clive said that photography was an accurate representation of what he feels and what he does.
13th November 2014
This weeks lecture called Is This It? was by Leigh Preston FRPS EFIAP MPAGB and it was his first visit to the club. He is known as a landscape photographer, likes monochrome, relies on atmospherics, dramatic lighting and strong storylines to convey an individual style. Leigh has been teaching photography and darkroom skills for many years together with writing several books on the subject.
He began the evening with pictures he likes to take at concerts as he can get right up close to the stage, rock bands, guitars and other musical instruments, singers and musicians and a violinist. Then there were several industrial images, a fish and chip shop in Stoke on Trent, a Lancashire cotton mill and the Bull Ring in Birmingham. Row upon row of terraced housing and cobbled streets. Next were informal portraits showing people from all walks of life and in their natural surroundings showing their occupation. Skateboarders in the pouring rain, model students and people drinking in a bar.
Many of the images shown were accompanied by amusing anecdotes similar to that of a stand up comedian.
The second half of the evening was on a much more serious note with Perspectives On A Century From 1912. A brief series on strong minded unfashionable opinionated and at times personal visual views to some aspects of European History. Images included where Titanic was fitted out, 6th form students on a field trip visiting the Serre battlefield cemetery at the Somme, and further afield were pictures of Colditz Castle, firebombed Dresden, and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
There’s a lot of nostalgia in Leighs photography due to the way of living has changed with photographs of Morris Minors, steam trains, steel works, coalmining in South Wales and North Sea Oil rigs.
It was a real pleasure to have Leigh address the club with so much fun on one hand and so much ruin and grimness on the other, he exceeded all expectations.
6th November 2014
It was competition time again this week at the society with the second print round. The judge was Bob Webzell ARPS who has been to the club many times before and was welcomed back with great pleasure. Bob is well known for his quick wit and dry humour.
There were the usual three categories and Bob began with the beginners class for the Pavillion Cup.
There were only two prints to go through to the final and these were Novice Buddhist Nuns by Halina Martin and Desolate, a moody monochrome picture of a barn taken on a farm against a menacing sky, by Linda Busby.
In the intermediate section for the Keith Donald Shield, three were to be chosen. These were Waif And Stray, and Bongo Boy, both by Peggy McKenzie and Yamaha Vee Twin by Martin Rumary, a picture of part of a motorcycle showing two exhaust pipes with muted blue and brown hues with the remaining parts of the engine looking mostly black and chrome.
The last group had the most entries and the advanced class for the Founders Cup had seven going through. Speed Kills by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, Geese At Dawn and Pool And Mountain Iceland both by Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP, The Colonade by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Shopkeeper by Roy Morris ARPS, Grace by Edward Sturgeon LRPS and Max by Phil Smith, a fabulous head and shoulders monochrome portrait of a young man with startling bright eyes, wispy beard and earrings.
It was a terrific competition with a stunning standard of work and it is hoped to see Bob, with his sense of humour, back soon.
30th October 2014
This weeks lecture called I Shoot People, was delivered by Dave Mason on his first visit to the club. He takes mainly street photography in and around his home town of London, and his pictures are as honest as possible with very little, if any, post processing. Dave made his digital presentation with several groups of images and kept club members entertained with many humorous anecdotes.
The first sequence, Borrowed Art, uses other peoples artwork and posters and Dave also likes to blend any text if he can with the image. He creates a theatrical stage then waits patiently for the unchoreographed people to come into the scene, like a poster of a large pair of spectacles on the wall with a man walking into the picture with his head positioned in one of the lenses.
Another collection was called East London with a picture of graffiti of the heads of two men open mouthed and a girl standing in between them waiting for her friend to take a photo. A man walked into the shot, the girl laughed, and this is the kind of image Dave likes to capture.
Then there was Events where Dave usually stays around the edges of what’s going on. Taking photos is easier here as people expect to be photographed. A queue at an ice cream van at a military re-enactment day which had a container of severed limbs next to it and another of a lady who kept on wobbling as she stood on a trestle table waiting to mount the large horse which was positioned much too far away from her to reach.
The evening was a huge success and was thoroughly enjoyed by members with lots of laugh out loud moments. Dave had a really wonderfully comic way of relating his photographs to the viewer and it is hoped he will be able to return next season.
23rd October 2014
It was the Natural History Competition this week at the club and judge was Colin Page, a naturalist, nurseryman and photographer. It is always a pleasure to see him whether judging or speaking and his extra knowledge about wildlife, flora and fauna makes for extremely interesting evenings.
In the print competition, highly commended was awarded to Chris Coates ARPS DPAGB for Carmine Bee Eaters (Merops Nubicoides), third place went to Janice Payne LRPS for Common Blue Butterfly (Polyommatus Icarus) in second place was Colin Chrismas LRPS with Sky Lark and the winner was Janice Payne LRPS for a beautiful photograph of a pink flower on a stem against a pale green background called Female Flower Of The Norway Spruce ( Picea Abies.)
In the Projected Digital Images competition, highly commended was awarded to Gill Terry for Scottish Wildcat (Felis Sylvestris Grampia), Janet Monk ARPS for Hover Fly (Sphaerophora Scripta), and Linda Busby for Funghi. Third place went to Roy Broad for Bluebottle Spider Hydrangea, in second place was Janice Payne LRPS for Early Purple Orchids (Orchis Mascula) and the winner was Edward Sturgeon LRPS for Mother And Baby African Elephant, an atmospheric picture against a local background with soft muted colours.
Colin said he felt privileged to see such a lovely collection of images and Ray thanked him for a superb evening and said there was realism in his comments.
16th October 2014
There was another competition for the club this week, the first round of Projected Digital Images. This is in the same format as the print competitions except the images are viewed from a projector onto a large screen. The judge was Gary Carter from Seaford Photographic Society who had quite recently decided he would like to judge and it was his first visit to the society. The results are as follows;
The Swallow Cup for beginners has two images through to the final. “Sea Holly” by Dee McNabb, a pretty picture of spiky white holly against a lovely muted background, and “Shetland Summer Night” by Pam Maclay, a beautiful sunset reflected in the water taken through the reeds in the foreground of the picture.
The Sussex Shield for intermediates had four images picked. “San Bushman, Kalahari Desert“ by Peggy McKenzie, “Survivor” by Terry Maskell, “Little Egret” and “Bittern In Flight” both by David Philips. Each one had a superb photograph of the bird in flight showing stunning colour and feathers.
The Albert Hillman Cup for advanced members had six images chosen to go through. These were “Mist In The Cuckmere Valley” by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, “Outside The Temple” by Alison Morris ARPS, “Sweet Pea” by Bob Sherrard LRPS, “Looking Towards The Light” and “Alone In The Corn” both by John Deller LRPS, and “What Is It Fred?” by Alan Clark, a really amusing picture of two cats sitting either side of a very old wooden door with one of them peeping through a gap. There was a burst of laughter when this one appeared on the screen.
At the end of the competition, Ray thanked Gary very much for coming to the club, giving his views and comments on the work he had seen, and Ray also commented on how nice it was to meet new judges on the circuit.
9th October 2014
This weeks lecture was titled “Ray’s AV Extravaganza” and was delivered by Ray Bridges LRPS CPAGB ADPS BPE3, a member of Maidstone Camera Club, who has visited the society on previous occasions.
There was a wide variety of subjects shown in several AV’s during the evening, mostly set against music, a few with narration and some with Rays own poetry. Ray said that “If you don’t like the pictures you might like the music, and if you don’t like the music you might like the pictures!”
“The Farne Islands” was a set of beautiful images taken in Northumberland in June, and consisted of long sandy beaches with crashing waves and rocks, an abundance of wildlife with gulls, guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes to name but a few. Also boats, waterfalls, the castle and monastery, the chapel of St Cuthbert, and the Farne lighthouse built in 1811 and Longstone lighthouse built in 1826 due to the huge number of shipwrecks around the islands. There are between 15 -28 islands visible depending on the state of the tide.
“The Romney Marsh in December” was another set of pictures to depict how Ray feels about the Marshes which are close to where he lives. The church after snowfall, watery sunlight, mist on the river, naked trees, frosty berries, leaves and spiders web. Winter at its height and a wonderful morning to remember.
Another AV called “BERT” was actually about Rays grandfather who served in the first world war. A story of an ordinary man, with the reading of a poem and shown in black and white with pictures of soldiers, nurses poppy fields and guns.
A really great evening was rounded off with Ray being thanked for coming to the club again and showing some of his lovely audio visual work.
2nd October 2014
This weeks meeting saw the beginning of the seasons print competitions with round 1. Ray welcomed back Paul Dunmall CPAGB, who was judging at the club this time last year. There were three different categories of various images for Paul to appraise and a number from each were selected to go through to the print final at the end of the season. In the beginners class, two were selected. “Chocolate Box” by Carole Parish and “Hope Bay, Tasmania” by Peter Parks, a pretty view of the coastline and cliff edge running down to the sea. In the Intermediate class, three were picked. “Lesvos Moonlight” by Rob Shepherd, “Greylag Goose” by Jean Mills and “At The End Of The Day” by Peggy McKenzie, a lovely image of six figures paddling in the sea reflected in the sand also went through. And in the advanced class, six were chosen. “Jamie Drumming” by Roy Morris ARPS, “Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracius Caudatausi)” by Terry McGhie ARPS, “Llyn Padarn” by David Mills ARPS, “Passed by” by Alison Morris ARPS, “Friends (India)” and “Approaching Storm” both by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB , all of which went through. At the end of the evening Ray thanked Paul for being an excellent judge who gave relevant comments especially for the new members who may have not entered any competitions before. Paul said that he considers it a privilege and an honour to be a judge and likes to make comments to help people improve their photography, but he also learns a lot from competitors in return by viewing other peoples work and seeing how they have presented their own images.
25th September 2014
This weeks lecture was by Viveca Koh FRPS titled “Urban Exploration To Fine Art - A Photographic Journey”, which covered her progress made in the last few years from exploring city shooting, architecture and street art, to derelict asylums and abandoned buildings. Viveca always maintains you should “Take only photographs and leave only footsteps”.
A series of absolutely stunning projected images of the insides of several derelict hospitals, asylums, mortuaries, industrial factories, and the ECBV power plant in Belgium then followed.
These pictures include a hairdressing salon with a rusting hair drier billowing shredded net curtains and shafts of light through the ceiling, the old boiler house at Hellingly, a blackboard with chalked notes next to a blue paint peeling door with shattered windows, personal belongings such as a dirty tweed jacket and torn paperback, and a sewing machine rusted and blackened due to a fire in a room still with charred walls.
Viveca then talked through the three panels submitted to obtain her recent distinctions, LRPS requires 10 prints “birth to death“, ARPS 15 prints “what is left when a building is abandoned by humans“, and FRPS 20 prints from a commission received from her uncle to illustrate his latest book of poetry.
After the break all the pictures shown had a layer of texture added, some of which were very subtle. Viveca moved onto the use of textures to make a decayed picture look even more decrepit and these included suitcases left on a shelf made to look like an old painting, a portrait of a woman overlaid with a picture postcard and some had a bokeh effect, a texture of small blobs of light. The crew always shoots self portraits as a record of the visit and proof of being there.
Viveca sees her future as an artistic and creative photographer, continuing to develops skills, doing more arty abstract work and continuing to exhibit. It was a memorable evening, thoroughly enjoyed by members with Viveca totally living up to expectations.
18th September 2014
This weeks topic was “Underwater Photography” presented by guest speaker Len Deeley FRPS. Len began his talk with a short history of how the earliest pictures were taken in 1856 and the development of diving equipment and aquatic cameras. This has now led to many underwater photographic trips available today. The first part was about the complexity and difficulties found with this type of photography, refraction, distance with everything seeming to be one third closer than it really is, and the loss of colour the deeper you dive. Red yellow and orange fade at a depth of 5-15 metres, with green blue greys following. Also, the need to use a flash gun as without the light all colour would be lost, bright colours take on much more subtle hues in deep water. A series of stunning images were then shown, of the most beautiful fish with wonderfully bright colours. After the break there were two AV’s. The first, “Hidden Depths” tries to answer the question of why these animals have such beautiful colour. Some use it as a defence against predation, the sea is a hostile place. Also, fish shoal for protection, some blend in with their terrain and most of what you see is designed to confuse, as due to great camouflage, they are difficult to see.
The second Av was “Embrace of the Deep (The Carnatic Wreck)”. SS Carnatic was a P & O passenger and cargo steamship which in 1869 ran aground with loss of life on a coral reef in the mouth of the Suez Canal in the Red Sea. She finally broke up and is now a popular scuba diving site, and is still there in the embrace of the deep. Many lovely images of divers and fishes amongst the wreckage. A brilliant evening, with members learning so much, closed with Len showing some of his most recent pictures taken on a trip to Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia.
11th September 2014
Glyn Bareham LRPS CPAGB, from the Invicta Club Maidstone in Kent, was the first guest speaker of the season and showed a collection of prints from his own lectures. The first half of the evening was dedicated to movement. There were some lovely vintage aircraft photographs taken at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire during an air display where a slow shutter speed should be used to show movement in the propellers. There were lots of prints of beautiful old aircraft including one of three second world war planes flying in formation across the sea with the reflection of the lowest one in the water. There were motorbikes taken at Brands Hatch with several from a position on Paddock Hill so Glyn could take the cars as they dip down then rise up over the hill travelling towards him. An image of an Aston Martin which does only 4-7 MPG with spitter flames, unspent fuel being burned off from the exhaust when the driver changes gear, showed Glyns split second timing. Another was of a pin sharp racing car with the front brakes locked and smoke coming from the tyres giving great atmosphere which had a blurred background showing speed. After the tea break the second half of the evening was landscape photography. Prints included the curve of turquoise green beach huts with yellow shutters in Littlehampton, Brighton Pier at sunset with the lights already on and hundreds of starlings preparing to roost against a steely grey sea, a beautiful dawn with skeletal trees and pink vapour trails in the sky, and Winchelsea at sunset with interesting rocks and lovely patterned sand. Glyns final words were “Always have a camera with you and never rush away at the end of your photography as there may be a better shot round the corner.” Ray thanked Glyn for a very entertaining evening and all his prints were displayed so members could enjoy seeing them again afterwards.
4th September 2014
The new season has begun at Hailsham Photographic Society with many members returning for a full programme of lectures and competitions after the summer break. It was a social event beginning with wine and nibbles and Chairman Ray Beckwith welcomed everyone back, including 10 new members.
The evening began with the presentation of winners trophies that could not be handed out at the AGM because of the absence of the respective winners. In addition, Paul Dunmall who is the Kent County Photographic Association officer who is responsible for the PAGB awards for merit presented Gay Biddlecombe with her certificate for attaining a credit distinction award. “An evening with the Chairman” began with Ray showing some Audio Visuals he had made and the first one was of Hellingly Hospital. A couple of members remember it well having worked there, but Ray showed images of the buildings inside and out completely run down, vandalised and derelict. Only one block was untouched and left pristine. The final picture was a set of images of the tower being demolished. “Beckwiths alternative Tuscany” A collection of attractive buildings, inside churches, flowers, landcsapes, and street photography of six windows with green shutters. “St Michael and All Angels Church, Withyham” The history of the church was narrated by Ray and showed, amongst other pictures, The East Window with its 10 stained glass panels and the Chapel of the Sackville Family. “The Trossachs” to the haunting music of Amazing Grace, with cattle, birds of prey, snow capped mountain peaks with rivers and lochs against stunning scenery. The final AV “The Philosophy for Old Age” was a sequence based on the George Carlin comedic monologue of the same name. After the tea break Ray presented a selection of prints under the title “The Chairmans Pot Pourri” which included a wide variety of images. Scenic views taken in Norway, a stunning kingfisher at the Loder Valley Nature Reserve at Wakehurst Place NT, badgers feeding, (a personal challenge) bee eaters in Tuscany, a bumblebee on a crocus at Batemans NT, and the Carrara Marble Mines in Italy to name a few. Ray maintains you should take photographs to please yourself, and if you like them that’s good enough. Dr Colin Tourle LRPS, President, rounded off the evening thanking Ray for his opening address and said how much the members were looking forward to the forthcoming season.
The competitions are now over for the season and this week at the club it was the Annual General Meeting and presentation of trophies.
Chairman Ray Beckwith opened the proceedings and each of the committee members were invited in turn to give their reports on the seasons activities. The election of Officers and Members of the Committee took place next with the re-election of those who had not completed their three term after nomination. This was followed by nomination and election of new officers to fill vacancies which had arisen.
After the break, Dr Colin Tourle, who has completed his own term of office as President, presented the trophies to all the members who had won the various competitions during the season. They are permitted to keep the trophy for one year and are also given a “keeper”, an engraved medallion in a case.
This was the last of the society’s meetings until the autumn when the season opens again at the beginning of September.
Your newly elected committee is as follows:
President: David Mills
Chairman: Ray Beckwith
Secretary: Terry McGhie
Treasurer: Carole Parish
Programme Secretary: Peter Stafford
Print Leader: Bob Sherrard
PDI Leader: Gerald Hartley
Digital Co-ordinator: Jean Mills
Social Secretary: Pam Maclay
Member: Louise Pemberton
Member: Roy Broad
23rd April 2015
It was the Projected Digital Image final this week, with judge Frank Page LRPS, who hadn’t been to the club for some time. Since the beginning of the season last September, there have been four rounds of PDI competitions where members are invited to enter two images in each round.
In the beginners class for the Swallow Cup, third place was awarded to Pam Maclay for Reflection Of We Three, second place went to Linda Busby for Storm Clouds Coming, and the winner was Pam Maclay for Shetland Summer Night, a beautiful picture of a sunset with lovely pastel colours, reflected in the water, taken through the reeds in the foreground.
In the intermediate class for the Sussex Shield, Peggy McKenzie received highly commended for November Afternoon, third place was awarded to David Philips for The Drone, second place went to Peggy McKenzie for San Bushman, Kalahari Desert, and the winner was Terry Maskell for Survivor, a stunningly simple image of a single piece of dried vegetation which been blown along a gritty roadway.
In the advanced class for the Albert Hillman Cup, two images were awarded highly commended. Alan Clark for What Is It Fred?, and Roy Morris ARPS for Western Ghats. Third place was awarded to John Deller LRPS for Alone In The Corn, second place went to Louise Pemberton for The Engine Shed, and the winner was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for Glencoe, a wonderful vista of mountains, hills and misty clouds with houses nestling in the valley, lovely golden undergrowth beautifully lit in the foreground with a snaking river running through.
After the certificates had been awarded, Frank said there were many lovely images, and the standard of work was stunning.
This is the last of the competitions and lectures for the season, with only the AGM and Annual dinner to look forward to, before a break until the Autumn.
16th April 2015
This weeks lecture was by Ian Wright ARPS entitled “The Documentary Project - From Planning To Prints”. Ian was accompanied by his wife Kitty Wright APRS who assisted with displaying his work. They are both widely travelled and organise many tutorials and workshops, and until recently, also ran a wedding photography business.
The evening began with a set of ten brightly coloured images taken in Skegness on Easter Monday. It was very cold and sunny with typically seaside scenes but with only a few people about.
Then there was a set of minimalist seascapes taken at Camber Sands and St. Ives with only one or two people in each shot and plenty of sand, sea and sky. Next was a set of portraits in monochrome, mostly taken abroad in India, Cuba and Nepal. Ian said it is a good subject if the person is looking at you in an interesting way, just like his stunning picture of an eleven year old girl dressed in national costume with beautiful intense eyes. All the photographs were displayed for members to enjoy during the tea break. Next was a set of ten colour images taken with a long lens in Cuba, of a tenement block. Each picture was of a window, some of which had been personalised with blinds and curtains, and some had people looking out as if they were imprisoned. On a group trip to the Amazon, and walking back to the boat, Ian noticed some fallen leaves decaying on a stony beach. He took a series of photographs, and processed the images by desaturating them almost to monochrome. They made a really unusual panel.
It was a very enjoyable evening as Ian presented several different styles of photography and was due to visit Eastbourne Photographic Society the following evening.
9th April 2015
This weeks guest speaker was Gavin Hoey, a full time professional photographer. His work can be seen in various photographic magazines and he is driven by a passion for sharing his photography and Photoshop knowledge, regularly making tutorial videos which have been viewed by people across the world. His current workshop, entitled Camera Shake Up, was designed, as the name suggests, to blow away the cobwebs of camera club members, by demonstrating a range of creative camera and Photoshop techniques throughout the evening. Gavin showed how to compose and edit a picture to obtain the best result and how to make a panorama by taking several photographs, moving the camera round a little with each shot, and stitching them together to make a wonderful picture.
After the tea break, he talked about how to get creative by joining a camera club or searching for images online. He held a live studio session with a photography shoot in which he used everyday objects, for example fairy lights and a household light bulb, to create some truly memorable images. Gavin also showed how to take a 3D image and handed out special glasses so all the members could appreciate the end result.
It was an extremely inspirational evening, full of fun and lots of tips and hints on to take and produce the best photographs. Although Gavin’s time is limited due to his lectures being so popular, the club really looks forward to his next visit.
2nd April 2015
This week saw the culmination of several months work since the beginning of the season last September in the print final. The judge was Richard Walton FRPS, who travelled from Kent for the occasion.
In the beginners group for the Pavilion Cup, highly commended was awarded Linda Busby for Wooden Door and Carole Parish for Grazing. Third place went to Carole Parish for Storm Clouds, in second place was Halina Martin for Novice Buddist Nuns, and the winner was Carole Parish for Chocolate Box, a pretty picture taken of Hever Castle with the moat and cottages in the background.
In the intermediate group for the Keith Donald Shield, highly commended was awarded to Jean Mills for The Saxophonist and Martin Rumary for Yamaha Vee Twin. Third place went to Peggy McKenzie for Walking In The Rain, in second place was Peggy McKenzie for Waif And Stray, and the winner was Jean Mills for Greylag Goose, a stunning shot of the head and neck of the bird with dark feathers and an orange beak against a muted background.
In the advanced group for the Founders Cup, highly commended was awarded to Ray Beckwith for Then I’ll Begin, Janice Payne ARPS for A Wintery Feeling and Liz Scott ARPS AFIAB for Luke, Chapter 2 Verse 12. Third place went to Alison Morris ARPS for Ganges Fisherman, in second place was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for Lost In Thought and the winner was Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP for Yellow House, Iceland, a beautiful photograph of a yellow house set against a snow scene with a couple of trees and lovely sky.
Richard, who always enjoys his visits to the club, is very highly thought of by the members as he is superb in the way he judges and gives really informative opinions of the images is appraising.
26th March 2015
This weeks competition was the PDI Photographer Of The Year for the Southern Cross Trophy. It is a competition designed to allow members of the society to submit a portfolio of six digital images that demonstrate the photographer’s versatility. There were sixteen sets submitted altogether for judge Clive Tanner FRPS to evaluate and he commented on each picture individually in its own right then as a panel.
Highly commended was awarded to three entrants, Sean Keen, Gerald Hartley and Bob Sherrard LRPS. In joint third place was Jean Mills, and Janet Monk ARPS, and second place went to Roy Morris ARPS. The winner was Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB for her six wonderful pictures. A monochrome of a spiral staircase looking upwards towards a circular window, a beautiful landscape in autumn colours with a river in the foreground with misty mountains, a close up of some rocks in lovely muted shades with a yellow pebble near the centre, a drop of water which created a bubble and ripples as it landed with a reflection, the standoff between a wolf and bison in the snow, and an Indian child smiling straight into the camera in black and white.
Clive made a very good job of appraising all the images with lots of amusing anecdotes and certificates were presented at the end of the evening.
19th March 2015
This weeks speaker was Bob Webzell ARPS, a frequent visitor to the club, who gave a talk called African Dreams. It was about his biennial trips to Tanzania and the charity Serian UK where Bob has served as secretary since its establishment in 2005. It is a registered charity that aims to promote education for sustainable ways of living in the UK and Tanzania. Serian UK has supported Noonkodin Secondary School in a remote Maasai Village in northern Tanzania, and most of Bobs fundraising, which helped build the school, is via photographic exhibitions and illustrated lecturing using images taken in Eluwai and the Monduli Mountains.
A couple of years ago Bob worked with renowned South African author and poet Wayne Visser, who wrote the ever popular I Am An African poem. They put together a selection of Bob’s photographs to go with some of Wayne’s poetry to create a book called African Dreams, a celebration of the people, landscapes and wildlife of the continent. An exhibition and picture sales also helped to raise money.
Some of Bob’s wonderful landscape images shown were of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti Plains and Olduvai Gorge, a steep sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley. Many stunning wildlife pictures included elephant, wildebeest, baboon, vultures, lion, cheetah and buffalo. There were also many candid portraits. A Maasai woman with baby who looks after Bob when he visits, grubby children looking distressed and neglected in their own environment with ill fitting clothing, elders and warriors of the Maasai tribe in their scarlet and purple robes, and a very elderly lady who is still revered and asked advice daily due to her seniority and wisdom. Bob knows them by name due to his frequent visits.
It was an extremely interesting evening with Bob telling stories as well as showing images of his incredible journeys, going to places he said he never thought he would visit.
12th March 2015
This week at the society was the last round of the Projected Digital Image competition before the final next month. The judge was David Eastley ARPS who was at the club last December to assess round two.
In the beginners class for the Swallow Cup, there were two images to go though. Lily Stamen, a close up of an orange stamen with pink petals in the background, by Dee McNabb, and Marching Snails, an image of some rusting metalwork coiled to look like snails, by Pam Maclay.
In the intermediate class for the Sussex Shield three went through. Brimstone On Echinacea and Hayle Bay, both by Rob Shepherd, and A Sheepish Look by Peggy McKenzie, with a herd of sheep standing in the middle of the road, completely blocking it, with a motorist waiting patiently behind them.
In the advanced class for the Albert Hillman Cup four were picked for the final. Western Ghats by Roy Morris ARPS, Crocus by Janet Monk ARPS, Early Purple Orchids In Morning Dew by Janice Payne LRPS, and Skunk Clownfish On Anemone by Sean Keen, an underwater scene of a peachy coloured clownfish with greenery all around and a colourful anemone.
Ray thanked David at the end of the evening for doing a terrific job and giving insight into what he thinks makes a good image.
5th March 2015
This week was round four of the print competition, the last one before the final next month. There was no external judge this time but three of the clubs own members, Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB and Ted Sturgeon LRPS were asked if they would do the honours. They took it in turns to critique each photograph, offering their comments and evaluation, and at the end of judging each class, they made a joint decision of those chosen be put through to the final.
In the pavilion cup for beginners two images went through. The Phantom Belly Dancers, a picture of brightly coloured costumes hanging up in a market, and Gone To Lunch, which looked as if the artist had left his pitch leaving behind all his painting equipment. Both were by Halina Martin.
In the Intermediate class there were three prints to go through. The Greenhouse by Jean Mills, John, Tilly And The Pensioner(Traction Engine) by Nicola Stone and Walking In The Rain, a wet weather picture of a couple walking down a street, by Peggy McKenzie.
For the advanced class there were six prints chosen. Ewe And Me by David Mills ARPS, The Great Court By Janet Monk ARPS, Luke, Chapter 2 Verse12 and Conifers both by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Glen Etive In Winter by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS DPAGB and Bluebells And Beech, a pretty photograph of a carpet of bluebells in a wood which was entirely hazy with the exception of a single beech tree branch left in focus, by Janice Payne LRPS.
Judging by club members is always an enjoyable and interesting evening for the rest of the club and one which is usually repeated every year.D
26th February 2015
It was the Village Competition for the Stafford Trophy at the club this week and members were invited one day last September to travel to the village of Steyning, West Sussex, to take photographs. They were then to present six as a set of images to depict the essence of the area and there were ten portfolios on display. The judge was Keith Gibson who had actually travelled to Steyning the previous day for some research, because, although he knew the area well, he wanted to view it in relation to the competition. Luckily the weather was fine on the day and to include a social occasion, lunch was booked at the Star Inn for those who wished to enjoy refreshments during their visit. There were many iconic points of interest to take. St. Andrew’s Church with the modern statue of the founder, St Cuthman, the Clock Tower, and the Steyning Tearooms where people sat outside enjoying their coffee in the sunshine. Independent retailers like the Sussex Produce Company which nearly everyone included as it was so colourful with all the fruits and vegetables displayed outside, and The Cobblestone Walk with its café’s and small workshops selling goods. Much architecture with Tudor style half timbered houses and some smart Georgian town houses too, thatched cottages, The Old Grammar School, and bang up to date was the modern library. All the entrants showed a wide variety of images and it was very interesting to see all the different panels. Keith decided to award the following positions. Third place went to Carole Parish, second to Janet Monk ARPS, and the winner was Fiona Flower, and they were all presented with their certificates on the night.
19th February 2015
No meeting.
12th February 2015
This week at the club there was a competition for The Strong Trophy. This is a set of six photographs exhibited as a coherent panel which is logically or aesthetically consistent and holding together as a harmonious or credible whole. The judge was Trevor Gellard FRPS who is a regular visitor for both talks and judging. There were thirteen panels entered in the competition for him to review and he said it was extremely difficult to pick a winner as there were so many different types of style. Six were held back for Trevor to see again and he awarded highly commended to three. La Sagrada Familia by Graham Wilkinson, Avian Expressions by Terry McGhie ARPS and Pett Levels Geology by Ray Beckwith.
In third place was At The Turner Contemporary by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP. Pictures in both pastel and bright colours with strong lines, graphic shapes and part of a person captured in each one.
In second place was Snow At Dyrholaey by Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP. These were minimalist snow scenes, a barren wilderness of intense cold which left the viewer feeling chilled.
The winner was I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside by Alison Morris ARPS. This set of monochrome images resembled pages from an old photograph album. Each picture had a black mount with photo corners and was of two little girls playing on a beach with buckets and spades.
Trevor greatly admired the work shown and members enjoyed a witty and humorous evening.
5th February 2015
At the society this week it was the third round of the PDI competition. The judge was Ray Bridges LRPS CPAGB ADPS BPE3 who had visited the club earlier in the season to give a lecture.
In the Swallow Cup for beginners, two images went through to the final. Storm Clouds Coming by Linda Busby, an atmospheric monochrome of the West Pier in Brighton, and Pier by Carole Parish, a view of Eastbourne Pier from the beach, taken at sunset, before the fire last year.
In the Sussex Shield for intermediates, four pictures were selected. Clematis Nelly Moser and A Cricketer’s Nightmare by Graham Wilkinson, Fresh Paint-Loch Torridon by Rob Shepherd and Flowing By by Jean Mills, a lovely picture of a large rock mottled with many colours, water flowing around it and taken with a slow shutter speed to show the movement.
Lastly was The Albert Hillman Cup for the advanced group which had five successful images picked. Street Prayers by Alison Morris ARPS, Impala Drinking by Terry McGhie ARPS, Dawn Mist by Janice Payne LRPS, Long Nosed Hawkfish and Pastel Impression, a hazy image of a man walking along the beach with birds in the sky in beautiful golden and purple tones, both by Sean Keen.
Ray said it was a real pleasure to judge the competition and he really enjoyed looking at the pictures and gave each image due consideration and helpful comments.
29th January 2015
This weeks speaker was Colin Westgate FRPS MFIAP who gave a PDI lecture titled Wild Britain. It was all about landscapes, in colour and monochrome, weather and light.
The presentation started in Sussex and Colin showed several images of the famous coastguard cottages at Cuckmere Haven. Firstly, they were atmospheric in the mist, then at sunset with pale pink cliffs, and lastly after a snowfall with the sun shining.
Colin them moved onto Yorkshire and showed a limestone pavement with a dead tree in the snow, and a waterfall taken with a slow shutter speed, Colins preference, to create a milky effect of the spray cascading over the rocks.
Next came the Scottish Highlands with a picture of Destitution Road, Dundonnell. There was light on the wet road which meandered along the foot of a mountain shrouded in mist and had a small croft by the side. There were also some wonderful photographs of sand patterns left by the tide which had subtle orange colours, with puddles reflecting the blue and white sky, and many gulls dotted about.
Colin was extremely knowledgeable about the UK as he organises many photographic field trips and workshops each year. He also travels much further afield including Iceland, India, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was a very inspirational evening and the club was very lucky to see him as he doesn’t make many presentations now.
22nd January 2015
At our meeting this week, we held Round 3 of the Print Competition which was judged by Roger Crocombe, ARPS. It was Roger's first visit to Hailsham and he assessed the pictures in a sensitive and understanding way, at the same time giving helpful advice, especially to the beginners and intermediates.
In the Pavilion Cup (Beginners) two prints went through to the final: 'Grazing' by Carole Parish and 'Wooden Door' by Linda Busby.
There were three successful prints in the Keith Donald Shield (Intermediate section): 'Early one Morning' by Keith Deverson, 'Eryngium and Leaf Hopper' by Rob Shepherd and 'Resting' by Jean Mills. In the Founders Cup (Advanced Group) there were six prints to go through and these were: 'Freesia' by Phil Smith, 'Yellowstone Canyon'' by Bob Sherrard, 'Feeling Wintry' by Janice Payne, 'Margate in the Rain' by Roger Scott, 'Dangerous Play' by Gay Biddlecombe and 'Yellow House - Iceland' by Pat Broad.
15th January 2015
This week at the club there was a special competition where the subject changes each year, and this time it was Yellow. There was a separate print and PDI section and there was a huge variety of images entered by members ranging from flowers, birds, fields of buttercups to cheeses, mustard and sweet corn.
In the print section, third place went to Terry McGhie ARPS for Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill, second place was awarded to Wendy Chrismas LRPS for On The Wing, and the winner was Rob Shepherd for Iceland Poppy, a beautiful close up of an open pale yellow flower.
After the break, it was the PDI section. Third place went to Alison Morris ARPS for Admiring The Palace, second place was awarded to Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB for Misty Dawn Walk, and the winner was Peggy McKenzie for The Yellow Umbrella, an atmospheric picture taken down a side road of two people walking along a wet pavement and holding up umbrellas against a really misty rainfall.
The judge was Glyn Bareham LRPS CPAGB, who has been to the club to give talks in previous years, and although it was a difficult subject to assess, Glyn did a really super job. He gave considered judgment with good reasoning behind all his comments.
8th January 2015
Hailsham Photographic Society’s President, Dr. Colin Tourle’s evening began with a friend of his, Commander Roger Paine, who told us some interesting stories, with photographic back up, of animal mascots in the Royal Navy. Animals were originally kept on board for fresh meat but sometimes the sailors became too fond of a particular animal and it was kept on as a pet. Many types of animals became mascots including pigs, cats, dogs, monkeys, parrots and even a possum and a wallaby. On HMS Highflyer, a pet Gazelle was named ‘Bill’ and a Russian Black Bear on HMS Ajax would often get lost after a swim in the sea and not know to which ship he belonged. One cat, which had been on three different ships which had in turn sunk, was not allowed on yet another as the sailors feared for their lives and the animal ended its days at a sailors’ home in Belfast.
Next was Dr. Colin Tourle’s lecture of his recent visit to the Lebanon to give medical treatment to the Syrian refugees. He told us a little of the background history of the area and the troubles there and showed pictures of the camps with each family having one or two rooms and very little furniture. They existed on very little meat and dairy which was very expensive and ate mostly lentils and vegetables as they have no money. While he was there he treated mainly infections and sickness because of the dirty conditions but also saw some horrific injuries because of the indiscriminate bombings.
On a lighter note, in the second half of the evening, we were entertained by Marie Stone, a local photographer, who purchased land locally. Using Permaculture, a growing system which works with nature, she has now planted fruit trees and grows many vegetables to become self-sufficient.
This varied interest evening welcomed us back after the Christmas break.
11th December 2014
This week a new speaker, David Plummer, was invited to the club to give his talk A Year In Wildlife Photography. David is a freelance photographer specialising in wildlife and travel and writes magazine articles, gives lectures and slide shows. He also works as a photographer for the Sussex Wildlife Trust in his home county and runs photographic trips to places like Rwanda, Kenya and India, and is passionate about a new local venture in owl conservation and protection.
The evening began with images of this years trip to the Masai Mara where he prefers to spend prolonged periods of time with just one subject rather than chasing around taking a single shot then moving on. David explained on how getting low and level with the animal gets more intimacy, a soft background, and produces the best shots. There were many pictures of big cats, including a cheetah sitting in the pouring rain with its eyes closed and a family of lions with cubs yawning, playing and sleeping. He followed a serval for hours and a leopard for a few days showing it with its kill, a bushbuck, which was eventually dragged up a tree.
David then moved onto Rwanda with shots taken through the vehicle at the street scenes with walkers cyclists and children together with images of the trek through the jungle to the mountain gorilla with young. He then moved onto birds and told of how he prepares bait and an attractive perch creating a scene for them to appear in to obtain wonderful pictures, many for magazine covers. Another set of images was on how David uses a hide both on land and in the water to take some lovely pictures of kingfishers, small birds, foxes, badgers, and water fowl.
It was an extremely interesting and informative evening full of stories on how David’s outstanding pictures were taken and it is hoped he will be able to return another time.
4th December 2014
This week was round two of the PDI Competition and the Judge was David Eastley ARPS who has been to the club on many occasions. David is always very welcome and when assessing a print or projected image he gives really useful constructive advice as well as being supportive of the photographer.
In the Swallow Cup for beginners two images were chosen to go through to the final. Nuts And Bolts, an image of an old wooden door with a lot of rusty hinges by Linda Busby, and Rusting Angel by Pam Maclay, a picture of the Angel of the North viewed from behind with a couple of people standing by the feet to give it great scale.
For the intermediates, competing for the Sussex Shield the following were successful. The Drone and Time For 11’s by David Philips, both stunning pictures of a bird of prey, one in flight and the other with its kill, The American Cemetery by Jean Mills, row upon row of white crosses to mark the graves of American Military who died in World War 11, and November Afternoon by Peggy McKenzie, a misty wet street scene with a person walking out of the shot complete with umbrella.
In the advanced group for the Albert Hillman Cup five went through. Travels With My Chair Asda Carpark by Roger Scott, Glencoe by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, Juvenile Beech leaves by Janice Payne LRPS, Bexhill Cupola At Night by Ray Beckwith, and A Long Tail by Roy Morris ARPS.
It was a real pleasure to see David again and a very enjoyable evening. His comments on how some images may be improved were invaluable as he is a very fine judge and the club looks forward to seeing him again.
27th November 2014
It was the Landscape Competition this week with members entering both prints and PDI’s, but this time not in separate classes, and the judges were two of the clubs own members.
The prints for the Girling Award were first and judged by John Staples who awarded Highly Commended to Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP for Snow At Dyrr Holaey and Roger Scott for Cuckmere Valley, Alfriston. Third place went to Peggy Mckenzie for Early Morning Mist, second place to Janet Monk ARPS for Buckholt Wood, and the winner was Gerald Hartley for his photograph Advancing Dunes, which was a superb image of sand dunes in the desert in different hues with a single tree in the foreground.
After the tea break it was the turn of the PDI section for the Betty Wells Trophy. The judge was Chris Coates who admired so many of the images he had a difficult job to make a decision. Highly Commended was awarded to Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB for Yellowstone Dawn and The Farm On The Downs, Peggy Mckenzie for The Cuckmere, and John Deller for Fairifeld Church. Third place went to Terry McGhie ARPS for Brighton West Pier, second place to Shaun Freeborn for Littlehampton, and the winner was Ray Beckwith for his image Ben Venue, a stunning picture of snow capped mountains against a mid blue sky complete with a half moon, and skeletal trees in the foreground.
It made a very interesting evening with the two members judging their colleagues work, and after the presentation of certificates was made, Ray thanked them both for dealing with such a large number of entrants in the competition.
20th November 2014
This week the club invited Clive Tanner FRPS DPAGB to give his print lecture called Is This The Printer Of My Disc Content? He is one of the clubs favourite speakers and said how nice it was to be back and that he was really looking forward to the evening as he knew what was coming! Clive first explained how he became interested in photography by getting out of the rain one day and entering a lighted building. He found himself viewing Tonbridge Camera Clubs annual print exhibition which he joined and later went onto join Maidstone Camera Club.
Clive mentioned the equipment he started off with and showed some darkroom prints in black and white. A spiral staircase with wrought iron railings and a round glass window in the roof, and a statue inside a church showing the hand resting on a prayer book. He later moved onto digital photography and colour.
There was a selection of images of people in Venice costumes of very bright colours, you must be able to see the eyes behind the mask, and the titles were in different languages. Then followed some pictures taken for a museum, a dragon boat carved in ivory, and an old English red silk handbag several hundred years old.
Next there was some work created for the panels required for his distinctions, fifteen prints of the insides of cathedrals in Southwark, Chichester, Canterbury, Wells, to name but a few. It was a stunning collection of pictures in pastel colours, cream, gold, and bronze, polished wood, stained glass windows, flowers and ivory coloured pillars.
It was an absolutely superb evening with a lovely touch of humour, and Clive said that photography was an accurate representation of what he feels and what he does.
13th November 2014
This weeks lecture called Is This It? was by Leigh Preston FRPS EFIAP MPAGB and it was his first visit to the club. He is known as a landscape photographer, likes monochrome, relies on atmospherics, dramatic lighting and strong storylines to convey an individual style. Leigh has been teaching photography and darkroom skills for many years together with writing several books on the subject.
He began the evening with pictures he likes to take at concerts as he can get right up close to the stage, rock bands, guitars and other musical instruments, singers and musicians and a violinist. Then there were several industrial images, a fish and chip shop in Stoke on Trent, a Lancashire cotton mill and the Bull Ring in Birmingham. Row upon row of terraced housing and cobbled streets. Next were informal portraits showing people from all walks of life and in their natural surroundings showing their occupation. Skateboarders in the pouring rain, model students and people drinking in a bar.
Many of the images shown were accompanied by amusing anecdotes similar to that of a stand up comedian.
The second half of the evening was on a much more serious note with Perspectives On A Century From 1912. A brief series on strong minded unfashionable opinionated and at times personal visual views to some aspects of European History. Images included where Titanic was fitted out, 6th form students on a field trip visiting the Serre battlefield cemetery at the Somme, and further afield were pictures of Colditz Castle, firebombed Dresden, and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
There’s a lot of nostalgia in Leighs photography due to the way of living has changed with photographs of Morris Minors, steam trains, steel works, coalmining in South Wales and North Sea Oil rigs.
It was a real pleasure to have Leigh address the club with so much fun on one hand and so much ruin and grimness on the other, he exceeded all expectations.
6th November 2014
It was competition time again this week at the society with the second print round. The judge was Bob Webzell ARPS who has been to the club many times before and was welcomed back with great pleasure. Bob is well known for his quick wit and dry humour.
There were the usual three categories and Bob began with the beginners class for the Pavillion Cup.
There were only two prints to go through to the final and these were Novice Buddhist Nuns by Halina Martin and Desolate, a moody monochrome picture of a barn taken on a farm against a menacing sky, by Linda Busby.
In the intermediate section for the Keith Donald Shield, three were to be chosen. These were Waif And Stray, and Bongo Boy, both by Peggy McKenzie and Yamaha Vee Twin by Martin Rumary, a picture of part of a motorcycle showing two exhaust pipes with muted blue and brown hues with the remaining parts of the engine looking mostly black and chrome.
The last group had the most entries and the advanced class for the Founders Cup had seven going through. Speed Kills by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, Geese At Dawn and Pool And Mountain Iceland both by Pat Broad ARPS AFIAP, The Colonade by Liz Scott ARPS AFIAP, Shopkeeper by Roy Morris ARPS, Grace by Edward Sturgeon LRPS and Max by Phil Smith, a fabulous head and shoulders monochrome portrait of a young man with startling bright eyes, wispy beard and earrings.
It was a terrific competition with a stunning standard of work and it is hoped to see Bob, with his sense of humour, back soon.
30th October 2014
This weeks lecture called I Shoot People, was delivered by Dave Mason on his first visit to the club. He takes mainly street photography in and around his home town of London, and his pictures are as honest as possible with very little, if any, post processing. Dave made his digital presentation with several groups of images and kept club members entertained with many humorous anecdotes.
The first sequence, Borrowed Art, uses other peoples artwork and posters and Dave also likes to blend any text if he can with the image. He creates a theatrical stage then waits patiently for the unchoreographed people to come into the scene, like a poster of a large pair of spectacles on the wall with a man walking into the picture with his head positioned in one of the lenses.
Another collection was called East London with a picture of graffiti of the heads of two men open mouthed and a girl standing in between them waiting for her friend to take a photo. A man walked into the shot, the girl laughed, and this is the kind of image Dave likes to capture.
Then there was Events where Dave usually stays around the edges of what’s going on. Taking photos is easier here as people expect to be photographed. A queue at an ice cream van at a military re-enactment day which had a container of severed limbs next to it and another of a lady who kept on wobbling as she stood on a trestle table waiting to mount the large horse which was positioned much too far away from her to reach.
The evening was a huge success and was thoroughly enjoyed by members with lots of laugh out loud moments. Dave had a really wonderfully comic way of relating his photographs to the viewer and it is hoped he will be able to return next season.
23rd October 2014
It was the Natural History Competition this week at the club and judge was Colin Page, a naturalist, nurseryman and photographer. It is always a pleasure to see him whether judging or speaking and his extra knowledge about wildlife, flora and fauna makes for extremely interesting evenings.
In the print competition, highly commended was awarded to Chris Coates ARPS DPAGB for Carmine Bee Eaters (Merops Nubicoides), third place went to Janice Payne LRPS for Common Blue Butterfly (Polyommatus Icarus) in second place was Colin Chrismas LRPS with Sky Lark and the winner was Janice Payne LRPS for a beautiful photograph of a pink flower on a stem against a pale green background called Female Flower Of The Norway Spruce ( Picea Abies.)
In the Projected Digital Images competition, highly commended was awarded to Gill Terry for Scottish Wildcat (Felis Sylvestris Grampia), Janet Monk ARPS for Hover Fly (Sphaerophora Scripta), and Linda Busby for Funghi. Third place went to Roy Broad for Bluebottle Spider Hydrangea, in second place was Janice Payne LRPS for Early Purple Orchids (Orchis Mascula) and the winner was Edward Sturgeon LRPS for Mother And Baby African Elephant, an atmospheric picture against a local background with soft muted colours.
Colin said he felt privileged to see such a lovely collection of images and Ray thanked him for a superb evening and said there was realism in his comments.
16th October 2014
There was another competition for the club this week, the first round of Projected Digital Images. This is in the same format as the print competitions except the images are viewed from a projector onto a large screen. The judge was Gary Carter from Seaford Photographic Society who had quite recently decided he would like to judge and it was his first visit to the society. The results are as follows;
The Swallow Cup for beginners has two images through to the final. “Sea Holly” by Dee McNabb, a pretty picture of spiky white holly against a lovely muted background, and “Shetland Summer Night” by Pam Maclay, a beautiful sunset reflected in the water taken through the reeds in the foreground of the picture.
The Sussex Shield for intermediates had four images picked. “San Bushman, Kalahari Desert“ by Peggy McKenzie, “Survivor” by Terry Maskell, “Little Egret” and “Bittern In Flight” both by David Philips. Each one had a superb photograph of the bird in flight showing stunning colour and feathers.
The Albert Hillman Cup for advanced members had six images chosen to go through. These were “Mist In The Cuckmere Valley” by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB, “Outside The Temple” by Alison Morris ARPS, “Sweet Pea” by Bob Sherrard LRPS, “Looking Towards The Light” and “Alone In The Corn” both by John Deller LRPS, and “What Is It Fred?” by Alan Clark, a really amusing picture of two cats sitting either side of a very old wooden door with one of them peeping through a gap. There was a burst of laughter when this one appeared on the screen.
At the end of the competition, Ray thanked Gary very much for coming to the club, giving his views and comments on the work he had seen, and Ray also commented on how nice it was to meet new judges on the circuit.
9th October 2014
This weeks lecture was titled “Ray’s AV Extravaganza” and was delivered by Ray Bridges LRPS CPAGB ADPS BPE3, a member of Maidstone Camera Club, who has visited the society on previous occasions.
There was a wide variety of subjects shown in several AV’s during the evening, mostly set against music, a few with narration and some with Rays own poetry. Ray said that “If you don’t like the pictures you might like the music, and if you don’t like the music you might like the pictures!”
“The Farne Islands” was a set of beautiful images taken in Northumberland in June, and consisted of long sandy beaches with crashing waves and rocks, an abundance of wildlife with gulls, guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes to name but a few. Also boats, waterfalls, the castle and monastery, the chapel of St Cuthbert, and the Farne lighthouse built in 1811 and Longstone lighthouse built in 1826 due to the huge number of shipwrecks around the islands. There are between 15 -28 islands visible depending on the state of the tide.
“The Romney Marsh in December” was another set of pictures to depict how Ray feels about the Marshes which are close to where he lives. The church after snowfall, watery sunlight, mist on the river, naked trees, frosty berries, leaves and spiders web. Winter at its height and a wonderful morning to remember.
Another AV called “BERT” was actually about Rays grandfather who served in the first world war. A story of an ordinary man, with the reading of a poem and shown in black and white with pictures of soldiers, nurses poppy fields and guns.
A really great evening was rounded off with Ray being thanked for coming to the club again and showing some of his lovely audio visual work.
2nd October 2014
This weeks meeting saw the beginning of the seasons print competitions with round 1. Ray welcomed back Paul Dunmall CPAGB, who was judging at the club this time last year. There were three different categories of various images for Paul to appraise and a number from each were selected to go through to the print final at the end of the season. In the beginners class, two were selected. “Chocolate Box” by Carole Parish and “Hope Bay, Tasmania” by Peter Parks, a pretty view of the coastline and cliff edge running down to the sea. In the Intermediate class, three were picked. “Lesvos Moonlight” by Rob Shepherd, “Greylag Goose” by Jean Mills and “At The End Of The Day” by Peggy McKenzie, a lovely image of six figures paddling in the sea reflected in the sand also went through. And in the advanced class, six were chosen. “Jamie Drumming” by Roy Morris ARPS, “Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracius Caudatausi)” by Terry McGhie ARPS, “Llyn Padarn” by David Mills ARPS, “Passed by” by Alison Morris ARPS, “Friends (India)” and “Approaching Storm” both by Gay Biddlecombe LRPS CPAGB , all of which went through. At the end of the evening Ray thanked Paul for being an excellent judge who gave relevant comments especially for the new members who may have not entered any competitions before. Paul said that he considers it a privilege and an honour to be a judge and likes to make comments to help people improve their photography, but he also learns a lot from competitors in return by viewing other peoples work and seeing how they have presented their own images.
25th September 2014
This weeks lecture was by Viveca Koh FRPS titled “Urban Exploration To Fine Art - A Photographic Journey”, which covered her progress made in the last few years from exploring city shooting, architecture and street art, to derelict asylums and abandoned buildings. Viveca always maintains you should “Take only photographs and leave only footsteps”.
A series of absolutely stunning projected images of the insides of several derelict hospitals, asylums, mortuaries, industrial factories, and the ECBV power plant in Belgium then followed.
These pictures include a hairdressing salon with a rusting hair drier billowing shredded net curtains and shafts of light through the ceiling, the old boiler house at Hellingly, a blackboard with chalked notes next to a blue paint peeling door with shattered windows, personal belongings such as a dirty tweed jacket and torn paperback, and a sewing machine rusted and blackened due to a fire in a room still with charred walls.
Viveca then talked through the three panels submitted to obtain her recent distinctions, LRPS requires 10 prints “birth to death“, ARPS 15 prints “what is left when a building is abandoned by humans“, and FRPS 20 prints from a commission received from her uncle to illustrate his latest book of poetry.
After the break all the pictures shown had a layer of texture added, some of which were very subtle. Viveca moved onto the use of textures to make a decayed picture look even more decrepit and these included suitcases left on a shelf made to look like an old painting, a portrait of a woman overlaid with a picture postcard and some had a bokeh effect, a texture of small blobs of light. The crew always shoots self portraits as a record of the visit and proof of being there.
Viveca sees her future as an artistic and creative photographer, continuing to develops skills, doing more arty abstract work and continuing to exhibit. It was a memorable evening, thoroughly enjoyed by members with Viveca totally living up to expectations.
18th September 2014
This weeks topic was “Underwater Photography” presented by guest speaker Len Deeley FRPS. Len began his talk with a short history of how the earliest pictures were taken in 1856 and the development of diving equipment and aquatic cameras. This has now led to many underwater photographic trips available today. The first part was about the complexity and difficulties found with this type of photography, refraction, distance with everything seeming to be one third closer than it really is, and the loss of colour the deeper you dive. Red yellow and orange fade at a depth of 5-15 metres, with green blue greys following. Also, the need to use a flash gun as without the light all colour would be lost, bright colours take on much more subtle hues in deep water. A series of stunning images were then shown, of the most beautiful fish with wonderfully bright colours. After the break there were two AV’s. The first, “Hidden Depths” tries to answer the question of why these animals have such beautiful colour. Some use it as a defence against predation, the sea is a hostile place. Also, fish shoal for protection, some blend in with their terrain and most of what you see is designed to confuse, as due to great camouflage, they are difficult to see.
The second Av was “Embrace of the Deep (The Carnatic Wreck)”. SS Carnatic was a P & O passenger and cargo steamship which in 1869 ran aground with loss of life on a coral reef in the mouth of the Suez Canal in the Red Sea. She finally broke up and is now a popular scuba diving site, and is still there in the embrace of the deep. Many lovely images of divers and fishes amongst the wreckage. A brilliant evening, with members learning so much, closed with Len showing some of his most recent pictures taken on a trip to Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia.
11th September 2014
Glyn Bareham LRPS CPAGB, from the Invicta Club Maidstone in Kent, was the first guest speaker of the season and showed a collection of prints from his own lectures. The first half of the evening was dedicated to movement. There were some lovely vintage aircraft photographs taken at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire during an air display where a slow shutter speed should be used to show movement in the propellers. There were lots of prints of beautiful old aircraft including one of three second world war planes flying in formation across the sea with the reflection of the lowest one in the water. There were motorbikes taken at Brands Hatch with several from a position on Paddock Hill so Glyn could take the cars as they dip down then rise up over the hill travelling towards him. An image of an Aston Martin which does only 4-7 MPG with spitter flames, unspent fuel being burned off from the exhaust when the driver changes gear, showed Glyns split second timing. Another was of a pin sharp racing car with the front brakes locked and smoke coming from the tyres giving great atmosphere which had a blurred background showing speed. After the tea break the second half of the evening was landscape photography. Prints included the curve of turquoise green beach huts with yellow shutters in Littlehampton, Brighton Pier at sunset with the lights already on and hundreds of starlings preparing to roost against a steely grey sea, a beautiful dawn with skeletal trees and pink vapour trails in the sky, and Winchelsea at sunset with interesting rocks and lovely patterned sand. Glyns final words were “Always have a camera with you and never rush away at the end of your photography as there may be a better shot round the corner.” Ray thanked Glyn for a very entertaining evening and all his prints were displayed so members could enjoy seeing them again afterwards.
4th September 2014
The new season has begun at Hailsham Photographic Society with many members returning for a full programme of lectures and competitions after the summer break. It was a social event beginning with wine and nibbles and Chairman Ray Beckwith welcomed everyone back, including 10 new members.
The evening began with the presentation of winners trophies that could not be handed out at the AGM because of the absence of the respective winners. In addition, Paul Dunmall who is the Kent County Photographic Association officer who is responsible for the PAGB awards for merit presented Gay Biddlecombe with her certificate for attaining a credit distinction award. “An evening with the Chairman” began with Ray showing some Audio Visuals he had made and the first one was of Hellingly Hospital. A couple of members remember it well having worked there, but Ray showed images of the buildings inside and out completely run down, vandalised and derelict. Only one block was untouched and left pristine. The final picture was a set of images of the tower being demolished. “Beckwiths alternative Tuscany” A collection of attractive buildings, inside churches, flowers, landcsapes, and street photography of six windows with green shutters. “St Michael and All Angels Church, Withyham” The history of the church was narrated by Ray and showed, amongst other pictures, The East Window with its 10 stained glass panels and the Chapel of the Sackville Family. “The Trossachs” to the haunting music of Amazing Grace, with cattle, birds of prey, snow capped mountain peaks with rivers and lochs against stunning scenery. The final AV “The Philosophy for Old Age” was a sequence based on the George Carlin comedic monologue of the same name. After the tea break Ray presented a selection of prints under the title “The Chairmans Pot Pourri” which included a wide variety of images. Scenic views taken in Norway, a stunning kingfisher at the Loder Valley Nature Reserve at Wakehurst Place NT, badgers feeding, (a personal challenge) bee eaters in Tuscany, a bumblebee on a crocus at Batemans NT, and the Carrara Marble Mines in Italy to name a few. Ray maintains you should take photographs to please yourself, and if you like them that’s good enough. Dr Colin Tourle LRPS, President, rounded off the evening thanking Ray for his opening address and said how much the members were looking forward to the forthcoming season.