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The second of our reviews for our July meeting was from a shoot that we did at a wetland park.  We had the services of two local young ladies to help us try our hand at taking portraits in an environmental setting.  Neither of the girls are professional models and none of our group are that experienced at directing models, so we all learned on the hoof so to speak.  What is probably evident from some of the images below is that we all had a good time and even produced the odd decent picture !

It had been raining for a couple of days beforehand and on the day itself.  I went up to the park at around 4:00 p.m. to see how it looked and if the ground was going to be unsuitable.  In the event, it was fine.  We were also lucky with the weather as it stopped raining around the same time I went up there and when we gathered the sun even came out !

If you would like to join us, check out the Monthly Meeting section which will give you all the information about when, where and what.  You will see that we try to learn from each other and cover a variety of topics and also have some sessions learning different tricks using Photoshop in the school’s IT suite.  While not everyone has Photoshop, some of the things we do can be translated into other image editing software.

The club is for anyone interested in photography whether you’re a beginner or professional.  Come and see for yourself – you’ll be most welcome.

For the August meeting, we decided to leave the members’ photos till the end of the session and to have a look at magazines and books to each find two photos.  The aim was to find one photo we thought was excellent and one we didn’t like- then think about and explain why. To give our blog readers a chance to try this, here is a selection of free stock photos to check out. (click each photo to see full size) What do you like or dislike, and why?

Please do leave a comment at the bottom giving your choices and explanations.

We then looked at our Members’ photos on the theme of ‘Summer Landscape’, this time grouped by member instead of a random mix.

Again, you are welcome to comment.

Our photo theme for the next meeting is Close-Up or Macro (extreme close-up) photography.

Finally, I leave you with news that our page is in the process of being improved. Hopefully there will be a diary of meetings and events, a section for members’ photos other than the themed shots,  a members only page and contact details for the club as well as the continuing blog.

There’s been a bit of a gap here but we we’ll try to fill in the gaps when we have time.  And having some time today, I thought I’d add a post about our recent meeting.

The meeting didn’t go quite as planned, as you’ll see, but let’s start as usual with member’s photos. The theme for the July meeting was Photos of Durham. We’d met a few days earlier for a photo walk around Durham, so most of the photos are from that walk. Some who didn’t make the walk shared photos from other visits there.

The Cathedral illuminated and in fog – and a ghost photographer.

Those who were on the walk shared their images.

Detaisl from Palace Green…

and views from the riverside.

A different perspective in the same areas…

…and some architectural details.

 

The plan after that was that we would take a walk round the school to take architectural shots. Unfortunately, since I considered the idea and checked that it was OK, they have installed new security fencing  so this wasn’t possible. However, they did give us permission to take some internal shots so we did get a practical session even if it wasn’t quite as intended.

Here are the our best shots.First a staircase that we could get to outside and reflections in from a science lab.

A couple of shots of the locker room…

…more lockers, and the path outside the main entrance.

Then a detail shot from the lockers and a couple of architectural details.

 

Next month, you can look forward to some Summer Landscapes.

 

 

We met on 17th November and started by having a look at the images members have taken on the Autumn theme.  We had some good shots as members are beginning to take more time looking at what it is they are shooting.  Something we can all do more of no matter how long we’ve been taking pictures.

The new venue is proving marvellous.  Meeting in the lecture theatre gives us lots of space to try things.  As part of the session we set up a couple of tables with some items on and a continuous lamp to light them.  Members had a go at different compositions, capitalising on what we did last session.  Some members found new functions on their cameras as we all tried to help each other where we could.  That is what the club is really all about – helping and learning from each other.

Have a look at the images below and let us know what you think.  If you would like to come along and have a chat and find out what it’s all about we’d love to see or hear from you.  The next session is on 15th December and will be a practical using Photoshop to do some image editing.  Should be fun !

The last 2 images were a couple that were played around with in Photoshop to show the variations that are possible when you make time to play !

See you next month.

 

You may have noticed a gap here. We were unable to have a meeting in January as the centre was closed, and some members were unable to make alternative dates. The theme from December was continued, so here are a selection of Chrismas or Winter shots.

First, two winter birds –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Christmas image –

– and then some winter scenes.

One from above Crook,                           

another from Willington,

one from Bollihope

 

 

 

 

 

 

and finally this from the Lake District

During the session, we looked at a powerpoint (courtesy of Stephen) about different types of composition. We then took some photos, inside and out, trying to use as many composition types as we could.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can you see? Triangles? Thirds? Lead-in lines? Framing? Maybe a combination? Add your comments underneath the post.

Our theme for next month was to take as many different photos of the same subject (static, at one time) as we could, exploring the use of different angles and compositions.

 

We were missing a few members this month due to other events, but as usual, we started the meeting by sharing the photos we had brought in. Macro, or close-up, was the theme.

Ronnie or Joan took this at Butterfly World. Perhaps you can remind me which one of you?

 

 

 

A fuschia bud from Freddy –

 

 

 

 

– but I have forgotten what plant the leaves were from.

 

 

 

Add finally, a visitor to my kitchen window posed perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the practical session, we looked at the difference light can make to a subject –  something we can apply to any kind of photo anywhere. Light and shade emphasise texture, lines or  shape whether in abstract, landscape, portrait – any type of image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This pair of photos were lit from different angles. Which do you think shows the texture best?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a ‘portrait’, which of these shows the teddy best? Light from a little above and a little to the front,  or from above and to the side?

The light and shade have enhanced the form and texture of this rotary grater.

 

 

 

Our next meeting will be in December, and the theme is Autumn Weather.

The meeting started , as usual, with a look at photos people had brought in.

 

 

 

 

 

The theme set was to use the’rules’ of composition for any subject….

 

 

 

 

…or to show how the ‘rules’ could be broken.

 

 

 

 

In our practical session, we looked at photos emphasizing colour,

 

 

 

 

form,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unusual perspective,

 

 

 

 

curves,

 

 

 

and texture.

For photos to share at November’s meeting, we chose to take macro shots.  Can’t wait to see them.