Archived Items
8th March 2021
COVID-19 has meant that Thornbury Camera Club’s annual round of competitions has had to be rearranged. It is no longer as easy as it was to exchange photographic prints. At first it was possible to exchange small A4 prints rather than full size exhibition prints. In this later lockdown, however, even that has proved difficult. Rather than abandon prints, the print competitions have been moved to later in the year and a new one-off digital image competition introduced: “The Best of 2020”. This was judged by Beryl Heaton (ARPS, EFIAP, CPAGB) of Bristol Photographic Society. Beryl is an old friend who has visited Thornbury several times.
On this occasion, Beryl was faced with sixty images containing a typical range of topics: from landscape to still life. While there were some portraits, they were relatively few and far between. Rob England’s “Abstraction” stood out. Flowers were popular: we were presented with Bluebell woods, Lavender Fields and even Flowers frozen in ice!
Beryl was keen on the quality of lighting. She commented several times on lighting which was too harsh creating shadows which were to deep to contain detail.
The show ended not with the traditional sunset but with a popular local subject: the Severn Bridge.
In the event, First place went to Simon Meeds with “Zoom”, Second was “Buttermere” by Dean Packer. In third place was George Collett with “Intrepid”:a picture of a Harvest Mouse. Other noted images came from Steve Wells, Malcolm Rea, Lorna Minshall. Cheryl Miller (ARPS), Mike Ashfield, Vincent Mann, Rose Kemp, Rob England, Edward Kilmartin and Dean Packer.
For me, the stand-out image of the evening was “Buttermere” by Dean Packer. Three highland cattle standing in the stream at the Gatesgarth end of the lake; it had the texture and feel of Constable.
COVID-19 has meant that Thornbury Camera Club’s annual round of competitions has had to be rearranged. It is no longer as easy as it was to exchange photographic prints. At first it was possible to exchange small A4 prints rather than full size exhibition prints. In this later lockdown, however, even that has proved difficult. Rather than abandon prints, the print competitions have been moved to later in the year and a new one-off digital image competition introduced: “The Best of 2020”. This was judged by Beryl Heaton (ARPS, EFIAP, CPAGB) of Bristol Photographic Society. Beryl is an old friend who has visited Thornbury several times.
On this occasion, Beryl was faced with sixty images containing a typical range of topics: from landscape to still life. While there were some portraits, they were relatively few and far between. Rob England’s “Abstraction” stood out. Flowers were popular: we were presented with Bluebell woods, Lavender Fields and even Flowers frozen in ice!
Beryl was keen on the quality of lighting. She commented several times on lighting which was too harsh creating shadows which were to deep to contain detail.
The show ended not with the traditional sunset but with a popular local subject: the Severn Bridge.
In the event, First place went to Simon Meeds with “Zoom”, Second was “Buttermere” by Dean Packer. In third place was George Collett with “Intrepid”:a picture of a Harvest Mouse. Other noted images came from Steve Wells, Malcolm Rea, Lorna Minshall. Cheryl Miller (ARPS), Mike Ashfield, Vincent Mann, Rose Kemp, Rob England, Edward Kilmartin and Dean Packer.
For me, the stand-out image of the evening was “Buttermere” by Dean Packer. Three highland cattle standing in the stream at the Gatesgarth end of the lake; it had the texture and feel of Constable.
1st March 2021
Once again it is that time of the year when Thornbury Camera Club takes a look at what N&EMPF (the North and East Midlands Photographic Federation) has been doing. N&EMPF is made up of photographic clubs and societies primarily in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Each year N&EMPF holds a competition for the 53 clubs in the federation and produces a CD to showcase the entries and winning images. The 2020 competition had over 3000 accepted entries in both print and projected categories.
The standard was, as usual, very high, and, as usual, the Rolls Royce (Derby) club came top!
Compared with previous years, the subject matter has shifted a little. It seemed to me that while portraits were as popular as ever, there were fewer images of models made up to look like Victorian down and outs. Last year I noted that nudes were in evidence: not so this year. A more romantic style seemed to have come to the fore (leavened, of course, by the odd punk – some very odd!)
Sport seemed to be one of this year’s main themes. I noticed cricket, tennis, golf, rugby, swimming, polo, running and ice hockey (I undoubtedly missed some). Very often the sports images were close in to the face showing the effort being expended to gain that last fraction of a second.
As in previous years, wildlife was in evidence. Birds were more popular this year than I remember: and not just spectacular birds of prey. For me a photograph of a Bittern in flight stood out. The Bittern is a secretive bird which hides in reed beds and is difficult to see at the best of times.
Perhaps the highlight was a series of nature photographs by David Keep (ARPS, DPAGB, ABPE). An underwater photograph of gannets diving to take mackerel was of a standard which would impress David Attenborough.
Once again it is that time of the year when Thornbury Camera Club takes a look at what N&EMPF (the North and East Midlands Photographic Federation) has been doing. N&EMPF is made up of photographic clubs and societies primarily in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Each year N&EMPF holds a competition for the 53 clubs in the federation and produces a CD to showcase the entries and winning images. The 2020 competition had over 3000 accepted entries in both print and projected categories.
The standard was, as usual, very high, and, as usual, the Rolls Royce (Derby) club came top!
Compared with previous years, the subject matter has shifted a little. It seemed to me that while portraits were as popular as ever, there were fewer images of models made up to look like Victorian down and outs. Last year I noted that nudes were in evidence: not so this year. A more romantic style seemed to have come to the fore (leavened, of course, by the odd punk – some very odd!)
Sport seemed to be one of this year’s main themes. I noticed cricket, tennis, golf, rugby, swimming, polo, running and ice hockey (I undoubtedly missed some). Very often the sports images were close in to the face showing the effort being expended to gain that last fraction of a second.
As in previous years, wildlife was in evidence. Birds were more popular this year than I remember: and not just spectacular birds of prey. For me a photograph of a Bittern in flight stood out. The Bittern is a secretive bird which hides in reed beds and is difficult to see at the best of times.
Perhaps the highlight was a series of nature photographs by David Keep (ARPS, DPAGB, ABPE). An underwater photograph of gannets diving to take mackerel was of a standard which would impress David Attenborough.
22nd February 2021
Photographs rarely come alone. They come in groups: a set of photographs of a holiday or a wedding. When showing photographs we often want to show a panel of three, four, five or more images: a group of images conceived as a single entity, not just grouped together. The Kingswood Salver is a competition for panels of five images. Thornbury Camera Club will shortly be assembling its entry for the next competition. So, it was timely for Mike Martin (AWPF, AFIAP) from Bristol Photographic Society to join us on Zoom for an evening to talk about how to choose and arrange a set of images. Mike has been producing composite image and panels for nearly two decades and was behind the panel which came second in last year’s competition: "Seize the Moment".
A theme which ran through his talk was consistency. Images should have similar backgrounds. Horizons should be level and at the same height, the colour balance should be similar. In a row of images think of the images at the ends as holding the images together: like bookends. Images should be presented in a consistent way: the same height and width. Shapes should be echoed from one image to another: a vertical line in one matching a vertical line in another.
Links can form stories. One of the panels presented by Mike was of a frog. In the first image it was sitting on a leaf: in the second it was stepping off the leaf. In the final image it was by itself.
Looking at images in groups like this provides a new way to imagine the presentation of photographs. The club must now learn the lessons and produce an image for the Kingswood Salver, knowing that it will be set against a panel assembled by Mike.
Photographs rarely come alone. They come in groups: a set of photographs of a holiday or a wedding. When showing photographs we often want to show a panel of three, four, five or more images: a group of images conceived as a single entity, not just grouped together. The Kingswood Salver is a competition for panels of five images. Thornbury Camera Club will shortly be assembling its entry for the next competition. So, it was timely for Mike Martin (AWPF, AFIAP) from Bristol Photographic Society to join us on Zoom for an evening to talk about how to choose and arrange a set of images. Mike has been producing composite image and panels for nearly two decades and was behind the panel which came second in last year’s competition: "Seize the Moment".
A theme which ran through his talk was consistency. Images should have similar backgrounds. Horizons should be level and at the same height, the colour balance should be similar. In a row of images think of the images at the ends as holding the images together: like bookends. Images should be presented in a consistent way: the same height and width. Shapes should be echoed from one image to another: a vertical line in one matching a vertical line in another.
Links can form stories. One of the panels presented by Mike was of a frog. In the first image it was sitting on a leaf: in the second it was stepping off the leaf. In the final image it was by itself.
Looking at images in groups like this provides a new way to imagine the presentation of photographs. The club must now learn the lessons and produce an image for the Kingswood Salver, knowing that it will be set against a panel assembled by Mike.
15th February 2021
The point of photography is to take photographs: an obvious point but many seem to think that the objective of photography is to use a camera! I look forward, therefore, to those occasions when members of Thornbury Camera Club bring along pictures to show off. On this occasion, Simon Riches showed images from several years of making images. Rob England, meanwhile, had created some audio-visual pieces to show the diversity of his photography.
Simon started by taking us on a tour round Europe In alphabetical order we visited Bristol, Budapest, Copenhagen… Simon has a fascination for graphical shapes and for the colour of graffiti. Some images used intentional camera motion while others were intentionally out of focus: bioth ways to break the conventions of what photographs are “supposed” to be like. From Europe his journey took us on to the USA where Denver and New York provided reflections and confused traffic signs.
Finally, back to London for Comicon-19: a convention of science fiction, file, and graphic novels where visitors dress up as their favourite characters from films you have probably never heard of. Having taken the trouble to dress up, they are always willing to be noticed and to be photographed.
Rob, meanwhile showed the breadth of his photography accompanied by music. Audio visual presentations are usually in colour. For Rob, a couple of presentations appeared in black and white: one of Thailand and another of the sights of Bristol. Notable particularly were Rob’s images of children at their end of year prom: dressed to the nines and showing off to their friends.
The point of photography is to take photographs: an obvious point but many seem to think that the objective of photography is to use a camera! I look forward, therefore, to those occasions when members of Thornbury Camera Club bring along pictures to show off. On this occasion, Simon Riches showed images from several years of making images. Rob England, meanwhile, had created some audio-visual pieces to show the diversity of his photography.
Simon started by taking us on a tour round Europe In alphabetical order we visited Bristol, Budapest, Copenhagen… Simon has a fascination for graphical shapes and for the colour of graffiti. Some images used intentional camera motion while others were intentionally out of focus: bioth ways to break the conventions of what photographs are “supposed” to be like. From Europe his journey took us on to the USA where Denver and New York provided reflections and confused traffic signs.
Finally, back to London for Comicon-19: a convention of science fiction, file, and graphic novels where visitors dress up as their favourite characters from films you have probably never heard of. Having taken the trouble to dress up, they are always willing to be noticed and to be photographed.
Rob, meanwhile showed the breadth of his photography accompanied by music. Audio visual presentations are usually in colour. For Rob, a couple of presentations appeared in black and white: one of Thailand and another of the sights of Bristol. Notable particularly were Rob’s images of children at their end of year prom: dressed to the nines and showing off to their friends.
Andy Gillingham has written some notes on how to show your images at their best when presenting digital images.
This can be found in the Tips and Tricks page for future reference
This can be found in the Tips and Tricks page for future reference
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The Pentaptych pictures for the end of term project can be found beneath the Members' Galleries tab HERE |
There is a link to Digital Camera World cards to download/print on the 'Tips and Tricks' page These are 72 tips on different aspects of photography. |
Thanks to Simon Meeds for an interesting and informative talk via zoom on Creative Problem
Solving . The slides and notes for the talk
and also another section that Simon didn't
have time to cover are in Tips and Tricks HERE
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The results and winning images for Comp 5 (Open) and the final results for the year are under the Competitions tab |
The results for the 3 way Battle held on 16th September were as follows: Thornbury 464 points Crossbow 446 points Sodbury and Yate also 446 points Several of our members gained a maximum score of 20 points so special congratulations to them. Janet has sent a flyer to the membership containing our entry, the photographers and the individual scores. |
Following on from discussions at a recent club meeting there is a link HERE to an article in Amateur Photographer regarding the Law and Street Photography
Mark Hayward has shared with us a post processing site that he uses which is now free to download.
It can be found at http://www.dl-c.com/ - link HERE - (Digital Light and Colour)
Oz Parfitt showed us how he used his images to fill text. His notes on this can be
found on the Tips and Tricks page HERE
Following on from Simon Riches' talk on 'What catches the eye in DPIC,
Rob England has found 3 links on what judges look for in competitions. They can be found
in the Tips and Tricks page HERE
Rob England has found 3 links on what judges look for in competitions. They can be found
in the Tips and Tricks page HERE
3 Way Battle Results for 2018
The results of the 3 Way Battle were:
Thornbury 396 Points
Sodbury and Yate 384 Points
Crossbow 377 Points
A link to our entry is HERE
Updates for this season regarding competitions
There will be no beginners pdi competition (Just one competition for all)
and
The 3 year restriction has been lifted for competition entries
Also, please note the new sizes for pdi competition images for the coming year
- 1600px wide x 1200px high (max)
If you need help with resizing, there is a link to Steve Wells' powerpoint
presentation HERE
There will be no beginners pdi competition (Just one competition for all)
and
The 3 year restriction has been lifted for competition entries
Also, please note the new sizes for pdi competition images for the coming year
- 1600px wide x 1200px high (max)
If you need help with resizing, there is a link to Steve Wells' powerpoint
presentation HERE
George Collett has obtained his CPAGB. The pictures and details can be seen in the
May newsletter update. Congratulations to George.
3 Way Battle Results for 2017
The results of the 3 Way Battle were:
Thornbury 400 Points
Crossbow 386 Points
Sodbury and Yate 379 Points
Congratulations to George Collett, Janet Oxenham, Andy Gillingham and Simon Riches
who each scored 18 points for one of their pictures.
The results for the 3 Way Battle in September 2016 were:
Sodbury and Yate 449
Thornbury 441
Crossbow 428
Congratulations to Sodbury and Yate!
Below are the 3 pictures from TCC members that received the maximum of 20 points each. You can enlarge on the pictures by clicking on them
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Sunlight Through the Window by Janet Oxenham
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Historic Laycock by George Collett
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Lily by Barbara Gibbons
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Barrian Cup 2016
The Barrian Cup was held on Saturday 11th June in Barry. Congratulations to George Collett and Peter Howarth who both scored 19 out of 20 (pictures below). Out of a total of 26 clubs, Gwynfa Camera Club were the winners with 96 points. Thornbury scored 86 points placing us around the middle of the competition.
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Old Boats by Peter Howarth.
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Hunting Buzzard by George Collett
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Click on pictures to enlarge