News
Opening Night- Season 2024 - 2025
We had a good attendance for our opening night yesterday [16th Sep 2024] with 2 new members adding to our club numbers and I presented the 24/25 programme and affirmed next week's photowalk to Chester.We also added an extra October date thanks to the kind offer from Bill Buck to host a visit to the ever popular Llangollen Heritage Railway workshops and station - a photowalk not to be missed.
Graham Meredith is planning another trip to Llanymynech Limestone heritage area and details will become available in the near future. - I believe the planning revolves around Food !!
Secretary Les is emailing out the programme as I type and I draw your attention to the busier schedule this year with almost 3 events per month, excellent value for the subs.
In closing let me open our new season [and my final year] by saying our club is only as good as its members make it and I hope the programme we have arranged will be fully supported by as many members as can turn out to make the coming 24/25 season successful for both yourselves and the club.
Chairman John
New Season 2024 - 2025
The club returns for the new Season on Sept 16th 7.30pm at our usual venue, The Railway Club, Wrexham. This year we will have 6 speakers and plenty of practice/tutorials, so if you want to find out more come along for free on our opening night Monday 16th September.John Hallard
Chairman Aug 2024
The Eyescape returns
This week our very own Eyescape - 3 genres of Land, sea, urban 'scape - making a combined score Competition judged by local Deeside tog Dave Jones.11 entrants and 15 attendees was an excellent effort and made for an enjoyable evening with Dave Jones judging.
Congratulations to Peter Emerson for a close win over Gwilym and John H - also well done newcomer Richard Jones for scoring a top mark, 20.
John Hallard
Chairman Nov 2023
Competitions, Competitions.[ 2 ]. . ..
This week we had our second inter-club competition against local rivals Hawarden PS.The 25 images per club were enthusiastically judged by Richard Spiers of Morton Photographic Society in Carlisle
and up to halfway scores were pretty close but a very strong second half set from Hawarden saw them scoring two 20's top marks and running out comfortable winners with a 428 - 418 points victory.
Of the three top 20-point images Mike Dyment's [HPS] Tennis action image was adjudged best in Competition with Nigel Fairhurts' [HPS] fighter plane 2nd and John Hallard's [WPC] Cosplay portrait third.
This year a change of rules by Hawarden required more image entries and greater number of individual entrants and this may have exposed our depth of quality images, but at the same time it allowed more of our members to have images representing the club so hopefully beneficial overall.
John Hallard
Chairman Nov 2023
Competitions, Competitions.. . ..
This week [ Monday ] saw our first internal competition quickly followed by our first Inter-club event on Wednesday.With a usual early season high volume of images, Rhyl CC's John Smith judged a colour and a monochrome competition of 94 pdi's with some fascinating and creative images.
In the colour section, Barry Prole was the winner with Mike Mason runner up and our Secretary Les Francis in third.
The Mono section saw a win for John Hallard LRPS, with Gwilym Jones runner up and Mike Mason again in the honours 3rd.
Later on the club participated in the Quadrangle International inter-club competition hosted on Zoom by Corby PS representing England with ARDS from N. Ireland and Hamilton club from Scotland. The judge was the very knowledgeable International judge Margaret Salisbury from Prestatyn..
This year Corby pulled out all their big guns but only just won by a point from ARDS with Wrexham a few points behind 3rd and Hamilton 1 point behind 4th.
John Hallard
Chairman Nov 2023
Successful Images in the Internal Club competition:-
Opening talk of the season - “Photography on the Darkside, Home and Abroad.”
Peter Benson FRPS MCrGP AWPF CPAGB BPE3,
Peter Benson, is a keen urban nightscape photographer, which has given him a unique place in photography. During this talk Peter takes us on a tour around Cambridge, one of his favourite places for night photography outside London, and then he takes us to places further afield, like New York, Berlin, Porto and Florence.
During this journey he'll be giving some hints and tips along the way sprinkled with a bit of history about some of the places, so there is something for everyone.
778890
New Season 2023 - 2024
Please note our new season starts on 11th September 2023 with our registration meeting atThe Railway Club, 7:30 pm
John Hallard
Chairman, July 2023
NWPA Exhibition - WPC Chairman wins Colour PDI section,
The selection date was Saturday July 8th at Craig y Don. Llandudno and the judges this year were:Gordon Jenkins Hon PAGB
Gwen Charnock FRPS,APAGB,MFIAP
Ian Whiston DPAGB,EFIAP/p,FBPE,EPSA
Our Chairman, John Hallard LRPS, had 7 acceptances in this years Regional Competition.
John had the following accepted images.
Open Colour PDI PDI
"Wood Nymph" scored 14 (1st) and was awarded Honourable Mention
"Miss Red" scored 12 (15th) and and was accepted
There were 124 entries
Open Mono PDI PDI
"He's Here with Me Now" scored 14 (7th) and and was accepted
"The I'S Have It" scored 12 (11th) and and was accepted
There were 102 entries
Nature PDI PDI
"Carder Bee on Lavender" scored 13 (6th) and and was accepted
"Northern Marsh Orchid" scored 13 (6th) and and was accepted
"Common Spotted Orchid" scored 12 (10th) and and was accepted
There were 86 entries
John’s winning entry in the Colour PDI
John Hallard
Chairman, July-2023
Success for Comp Sec at Image of the Year Competition
The last comp for this season was Images of the Year.An excellent winning double from Comp. Sec. Gwilym Jones in both Colour and Mono including 2nd in the Mono was the highlight of our final competition.
A small audience at the club saw judge Phil Chadwick pronounce judgement and useful comments on 80+ Images with some keen competition in both sections.
Our Chairman, John Hallard filled the remaining 2nd 3rd and 3rd places.
Our season is almost over and apart from a few proposed Photowalks over the summer to keep in touch, we shall be looking forward to re-convening early next September.
John Hallard
Chairman, April -2023
3-Way Battle, Wrexham just pipped by Whitchurch
After an absence of 3 years, the local North West battle again became a live event.Wrexham played hosts to members from Whitchurch and Oswestry clubs from the MCPF in a contest judged on the night by Bob Dennis CPAGB APAGB AFIAP BPE4.
As usual a top class entry saw more than 6 of the 60 images score top marks, Gwilym Jones and Mike Mason being Wrexham’s best.
In the end, Whitchurch took the victory with a 2 point margin over Wrexham with Oswestry 12 points adrift in third place.
John Hallard
Chairman, March -2023
Talk at the Club - Adrian McGarry ARPS - Mobile Photography
A pretty good turnout of 15 on a typical November night and we were entertained for the evening by Adrian with his update talk on making superb “art” images using mobile phone cameras and cheap mobile apps.Adrian showed us techniques for taking long exposure and ICM and then editing on the phone or tablet to produce images which he then also exhibited as 20x16 prints in the Clubroom, proving that competition size images are easily achievable on modern phones.
An excellent evening with Adrian also providing a link to his website page of mobile editing apps.
John Hallard
Chairman, 21-11-22
First Talk of Season 22/23 - Stephen Lloyd LRPS.DPAGB.AFIAP,BPE*2
An excellent turnout tonight for an interesting and varied presentation from WPC life member Stephen Lloyd.Stephens use of colour was particularly nice to see and some excellent AV rounded off a great start to our season of talks.
John Hallard
Chairman, 26-09-22
Opening Night Season 22/23
22 turned out last night to hear details of the forthcoming club programme and new arrangements for paying subs.from Chairman John Hallard and Treasurer Les Flower.Nice to see some PRINTS on display (John, Graham, George, Nev, Gwilym) and we saw some of your summer dPI's too from Adam, Mike, with a couple of shots of our Comp Sec., Gwilym Jones, getting his two medals/trophies from the NWPA.
Good start see you for our next meeting 26th Sept.
13/9/22
John,
Chairman
Wrexham Photography Club 2022/23
Following on from the recent virus epidemic the club has weathered the storm and remains afloat with the new season now on the horizon..At general meetings in May and June the club elected a new Chairman [John Hallard LRPS] and Sec/Treasurer [Les Flower] with a Programme /General Purpose committee to manage a thinner programme of fortnightly meetings starting September 12th.
We will continue to promote the club via our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/WrexhamPhotSoc and work to increase membership by engaging with people through social media.
The club adopted a new logo designed by committee member, Adam Crump (AC Creative) along with a new name as part of a rebranding to boost the club’s visibility.
Finally, I would like to wish former Secretary, Treasurer and “Newsman” Peter Emerson best wishes as he now retires from office at the club after many years service. We look forward to seeing more of Peter’s talks and images in the coming seasons.
John Hallard,
Chairman, 10-08-22WDPS EGM 13 June 2022.
At the EGM on 13 June, an outline temporary arrangement to maintain the existence of the Club was arrived at after much discussion.- Fortnightly Meetings will be at the Railway club, Wrexham, Mondays.
- Ad hoc get-togethers in between these dates can be arranged.
- The club will continue to be accredited to NWPA.
- The club will pay for its outgoings by charging an Annual membership fee only, with room fees partly paid for by a raffle on meeting nights.
The club has a long proud history but now needs everyone to put in their contribution to keep it afloat in these difficult times.
Barbie Lindsay, MPAGB, FBPE, EFIAP/s, AWPF Talk, Monday 4 April
On Monday 4 April we had an excellent and entertaining talk by Zoom, from Barbie Lindsay. Barbie has won many awards, but her principal attribute is that she is expert and interested in all genres. In her talk she covered street photography, nature, travel, portrait, sports, nudes – men as well as women – , humour, macro and everything else she could point a camera at. A very vivid imagination helps and detailed knowledge of image manipulation and precise planning of her many projects has been a fundamental foundation.She showed many images, starting with ones from colour dark-room days and continuing to mobile phone images. This note does not do justice to her scope, for which we would recommend a visit to her web-site. http://www.barbielindsay.co.uk
The image below represents her sense of fun, her technical brilliance amd the planning and cooperation with her models that are an essential part of her art.
”Millennium Celebration” by Barbie Lindsay
Critique evening Monday 28th March 2022
On Monday, 28 March the Wrexham and District Photographic society held a “Critique” evening when members showed there own images and asked for constructive criticism. There was a detailed discussion, among other subjects, of the best techniques for long exposure photography and on the correct balance between empty space and picture content. We were reminded that the prostective audience for any image controlled the process, since an emage destined for an exhibition would not be treated the same as an image for social media. The mebers enjoyed the session and most learnt something. Similar evenings will be held in future since it seems the members like instruction and information rather than a simple slide show.Martin Patton, LEPS, DPAGB, BPE4* Talk, Monday, 28 February
On Monday, 28 February Martin Patton gave the WDPS a talk on “Critique your own Images” Although he talk was via Zoom we met in the Rail Club toenjoy social reaction.He emphasozed that there were many aspect to a “good” image, and these included Composition, Impact, Atmosphere, Viewpoint, Colours and Technical. The balance depended on the audience, for example, a print in an exhibition has to have immediate impact of the viewer will walk by, but a print for a competition, where the judge might consider it for a long time has to have atmosphere and a story-line. In any viewing category the genre of the image also alters the interrelation of the attributes.
So, whenever taking an image or .post-processing it, the objective and the intended audience has to be considered. Further, Martin advised to always return to an image after the production is thought to be complete. Artefacts can be missed at the initial bout of processing, but might be observed when returning. Better to notice imperfections before images are submitted to the exhibition or competition.
Martin touched on all the usual subjects discussed by judges, colour balance, highlights and shadows, cropping, a story-line and so on, but emphasized that several visits to the image would be required, maybe a revisit ro the site where the omage was taken. Because this latter suggestion cannot always be possible it is essential to take many images on the initial visit including different viewpoints and different technical settings.
This talk was simultaneously taken by the Copeland Photographic Society
Portrait evening Monday 21 February 2022
On Monday, 21 February the WDPS held a practical evening at the Wrexham Raiol Club on portrait photography. Two models, Cat Stace-Jones and Mel Devine moved between two sets so a variety of images could be obtained. The seta had been arranged by John Hallard, who also gave advice on the photographic techniques required for the most satisfying results. The turn-out of members was a little disappointing, but those who did attend came away with enhanced skills.
WDPS Portrait Evening.
2nd Internal Competition Monday 7 February 2022
On Monday, 7 February the WDPS held the second round of the Internal competition, judges by Sue Clark. There were many entries and the final lists for both Colour and Monochrome had to be limited by the priorities given by the entrants to enable the judging to be done within a sensible time scale yet allow the judge to make constructive comments.Sue Clark spoke to the WDPS on “Composition” in the early days of the lock-down and in her judging showed how this is important – also important is the ability to ignore the rules. But judging an image also depends on impact, and for there to be a discernable story-line. With these basic tenets as well as the established photographic requirements of sharpness and exposure she gave a comprehensive review of each image in the colour and Monochrome sections, suggesting improvements
In each section approximately a third of the images were “held-back” for further classification, which indicates the quality of the entries. Eventually the leaders in the colour section were “Musical”, by Reg. Whittam, followed by “What light through yonder window shines?” and “Battersea Blue Hour”, both by Gwilym Jones
When judging the monochrome section Sue remarked that the advantage of monochrome was that distracting colour was avoided. Her first choice was “Ladder Stile” by Adrian Wright, a minimalist image showing just a ladder stile with a dry stone wall disappearing into the distance on a snowy day. This is Adrian’s’ first competition win, so congratulations to him.
Second place was “Fighter by John Hallard and third was Eddie Naish with an image of silver birch trees with intentional Camera movement.
”Musical” by Reg Whittam
”Ladder Stile” by Adrian Wright.
Table Top Photography evening Monday 21 February 2022
On Monday, 31 January 17 members came to the Rail Club for a practical evening on “Table Top Photography” Four members of the WDPS, Paul Shone, Adam Crump. Eddie Naish and John Hallard set up table top arrangements for the rest of the members to photograph. The set-up by Eddie was designed for “Light Painting”, in which torch light is used to illuminate parts of the display selectively, not to be confused with “Painting by Light” in which the movement of light source is recorded.The members were enthusiastic and were able to experiment with camera settings under controlled conditions. This type of meeting will be repeated
Peter Benson, Photography on the Dark Side - Monday, 23 January 2022
On Monday, 23 January we had a fascinating talk by Peter Benson ARPS, CPAGB, BPE3* titled “Photography on the Dark Side” However, the first part of the talk was actually about early photography by his ancestors, whcich he could trace back to work with wet plates in the 1860 – very early. His ancestors had photographic studios in Europe and were photographers to the German monarchs.Peter then showed many of his night-time images, starting with a series on the City of London skyline, and images of the Thames. Peter commented that he knew the area well and had been photgraphing there on many occasions, especially when there were light festivals – and at slack tide to gwt the best reflections
He also showed images from Paris, New York Dresden and Seville.
He advised not to be put-off by the weather. Misty or foggy days can give an image atmosphere, and rain adds reflections from pavements and puddles.
He said that scenes that are mundane by day, become special at night.
Images of the highest quality and an interesting commentary, revealing encyclopaedic knowledge of the cities..
Image by Peter Benson
EyeScape Competition evening Monday 17 January 2022
On Monday, 17 January the WDPS held its annual “Eyescape” competition by Zoom In this there are three sections, landscape, seascape and “urbanscape”, and the competitors enter 2 images in each. Taking the best of the scores in each section, the competitor with the highest aggregate wins.This competition was designed a decade or so ago to encourage the members to diversify.
The judge was Graham Curry, well known to the WDPS, and because there were only 54 images in total he was able to take time to judge and comment on each. As ever, the comments were helpful, and also reflected on whether the image met the “scape” requirements.
There were a surprising number of monochrome images, but it was felt that these were often better able to reflect the mood of the place.
The overall winner was Gwilym Jones, with his three images, “Morning has Broken”, “Drama at Fort Perch Rock” and “Canal Side, Chester”.
Images by Gwilym Jones.
Club evening Monday 10 January 2022
On Monday 10 January we were due to have a practical evening with Graham Curry on Still Life and Modelling Photography, but with the current regulation about Covid we could not meet at the Rail Club. As no replacement could be found at short notice we had a general meeting where the WDPS members could express their views on the current state of the society, and on its programme.There was a good attendance and a free flowing debate. We all acknowledged that membership had decreased over the last few years and this was not all because of Covid restrictions. There is much more photography than there was a decade ago, and much of it on mobile phones. Maybe these users do not need a camera club to exchange ideas and practice. However, the current membership comprises a core of enthusiastic photographers, anxious to improve their skills and seek the elusive “perfect” image even though the definition of this is, itself, elusive. There was general satisfaction with the current speakers and the breadth of experience they accommodate, but more practical evenings or outings would be welcome.
The evening finished with some of Eddie Naish's still life photography. We all acnowledge his skill in this genre.
Monday, 3 January 2022. Richard O’Brien, Recolouring History.
Richard O’Brien gave a comprehensive talk on recolouring old photographs, starting from the initial scanning and correction of blemishes and scratches to the final selection of colours and their application. He illustrated his talk with real-time operation using Photoshop. He explained his choice of tools from the Photoshop menu and gave time saving hints on the best approach. The selection of colours can be helped by consulting old records through Goggle to find examples of uniforms and clothing appropriate to the time of the image. He appreciated that adding colour can destroy the authenticity of historic photographs, but makes merely “old” photographs more pleasing to the current eye.
He has distributed a document outlining the principlrd of his talk – there was certainly too much to remember, and WDPS members have shown an interest in continuing with their own old prints.
Before and After, by Richard O’Brien.
Jane Lazenby Talk -"Textures" 6 December 2021
Jane Lazenby LRPS, BPE4 ,DPAGB ,EFIAP, AMPA gave a fascinating and instructive talk on the use of Textures in Photography. Jane, from Barnsley has a degree in Fine Are and is a qualified FE teacher. Her interest ion art combines with her enthusiasm for photography and this led to the use of textures – and image manipulation - to produce photographs with an “Art” feeling.
Jane reminded us that the use of textures to modify an existing image is effectively using a blend of two images, and hence in any competitive environment both – or all- images have to be taken by the same photographer. Hence the first part of her talk was on finding and capturing “texture” images. She showed us a wide range of textures all taken around her house – concrete slabs, distressed paintwork, fabric, clouds, worn floors and so on in both colour and monochrome.
She then showed how these textures could be applied, using the “layers” facility in various image manipulation software, often to studio portraits and frequently of horses, to obtain the fine art appearance she seeks. Jane stated that she did not have a final image in mind when she starts work on an image, but always kept the image manipulation to a short time, probably about 30 minutes. She reminded us of the long list of blending modes, and the importance on layer masks. We should not worry about making mistakes since the software always allowed recovery, and one learns from one’s mistakes.
Jane has an impressive web-site at ejlazenbyphotography.co.uk and three instructural “lockdown” videos on YouTube which demonstrate the techniques.
A very interesting evening, courtesy of Zoom with which Jane spoke from her home, but WDPS members congregated at the Rail Club. I am sure we will meet Jane Lazenby again.
The next competition is The Eyescape competition on the 17 January.. This requires that you enter 2 landscape images,2 seascape images, and 2 urban scape images. This is a PDI only comp. The winner is decided by the aggregate score of the highest score by the members images in each section. The hand in dates commence on Mon 3rd Jan and will close on Wed 12 Jan at 18:00 hrs
Bill Buck Talk "A Look Back at Wrexham." 15 November, 2021
On Monday, 15 November, longstanding WDPS member Bill Buck gave a talk on “ A Look Back at Wrexham. For this he had visited local sources of old photographs of the town, mainly the Wrexham Library and the Wrexham Museum to collect copies of photographs of the old streets and industry of Wrexham, mainly about 11900 to 1950. These were all shown with the copyright holders permission. He then visited the same, or as near as possible, location tto obtain images of the current scene. Thus made a very interesting story, with newcomers to the town educated on its history, and for those who were long time resident, it stimulated the memory and enabled comments of “ I remember that”
Altogether an enjoyable evening,.
External Competition with Hawarden PS - 11 November, 2021
On Thursday, 11 November the WDPS had a competition with the Hawarden Photographic Society by Zoom. 11 Members of the WDPS logged in. Each club entered 25 images and these were judged by David Gibbins ARPS, APAGB, EFIAP/b, BPE5, CPAGB from the North and East Midlands Federation. Not an easy task as the standard was high, and he held back 14 images for further consideration. Eventually The Wrexham society were declared winner by a small margin. A very interesting evening which indicated how the experience of Zoom has widened the scope of meetings.
1st Internal Competition - Monday, 8 November 2021
On Monday, 8 November the Society held its first internal competition of the season. This was judged by Terry Donnelly FRPS FSWPP MPAGB FBPE from Lancashire. Terry is a very experienced photographer, but even so, judging an open competition where images of different genres have to be compared, one to another, is never easy.There were over 50 entries in the colour PDI section in the competition representing the work of 14 members. Terry considered each in turn, commented on likes and dislikes, and suggested improvements. Perhaps his most potent suggestion was to look at a processed image again after a delay of a day or two, when the author would probably be able to see weaknesses. He commented that nowadays many competition entries are clearly over processed, especially in colour balance and sharpness, which might be the result of even easier to use powerful photo editing software. He also frequently commented on lack of shadow detail – and, once,on creased clothes in a portrait. How many judges notice this detail?
His results showed that 13 images in the colour section had been held back for further consideration (and an equal number were awarded the minimum mark). Eventually he placed “I can see for miles” by Barry Prole first ( a landscape ) Crested Dogstail Grass, by Mike Mason second (a study of a flower) and “ Little Owl” by George Griffiths third ( a study of a bird),
In the monochrome section, where there were over 40 entries, Again it was a difficult task since the comparison was not like with like. Flowers. portrait and interiors had to be judged against landscapes, street scenes and creative images. Again Terry criticized constructively, holding back eight for further inspection. The winner was “Wizard” by John Hallard with Engineer’s Workshop and Apple Blossom, both by Eddie Naish, second and third.
Congratulations to all.
.
First Internal winners.
Left, “I can see for miles” by Barry Prole Right, “Wizard” by John Hallard
International Competition - Dublin - Monday, 25 October 2021
On 25 October the WDPS had an international meeting by Zoom with the Palmerstown Cluub from Dublin. Each club provided 20 mages and these were judged by Geoff Reader, DPAGB, BPE3.. his task was made more difficult by the wide range of genres of the images entered, ranging from Street to Portraits, Nature to Action, landscapes and townscapes, but he gave interesting and constructive comments on each – and a mark. At the end of the evening it was determined that both Palmerstown and Wrexham had the same score, how often does that happen? There was no tiebreak mechanism defined so both clubs agreed to share the honour and agreed that an enjoyable evening had resulted.
The individual winner was Simon Robert’s “ Down the Barrel” with Gwilym Jones’ “Ebb and Flow” second and “Dreaming” (reproduced below) by Philip Devereaux third.
”Dreaming” by Philip Devereaux
Til Chohan Talk “The Art of Zoo Photography.” 18 October, 2021
On Monday 18 October the WDPS held a“Speaker” meeting by Zoom, when Tal Chohan gave a talk on “The Art of Zoo Photography.”
For most photographers zoos are the only opportunity to record exotic animals, and even though they are not in their natural habitat Tal was able to demonstrate that remarkable images could be obtained. The challenges come from the fences and glass of the enclosures, the presence of other people and often the lethargy of the animals themselves. Tal’s response is to get to know the animals and their habits – and even more important, to allow the animals to get to know the photographer. He avoids holiday periods when there are many distractions, and has the patience to wait for the animals to respond- particularly important when there are more than one in the frame. He also advised going to the zoos in bad weather – there are smaller crowds and the more gentle light avoids high contrast.
Tal showed us many remarkable images, especially of tigers, some of which seem to pose for him. He is a very entertaining speaker giving both technical details and a feel for the atmosphere of the shot. A very rewarding talk.
Many more images, and details of his talks, safaris and exhibitions on his web-site, www.tcwildlifephotography.com
Copyright, T. Chohan.
Themed Competition - Monday,4 October 2021
On Monday 4 October the WDPS held its first Themed Competition with the subject “Street Photography”.This is a popular competition which the WDPS holds every year. As usual there was a wide range of subjects in the images, whish must have made it hard for the judge, Phil Chadwick, to compare one with another to find a winner. Ine difficulty was the definition of “Street Photography”. Does it include shots in supermarkets, festivals or fetes or even in fields? Phil took the view that if the general population could “walk by”, the image would qualify. Some images were marked down, others accepted. One other difficulty recently has been that streets have been largely deserted – nothing going on to photograph. So the WDPS members had been digging through the back-catalogues.
Street photography also has problems because the photographer is not in control and the best shots are often “grab” shots. This leaves little control over distracting features such as street lights near the edge of the frame. Clever cropping is often needed, as too much image manipulation is not allowed.
However, Phil came to a conclusion, generally agreed, that the best shot was “Mad Hatter” by Barry Prole. Although not revealed at the time, this was taken with a mobile phone. Congratulations to all who entered.
Mad Hatter, by Barry Prole.
Talk by Kieran Metcalfe, Chasing the Light. September 2021
The first talk of the 21-22 Season was given by Zoom by Kieran Metcalfe Keiren is active in many genres, but this talk shows his expertise in producing attractive images of landscapes.Keiren started by giving us some technical details of his camera (Canon 80D) and his preferred lenses. He takes many exposures for each individual image, especially in high contrast situations, working in RAW and using variable filters to extend exposure times by as much as 10 stops. The resulting HDR images cover subtle texture and lighting, but leave composition to the eye of the photographer
He also knows his locations, so when the weather and lighting conditions are favorable, can get to suitable locations. For this talk many of his images were from the Peak district showing the contrasting texture of rocks and heather with equal effect. He also presented long exposure images where the movement of water or clouds was smoothed to add drama.
He extolled the virtue of sunrise and sunset images – the “golden hour”, even though these required careful consideration of sun angles and cloud conditions, for which he consulted various web-sites, for example, skyfireapp.com, clearoutside.com and photoephemeris.com.
He believed that often “less is more” but also acknowledged that the successful photographer requires, planning, preparation, knowledge and luck.
Many thanks Kieran for a most interesting evening.
The Dragon and the Flame, Copyright, K. Metcalfe.
