After a short review of the work of the group, and hopefully some pointers to how the group progresses, we looked at pictures which we thought demonstrated points we had learned during previous months.
The next meeting is on 18th March when the subject will be pictures of "local interest" and we will have a look at the intricacies of copying from art work, especially paintings.
This month saw the culmination of an on-going project throughout the year - openings, interpreted in its widest sense. There was again a wide variety of subject matter and Ken brought along a set of "almost there" pictures which gave members the opening to critisise, in the nicest possible way of course. There were opening apparant on the day as mince pies and biscuits disappeard!
Black and white photographs are not to everyone's taste but although there was a deal of trepidation about this month's project members in fact produced some pleasing results. One line of thought was that mono-chrome photography is perhaps more of an art form and not appropriate in this age to everyday photography. Whilst some members stated a strong preference for colour photography others, having dabbled and noted the results professed to having enjoyed the exercise and had developed an appreciation of the genre.
The highlight of this month was a group visit to Stourhead on a beautifully warm and sunny October day. Unfortunately the autumn colours were not as advanced as anticipated but there was still plenty at which to point our cameras. Not all members were able to attend so below is a mixture of pictures from various places but all part of our autumn project.
For November, Pearl Compton has chosen black and white pictures and we have decided for this project it is permissible to delve into the archives and convert some pictures captured in colour into monochrome.
We had another good turn-out this month in spite of two couples being away on holiday. "My favourite things" produced some interesting pictures including one lady in the bath!!! Dawn's picture of a butterfly and Jacky's Lower lighthouse were particularly appealing.
Our next topic is "Autumn Colour" with a trip to Stourhead gardens arranged for 12th October. All we need is for the good weather to hold.
August 09 - Meeting number 17
This month we welcomed two more new members, Anne Bone and Dawn Sheehan. The session was lead by Norma who had chosen "colour" as the topic. Most members tried to apply some of the techniques and theory of colour.which we covered several months ago, to their pictures. Mary was able to talk about the colour wheel from an artist's point of view and it was quickly obvious the same principles apply to photography. Again there was an eclectic mix of pictures with flowers appearing prominantly but with some interesting alternative options.
Bobbie will lead the next session and she has chosen a more subject based project, "My favourite things". I hope members will take the opportunity with this project to recap some of the techniques we have discovered in previous sessions.
July 09 - Meeting number 16
The wide project title of "shape", chosen by Harvey and Judy left the field wide open for members to use their imagination. So again we had a wide range of pictures from the intimate close-up study to the wider view. However, we did decide that whilst every photograph contains shapes of some sort or other it is possible to juxta-position shapes in such a way as to complement each other and make for a stronger composition.
We have another wide project topic for August: "Colour". Now we know all pictures (excluding B&W) contain colour but can we remember some of the ways of exploiting it we learned earlier in the course?
by Howard Clements
by Howard Clements
June 09 - Meeting number 15
A good turn-out again this month allowed us to peruse an eclectic group of pictures all portraying the movement of their subjects. Discussion led us to decide that only blur actually shows the movement of the subject during the duration of the exposure but we discovered there are several techniques which suggest such movement of the subject to the observer.
The next topic, chosen by Judy and Harvey is "shape" and they have stipulated that all six pictures shown must have been taken since the June meeting - so no scouring the archives this month please!
The next meeting is July 16th, back to the originally intended third Thursday of the month. See you there!
May 09 - Meeting number 14
As our Bridgwater Safari was cancelled due to poor weather, this was an ad hoc meeting with a variety of subject material. Also, unfortunately, a number of members were absent but those who did attend found plenty, photographically, to chat about. Pam was keen to show us her brand new Cannon.
The next meeting is June 11th, back in Room 1, when the subject will be "movement".
April 2009 – Meeting number 13
Our “Spring” project brought about another group of satisfying pictures and almost everyone found something different to photograph. There were some tongue in cheek pictures from Rob but otherwise there was an eclectic collection of snowdrops, daffodils, winter roses and seasonal views, all very worthwhile subjects.
We have planned a “safari” for later this month i.e. an outing where we take our cameras and see what we make of certain scenes as a group. When I have undertaken this exercise before, I have always been astonished at the variety of pictures which have resulted, in spite of people essentially photographing the same subject. Details from Ken on 641278.
We have an on-going subject for the summer – that of “openings” interpreted as you please.
by Pam Powell
by Pam Powell
February 2009 - Meeting number 11.
Another good turnout this month produced some interesting pictures and discussion to go with them. I am sure we have not produced the definitive definition of what exactly constitutes a found still life picture, but I think we at least alighted upon an agreement which served our purpose and allowed us to share some pictures which it would have been a shame to exclude.
For next month we are going to continue the theme of still life but with an emphasis on getting closer to the subject. In consequence this may well produce some abstract images. Let's see what turns up!
Next meeting is 12th March.
by Hilary Bevan
by Hilary Bevan
by Rob Clark
by Rob Clark
by Brian Bevan
by Brian Bevan
... and three from the past all by Norma Bunting ...
January 2009 – Meeting number 10.
I never fail to marvel at the range of different interpretations, by members of the group, of an individual subject; and this month was no exception. Our project title was “celebration” and each contributor brought their own slant on this subject from Christmas table settings to witnessing the shortest night via the Burnham carnival. There was lively discussion on each offering.
Ken showed some pictures which he had saved from the recycle bin by manipulating the backgrounds having found himself photographing in an extreme contrast situation. This raised the question of where the dividing line is between photography and graphic art. Rob opened further discussion by asking what members felt was acceptable when it came to digital manipulation of their pictures.
Our task for this month is to produce six examples of “Found still life”. We decided a touch of “gardening” is acceptable but rearrangement of the elements is not!
Photographs by Rob Clark.
December 2008 Meeting number 9
In spite of everyone being pushed for time just before Christmas this proved to be another well-attended meeting. Members had continued their pursuit of compositional devices and produced a mixture of new and archive material demonstrating their uses. There was some lively discussion about the photographs and individuals are expressing strong opinions regarding what they like or don’t like.
Ken showed some photographs from the doyen of British monochrome landscape photographers, Charlie Waite, whose work he has long admired, but wondered why the ones he showed left less of a positive impression than he expected. Again opinion was strongly divided producing a “love them or hate them situation”.
There was no formal input from Ken this month as he has decided time is needed for members to consolidate the enormous amount of technique we have covered over the last few months and for them to develop their own style and to choose when and when not the devices we have studied are appropriate.
The task for this month is to produce six pictures on the subject of ‘celebration’.
All that remains is for Ken to say thank you to Howard for the refreshment, to all members for their support during this first year and to wish everyone a “Happy Christmas” and hope to see you all again on Thursday 15th January.
by Jacky Catley-Day
by Jacky Catley-Day
by Bobbie Browning
by Bobbie Browning
by Brian Bevan
by Brian Bevan
November 08 Meeting number 8
One member this month declared to have been totally mystified by the task set but then produced a set of pictures which very ably demonstrated the devices for enhancing photographic composition we had been seeking! I think she had her tongue very firmly planted in cheek! She was not the only one however to demonstrate the ability to use lead-in lines, foreground interest and converging lines to carry the eye into the photograph and the division of both vertical and horizontal axes into thirds to place prominent features at strategic places. Well done everyone.
The learning element this month was really a continuation of last month's and we looked at a few other devices for obtaining a balanced and effective composition, such as the use of frames, filling of frames, repetition and pattern and use of texture in our pictures. It was good to welcome another new member and the use of room one has alleviated the problems we were experiencing using an upstairs room, so thanks to Ken Hindle for organising that. Thanks also to Judy for providing refreshments.
We have decided to meet in December so our next meeting will be on Thursday 18th.
The task for this month is to produce six more pictures using any compositional devices we have discussed and to be able to talk us through how you have used the device and why you have chosen that particular element in each case.
by Hilary Bevan
by Brian Bevan
by Howard Clements
by Howard Clements
October '08 Meeting number 7
Although some members claimed to have found the colour tasks difficult to complete, most demonstrated an
adequate understanding of the relationship between colours to help them make informed decisions when juxtaposing
them within a photograph. There was some discussion on the emotional effect of contrasting colours but we tried
to move away from the seemingly common-held idea that some combinations were good whilst others were bad. We
decided it was all a matter of what we wanted the colour elements of a photograph to say to the viewer.
However, a consensus was formed through discussion that some colours recede whilst others advance.
During the second part of the session we took our first formal look at composition but within the hierarchy of
Timing, Lighting, Composition (TLC) in the context of landscape photography. We discussed and demonstrated some
of the devices used to aid satisfactory composition leading to the tasks which are a) to produce two photographs
using foreground interest to lead the eye into the picture; b) two demonstrating the use of lines to guide the
eye into the picture and c) two photographs demonstrating use of the rule of thirds. A seventh picture using
more than one of these devices in the same photograph was encouraged.
September '08 Meeting number 6
With only two apologies and a further new member, this was another well attended meeting. There was a wide variety
of work with both the word "portrait" being interpreted widely as intended but more surprisingly also the word "friend"!
We discussed the embarrassment often felt by subjects, especially adults and this will give us cause to look at
some techniques for putting people at ease at a later stage. We again broached the subject of backgrounds and
their effects on the subject of the picture.
We re-capped a little on some of the computer work we began last month but our main emphasis for this session was on colour.
We looked at the colour wheel, at how primary colours in electronics differ from those in art and at
how the colours relate to each other. We also compared the varied virtues of sRGB and Adobe 98 colour spaces.
A short briefing paper was circulated which will need careful perusal before attempting the next set of pictures.
For our tasks this month we will stick with the six picture format, but this time members will try to produce two pictures
using primarily, two or three contrasting colours; two using primarily complimentary colours and two using similar colours.
This should produce three pairs of photographs each pair with a distinctly different feel to the other two pairs.
The subjects are open to members' choice.
August '08 Meeting number 5
This was another well attended session with every member bringing work for perusal on the topic "Portrait of
a Place". It is obvious that some thought had gone into the pictures proffered both at an aesthetic and at a
technical level. This meeting saw our first foray into the world of digital manipulation and concentrated mainly
on achieving a balanced spread of luminosity and contrast using 'levels' and 'curves'.
Our next meeting will be on September 18th when the topic is 'Portrait of a Friend' ie, six portraits of one
person or one each of six different people. The term 'portrait' may be interpreted loosely and does not
necessarily mean a formal portrait.
A sample of this month's work:
by Kath Hoyland
by Kath Hoyland
by Jacky Catley-Day
by Jacky Catley-Day
by Harvey Allen
by Judy Allen
July '08 Meeting number 4
We managed 11 members at this meeting, the most so far. The majority of the session was spent in looking at
work produced since our last meeting and which for the photographer epitomised "Summer". There was a wide and varied
selection of pictures to discuss, the quality of some of which was quite pleasing. All but one member had brought
pictures along for discussion. Our next meeting, on August 21st, carries the project "Portrait of a Place".
Three photographs from this month's selection:
