Upminster Camera Club: 2015

Monday, December 14, 2015

FUN EVENING

You can forget about all about our other competitions. The Annual Print, Best Digital Image, the Clubman of The Year. This one has a proper prize, no tin cups or shields, but sweets from your childhood. So popular is the prize that the chairman's vote of thanks to the judge is drowned out by the winners sharing the spoils, I got Jelly Babies, which I shared the next day with Janet, or I would have done if she had not had to go to work.

At least this year we had some proper rules. This enabled the losers from last year and the far superior photographers to show the others how it should be done and won it convincingly. That or we had a more varied choice of images.

There was some concern when the picture of the legs was put up. The judge had to calm himself down with a glass of cold water, Eric was worried as he noticed that the water in the glass started to steam and then simmer.

The picture of the stumps predictably produced some witticisms. Like that stumped the judge and as Reg said someone was thinking outside the box.

Monday, December 7, 2015

MEMBERS EVENING

GORDON BRAMHAM'S SAFARIS

I'm glad that Gordon has not won our annual safari and had to organise the following year. You will need more than a packed lunch and your camera gear. It will be bring your passport, camouflage gear and this year we will be meeting at Heathrow Airport. This could lead to a rush of people volunteering to organise it that year.

Thankfully we did not have to travel to the far corners of the earth to enjoy some stunning wildlife pictures. We could sit in the relative comfort of plastic chairs, far better than sitting in on an aeroplane for several hours. Perhaps we could do that, if you fancied getting a picture of a big cat in the wild get Gordon to go so he can put up with all the hardship of a different culture and diet, sit for hours at a time so he can get the perfect picture for you. Oh sorry that's not allowed is it?

I did consider taking wildlife pictures, I tried poking a stick at the dog to make him wild but he just gave me this look of utter contempt and went in his kennel, I tried winding up next doors cat, he just came back during the night and crapped in my vegetable patch. I still have no luck with the Puffins, just as well as Gordon informed us they don't do well over here.

Thanks to Gordon for a brilliant evening, I'm looking forward to pictures of the Lesser Spotted Goth and impressionist take of classic paintings.

"The Hunt" as soon as he leaves that I'm going to grab it.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

NOVEMBER PROJECTED DIGITAL COMPETITION

WINNING IMAGES

ADVANCED

1st Gull Reflection

by Gordon Bramham

2nd Pelican Take Off

by Gordon Braham

3rd Chital Grazing

by Gordon Bramham

H.C. Brown Hare (Lepus capensis)

by Howard King

INTERMEDIATE

1st Southern Crested Caracara with a Pirana

by David Lund

2nd Grey Squirrel

by David Lund

3rd Other Side

by Ping Ling

H.C. Man at National Trust House

by Richard Saville

H.C. Sri Lankan Fisherman

by Richard Saville

PRELIMINARY

1st House Sparrow

by Martyn Addison - Smith

2nd Open Wide

by John Purvis

3rd Quiet Contemplation

by Sharon Brown

NOVEMBER PRINT COMPETITION

2015

ADVANCED

1st The Hand Sling

by Mick Ladner

2nd Siberian Lynx

by Gordon Bramham

3rd Dovercourt Lighthouse

by Kevin Sykes

H.C. Recession Cromer Pier
by Eric Bush

INTERMEDIATE/PRELIMINARY

1st Yang

by Ping Ling

2nd Sunset Over Kuchin

by Colin Smith

3rd Sandal Store

by Ping Ling

H.C. Looking Through The Arch

by Brian Cullen

H.C. Peregrine & Pigeon

by Colin Smith

Monday, November 23, 2015

SAFARI 2015

WINNING PANEL & BEST IMAGE

WINNING PANEL

JOHN KNIGHT & ERIC BUSH

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

BEST IMAGE

JOHN SNOWDEN

Sunday, November 22, 2015

SAFARI EVENING 2015

Phew, no more sleepless nights for another year, wondering if y have got to find somewhere to go on the Safari.

Congratulations to John & Eric on winning the Safari, to John Snowden for the best image and Colin for winning the rear of the year again.

Our team started of o/k with a couple of 9's but I managed to steady the ship with a 5 and a 6. Though we did manage to get a 10. The ideal scenario is to come a close second and have the best image.

Over the years the myth has grown that you do not want to win as you have to organise the following years safari. It suddenly dawned on me that the people that have won it recently have come close to or have won it again. John and Eric for instance did not want to do it a few years ago,now they have won it twice recently and are happy to organise it again.

Why? because it gets you out of doing the chores around the house. "Are we going to decorate the lounge this weekend?"

"No sorry, we have got to go out and organise next years Safari, won't be able to do it until after next November".

So next year I'm going all out for it, just don't tell the wife.

I don't know how Sylvia could cast aspersions that people would put a dodgy image in so that would lose the competition. Or that they did not have a domestic over the scoring.

Well done and thanks to Dave for the presentation of the images and especially for the announcements of the winners, taking the mickey out of The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Where they say the winner is, the music starts, you have time to walk to the pub, have a pint, a game of darts, walk home and get back just in time to announce the winner.

We will have another great day out next year where ever we go and what ever pictures we have to take.

Remember winning is a good way to get out of those little jobs around the house.

Doing the gardening? No I have got a Safari to organise

Thursday, November 19, 2015

T&B Photographic

There is a special Canon event at T&B Photographic on Saturday 28^th November

Canon representatives will be there with lots of equipment to show and there will also be some special one off deals to be had.

T&B Photographic

2 Brewery Walk

Romford

RM1 1BG

Get down there for an early Christmas present....!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

METRE CUP & STILL LIFE TROPHY.

It was such a shame that for a large membership we did not get a very big entry. After all apart from landscapes every other type of photography is at least a metre or closer from it's subject, well o/k apart from landscapes and sports, every other type of photography is a metre or closer, well o/k apart from those and architecture and portraiture (if you were within a metre of your subject they might protest that you were invading their space), and most natural history. Although Colin did get a metre away from the snake although he told me that the first few frames suffered from camera shake as he was worried that the snake would strike. So no excuses, still life is fairly simple all you do is throw a few related objects together and photograph them.

Our judge, ( who is used to marking out of 10) made good use of the wide range of marks he was allowed to give. If you received an average mark of 13 well done. I thought it was a refreshing change as over the years in set subject competitions the judge giving a stream of 16 & 17,s as they had already decided their winning images.

I thought he did a brilliant job, although I was not sure if I should have offered him the chance of giving my print a highly commended, but I thought why not ab

use your position.

My thanks to Sylvia for advising me on spelling, I rely on her because as she once told me she is very good friends with 25 letters of the alphabet, but she does not know Y.