2014 Annual Photo Scavenger Hunt

After the success and fun had by members from the first Photo Scavenger Hunt it was decided that we would do another and possibly make it an annual event. The night took a bit of forward thinking, but again it gave us some good laughs and interesting images. The focus for the scavenger hunt is to get people to be creative in the camera, rather than relying on their computers in post processing. This forces you to think about framing, lighting, depth of field – just like the days before photoshop!

The list this year was developed by another member so I could join in with the fun. We also added another rule this year that photographers had to be on foot and stick to the main street or the streets either side. This was to get people in a smaller space and push them to think outside the square.

After the 1hour time limit was up we returned to the Neighbourhood Centre for a cuppa and to view the images. This part is almost as much fun as being out taking the photos. Like last year there was some great stories to accompany the photographs.

Here is an example or two of what people found out an about on the hunt

Motion – Tim Ruckley

 Motion – Ron Wardrop

 People – Denis Crute

People – Tim Ruckley

Liquid – Steve Godwin

 Very Little or Very Big – Frances Thornton

 Very Little or Very Big – Joanne Strom

 Lights – Jeff Kirk

 Yellow – Zoe Ruckley

 Yellow – Joanne Strom

Perspective – Steve Godwin

 Perspective – Talesha Dunn

 Time – Jeff Kirk

 Time – Natasha Barber

 Transport – Joanne Strom

  Your Choice – Steve Godwin

Your Choice – Jeff Kirk

You can check out the photographs from the rest of the participants on facebook. Perhaps it will inspire you to push yourself further next time you go out and shoot or maybe you will join us for the scavenger hunt in 2015. Please note that all images are Copyright and remain the property of the photographers.

If you would like to join us at the Parkes Camera Club the next meeting is on the 20th May, held the the Parkes Neighbourhood Centre at 7:00pm. We will be holding a Macro Practical Night.

Sunset Photography Competition

The sunrise/sunset photography competition brought out many great shots, which made judging quite difficult and in many cases the winners only won by a couple of votes. Great sunset shots usually have a couple of common elements – great colour, interesting foreground and clouds in the sky.

Beginner Winner – Natasha Barber

Intermediate Winner – Jim MacKay

Advanced Winner – Joanne Strom

You can check out the best shots from each entrant on facebook. Please note that all images are Copyright and remain the property of the photographers.

If you would like to join us at the Parkes Camera Club the next meeting is on Tuesday the 18th of March, held the the Parkes Neighbourhood Centre at 7:00pm. We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Photo Scavenger Hunt, if you want to know more check out the results from last years scavanger hunt. Hope to see you there!

Sunset Photography Night

On the 18^th of Feb the Parkes Camera Club held a sunset practical night.  There was a good turn out with members meeting at the Neighbourhood Centre before heading out to a property a few kilometers North of town. 

Members getting ready for sunset – Taken by Tim Ruckley

Members were armed with the following sunset photography tips:

1. Turn your flash off (or use slow sync): Your flash will do very little unless you are trying to light up a nearby foreground object.  In this case you will want to use slow flash sync and a tripod.

2. Use your tripod: Using your tripod allows you to use slow shutter speeds without worrying about camera shake.

3. Use a small aperture (large number) e.g f16+: A small aperture value will increase the depth of field allowing more of the scene to be in focus.

Image from Eric Teske website

 

4. Low to medium ISO e.g. 200, 400: High ISO will introduce noise and since we will be using a tripod we are able to get away with using a low ISO.

Image from Exposure Guide website

 

5. Use exposure compensation: Pointing the camera into the sun can confuse the camera’s built in light meter.  If your photos are coming out too bright try setting your exposure compensation to the negative side, if your photos are too dark set the exposure compensation to the positive side.

Image from Hardenhuish School website

 

6. Look behind you: Sometimes objects that are lit by the warm light from of a sunset can be more interesting than the sunset itself.

Many members commented at the end of the night that they may not have remembered all of the tips, but tried a few out and as a result got to know their camera a little better. This means they become a little more confident to try different settings out when they are next photographing a sunrise/sunset and this is our aim for every practical night.

 Sunset – Taken by Tim RuckleyOur next meeting is on Tuesday 4th March at 7pm and we will be holding a competition for sunset photography. New and regular members are invited to attend. Bring your best three images along on the night. Hope to see you there :)

The Annual Parkes Elvis Festival

It has been sooooo long since the last post and lots has happened for our little club since then. One of the most exciting things to happen for our club in the past few months is taking on the role of official photographers for the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. The towns population is said to double each year for the event and this year was no different with an estimated 15000 visitors coming to Parkes for the 5 day event from all over Australia and even overseas. Not all members were available, but the club would like to thank Steve Ostini, Frances Thornton, Jim Mackay, Barry Green, Maree Tanswell, Julie Brown, Keith Turk, Don Perera, Marc Payne, Joanne Strom & Monique Wye for representing the club so well. Here are some images taken during the event

Vintage cars on show taken by Joanne Strom

Mark Andrew in concert taken by Steve Ostini

Elvis at a local cafe taken by Julie Brown

Elvis busker taken by Jim MacKay

Some local enthusiasts who suited up for the occasion taken by Keith Turk

All members who participated in the role commented that they had a lot of fun and were able to get something that they were happy with. Frances Thornton found one of the benefits to being an official photographer was getting to know special guests Cynthia Pepper, Kathleen DeNike & Mark Andrew. Frances commented that they were all lovely people to work with.

More images from the Parkes Elvis Festival can be found on our facebook page. If you would like to learn more about the festival just click here.

Because of the clubs involvement in Parkes Elvis Festival many new opportunities have come up, which should make for a very busy but exciting 2014. Another great outcome for the club is the generous donation from the Parkes Elvis Festival Committee of $500 at our most recent meeting for our contribution to the festival.

Club President Steve Ostini accepting the donation from Lorraine Job on behalf of the Parkes Elvis Festival Committee

We also have the Camera Club Program for 2014, which includes a new monthly photo challenge which will be reviewed in December at our Christmas party. The idea is that we have something to inspire us continually through the year as well as our usual monthly competition. We are also revisiting some of the more popular nights including the studio nights for macro, portraits and liquid photography. There are also some new additions thanks to the suggestions of our members including a sunset, street photography, black and white and landscape tutorial and practical nights.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 18th February at 7pm and we will be heading out to do some sunset photography. New and regular members are invited to attend, we just ask that you try to be there by 7pm so we can head off to our destination before it gets too dark. Bring your camera, tripod and best to wear joggers on the night. Hope to see you there :)

Action Photography Competition

Although it was a smaller turnout than usual due to many members being away or ill the standard was still very high, making the decisions difficult. A great action shot can be hard to capture and unless you know about the sport that you are photographing, it can be near impossible. Here are our winners from the night

Beginner Winner – Keith Turk

Intermediate Winner – Barry Green

Advanced Winner – Steve Ostini

You can check out the best shots from each entrant on facebook. Please note that all images are Copyright and remain the property of the photographers.

Probably the shot that cause the most interest on the night was not actually selected as the members top shot, so I thought I would share it on here. This image was photographed by Denis Crute, unfortunately Denis was not available on the night to inform us how this image was taken, but we assume it is a quick succession of multiple images that have been stitched through computer software.

If you would like to join us at the Parkes Camera Club the next meeting is on Tuesday the 15th October, held the the Parkes Neighbourhood Centre at 7:00pm. We will be hosting guest speaker Luke Wong from ABC Open once again, if you want to know more about Luke you can check out the post for last years visit. Hope to see you there!

Liquid Night

I have been anticipating this night since I suggested it at last years program meeting. I was excited to try something new, something that I had never attempted before but always wanted to. On the night we prepared several different stations for members to try, including water drops, food colouring into water, oil and water mix, champagne bubbles, water drops on flowers and distorted patterns from glasses of water.

For this tutorial we tried something new, which involved testing each station prior to the night and putting the settings and an example image down on an A4 sheet for members to refer to throughout the night. Again we were able to utilise the studio lighting purchased a few months ago, however, the stations that used lighting could be duplicated at home with a strong desk light or external flash.

Here are a few shots from the night and a couple of sample shots

Setting up to catch the drip

It is all trial and error, but members were keen to give it a go and weren’t stressed about using manual mode

Water drop shot at 1/320 & f/11 with studio light

Droplets on petals shot at 1/250 & f/22 with studio light

If you would like to join us at the Parkes Camera Club the next meeting is on Tuesday the 1st of October, held the the Parkes Neighbourhood Centre at 7:30pm. We will be holding an action/sport photography competition.

Annual Parkes Show Photography Competition

The annual Parkes Show is always an exciting time, but the lead up to it is very busy for our little club. The wonderful display of photographs each year would not be possible without:

• The wonderful people who go to the effort of entering their best shots
• The ladies who take the entries at the show office
• Frances Thornton (club secretary) who organises all the prints and digital images into the correct categories and prepares the sheets for marking places on
• All the club members who help put out the images for the judge
• The expert judge Neil Skinner who traveled from Orange
• All the people who volunteer their time in the days before the show to help clean the pavilion and hang the prints

Here are some images of the members getting the pavilion ready

Pictured (L-R) Frances, Denis, Steve, (Joanne & Catherine hiding), Barry, Marg, (Ciara hiding) Warrick and Tim

Pictured (L-R) Joanne, Ciara and Warrick

Almost done and with just enough space!

This year there was over 500 prints entered showing that photography (including prints) is still very relevant, even with all the smart devices we have today.

Hope you enjoyed the display and slideshow of digital images. If you would like to join us at the Parkes Camera Club the next meeting is on Tuesday the 1st of October, held the the Parkes Neighbourhood Centre at 7:30pm. We will be holding an action/sport photography competition.