ArdsCameraClub.co.uk
Notes for 25 April 2008
As the Winter Programme is coming to an end we were pleased to have
Ernie Patterson of CPA as our speaker. He delivered a very interesting
and comprehensive digital talk on White Balance and Digital Slides.
If, like me, you thought white balance was a case of Auto and Cloudy
White then think again. We were presented with a great deal of information
regarding light - from the Colour of Light, Fluorescent Light, Tungsten
light and also the Kelvin Scale which is used to define the relationship
of the heating properties of the light. All of these points being supported
by a visual demonstration of the effects at each stage. With the dearth
of slide film users, in the face of the digital revolution, Ernie was
able to show us how to prepare an image in order that it could be sent
to a company producing digital slides. We followed the criteria of the
company in re-sizing the image and adjusting the pixels required. The
audience were very appreciative of a well prepared talk, and after the
official end of the evening, there were plenty of questions for the
speaker. This Friday, 4 May, is the Annual General Meeting - don't stay
away - come along an have a say in the running of your club. As a Club
we enjoy our photography so help it along by giving it your support.
To end the Winter activities we are hoping to have a BBQ at the Clubrooms
on Friday, 9 May.Bring your own meat etc for the barbeque and the Club
will provide the baps and salad.
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CHANGE TO THE PROGRAMME !!!
THE MEETING THIS FRDIAY 11 APRIL HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED.
OUR SPEAKER IS UNABLE TO COME AND IT IS ALSO THE SAME DATE
AS THE BALLYNAHINCH and CPA EXHIBITIONS
THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE FRIDAY, 18 APRIL
AND IT WILL BE A MEMBERS NIGHT
SO IF YOU HAVE A FEW PRINTS, SLIDES OR A PHOTOGRAPHIC TOPIC
YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT - BRING THEM ALONG.
ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF ARDSCAMERACLUB.CO.UK
TAKES PLACE FROM 2 - 26 APRIL, 2008
IN
THE TOWN HALL
Conway Square
NEWTOWNARDS
Do go along and sign the visitor's book!
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Notes for 28 March 2008
Once again we were delighted to have our own long serving member, Sinclair
Adair, to be our speaker. On this occasion his subject was his Audio
Visual work for which he is well known. Sinclair looks at life through
a wide-angle lens and sees the bigger picture. He has his own interpretation
of fun with a sense of humour to match but he can look at the poignant,
serious elements of life and leave you thinking. Recently, Sinclair
was awarded a Highly Commended for "Dear Sarah" his entry
in the NIPA AC Festival at Ballyearle. The subject was a letter written
by a soldier about to embark on the Battle of Bull Run in the American
Civil War.
Sinclair enjoys putting AV's together and spends a lot of time finding
music in tune with the subject. The evening started with a production
especially for Graham Mackey entitled "Car Rally" then a trip
to Clonmel, Tipperary to witness the birth of his son's "Foto Studio"
from an empty shell to a fully operational working studio. A Practical
night at the Club, a Club Outing to the Folk Museum, a view of himself
entitled "the Old Man" and family occasions fondly remembered
provided more AV subjects. "With or Without Edges" demonstrated
the technique of framing subjects. The evening finished on a very happy
note with "People like you" with the music of George Jones,
the American Country Singer and the author playing all the parts! Another
very good evening at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
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Notes for 14 March 2008
The City of Belfast Photographic Society were the guests at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
on Friday when a Print Battle took place and we were very pleased to
welcome Stanley McIlreavy of Carrickfergus CC as the Judge on this occasion.
This Print Battle is an annual affair between the clubs with the winner
holding the trophy until we meet again. Each Club provides 20 monochrome
and 20 colour prints. Both sets of mono prints were displayed randomly
and the Judge marks each print out of 5. The process is repeated with
the colour prints and the score tallied and the winner declared. We
are grateful to Stanley for judging and talking about the prints which
he thought were of a very high standard. On this occasion Ardscameraclub.co.uk
came out on top by the slenderest of margins 179 - 177. There will be
a digital gathering, Wednesday, 21 March. There will be no meeting on
Good Friday, 21 March but we will resume on Friday, 28 March with "An
Evening to Remember" with Sinclair Adair. The Annual Exhibition
takes place in the Town Hall, 2 - 26 April with the Presentation of
Prizes on Friday 4 April at 8.00 pm.
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Notes for 07 March 2008
It was tip toe through the tripods when an enthusiastic audience took
part in the Practical Evening at Ardscamesclub.co.uk this week. Member
Colin Ross was the speaker for the evening and it did not take long
for him to get everyone involved in "Painting with Light".
A few props - a boot and an old guitar and some unsuspecting models,
two shooting areas, a light source - in this case a small hand torch,
long exposure times of 20 and 30 seconds and the results were a revelation.
The addition of hand held sparklers outlined the guitar and created
the effect of a truly hot electric guitar. The evening introduced yet
another way to capture a unique image and something everyone could participate
in. Change to the Programme This Friday, 14 March we will be having
a Print Battle with City of Belfast CC in our Clubrooms so bring along
some prints and let Battle commence. March 14 is also the closing date
for entries in the Annual Exhibition to be held in the Townhall, 2 -
26 April.
Because of the Easter Holiday we need time to get the Exhibition Judged
and Framed so make sure you have your entries in on time.
There will be no meeting on 21 March as it is Good Friday. We resume
after Easter on 28 March when Sinclair Adair is going to treat us to
"An Evening to Remember"
April 4 is the Opening Evening of the Annual Exhibition when the awards
will be presented in the Townhall at 8.00 pm
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Notes for 29 February 2008
A trip to Calcutta in India was in store for the members of Ards Camera
Club last Friday, so they sat back to enjoy the colourful sights of
a far off land where few of them have ever been – or so they thought!
But they did not expect what John Miskelly from Bangor Camera Club,
the guest speaker, was about to show. His talk was not to show beautiful
landscapes, architecture or holiday destinations but the parts of India
that most people don’t see.
India is a very density populated country of one billion people. Fourteen
million live in Calcutta alone; of these, half a million are children.
There is extreme wealth in Calcutta as well as extreme poverty; the
poor are really poor with 80% living on the equivalent of £1 per
day. Everything it seems is done on the streets, making meals, washing
clothes, even the children have to learn how to survive on the streets.
For those who haven’t a roof over their heads, they live on the
streets with what little possessions they have. Even the rivers, which
are used for washing, seem polluted.
The photographs of deprivation and squalor of the slums of the Newmarket
and North Range areas of Calcutta have to be seen to be believed. Underneath
all the hardship they face they still retain a sense of dignity with
their smiling faces and brightly coloured clothes.
But there is hope! John went on to explain that projects are starting
to help the children with schools in conjunction with Emmanuel Ministries,
there you can see happy smiling faces of children who hopefully will
have a chance in life.
John’s talk consisted of projected still images interspersed with
moving video images, this technique worked well to portray his experiences
of Calcutta.
The one image that will always stay in my mind is the still photograph
of a man lying helpless, face down on the street, his left arm amputated
at the shoulder leaving a only a wedge shaped stump. But then to see
the moving images of him, his wedged stump, which can only be described
like a penguin’s wing flapping at his shoulder and his pitiful
face staring at the camera. What hope has he?
It was truly an emotional evening.
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Notes for 22 February 2008
The Final Round of the NIPA Inter Club Competition took place at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
and a good audience enjoyed an entertaining evening with some very good
entries and plenty of constructive comment. Unfortunately, the number
of entries in the Advanced Monochrome section was very disappointing,
especially as the Club has very talented Advanced workers. The General
Colour section remains very strong and this is good to see. The slide
section struggles on in the hope that there may be some digital slides
forthcoming. The results of the competition were as follows: General
Monochrome: 1st The wind in my sails, D Casement; 2nd Into the Garden,
3rd The old Shed, C Watson: Advanced Monochrome: 1st Kenda, L Armour;
2nd Burren, W McMeekin; 3rd Stairway to Heaven, L Armour: General Colour:
1st Lighthouse, Bobby Graham; 2nd Stone Lintel, 3rd Harbour Reflection,
C Watson; Advanced Colour: 1st Dancing in the Rain, 2nd Kenda, L Armour;
3rd Patiently Waiting, D S Adair. Slides: 1st Lift Off, C Watson; 2nd
Fall Colours, 3rd Bottom Glade, R Holmes. NIPA Entries: Monochrome:
The Wind in my sails, D Casement; Into the Garden, C Watson; Burren,
W McMeekin; Cafe Society, L Cochrane: Colour: Lighthouse, Bobby Graham;
Stone Lintel, C Watson; Capital S, R Graham; Big Wheel, Bobby Graham:
Slides as listed above plus Lone Tree, C Watson. The Annual Exhibition
takes place in the Town hall from 1st - 25 April. The Exhibition Secretary,
Carol Warden will accept entries on Friday 7 March and the last day
for entries is Friday 14 March. The Opening of the Northern Ireland
Photographic Association Exhibition takes place at the Waterfront Hall
on Monday, 3 March at 7.30 pm and you are invited to be present that
evening. This week our Speaker is John Miskelly of Bangor CC among his
interests is Wildlife and Audio Visual.
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Notes for 15 February 2008
Unique photography by a craftsman was on show at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
this week when Will McCrum, Master Photographer, was the guest speaker.
We were privileged to have Will, an octogenarian and quite a character,
who related the stories behind the prints and revealed a social history
spanning 60 years. To make the collection manageable the 117 prints
had been photographed digitally which allowed us to view them electronically.
The first print was dated 1945, entitled "The Eyes of the Law"
and the subject, a policeman of the time in helmet and night cloak.
The eyes were the outstanding feature. With so many prints there was
something for everyone - church interiors, portraits, landscapes, children,
travels in India, France, Italy, Amsterdam. The church interiors were
exquisite in detail and light. The portraits had something to say by
the pose and the settings and other pictures appealed to me such as
Punk Rocker (1984) a striking image with a brick wall background; Bicycles
(1982) the wheels of many bicycles, Empties (1986) an arrangement of
empty milk bottles shining in the sun, Table for Three (1971) shadows
in the foreground from an overhead awning over a table with three diners
taken from the table top down.
Our thanks go to Will for a great evening and if you were fortunate
to be there, it was obvious that we were viewing something special.
This week is Round 5 of the Inter Club Competition with an "Open"
subject.
Entries for the Annual Exhibition will be accepted by the Exhibition
Secretary, Carol Warden,on Friday 7 March, and the last date for entries
will be Friday, 14 March.
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Notes for 8 February 2008
Christie's it was not - but the annual Friday evening Auction at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
was enjoyed by all.
A wide selection of goods was on offer, from cameras, cosmetics and
computer keyboards to tripods and tins of paint. As usual the evening
started very slowly but with the craic being so good the Auctioneer,
Leslie Armour and his very able assistant Carol Warden, managed to get
the assembled company to part with over £200 for club funds. Our
thanks go to Leslie and Carol and to everyone who donated goods for
sale.
There will be no digital gathering this Wednesday, 13 February, as a
group will be attending Round 4 of the Inter-Club Judging at Antrim
Camera Club, Parkhall School, Steeple Road, Antrim at 8.00 pm
This Friday, 15 February we are privileged to have Will McCrum with
us when his talk will be "50 Years of...." so come early for
a good seat!
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Notes for 1 February 2008
Ardscameraclub was pleased to welcome a former member, Colin Thompson
and his wife, on Friday evening to be our guest speaker. Colin prefers
to do landscapes and abstracts and does not like portraits. In journeying
through the evening we travelled from Venice to Co. Kerry with many
stops along the way. In venice the images were of canals and islands
with strong colours, pastel shades, patterns and textures. Other subjects
were wild flowers, the Mournes, holy wells in Donegal, Galway and Clare,
deserted houses, especially a two roomed cottage on Vallentia Island
which revealed hidden photographic treasures. Sunflowers in full bloom
magnificent in colour, and then wilted and dead resulting in very striking
surreal images.
Many people were interested in the printing paper and the mounting boards
which showed a great deal of empathy with the subjects and from the
comments after the talk there was much admiration for the special tonal
qualities of the prints. A good audience enjoyed a wonderful collection
of prints. Unfortunately it was difficult to view the images from the
back of the room but we were afforded an opportunity to see the prints
at close hand at the end of the evening.
This week Friday, 8th February, it is our "Auction" night
with our resident Auctioneer, Leslie "The Hammer" Armour.
It is a good night's entertainment and also a good fund raiser for the
Club. Bring along your goods to sell - books, CD's, DVD's, unwanted
gifts, photography accessories, household items - register them and
suggest a price. Any items that you would like to donate for club funds
will be very welcome.
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Notes for 25 January 2008
Another great evening was enjoyed by members of Ardscameraclub.co.uk
when we were delighted to welcome Patricia Pyne as our speaker. Patricia's
programme was in two sections - the first Megaliths and the second,
wildlife on our doorstep, in the Strangford area.
The images of the megaliths included Portal Tombs, Stone Circles, and
Standing Stones mainly in Co Down. She felt we were very fortunate to
have such treasures and her presentation in duotone and lith with high
grain, faded edges recalled the early photographs. She showed the stones
as sculptures and shapes, textures and contrast in scale and light.
Among the sites visited wee Legananny, Dromara; Greengraves, Dundonald;
Goward near Hilltown; Ballynoe near Downpatrick; Kilfeaghan near Rostrevor;
Ballynahatty Henge - the Giant's Ring, Belfast and Tamnaharry near Warrenpoint.
We also saw Tirnony near Maghera; Ticloy, Broughshane and Craig's near
Dunloy.
The second part of the evening was given to wildlife in the Strangford
area and included images of curlews, Brent and Canada geese in flight
and swans also in flight. The curlews were great subjects but the highlight
for me was the ethereal study of a swan in flight.
These super images were greatly enjoyed by an appreciative audience
and our thanks go to Patricia Pyne for a very entertaining and informative
evening.
We look forward to this Friday when our guest speaker is Colin Thompson.
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Notes for 18 January 2008
The results of last Friday's Inter-Club Round 4 Competition are below.
Thanks for putting the notes on the website.
Slides: 1st Windsurfer R Holmes; 2nd Rock Climbers, C Watson; 3rd Race
for Goal/Bike in the dust, C Watson: General Monochrome: 1st Rough Ride,
W Graham; 2nd Unlucky for some, C Watson; 3rd Into the Mist, C Watson:
Advanced Monochrome: 1st Going down, L Armour; 2nd White Water Man,
L Armour; 3rd Ready About, W McMeekin: General Colour: 1st Conversion,
C Brown and Netted, C Watson; 3rd Where is the ball, Riposte, and My
Ball, C Brown: Advanced Colour: 1st On the way down, L Armour; 2nd Lead
Mines, W McMeekin; 3rd Sport, W.McMeekin:
NIPA Reps: Slides as above: Monochrome: White Water Man, L Armour; Rough
Ride, W Graham; Unlucky for Some, C Watson; Into the Mist, C Watson:
Colour: On the way down, L Armour; The Lead Mines, W McMeekin; Netted,
C Watson and Conversion, C Brown.
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Notes for 4 January 2008
I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year for 2008 with plenty
of good photography.
Thanks are due to the people who helped to make the Roy Finlay Competition
such a success. The people who came in the afternoon to set up the entries,
with over 120 that was quite a job.
To the people who helped on the night fetching projectors, running the
ballot and helping with the tea - a big thank-you to everyone.
The Christmas Dinner went off very well - everyone made a good evening
of it. Unfortunately I have had to write to the Restaurant regarding
complaints that I have received but I will let you know the outcome
as soon as I receive a reply. Thank you for the support with the Ballot
we have raised £133 for club funds which will add considerably
to our already successful Ballot Fund.
We watched "Wild Hogs" a comedy at the clubrooms which brought
the proceedings to a close.
11 January the speaker is Trevor Gibb and his subject is "Aspects
of Digital"
14 January is the next Club Committee meeting
18 January sees the next Round of the Inter Club Competition and the
title is "Sport".
Friday, 4 January 2008
The weather obviously affected the turn-out to the start of the New
Year at Ardscameraclub.co.uk but those who made it were treated to a
super evening. What a start to 2008 - we could not have had a better
visiting speaker than Paul Moane from Crossgar whose topic was entitled
"On your own door step". There were three parts to the evening,
the door step part - local landscapes and Co. Down in particular, further
a field - landscapes of Ireland and thirdly, international images.
Paul was very generous with advice and information regarding the images
- where they were taken and how to get there. He also encouraged us
to look at subjects in a new light, cropping for effect, stressing that
the early hours of the morning for something special, which he was reflected
in his work. The local scene yielded wonderful images around Crossgar
with misty fields and trees. We saw the Northern Lights from Co Antrim,
forests from Fermanagh, City scenes - the City Hall from the Europa
Hotel, the Belfast Wheel, the Shipyard with very different images of
the two cranes. The Mournes, Downpatrick, St John's Light, the Giant's
Causeway, Carrickfergus Castle - using sepia and monochrome where appropriate.
To finish the local shots he had actually taken some that morning in
the snowy landscape! In the section on Ireland images wee inspiring
and ionic among them Glendalough,Glencolumkille, Kilkenny and Croagh
Patrick. The closing section saw us travelling abroad to Paris, Singapore,
Berlin and Turkey. The highlight for me were the images from the Jewish
Museum in Berlin with strong lines and clever us of light and architecture
but for sheer enterprise the shots taken while paragliding, for 40 minutes
in the thermals, resulted in unique images of the sea, sand and beach
people. We very much look forward to Paul's return visit.
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Notes for 23 November 2007
Round 3 of the Inter-Club Competition took place at Ardscameraclub.co.uk
last Friday and with an "Open" title many subjects were covered.
We had a butterfly and an eagle, portraits to push bikes and street
scenes and sunsets with the largest entry of 22 being in the General
Colour Section. When the judging was complete a lively discussion ensued
with "sharpness" being the main topic. The results were as
follows: General Colour: 1st Eileen Donan Castle, R Graham; 2nd No Entry,
C Watson; 3rd Tranquility, C Brown: Advanced Colour: 1st Jim, L Armour;
Sunset, W McMeekin; Clock, B Widdicombe: General Monochrome: 1st Cottage
Ruin,2nd Nine Nets, C Watson; 3rd Big Brother, L Cochrane: Advanced
Monochrome: 1st Jim, 2nd Portrait, L Armour; 3rd Tree, B Widdicombe:
Slides: 1st White Fence, 2nd Buoys, R Holmes, 3rd Bottlebrush Plant,
C Watson:
Entries to NIPA: Monochrome: 1st Portrait, 2nd Jim, 3rd Bridge, L Armour;
4th Cottage Ruin, C Watson Colour: 1st Pastel Spiral, B Widdicombe;
2nd No Entry, C Watson; 3rd Jim, L Armour, 4th Sunset, W McMeekin: Slides:
As above plus Fang, C Watson.
Any outstanding money for the Christmas Dinner needs to be paid by this
Friday, please contact the Hon Treasurer.
This Thursday, 29 November, the Judging of Round 2 in the Inter Club
Competition will take place in the Shorts Club, Holywood Road at 8.00
pm. This is a good opportunity to see the entries from other clubs.
This week our speaker is Dave Speed. It is a Practical Night so bring
your camera and the subject is Low Temperature Photography.
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Notes for 16 November 2007
David Adamson was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of Ardscameraclub.co.uk
and he treated an attentive audience to a comprehensive tour of the
Island of Donegal from Arranmore to Tory with stops at Gola, Inishbofin,
Innishfree Upper, Inniskeel, Innishtrahull, Owey and Rutland along the
way. Access generally being by local ferry although Innishtrahull stood
out as pretty inaccessible, especially being 5k north of Malin Head
in an area of sea with a formidable reputation. We saw deserted houses,
old bedsteads, fireplaces, a spring water pump, boats, tiny harbours
and lighthouses, old homesteads juxtaposed with the modern replacements
all giving us an insight to time past in these islets. David's passion
for these islands is evident through his images of the architecture,
geology, social history and flora and fauna and together with a Fact
Sheet prepared for us this complete presentation was yet another interesting
and entertaining evening at Ardscameraclub.co.uk. The balance for the
Christmas Dinner, 14 December needs to be paid by the end of November
- so see the Hon Treasurer as soon as possible. This week is Round 3
of the Inter Club Competition and a good entry is anticipated in all
sections of the "Open" subject.
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Notes for 9 November 2007
David S Adair ARPS,AFIAP,AIPE,APAGB,PSA. is a Life Member of Ardscameraclub.co.uk,
but we know him as Sinclair, and as he entertained his fellow members
at the Friday night meeting it became apparant that Sinclair's experience
spanned more than 50 years from darkroom to digital. On display were
his award winning 20 x 16 and 16 x 12 prints which have travelled the
world to destinations such as Germany, Singapore and Russia for Exhibitions
and International Salons, at which thousands of prints were assembled,
in the 60's and 70's. Also on view were his ARPS prints, panels of the
Belfast Docks, night photography and many portraits as he recalled the
stories behind the prints, the characters and the subject matter. He
said he had a great source of models for portraits, having a photography
business on the Shankill Road, many of his customers became his models!
We are indeed fortunate to have Sinclair in our midst, to witness his
imaginative genius in the darkroom, using techniques to remove objects
- even the odd telegraph pole - produce multiple images, abstracts and
all these changes being made through the enlarger!
The evening passed all too quickly as the audience listened intently
to the humorous anecdotes but it is good to know that Sinclair will
share his latest developments in photography with us, when he returns
later in the year, with his own inimitable brand of digital photography.
Remember the Christmas Dinner on 14 December. Full payment is required
by the end of November so see the Hon Treasurer ASAP.
This week the speaker is David Adamson who will take us to the Islands
of Donegal.
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Notes for 2 November 2007
A good audience turned out at Ardscameraclub.co.uk to go "Around
the World in 100 Slides" presented by Terry McCreesh. The Chairman
welcomed Terry, who is a member of BPIC and a Past President of NIPA.
We then set off from Belfast to Dublin and into Europe, on to Canada,
America Australia, South Africa and even China and the Galapagos Islands.
In the course of the evening the slides demonstrated architecture, night
photography, landscapes, a few portraits and natural history. Some scenes
were familiar but with a different approach and natural history - always
a difficult subject - was represented by a good selection of animals
and birds. It was especially good to see the topic for the evening presented
in slide form and not a computer in sight!" This week we are pleased
to have a home-grown speaker in Sinclair Adair, who needs no introduction
to members. On this occasion we will see some of the work that earned
him awards and there will also be some new presentations in his own
inimitable style!.
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Notes for 26 October 2007
"Practical Lighting - with a Model" the topic for the weekly
meeting of Ardscameraclub.co.uk and we were pleased to welcome Stanley
Matchett FRPS,BIPP,MBE as our guest speaker. He set up a "studio
shoot" and explained the lighting techniques as he went along and
also brought a selection of his portraits giving details and the background
information on the subjects. In addition to bringing the lighting Stanley
also brought outfits for our model, which included a beautiful silk
gown, a black and white outfit, a mask from Venice and a selection of
props, all of which ensured our model for the evening, Kenda Brown,
was kept busy. Members were enthusiastic and because of the lighting
set-up everyone could participate, the use of flash not being necessary,
so hopefully we will look forward to seeing the outcome. Our thanks
are due to our speaker Stanley Matchett for a great evening and to our
model, Kenda for coming long, at short notice, to do such a splendid
job.
The Outing on Sunday 28 October was organised by Colin Ross and started
with a session at Castle Espie, in great weather, but after lunch conditions
deteriorated around Scrabo and the party headed for Coffee in Groomsport
but finished the day, in sunshine again, taking pictures in and around
the harbour.
This week we will be going "Around the World in 100 Slides"
with our speaker Terry McCreesh and remember to see the Hon Treasurer
to book your place for the Christmas Dinner.
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Notes for 19 October 2007
When is a circle not a circle? At Round 2 of the Inter-Club Competitions
at Ardscameraclub.co.uk the title was "Circles" and this was
interpreted as coloured marbles, landscapes through circles, wheels
in motion, lobster pots, money, raindrops on water, cart wheels, bicycles,
cogs but nothing generated discussion as much as a sharp mono image
of a modern building constructed in cement entitled "Blue Circle
Cement" the author wanted to encourage lateral thinking by making
the brain work as well as the eye! There was a very good response for
this NIPA competition with 30 entries in the General Section but it
has to be said a very poor entry in the Advanced Mono Section. The Results
were as follows: Slides: 1 Buds, R Holmes; 2 Jones Cub, R Holmes; Kaleidoscope,
C Watson; 4 Barnacles, R Holmes. General Monochrome: 1 Cogs, C Watson;
2 Miss Moneypenny,
D Casement; 3 Netting, W Graham. Advanced Monochrome: 1 Polo, W McMeekin;
2 Seeing Circles,
B Widdicombe; 3 Blue Circle Cement, L Armour. General Colour: 1 Spring
Fever, A Whitaker; 2 Stone Circles, A Whitaker; 3 Bridge, C Brown. Advanced
Colour: 1 Water on Oil on Water, B Widdicombe, 2 Cobbles, W McMeekin;
3 Cart Wheel, Alan Reid. Prints to NIPA: Monochrome: 1 Cogs, C Watson;
2 Saddle Circles, C Watson, 3 Netting, W Graham; 4 Miss Moneypenny,
D Casement. Colour 1 Spring Fever, A Whitaker; Buffer Zone, A Whitaker,
3 Stone Circles, A Whitaker, 4 Water on Oil on Water, B Widdicombe.
Next Week the Speaker will be Stanley Matchett "Practical Lighting
with a Model" so bring your camera. The Ballot is a much needed
source for Club funds and next week Laurence will be going for three
wins in a row!
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Notes for 28 September 2007
Friday 28 September saw the return of Bob Given, Ballynahinch CC to
be the
speaker at Ardscameraclub.co.uk. His subject, on this occasion, was
"Sport"
particularly relevant as the NIPA Inter Club Competition has a Round
entitled "Sport". Members enjoyed a varied display of his
work ranging
from the main stream sports of Rugby, Football, Swimming and Athletics
to
the slightly obscure sports of Kick Boxing and Beach Volleyball - Yes,
Beach
Volleyball in Belfast. The first part of the evening included his Award
Winning swimming image and a number of his published pictures. The second
part of the evening was devoted to the U19 Rugby World Cup which took
place
in Northern Ireland in April. From the photographs we could see that
the
"Baby Blacks" from New Zealand were untouchable in all aspects
of the game.
This Tournament was one of the great successes of Irish Rugby in recent
years. A very appreciative audience took the opportunity to ask questions
on photographic technique.
Members are reminded of the Wednesday evening informal gatherings at
the
Clubrooms - a social forum. Come along check our Photoshop and find
out the
answers to your photographic problems and also share your knowledge
with
others.
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Notes for 21 September 2007
It’s only the third week of the new season at Ards Camera Club
and already it’s the first round of the monthly competitions. This
month the subject is ‘Open’. A very large entry of prints
were on display for the members to examine, and then with voting slips,
they made their selection of which should be placed first, second and
third. The club has categories for ‘General’ and ‘Advanced’
members in each section of ‘Monochrome prints’, ‘Colour
prints’ and ‘Transparencies’. And now the results:
General Monochrome: 1st ‘Old Faithful by Alison Whitaker, 2nd
‘Solitude’ by Alison Whitaker, 3rd ‘Crisscross’
by Daria Casement.
General Colour: 1st ‘Railings’ by Alison Whitaker; 2nd ‘The
Boat’ by Bobby Graham; 3rd ‘Spring Storm’ by Alison Whitaker.
Advanced Monochrome: 1st ‘Aviemore Steam’, 2nd ‘Otter’
and 3rd ‘Ballycopeland’ all by Colin Ross.
Advanced Colour: 1st ‘Elgol’, 2nd ‘The Surgery’
and 3rd ‘Carnlough’ all by Colin Ross.
Transparencies: 1st ‘Acadia’ by Richard Holmes, 2nd ‘Fretwork’
by Richard Holmes, 3rd ‘Mineral Falls’ by Richard Holmes.
A selection was then made to be entered in the inter-club round of
the Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA) to compete with
the twenty clubs in Northern Ireland.
These were for Monochrome: ‘Aviemore Steam’, ‘Otter’
and ‘Ballycopeland’ all by Colin Ross and ‘Old Faithful’
by Alison Whitaker.
For Colour: ‘The Surgery’ and ‘Carnlough’ by Colin
Ross, ‘Railings’ by Alison Whitaker and ‘Open Window’
by Steven Martin.
For Transparencies: ‘Acadia’, ‘Fretwork’ and ‘Mineral
Falls’ all by Richard Holmes and ‘Cactus’ by Carole Watson.
The NIPA inter-club will be held at Merville later in October when
we will find out how well Ards has done.
For all you sports fans don’t miss out, be at Ards Camera Club
on Friday, September 28, at 7.45pm for Bob Given’s talk on ‘Sport’.
Visitors welcome. For full programme details, visit www.ArdsCameraClub.co.uk
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Notes for 14 September 2007
After such a great Opening Night of the 2007 - 08 season of Ardscameraclub.co.uk
we continued with the Chairman, Carole Watson, welcoming everyone, especially
visitors and new members to the meeting on Friday, 14 September when
the Guest Speaker was Flora Irwin LRPS. Flora explained how she achieved
her Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and brought along the
projects from the modules involved in attaining her letters. She wanted
to share her work with the audience and we were treated to a display
of her prints of home and abroad from Fermanagh to Japan and New York
to New Zealand. From a slide presentation we were able to have some
insight into the work of Ekwendeni Hospital, Northern Malawi as she
had organised a party of 11 to take aid to the Hospital, the school
and the people. The party was made up of men women of all ages and occupations
and we learned of the lack of facilities, equipment and roads in a beautiful
country with great social need. Flora answered questions to round off
an interesting and informative evening.
This week is the first of the Inter-Club Competitions with an “Open”
subject so come along with your entries and make a good start to the
competitive year.
Next week, 21 September Bob Given will be the speaker and the subject
will be “Sport”. We can look forward to great sports pictures
and techniques.
The Hon Treasurer reminds everyone that fees are now due for the current
season. In the meantime keep in touch with the Website.
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Notes for 7 September 2007
Summer has gone only too quickly. “What summer”, you may
well be asking! With all that rain we’ve had. Never the less the
summer has almost gone but that means it’s the start of a new season
at Ards Camera Club. What a turnout it was last Friday evening, September
7. The club room was packed with all the regulars and some new faces
as well. The evening started with Colin Ross, standing in for our Chairperson
who is away on holiday, welcoming everyone to the camera club and outlined
what the programme has in store over the coming months.
It was then over to introducing the first guest speaker of the new
season, Brian McKenna. Brian, who is a regular to Ards Camera Club,
is a member of Merville Newtownabbey Photographic Club. Brian specialises
in natural history photography and showed the many aspects of close
up or macro photography. He explained some technical terms and the different
lenses he uses before getting down to showing examples of his work including
damselflies, butterflies, spiders and frogs.
Most of us would stay well clear of nettles, but not Brian, he has
a book on ‘Things that live on nettles’. This provided further
examples of close up photography. We have all seen woodlice or slaters
as they are commonly known but did you know they are 35 to 40 different
types? There are according to Brian; he has a book on woodlice as well!
Then he showed an audio visual on ... wait for it – ‘Woodlice’!
Brian finished his talk with some of his favourite bird photographs
of gannets, curlews and puffins. Altogether a fascinating evening on
the world of macro photography. Supper was to follow and everyone tucked
in to finish off an enjoyable evening.
This Friday, September 14, Flora Irwin is on the programme with ‘My
Travels’ If anyone is interested in joining or just wishes to visit
the club to see what we do just call along any Friday evening at 7.45pm,
for a warm welcome and an enjoyable evening. The club rooms are located
at the junction of South Street and Circular Road. Programme details
are on the website – ArdsCameraClub.co.uk
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Hon Secretary: Lydia McCallen
Tel: 9l8l4946
New Season 2007 – 2008
Dear Member,
September is just around the corner and that means the start of another
busy season for the Club.
Our Opening Evening on Friday, 7 September is something to look forward
to. Brian McKenna, a welcome visitor to the club, will be the speaker
and his subject is entitled “Bird’s Eye View”. There
will be light refreshments and I look forward to
seeing you there.
The Programme for the year is a very good blend of all aspects of photography
and copies will be available on our first evening. In the meantime,
to whet your appetite the programme for September is as follows:
Flora Irwin – My Travels
Inter-Club Round 1 – Open
Bob Given - Sport
Looking forward to seeing you.
Yours sincerely
Lydia McCallen
Hon Secretary