Chairman’s blog – 26th November

Well, as many of you know, I didn’t make the meeting last week thanks to “Test and Trace”.  My PCR test was negative so I could have come to the meeting but better safe than sorry, hopefully I’ll be there next week! Thanks to Michael and David (and anyone else who helped) who got the technology working so folks at home could watch. I enjoyed listening to the speaker. The link to the recording is in my weekly email.

Next week, it’s a PDI competition evening, and we have a good number of entries.

As today is Black Friday, there are many deals around. Two that have caught my eye are for software.  DXO software is 50% off, this includes the Nik collection and Affinity are giving 30% off.  Adobe have 39% off Creative Cloud.

I’ve missed most of the episodes however caught Episode 5 of “My Greatest Shot” on Sky Arts. Photographers talk about how they produced an image and you may enjoy it. It is repeated on Sunday afternoon, along with with Episode 6 .

That’s it for now, fingers crossed for Wednesday

David

 

 

 

Chairman’s blog – November 21st

Hello,

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the autumn colours and have been able to get out and about with your camera.  I’m now back from my travels and like to thank Michael and Dave for hosting previous meetings along with everyone who helped try and get the technology working. Thanks also to the speakers at last week’s meeting.

Next week’s meeting

Looking forward to the next meeting this is a talk by Steve Proctor – ‘Power & Poise’. We will be meeting in the Guild as normal and will try (once again) to share the meeting via Zoom. Let’s hope we have better luck than previous weeks.

Co-op Community Fund – Raising money for the Guild

Ali has sent the following message:

I‘m writing to tell you that The Guild has been selected as one of Co-op’s CommunitIy Fund causes in our area. Co-op membership card holders can raise funds for the Guild every time they shop and swipe their card.
It’s super important to select the Guild as your cause on the App, via their Website or by calling 0800 0686 727 (It doesn’t matter if you live in Wilmslow)
This is our cause page: Co-op (coop.co.uk)

Finally

We are still looking for volunteers to help with the IT for the meetings in the Guild. At the moment, this falls to a very select band so please volunteer to learn and help get everything ready.  We would also like more help on the general committee to share the workload.

That’s it for this week, hope to see you on Wednesday.

David

Chairman’s blog – November 12th

Hello everyone,

My weekly email sometimes fails to reach everyone so I thought I’d write a weekly blog that contains most of the information.  If you see the blog and haven’t received the email, please check your spam folder to see if it is there.

==========================

Next meeting is in the Guild

This is a member’s evening, chaired by Michael as I’m on my travels again.  He is giving a talk on cyanotype, Steve is showing some of the new features of Lightroom and tips on processing.  There will also be a review of the images from the Wyming Brook, and from the Wilmslow Photo walk. Please help Michael set-up the equipment at the start of the meeting, and help put is away again.

17th November is closing date for upload of images for Competition 3 which is PDI and has the Open Colour and Landscape categories. At the end of the season, we will share top PDI photographer, print worker however there won’t be any trophies for these just the overall POTY.

==========================

Tim Clinch

On the 3rd of November Tim Clinch entertained and informed us with his Zoom talk on smartphone photography.   He mentioned his new venture, Two Photographers, being himself and Joanna MacLennan. They have free weekly on-line discussions, creative photography workshops, mentoring, consultation and more.  For more information visit https://www.two-photographers.com.

==========================

Southport Open Exhibition

Here is a flyer with information for entering the Southport Open Exhibition.  Our members often enter this competition and we have an evening next year when Trevor Davenport from Southport PS will be visiting us to show the winning entries.  This year it is a digital-only competition and entries close on the 14th of January.

==========================

“The FIAP Photo Academy – Reza Deghati (free Zoom event)

The Power of Photography for Humanity – Reza Deghati

The FIAP Photo Academy Online Events is very pleased to announce that we will host a presentation from the Paris Based Photographer Reza Deghati on Sunday 28th November 2021 

A philanthropist, idealist, humanist, Reza’s career began with studies in architecture. He has gone on to become a renowned photojournalist who, for the last three decades, has worked all over the world, notably for National Geographic. His assignments have taken him to over a hundred countries as a witness to humanity’s conflicts and catastrophes. His work is featured in the international media (National Geographic, Time Magazine, Stern, Newsweek, El País, Paris Match, Geo…), as well as a series of books, exhibitions and documentaries.

Along with his work as a photographer Reza is also a volunteer, committed to the training of young people from conflict-ridden societies in the language of images, to help them strive for a better world. In 2001 he founded Ainaworld in Afghanistan which trains people in information and communications through the development of educational tools and adapted media.

Reza has exhibited his work Memories of Exile at the Louvre Carousel in 1998; Crossing Destinies on the railings of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris; One World One Tribe in Washington DC; War+Peace at the Caen Memorial; Hope in Doha; and Windows of the Soul in Corsica. More recently the giant panorama A Dream of Humanity was featured along the banks of the Seine during the summer of 2015, showing portraits of refugees around the world.

He is the author of 30 books and the recipient of many awards.

During his presentation Reza will present an overview of his work and his actions in different regions and topics, including Afghanistan illustrated with the best iconic visuals. 

Paul Stanley

Director, FIAP Photo Academy Online Events”

I’ll send the Zoom link via Email so you can join this meeting.

==========================

Other news

We will be having an informal Christmas get together as listed in the programme at a local hostelry, I’ll send details nearer the time.

That’s it for now, see you all on November 24th

David

Second 2021 Competition Results

Last night held our second monthly competition of the 2021/22 season, and our first print competition for some considerable time.  

Our judge David Butler from Chorley PS provided lots of interesting and useful comments on the pictures, and the relatively low number of entries meant there was time to discuss some of the pictures too.

Congratulations to Michael Hilton for winning both the Open Monochrome section with ‘In the Countryside’, and the Minimalism section with ‘Sea Pool’.

This year we are simplifying things by not publishing all the entries on the website; members will have received emails from the Photoentry system with all the results and images.

In the Countryside
In the Countryside

Sea Pool
Sea Pool

First 2021 Competition Results

We held our first monthly competition of the 2021/22 season last week.  Congratulations to Pat Sawas for winning the Open Colour DPI section with ‘Not your run of the mill mannequin’, and to John O’Brien for his winning entry in the Double Exposure DPI section with ‘Cracked Actor’.

This year we are simplifying things by not publishing all the entries on the website; members will have received emails from the Photoentry system with all the results and images.

Not your run of the mill mannequin
Not your run of the mill mannequin

Cracked Actor
Cracked Actor

The Calendar is Now Available

You can now see the full 2021 – 2022 calendar and sync it with your phone calendar etc. if you wish.

For an overview of the year, you can also download a PDF of the printed programme.  Members can also collect a printed programme at a Wednesday meeting.

Annual Competition – Part 2: Open Mono and nature sections

The second section of the Annual Competition was reviewed by Terry Donnelly

In Open Mono, Pat Sawas took first place with “Alien Nation”, 2nd place was Chris Hills with “Dovercourt Lighthouse” and Adrian Hazeldine taking 3rd place  with “Parked under the street lamp”.

John Dennis took the 1st place honours with “Painted Lady”, 2nd was Mary Dolan with “Squirrel’s Bath Time  and Ian Denby was 3rd with “Early morning on the beach”.

Congratulation to all,

Annual Competition – Part 1: Open Colour and People & Portraits sections

There was a good Zoom audience as the judge reviewed images from the Open Colour and People & Portraits sections of the Annual Competition.  One of the judges, Nick Berentzen gave feedback on behalf the three judges.

In Open Colour, David Higton took first place with his picture of “Loch Ard” with Mary Dolan taking 2nd and 3rd place with “Stormy Seas, Turner Style” and “Winter Golf”.

Michael Hilton took the 1st and 2nd place honours with “Drawn to the Light” and “Spiral Stairs, and Les Stringer’s “Reading the Sunday papers” was 3rd.

Congratulation to all, and roll on the Part 2 review evening next week, Mono and Nature

6th Competition results – Photographer of the year decided

We held our 6th competition on Wednesday wtih two Parts, Mono and Windows. Congratulations to Mary and Pat for their winning entries.  The results are on the website here, the top three images from each section can be found here and the final standings in POTY are here.

Congratulations to John O’Brien for winning photographer of the year. John beat Michael Hilton by a single point at the end, it couldn’t be closer.

Results of the 5th Competition

We held our 5th competition on Wednesday wtih two Parts, Colour and Surrealist. Congratulations to Pat and John for their winning entries.  The results are on the website here, the top three images from each section can be found here and the current standings in POTY are here.

The competition for POTY this year is close  with two more rounds to go – who will emerge as winner? John’s lead has been cut by 2 points with Michael and Dave within touching distance – will he make it over the finish line?  It’s squeaky bum time as Fergie used to say!

Entries for Comp 6 (Open Colour & Surreal) close on 10th March with the judging on 24th March.

Results of the 4th Competition

We held our 4rd competition on Wednesday wtih two Parts, Colour and Seascapes. Congratulations to Monica and Adrian for their winning entries.  The results are on the website here, the top three images from each section can be found here and the current standings in POTY are here.

The competition for POTY this year is close as always with four more rounds to go – who will emerge as winner?  Entries for Comp 5 (Open Colour & Surreal) close on 10th Feb with the judging on 24th Feb.

Image editing sessions

The first image editing sessions went well – 28 people attended via Zoom, with lots of interaction, questions and help on hand. First up David gave an overview of Affinity followed by Bill who gave an introduction to basic adjustments. 

The next session is planned for Monday 14th Dec at 7:30pm

Here are the links to the websites that have more learning – for those who cannot wait.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/tutorials/photo/desktop/

Robin Whalley’s lenscraft 

Olivio Sarikas

Robin also has a book on Affinity with another on the way. I’ve not seen it so can’t comment on what it’s like (Amazon reviews are good) and the ebook is a good price.

There was a poll of the attendees, the results are here. Note the Photoshop users include Photoshop Elements.

Results of the 3rd Competition & Dec 9th

We held our 3rd competition last night wtih two sections, Mono and Industrial. Congratulations to Gary and John for their winning entries.  The results are on the website here, the top three images from each section can be found here and the current standings in POTY are here.

Next week is our first editing session, we’ll be looking at Affinity as an editing programme, covering basic editing steps and maybe more.  We will also canvas opinion on what topics we should cover in future sessions.

Hope to see you there! If we don’t, have a Happy Christmas!

Image processing challenge

Download the images from the link in the original email by clicking on download or the 3 dots icon.

Please post your edited images to Photoentry under the ad hoc section. There is one “competition” for each image and you are allowed one edit – so pick the one you like the best.

Don’t forget, they need to be uploaded by the end on Tuesday 3rd November!

First Zoom competition

The competition season got underway last night, our first one using Zoom.  From a technical point of view, all went well. There were two sections, open colour and a splash of colour. There was a wide variety of images and congratulation to Les Stringer and Bill Salkeld for their winning photos.  All the results are shown here and the top 3 images in each section are in the 2020-21 gallery

Planned programme for 20/21

Adrian emailed members – here’s the detail in case you didn’t get the email.
 
I hope that everyone is keeping well and enjoying this hot weather that we’re having and well done to those of you who managed to take some photos of the lightning storm the other night!
 

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch and also for the many ideas for content that you’ve been sending through. 

Next season’s Programme

Les has been working hard on contacting /confirming previously booked speakers and booking replacements as needed and Mary has been doing the same for the competition judges.

We have initially concentrated on the programme through to Christmas as we have taken the decision that all of our regular content will be delivered via Zoom for this period to give us some clarity for planning. We will of course be monitoring the situation closely and discussing with you when we feel it’s appropriate for us to restart the physical meetings again.

 I have provisionally booked the large hall on two dates – the 20th October and 17th November (both are Tuesday evenings). Given the size of the large hall we would be able to safely run a meeting there if enough members wish to attend – I’ll ask for numbers nearer the time so that we can see how many would be happy to come along. These evenings would be additional to the main online programme and would be a members’ evening of some sort or perhaps a project group?

 

We’ll continue working on the programme and will send updates periodically.

Competition Programme 20/21

Whilst the themes are as previously communicated, we have moved ‘Seascapes’ to mid-season rather than being the first theme – to recognise the fact that getting to the coast has been more difficult in recent months!
Mary has opened up all the monthly competitions on PhotoEntry so those of you who are super organised can start loading your entries for the whole season! Some of us will be more last minute……….

Wilmslow Guild

Our membership for 20/21 is open on the Guild’s website and you should be able to renew your membership online as usual.

Anyone non-members interested in joining – please get in touch using the contact details on the webpage

Themes for 2020 – 2021 competitions – update 12th Aug

The themes for next season’s competitions are below.

Monthly Competition Themes
 
Competition 1
Part 1 – Open Colour
Part 2 – Set subject: Splash of colour
Competition 2
Part 1 – Open Mono
Part 2 – Set subject: Urban Life
Competition 3
Part 1 – Open Mono
Part 2 – Set subject: Industrial
Competition 4
Part 1 – Open Colour
Part 2 – Set subject: Seascapes
Competition 5
Part 1 – Open Colour
Part 2 – Set subject: Surrealist
Competition 6
Part 1 – Open Mono
Part 2 – Set subject: Windows

WGPS Project group – Friday 7th February

WGPS Project Group – Next Meeting Friday 7th February 2020 at 7.30pm. Upstairs rooms.

This will be a practical evening looking at close-up and macro photography. As usual, it is open to any club member.

David Higton will open the evening with an explanation and demonstration of focus stacking. This will include taking the pictures and processing it in the computer.

Following that, members can split into small groups and work on their own subjects on individual tables. Results can be processed on the evening or later to be shown at the next meeting.

Ideally you will need to bring along:
1. Camera and suitable lens for close ups/macro. I will have a selection of lenses and improvised close up equipment available for those who may wish to try them.
2. Tripod
3. Suitable small subjects for photographing. We can swap them around during the evening.
4. Portable lighting, be it flash, desk lamps, LED torches or photo lamps. White card, crumpled kitchen foil on a board or other reflector. Black card to reduce light spill.
5. A background, be it paper, card, cloth , a light tent or……
6. Blue-tack, bulldog clips, masking tape, patience, imagination and a sense of humour and anything else you think useful.
Optional
6. Laptop with suitable software installed to process and stack photos.

WPC

error

Enjoy this site? Please spread the word :)