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Contents

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT VIEWS EXPRESSED BY INDIVIDUALS IN THIS

NEWSLETTER ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE WCPF.

THE WCPF EXECUTIVE

Details of who is who on the Executive can be found on the website. Just click on this link -

http://www.wcpf.org.uk/pages/home/executive-committee.php

PRESIDENT’S PIECE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..! 4

DPIC 2013!.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..!.. ..!.. .. ..! 5

JUDGES AND COMPETITIONS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ! 6

JUDGING SEMINAR .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7

APPLICATION FORM FOR ABOVE SEMINAR!.. .. .. .. .. 8

PAGB DISTINCTIONS AND ADVISORY WORKSHOP ..! 9

“THANK YOU” SYDENHAM CAMERA CLUB .. .. .. .. .. .. 10

PRINTERS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11

AROUND THE CLUBS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12

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E v e n t Details

ENTRIES NOW OPEN FOR MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION AT BUCKFASTLEIGH, DE-VON.

Click here for online entry http://photoexhib.co.uk/wcpf/login.php

16th FebruaryWAVES Theme Day - subject “My Favourite Place”

At St Thomas Church Hall, York Buildings, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8PT. Meet at 10.00am for 10.30am start.

24th February.RPS AGM. Free to RPS Members or £3 for others. Email Jennyleathes@lbtinternet.com for more details.

At Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey TQ13 9AL. From 1.30pm speakers Peter McCloskey FRPS and Gra-ham SargeantFRPS show their work.

28th FebruaryWinchester Photographic Society 80th Annual Open Exhibition 2013 opens for online entries.

At City Space Gallery, Jewry Street, Winchester from 20th April - 12th May.For full information and on-line entry go to:www.winphotosoc.co.uk]

9th March 2013 Council Meeting followed by judging ofKnightshayes Trophy with illuistrated talk and im-ages of India by Pam and Eddy Lane. Not to be missed!

At The Village Hall, Clyst St Mary, nr Exeter. EX5 1BG See latest details at - http://www.wcpf.org.uk/pages/agm-council-meetings.php

9th March 2013. Closing Date for entry to WCPF Members’ Exhibition.

Brings prints and DPIs to above meeting.More details click here - Online entry herehttp://photoexhib.co.uk/wcpf/login.php

Bristol Photographic Society SalonEntries Close

Enter before 3rd March for Early Bird reduced entry fee. Full Details and on line entry at www.bristolphoto.org.uk

24th March.Richard Curtis of Adobe will present talks on Elements, Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom

At The Village Hall, Clyst St Mary, nr Exeter. EX5 1BG. Tickets £3 - £5. Contact Janet Haines on 01308-428219 or email janet.haines@btinternet.com

13th AprilWCPF AV Competition

At The Village Hall, Clyst St Mary, nr Exeter. EX5 1BG More details at - http://www.wcpf.org.uk/pages/audio-visual.php

14th April.RPS Visual Arts Group meeting with Chris Palmer, Paul Mitchell and Steve Smith.

At The Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey. TQ13 9AL. 10.00am - 4.00pm. More details fromlinda.wevill@btinternet.com

20th AprilJudging Seminar

At Wick Village Hall, Manor Road, Wick, BS30 5, North Bristol just off the A420

11th MayWCPF MPIX showing of Digital Images.

At the Town Hall, Buckfastleigh. TQ11 0DD at 10.30am.

11-26th MayWCPF Members’ Photographic Exhibition

Opening Ceremony at the Medieval Hall, Buckfast Abbey TQ11 0DD at 2.30pm and presentation of awards.

18th MayDevon Photographic Battle

Hosted by Kingsbridge Camera Club at Rattery Village Hall, Nr Totnes TQ10 9LD

DIARY DATES

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PRESIDENT’S PIECE

This year seems to be just flying by, it is a very busy time for WCPF events, and Clubs are active with their programmes. I think it is a good time to consider the tremendous impact that the long series of Judging Seminars, lead by John Tilsley, has had on the WCPF Clubs. I believe that we have trained more judges than any other Federation, and in doing so we have improved the photography skills of both the judges themselves, and the thousands of club members whose images have been critiqued positively.

Members Exhibition closes March 9th, this is getting close and you do not need to wait until the last minute – our new online entry is working well and we have our network of AES Exec members to assist with print collection and return. Remember successes in this Exhibition can also go forward to represent WCPF in the PAGB Interfederation competitions.

Council Meeting March 9th, at Clyst St Mary, after this open meeting we will see all the entries for the Knightshayes Trophy being judged - 140 prints on the subject of “Wrecked”. In the afternoon, a first talk for WCPF by Pam and myself with “A Tour of Northern India” including the Golden Triangle and the amazing World Heritage Darjeeling – Himalaya Railway.

Audio Visual Competition closes March 9th, and will be held on April 13th at Clyst St Mary, Pete Fry has now reviewed the complex licensing issues that surround the use of commercial music. It is now essential that the correct licences are in place for your sequences, we are certainly not trying to discourage entrants but simply to ensure that UK’s rigid copyright laws are not infringed.

PAGB Awards Advisory Day April 14th, at Monkton Heathfield is the third that Di Tilsley has arranged, these events can help enormously when considering a Distinction. (Page 9 for full details.)

Judging Seminar April 20th, in Wick, Bristol, kindly hosted by Kingswood PS. Again organised by John Tilsley and his team, at a subsidised price of only £5 per head payable on the day. (Booking form on page 8.)

PAGB APM Nov 23rd & 24th, Westfield Arts College, Littlemoor Road, Weymouth. Every seven years WCPF has the privilege of hosting this major event and Di Tilsley and her team are now into the detailed planning. PAGB have just advised that CPAGB, DPAGB & MPAGB are now full, but closer to the event we will have tickets available for members to go and watch the proceedings. (Again, Page 9 has more information.)

The Interclub DPIC was held in in Exeter on 10th Feb, and it was a great day with 49 WCPF clubs taking part this year, with an audience of well over 200 - a marvellous success story. Huge thanks to Pam Sherren and her hard working team who flawlessly presented nearly 1,000 images.

Communication is vital. Is this Newsletter being cascaded to all your individual club members so that they don't miss anything? Remember - information about our events are on the web site, along with all recent newsletters which may still be downloaded and enjoyed. The Exec visit a lot of Clubs while judging and giving talks and we sometimes find little knowledge of WCPF events by Club members.

Lastly my now regular link – this time to an amazing 2 minute video of polar bears and husky dogs, this one has had over 11 million hits – enjoy full screen - hhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-Nyt4Bmi8&feature=youtu.be

Eddy Lane ARPS DPAGBPresident

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DPIC 2013.

Another DPIC, my last, has come and gone. It’s five years since I took over from Denzil, and it’s been a rewarding job. Hopefully, if this enjoyable and popular inter-club competition is to continue, someone will come forward to take over the running of this event? The new Secretary could share certain tasks with other helpers.

I remember my first DPIC well! Images were in TIFF format then, and half the 1000 entries had selections or layers so had to be flattened and re-saved. I had not used DiCentra software before but found it was easy to learn. After weeks of organising, I thought I was set for the big day. I loaded the car the night before – laptops, projector, teas and coffees. That night we had a severe frost, which I am sure was the cause of the moisture getting into the motherboard. This resulted in the laptop malfunctioning and I couldn’t use the zero key for scoring. My backup laptop didn’t project the images correctly but, thanks to Denzil’s clear thinking, we used the WCPF laptop to project and the backup laptop for scoring. We survived, but it was my nightmare come true!

Five years later, everything is much easier and the event almost runs itself. The WCPF has purchased two new laptops so there shouldn’t be a problem if one malfunctions. Images are submitted as JEPGs and most are correct - apart from some instances where the colour space is wrong, but DiCentra automatically converts these to sRGB. The Corn Exchange is a perfect venue as they handle all ticket sales and everything is set up before we arrive – seating, tables, sound system, teas and coffees. There is a comfortable lounge area for guests to enjoy refreshments while the projector is being calibrated in the darkened hall.

Holding the event in February is sometimes a concern as inclement weather could be a problem travelling to Exeter for everyone. Our judges, especially, have to travel for many hours and hundreds of miles to judge the event, and so far we have been lucky.

My sincere thanks to this year’s judges, Clive Tanner FRPS, Ken Scott ARPS, and Peter Gennard MFIAP EFIAP/p for their hard work, enthusiasm, and good humour. Marking nearly 1000 images in four hours is a mammoth task but their concentration didn’t waver and their judging was consistent. My heartfelt thanks to all clubs that entered and to the hundreds of guests who travelled to the event. Sincere thanks to all Executive members for their help and support. The day could not run without them.

Andy has put the winning DPIC images on the website together with the results. In addition, there is a representative image from every club that entered, two of which are shown here: ‘Turbulent Waters at Spring Tide’ by Susan Brown and ‘Owl from the Mist’ by John White. The CD of this event should be available for clubs to collect from the Council meeting on 9th March.

DPIC will be held a little later next year and the Corn Exchange has been booked for 23rd February 2014.

Pam SherrenRetiring DPIC Secretary

‘Turbulent Waters at Spring Tide’

‘Owl from the Mist’

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Judges and Competitions

I enjoyed Gordon Aspland’s thoughtful piece about judging in Edition 198. He observes that whilst many club photographers still want the independent feedback that competition provides, more experienced workers be-come disenchanted with the club competition scene and graduate to other environments, such as Salons. The suggestion is that, as photographers become more experienced and confident, their work becomes more ex-perimental and is not always well appreciated by club judges.

I considered this from two angles. First, I am an “experienced” club photographer. I hasten to add that “expe-rienced” is not the same as “good”. In fact, when recently discussing future club programme content I sug-gested that rather than running the usual “Improvers’ Workshops” we might organise a “Deteriorators’ Work-shop” for those of us who were steadily getting worse!.

Secondly, I do rarely undertake a bit of judging although I do not have any qualifications whatsoever and no, I have not been on the WCPF judging course. Sometimes I am asked back, which either means I am doing something right or that desperation has set in.

Although I still participate in club competitions, I have done so with less enthusiasm over the last few seasons. Do you submit work that you have enjoyed making and which (in your opinion) has something new and inter-esting to say, or dig out… or shoot to order….some standard competition fodder?

Neither strategy guarantees a wholly satisfactory outcome. The former approach usually produces polite puz-zlement and a low mark, whereas the latter typecasts you as an unadventurous photographer who churns out technically competent but dull, lifeless work. Worse, it turns competition entry into a chore rather than a pleasure.

Judges can hardly be blamed if, confronted with a hundred or so perfectly sharp, perfectly exposed pictures of uniformly pedestrian subjects, they find it hard to say anything innovative and award marks more or less at random.

So what is to be done? Certainly NOT to blame the judges who, despite the current debate, provide a valuable service around the club scene and on the whole are the source of much insightful and constructive criticism. They, just like the competitors, have somehow become entrapped in a cycle of expectation that a certain type of work is a “Competition Photograph” and deserves to be rewarded.

I think that Gordon’s notion of employing a panel approach has much to commend it. It provides a broader perspective on the work exhibited, it allows a much larger range of club photographers to develop their own critical faculties and, moreover, those with a distinguished background as solo judges would still have much to contribute to a more collegiate style of evaluation.

Meanwhile, Deteriorators’ Workshop, anyone?

Muddied but Unbowed!by Michael Elliott

Michael ElliottCrediton Photography Club

Thanks for providing the image, Mike! I just HAD to use it on the front page! Editor

Whichever formula is adopted, having judges who understand and appreciate the work on offer is only half the battle. Of equal importance is the way those valuable opinions are fed back. The most expert and discerning of judges can still snatch defeat from the jaws of victory if they cannot engage and communicate effectively with the audience.

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JUDGING SEMINAR 20th April 2013

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A JUDGE OR LEARN MORE ABOUT THE JUDGING PROCESS - THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN THE FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS

BY ATTENDING A WCPF COURSE HOSTED BY KINGSWOOD PS.

Venue: Wick Village Hall, Manor Road, Wick, BS30 5, North Bristol just off the A420

Time: 9.30am for a prompt start at 10.00am: estimated finishing time is no later than 5.00pm.

Catering: Please bring your own food. Breaks for complimentary teas and coffees will be scheduled. Hot soup and rolls may be available lunchtime at a nominal cost this will be confirmed.

Costs: The course is provided by the WCPF at a subsidised price of £5 per head payable on the day.

Tutors: From John Tilsley, Bill Aven, Barrie Bluer, Ken Holland, Mac Bouchere and Brian Galbraith.

Applications: Please complete the pro-forma on the next page, then post it to me at 2 Grove Barn, Martinstown, Dorchester, DT2 9JP together with your cheque, not later than 13th April 2013.

Whilst we aim to accept every applicant, if numbers should exceed 32, acceptances will be on a first come, first accepted basis.

If after the course the attendee feels judging is not their chosen subject there is no obligation to become a WCPF judge.

Could you also please bring with you on the day at least 10 photographic prints that can be used for assessment by other attendees in the tutorial groups. Please do put your name on the back of each photograph for identification at the end of the seminar; ideally they should be A3 and mounted but A4 unmounted will be satisfactory and they do not have to be your best work!

For any further details please contact John Tilsley 01305 889495 or by email: dijohn.tilsley(at)waitrose.com

John Tilsley

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Application Form Judging Seminar, Wick,April 20th 2013

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Telephone number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

e-mail address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Brief resume of your photographic interests and experience.

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Post this form to John Tilsley together with your cheque made payable to the WCPF sent to him at 2 Grove Barn, Martinstown, Dorchester, DT2 9JP.

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PAGB DISTINCTIONS ADJUDICATIONS

I am pleased to confirm the venue for the PAGB Awards adjudication in our region will be in No-vember 2013 and will be in Weymouth, Dorset as follows:

Westfield Arts College, Littlemoor Road,

Weymouth, Dorset DT3 6AA

For those who have applied for the adjudication, further details will be given in your entry pack, which will be issued by Leo Rich in about August, but you may wish to book or make enquiries about accommodation earlier than that!

For those who may be interested in attending one or both days as a non-applicant, you will have to wait until tickets go on sale to the general public about a month before the adjudication. Info will be emailed out to all clubs at that time.

(You may be interested/surprised to know that the CPAGB & MPAGB lists are full already and just a few D places remain.)

EARLY NOTICE:

I am also pleased to let you know I am having some success in arranging another Awards Advisory Workshop and those WCPF members who have applied for an Adjudication Place for November will have access to this information first!

The date will be Sunday 14th April (which is the day after the WCPF AV competition) and the venue for it will be at the Monkton Heathfield Village Hall, Taunton. Full information on this will be emailed to existing applicants as soon as details are finalised. If there are advisory / observers places still available after this, then info will go on the WCPF website & emailed to all clubs. You cannot reserve a place on this workshop without first sending me a cheque and the completed official appli-cation form in the post. Please DO NOT email me requesting a reservation……!

Di Tilsley : Awards Secretary.

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Thank-you Sydenham Camera Club

At the beginning of this season, when I realised we had spent nearly £3000-00 on a new Laptop, HD Projector, a pull down screen and the latest updates to software, CS6, Lightroom 4, Elements 11, Proshow Producer, Nik and Topaz plug-ins, I knew we didn’t have much left in our piggy bank! Be-ing a comparatively small club compared to larger, more prosperous ones in our area, I came up with the idea of trying to raise some money - quickly!

A bit of research, followed by an approach to club members, the idea of producing a 2013 Calendar was born. Like a lot of “good ideas” it was favourably received by the majority of members. Interested members then searched their hard drives for appropri-ate pictures of Somerset taken throughout the year., and these were then donated to the project. I volunteered try and share out the twelve calendar spaces with as many members and different locations and seasons as possible.

I opted to choose a local supplier, rather than a national one, who was prepared to supply us in small numbers, 100-150 at a time. Purchase price to the Club was £2-95 each, to be retailed at £4-99. In total, a tad over 500 were sold. A healthy profit after production costs were deducted!

Most members threw themselves whole heartedly into the project, with Grace our wonderful 86-year old lady member selling 42 to her friends, many of whom bought about 5 each. (And Grace said she didn’t have many friends!)

We also had a stand at our local shopping precinct on a couple of occasions and sold over 100. I sold another 100+ by door stepping, and also selling a few more to people in my area, where I offered to make personal deliveries! Not everyone’s cup of tea, I realise, but in my book it’s a case of leading from the front.

So all in all, thank you to everyone who helped me and I know the extra funds have already allowed us to buy some new competition dispatch/carrying cases for Roger and a big shiny new tea urn for Merv & Brian!

Brian Bateman (every club should have one!)

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PRINTERS

Strange how a piece of technical equipment can sometimes seem to have a mind of its own. When it fails to perform its required function we are inclined to blame its intransigence before accepting that our own poor operation might be the cause.

Even so, a familiar piece of engineering can often seem like an old and reliable friend. Who has not had just a twinge of sadness when trading in an old car in part exchange for a shiny upstart? The same is true for our favourite cameras which may have toured the world with us, sharing extremes of weather and enduring the dents and scratches of uncomfortable journeys but continuing to deliver the best of images.

The relationship may not be the same with our stay-at–home printer, gathering dust and drying out its ink as we struggle with the world’s discomforts in search of the perfect picture. When we bought our first S.D. cards we rejoiced that expensive and bulky film was gone for ever and these little things could be formatted over and over again. Then we bought the printer and found that ink cartridges must be gold lined and diamond studded to justify what they cost and they replaced film as the expensive consumable

Perhaps it was that which first soured a promising relationship with the printer and made it an expensive necessity rather than a helpful companion? Darkroom workers have often enthused over the thrill of seeing an image being born in the developing tray but the digital printer seems not to invoke the same emotion. Instead we wait with apprehension as the print emerges. Does it look anything like the monitor? Is there any banding? Did Light Cyan run out half way through? Can your really trust something which describes grey as Light Light Black?

However, the development of the digital printer as an expensive but necessary tool has moved into an extra dimension. The three dimensional printer has escaped from the laboratory and is now found in workshops, some schools and in a few home workrooms. Models are available which can print solid objects in thermoplastics and many other materials including powdered metal. Most work from computer-produced drawings as the source of a digital input to control the way a part is built up layer-by-layer on the bed of the machine.

At least one company has introduced software which enables photographs to be used to control a 3D printer. It requires a number of shots to be taken all around the original subject at intervals of about seven degrees. These are then stitched together in somewhat the same way as is done for panoramic landscapes to provide the digital input for the printer.

It may be a little while before you can stroll around Florence with your DSLR and come home with the means to produce replicas of Michelangelo’s David or the Rape of the Sabine Women but one day – who knows?

CLUBMAN

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AROUND THE CLUBSDespite the absence about thirteen members due to illness, work, holidays another thirty-three members and two guests supported our regular monthly competition recently which attracted thirty entries for our Print category on the subject of "Sport/Movement" and forty-three Digital images for the subject of "Portraiture"

Our Judge for the evening was Debbie Young from Burnham on Sea. It was much appreciated when she started off by saying positive things about the entry before suggesting ways she thought an im-age might have been improved. This is how we learn to improve our photography week by week.

-oo0oo-

I’m sure Sydenham Camera Club isn’t the only club out there with news to impart! Please don’t keep quiet about it? It’s always interesting to read about what’s happening in our Federation!

Could it be that you are all busily working within your area, with fund-raising ideas for the Community Project competition proposed last issue by Eddy Lane?

Fantastic! Can’t wait for you to inundate me! We already have our first entry - so don’t let that be the only one!

Ann Owens

The picture opposite shows Keith Perry’s winning image in the first category - “The Sport of Kings.”

After the tea break, came the fiercely contested part of the evening, with entries being oversubscribed. In total forty-three images were displayed, with Sharon Lewis’s black and white - “Awakening” taking first place. (See below.)

With Portraiture being so popular within the club, we are now running additional monthly tutorial evenings, covering both studio work and flash photography - both indoors and out!

Brian Bateman : Sydenham Camera Club