We started the evening with an Extraordinary General Meeting to elect a new Club President as the position had been vacant since the passing of the previous President in April. Roger Smith was duly elected as Club President.
Category Archives: General Information
WCPF Travelling Prints – September 13th 2022
After a long absence due to the pandemic, we were able to resume our viewing of the Travelling Prints Exhibition which featured a selection of 71 prints entered into the Members Exhibition held earlier this year. The selection comprised 20 Nature prints, 26 Open Colour prints and 25 Open Monochrome prints.
As expected the prints were of the highest quality, covering a wide range of subjects and genres. Previously we had viewed each print as a group but this year we did things differently by setting up tables with a small group of members at each and letting them view each category in turn and selecting their first and second place entries. Not surprisingly the outcomes were generally different between the groups and also with the official judging results although the same monochrome image of a gymnast was selected by club members.
It was an enjoyable evening that attracted good participation and gave members the opportunity to critique other photographer’s work as opposed to being on the receiving end. The seemingly fashionable trend of using cream/ivory coloured mounts was evident, as was the distinct preference for non-glossy photographic papers. Hopefully those who participated will be inspired and motivated in developing their own print images and printing techniques.
Season Opener – September 6th 2022
Our first meeting of the new season set out to reacquaint members after the long summer recess and provide feedback on various topics. The annual Prints Exhibition in the local library has been well received and was visited by the Deputy Mayor who expressed a keen interest in the images on display. Notifications on upcoming events such as the process to re-elect a new President, the Photography Show at the NEC and external competitions were provided. Now that print competitions are being resumed, there was discussion around the easiest way to provide the judge with a digital image of the prints to enable them to start the judging process without having to physically deliver the prints.
After the interval, we looked at the activities and services that the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) can provide and their e-news magazine and recorded lecture series are of particular interest. We concluded the evening by viewing the PAGB Inter-Federation competition entries from last year which, not surprisingly, featured a host of inspiring images, especially in the Nature category.
Prints Exhibition – August 13th – 27th 2022
For a two week period we will exhibit the prints submitted to our Annual Competition in the Royal Wootton Bassett library. The images on display will cover three competition categories; Action; Open and Portrait. In addition the projected images for the same categories will be displayed as a slideshow.
Visitors will not only have the chance to see the work of our Club members but also vote for their favourite image and sign our Visitors Book. Members of the Club will be present during Saturdays and Wednesdays which tend to be the busiest days.
So come along, see our work and find out more about the Club’s activities. Our new season starts on September 6th and we meet in the Ballroom at The Angel Hotel, RWB.
Summer Photowalk #3 – July 26th 2022
The weather gods smiled upon us as the overcast sky cleared and a magnificent evening greeted us as we embarked upon one of our more vigorous and demanding photowalks in Alton Barnes. An intrepid group met at the roadside car park before scaling Knap Hill and taking in the magnificent views it afforded over the rolling Wiltshire countryside, bathed in golden sunlight. With hopefully some pleasing images captured, we returned to the car park and tackled Walkers Hill and Adams Grave, the most dramatically located Neolithic long barrow in Wiltshire and the site of battles in 592 and 715.
The area surrounding Walker’s Hill is pitted with barrows and ditches of many sizes and shapes and a grazing area for a herd of cows searching for green vegetation in the sun scorched fields. We never made it on foot to the Alton Barnes white horse as our previous exertions had created a thirst that we urgently needed to satisfy by a visit to The Barge Inn, by the Kennet & Avon canal in Honey Street and the perfect way to conclude our evenings photowalk.
Annual Competition – June 7th 2022
Our Annual Competition was judged by Ralph Snook from Bristol PS and featured prints after a two year absence due to covid restrictions, as well as projected images. Entries were received in three subject categories namely Action, Portrait and Open with each member limited to three entries for each category.
Print entries were judged first and attracted a good input with the Open category being the most populated. Once again some creative interpretation was used in the Portrait section which was well handled by the judge. After a short interval, the projected images were viewed and not surprisingly attracted a very healthy number of entries which added to the challenge for the judge. The evening concluded with selection of the best overall print which was “Shake those feathers ” by Nigel Walkley and the best overall projected image was “Splashdown” by Robert Slade with both winners featuring bird images.
Presentation of trophies for all the winning entries will take place at an Awards Ceremony on June 14th at the Angel Hotel by Councillor Pat Farrow, the Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett.
Presentation ” Cellars, Towers and Tunnels” – May 10th 2022
Print Mounting Evening – May 3rd 2022
This additional meeting had been arranged specifically to share knowledge and experiences in printing images and their subsequent mounting in readiness for competition submissions. Firstly some potential print suppliers were explored to compare offerings and ease of online ordering. Prices ranged enormously between local print shops to the large online print houses which typically charge around 80p for an A4 print and £1.20 for A3 size.
We then turned our attention to methods of mounting prints for display purposes. Surface mounting the print to a backing board using a spray adhesive is one process that can be used which does require some dexterity in placing the print in exactly the correct position but using a repositional adhesive enables some adjustments to be made. The most popular route in camera clubs tends to be attaching the print to a window mat and securing it with tape. Additionally a backing board can also be used to provide additional rigidity and robustness. Window mats are cut from mat board materials and can be either bought ready made or made yourself using a mat cutter and a great deal of care. Paddy demonstrated how to cut a window mat, attach the print on one edge and then finish by adding a backing board. He also showed various images printed on different photographic papers to demonstrate the effects which can be achieved and also different coloured window mat and backing board materials.
Hopefully the information exchanged and the practical demonstrations will have given people more confidence in producing their own prints and either doing their own mounting or outsourcing. The deadline for print entries for the Annual Competition is May 24th with up to 3 prints allowed in each category of Action; Open and Portrait.
Audio-Visual Evening – April 26th 2022
Members were treated to a full evening of audio-visual presentations which had been entered into last year’s Western Counties Photographic Federation Competition. In total 38 AVs had been entered across 3 main categories: Short; Long and Photoharmony. Short related to presentations that were less than 4 minutes in length; Long included presentations exceeding 4 minutes and a Photoharmony section enabled participants to demonstrate their skills in marrying images through appropriate transitions and strong harmonisation with the sound track. We started viewing some of the unplaced entries before moving to each category and watching the presentations in reverse order. Being able to see the judge’s comments gave further insight into the main characteristics of each presentation and how they were interpreted.
As always the subject matter was diverse ranging from social documentaries covering the covid lockdown experience to vibrant street photography, still life images, unusual connections and exploration of places both in the south west and far further afield. One can only marvel at the skill, patience and creativity that had been used to achieve the final results.