FOCUS
Newsletter of the North Cheshire Photographic Society
December 1999
What do you think of it so far? No, not the performance of the President, but the activities of the club at this point of the season? We have had some splendid meetings with much to enjoy, much to be inspired by and much to learn from. Even in the L&CPU slide folios there was much to enjoy and the general standard was quite high.
Some of us had a very enjoyable weekend in Barmouth in spite of some rather inclement weather and perhaps the walk to the Gold Mine may provide some interesting images.
We had an excellent AV presentation from Colin Smith for our Extravaganza that was well constructed and presented. Thanks again to Gerald for organising our Christmas Dinner at the Red Lion in High Lane, which was a very pleasant occasion.
You have participated in the inter club competitions to good effect and in particular you have participated in our Quarterly competitions. These have presented problems in that the meetings have gone on after 10pm. Your committee is addressing the problem of finishing at a reasonable time and allowing comments on all the prints and slides entered.
It was suggested that this is the first year when we have beaten the winners of the inter club slide competition in the ensuing battle. Perhaps you know differently? The down side has been some poor attendances at some of our meetings and 'specials'. This again is a difficult problem to address and we assk you to support the club activities whenever possible.
Your next opportunity for participation is the Annual Exhibition, details of which are included in this newsletter. Without your entries there will be no exhibition!
Finally, Monica and myself wish you and your families a Happy Christmas and a Good New Year as we all look forward to a rewarding year in our photography.
Colin Pickles
The First Quarterly Competition, (or Did the Judge go on too long?)
The Quarterly Competitions for this session got off to a good start with over 100 pictures in the 1st quarterly (49 prints & 54 slides). The Judge was mightily impressed both by the standard of the entries and by the number of entries. His response to the number of entries might have had something to do with my initial letter of invitation that estimated that he would have about 30 each of slides and prints to judge! He dashed over from Wales after work and I took him for a quick meal before the Club meeting. We discussed what the members expected from a judge and I made the point that all entrants should get an equal amount of critical feedback and not just the "star" pictures. We also discussed whether prints or slides should go first and his preference was to begin with the prints. From discussion with members afterwards it was clear that the judge had dealt equitably with all entrants but with 100+ entries this had inevitably taken time. Afterwards, the judge apologised that he had run a little over time and that the slides might therefore have received less comment than the prints; but he had had 103 pictures to cover during the evening.
By common consent the judge did a good job, but some members left at about 10.00pm (the usual end time) and the evening did not finish until 10.30pm. The Committee discussed this at its subsequent meeting and agreed that seventy or eighty pictures were more than enough for members to view in an evening. Equally such numbers are plenty for a judge to comment on if he/she is to fairly criticise all entries. The Rules ask members to enter their pictures in order of priority and the Competitions Secretary is empowered to reduce the number of prints or slides from the five maximum if total numbers require this. The previous guide figure was "about 120 as a total maximum, but at its meeting, in the light of the above, the committee agreed that the Competitions Secretary should use 80 as the new total maximum number. Fifteen members entered the 1st Quarterly competition; six of them only entering one of the Prints and Slides options. We are, of course, trying to encourage everyone in the club to enter the competitions.
Applying the above (max = 80) rule to the first competition:
Removing the fifth picture would give 43 prints and 46 slides = 89 total.
This exceeds the 80 limit,
Removing the fourth picture also would give 33 prints and 36 slides = total 69
This is well within the limit, and leaves adequate headroom for more club members to enter.
Comment was made at the committee meeting of occasional misuse of the categories to ensure that all pictures were accepted. You will know that a maximum of three prints or slides per category is allowed. Apparently some members are driven to assign extra pictures to other categories in order to get them accepted, even if these other categories are not really the appropriate ones. It is likely that the new system will remove any such temptation.
Bill Chadband
Report on the P.A.G.B’s “Big Day” at Lancaster University - 24th October 1999
Our club’s name was thrust favourably into the limelight again when no less than THREE of our members gained success at Lancaster. Their sets of ten prints were judged on the day by an auspicious panel of six experienced judges, during an assessment session organised by the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.
Each set of ten prints had to accumulate a minimum score of 200 and our three intrepid members were nervously counting up on their fingers throughout the morning as the prints were pronounced upon. The successful trio is JON ALLANSON, GERALD HALLWORTH and DOROTHY REDFORD. They are now able to use the letters CPAGB after their name. Our hearty congratulations go to the three of them.
Particularly gratifying was the efficient and professional way in which the judges executed their task, treating each picture on its merit with no quibble about how final image had been produced. (This was to Dorothy’s great relief on this, her first submission, as all her ten prints were “computer printed”. Uniquely, each individual print comfortably achieved its pass mark!) Clearly, the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain wish to give equal credence to both darkroom-modified silver halide prints and digitally modified ink jet prints. It matches the same forward-thinking and common sense approach that we use at NCPS.
This should encourage our existing (and prospective) members who would like to produce exhibition prints without a darkroom - and there is sure to be an increasing number of PC owners who wish to combine their picture-taking skills with their increasing knowledge of photo-manipulation at the keyboard. Of course we must continue to enjoy and actively encourage the traditional methods of picture making. But the tremendous scope to the imagination that the new technology has opened up could be a shot in the arm for Societies like ours - and we must continue to promote it at every opportunity. Our success or failure could depend on our open-mindedness.
Tony Redford
Tuesday 30 November was the occasion of the Club battle with Southport. Graham Johnston had agreed to judge and all was going well until the Competition Secretary received a phone call at 6.30pm from Graham to say that he was in danger of losing his voice. Could we possibly supply a microphone and amplifier system? "Well, Yes" said the ever-obliging secretary, who went into his garage to find the old amplifier he had built many years before. Fortunately he checked it rather than putting it straight into the car, and just as well! It didn't work - the preamplifier section had ceased to function so that talking into the microphone had no effect. Well borrow the wife's D.I. box - that should work! But it didn't
Well, what about the radio microphone? Will that work with it? … Eventually a working system of microphone, amplifier and speaker were assembled but it was now a quarter past seven and the secretary was in danger of being late.
A mad dash (by car) allowed the competitions secretary to arrive before the judge, and set up the equipment. Proudly the secretary held out the microphone for Graham to try. "My voice is a bit better now" he said; "I'll try and talk without the microphone and see how it goes".
All that was needed now was the opposition. 8.00pm came and went. Well it’s a long way from Southport with plenty of opportunity for a hold-up. After another fifteen minutes Southport's two representatives arrived; smiles of relief and greetings all around, and the battle began.
Prints first.
In the Pictorial section a 20 for Slice Through the Landscape by Kathryn Hill gave Southport a 55-52 lead. This was reversed in the Photojournalism section when a 20 for Chasing Shadows by Henry Elliot and a 19 for No 11 by John Smith gave North Cheshire a 108-104 lead. Southport then reduced this by a 20 for Meadow Pipit on Gorse (Mike McKavett) and a 19 Dipper (Owen Elias). North Cheshire’s best was 19 for Dark Chanting Goshawk (Stephanie Clack). In the Record section a 20 for Pulpit Detail (Gerald Hallworth) and 19 for Memorial to Pike Watts increased our lead to 218-211 but Southport pulled back with two 20's in the Portrait section (Pipe Puffer by Peter Jarvis, and Helen by Peter Madden) against a 19 for Guys and Dolls by Don Stafford) to reduce North Cheshire's final lead to four point (272-268).
In the Slide battle the order of viewing was reversed. North Cheshire established a small lead in the Portrait section with the help of a 20 for Stavros by Gordon Robson. This lead was then lost in the Record section when Southport gained a 20 (Asiatic Lily by Tony Duffy) and a 19 (Proton Cars at Petronas Towers by Trevor Davenport). We almost caught up in the Natural History section with a 20 (Polar Bears at play by Dave Clack) and a 19 (Yellow Billed Hornbill by Stephanie Clack) against a 19 by Mike McKavett (Meadow Lark Singing at Dawn). We went ahead in the Photojournalism section with a 20 for Gordon Robson (Far Eastern Poverty) and a 19 for Tony Redford (In Trouble Again) against one 19 for Southport (Street Soccer, South America by Keith Suddaby). In the final Pictorial section a 20 for Brian Turnbull (Morning Mist) against a 19 for Malcolm Mentha (Winter Contours) helped stretch our lead to 271-264.
The judge commented that the standard was extremely high, and North Cheshire was suitably pleased to have won the overall battle 543 to 532. Sadly the judge's voice held out for the entire contest and the competition secretary dismantled and took home his amplification system unused.
Bill Chadband
Half Way through the Quarterly Competions
The 2nd Quarterly attracted almost as many entries (46 prints, 51 slides) as did the 1st Quarterly (49 prints 54 slides). Despite having the committee's agreement to reduce the total entry number if necessary, having discussed the problem with the judge (Norman Piper of Bury P.S.) I let the total number stand. Norman asked that we should inform him if we felt we were going over time, and Gerald undertook this task. Norman is an experienced judge and the time factor had been given a good airing prior to the night. In the event the evening ended at about 10.15pm. Some thought we had gone over time whilst others noted that we had the room booked until 10.30pm and that the judge's timing was therefore satisfactory. The question therefore remains as to what is the maximum number of prints and slides that a judge should have to deal with in an evening, and what maximum do the members wish to see. If we have the room 'til 10.30 pm and members are happy to remain until the judge has finished his work then there is no problem. A problem only arises if significant numbers of members up and go before the conclusion of the evening. This can be distracting, and in the extreme, discourteous, to the judge who has given his time without pay to the club. What do members think? Answers in an envelope please, or in the next issue of Focus.
As to Results to date, in the Beginners / Intermediate section Joyce Robson is ploughing a lonely furrow . She has 8 points (Entry, HC VHC) from the first competition and an identical score in the second, giving a total of 16 points. Since there are no other entries the rules say she cannot be a winner in her class and therefore cannot get 5 points for a 1st position.
In the Advanced Class Tony Redford, Gordon Robson and Dorothy Redford are the highest flyers with Tony (at 52 points) in the lead and Gordon with 47 points just ahead of Dorothy (46 points). Tony has four 1st places to date compared with three for Gerald, two for Gordon, and one each for Dorothy, Graham and Brian.
It is clear that quantity sometimes counts as some of the highest scoring entries were, in the author's own view, makeweights compared with their other entries. There's no accounting for the foibles of judges!!
Bill Chadband
A Visit to the City of Bath
Quite easy, M6, M5, M4 –signposted from there. It takes about three hours in the early morning. The Royal Photographic headquarters are in the City centre, about 2/3 of the way down on the left of Milsom Street; one way only and about a minute from Bath Abbey. They are well worth a visit. Entry is free to members. The entrance is deceptively small; inside is an up-market café / book stalls / cards / photos for sale, plus the large Octagon on two floors with exhibition cases detailing all historical aspects of photography with samples of all types of work. There is also the members’ gallery with various exhibitions. These vary but are advertised in the journal. I saw 50 b/w prints of interesting photojournalism all impeccably presented. Jessops shop is on-site.
There is so much else to see! Take a green open decker bus on a sightseeing tour all round the City, which also takes you up out of the town for a view at the top of the hill. Our guide on the tour was a history graduate and so enthusiastic. Bath is steeped in history from the Roman times. You can hop on and off the bus wherever you wish and go round again on the same ticket if you want to. I chose to be dropped off by the canal and walk back – very pretty. There are also boat trips up the River Avon taking about an hour. One needs more than a day really to see everything on offer, including the museums and the Roman Baths; the Assembly Rooms house a large collection of period costumes, and I have not even mentioned the art galleries. The Abbey is magnificent inside, 15th Century with a high vaulted ceiling all white stone and recently renovated. Photography is free except during the services. I have never seen such huge stained glass windows.
If you like shopping, there is a modern precinct with a large variety of stores. In the afternoons a group of musicians from Peru perform outside of M&S making quite a din with their strange musical sounds.
What are the snags? It could rain, but that will only spoil things if you let it. Parking is difficult in the Centre, but there is a Park and Ride scheme Mon-Sat. it is impossible to see everything in one day. You will arrive home late and completely knackered. Go for it!
Sheila Edwards
Pen and Camera Club of Methodism
Did you that there is a postal photographic club, membership of which is open to members of the Methodist Church. There are folios for monochrome prints, colour prints, colour slides, digital prints and art. If you qualify and are interested in any of these, please contact Colin Pickles for further details. There is a particular need at this time for monochrome print workers.