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The Committee meeting Wed 18th October 2000
There was more discussion on "Creative" images and "Altered Reality" and on what this might mean, at the recent committee meeting. It was agreed that we should try Open Print and Open Slide categories for our quarterly competitions next session. It was also agreed that we should introduce another category into the Annual Exhibition. This could be called "Creative" following the lead of L&CPU or we might use another term (yet to be agreed).
There was also more discussion on the proposition that we should cease to engrave the trophies, and instead offer each year a certificate to the trophy winners (along with the trophy, to be kept for the session). The certificate would be a permanent record for the winner to keep. It was suggested that the certificates should include the list of previous winners. Several points were made in the discussion. Some trophies were almost full with winners names. We could continue engraving until space ran out on a particular trophy, then cease engraving. The cost of engraving each year continued to increase and presently cost the club about £40 p.a. Many of the donors of the trophies were no longer with us; but those who were might be upset by a decision to cease engraving. On a vote it was decided to cease engraving and produce Certificates to go with all trophies. It was felt that the year 2000 was an appropriate time for the change.
The Treasurer noted that the Council Chamber cost us about £800 p.a., the Lecturers, Focus, and Publicity were additional costs. Subscription income to date was only £656. We had received a £60 grant from Macclesfield Council.
Gordon reported on progress with the Annual Exhibition Feb 7th - 10th 2001. Frank reported encouraging responses from clubs to the Extravaganza. Dorothy raised the imminent Bramhall P.S. Annual Exhibition and our chance to enter a print panel (of at least four workers, to a theme). Additionally five slides were required for the club slide knockout competition.
Members were signing up for the 5th Nov Club trip to the Lakes.
The proposed Paris Weekend trip was planned for the W/E after Easter (i.e fly out by regular scheduled flight Early morning Friday 20th April and return Monday morning 23rd April . The three nights would cost about £225. Colin was trying to ensure that "just good friends" club members would not have to share double beds!
Bill Chadband
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The Battle with Chapel-en-le-Frith Club
Bob Dennis from the Wirral judged this exciting battle. Bob proved to be a colourful fellow with a penchant for drab frames. Several of our masterpieces fell foul of Bob's "framing law" -" Black is good, else try off-white, else beware - ! " Bob also felt that the title was important in letting the judge know what was in the photographers mind. It was therefore unfortunate that one of our prints was untitled. The first print shown, Gerald's "The Ceiling of St Cuthberts" was put to one side without a mark. Oh dear! Was this a good or bad omen? Worse was to follow. Sheila's "The power of flight" was also put to one side. As the prints were dealt with one by one the scores mounted but Chapel were gradually pulling ahead. After the last prints were shown the score was Chapel 154 to NCPS's 116. But wait! Two of the NCPS prints were yet to be marked. The "Ceiling" was then given 19, and "The Power of Flight" received a 20. Giving NCPS a lead of one at 155. And time for tea.
The slide competition was equally nail-biting. Again three slides were withdrawn, unmarked, - two of ours and one of Chapel's. The scores rose to Chapel 141, NCPS 123 before these last three were considerd. It was by now clear that those withdrawn were the best slides. Bob gave 3rd place (and 18 marks) to Steph's "Night Heron"; 2nd place (and 19 marks) to Chapel's "Great Spotted Woodpecker", with 1st place (20 marks) to Gordon's "Far Eastern Poverty" This gave NCPS a slide total of 161 to Chapel's 160. The final score was a win for NCPS by the narrowest of margins (316 -314). The Individual NCPS marks are given below:
PRINTS
The Ceiling, St Cuthbert's (Gerald Hallworth) 19
Zebras in the Masai Mara (Gordon Robson) 17
New York Stories (Tony Redford) 13
Footprints in the Sand (Bill Chadband) 13
No Title (Brian Turnbull) 14
The Power of flight (Sheila Edwards) 20
Pastel Petals (Dorothy Redford) 17
Sun Pattern (Gordon Robson) 15
Lyme Landscape (Brian Turnbull) 14
Stone Faced Expression (Tony Redford) 13
SLIDES
Grange Bridge (Alan Bromage) 15
Initial Individual (Dave Ackers) 14
Indian Children (Jon Allanson) 17
Winter (Bill Chadband) 15
Polar Bears (Steph Clack) 17
Scholars (Tony Redford) 17
Out to Grass (Colin Pickles) 12
Far Eastern Poverty (Gordon Robson) 20
Night Heron (Steph Clack) 18
Canalside Artist (Gerald Hallworth) 16
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Dumb & Dumber
We were privileged to have Rod Wheelans and Anne Greiner of Dumfries visit us as part of a 3 club tour to present an evening of prints on Tuesday 31st October. The prints covered a wide range of subject matter, predominantly in black and white but including sepia tints, straightforward colour and digital prints involving the transfer of an image from one paper to another! The speakers professed a preference for a wide-angle lens in much of their work (in conversation afterwards Anne said she used a Sigma 18-35mm zoom). They spoke of producing pictures for a panel of work and noted that this required a different approach to that whereby a single print has got to produce its own immediate impact on audience or judge. They used a Kodak B&W Record film for much of their photography claiming that they could use it with ASA values over a wide range (up to 800 ASA) if necessary. Their comments were both instructive and humorous. A range of excellent flower prints were produced with the aid of a light box. In one instance, where the flower stems were not appealing, Anne had replaced them with Dandelion stems giving her the effect she desired. One of Ron's excellent colour pictures (of a favourite clump of trees) had involved the manual labour of fetching several bales of straw from a neighbouring field (and taking them back afterwards!) to produce an effective fore-ground. One of the younger children ran a mile every time he saw Ron take out the red T-shirt. "Not another photograph" were the lad's typical parting words. Ron commented on the need to explore a subject with a variety of viewpoints and not just be satisfied with the one that initially seemed best. He noted that in his earlier days, as he improved, he could expect half a dozen good pictures from a 36-exposure film. Nowadays, he was lucky to find more than the odd one or two with which he was satisfied. Both speakers had the letters MPAGB after their names. Rod had additionally ARPS and EFIAP. But one of his friends in America - good photographer who also owned a string of laundries - had no letters, until he awarded himself the ATIW! These letters came up frequently during the talk, and a guessing game ensued, but only at the end were we told their significance. It appears that there are very few photographers who can boast MPAGB after their name; only 6 live in Scotland and of these 4 of them attend the Dumfries club!
Bill Chadband
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OH TO BE A WILDFOWL PHOTOGRAPHER! - THE HERON
EDALE
On a beautiful Wednesday morning in October Brian Adams and I left Edale mid-morning and took the path over the fields towards Hollins Clough, crossed the Edale - Hope Road, along the track leading to Peter Barn and up to the Mam Tor - Lose Hill ridge.
Great excitement after taking the path to Peter Barn - a solitary Heron overlooking a delightful pond (map ref. 129 851 for you budding wildlife photographers).
This time I had my camera and faithful 28-105 mm lens and careful edged around the pond, stepping from sodden tuft to sodden tuft. At last the Heron was in the viewfinder, click, click - success at last! However, the Heron was rather small in the frame and probably not up to high club standards, but nevertheless a nice shot and under good lighting conditions.
The rest of the day was superb with beautiful views onto Kinder and along the Mam Tor ridge and the views followed us around the rest of the walk.
THURSDAY MORNING
Thursday morning was again warm and sunny with low October mellow light - ideal for photography! Why not return to see if the Heron was still around the pond at Edale - why not indeed! Arriving about the same time as previously I chatted to the farmer driving past in his tractor and explained why I had all this photographic equipment - monopod, tripod, two camera bodies, 80-400 and 75-300mm zoom lens etc. "Quite a few Herons around here" said he as I closed the gate after he had passed.
Yes the Heron was still there! This time I put on my gum boots so that I could get even closer - easy peasy - but beware! Oh dear my right foot went down a hole and over I tumbled into the muddy water with both boots half full of water and mud up to my thighs.
Never mind - press on - this opportunity may never happen again! Up went the tripod, on went the EOS body and 80-400mm Tokina lens - zoom in, zoom out- horizontal, vertical, + ½, - ½ stop bracketing, change camera bodies for colour negs and transparencies - zoom in zoom out - another film - and bingo!
But what a pity the overhead branch obstructed - Heron still there - must be asleep. Time for some tree lopping but no this would be frowned on - so extend the monopod, prop it onto the camera bag and eureka a clear view - zoom in zoom out- change bodies, bracket the exposure, another half a film - worth getting muddy and sodden!! But wait those legs look rather symmetrical!! - must be standing on one leg! Oh dear, guess what - a plastic Heron!! The laugh is on me - good practice! Do you think anyone will notice!
How about a Club Visit to Edale (Map ref. 129 851)? Does anyone want to see my photos? Shsh - don't tell the next quarterley judge!
Sequel - Had to drive home in my underpants - glad I wasn't stopped by the Police for speeding.
Gordon Robson
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Drug Abuse & Digital Abuse: A case to Answer?
I had dared to suggest to Tony and Dorothy that using digital technology was a little like using drugs in athletics. Amazingly I escaped unscathed. But the more I have thought about it since the more I think there is something in the analogy.
Tony's position is that the thing that really matters is the end result - in photography that is. This is a perfectly logical position and one that can be extended to drugs in athletics. There are, after all, some otherwise sane people who believe that athletes should be freely allowed to use drugs to enhance their performance. Their reasoning is that most of the really effective drugs are still undetectable by forensic enquiry, especially if the athlete in question stops using them some time before the event itself (the major advantage of most drugs is in aiding training rather than the on-field performance as such). So there is little chance of catching all miscreants (some of them, of course, do get accused, such as an off-guard and retired Linford Christie) and drug testing may thus be unfair because it catches only the stupid or the unwary. One might as well have a free-for-all, which at least ensures a level playing field- an apt metaphor in this case! Actually it doesn't quite ensure equity because some of the best drug regimes are very expensive, viz human growth hormone treatments, which may cost many thousands of pounds per week to administer. To keep things fair, therefore we would have to subsidise the poorer athletes so that they could keep up with their richer chums (use Lottery money?) We could set up a British Athletes Drug Fund to keep our boys and girls up among the medals in future Olympic games and World events providing them with all the drugs their coaches request. I do not really have to go further with this argument to show how ludicrous it is.
However Tony's position is an analogous free-for-all in photography. He argues that it doesn't matter how the end result is arrived at, that the means of reaching it are unimportant. Perhaps we should not even be interested in the means. But clearly it does matter in athletics. Most of us would be sad to discover that Denise Lewis had used pharmacological boosts to gain her Gold medal. We might be more shocked to learn that the God-fearing Jonathan Edwards had been on a drugs trip. As an athletics enthusiast I really do want to know who is and who is not on drugs and the whole sorry issue has spoiled my appreciation of the sport. I now find myself suspicious of many athletics achievements. I note that some young athletes go through an amazing physical metamorphosis with some coaches in a short time. This uncertainty matters a great deal to me.
So, does it matter to me whether a photograph has been produced in the camera or in the computer when I seek an appreciation of other peoples photographs? Of course it does, and it should! And for much the same reasons as in the athletics-drugs analogy. What happens to Cartier Bresson's "Decisive Moment" when we can all reproduce them ad nauseam with Adobe Software? Why should we spend whole days out of doors and in bad weather waiting for the right light conditions for a good landscape when we can instantly create the same conditions indoors with our slippers on? The thing that makes Korda's famous image of Che Guevara so utterly compelling is the knowledge that it was a genuine image; one shot in the middle of the revolution, and not dreamed up later by a cyber-technician, mouse in hand. A similar face drawn by an artist, or created by a computer, would never have achieved the iconic status of Korda's photograph.
A counter to this would be the argument that all photographers use some kind of manipulation between putting the film in the camera and producing the final result. This is so: it is impossible not to manipulate in some way. Even the choice of the film is a variety of manipulation - Remember a recent NCPS lecturer who chose Velvia for fungi but who would "never use Velvia for flowers"? So even photographers who shoot 'straight trannies' and then merely project them inevitably involve some kind of intervention. We all know that it is well nigh impossible to produce a good monochrome print without considerable intervention in the form of 'dodging' (note the pejorative word). And only the most ascetic of photographers does not use filtration at some stage of the photographic process.
Is dodging, or filtering tantamount to digital intervention in the computer? I think not. Going back to the athletics analogy it is almost impossible for athletes to avoid using drugs. Steve Redgrave (Sir Steve by the time you read this?) was on a heavy drugs regime during his Sydney quest for his 5th consecutive gold medal. This was with the full consent of the British Olympic Rowing team's doctor, who also happens to be his wife. Sounds dodgy until you learn that he is a diabetic with ulcerative colitis, both of which conditions require drugs to keep him alive. But Denise Lewis used drugs while she was actually competing on the field, painkillers were injected into her ankle to suppress the effects of an injury. Athletes often use painkillers to keep going during an event such as the Heptathlon; they often could not finish without them. But if this were deemed to be the same thing as using drugs to enhance performance Redgrave and Lewis would be denied their gold medal.
Of course the analogy between sport and photography eventually breaks down. Dorothy is not risking a shortening of her life by using the film 'scanner' (dangerous though it sounds!) and Tony is not, as far as I know sprouting breasts from persistent digital abuse !! But I don.t think that the fact that we all intervene in the process of producing our final images allows us to go the whole hog and say we should be allowed an infinite degree of manipulation without necessarily declaring it. How disappointed we would be to find that Cartier Bresson's image of the boy jumping across a Parisian puddle, capturing a decisive moment if ever there was one, was not in fact caught by the great man out and about with his camera. If it wasn't I would have liked him to tell us!
Having said all of this, I remain a supporter of digital photography. In fact I have been truly impressed by Dorothy and Tony's efforts, and I cannot wait to have a go myself. As Tony has said digital is the future of photography. In a few short years' time only the dedicated enthusiast will still be using film. Perhaps we have to go digital to ensure the future of club photography, or at least to ensure that club photography does not become a stagnant backwater of little interest to any but the cognoscenti. In the meantime I think we should keep the two processes apart in terms in which we assess our photographs. In the long run, I fear the worst: that digitization (or is it digitalisation) will destroy our hobby. But then, as Maynard Keynes said, "In the long run we are all dead"
Ted Wilson |
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Editor's note: Where articles refer directly to members, and are thus likely to invoke a reply, I take the view that the reply should appear in the same edition of Focus. I therefore showed Tony a copy of the forthcoming article and he has chosen to respond as below:
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I believe I can reassure Ted on a couple of the concerns raised in his cogent, if convoluted, thesis concerning digital "abuse".
Firstly, and most importantly, I am not sprouting breasts. It's just an optical illusion.
Secondly, as I reiterated at a recent committee meeting, I am content to capitulate and agree to any amended or additional rules concerning digital prints which are considered to be in the best interests of harmony at NCPS (although my gut feeling will always be that any hobby should be encumbered with as few rules as possible). If it is felt that a special section should be introduced (what do we call it - "The Great Unwashed" section?) then who am I to argue.
Personally, I have never been too interested in how much darkroom "abuse" is committed by the purists in producing a final print, and I shall have no objection to spilling the beans if anyone is sufficiently interested to query the extent of the digital "abuse" which I might have inflicted on my inkjet prints. Mind you, I'm not sure just where "abuse" starts. Does it include any modification - removing spots, removing television aerials, removing distracting highlights? Or does it kick in when things are added - perhaps not so much a catch light but rather a street light? Are we going to think up a brand new set of rules?
Surely the bottom line is that a good old-fashioned photograph will always live happily side by side with, and even successfully compete against, any digitally modified image, so why worry? For myself, I hope to pursue both strands - in the form of slides for the former, and inkjet prints for the latter - as I'm sure most club photographers will be doing for the foreseeable future. As always, some will derive most pleasure from addressing the challenges at the taking stage and others will relish the demands placed on their imagination at the making stage. I can't think that anyone at NCPS would want to cheat by using anything other than their own hard won photographic originals, or by pretending that no modification - darkroom or digital - had taken place if in fact it had.
So, unlike Ted, I'm sure that the latest developments will be a shot in the arm - a legitimate injection, of course - for our hobby, providing we don't allow ourselves to be split into two camps by the them-and-us brigade. To misquote Ian Fleming "Live and Let Live"
And as Maynard Keynes did not say, "Always look on the bright side of life"
Tony Redford.
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A Trip to the Lakes
On Sunday 5th November at 8.00am ten members gathered at the Civic Hall to inspect the minibus provided by Colin Pickles to take us on a day trip to the Lakes. We were fascinated by the masking tape which held one of the windows in place. Colin explained that the coach had been to Wigan the night before. No other explanation was therefore necessary! The seats were comfortable, the weather dry, and at about 8.20am we decided that we could wait no longer for the last name on the list and we set off. At 10.30 am we arrived at Elterwater village. After some refreshment we set out, at varying (slow) speeds, along the footpath to Skelwith Bridge (about a mile and a half away). The sky was overcast with tantalising glimpses of the sun. The colours were good, and if only the sun had illuminated them the trees would have been glorious. On the way back Philip stopped to receive a telephone call on his mobile, and back at the bus we played the game of "where is Philip" whilst we ate our packed lunch. We then went "over the top" to Grasmere, chortling madly as lesser mortals in their 4-wheel drive vehicles halted and tried to turn back. The views from the "terrace" at Grasmere were equally good. The Swans put on a display to amuse us, but the light was still not conducive to competition-winning photography. Nevertheless the day was dry and adequately warm for walking. Those present voted it a great day out, and Colin was heartily thanked both for his organisation and his driving. On the way back we met the Blackpool queues and the Manchester weather. We were home by 6.30pm and got wet for the first time transferring to our own cars.
Bill Chadband
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Bramhall P.S. Annual Exhibition
NCPS entered both the print panel competition and the interclub slide battle which took place on Thursday 9th November as part of Bramhall's Annual Exhibition.
The day before saw several NCPS members (Sheila, Dorothy, Tony, Stuart and Bill) with entries in Bramhall's 2nd Open Creative Print competition. The judges were John Dougherty, Jon Allanson and Geoff Robinson. In the first round all prints were put up in turn and marked (out of five) by each judge (holding up a numbered card). Marks ranged from 8 to 14, with a peak at 11. The judges then decided to take only those prints scoring 12 or more to the 2ndround. These included Sheila's "The Power of Flight", Tony's "New York Stories" (12), and Dorothy's "Pastel Petals" (14). In the next round the judges voted In or Out. Sheila and Tony went out, and five prints remained. The judges then gathered around the table, conferred, and announced their order of preference. Dorothy's "Pastel Petals" 1st with Christine Widdall's "Dream" 2nd. Readers may recall that Christine won the competition last year.
Four clubs competed in the print panel competition. Judge Peter Brook from Sheffield considered them in reverse order, awarding the prize to the 85 group with a "Trees" panel. From the order in which he considered the panels NCPS were second with the "Animals of Africa" panel.
In the interclub knockout Slide Competition six slides were required. Gordon's "Tunnel of Gold" went out in round 2; Tony's "Scholars" and Dorothy's "Poppy Field" in round 3; Bill's "Winter Tree" in round 4 and Ted's "Rainbow in the Dales" in round 5. Martin Malies of S. Manchester club accepted the Club prize for the winning club, and also the prize for the winning slide (The Lowry Bridge).
NCPS came a creditable third place.
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Barmouth - To Be or Not To Be
When I first suggested that members might like to have a weekend in Barmouth I had no idea that it would become the annual fixture that it has turned out to be. Over the years there has been great enthusiasm for this ecvent; we have been well looked after in the Wavecrest ; we have had very enjoyable battles with the Welsh clubs; and the weather has generally been kind to us, allowing us to appreciate the beautiful scenery in the area.
This year however I have been conscious of murmurings of discontent among members concerning the hotel. To be honest Brenda and I did fell that perhaps things were not as good as they had been in previous years. The question therefore arises - Do we continue with this event, or has the time come to discontinue it? I need to know your opinions on the matter.
If you took part in the weekend this year were you satisfied , or not? Are you , in any case, tired of Barmouth? It is not for me to defend the Wavecrest but I feel it is only fair to point out that not every hotel would allow us to disrupt their arrangements and to hold the battle as Sheila and Eric Jarman have done. There is also the question of the two Welsh clubs. I think they have enjoyed meeting with us and would like to continue to do so.
Please let me know your feelings in this matter so that I know whether to arrange the weekend again for next year.
Gerald Hallworth
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Michael Leach 28th October
Many thanks to all those who helped to make this evening such a success and I am sure you will all be pleased to hear that it was also a financial success. Those of you who didn't attend missed a good evening.
Although we saw some fine pictures, (the mountain gorillas seemed to be most people's favourites), there were some complaints that he did not show enough but two non photographers that I brought along thought him such an entertaining speaker, that they went home very happy with the evening. I am sure that the Committee would welcome further suggestions from members for future events .
Frank Hutchinson
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Lake District Trip 5/11/00
Many Thanks to Colin Pickles for his sterling work in organising this Sunday Trip to the Lakes including being the mini-bus driver.
We set off in most unpromising weather amid news reports of widespread flooding but the weather improved steadily as we moved further north until the sun emerged as we drove past Windermere. Unfortunately, it went in again as soon as we disembarked in Elterwater but we had a pleasant meander down to Skelwith Bridge and back.
We then drove over Red Bank via Grasmere to the car park at Rydal from where we had a stroll up to Loughrig Terrace.
The Autumn colours were as good as usual but the light was not with us so don't expect any competition winners from this trip.
With only a little more support, we can fill the mini-bus for the next trip and reduce the cost further so watch for further announcements of future trips.
Frank Hutchinson |
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