The EGM on Tuesday 1st April 2003

Prior to the slide show of RPS prints a brief EGM was held. The two basic issues were that a President should be allowed to serve for a second consecutive year, if the club so wished, and the club committee should meet as often as required, without having to meet a set number of times a year.

President, Joyce Streets explained that it was presently unclear if the constitution precluded a President from serving two consecutive years. There was an argument that suggested that a new President was just getting into his/her stride when the Presidential year was up. There was a counter argument that the yearly rotation of the Presidency was good for the club, allowing relatively new members to quickly aspire to the highest office. However, occasions arose when a two-year Presidency would smooth the way to a successful rotation of the Presidency, and this was the purpose of the proposed change. The meeting agreed the proposal with one dissenter (who feared that the small change could be the start of the slippery slope to a permanent President!)

On the question of committee meeting numbers it was noted that the present rule (6a) that the committee should meet at least nine times a session was regularly ignored, and that it was therefore time to bring the constitution up to date. This proposal that the committee should meet as and when necessary was agreed nem con.

Simple Astro-Photography

On Tuesday 15th April Brian Hancock, a retired Surgeon, introduced us to the delights of photographing the heavens. His basic apparatus was a SLR with standard and 135mm lenses, a sturdy tripod, and between the two, a motor driven pivot. As Brian explained, long exposures are a necessity in this kind of photography; but unfortunately the earth spins on its axis so that point light sources are smeared out across the film unless remedial measures are taken.

By introducing a counter-rotating platform between tripod and camera the star images can be kept more or less stationary on the film. The platform axis must be aligned with the earth's axis for this to work. and so a small telescope is incorporated, to be pointed at the Pole star, to achieve this alignment. But another problem then emerges. Light scattered from dust in the atmosphere begins to fog the film as the exposure time goes into minutes. The Lake district is better than Manchester in this regard, but France better still. But his best pictures came from high up the mountains in Arizona. His hobby had taken Brian all over the world. Not only the stars, but the planets and the moon were suitable subjects, and Brian spoke at length about the various lunar eclipses he had witnessed. And, of course, courses involving Patrick Moore inevitably entered the presentation. This was an unexpectedly fascinating presentation for which we thanked Brian most profusely.

Following the tea break we relaxed and listened to Fred and Sheila Edwards as they presented their holiday shots from Egypt, the Nile and Petra in Jordan. To help us identify him under his head-dress in the heat Fred explained that he purposely carried his photogenic Marks & Sparks plastic bag (though it was never clear what Fred carried in the bag). Sheila was of no help in this regard, busy as she was collecting fertility symbols en route. The most intelligent question asked of Fred, from the audience, was "were the Hieroglyphics to be read left to right; right to left, or top to bottom? This threw Fred a little until his next slide showed a vertical column, full of said symbols. Clearly, said Fred, you read from bottom upwards!! Thank you Fred & Sheila.

Bill Chadband

The Committee Meeting held Wednesday 16th April

The meeting was mostly concerned with the forthcoming AGM. Joyce reported that the AGM had been moved back a week to May 20th to avoid possible problems relating to the return of NCPS members from Barcelona on the Tuesday 13th May.

It was reported that Dave Clack had sent in a proposal for discussion at the AGM to the effect that we should abolish the weekly "tea money" (though not in these words!). And of course, the weekly 30p's were not conceived of as paying for the refreshments; they were an alternative to putting up the regular annual subscriptions. But though it is difficult to find anywhere where you can have tea and biscuits for as little as 30p the soubriquet has stuck, in many peoples' minds. David's Treasurer's report reveals that these weekly collections amounted to £224 for the past session. When added to Members subscriptions this still failed to meet total expenditure on room hire, lecturer's and judges expenses, club public liability insurance, subscriptions to L&CPU and general Printing, stationary and postage costs. The deficit was £126 this session, to be made up from Bank/Building Society interest and profits from events run during the session (Annual exhibition and Digital day this session).

The immediate effect of Dave Clack's proposal, if passed, would be to lose the club about £224, unless this amount was added to the annual subscription. But it has been argued that some members attend infrequently whilst others are regular attendees. An annual subscription increase would fall more heavily on those who got least out of the club. One might argue that it should encourage such people to attend more often, but more likely, at the fringe, such people might decide not to join at all and this would be counter-productive to the club's finances. An argument for the continued weekly "tea money" is that it is just in that the regular attendees, who are theoretically getting more from the club (and certainly having more of the tea/ coffee and biscuits) pay the extra. The fact that we all pay something each week makes it easier to collect the £1.50 fee from casual visitors, whose attention is more readily drawn to the money-box and the notice about casual visitor's charges. The main argument against appears to be that collecting the weekly money is messy; folks forget to pay and the treasurer is not always there to receive it. It does however provide the treasurer with a source of ready cash with which to re-imburse members the small amounts for expenses incurred.

An argument 'that we currently have a healthy balance and can afford to run down the club's finances' is countered by an argument 'that half of the healthy balance is due to a lucky one-off event'; that a few years ago the club was worried whether it could afford to keep going alone (with membership well down on previous years); and that our profit making activities of recent times have been the result of a lot of effort by (inevitably) a few members who would be disheartened to see the results of their hard work squandered. At the AGM all of these points would be put and the membership would have to decide how best to respond.

The Summer Programme was discussed, and the following suggestions made: A visit to Manchester Airport; a club visit to the Mersey Festival (Liverpool, 28th June) for which coach reservations would be necessary; A visit to Urbis/Printworks/the Triangle; a walk from Disley to New Mills; a walk to the Bowstones.

Sheila announced that the club evening of Tuesday 16th September would be of Pictures from Club Outings.The next committee meeting would be on Thursday 14th August at the Robson's house.

Water, water, everywhere

Water was the theme for the in house competition on 22nd April. Though many of the images had obvious water references (fountains, lakes, streams) there were some ingenious less obvious interpretations: The dis-embodied tap in the desert, the H-O-H molecule, the steam engine (the water's in the tank!) It was agreed that we see all of the prints first, then lay them out for closer inspection. We went twice through the slides, with five votes each on the second showing to select as a club the likely winners. Finally, with one vote each, a grab shot of a girl and boy, in silhouette, running through a fountain, earned Brian Turnbull the accolade of best slide. During the tea interval all members scrutinised the prints. Sheila Edwards' image of a boat in Poole Harbour, taken (so she says?) at 4.00 am (is there such a time?) won her the prize of best print.

The 4th Quarterly Competition

Tuesday 29th April saw a reasonably good turn out of members for the final quarterly competition of this session, though several of our regular members were absent for various reasons. Bill Edwards, our judge for the evening had come well prepared, with his marks already finalised and with the winning entries kept back until the end. He was brief, yet informative. Occasionally images received more than a little criticism yet still managed a mark of 17 (including one of mine!). I have taken on board these various comments and hope to raise my standard for next session.

As ever those present were treated to a wide range of new images, both colour and black and white. It becomes increasingly difficult for judges to know if the darkroom or the inkjet printer has produced the final print. Our judge noted on several occasions that a particular image could have been improved by a suitable manipulation in Photoshop; but I learned afterwards that the images in question had all been wet prints, unadulterated by any computer. Nevertheless we saw some very good examples of the digital approach with several entries being presented on specialist papers to give a more 'arty' feel to the image. One of our more recent members observed at the interval that several of our experienced 'old hands' had been able to play 'know your judge' as we saw many railway buffs emerge in both the print and slide competitions. There are some members whom we expect to do well in these competitions. Others shine more occasionally. Jon Dixon put out three excellent slides that each got a mark of 19. Well done Jon, (and just think, if your water had been level you might have been in for a 20 with that slide! Perhaps a scan and juggle in Photoshop are on the cards before next year's annual exhibition?)

Perhaps I might be allowed some more personal observations!

Chatting to judge, Bill Edwards, I was struck by how much time a visiting judge will put in beforehand, poring over our entries. Judges must really enjoy both the photography and the judging process to put in all this time Although we may not always agree with their comments it is clear that judges are giving their honest evaluation of our efforts and we can always expect to gain something from their deliberations. I feel I am here to learn as part of the enjoyment of my photography and so far I feel I am achieving this within our club. As assistant competition secretary this session, I have expressed my willingness to be competition secretary next session, if elected.

For this session it's all over, bar the shouting, and I'm just happy that there is no relegation involved! I'll be back swimming in the big pond next session, knowing presentation has to be top notch and humour, whether it be in the title or the actual picture, has to be understood by all to be appreciated. And just think ... if I'm elected I'll get to choose the judges for next session's Quarterly competitions!!!

Results table.....

John Coles

The Martin Avery Digital Invitation Competition 2003

It was easy getting to Southport this time. We knew the way and arrived just on time. Tony, Dorothy, Gordon, Joyce, and Jon had arrived earlier, eager to meet old friends. Hugh is not a supporter of Digital so I was hoping for a really good competition - we were not disappointed. The occasion was the 5-way digital battle between NCPS, SLIC, South Liverpool, Southport and St. Helens, These are reputedly the best clubs in the North West for digital photography. The judge was David Butler, a member of Wigan 10 club.

Each club entered 10 digital prints, in our case from 5 members (Gordon Robson, Tony Redford, Geoff Robinson, Dorothy Redford and Colin Pickles). The competition was keen - everyone wanting to beat NCPS since we had won the previous year's competition, and the one before that. So we quite expected other clubs to come up with competition winning images and were on tenterhooks as the evening progressed.

At half time we found that we were ahead by two points. Wow! Can we possibly do it again? Our members were smiling but there were scowls from some of the opposition. The start of the second half brought the announcement that the competition wasn't over; that there were a few surprises in store. Oh dear, were we smiling too soon? The images continued to be shown and NCPS's scores seemed to be going down rather than up. The totting up of the scores at the end seemed to take an awfully long time - they brought on the new President of Southport club to give a speech and to tell us about the new trophy for the competition, the 'Martin Avery Digital Invitation Trophy'. It was a fine and unusual trophy incorporating three of Martin's photographic medals - two gold and one silver.

The results were given in reverse order. When they reached the last three results our name had still not been mentioned - our tension mounted! Finally the result was announced. NCPS had won the competition and the Trophy. We were ecstatic and myself even more so when I went up to receive the Trophy from Martin's wife. I felt proud of the club and thought that the members well deserved the accolade that goes with the winning of this type of competition.

Joyce Streets, President

Clubman of the Year

Steph Clack became Clubman of the year with a total of 420 points, closely followed by Tony Redford (415 points) and George Beaumont (414 points).

Steph was also Slide worker of the year with 204 points closely followed by Jon Bawden (203 points), Dorothy Redford (202 points) and GeorgeBeaumont (201Points). Tony Redford was Printworker of the year with 219 points followed by Steph 216points and George Beaumont 213 points.

Full Results Table - click here!

The Rosalind Bramley Pictorial Monochrome competition

Rosalind was a great photographer and a keen member of the club. Following her untimely death her husband provided the club with a cup to be presented to the winner of a club competition in monochrome pictorial images. A feature of the competition was to be that the club itself would provide the judges. On Tuesday 6th May the entries were laid out in the small room for all present to inspect. Members were given two pieces of paper representing two votes, to vote by placing the pieces on the images of their choice. This simple process let all present see how the voting was proceeding, and made it easy to add up the total votes. Stuart Forbes came first, with Gordon Robson and Brian Turnbull as runners-up.

To celebrate his win Stuart gave us a presentation on the History of Photography, based upon two rolls of sepia film on loan from a member of the Bradford photo museum, and his ancient Aldiss projector. The presentation was well received by all present and an excellent end to our photographic year.

NCPS in Barcelona (or a Saga Rather Familiar)

Twenty two members or partners arrived at Manchester Airport bushy tailed and full of anticipation on Friday 9th May 2003 for the NCPS annual weekend trip abroad. Barcelona here we come! The weather forecast was good and we knew Colin's organisational skills had never let us down. Since Colin was unable to secure an evening flight home, the trip had been extended to four nights with a scheduled early Tuesday morning book-in at Barcelona Airport for the return journey. The weather was fabulous, around 23 degrees centigrade and a slight breeze to cool us off. Five taxis took us from the airport to the Hotel, the Rialto, situated centrally in the old part of the city. Brian & Hilary Turnbull had taken a 3-week Spanish Course prior to their earlier S American trip. They were able to demonstrate their prowess by apparently understanding 95% of the taxi-driver's chat. He was keen to point out the Routes and Landmarks, though they doubted his expertise regarding Gaudi, Picasso or Miro, let alone the Spanish School of Modernist Architecture.

Dave Akers had previously reported to the "Grapes Committee" on his internet researches and had printed off comments recorded by previous visitors to the Rialto. These general comments had ranged from the mediocre to the downright atrocious; so that although we were all aware that only the disgruntled ever bother to respond to questionnaires a slight edginess was evident as we approached the hotel. But Dave Akers and Bill need not have worried. They were allotted a 6th floor room over-looking the internal yard. Though the bedroom was not large it was comfortable. It was a pity no English speaking channel was available on the Television, but the food was good and the room quiet and the shower worked.

But John Ade, also with a 6th floor room, recalls that his most frustrating moment was when he and Hazel realised that only a trickle of water came from the shower head (and stone cold at that). His second most frustrating moment came when we realised that the air conditioning to the kitchens was mounted on the roof above their heads. It rumbled away all night, accompanied by the kick of a compressor at regular fifteen minute intervals. John complained and changed to a room on the 4th floor! Sheer bliss!

As is now normal on these NCPS trips we breakfast together before smaller groups decide how best to spend their day. Colin did his best to find a venue for a communal evening meal that would suit most people. Thus it was that our first bonding took place at "Mi Burrito y Yo" .It was a typically Spanish restaurant with lots of dishes and lots of variety. And all washed down with a very acceptable House wine in an atmosphere of laughter and chatter. To round off the occasion Cava was included in the price. Payment is most easily accomplished by dividing the total bill by the number present, each paying the same; But hang on! Some of you had a drink or two beforehand and this is included in the total bill!! And no-one has small change - just Euro notes. So it was that some paid 30 euros, some 40 euros and Colin and Dave were restrained by the fact that the initial breakdown of costs had resulted in a short-fall of cash. Colin stumped up the extra 30 euros and was allowed to escape.

The next day most of the party took the Bus Turistic (19 euros for two days unlimited travel) and travelled the Blue route to get a feel for the City layout. The complete journey took about two hours. Included in the price was a guide book and a book of discount vouchers. Jacqui's main claim to fame on the holiday was to never miss an opportunity to spend a voucher! Unfortunately Dave Akers tended to forget his book and arrived home all the poorer because of this oversight. The column of Columbus (Mirador de Colom) had an internal lift to take visitors to the top (aka the American Statue of Liberty) for breathtaking views of the whole city, not to mention Old Port and Docks.

On the second evening Colin went for quality rather than quantity. The food was well prepared and excellently presented. It was fortunate that we had reserved the table since customers were soon being turned away. Though most of the party retired to bed afterwards, a few stalwarts ventured out to La Rambla and a view of the night-life.

There were more attractions than we could possibly see in the three full days we had. Gaudi was the biggest draw for most of us with his fantastic buildings: the Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia being perhaps top of the list. Several members visited the Tibidabo travelling on the Blue Tram (Tramvia Blau) and the Funicular to get there. On a clear day, from the 550m height of Mount Tibidabo, it is claimed that one can see Montserrat and the Pyranees , and out to Sea as far as Mallorco. Other places of curiosity were the beaches (topless bathing and a large bronzed fish); the shops at the harbour of Port Vell and (to the West) the Montjuic park housing the Olympic stadium, National Art Museum , Fundacio Joan Miro, and the Botanic Gardens, to name but a few.

Our third get-together was at the Tobogan (??), at another corner of the Square. Here we were privileged to meet Manuel's father (or was it Manuel himself having retired from Fawlty Towers?). He carefully took our orders in strict rotation, starting from the bottom.. We called out, in turn, the number corresponding to the order. Manuel then tried to guess what the number corresponded to, without consulting the menu. He must have jettisoned his list because when he came back he called out the dish names hoping someone would claim them. This worked well until he reached the last four. There seemed an excess of peppered steaks! Dorothy, John and Colin had to re-order. They had the pleasure of watching us eat; after which we reciprocated. We declined Sweets in the knowledge that we had the saga of paying the bill to look forward to. Dave Aker's phone is a wonderful instrument. Not only does it keep him in constant touch with his family but it can also calculate! Individuals sent down pieces of paper on which were their estimated individual bills. Gordon's sextet at the top had been persuaded to use his Goldfish Card (he gets air miles from all transactions!). Thus it was that the waiter received two cards some cash and possibly a tip (depending upon the accuracy of the phone). The hilarity of the situation was such that the majority voted to return to eat there on the last evening to see if Manuel could repeat his performance. We did, but we didn't get Manuel. Instead we got a good meal, efficiently served, well cooked, with nothing to complain about (who'd be a Focus writer in such circumstances?)

Whilst John waited for his Veal on the 3rd evening he was able to see a TV screen and note that a Basket ball match was being broadcast. There were one or two exciting moments and we became aware that the wine waiter was at his most animated. It was only the Cup Final of the European Champion-ships and Barcelona were winning! Next day the town went wild with football colours and flags.(the basketball team is part of Barcelona FC) The police closed off the road next to the Hotel and TV crews moved in to cover the arrival of the team at the City Hall nearby.

So what other enduring memories did this leave us?

Well here are a few:

The Most Alarming moment: The sight of Gordon and Roy navigating their way back to the Hotel from the Burrito, arm in arm, a little merry !
The Most Reassuring moment: Seeing Gordon and Roy entering the Hotel without a problem.(or a care in the world)
The Most Touching moment: Finding that it was Tonys' birthday on the Sunday. We all sang "Happy Birthday" but such was the musicality that I for one was very glad that Fred was well out of earshot! You may remember that Fred kicked us out of his choir last Christmas? Well we've not improved.
The Most hilarious moment: Well apart from the antics of Manuel's father it must have been watching Dave Akers trying to join the rest of his party on the funicular carriage from Montjuic. David had stopped to put his camera in his bag whilst the rest ambled on to the train. Noting the count-down to the doors closing we all joined in 10, 9, 8, etc. Perhaps David thought we were bluffing. When he finally arrived there was no way of opening the doors; no driver to appeal to; no buttons to press. We gradually glided away leaving him helpless behind, (But we did wait at the bottom for him; drinking coffee!)

The Sagrada Familia is famous. What for? Is it Catalan for splitting the cost of the bill ? Maybe not, but splitting the bill is a saga rather familiar to the NCPS whatever country they are in. We all felt for Colin as he did his best to satisfy the diverging aims of the club. We can only say "Thanks Colin for all your hard work arranging what turned out to be a magic weekend". Please don't give up. Those two bottles of Vino Blanco, given as a token were a small attempt to say from us all, Thanks a Million.

John Ade & Bill Chadband

Greetings from Barcelona

Lovely weather - need sun cream! Hotel well situated in the Gothic Quarter - birthplace of the great Catalan surrealist painter Joan Miro. Did you know the city has 53 museums and galleries, 143 cinemas, 41 theatres, an amusement park, 2 luxury marinas, 6 beaches, 61 parks and gardens and over 2,300 restaurants? We use the Bus Turistic to travel to the famous sights. Good views from the top deck and there are 26 stops to hop on and off. Port Vell (old port) is within walking distance from the hotel and was refurbished and modernised for the 92 Olympics. Enjoyed a cruise on a catamaran along the Mediterranean coast. The work for 'the forum of the cultures 2004' is progressing well and will continue to open up more of the city to the sea. At least 3 enormous cruise ships were berthed here and we saw the decks of one being washed.

Walked past the Rainbow Warrior on our way to Port Olympic and the beach, where we dipped our toes in the Med. for the first time ever! Frank Gehry's bronze fish sculpture is large and quite impressive. I'm pleased with my photo of it but I'm not showing it to the judges!!

Gaudi's unfinished cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, is certainly one of the great architectural wonders of the world. His dream was to include 3 facades representing the birth, death and resurrection of Christ and 18 mosaic-clad towers symbolising the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Christ. On his untimely death in 1926 - he was knocked down by a tram at the age of 73 - only the crypt, one of the towers, most of the east façade and the apse were completed. It is estimated that another 80 years of work is required to complete the structure.

After a drink of fresh orange juice we made our way on foot to the Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau. The building is 45 degrees to the street grid and there are 48 small pavilions connected by underground passages and surrounded by gardens, rather than one massive building. Doctors and patients can enjoy a peaceful, natural environment and I'm sure one would feel better being cared for in such pleasant surroundings. We found it relaxing to sit and admire the architecture.

Oh, just seen a green parrot or was it a parakeet?! We like the palm trees. In fact there are many trees along the roads and we came across some avocados. On Sunday we watched the locals dancing in front of the cathedral near the hotel. There was a Stamp Fair in another square and people were also buying/selling bottletops - perhaps they were Cava ones as it is produced in this area.

Strolled down La Rambla, derived from ramla - Arabic for 'torrent'. In earlier times the street was a sandy gully that ran parallel to the medieval wall and carried rainwater down to the sea. There are flower stalls, birds and pets for sale as well as the newspaper and postcard kiosks and People enjoying a drink and food from the outdoor cafes while watching the street entertainers.

Good view of the city from Parc Guell - Gaudi's eccentric hilltop park. Much mosaic work. We did manage to get away from the maddening crowds and I'm sure that Gordon, with all his lens's, has obtained some super shots!!! Another famous Gaudi building is La Pedrera. He based his ideas on nature - trees, seaweed, coral rocks, skulls and never drew a straight line. His mustard-coloured bumpy textures and erratic patterns ensure that birds rarely settle - perhaps they do not feel safe - and so the buildings don't suffer from bird droppings. He wrote:-" Nothing is art if it does not come from nature, as from nature come the most beautiful and extraordinary shapes."

It was peaceful on the city's local hill - Montjuic - we ate our picnic next to the water feature. Some lovely water lilies. Caught the funicular down - underground all the way.

Better finish my ramblings now and prepare myself for the return to England. We've enjoyed exploring this city and thank Colin for organising the trip.

See you soon,

Jill and Rod

For the record, the following snappers were observed in Barcelona:-
Joyce + Hugh Oldham
Jacqui + Alan Bromage
Colin + Monica Pickles
Jill + Rod Hargreaves
John + Hazel Ade
Brian + Hilary Turnbull
Gordon + Joyce Robson
Tony + Dorothy Redford
Roy + Audrey Cheetham
Bill Chadband + Dave Akers
Geoff Robinson + Don Stafford

Graham McIntosh

We were saddened to learn that Graham died on the morning of Sunday 18th May 2003. His wife said that Graham rapidly went down-hill from the previous Tuesday. Following the Cancer diagnosis of last summer Graham had explained that he would not be attending meetings in the future. His subsequent, more recent Stroke had left him unable to converse and to save his frustration Margery had requested no more visitors. Graham was a realist to the end. I shall miss his occasional biting wit, his laments on the digital cheating that now prevailed, his portraits with the well-known backcloth, and his general positive outlook on life until the very end. In one of our last conversations together Graham told me in a matter-of-fact tone that "basically, Bill, my body is collapsing around me"

Bill Chadband