PSNZ Honours – and Meeting Monday 28 April – and PJ Ethics

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Congratulations to Alison Viskovic, who has been successful in gaining her Fellowship of PSNZ (FPSNZ). Alison will be formally presented with her award this Saturday at the PSNZ National Convention.

“Hand Lady of the Forest” (c) Heather Feary

At the Convention her granddaughter Heather Feary will also receive the Ronald D Woolf Youth Award & PSNZ Silver medal for her image “Hand Lady of the Forest” which was the best print by an under 25 year old for the PSNZ Canon National Exhibition (Natex). Heather’s image is on the right – you can see this plus other awarded Natex images in this blog post and also this blog post.

Alison played an important role in encouraging Heather and getting her to enter, as noted in this recent news story.

Meeting Monday 28 April

At Monday’s meeting Alison will show her fellowship set and explain how she produced it. We will also see a slide show of the images that members have submitted for the Waikanae Estuary exhibition. So far there have been around 100, which is excellent. But we still need lots more, so get snapping and submitting by the deadline of 26 May.

Photojournalism Ethics (Image Manipulation)

Thanks to Catherine Strong for her talk to KCPS last Monday which did indeed prove to be very interesting. She started by distinguishing between a Journalism Photo (part of a story, perhaps a head and shoulders image of a newsmaker), versus Photojournalism where the photo tells the story by itself, perhaps aided by a descriptive caption.

Another important distinction is between Editing and Manipulation of an image.

Editing corrects problems in HOW the photo was made (e.g., too light, red eye problems, too wide a frame), and should result in something which is more or less the same as seen by the naked eye at that time.

Manipulation corrects or alters things in the actual scene (e.g., more smoke from a fire, different background, re-position a ball, remove a video camera, remove markings on a baby’s toy). Manipulation results in something which is different from what was seen by others there at the time. In general this is a no-no for photojournalism.

Catherine showed lots of examples to illustrate her points, and her talk was very well received.

Natex Results – KCPS Did Well

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

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The results for the PSNZ Canon National Exhibition of Photography (Natex) were emailed out this morning. Our Kapiti Coast Photography Society has done really well, with these six members gaining a total of 25 acceptances. (Apologies to Jo, and any others I may have missed.)

Gavin Klee – 7
Carol Molineux – 5
Hugh Scott – 5
Neil Gordon – 4
Johanna Goudsblom – 2
Alison Viskovic – 2

All told, 25 images from KCPS, out of 448 images selected, from a total of 2122 images submitted. Not bad. These images will be exhibited at the PSNZ National Convention in Blenheim in 3 weeks – see the website http://www.coloursofmarlborough.org.nz . It’s not too late to register.

Congratulations to all who gained acceptances and awards in Natex, and best wishes for next time if you didn’t.

End of Year Awards Function 2013

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by KCPS in Meeting Report, News, Salon Results

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It was another great night to round off the year for 2013. Thanks to all the volunteers who prepared the venue, led by Alison Viskovic, to Simon Woolf for judging the Best of Year digital image and print competitions, to the new caterers PartyPerfect, and to Ian Linning for all the photos.

And the envelopes please – the results were:

Overall Results for the Four Salons in 2013

INTERMEDIATE GRADE – DIGITAL IMAGES

Winner: Gavin Klee; Runner Up: Jo Goudsblom

Gavin Klee

Jo Goudsblom

INTERMEDIATE GRADE – PRINTS

Winner: Gavin Klee; Runners Up: Nicola McGinty & Bernie Fraser

Nicola McGinty

Bernie Fraser

ADVANCED GRADE – DIGITAL IMAGES

Winner: Carol Molineux; Runner Up: Neil Gordon

Carol Molineux

ADVANCED GRADE – PRINTS

Winner: Neil Gordon; Runner Up: Shona Jaray

Shona Jaray

BEST OF YEAR COMPETITION

BEST OF YEAR DIGITAL IMAGE

Winner of the Waikanae Cup: Carol Molineux (“Spoonbill Catching Flounder”)

Spoonbill catching flounder (c) Carol Molineux

“Spoonbill Catching Flounder” – ©Carol Molineux

Runner Up: Jo Goudsblom (“Boy“)

Honourable Mention: Teresa Angell (“The One That Got Away“)

BEST OF YEAR PRINT

Winner of the Peg Griffin Cup: Neil Gordon (“Last Light”)

Neil Gordon

“Last Light” – ©Neil Gordon

Runner Up: Carol Molineux (“Fernbird“)

WANGANUI CUP

This cup was first awarded in 1959, and was this year won by KCPS for the best set of eight digital images in the Central Region Salon. Our set will go on for consideration for the Wiltshire Cup early next year.

The EOY function was an ideal opportunity for Shona Jaray (PSNZ President) to present the cup to Ian Linning (KCPS President).

Ian Linning and Shona Jaray

NEXT MEETING

The first KCPS meeting for 2014 will be on Monday, 10 February. Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom Deal

22 Friday Nov 2013

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This is just to make KCPS members aware of a limited time offer by Adobe that may be of interest. I mentioned in a blog post back in September that Adobe had introduced a new, lower price option for USD9.99 a month (on an annual plan) oriented just to photographers. It includes licensing (and updates and upgrades) for Photoshop CC and Lightroom (5 at the moment). That offer was later made available in Australia/NZ for AUD9.99 per month. But – you needed to already have a licence for an earlier version of Photoshop (CS3 or later). That particular offer closes at the end of December.

Adobe have just announced a special version of this offer – only until 2 December – where you don’t need to have a licence for an earlier version of Photoshop. Check out the details of the Photoshop Photography Program here.

This plan would cost AUD120 per annum. For comparison, Lightroom 5 alone is (list price) AUD186 if you don’t have a previous version, or AUD99 for an upgrade. It is of course up to each individual to decide whether to go for Adobe’s Creative Cloud licensing system, rather than owning the software (a “perpetual licence”). At least you know the option is there …

PSNZ Convention, Membership, and NZ Camera 2014

21 Thursday Nov 2013

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The next PSNZ National Convention will be in Blenheim from 23-27 April. You can find out all about it here. It looks like it’s going to be a fantastic experience with lots of good speakers, workshops and field trips.

Full registration is cheaper for PSNZ members – you’ll save more than your membership fee. So now’s a great time to join up as a member of the Photographic Society of NZ if you aren’t already. You can just go to the PSNZ website at http://photography.org.nz/join.html and join online.

PSNZ members also receive a free copy of NZ Camera, and are the only ones who are eligible to submit photos for this high quality publication that is published in February each year.

KCPS Member Successes

In that regard, I’m pleased to advise that four of our KCPS members have just had images accepted for NZ Camera 2014 – Neil Gordon LPSNZ, Shona Jaray APSNZ, Michael Martin and Alison Viskovic APSNZ. That’s a great result for KCPS – let’s do even better next year with more of our members belonging to PSNZ, and being eligible to submit images.

Arts Trail and Lightroom

03 Sunday Nov 2013

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Lots of interest in KCPS at the Arts Trail on Saturday

If you are out and about on the Kapiti Arts Trail today, be sure to drop in to Lindale where KCPS is part of the trail, promoting our club and with prints exhibited from Karyn Crocker, Ian Linning, Peter Beddek, Katie Beddek, Hugh Scott, Shona Jaray, Carol Molineux, Alison Viskovic and Neil Gordon.

A big thank-you to all involved with this, but particularly Ian who has put a lot of work and planning into it.

Development Group Meeting

Monday evening’s last development group meeting for the year will be all about Lightroom. I’ll be demonstrating some techniques, and there will be a number of laptops there for some hands-on work as well. Come along and and learn how to use Lightroom to improve your images.

Central Region Success for KCPS, and Waikanae Estuary

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by KCPS in Meeting Report, News

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I’m pleased to advise that KCPS won the “Wanganui Cup” for the best set of eight projected images in the interclub competition, as part of the PSNZ Central Region Salon this year, run by the Stratford Camera Club.

The KCPS images were from Gavin Klee, Paul Kane, Shona Jaray APSNZ, Neil Gordon LPSNZ, Alison Viskovic APSNZ, Ian Linning, Carol Molineux and Hugh Scott. “Hillside on a Summer’s Evening” by Neil Gordon also won the Heney Cup for the best projected image from all the club sets. The KCPS set, together the sets from the 2nd to 4th placing clubs, will go forward for consideration for the national Wiltshire Cup next year.

“Essence of the Estuary” (c) Carol Molineux

Congratulations to Carol Molineux, whose print “Essence of the Estuary” was the Champion Individual Print, winning the Stan and Doreen Long Cup. Carol also placed second in the Individual Projected Image section with her image “Spoonbill Catching Flounder”.

Waikanae Estuary Meeting Followup

Carol Molineux reports …..

There was a good turnout of members at last Monday’s KCPS meeting to hear Mary McEwan and Par Menzies give very informative talks on the history of the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve and current conservation projects.

Hopefully this has inspired everyone to take images of the estuary for the KCPS exhibition in August 2014.

The months of October and November offer many opportunities for photographers. There are numerous nesting birds – the shags are particularly active and it is full swing for the white baiting season. We are wanting photos that shows the diversity of the estuary and seen through the eyes of many members not just a few.

We plan to set up a site for members to submit photos regularly so we can make a selection of approx. 50 photos in May next year. We also plan to have some field trips shortly to take photos and orientate those less familiar with the area.

Waikanae Estuary Project – Monday 14 October

10 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by KCPS in Exhibitions, News, Reminder

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Waikanae Estuary Project

At our next KCPS meeting – on Monday 14 October – we are fortunate to have two speakers to share their insights and knowledge on the Waikanae Scientific Reserve. With our club meeting rooms being located on the edge of the estuary, it has been an inspiration for many of the photographers in KCPS.

Mary McEwen, the daughter of Sir Charles Fleming (the founder of the Waikanae Scientific reserve) will speak first on the history of the estuary. This will be followed by Pat Menzies from Friends of the Waikanae Estuary, talking about current developments and conservation.

With this background knowledge, we hope members will be inspired to become involved in the KCPS Waikanae Estuary Project. This will result in images for an exhibition in the Paraparaumu Library Roderick & Gillian Deane Art Space Gallery, planned for 9 to 29 August 2014.

The objectives of the KCPS Waikanae Estuary Project are to:

Increase general public awareness of the Waikanae Scientific Reserve
Display members’ images
Promote KCPS to the community
Establish links with other community groups
Have group photographic activities for members

We are particularly interested in highlighting issues pertaining to the Estuary – e.g., Pollution and Conservation.

Ideas for photographic guideline categories for the Exhibition are:

Landscape
Birds
Vegetation
Small creatures – insects, crustaceans, fish, etc.
People and activities
Conservation

We hope to see you all on Monday night.

Photographic News – Sony and Adobe

05 Thursday Sep 2013

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Some interesting news items today that may be of interest to KCPS members.

Sony Clipon Cameras for Mobile Photography

Image courtesy of dpreview

Just after the meeting on Smartphone Photography rumours appeared of some new Sony “clip on” cameras, that use a mobile phone for control and display.

They have now been announced – the Sony QX10 and the Sony QX100.

DPReview’s take is worth a read, and particularly their in-depth look at the QX100. This is US$500 and uses the same sensor as the Sony RX-100II. However it only produces jpegs, and has no manual control, so seems a bit hobbled. The RX-100II – which is priced around US$750 – can connect to a mobile with wifi or NFC and transfer images, and is actually smaller, and does do RAW and manual controls.

So these are very interesting and innovative new products from Sony, but whether they will do well is another question.

Photoshop and Lightroom Creative Cloud

Controversially, Adobe recently moved to a regular subscription for their Creative Cloud Suite. This was quite expensive if all you wanted was Photoshop CC. They have just announced a new, special deal, just for photographers which sounds, on the face of it, quite attractive; especially for those who have yet to update to Lightroom 5.

It will be US$10 a month (annual commitment) for both Lightroom 5.2 (when it’s out soon) and Photoshop CC, plus some other benefits. You have to have a licence already for Photoshop CS3 or later. See the link for more details.

I haven’t seen pricing for New Zealand (in Australian $ usually) – hopefully that would be around AU$10 a month too.

News from the Darkroom – July 2013

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

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News from the Darkroom

Here’s the latest newsletter by Michael Martin, from the Monochrome Film Users Group.

This group caters for those interested in capturing images on black and white film of different formats and darkroom techniques for processing and printing.

Meetings are normally held on the third Thursday of the month.

The next meeting is on Thursday 15^th August at the home of Bill Harris, at 12 Kohekohe Road, Waikanae at 1930.

Meeting Reviews

July’s meeting was the sixth for this year and topics covered included; developing FP4 plus film in Adonal; the pros and cons of using a quick developer; further thoughts on print development; accurate measuring in the darkroom; and critiquing prints and negatives.

Group Presentation

Tuesday July 16^th saw five of our group give a presentation to the Kapiti Camera Club. This involved showing the various film format cameras we use with a commentary and show of some of our work. Feedback from Kapiti Camera Club has been very positive with members been impressed with the different film formats and cameras presented and the quality of the images shown. Our group enjoyed the hospitality of KCC and the opportunity to share what we do.

Thank you to all involved.

Group Outing

This coming weekend will see seven of us on a photographic trip to Castlepoint from Friday to Sunday. The weather forecast promises to be challenging so watch this space in our next newsletter.

New Products

SPUR have announced another new developer, Acurol-N, which they believe when used with Rollei Ortho 25 film (which is a rebadged MACO made film), will redefine sharpness. Read about it at The Online Darkroom at http://www.theonlinedarkroom.com/2013/06/spur-more-exciting-developments.html

It is great to see a company like SPUR pushing the boundaries with new products.

Not a new product but an opinion on trying out different films while still available. The article titled “12 Films Worth Shooting With Before They’re Gone” can be found on http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2013/07/12-films-worth-shooting-theyre-gone written by Stan Horaczek.

While we are onto web sites one our members, Des Johnston has a blog with some of his photos and other items. Check out http://desmondjohnston.wordpress.com

This Month’s Images

This month’s images were captured on my Nikon 35Ti on 35mm Kodak 400 TX film developed in Agfa Rodinal Special and show members of our intrepid group showing off at the Kapiti Camera Club.

The Presenters
(L to R – Fred Wotton, Michael Martin, Brian Smith, Arthur Wong, Herman Visser)

Brian with Linhof Technica 4×5

Fred with Leica 35mm

Herman with Pentax 645

Arthur with 8×10

Food for ThoughT

“The production of a perfect picture by means of photography is an art; the production of a technically perfect negative is a science“.
– Ferdinand Hurter, [1844 – 1898] Photographic scientist and researcher.

Look, See, Compose, Capture and most of all Enjoy.

Michael Martin.

Kapiti Coast Photographic Society

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