Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom Deal

22 Friday Nov 2013

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photoshop_4xThis 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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Blenheim2014logoThe 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

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.

Astrophotography Events Coming Up

31 Thursday Oct 2013

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Astrophotography image (c) Stephen Chadwick

Members may be interested to know about an Astrophotography Weekend, which is being run by the Horowhenua Astronomical Society on the weekend of 29 November to 1 December.  Click here for full details.

One of the speakers is Stephen Chadwick, whose image is shown at the right. He’ll also be giving a free talk in Newlands on “How to Shoot the Stars” on Friday 8 November.  Details here.

2013 Spring Salon Results

29 Tuesday Oct 2013

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Our judge for the KCPS 2013 Winter Salon last night was Lance Lawson. Attendance was a bit down (probably because it was Labour Day after all).

However, those who were present enjoyed Lance’s discussion of the images (very much a two-way discussion), as well as an insight into the commercial photography world when he talked about three of his recent assignments.

All 17 Highly Commended and Honours images can be seen in the 2013 Spring Salon Gallery which is now online.  The three honours images are shown below.

BEST OF YEAR COMPETITION

Don’t forget that entries are due by 11 November for the Best of Year Competition, which will be judged by Simon Woolf at our End of Year dinner on Monday 25 November.  There are no grades – each member can submit one print and one digital entry, based on entries which were made to the four salons this year.  You can go direct to http://jotform.co/KCPS/bestofyear to find out more, and to submit your entry online. Bring your print entry along to the AGM on 11 November.

Spring Salon Judging Monday Night

27 Sunday Oct 2013

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I hope you are all enjoying Labour Weekend.

As well as the fourth Monday in October being Labour Day, this is also our regular date for judging of the Spring Salon. Come along at 7:30 pm on Monday at OBC to see the submitted images and prints, and hear from judge Lance Lawson.

We’ll also have tickets on sale for the End of Year Awards dinner and presentations, with MC and judge Simon Woolf. The event will be on Monday 25 November.

Tickets are just $30 a person for a sumptuous festive feast, accompanied by supplied wine and other refreshments. Get your tickets on Monday, or buy them from any KCPS committee member. You can also Direct Credit $30 a ticket to account 03 0732 0616548 000, including your name and EOY as reference.

Central Region Success for KCPS, and Waikanae Estuary

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by 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

“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

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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.

Members Exhibition on Monday 9 September

06 Friday Sep 2013

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It’s always interesting to hear from our members about why they got “into” photography, the images they like to make, and to see some of their special work.

On Monday the members we’ll hear from are Peter Beddek APSNZ, Nicola Mazur and Helen Moore.  Just as a teaser, I’ve included one image from each below.  Come along on Monday to see and hear much more.

Harbour Sunbeams

“Harbour Sunbeams” – ©Peter Beddek

"The Blue and Beyond" - Highly Commended, Intermediate Print - ©Nicola Mazur

“The Blue and Beyond” – ©Nicola Mazur

"Dahlia Mary Evelyn" - Honours, Novice Colour Print - ©Helen Moore

“Dahlia Mary Evelyn” – ©Helen Moore

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.