​"The Science Behind the Art" Dru Dodd
 
Thursday night turned out very rewarding for me and I`m sure many other members.  Our guest speaker was Dru Dodd from Northumberland and a member of Alnwick and District Camera Club.  Dru specialises in landscape and wedding photography and took up photography whilst at university, subsequently turning it into his business.
 
"The Science Behind the Art" turned out to be a very informative presentation on how Dru uses his camera and the settings he uses to get that "shot".  Each image shown was accompanied by the technique he used, whether it was the use of graduated filters of varying "stops" to capture the perfect sky or the Nodal Ninja tripod head for creating perfect panoramas.  Dru was very free with his advice showing images not just of his work but also his set up. Even down to his wardrobe for keeping warm out in the hills. One of my favourite images of the night was a slow shutter shot of St Marys Island, ( 10mm - f18 -3.2seconds - iso100 and three filters ND.9, soft grad.9 and hard grad .9 ) so was the depth of his information.  Dru took and answered many questions as we went along and held a short Q&A at the end.
 
As the presentation came to a close Lauren asked members to thank Dru for his time and as usual a rousing applause was forthcoming.
 
A good night, hope you all enjoyed it.
 
Colin Livingstone
Secretary

​1st Open Print Competition, Colour/Mono.
 
Last night saw the results of our first competition of the season. Our judge on the night was Lionel Bryan from Morpeth.  Lionel has been a photographer for many years and enjoys the process of judging.  In his words "I love pictures and in this way I get to see a great deal of good work".  He complimented the club on the quality and variety of images presented to him, both colour and mono.
 
First session was the Mono section, with 33 images. First out the box and highly commended was Margaret Stephens "Caged and Ready", beagles waiting for the hunt.  Next HC went to Dawn Tweddle for "Step into the Light", a very provocative image of a model gracefully lit from the left.  Ray Thompsons' "Speed", Bill Stephens "Tyne Bridges" & "After the Storm on Longsands" also gained the praise from Lionel and scored HC.  5th Place went to Jamie Welsh with " Sandie Film Noir" a delicate portrait of a young aspiring actress?? 4th place once more Jami Welsh for " North Tower" a moody classic of Dunstanburgh castle and the rocky coastline of Embleton Bay.  3rd place goes to Margaret Stephens "Remember Me" a depiction of the imposing metal sculpture entitled 1101, by Ray Lonsdale, to which Lionel treated us to a potted history of the artist. 2nd place Peter Moody "Rose with Raindrops" a tight crop of this delicate flower and pin sharp.  Lionel saved "The Outflow" by Bill Stephens till last and awarded first place for his printed image of Blyth beaches sewage pipe in a cracking display of exposure and contrast. Well done Bill and all who entered, a stunning collection.
 
The colour section came next and Lionel informed us that there were more highly commended than usual due to the high standard of the entry. Once again he regaled us with anecdotes of the scenes in some of the images as he discussed them.  Three HCs in the first five minutes from Derek Parker for "Emerald Hummingbird" the first of many `natural history shots`, Phil Conroy for "Mysterious Man" a portrait of a young man wearing a venetian style mask, Peter Moody for "Dandelion Seed Head" a striking example of close up photography. Over the next minutes Lionel gave us his comments on all the images as he saw them and how they might be looked at differently by the author.  Next couple of HCs "Mouse" by Jenny Jewitt, a close up head shot which caught the light. Janet Leadbitter`s "Leaf on Water" a glistening Lily leaf in a still pool. A few more `natural history` and  landscapes before our next batch of HCs, "Warning Stripes" By Phil Conroy and "Bag for Life" by Colin Livingstone. "5 O`clock Shadow" Dawn Tweddell, a moody well lit shot of a male model.  Janet Leadbitter`s "Time for reflection" and Bill Stephens "Rusting with Pride" brought the total highly commended to ten, double the usual.  Lionel now comes to his choice for top positions, 5th place "Pow Wow Twirler" by Bill Stephens, a colourful crisp Asian dancer, and 4th place "Red Panda Tasting the Air", also by Bill Stephens, a natural history shot of the animal in its natural surroundings.  At this point Lionel give the club a dilemma, he puts up his choice for 2nd & 3rd place and challenged us to choose the order, to see if we picked as he did.  3rd place Derek Parker, "Green Woodpecker," a challenging shot of the bird leaving the nest.  2nd place Derek Parker, "Woodpecker", a spotted woodpecker clinging to the trunk of the tree.  As usual Lionel talked about all the images in detail and critiqued them with positive comment.  And so we come to the winner in the colour section, a young model made up in period attire, flowers in her hair and perfectly captured catch lights in the smiling eyes, called "Victorian Beauty" by Dawn Tweddell. Congratulations Dawn, and well done to our winners and to all who entered.  Looking forward to our next print competition. Lionel stayed for a while to talk to members and discus some of the images.
 
Our president Lauren thanked Lionel for his time and generosity and the club showed their appreciation in the usual manner. 

​Les Hill. "A Way With Pixels"
 
Thursday night we were given a presentation of prints by Les Hill of Whickham Photographic Club.
Les has been a photographer for a number of years and describes himself as "Mainly Landscape" but interested in other subjects.
 
During the course of the night Les regaled us with anecdotes to go with most of his images. His standard format is 12 x 8 or 8 x 8 inch prints both colour and black and white. Although a few broke his rules.
 
We were transported from Ross beach in Northumberland to Uluru in Australia. Some of his landscapes were sweeping vistas whilst others were close ups of rocks on the beaches showing the movement of the sea, and the flowing water holes around Uluru. Then on to the waterways of Birmingham all had a humorous story.
 
One of the things Les is very good at are "panels"  A series of trees in mono, Small rocks in the sand,  pebbles on rocky shelves, three steam locomotive enthusiasts (aptly titled for the judge).
 
At the end of his talk Les took questions and we displayed a selection of his prints for members to have a closer look.
 
Lauren then thanked Les for the time and effort put into a great presentation.
 
Colin Livingstone
Secretary

​ Cramlington Camera Club Flower Challenge 6th October 2016
 
Tonight saw a new event in the camera club programme. This is the first time we have attempted a members challenge night and the theme for this challenge was flowers.
 
Images were received from 21 members and as there were exactly 64 images, it was run as a knockout competition, with the members voting for which image they wanted to proceed to the next round. Throughout the evening there were some amazing images shown and quite a few very close counts.  In the end the final was contested between  Alan Carr's, 'Poppies And Daisies' and Bill Stephens,  '3 Stages Of Poppy Life'.  Needless to say it was a very close call but, in the end, Alan Carr's 'Poppies And Daisies' just sneaked it.
 
 Big congratulations to Alan and Bill for reaching the final and a huge thanks to ALL the members   who took part.  A really good night and a really good turn out too. 
 
Alan Lockey
PDI Secretary.

1st Place 'Poppies and Daisies'  Alan Carr
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Runner Up '3 Stages of Poppy Life'  Bill Stephens