FEBRUARY Love Story

YOUR NEXT 2 THEMES

FEBRUARY 2016

MARCH Architecture

WWW.CREATIVECAMERACLUB.CO.ZA

CREATIVECAMERA CLUB

FOCUS

All admissions should be mailed toimages@creativecameraclub.co.za byNOONMONDAY 29 FEBRUARY for judging on March 7

All admissions should be mailed toimages@creativecameraclub.co.za byNOONMONDAY 28 MARCH for judging on April 4

Chairman’s Blog

Hello to all CCC members!

2016 is well under way and I hope we are all finding the time to takeand process lots of good images to everyone’ssatisfaction. Our club is alive and full of members who are alwayshappy to share and advise on all aspects of our chosen hobby.I would like to introduce some of the club committee to you and ex-plain their roles. You voted for this committee and will not be disap-pointed with the activities we have planned for the club for 2016.

Paul Nuttall, our shoot co-ordinator, has a long list of shootsplanned. He is an advertising man with vast experience in arrangingadvertising Photo and Video shoots. A number of shoots planned forthis year will be preceded by some form of training and instructionso that we will be better prepared on the day of the shoot. Thesetraining sessions and follow-up shoots could well introduce us tonew photo genres. Very exciting stuff! Paul is working very closelywith Doug Young, our Newsletter editor, to bring us all new and ex-citing creative projects. Let us know what you think of these plannedchanges.

Doug Young has edited another camera club newsletter and hasextensive academic editing and educational experience. He devisedthe questionnaire many of us completed online, or at our last meet-ing. He has analysed and interpreted its findings, as you will read oherein. The committee is responding to these findings in planningand shaping our upcoming activities. I am very excited that we havethis Newsletter and look forward to members’ contributions to it.Please let Doug have your views, comments and ideas.

The Image Manage position is filled by Anthony van Zyl, who did afantastic job first time out under trying circumstances at our first2016 meeting. He is working on the scoring system to bring it in linewith other clubs in the Western Cape, mindful of the needs andwishes of our members. On club meeting nights Anthony’s job is avery stressful one and I am grateful he has undertaken this task.Next month I’ll introduce the rest of the committee.Until next time, keep creating good images!

Cecil WalkerChairman.

TOP IMAGES

Here are the top scoring images from the last meeting. There was a 3 way tie for the Contrast theme.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 29

WORKSHOPAmbient Lighting,

Reflectors and Fill-In Flash

Plus Image Analysis

Wynberg Boys School

Time 7 pm

FREE!

Sponsored by Fuji - details to follow

SUNDAY MARCH 13THSHOOT

Montebello Art StudiosIn Newlands with 2 fashion models.

Time- 8.30 am. Table booked at the CafeMore details to follow.

PRINT WINNERArtists Palette23 points

Douglas Young

CONTRAST WINNERLife from the Old18 PointsAnthony Van Zyl

CONTRAST WINNERCoins18 PointsAngus Rule

CONTRAST WINNERAcross the Ages18 PointsPaul Nuttall

IMPORTANT DIARY DATES

OPEN WINNERLight from the Heavens22 Points

Mujahid Ur Rehman

ABSTRACT WINNERGrandiflora24 Points

Jackie Wernberg

We’re going to click together! By Paul Nuttall

We are introducing a new approach to our shoots in order to assist less experienced photographers.

Once assembled at the shoot those members who think they may need a helping hand willbe paired up or placed in a group of advanced photographers. They or a single person willtake the beginner under their wing and act as a mentor giving camera settings advice, lensselection, composition, focus points, exposure help and any other guidance to help make theexperience, not only a fun event but an educational occasion too.

Don’t be shy to ask for help.

Club meet venue Monday March 7Wynberg Boys’ High School Bill Bowden Pavilion.

Our first meeting at theschool was unfortunatelyimpaired by the crowdsenjoying a cricket tourna-ment. We are told thatwas an anomaly and fu-ture meetings will be vir-tually exclusive to theclub. We are taking stepsto ensure the equipmentis improved and the light-ing dimmed, however the

beer will still be on tap! Sowe are returning for thenext meeting and willevaluate after that. Seeyou all there!

TIMING

Please note that proceed-ings will start at 7 pmSHARP. Be early please.

Wildlife Photographer of the YearExhibition.

The 51st Annual Wildlife Photographer of the YearExhibition is currently showing, until early April, atthe Chavonnes Battery Museum in the V&A Water-front’s Clock Tower.On show are the award-winning 100+ images select-ed from over 40,000 international entries from 96countries. Included are the winning young photogra-phers’ images. 11 of the winning images were takenby South Africans.On some Wednesday evenings 18.00-20.00 top lo-cal wildlife photographers will present and discusstheir work. There is also a a rarely seen selection ofwildlife and nature photography books on display.This is an awe-inspiring exhibition well worth seeing.We will review it in our March newsletter and invitemembers to send in their comments/reviews on theirviewing of this event.

Single Picture Explains How Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISOWork In Photography

f you’re a beginner photographer, it can be helpful to have a simple guide that helps you understandthe different settings that you can toggle on your DSLR camera. While this helpful exposure chart byDaniel Peters at Fotoblog Hamburg won’t explain HOW the optics of photography work, it will showyou exactly what happens when you tweak your camera’s settings.

The three settings in this chart are part of what photographers like to call the exposure triangle. ISOis the digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. The aperture is a structure in your lens that worksmuch like the iris in our eyes. It opens and close to let more or less light in, and also changes thedepth of field, or how many different objects can remain in focus in the shot at the same time. Last isthe shutter speed, which controls how much time the camera’s shutter remains open when taking aphoto.A longer shutter opening will let in more light but may also cause blurring if any motion occurs whilethe photo is being taken.

A Good StartDouglas Young

We got off to a good 2016 start with a well-attended meeting on 2 February in a less than ideal venue. The judging of ourimages, however, inspired little confidence in our efforts to improve and enjoy our photography. Self-confessed veryknowledgeable and hugely experienced, the judge provided extensive instructive and helpful advice about improving ourimages. It’s perhaps fair to say that overall our images displayed were below our usual standard and certainly very inferiorto those we displayed at our year end print exhibition.

The Judging

Several issues arise from the judge’s approach and comments. Much of what he said was framed within an assumptionthat as a club we aspire, or should aspire to having our images accepted by local and international photographic competi-tions and salons. This implies we can/should be aiming to receive PSSA awards and lettered honours after our names. Isthis what we as a club aim at? Only we as members can respond to this challenge. The overriding question is: If wecommit ourselves to PSSA activities, or even more modestly, inter club competitions, can we succeed in such simply bymeeting once a month for two and a half hours and having our images critiqued by a wide range of judges who apply var-ying standards and criteria? Probably not, in the short term. More realistically, we can take the year ahead as a learningand developmental challenge.

Interesting Questionnaire Results

If we consider the results of our questionnaire, findings from which are fully summarised and interpreted, it’s clear thatfrom the 37 respondents’ answers that 49% of members are beginners; 71% want to learn more about photography and61% want to improve their photography. Only 24% attend CCC meetings to have their work expertly judged. However, ifwe ran monthly education and development workshops, 54% would and 41% may wish to attend such workshops. Also,65% of members’ skills development needs are to be able to use imaging software to improve their images. All this sug-gest our perhaps devoting our short term goal to using meetings primarily to improve and enhance our images throughworkshops and discussions rather than relying solely on judging to improve our work. We could give some time to dis-cussing this issue at out next meeting.

What is Creativity?

In this regard, there is a further question of what it means to be a creative camera club. Creative photography entailsmaking images that go beyond simply capturing or recording what we see. Many photographers see themselves as artistsor even fine artists. The ever-growing non-distinction between art and photography enables some artists to see them-selves as photographers. The common factor is the growing use and dependence on imaging software to create and en-hance or manipulate images.What do we understand by being creative photographers and how can we become more creative in our photography?That is perhaps the challenge for the CCC year ahead.

What did the Questionnaire tell us?

Completed by 37 (62%) out of 62 CCC members, online or at the 2 February meeting, our questionnaire revealed several importanttrends, members’ interests and needs and preferred genres of image making and judging modes. With my experience as a research-er, having processed many similar questionnaires, I urge caution in taking the findings too seriously, or expecting the CCC committeeto be bound by them too strictly. What the findings offer is a set of guidelines enabling the committee to plan and develop CCC activi-ties and standards in ways that reflect what members think , expect and need of their membership of the club. These findings can bethe basis for ongoing discussions and personal interactions which could benefit us all.In overview, the picture emerging is that many members strongly feel the need to learn more about photography, through having work-shops with technical and software use assistance as a priority over regular formal judging of their images, the process of which theythink needs re-thinking. There is also a strongly expressed wish for more interpersonal interaction at CCC meetings.

To detail the main findings: (The percentages sometimes reflect only small numbers of responses to a given question. They also re-flect, in most case, the tally of preferences 1-3 of 5 possible responses to a question).

1. Membership: 54% are members of 1-2 years’ standing; 55% have been members for 3-6 years; 1 member has 10 year’s standing, while 3people are new members of less than one year’s attendance.

2. Level: 49% are beginners, 51% are experienced, with 1 a professional . (Claude Felbert)

3. Reasons for attending CCC meetings:

· To learn more about photography: 71%;

· To improve my photography: 62%;

· To interact with other members: 49%;

· To see how my work compares with others’ work: 46%

· To have my images expertly judged: 24%.

4. Preferred Genres of imaging: (top 5):Landscapes 76%: Abstracts: 55%;Portraits and Nature 51% each; Wild life 49%; Macro 43%.

5. Rate these CCC activities:

· Image judging: 65%;

· Monthly shoots: 65%;

· Proposed workshops: 63%;

· Peer group discussions and judging of my images: 57%;

· 10 in10 shots: 43%;

· Interclub competition: 39%

6. Preferred form of image judging (due to a file saving error, this question was only in 15 completed questionnaires):

· Alternative external and peer group judging: 80%;

· Informal evaluation without scores and/or medals: 60%;

· Judging by external experts: 53%;

· Peer group judging: 20%.

7. If CCC ran regular monthly education and development workshops, would you attend?

Yes: 54%; No: 3%; Maybe: 41%

8. If attending, would you pay for these workshops:

Yes: 65; No 3%; Depends on how much: 29%

9. Number of workshop hours per month preferred:

4 hours 46%; 2 hours: 35%; 6hours: 16%.

10. What skills do you want to develop:

· Using imaging software effectively to improve my images: 65%;

· Understanding how my camera works: 52%;

· Understanding how to create excellent images :49%;

· Learning how to critique my own/others’ images: 49%;

· Learning how to present my work digitally and/or as prints: 49%.

11. Camera type and brands used: DSLR: 96% - Nikon: 43%, Canon 40%. Nearly all are APSC.

12. Lenses: Mainly prime and lower end zooms.

13. Shooting modes: JPEG 24%; RAW: 52%; JPEG +RAW: 19%.

14. Software programmes used: Photoshop 39%, Lightroom 40% DPP 17%.

Individual comments:

· Learning more through discussions;

· More members’ interactions;

· More focus on creative aspects;

· Discussions during monthly shoots on using cameras in context;

· Reducing judges’ comment time and prejudging instead, allowing more time for discussions.

Conclusions:

The individual comments above, plus my overview at the beginning of this analysis capture what seems to be apicture of the interests, ideas and needs of 62% of the CCC membership. The 38% not completing the question-naire might well have differing viewpoints and if so might wish to express these at our next meeting.Essentially there seems to be a strong need to spend more CCC time learning and developing creative imagingand software use skills, implicitly in order for members to be better prepared to present images, with more confi-dence of success, to the various judges and to enter local and national competitions and salons to gauge wherewe stand compared with other photographers’ work.Also, the question of how/how often our images are judged needs urgent attention, though there are contradicto-ry positive and negative responses regarding the popularity of our current judging methods.

Lastly, this all needs to be put into the perspective of how we enjoy our photography in the CCC.

Doug Young

Are we a CREATIVE camera club?

A well-attended meeting on 2 February seems to have started us on an exciting 2016 photographic journey.The judging of our images, however, inspired little confidence in our efforts to improve and enjoy our photogra-phy. Self-confessed very knowledgeable and hugely experienced, the judge provided extensive instructive andhelpful advice about improving our images. It’s perhaps fair to say that overall our images were below ourusual standard and certainly very inferior to those we displayed at our year end print exhibition.

Regarding the judge’s approach and comments: Much of what he (a veteran PSSA leader) said was framedwithin an assumption that as a club we aspire, or should aspire to having our images accepted by local andinternational photographic competitions and salons. This implies we can/should be aiming to receive PSSAawards and lettered honours after our names. Is this what we as a club aim at? Only we as members can re-spond to this challenge. The question is: If we commit ourselves to PSSA salon activities, or even more mod-estly, interclub competitions, can we succeed in such simply by meeting once a month for two and a halfhours and having our images critiqued by a wide range of judges who apply varying standards and criteria?Probably not, in the short term. More realistically, we can use the year ahead as a learning and developmen-tal challenge.

If we consider the results of our recent questionnaire, it’s clear that from the 37 respondents’ answers that49% of members are beginners; 71% want to learn more about photography and 61% want to improve theirphotography. Only 24% attend CCC meetings to have their work expertly judged. However, if we ran monthlyeducation and development workshops, 54% would and 41% may wish to attend such workshops. Also, 65%of members’ skills development needs are to be able to use imaging software to improve their images.

All this suggest our perhaps devoting our short term goal to using meetings primarily to improve and enhanceour images through regular workshops and discussions rather than relying solely on judging to improve ourwork. We could discuss this issue at out next meeting.

Paul Nuttall is co-editor, assisting with the design and layout of this newsletter and I’m very grateful to havehis expertise in making this a visually attractive read.

There is a further question we need to address: what does it mean to be a creative camera club? Creativephotography entails making images that go beyond simply capturing or recording what we see. Many photog-raphers see/ would like to see themselves as artists or even fine artists. The ever-growing non-distinction be-tween art and photography means some artists see themselves as photographers. The common factor is thegrowing use and dependence on imaging software to create and enhance or manipulate images.What do we understand what is meant by being creative photographers and how can we become more crea-tive in our photography? This is perhaps the challenge for the CCC year ahead.

Doug Young Editor

DATE and THEME SUBMISSION DATE

February - LOVE STORY 26 February - Judging March 7

March - ARCHITECTURE 28 March - Judging April 4

April - BLACK AND WHITE 25 April - Judging May 2

May - MOVIE TITLES 30 May - Judging June 6

Start the CreativeJuices Flowing

Start planning now!

The Deer Hunter