New Year , new skills!

Members rang in the New Year with an evening that entertained and enthused us all on Thursday 7th. Over the Christmas period, members had honed their skills in producing a panel of five related photos and submitted them for critique by fellow members over Zoom. All photos are now available for viewing in the relevant Challenge folder on the website, where credit is given to their various creators. Last night they were presented anonymously, and often the guesses as to who had created which were wildly wrong! This was a good indicator that many had stepped outside their comfort zones in terms of subject matter and style.

Jill Toman digressed from landscapes to canine photography and Pilates promotion; Graham gave us the usual beautifully captured flowers, but the street photography and portraits were only identifiable as possibly his by the consistent choice of a give-away blue background! Jane Richardson’s panels depicting flowers were of very high quality, and her astute observations of relics near a railway station was perhaps one of the favourites of the evening. Suzanne’s eye for detail was, as ever, very evident, as was her love of riverside in Bath, and whilst Bill’s “On the Canal” was his only submission, and Tony’s “Sunrise” and “Fast Cars” his only two, they were much admired. I personally struggled to learn the techniques, but was glad that my depiction of “Barry” and my “Arches” were both well received and represented progress from the others that lacked finesse !

The evening was declared a success by all. Certainly everyone had something to say, and skills of feedback and helpful critique are noticeably improving week on week. We look forward to next week’s “Evening with Diana Walker” at which,in addition to reviewing her year, she will also show her panels of 5 images, as they somehow got lost in my inbox and failed to make it to the evening show! Picture of the Year entries are now closed, and some new and interesting presenters are in the pipeline for January and February thanks to Jill’s hard work, as well as the invitation from Warminster to join them in their club evenings when we are interested in a topic.

The inevitable major Lockdown has effectively put paid to the walks together that have done so much to sustain us over the past year. However, that simply means we will return to the Weekly Challenges that make people learn and improve, and keep us on our toes. Details of these will as ever be circulated to members, but also detailed on or website if anyone is interested in seeing what we are up to. The first of these will entail capturing “Misty Moments” in our solitude. We are all trying to adjust to this new normal, supporting each other and having some fun.

Jenny Short

08.01.2021

On the efforts to produce PANELS

Pamela says: I am in awe that you all, bar me, managed the intricacies of presenting this last challenge. I hang my head in shame. I haven't commented on every entry but they were all interesting. Barry. Every photo is a winner, very sharp, wonderful expressions and well-presented. Faces of Bayon Temple. Interesting, delicate presentation. My only comment is that I would have put no 2 first, no 3 second and no 1 last. I think the faces would have worked better this way. Orchids looks commercially done (That is a compliment) Really professional, lovely arrangement and wonderful colours. Sunrise is very eye-catching and I love it. The only thing that doesn't quite work for me is the first one. My eye keeps going to it because the colours are so different and I think a hint of sun would have linked it to the rest. I'm being picky though. The horizon is bang on! Street musicians is cheerful and works so well. Relics of the past is very good. Not only is the composition bang on, but the subject is fascinating. A little difference in photo size no 1 and 5, but that's picky of me. Excellent. Pilates. Lucky teacher to have this for her advertising. I would have taken out the mat in the one photo and then it would have been perfect. Arches is interesting. Showing the same bridge but with a different effect works very well. I like the countryside shot in the centre. If it showed a bridge, the bridge would either have to be face on, or a side shot so I think this works well. Built to Last belongs in a museum. I love the texture. Would the photos, apart from the centre one, be better without the road? Birds of Prey. Lovely shots. My first impression was they should be turned into postage stamps! Phone a Friend is a good example of street photography with a theme. Made me smile. I agree with the comment on the night that the centre one should be cropped to just show the couple.Good catch. I agree that it would be better to lose the ball and make all the horizons level. But I absolutely love it!

Jenny says:: Like Pamela I don't feel that panels are my strong point but I did enjoy making progress to the extent that the "Arches" and "Barry" represent.I do feel that in order to do the subject justice, one needs to take photos specifically with a panel design in mind , rather than what I did this time which was to look back at things I had in my portfolio that fitted a possible theme. Graham took a lot of critique for his "Hats" panel which I actually liked as it was although I did agree the red rather jumped out. True to form he went away and rejigged with the comments in mind and I have now added that to the Gallery for people to take another look. I still prefer the original though. Diana's efforts that I sadly missed in my inbox are also there I hope she shows these on Thursday evening. I was impressed by all the panels, especially those that featured flowers and portraits , and especially Street Musicians" , but my favourite was Jane's "Relics of the Past"- I really want to go and find those for myself once this lockdown is over . The article went to the Journal but I don't know if they are publishing in lockdown.
Let's hope you managed to get some Misty Moments this week without breaking any rules inadvertently!!!