RECENT NEWS
Water, water everywhere !
Mike Hendon in the garage with water, and on a journey with Wild Life and commentary on the weekly Challenge of use of f stops for mood .
12/03/2021
It was a relaxed an amiable Mike Hendon that revisited the club via Zoom on Thursday, to the delight of members, who gave him a warm welcome.
It was an evening of two contrasting halves. First, we were treated to “Fun with Water” comprising shots taken by him of family in and around water, and in times when we went abroad for holidays. Next, he illustrated his fascination for water splash images, explaining both his sophisticated techniques with remotely controlled flash and his experimentation with liquids, colours, balloons, pins and fruit and veg! We loved his commentary as well as the array of artistic form and shapes that danced that he captured as he grew in expertise. His antics in his garage with water and grandchildren, (always a good mix!) were a delight. We also fully empathised with his talk of competition judges who failed to appreciate some of his amazing shots! Equally heartening, was his portrayal of himself as a novice in wildlife photography, and tales of his ongoing journey towards expertise in the field as a result of Lockdown restrictions. Like Mike, we have regularly placed ourselves outside our comfort zones, in ways that we otherwise might not have, in these strange times. Mike encouraged us all to get out into the fields and the garden, however local, and to discover the hares, barn owls and birds of prey that sit, often literally on our doorsteps, but which in busier times go unnoticed.
Mike will be invited back, of that there is no doubt- he provides us with high quality models, and gives us all the sense that we should continue to push the bounds of our own comfort zones to improve our skills and keep snapping.
Next week we look forward to hearing judge Peter Otley’s comments on our efforts to illustrate “Letter O”, and in the meantime members are reminded to send three photos of their choice to Jill Toman as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we were unable to hold our annual print exhibition in October 2020, and so the recently renamed Millenium Trophy, now the Witcombe Cup, could not be awarded for the people’s choice on that occasion. We are delighted that our President Margot Witcombe, whose father founded the Society, and whose husband and long time supporter, Mike Witcombe, sadly died last year, has agreed to personally choose her favourite from those we now submit, so that the Witcombe Cup can continue to be awarded in the spirit in which it always has been, as an alternative to more formal competition. We look forward to hearing what she thinks !
Last week’s Challenge of multiple exposure challenged us all and proved there is much more to learn in this area, which is good. The associated gallery is interesting, and the members have commented on the experience in last week’s RECENT NEWS. However, the next challenge will be up shortly so no time to waste, and more to try!
Jenny Short 12.03.2021
Jill got her images in very quickly and says :
F16 Everything in focus, f4 Foreground in focus, f7 Midground in focus
Unusual for me to do it this quickly!
Jenny says:
The girls bought me tulips and wine so i decided to try and use a tulip with three different f stops . I wanted to create a dreamy mood so f1.8 on my 50mm was the widest i could go and I wanted to use sharpness to draw attention to the specific part I wanted the viewer to see. At f1.8 was the petal at the front with its curve and it was where the light was falling. Everything else was soft. f 5.6 and f 16 I changed the focus to be the stamen - the f 16 one has a resulting background that is just too fussy whilst the f 5.6 is more what I wanted although still not as i know can be achieved with a Lens baby which I do NOT have . !
Jane R says :
No 1. F3.5 The branch stood out really well with defused background.
No2. F8 Branch still identifiable but the background is trying to take over!
No 3 F18 The branch almost disappeared into background, very confusing not sure what the focus of the photo is.
Suzanne’s comments on F stops, same subject, different
moods
This week found me taking a variety of subjects/objects. UsingF5, F11 /F22 to emphasise that part was easy enough but to convey
emotions/moods within them was challenging. Finally, I took a Churchyardscape and within that image, using the same zoom lens, I took
the F11 and F5. Not sure if it was allowed or if it worked, but for me it conveyed more and it would be interesting to return at three
different times of the day using the same ‘ tripod’ holes etc, to see
what could be captured.
And Geoff Noad says :
I could not represent f stops and emotions from one lens and one framing using one subject. So using different lenses and different positions whilst still using the same subject was a bit of a challenge. So here is my entry the details of which are in the titles. Geoff.
And Tony :
At F4 the cowslip is in focus with the foreground and background very blurred. This reduces the distraction caused by other plants in the shot. At F8 the background is starting to come into focus and increase the distraction it causes. At F22 the background and to an extent the foreground are starting to show more detail making the particularly the background very busy and distracting the viewer focus on the cowslip.
Graham Nicholls says :
All photos taken indoors with natural light from a side
window. I tried 4 different apertures f 5.6, f 9, f13, and f29. but
settled on the three here.
F5.6 1/6 sec Iso 100 Whole flower was in
focus apart from the ends of the petals. Nice out of focus background
F13 1/10 sec Iso 100. As F 5.6 but ends of petal more sharp.
Background becoming partially in focus
F29 3.2 sec Iso 100. All in
focus including the unwanted background.
With this type of flower, adaisy with an almost flat centre and petals, the larger aperture is
best so that the whole flower is in focus and background not. Although
the background can be put out of focus with photoshop it's handy to get
it there using a wide aperture. However I have found when photographing
flowers with stamens stick right out it's best to use the smaller
aperture with a greater depth of field to get everything in focus. Try
to remove unwanted background before the photo is taken.
It was an evening of two contrasting halves. First, we were treated to “Fun with Water” comprising shots taken by him of family in and around water, and in times when we went abroad for holidays. Next, he illustrated his fascination for water splash images, explaining both his sophisticated techniques with remotely controlled flash and his experimentation with liquids, colours, balloons, pins and fruit and veg! We loved his commentary as well as the array of artistic form and shapes that danced that he captured as he grew in expertise. His antics in his garage with water and grandchildren, (always a good mix!) were a delight. We also fully empathised with his talk of competition judges who failed to appreciate some of his amazing shots! Equally heartening, was his portrayal of himself as a novice in wildlife photography, and tales of his ongoing journey towards expertise in the field as a result of Lockdown restrictions. Like Mike, we have regularly placed ourselves outside our comfort zones, in ways that we otherwise might not have, in these strange times. Mike encouraged us all to get out into the fields and the garden, however local, and to discover the hares, barn owls and birds of prey that sit, often literally on our doorsteps, but which in busier times go unnoticed.
Mike will be invited back, of that there is no doubt- he provides us with high quality models, and gives us all the sense that we should continue to push the bounds of our own comfort zones to improve our skills and keep snapping.
Next week we look forward to hearing judge Peter Otley’s comments on our efforts to illustrate “Letter O”, and in the meantime members are reminded to send three photos of their choice to Jill Toman as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we were unable to hold our annual print exhibition in October 2020, and so the recently renamed Millenium Trophy, now the Witcombe Cup, could not be awarded for the people’s choice on that occasion. We are delighted that our President Margot Witcombe, whose father founded the Society, and whose husband and long time supporter, Mike Witcombe, sadly died last year, has agreed to personally choose her favourite from those we now submit, so that the Witcombe Cup can continue to be awarded in the spirit in which it always has been, as an alternative to more formal competition. We look forward to hearing what she thinks !
Last week’s Challenge of multiple exposure challenged us all and proved there is much more to learn in this area, which is good. The associated gallery is interesting, and the members have commented on the experience in last week’s RECENT NEWS. However, the next challenge will be up shortly so no time to waste, and more to try!
Jenny Short 12.03.2021
Jill got her images in very quickly and says :
F16 Everything in focus, f4 Foreground in focus, f7 Midground in focus
Unusual for me to do it this quickly!
Jenny says:
The girls bought me tulips and wine so i decided to try and use a tulip with three different f stops . I wanted to create a dreamy mood so f1.8 on my 50mm was the widest i could go and I wanted to use sharpness to draw attention to the specific part I wanted the viewer to see. At f1.8 was the petal at the front with its curve and it was where the light was falling. Everything else was soft. f 5.6 and f 16 I changed the focus to be the stamen - the f 16 one has a resulting background that is just too fussy whilst the f 5.6 is more what I wanted although still not as i know can be achieved with a Lens baby which I do NOT have . !
Jane R says :
No 1. F3.5 The branch stood out really well with defused background.
No2. F8 Branch still identifiable but the background is trying to take over!
No 3 F18 The branch almost disappeared into background, very confusing not sure what the focus of the photo is.
Suzanne’s comments on F stops, same subject, different
moods
This week found me taking a variety of subjects/objects. UsingF5, F11 /F22 to emphasise that part was easy enough but to convey
emotions/moods within them was challenging. Finally, I took a Churchyardscape and within that image, using the same zoom lens, I took
the F11 and F5. Not sure if it was allowed or if it worked, but for me it conveyed more and it would be interesting to return at three
different times of the day using the same ‘ tripod’ holes etc, to see
what could be captured.
And Geoff Noad says :
I could not represent f stops and emotions from one lens and one framing using one subject. So using different lenses and different positions whilst still using the same subject was a bit of a challenge. So here is my entry the details of which are in the titles. Geoff.
And Tony :
At F4 the cowslip is in focus with the foreground and background very blurred. This reduces the distraction caused by other plants in the shot. At F8 the background is starting to come into focus and increase the distraction it causes. At F22 the background and to an extent the foreground are starting to show more detail making the particularly the background very busy and distracting the viewer focus on the cowslip.
Graham Nicholls says :
All photos taken indoors with natural light from a side
window. I tried 4 different apertures f 5.6, f 9, f13, and f29. but
settled on the three here.
F5.6 1/6 sec Iso 100 Whole flower was in
focus apart from the ends of the petals. Nice out of focus background
F13 1/10 sec Iso 100. As F 5.6 but ends of petal more sharp.
Background becoming partially in focus
F29 3.2 sec Iso 100. All in
focus including the unwanted background.
With this type of flower, adaisy with an almost flat centre and petals, the larger aperture is
best so that the whole flower is in focus and background not. Although
the background can be put out of focus with photoshop it's handy to get
it there using a wide aperture. However I have found when photographing
flowers with stamens stick right out it's best to use the smaller
aperture with a greater depth of field to get everything in focus. Try
to remove unwanted background before the photo is taken.