Newport Photographic Club
A highlight of the season was a visit by Irene Froy on 6 December to give a talk on “Pastels & More”. Irene showed a variety of prints varying from the “straight out of the camera” (almost!) shots to very heavily manipulated pictures. They were all superb and it is easy to see why Irene is a recognised photographer of international stature. One of the interesting aspects was that you don’t have to move far from a car park to get great images. Of course, it does help if you have an artist’s eye. I think everyone enjoyed the evening and were highly impressed by Irene’s touch and artistry.
The Second Open competition took place on 13 December and was judged by a well-known face at Newport, Roger Hague. There was a very large entry of 118 images. Roger’s choice was as follows
1. Mr Pickles Takes the Tube Michael Warrender
2. The Lamp Room Dave Shrubb
3. Tables for Two Edward Kosinski
4. Local Otter Michael Warrender
5. Garlic Study Keith Moore
6. Surfers Cove Hugh Stanton
1. Damselfly with Prey Charlotte Nadin
2. Untidy Mum Dennis Webster
3. Froggy Joe Clark
4. Hodge Close, Little Langdale Howard Broadbent
5. Catch me if you can Colin Taylor
6. Misty Morning on Coniston Water Bryan Lloyd
Congratulations to all who took part and especially to Hugh & Dennis (as opposed to Hugh Dennis the famous actor!) for being placed in their first competition.
The final meeting of December was our traditional “Pie & Pics” evening. This was a very relaxed evening with a rolling Projected Image display, some Photoshop tutorials, a print mounting demo and a lot of chat.
The first meeting of the New Year will be a showing of the GB Cup portfolios of the General and Nature Classes. There should be a good variety of images to inspire us to go out and get better pictures
The Second Themed competition takes place on 10 January when David Venables will be judging “A Splash of Colour”. Entries to Bob Colman by 10pm on Friday 6 January please.
Gary Groucutt will be the guest speaker on 17 January. Gary is well known for his stunning landscapes and this should be a very good evening
On 24 January, Bob Colman will be conducting a teach-in on the basics of putting an Audio/Visual presentation together. This is a precursor to the A/V competition on 6 March
The Annual Dinner is at Lilleshall Golf Club on Friday 27 December. This is always a good evening and the catering at the golf club is always good value. Details have been sent out, but if you need more information, give Kathy Flanagan a call.
The final meeting of the month of January is billed as the “New Members PI Competition”. This is a fun competition to encourage new members to dabble their toes in the competition pool. Details will be e-mailed out closer to the time
In mid January I will be making the second visit of the season to Lion supplies in Birmingham. I will put out the usual e mail closer to the time asking who wants what in the way of supplies.
The club has now formed an Exhibition Group. The aim of the group is to encourage members to take part in outside exhibitions and competitions. In doing so, it might lead to some qualifications and recognition, raise the club profile and help develop member’s photographic skills. The group will work together to advise on submissions, suggest improvements and generally try to raise the standard of our photography. The inaugural meeting is on 11 January. Any member can join the group and there is no charge.