Christmas Wishes from CCC

NORTHERN GAUTENG CONGRESS

Foundation for Professional Development, 173 Mary Road, The Willows

PROGRAMME

TIME	ACTIVITY	PRESENTER
8:00 – 8:30	Registration and Coffee/Tea
8:30 – 9:30	The latest and greatest “nice to have’s”	ODP
9:30 – 10:30	Photographic Trips with ODP	ODP
10:30 – 10:45	Coffee/Tea
10:45 – 12:00	Evaluating and Judging Photographs	Evelyn Gibson
12:00 – 12:30	Lunch
12:30 – 13:30	Creative Photography	Hein Waschefort
13:30 – 14:30	The Pearls and Pit falls of Street Photography and Photojournalism	Gus Waschefort
14:30 – 15:30	All the “A’s” in photography – Altered reality, Avant Garde, Visual Art	Laetitia Kenny
15:30 – 16:30	Ask the experts: Nature, Portraitures, Macro, PJ, Sport, Landscapes	Panel of 6 photographers
16:30 – 18:00	Cocktail function
18:00	Northern Gauteng Interclub Results	MFFC

COST:

Full day event: R 150.00 per person attending.
OR
Cocktail function and Interclub Results Function: R 80.00 per person attending.

Please register for this event by doing the payment before or on 18 January 2014. Please e-mail proof of payment to Anton la Grange at antonlagrange@gmail.com. Always copy Evelyn Gibson into each e-mail.

Payments can be made to: Anton la Grange

• ABSA Bank
• Account: 4050413027
• Branch code: 632005
• Use your name and surname as reference when doing a payment.

2013 - Year End Awards

Best members

On 16 November 2013 we had our year end function and awards ceremony. As all who attended will attest, it was an awesome day.

Other than the great photo opportunities that was had we also had a nice lunch and awards ceremony. See below the different awards that were presented:

Best junior: Club Points Johan Bester Beaunard Grobler Pieter Van Der Merwe	Best junior: Salon Points Jan Potgieter Pieter Van Der Merwe Gerry Steyn
Best Senior: Club Points André Norris Maruet Norris Evelyn Gibson	Best Senior: Salon Points Evelyn Gibson André Norris Helouise Mulder
Photo of the year: Juniors Dogfather by Roald Nel Reflective flight by John Mosdell Singapore skyline by Roald Nel	Photo of the year: Seniors Kobus de Kock jnr in action by Helouise Mulder Day becomes night by André Norris Train ride to work by Nico Strydom
Photo of the year: Overall Dogfather by Roald Nel CCC member with most PSSA Impala Trophy Points Bennie du Plooy	CCC member with most PSSA Monochrome Challenge Points Eddie Everson 2013 Chairman’s Trophy awarded to Andre Norris
Dogfather	Kobus de Kok (Jnr)  in Action
Reflective Flight Singapore Skyline	Day becomes night Train Ride to work

Congratulations to all the winners and even those that followed close behind. May this be an inspiration to everyone for 2014. The winners that did not attend the function collet get their medals and trophies at the first club evening of 2014.

Regards

André Norris

Chairperson – Centurion Camera Club
082 801 2810

Andre Norris – My best club photos for 2013

I was very fortunate and blessed to have received a few Certificates of Merit at the club.

As with all “good” photos, there has been a good amount of hard work and a lot of luck. I am however of the same opinion as Gary Player who said: “The more I practice, the luckier I get!”. I do take a lot of photos and I also believe in the 10,000 hour rule. You can read more about this in the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. But in short Gladwell repeatedly mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

Three of the photos I have had success with at the club are “Labstar Geekman”, “Mud Warrior” & “Ouma’s cousin”.

Labstar Geekman was shot at an event in the Old Snowflake mills in Potchefstroom. It is a day organized by a professional photographer, Emil Wessels. He creates little teams of 3 or 4 photographers and then gives some ideas where after the team has to figure out the shots! You are then rotated every 40 minutes or so and as a team get another setup. My team was allocated to a dance group called The Studio and this shot was taken as from that session. The gent in the photo real name is Francois, but his stage name is Labstar Geekman.

Once I determined the correct positioning for the lighting and the correct shutter speed it was easy. I also took a few shots where I tried to capture some movement but this shot seemed to be the best. Very little post processing was done (The makings of a good photo). I did a bit of cropping as I had to shoot at a wider angle to ensure I got everything in. The dancer only freezes for a fraction of a second at the top, or is that bottom? I also sharpened it a bit and bumped up the vibrance. Technical: Shot with a Canon 7D @ 24mm, F9.0, 1/160 sec, ISO100.

Mud Warrior was shot at one of the Warrior races (www.warrior.co.za) earlier in the year. The meeting was held in Midrand at the Red Barnhouse. Individuals and teams tackle an obstacle course which consist of anything between 6 and 30 obstacles and stretches over a distance of 5- 29 kilometers. The competitors participate in classes Rookie to what is called Black OPS, for the real serious guys, and gals.

The second last obstacle on this VERY cold winter’s day was a mud pit. What made it worse was that the mud was made with ice. The ice was refilled later in the morning to ensure the pit styed ice cold. The competitors had to go through the pit and one basically only have part of your head not in the mud. With the mud being ice cold, it is not a place for under 18’s as some of the competitors’ language wasn’t the best when they emerged from the pit.

Mud warrior was one of the few gentlemen who had a grin on his face while he was waiting for his team mates to emerge. I only cropped this image and upped the clarity a bit. Technical: Shot with a Canon 7D @ 300mm F5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO500.

Ouma’s cousin was shot during a trip to Vietnam earlier this year. This country has countless photo opportunities! In the North of Vietnam lies the Sapa province. Many of the ethnic Hmong people (These are the people that came from South China during the 18^th century) stay in this region.

On most days but mostly on weekends there are regional markets all over the province where the people then come to trade.

The various Hmong (Black-, green-, flower Hmong, etc) groups have different traditional colours. The ladies all dress up in traditional clothes when coming to the market. Each market will only be attended by one type of group as they are regional. The lady in the picture is from the flower Hmong and I took the picture after she packed up her goods to leave for home. They carry quite a bit and walk very long distances.

Although the clothing looks very colourful and makes for great pictures, the people are very poor. Although they are very friendly a lot of them are very camera shy. The lady seems to be smiling on this photo but I think I just caught her at the right time. She was kind of telling me to go away. The photo was taken from quite a distance as you have to “steal” a lot of these. You will see from my focal length below and the fact that this is about a ¼ crop that I was quite a bit away.

I took quite a few shots across Vietnam of the different Hmong people and a few of these were of the older generation. The eldest lady I took a photo of was 97 (apparently) and I called that photo “Ouma”. From their I called some of the others “Ouma’s sister” and so on and hence the name “Ouma’s cousin”, trying to create a “family” of pictures. Technical: Shot with a Canon 7D @ 214mm F5.0, 1/16 sec, ISO100.

 

Andre Norris 5*

Foto afdrukke – Gala aand

Centurion Kamera Klub se afdrukke uitstalling begin een van die dae en ons wil jou graag daar sien.  Die Gala openingsaand is 30 September om 7nm by Nikon House, Midstream Business Park, Erasmus rd (ingang grey Owl winkelsentrum). Almal is welkom om by te woon - bring gerus jou familie en vriende saam. Kom besigtig 70 van die klub se beste foto's hier uitgestal.

Hierdie uitstalling bly oop vir die publiek van 8vm tot 5nm deur die week en sluit Saterdagoggend 5 Oktober ( oop tot 11vm)

Eet & drinkgoed word gratis verskaf - moenie die geleentheid misloop nie! Laat weet asb vir Helouise per epos hoeveel mense sal bywoon. Haar epos adres is secretary@centurioncameraclub.co.za

The Bone Hunter

It was day three of our quest to capture the essence and soul of the elusive and oh-so-scarce-to-see Bearded Vulture in the Drakensberg of South Africa. We were gloomy, as the fog was thick and there was no sign of sunshine or any shadows around the hide at Giant’s Castle in the Northern Drakensberg and I was not sure that I would even see any of these magnificent birds in the sky.

Gelukkig het die koffiefles en warm beker my vingers en hande van vriespunt weerhou en my genoeg krag gegee om te bly kyk en hoop vir tog net een verbyvlug. Die vorige twee dae was omtrent aasvoël-loos maar daar was genoeg vermaak van die Jakkalse wat die bene probeer wegdra en die Kraaie of Rawe wat senuagtig gepik het aan die vleis-slierte wat nog aan die bene gesit het.

Die mis het begin lig en ek het amper van my stoel afgeval toe ek die donker kol sien verbyswiep minder as 5m bo die ‘hide’…..I glued my hands to my camera, waiting almost with bated breath for another fly-by! Much to my relief the Juvenile Bearded Vulture was very curious (or perhaps it was on entertainment-duty that morning?)  to see what scraps of bone were ready for the taking and it passed by several times. It was difficult to fathom whether it was checking out the bone-strewn feeding space, or these curious figures haunched behind those strange-looking objects that clicked ever so often when it flew past.

Wonder bo wonder het die mis begin wegbrand voor die son en binne ‘n uur was daar sonlig en skadus! Verskeie volwasse Aasvoëls het sporadies hulle nuuskierigheid gewys en wonderlike geleenthede gebied vir in-vlug foto’s van hierdie pragtige voëls.

Na my mening is die onontbeerlike voorvereistes vir goeie voëlfotografie dat daar aksie of beweging moet wees, asook dat die foto nie “cluttered” moet wees nie. A background that blends and does not distract the eye of the viewer away from the subject is essential. Thus, a shallow depth of field (a large f/stop), high shutterspeed (probably in excess of 1/2000 sec) and keeping your subject in focus are all non-compromisable factors that contribute to (but not necessarily guarantee) a great image. Always ensure that your subject makes eye-contact and that the eye is in focus!

Apart from all the photographic kit you may own or borrow, never, ever, ever leave home without a bucket of patience! As I said earlier, we spent the best part of three days in the hide, fired almost 500 shots and returned home with fewer than 10 really great images.

For the techno-phobes, I used a Nikon D700 with a 500mm f/4 lens, set on f/6.3, with a shutterspeed of 1 / 800 sec and ISO 400 on a Lexar Ultra XG CF-card to capture this beauty. Of course, I go nowehere without my 2kg-homemade-PVC-beanbag! Don’t despair if you don’t get a killer-shot on your first outing, it is all about practising, so keep shooting and push your own limits!

Hoe dit werk: jy bespreek maande vooruit jou dae vir die ‘hide’ by KZN-Wildlife se sentrale besprekingskantoor – jy mag maksimum 3 dae in ‘n ry bespreek – en dan hoop jy die weer speel saam.  Die koste is per persoon met ‘n minimum van 3 persone per dag in die ‘hide’ en jy bespreek die ‘hide’vir jou en jou groepie –eksklusief! Bespreek ook sommer blyplek by Giant’s Castle, want daar is nie tyd om van buite af in te ry na die ‘hide’ in die oggend nie. Jy meld aan by die kantoor die vorige aand, kry jou sleutel tot die ‘hide’ en ook jou emmer vol bene. Moet liefs NIE die bene in jou oornagplek berg nie, geen veearts sal hierdie koei kan red nie! Natuurlik betaal jy vir die dag, al spandeer jy een uur of heeldag in die ‘hide’en al sien jy niks, of al reën dit.

Had I been unlucky enough not to have seen a single Bearded Vulture on this trip, the experience of being in Nature, surrounded by the total silence of the Berg and breathing only clean air, makes every trip to the Vulture Hide at Giant’s Castle worth the effort and time!

Erna Liebenberg

MY ARCTIC EXPEDITION IN SVALBARD

July 2013

When my husband and I booked for this Photographic Experience last year, I think I was thinking it was going to be a cruise on a ship with some great opportunities to take images of Polar Bears, nice landscapes and of course other species of wildlife found in this part of the world. Maybe I had still in my mind our wonderful trip we had to the Antarctica in 2007. This was certainly different – this was an expedition, not a photographic holiday or tour. Not for the faint hearted or for the unfit person. If asked would I do it again my answer would be “Yes if I was 20 years younger” having said that, it is something that will live in our memories for many years to come and we will continue to talk about it also for a very long time. AN EXPEDITION OF A LIFETIME.

Did I prefer this trip to the Antarctica trip? Yes. Why? It was a very small ship, only took 24 people on board, which included the crew so the opportunities to go on land were more frequent. In fact we had at least two landings per day on the zodiacs for as long as it was necessary compared to one landing per day in the Antarctica and then we were only allowed on land for one hour – this is the difference of going on a cruise liner compared to a small expedition ship.

So does one give up the luxuries of a cruise liner – almost definitely to experience this part of the world and capture the beauty, feel the spirituality as you cruise in among the glaciers, pass the icebergs with different species of bird life all around you.

The Arctic is Polar Bear country albeit with global warming, they are moving further north due to the ice melting. Did we see Polar Bears, yes but only six and not on the floating ice as I think many photographers would like to capture. You are not allowed on land if the Polar Bears are near so all our sightings were taken from the zodiacs, albeit we were only 50 metres away from them and had of course the water between us which was our safety factor. One image that I managed to capture (attached for you to enjoy) was the one of mother and child having some loving moments together – I call this one “The Dancing Bears” – as I pressed the shutter, the tears were running down my cheeks, it was a very special moment. Unfortunately one of the photographer’s memory card ran out a few seconds just before this happened and he did not get his new one in on time to get this moment, he was very sad and upset. He offered to buy mine (ha ha), still waiting on his price offer.

There is plenty bird life, walruses, we did not see many seals, (perhaps this is also the reason we did not see as many polar bears as seals are their prey) some of the photographers saw the arctic fox and we saw one reindeer.

The beauty of the landscapes for me was very very special, perhaps due to my passion and forte with landscapes. I have attached a couple of landscapes hopefully showing you that beauty.

Camera equipment I used mainly the D800 with wide angle lenses for the landscapes and the D4 with an 80-400 lens for the wildlife. Tripod was used mainly from the ship or on land when photographing, as it was very difficult on the zodiacs to use a tripod. I also used various graduated filters for the landscapes.

It was a bit rough at times on the ship and we had to pop the pills every now and again for the nausea. The temperature was never below zero at anytime but the wind chill factor plays a role and yes I did feel very cold some days out in the zodiac and wondered if I had any fingers and toes still belonging to me.

I hope to be able to share with you at some stage the presentation that my husband and I are putting together on this wonderful trip. Yes it was expensive and our children are still worried that we spent their inheritance!!! The Expedition was organized and run by ODP in conjunction with Vega Expeditions (a Swedish company) and the ship Origo is a Swedish owned ship.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share at this stage a part of this wonderful challenging experience.

Evelyn

Centurion Camera Club Prints Exhibition 2013

“A picture is worth a thousand words; A fine art print so much more.”

30 September –5 October 2013

Centurion camera club proudly presents our annual showcase photo exhibition at Nikon House, Louwlardia. For directions from the Nikon site click on: "contact us" or Click here for a map

As club members you are invited to make use of this occasion to exhibit your best works of the year - simply upload your images and we do the rest.

The rules briefly are:

• You may enter up to 4 images, of which we guarantee to print and exhibit at least 3 depending on available display space and provided the images are of good quality.  Only full resolution files will be accepted (ie. Not resized) and in any case not less than 5 Megapixels per image. We prefer TIFF or alternatively JPG saved at the highest quality setting.
• Prints will be A3 sized and mounted ( it is ready to be framed as is ).
• Cost is  R100.00 per mounted photo. Payment is by way of direct bank deposit into the camera club account – please use your club membership number as reference, followed by “PRINT” ie 04020022PRINT.
• Photo's should be uploaded to the file sharing website utility: Dropbox (see entry form spread sheet for details) before midnight, 9th September 2013. (This is a regular club evening event)
• Detailed instructions are available on the downloadable Excel file on the website or directly from this link.

What do we do for you?

• Photo's are printed on heavyweight A3+ Premium Luster paper using the best of inkjet technology.
• Photo's will be mounted on 5mm foam core presentation board with surrounding 5cm border area.
• Author name and picture title will be embedded as part of the printed image in the lower right corner.
• We will set up a complete display of all prints at Nikon house.
• Pictures will be judged at the event and a bronze, silver and gold medal will be awarded.
• Pictures will be posted to an on line gallery, accessible from the camera club website
• Pictures will be exhibited at Nikon house for one week.
• A gala opening evening will be held on 30th September at 7:00 pm. The exhibits will be judged at this event and prizes awarded.
• The exhibition will be open to the public from 8am to 5pm during the week and closes on October 5th around 11am.
• There is no cost for this event – catering will be provided by facilities at Nikon house.

Direct all enquiries to:  Arnold Theron  arnold.theron@gmail.com
See you there!
Arnold

Verbyvaart – Beste voorgeskrewe onderwerp.

Ons was in November 2012 vir so 9 dae in Thailand met vakansie. Ons het die Sondagoggend ongeveer 06h00 in Bangkok aangekom en was so teen 09h00 by die Ibis Bangkok Riverside hotel waar ons 2 nagte oorgebly het. Die hotel is geleë op die oewer van die Chao Praya rivier. Ons het die middag verskeie tempels besoek en was nogal moeg met ons aankoms laatmiddag terug by die hotel aangesien ons maar min rus gekry het op die vlug na Bangkok wat so 11 ure deur die nag geduur het en ons die hele dag aan die gang was. Ek het uit ondervinding geleer dat as daar ‘n fotogeleentheid is moet jy dit dadelik aangryp want more is die geleenheid dalk nie weer daar nie. Ook maar goed so want die volgende dag het ons eers laat by die hotel aangekom na ‘n dagtoer en was die weer nie na wense nie en dit was ook al te laat vir nagfotos. Daar word in die algemeen gepraat van nagfotos maar die beste tyd vir nagfotos is egter net na sononder sodra die stadsliggies aangeskakel is. Later in die aand is die kontras te hoog en die lug kom swart uit i.p.v. blou wat beslis nie mooi is nie.

Ek het verskeie fotos geneem na sononder toe die stadsliggies mooi aangeskakel was. Daar het bote op die rivier heen en weer verbygevaar en ek het gedink dit sal dalk mooi wees om ook van hulle in die foto te laat beweeg behalwe vir fotos sonder bote. Dis altyd goed om alles te probeer en hierdie foto het toe goed uitgewerk. Die kamera was ‘n Pentax K5 met ‘n 18-250mm. Pentax lens op 35mm. teen f11, sluiterspoed 8 sek. en ISO 160. Ek het in RAW geneem met die witbalans op “Auto” alhoewel dit nie saak maak nie want jy kan in “RAW Editor” weer die kleurbalans verstel soos jy wil.

Redigering in Photoshop Elements 11 was “levels” verstel, met “skew” die geboue vertikaal gemaak “saturarion” so 10, hier en daar donkerder en ligter gemaak waar nodig en ook die kleur van die foto verstel sodat dit meer natuurlik lyk.

Maartin Coetser Meester – Goud APSSA

Klubinskrywing 8 Julie 2013 Goud - Beste voorgeskrewe onderwerp

Night Trails – Eddie Everson

Onlangs is ek saam met ‘n groep fotograwe deur na Messina toe om  fotografie, veral “Night Trails “ daar te gaan oefen.  Die gedagte was om in die Kremetart woud in te gaan en mooi bome daar uit te soek om as die middelpunt van die “night trail” foto’s  te gebruik.  Ek het baie gestap en gesoek tot ek tevrede gevoel het dat ek die regte boom of klippe het vir my foto’s.

Met Night Trails is die belangrikste beginsel om jou foto rigting suid te neem, met die sirkel van jou sterre regoor jou voorgrond onderwerp.  In hierdie geval die boom.

Ek het so te werk gegaan:

• Toerusting:  Ek het die foto’s geneem met ‘n Canon 7D en het ‘n 16 x 53 (2.8) wyehoek lens gebruik.  Die kamera  was laag op die grond opgestel.
• Die volgende baie belangrike ding in hierdie tipe foto’s  is om die komposisie te bepaal.  Dit vat baie geduld en tyd.
• Nog iets wat belangrik is om te onthou is dat daar geen lig in die omtrek moet wees nie.
• In die geval van hierdie foto het ek ‘n ISO van 4600,F8 en 30sekondes ”continuous shooting” vir een uur (120 fotos) gebruik.
• Met die eerste foto het ek die boom belig vir 1 sekonde (Painting with Light)
• Die verwerking kan in photoshop of lightroom gedoen word deur al die fotos deur “focus stacking” te prosesseer om een foto te maak.
• Die ander foto van die sterreruim was die ISO op 400, F8 en ook 30sekondes “continuous shooting” vir een uur (120 foto’s) gebruik.
• Ek het die foto’s met photoshop geprosesseer.
• GEDULD en OEFEN en AANHOU is die geheim vir sukses en op die end maak die mooi foto’s alles heeltemal die moeite werd.

Eddie

Black & White Portrait 8 Julie 2013 Klubaand

In Februarie vanjaar was ek lus vir 'n nuwe projek. Ek hou baie van kontraste tussen  'glad en grof'  of  'donker en lig'  en daarom wou ek 'n foto neem van iets wat verskillende elemente weerspieel.

Ek het my vriendin se dogter gevra om model te speel en sy het ingewillig.

Ek het my Studio by die huis opgeslaan wat bestaan uit 1 Canvasprint vir agtergrond en 2 Bowens Prolite 82  190-250v ligte. Die ligte was nie gebruik vir "flash" fotografie nie en dus net nodig vir stil "fill-in ligts". Ek het gekyk dat die sluiterspoed en ISO genoeg was om genoeg lig deur te laat vir die effek wat ek wou kry op my onderwerp en ook seker gemaak dat my model stil sit al was die kamera op die driepoot. Een lig het agter teen die backdrop verlig en die 2de lig regs, skuins van voor.

Die tyd van die dag was 3nm en binne 'n toe, donker vertrek. Ek het so 2 toets foto's geneem en die res van die model in verskillende posisies.

My kamera wat ek gebruik het was die Canon 5D Mark III; 'n 28-135mm lens met 'n 73mm vokale zoom; F13 stop; 1/50 sec sluiterspoed en  250 ISO. White balace was op 'Auto' gestel.

Met die verwerking het ek die foto monochrome gemaak en dit gecrop asook die brightness/contrast bietjie verstel en die 'Blur' tool gebuik om die foto sagter te maak met photoshop Cs4.

Sjarma Luff  3*

Waiting for the train, the test shot that ended up a winner

It was Wednesday morning and I just woke up and realised that the due date for submission for the club entries is that evening and I’ve not taken a long exposure photo. I went out in the cold and took some photos of cars travelling on the highway. While I was standing in the cold, I realised that the photos in not coming out as well as I was hoping. An idea than surfaced as to a shot I’ve wanted to take for ages.

I use the Gautrain on a daily basis to and from work. Always when I wait for the train, I imagine photos that I want to take. The one photo that seems to get stuck in my mind the most often is the one where a person is waiting for the train and the train passes them. It is one thing to think about the photo and another to actually get the energy to take the photo.

One of the biggest challenges for a photo like this is to find only one person to use as a subject, especially at the times I use the train. What I did was when I arrived at the Rosebank station at 7 o’clock in the morning is I used the other line that travels to Pretoria. It is not as busy that time of the morning.

I used my trusty little Canon Powershot G1 X pocket camera and set the exposure time to just less than a second and the ISO at 100. The resultant aperture value was then f/5.0 which is sufficient depth of field on the small sensor of the G1 X.

Because the security guards at the Gautrain station are a little over eager, I tried not be too obvious at what I’m doing.  I waited around 10 minutes for the train to arrive, the whole time hoping and praying that an interesting subject / passenger will arrive. I was in luck in that just before the train arrived, a young lady came and stood in front of me.

What usually happens is that the train on the further tracks arrive first, closely followed by the near train. As the furthest train arrived, I decided to take a test shot just to make sure that there is enough movement in the photo. I went down low on my haunches and kept the little camera close to my body to try and negate any movement in the camera itself as I did not have a tripod.

I saw from the test shot that there was sufficient movement and all I had to do was wait for the train to arrive. But that is when my luck ran out. As the train arrived, the lady started moving away and out of my shot. Because I was on my haunches I could not move fast enough to follow her and that left me with no shot. I wanted to cry.

When I finally imported the images from the mornings shoot on my computer, I saw that the test shot actually wasn’t that bad and quite useable.

In post processing I changed the exposure slightly. I also underexpose my image in RAW as I found that it is much easier to bring in detail in the shadows than it is to recover detail in the whites. I worked on the contrast, blacks and whites to make the tonal range a little greater. The actual monochrome conversion was done in Silver EFex Pro 2.

And that was it. I am a little surprised at the reception I’ve received on the image. It just goes to show that it is not always the well planned out shoots that work. I love street photography and this was a great learning curve for me.

Nico Strydom 4*

July 2013; Best of event, Senior Winner, 4 Star winner

Blou reier met paddavangs

Klubinskrywing 8 Julie 2013 - Meriete sertifikaat

Ons was vanaf 11 tot 19 Mei in Onder Sabie ruskamp in die Kruger Wildtuin. Sunsetdam is net buite die kamp geleë en daar is gewoonlik baie fotogeleenthede. Hierdie keer was daar egter nie baie voëls soos in die verlede nie. Ek ry nie baie rond in die wildtuine nie om verskeie redes.

Eerstens as jy iets kry wat die moeite werd is om af te neem is daar gewoonlik baie ander motors wat dit moeilik maak om in die regte posisie te kom vir ‘n goeie foto. Meestal is die agtergrond dan ook nie reg nie en die rigting van die sonlig is gewoonlik ook verkeerd. Dikwels is daar ook lang gras en bosse wat dit onmoonlik maak vir enige foto.

Ek ry altyd vroeg uit en gaan sit by ‘n watergat of dam waar ek met my voertuig so stop dat die lig reg sal val op ‘n dier of voël wat daar mag opdaag en ry so teen 10h00 of 10h30 terug kamp toe. Dan gaan ons weer so teen 15h00 se kant uit en doen dieselfde.

Ek het hierdie bloureier by Sunsetdam lank dopgehou met my kamera en lens reg vir aksie want ek weet as hy so in die water rondloop gaan hy een of ander tyd iets vang. Met die vangslag druk jy die sluiterknoppie en ek neem teen 7 fotos per sek. Ek het met tussenposes so 3 of 4 fotos elke keer geneem. Na ‘n tyd het hy egter weggevlieg met die padda. Ek het nie verwag hy gaan vlieg nie en het sy vlerke dus deur die raampie afgesny omdat hy met oop vlerke baie groter was in die raam en daar nie tyd was om terug te zoom nie. Sulke dinge gebeur soms en ek sou hom graag in vlug wou kry met die padda in sy snawel, maar ja dis weer een wat weggekom het.

Die foto is ongeveer 16h00 in die middag geneem met ‘n Pentax K5 en ‘n Sigma 150-500mm. Zoomlens teen f6.3, sluiterspoed 1/1000e sek. en ISO 280. Ek stel die kamera op outo ISO, kies die lensopening en sluiterspoed en die kamera moet dan die ISO kies vir die regte beligting.

Wat redigering betref het ek die “levels” effens verstel, asook die “saturation” na so 8 verstel, hier en daar bietjie donkerder sowel as ligter gemaak waar nodig en “gecrop” in Photoshop Elements 11.

Maartin Coetser Meester – Goud APSSA

Groen appel - Bennie du Plooy

Ek noem die soort foto’s Skeppendefotografie Met ander woorde waar elemente opgestel word om 'n beeld vas te vang. “om 'n OOMBLIK in tyd vir ‘altyd’ Vas te Vang.”

Daarvoor is tegnologie die instrument (kamera en toerusting) vir die vasvang van die oomblik en skeppendekuns (visualiseer en verwerking van die onderwerp) nodig. Al twee aspekte is nodig om in harmonie die ‘perfekte’ kunsstuk (foto) daar te stel. Dit gebeur deur die druk van 'n knoppie van 'n persoon wat die basiese tegniese reëls van twee verskillende wêrelde naamlik tegnologie en visie in te span ‘om die OOMBLIK’ vas te vang.

Opstelling:

• Skoon VISTENK (akwarium), half gevul met skoon water.
• Swart agtergrond 50 cm agter tenk.
• Skoon voorwerpe soos vrugte.
• Kleur plastiek om onder in tenk te sit vir weerkaatsing.
• 2 “flashes” op “slave” en High speed gestel. Skerm ingeboude kamera flash met wit papier voor af. (sodat nie in die tenk weerkaats nie)
• Een flash van bo en die ander aan die kant.
• Pentax Kamera met makrolens op 'n stewige driepoot.
• F6.3 , ISO 160, 1/800 sec , 90 mm.
• Vertrek redelik donker.
• Hulp om voorwerp in tenk te laat val.

Wees nou geduldig en neem baie foto’s.

Bennie du Plooy 6*

Gaudi Portal–Pieter van der Merwe

Ek het hierdie foto geneem tydens ‘n toer wat ek en my vrou (Wilhelma) onderneem het om ons 30ste huweliksherdenking te vier (Junie 2011).  ‘n 10 Dae meditereense bootvaart (van die 18 verdieping soort met te veel kos, baie swembaddens en nog meer mense).  En o ja, ‘n groot krediet kaart. 

Ons het begin met drie dae in Barcelona, enige fotograaf se droom.  Veral die waarde heer Gaudi se geboue en argitektuur.

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) word beskou as een van die grootste argitekte van alle tye.  Hy het revolusionêre idees toegepas in elkeen van sy strukture/geboue, wat gelei het tot formele and strukturele innovasie gedurende die 20ste eeu.  Ek dink hy moes enige bouer se grootste nagmerrie gewees het.  Niks is reguit of haaks nie, maar werklik besonders.

Tydens hierdie toer was ek nog ‘n geen ster fotograaf, met ‘n Canon EOS 450D.  Die sluiterspoed was 1/60 sek, f/5.0, ISO 400.  Ek het so pas vir my ‘n Sigma 18 – 250 mm lens gekoop waarmee ek 99% van my foto’s tydens die toer geneem het.  Ek was ‘n 2 ster toe ek die foto ingeskryf het.  Dit foto het my gehelp om ‘n 3de ster by te kry.

Die uitdaging tydens ‘n toer soos hierdie, is om nie jou vrou te irriteer nie.  Maar tog op die uitkyk te wees vir besonderse fotos.  Daarom is dit belangrik dat ‘n mens ‘n foto vining moet neem as jy hom sien.  Daar is nie tyd om te wag vir ideale lig toestande nie.  Uit die hand uit.  Nog ‘n uitdaging is om al die ander toeriste uit die foto uit te hou.  Die eintlike rede hoekom ek vir my die Sigma 18 – 250 mm lens aangeskaf.  Dit verhoog net ‘n mens se opsies om die regte foto betyds te kan neem.

‘n Mens moet dus jou kamera baie goed ken.  Daar is nie baie tyd om die kamera en die lens reg te kry vir ‘n foto nie.

Op hierdie foto was daar genoeg lig in die gebou om teen ISO 400 en 1/60 sek ‘n goeie foto te kry.  Baie keer stabiliseer ek maar die kamera teen ‘n muur of pilaar.  Kan nie onthou of ek dit hier gedoen het nie. 

Die enigste toeris wat ek nie uit die foto kon (wou) kry nie was die slanke meisie met die swart nommertjie.  Mens moet maar jou geleenthede benut as hulle verby kom!

Ek het net die basiese verwerking na die tyd gedoen met Photoshop Elements (ek dink dit was nog 9 op daardie stadium).  As ek reg onthou, so bietjie kontras, sharpening en so van die geraas agv van ISO 400.

Ek sou beslis Barcelona aanbeveel as ‘n ideale klub uitstappie!

Pieter van der Merwe

 

Villa Amor

Ons klub se Makro werksessie is die maand weer by Villa Amor.  Hierdie is ‘n bymekaarkom plek ideaal vir so ‘n geleentheid en ek dink min ander klubs is so bevoorreg om soos CCC toegang te hê tot so ‘n fassiliteit.  Ons wil daarom die vrymoedigheid neem om ons lede aan te moedig om Villa Amor te ondersteun en op die manier ook vir hulle te help.  So as jy slaapplek soek of kuierplek soek, kontak gerus vir Barry!

“Black Hmong Lady” Sapa, Northern Vietnam

This photo was taken on our recent trip to Vietnam & Thailand, an amazing experience.  I fell in love with Vietnam…….

We left OR Tambo on 17 April and Arrived in Bangkok the following morning and got onto a flight for Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.  After ‘n quick trip to the Tam Cốc channels we got on the overnight train to Lao Cai.  In the morning when we arrived we were transported by bus to Sapa.  Sapa, is a frontier town and capital of Sa Pa District in the Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where several ethnic minority groups such as Hmong, Dao, Giay, Pho Lu, and Tay live.

The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.  Hmong are rich in culture, art and family and are distinguished by costume/dress (fabric patterns represent fruit, vegetables, farming, chickens, eggs, etc.)  Vietnamese Hmong women continuing to wear 'traditional' clothing tend to source much of their clothing as 'ready to wear' cotton (as against traditional hemp) from markets, though some add embroidery as a personal touch. In Sapa, now with a 'standardised' clothing look, Black Hmong sub-groups have differentiated themselves by adopting different headwear; those with a large comb embedded in their long hair (but without a hat) call themselves Tao, those with a pillbox hat name themselves Giay, and those with a headscarf are Yao. For many, such as Flower Hmong, the heavily beaded skirts and jackets are manufactured in China.

The lady in the picture are one of the many “vendors” in town.  They are less “aggressive’ than the lady vendors you find in the rural villages.  I think the reason is that they do more sales in the towns and thus “less desperate”.  The picture was taken just after we arrived and unpacked at the hotel in Sapa.  I was mid-morning and quite misty with the sun just breaking through every now and then.  I knew then I was in for one amazing trip.

Camera	Canon EOS 7D
Focal Length	300 mm (Canon 70-300 L IS lens)
Shutter speed	1/200 sec
Aperture	F 5.6
ISO	100
Club Competition	Gold, May 2013, 5* Winner, Senior winner

Andre Norris 5*

Discounted tours available

We have been informed that the two tours mentioned below are now available at discounted prices to those interested.

John Hosten will offer a R 500.00 pp discount on the tours detailed below, visit the web site for detailed information.  You must contact Johan by Wednesday for the Waterval Boven tour and by Monday for the Kaapsehoop tour.  Johan can be contacted at:

• cell:        082 887 5501
• tel:         012 361 9283
• fax:        012 361 9283
• e-mail:  info@landshapes.co.za
• web:      http://www.lensafricasafaris.co.za/

June 7-9 : Waterval Boven
2 nights. Very good value package.

This is another amazing venue for landscape and special photographic opportunities. Just over 2 hours from Gauteng. At this time of the year one can capture the misty mornings. We plan unique mountain climbing shoots (not the photographers!), trout dams and Elands River scenery, special township visit and a quaint old cemetery and the most picturesque steam train graveyard in the country. Stay over at Zongororo Lodge and enjoy quality accommodation and good food.
Meals and tuition included. No single supplement. Own transport.

July 18-21 : Kaapsehoop
3 nights (or 2 night option).

Delightful mountain retreat village about 3 hours from Gauteng, near Nelspruit. Mist, forests, stunning escarpment views, streams and amazing rock foundations, wild horses and flowering aloes. Stay over in Kaapschehoop Guest House.
Breakfast, dinner and guiding included. Own transport.

Panel comments on photo –Take off

We have received out next photo for comment.  This was an interesting one to get comments on, as it is obviously a good photo, but it had a number of challenges.  At the club evening there was a short debate if this can be accepted as a nature entry.  The judges did decide to give the author the benefit of the doubt and judged the photo in the nature category.

As before, you can view the full original image by clicking on it.  Remember to add your comments as well.  Here is the photo and thanks to the panel for their comments.

Panel Comments 1

Always great to capture a bird in flight and the head and eyes are sharp and we can see the movement in the wings which is also a plus.   The bird is completely lost against the back ground and does not stand out at all. If a shallower depth of field had been used the background would have been more out of focus.

Panel Comments 2

The key attraction in this pic is the eyes of the owl, which is also sharply in focus - very fortunate indeed. Higher shutter speed would have helped to sharpen the moving wings, but that is not always possible in the circumstances. Pity the background is similar to owl plumage but then that is why nature invented camouflage...  the background deprives the shot of needed perspective, being very uniform and flat. The pic could perhaps benefit from increased colour saturation to relieve the dullness and accentuate the eyes. This is allowed for nature category.

Panel Comments 3

This is a photo that one would normally be very proud of as it is technically good.  Unfortunately the background killed the photo for me and you will require heave post processing to try and make something of this photo. Personally, I think you were lucky not to be disqualified.  Photos with man made components will always be risky to enter in the nature category.

Panel Comments 4

Ek hou van die foto en die outeur het die uil baie mooi vasgevang in vlug. Die vlerke wat ‘n bietjie uit fokus is wys vir my daar is beweging. Die oë is baie mooi skerp wat belangrik is. Die agtergrond veroorsaak dat die uil bietjie wegraak in die foto. Ek sal ook voorstel dat die outeur die uil stywer crop in ‘n portret formaat. Sny die linkerkanste gedeelte af.

Panel Comments 5

The original image was very well captured and I particularly like the slight movement in the wings. It shows movement and the bird is in flight. As presented and compared with the original image, the author did very well in applying a horizontal flip.

There is however a concern about the Nature category. The thatch roof indicates captivity or a sanctuary and many arguments may follow but some judges may not approve of this.

Unfortunately the original image does have some problems

1. The eye is drawn to lighter areas and in this case the big area on the left marked in red circle competes with the bird. The same applies in a lesser value with the smaller red circle.

2. The green circles indicate areas where the grass on the thatch roof seems damaged.
3. A bigger problem is the background competing with the subject. It is of similar colour and one would like to separate the bird more from the background.

Suggested Post Processing

Because of the limitations of the Nature category I will suggest the following;

1. 1. The cropping can be done like the image suggest below. The eyes are the focal point of this image and are so strong that placing it in the middle of the image would improve the impact of this image and will also remove the big distracting area on the left. With this crop, the wings are placed on the two thirds making the composition even stronger.
2. The horizontal third is slightly below the bird giving the photo the impression that the bird is flying into the frame.
3. With this crop, I do not believe the horizontal flip will add more impact.
4. Lastly, the distracting damaged thatch roof was corrected using the clone tool

The final Image

Some adjustment in exposure (-1 stop) on the whole image and then selective exposure adjustment on the bird to bring it back to the original exposure seem to separate the background.

In an open category one could also apply a slight vignette to get rid of the over exposed thatch and focus the viewer on the bird.

Lastly

Well done with the image. The shutter speed was perfectly selected to freeze the bird, yet show the wing movement.

Panel comments on photo–Plek van my hart

We have received a photo from a 4* member asking for comments on a photo as entered in the February competition.  You might remember this panorama photo as entered in the theme section.

From the comments we received back, it is clear that this is a good photo and ideally suited for a panorama entry.  The panel had little to add to improve the photo, apart from suggestions how the author can increase the impact of the photo with a little more punch.  Some sample photos were also provided to illustrate the points made.  Let us know what you think.

As before, you can click on the photo to view the full size original. 

Panel comment 1

This image as a panorama works very well and depicts the wildlife in its environment.   I added a bit of contrast to the image which I feel gives it a bit more punch.   There is very good detail in the sky and reflections just add to the image.   The only thing I would have done is add this little bit of contrast that I said and I cropped slightly on the left. See the proposal below:

Panel comment 2

This is a very pretty panorama, with nice colours and it conveys a peaceful atmosphere.  I really like the Giraffe in the picture as it provide context to the photograph and gives the viewer an idea of the vastness of the space.    The reflection in the pool of water is also very appealing
 
Possibly some room for improvement in that the horizon is centrally placed in the photograph – I would suggest that the author possibly reconsider the way that the photograph was cropped, if there is enough room, I would leave a little more space in the foreground and less of the sky in order to move the horizon more towards a third in order to give the picture more impact
 
There appears to be a halo around the tree on the left hand side, this could be due to too much post processing, or over saturation, also prevalent in the very blue sky in the left hand corner of the picture

Panel comment 3

My impression is that this photo tells us a strong story and one can almost feel the atmosphere that the author must have experienced.  Looking at the original photo, I think it was well stitched together into this panorama and not much to improve.

In an attempt to give the photo more impact you can consider to increase the contrast to make the beautiful colours stronger and a looser crop gives me a bit more context to the photo.  Smaller touches were to reduce the halo around the tree and boost the reflection in the water.  See the proposal below:

Panel comments on photo – Lelie

We have received our first photo submitted by a 5 star member for comments on the photo.  The comments indicate that judging is subjective and different people look differently at a photo. I trust that you like this feed back and would make use of this opportunity to send us a similar request on one of the photos that you have entered.  You can click on the photos in this article to see the original photo.

The photo to the right is the photo as entered in the February competition.  Please add your comments to this article.

I always like to look at the work of an expert in the field and came across the work of Clive Nichols.  Select his web link or go straight to the flower pictures.

Ather web links that I personally like were 41 Delicious flower photos or How to photograph flowers.  Go and look on these web sites to get fresh ideas.

Panel member 1

Ek sou graag of meer van die wit blom of baie minder wou sien. Tans kompeteer die rooi en wit vir my aandag. In my opinie sou dit n baie sterker foto gewees het, indien die fotograaf op die stuifmeeldrade gekonsentreer het, sonder die wit blom

Panel member 2

I personally do not see anything wrong with this image, it is pin sharp right through, the post processing has been executed extremely well.   Where it should be sharp it is sharp, exposure is excellent, composition perhaps could have been slightly improved, perhaps just having part of the petals coming in from the left pulled the image down slightly..  It is not easy to to get an image like this pin sharp right through.  I could not have post processed it any better.

Panel Member 3

1. The author captured the flower well.
2. Technically there is nothing wrong with the picture.
3. I don’t think the subject matter in the photo is strong enough.I would have scored this a 3 if I was the judge.
4. It might help to look at other similar photos on the internet.  Click here

Panel Member 4

1. The simplicity of this photo is striking with the diagonal lines are a strong component of the photo.
2. The photo is balanced and your choice of crop is good.  The crop helps to frame the photo.
3. The dark background works well in this case and contributes to emphasize the focus point.
4. Technically you have unfortunately a number of challenges.
   1. Once the raw photo is cropped, you are already on or below the competition format size of 1080 high.
   2. As this is almost a macro photo, it is critical that it is pin sharp on your focus point.  You could try to vary the depth of field to find when the eye is drawn to the focus point.
   3. In your photo, there is some room for improvement in gaining sharpness and improving the contrast.  I have attached the same photo, processed slightly differently that shows a different emphasize on the photo and taking some of the suggestions into account.
5. Other ideas to try:
   1. By using a polarising filter one can possible reduce the shiny reflections.
   2. A reflector on the top or right hand side can be tried to see if you can balance the light with a fill light from the side
6. As flowers are regularly photographed and entered into competition, it is very difficult to compete on a 5* level in this topic and to make your photo stand out from the rest.  It must  therefore be a powerful photo that is technically exceptional on this level to get a high award.

Foto terugvoer en kommentaar geleentheid

As hierdie my foto was…

Ons wil graag probeer om lede meer geleenthede te gee om terugvoer op fotos te kry.  Die volume fotos op ‘n kompetisieaand maak dit baie moeilik om aan al die fotos aandag te gee wat hulle verdien.  Daar is die moontlikheid om hierdie Blog te gebruik om verder teruvoer te gee sodat meer lede daarby kan baat vind.

As ‘n toets wil ons die volgende probeer

Lede kan vra vir kommentaar van enige foto wat hy in die laaste kompetisie insgeskryf het.  Hierdie fotos is relevant want meeste van ons het dit in kompetisie verband gesien.

1. Stuur ook jou oorspronklike foto aangeheg soos voor jy met verwerking begin het om te help om beter kommentaar en alternatiewe voorstelle te kry.  Die foto wat jy ingeskryf het, het ons reeds en jy kan net die titel stuur.
2. Hierdie fotos sal dan na ‘n paneel gestuur word vir vrywillige kommentaar en voorstelle.
3. Fotos waarop daar genoeg en sinvolle kommentaar van die paneel terug gekry word sal hier bespreek word saam met voorbeelde van die oorspronklike en verwerkings voorstelle.

Die doel is die volgende:

1. Om almal te help met alternatiewe opsies of benaderings om fotos te verwerk of aan te bied, aangesien daar nie een regte manier is nie.
2. Praktiese voorbeelde te gee van die verwerkingsvoorstelle.
3. Dis nie bedoel om kommentaar te lewer op die resultaat of kommentaar wat in die kompetisie verkry is nie.
4. Om so veel as moontlik fotos te hanteer, maar waarskynlik sal ons nie almal wat ingestuur word kan hanteer nie.

Omdat die oorspronklike foto groot kan wees sal ek dit waardeer as jy die versoek kan epos na: ccc.webalbums@gmail.com en nie na ons normale klub epos adres nie.  Stuur sommer nou die oorspronklike foto asook die titel waaronder jy ingeskryf het.  Jy is welkom om ‘n spesifieke vraag in te sluit.

Groete

Bernard Richard

It hurts me more than it hurts you

Judging of photos is known to be subjective and we are quite often reminded of this fact when the judging topic is discussed. Remembering this is however a tall order to ask of any author with high expectations of a photo that he entered into a competition.

This month I was privileged to be on the other side of the fence. Yes, it is a privilege for me to be able to judge and comment on so many different entries where each author expects nothing less than Gold or better. I like the comment Evelyn made in a recent judging presentation: “…to judge as if you are friend of the author”. It remains a challenging task to judge with a huge responsibility and a lot of pressure.

 

It Hurts

This is what reminded me of the well-known phrase: “It hurts me more than it hurts you.” I must admit that I never believed it while I was on the receiving end. A judge's intention is not make authors feel discouraged or hard done by through the judging process.  When this is the result you did not judge his photo as a friend.

There are a number of factors that could lead to this despondent feeling. Some could definitely be improved upon by the judges and we must always work on that aspect of judging. Other contributing factors are created by a lack of understanding of the judging mechanism and its limitations or challenges as we say in South Africa.

 

Judging errors

Mistakes by the judges are possibly the most irritating aspect that is a major contributing factor to frustration of the authors. In reviewing the recent panel of photos where I assisted in the judging, I can see that we did make mistakes in the heat of the moment. We incorrectly disqualified some photos, but we have also accepted photos which should have been disqualified. These errors were mainly caused by technical information which is not available to the judge at the time of judging.

 

Putting it all together

A too high standard of judging is next on the agenda (or Facebook) after a difficult judging night. Not all authors are aware of the time and effort that the committee put into this aspect to try and avoid exactly this from happening. Alternative systems are investigated, the sliding scale is discussed to death, judges are briefed, statistics are kept, judges are blacklisted and so it goes on. This is all done to try and get the perfect system while we are using judges that will express their personal preferences. The history over the last 6 competitions showed we have statistically more problems with low standards than with high standards. In three out of the last six competitions we awarded Gold and COM to more than 70% of the entries. This does not demotivate authors and is therefore not so strongly debated or discussed, but is also a problem and makes me slightly uneasy when I get a COM award on such a night.

 

The target

What is the actual standard that we aim at? I think we all agree that we do not realistically expect all photos to be judged Gold or better. The rough guide line is that a Silver award means the photo is on the expected standard. Gold and COM awards are reserved for photos above standard. It is to be expected that there will be a distribution of photos that are judged to be above average on any given competition night. I do not think we should set a limit on awards. I am sure that most authors do not want a situation where photos will be awarded Gold by default. If we can only somehow manage to give a photo the award it deserves.

 

Finally: High Definition

We have changed over to HD format with a new projector and the picture is absolutely magic compared to the previous format. Unfortunately this magic projector now shows any error in the photo or post processing very clearly, for all to see. Working in the correct colour space is now more important than before. Attention to post processing detail will have to be improved on if we do not want to be disappointed with the presentation. There is a learning curve with this new technology for all involved. The projector was calibrated three times before the event to ensure we get the best possible result and this must be maintained to ensure the quality is the best that we can possibly achieve.

We will most likely keep on talking about the standard and criteria applied in judging and that is an integral part of our hobby. My wish is that we can avoid leaving authors despondent, through continues efforts to improve the judging for all and to make it as fair as is practically achievable.

 

For the record

Let me conclude by stating that I have never entered a photo in a competition, expecting to get anything less than Gold. Unfortunately I had a number of bad judges over the years and my below-Gold count keeps on increasing steadily. I am therefore making my contribution to keeping the stats down.

A personal opinion by: Bernard Richard.
X – Judge

Salon Prestasies buite Suid Afrika

Baie van ons lede presteer so in die stilligheid buite ons nasionale kompetisies en salonne.  Ons sal graag sulke prestasies hier vir die ander lede wil wys, so stuur gerus aan.

Andre Norris  het onlangs by die 2012 PSAChina daarin geslaag om twee uitsonderlike prestasies te behaal.  Die eerste was “Judges Choice Medal” met sy foto “I CANT STOP LOVING YOU”

Dan het Andre ook ‘n “PSA China Bronze Medal” toekenning gekry met sy foto ”THE GUARD”

Geluk Andre met hierdie toekennings, ek is seker ons sal die fotos weer iewers sien.  Kliek op die fotos om die PSAChina webblad oop te maak.

PSSA Northern Gauteng Newsletter - 1/2013

Newsletter 1/2013

28 January 2013

Dear Northern Gauteng Clubs

Welcome back after the 2012 holidays.  I visited quite a few clubs the past month and it is greatto see all the high-impact images created during the festive season. Keep up the good work!

1. National Salon

Please visit the PSSA website (www.pssa.co.za) and Photovault Online (www.photovaultonline.com) for all the upcoming national salons. The first two for 2013 are the 4th Bethlehem Digital Salon for Colour Photography (closing date 9 February 2013) and the 1st Midrand Camera Club Monochrome Salon (closing date 23 February 2013).

2. PSSA's New Definition for "Manipulation"

Please familiarise yourself with the new definition for "Manipulation" on the PSSA website:

MANIPULATION shall constitute any or all of the following modifications to the original image:

• Adding an element to the image that was not contained in the original capture;
• Removing an element from the image that was contained in the original capture; and
• Moving or re-positioning an element of the image that was contained in the original capture.

In the categories Nature and Photojournalism, manipulation is not allowed. In all other categories, there are no restrictions whatsoever in the way authors choose to post process an image.

3. New Creative Virtual Photo Club

We all know the master of creative photography, Hein Waschefort. During December 2012, the Visual Skills School (VSS) took it one step further by creating a VSS Creative Virtual Photo Club. Please visit their website www.visualskillsschool.com for more information.

4. Training Opportunities

Advanced Bird Photography Workshops


On my workshops you will practically learn the techniques to take images like these. From camera settings, Lightroom to Photoshop techniques.


Workshops consists of a morning and afternoon shoot, followed by some editing in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Equipment needed:

• Any DSLR;
• Shutter release;
• Tripod and Beanbag;
• Lenses: afternoon shoot 150mm to 200mm, morning shoot 400mm and upwards;
• The use of a 500mm f/4.5 and 300mm f/2.8 as well as a 70-200mm f/4 is available for Canon users at no extra charge.

Contact Francois Loubser 

082 928 4940

francois@sportsphoto.co.za

4. PSSA Club Winning Image

Congratulations to all the club winners over the past 2 months. We hope to see more of the Northern Gauteng Clubs' winning images amongst the monthly winners this year.

Magalies FotoFun Club - Valmai le Grange - "Down Under"

PPS - Reg Caldecott - "Venus"

PPS - Christo Serfontein - "Helicopter Jettison"

Rustenburg Photographic Society - Donita Visser - "Elephant"

Rustenburg Photographic Society - Mike Ward - "Fly Fisherman"

Boveld Fotografieklub - Pieter Lotter - "Visvang Tannies"

AFO - Jaco Peacock - "Okavango Fisherman"

AFO - Johan Louw - "Dagbreek"

VSS - Hein Lass - "Wildlife Photography"

PCCC - Hein Waschefort - "Mad Hatter"

4. Photographic Competitions

Please visit the PSSA website (www.pssa.co.za) for details about:

• AIDA Photo Competition ; and
• Lifestyle Photographic Challenge

Please remember to send me news from the region should you wish to have it published in the newsletter. Till next time. 

Kind regards,

Anton la Grange APPSA

antonlagrange@gmail.com