Welcome to the club message board ...
1. Competitions 2010 / 2011. Please read the rules... Please note that you can only enter competitions if you are a member.
2. Email Addresses: If you are a new member or have recently changed your email address then please send an e-mail to the Webmaster (or Assistant Webmaster) to enable the updating of our club contacts information. If you are not receiving regular updates from the webmaster (or committee members) you should should confirm with the Webmaster (or Assistant Webmaster) that we have your correct e-mail address and contact telephone numbers.
(Your privacy will be respected, for more info click here.)3. Keep up to date with our information pages. Our Information Officer, John Bennett, takes notes at our Friday and Wednesday evening Meetings. These are sent to the North Down Spectator newspaper, and are recorded here in what we call our Meetings Blog. A casual browse through these notes will familiarise you with the types of activity taking place.
66th Bristol International Salon of Photography 2012
Web: www.bristolphoto.org.uk
Email: salon@bristolphoto.org.uk
Happy New Year
Just a quick line to remind you that the closing date for the 2012 Bristol International Salon of Photography is only 10 weeks away and that you can enter by clicking the following link where you can download a copy of the conditions & rules of entry and enter the Salon on line - please click here .
If you require any further details or have any queries, please email me, Pete Howell, at salon@bristolphoto.org.uk
We look forward to seeing your entry soon
Best regards
Pete Howell
Salon Chairman
WWT Photography Competition 2011-2012
I have recently started post at Castle Espie and wanted to draw your attention to our WWT Photography Competition 2011-2012 (see link for full details http://photo.wwt.org.uk/ ).
This year's competition takes place over 12 months with four seasonal heats. During each season, we'll be looking for the best photos that represent that season. At the end of each heat winners representing each of WWT's nine wetland centres will be chosen from each category. When the competition closes on 31 August 2012 all regional heat winners will go through to the grand national final to be held in autumn 2012, and our Portfolio Photographer will be chosen and awarded the grand prize of a trip to Antarctica. The Winter heat is now open and closing date is the 29 February 2012. Followed by the Spring heat, 1 March 2012 - 31 May 2012 and finally the Summer heat 1 June - 31 August 2012.
Billy I was wondering could you upload this information to the NIPA website or set up a link to http://photo.wwt.org.uk/ and circulate the information to your contacts.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Maeve
Maeve Curran
Marketing & Communications Manager
WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre
78 Ballydrain Road, Comber, Co Down, N Ireland BT23 6EA
T 02891 874146
F 02891 875977
E maeve.curran@wwt.org.uk
wwwt.org.uk
Belfast Parks Photographic Competition 2012
There is £ 1,000 prize money available for the lucky winners kindly sponsored by Clarke Cunningham Tree Maintenance Ltd.
Entries can be submitted online this year for the first time and the closing date is Friday 18 May 2012.
Brian McKinley
Marketing and Events coordinator
Parks and Leisure Department
Adelaide Exchange
24-26 Adelaide Street Belfast
BT2 8GD
E: mckinleyb@belfastcity.gov.uk
T: 02890 918768
www.belfastcity.gov.uk/parks
ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY PRESENTS :
THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTED IMAGE EXHIBITION
VENUE - CBPPU PREMISES , 287 ANTRIM ROAD , BELFAST.
Date - SAT 11th FEBURARY 2012
TIME - 7.30 for 8.00PM START
ADMISSION - £5 ( includes light refreshments) - 'Pay at the door'
Jim Moreland FRPS
RPS REGIONAL ORGANISER
The theme for the first Chairman's Challenge is "Blue". Interpretation of this theme will lie with the entrant.
More details to follow.
Attached are entry forms for the 2012 NIPA Annual exhibitions. Entries may be made between 9th January and 26th January.
Attached are entry form and rules for the 2012 Annual Novice Competition. The absolute closing date is the NIPA Council meeting on 9th January 2012.
Presentation on 13 January 2012 – Basic photo judging and interaction with members.
In order to make this evening a success I need 9 volunteer judges - 3 teams of 3 people with teams to be chosen on 13 January.
The volunteer judges should be club members who regularly submit mono/colour prints and or PDI images in club competitions and have not previously been involved in judging photo images.
No team member will be asked to make a solo presentation to the club members.
If interested please send me a text to 07519558973 or e-mail me at raymagill@talktalk.net.
All Club Members – I also need 30 mono and 30 colour prints for this date (approx 12 inch X 16 inch) which should be left at the club as soon as possible.
Regards
Ray Magill
NIPA copy of the 2011 PAGB Inter-Federation PDI Exhibition CD.
The CD comprises:-
(1) A Pictures to Exe show with music lasting approximately 38 minutes.
(2) A manual show for step-through presentation.
Any NIPA club wishing to borrow the CD should contact me.
Additional copies of the CD can be purchased from PAGB for £10 each as a donation to cover expenses.
I also have CDs available for:-
(1) 2009 & 2010 PAGB Inter-Federation PDI Exhibitions
(2) 2009, 2010 & 2011 Inter-Federation Print Exhibitions
Contact Ray Magill. raymagill@talktalk.net
The Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland invites entries from interested individuals to participate in the sixth annual ESAI photography competition.
To celebrate the prestigious, international Euroscience Open Forum conference to be held in Dublin, the City of Science 2012, from 11-15th July, 2012, the theme for this year’s competition is: “Nature in the Urban Jungle”.
Entrants are encouraged to interpret the theme as they see fit.
Entries are welcome from all amateur photographers and will be assessed on the basis of picture quality, composition and the appropriateness of the caption.
First prize: €250 voucher sponsored by the Environmental Research Institute.
Professional framing of the winning entry
One year membership of ESAI
Two runners up will each receive a one year membership of ESAI.
Closing date is Friday December 30th 2011.
The winner will be notified by email on Friday January 27th 2012.
Entry form, with terms and conditions are attached.
All entries from 2009 and 2010 are viewable on our Facebook page at: http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/ESAI-Environmental-Sciences-Association-of-Ireland/145171048910025?
The official website of the Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland is: http://www.esaiweb.org
Alan Berry
[on behlaf of ESAI]
Oceanographic Services
Marine Institute
Oranmore
Co. Galway
Ireland
T: +353 91 387360
E: alan.berry@marine.ie
Wildlife and Landscape boat tours in Strangford Lough
I am in a position to be able to offer photographic boat tours out of Portaferry into Strangford Lough. The tours are arranged so that you can experience the wildlife and scenery of the Strangford Lough area, from the water. If you require it, I can offer advice as to camera settings, techniques for wildlife photography and composition tips, so the trips are open to photographers of all levels, as well as non photographers.
Get right amongst the wintering wildlife in an ecologically responsible way without causing any stress to the creatures, and get shots that would be unattainable from the shore.
Possible species include;
Pale Bellied Brent Geese, Greylag Geese, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Greenshank, Curlew, Knot, Dunlin, Shellduck, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Teal, Cormorant, Shag, and many other birds. There is also the possibility of seeing Common Seal, Grey Seal, Porpoise and maybe even Otter.
Strangford Lough is one of only three statutory Marine Nature Reserves in the UK and has been officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is a wide diversity of landscape, both marine and countryside and the Lough is a haven for over wintering birds from places such as Canada, Iceland and Scandinavian countries. There is evidence of human civilisation stretching far back into history. You can see Neolithic cairns, Anglo Norman tower houses and estates from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as the ultra modern and experimental Marine Turbine in the Narrows which generates the amount of electricity needed to supply the towns of Portaferry and Strangford.
The creatures we intend to photograph are wild, so their presence as and where we want them cannot be guaranteed. However, because of the local knowledge of your tour leaders, It is reasonably safe to assume, that we will encounter wildlife and be assured that when we do, you will be in a great position to capture unique photographs.
The actual itinerary of each tour is entirely weather and safety dependant and as such, the Skipper of the boat will have the final say as to where we go at any given time. Your safety is of paramount importance to us. The inner area of Strangford Lough is fairly sheltered and so weather should not give us any major problems. There are numerous different locations within the Lough, so we will always be in beautiful surroundings and within reasonable distance of the wildlife.
Tours will last for three hours and in that time, you will visit a number of different habitats, thus optimising your time on the water and giving you the most opportunities to experience this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The maximum number for each tour will be 10, ensuring plenty of space for cameras and gear and so that I can devote time to those of you who want or need photographic advice. The cost is estimated at £30 per person. This has yet to be confirmed but it is highly unlikely to be anything more than this.
In the extremely unlikely event that all the wildlife has taken a day away somewhere else, we can still visit areas and photograph the very special landscapes from a perspective not normally seen from shore.
No dates have been arranged as yet until I get an indication of interest, but most days can be accommodated. When I get an idea as to numbers, I will make the arrangements with the boat skipper and contact the clients who have expressed an interest.
These tours are out into the waters of Strangford Lough in Autumn and Winter seasons in an open boat. As such you will need warm and weatherproof clothing. All safety equipment will be provided. Hot drinks will be provided. Given the season and time of year, the trips will be weather dependant, although Strangford Lough is fairly sheltered from all but the most serious weather. In the unlikely event of serious adverse weather conditions being forecast, contact will be made with all clients booked on a tour and an alternative date will be arranged.
Nigel Snell is a photographer from Bangor, specialising in wildlife and more particularly, birds. Nigel has won a number of competitions with his wildlife imagery, the most prestigious of which was achieving a Highly Commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards, 2009.
The skipper of the North Star is Gerard Young, a fisherman from Portaferry. He is a fully licensed and insured professional skipper with MCA certification. Gerard has been involved on the Lough for many years and his local knowledge is superb.
For further details please contact Nigel Snell on 07515 282977, or by email, nigelsnellphotos@aol.com.
Dear Nigel ,
On behalf of those members from Armagh Photography Club who attended the outing on Saturday in Glenariff can I thank you and your club for their hospitality. We had a great day out with wonderful weather and outstanding scenery. Our club looks forward to returning the favour in the very near future with a trip to Armagh.
Kind regards
Seán Toner
Secretary
Armagh Photography Club
07565742910
Click here to download copyright.psd for use with Faststine Image Resizer.
Mark Allen will instruct on its use on a Wednesday evening.
This is an invitation to take part in the photography workshop. giving a chance to develop artistic skills and see piece of unforgettable polish nature, hiden in Wielkopolska National Park.
WHAT IS HDR?
HDR is short for High Dynamic Range. It is a post-processing of taking either one image or a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single aperture and shutter speed
Follow this link to a 3 part informative tutorial . http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/
Follow this link for the results of Round 1 OPEN of the NIPA Interclub Competition
Congratulations are due to Alan McMorris for Joint 4th Place in the Colour Prints Round (The Onion)
and to John Bennett for his Joint 3rd Place in the Projected Digital Round (Hammer and Horseshoe)
The Special Competition - 'Triptych Prints', will be hosted by Banbridge Camera Club on Friday 8th April 2011. The competition will consist of 50cm x 40cm prints. This will be an individual club member entry, with a maximum of 3 prints per member.
Mark Allen and John Bennett represented Bangor and North Down Camera Club at the August Craft Celebration opening in Benburb on Friday 6th August.
A big crowd enjoyed the display of sculpture, pottery, paintings and there was also a fine array of photographs taken by Sean Barden of Bangor Camera Club .
Photo: John Bennett
Here are two links to eBooks, provided by Gerry Coe .
http://www.sevenbyfive.net/books/review-below-the-horizon-ebook/
If you are interested in on line competitons here are just two sites that you might want to visit on Mark Allen's blogspot at:
http://markallenphotography.blogspot.com/
The BBC have placed on line free Wildlife Photo Masterclass PDFs which are available for download. Currently there are 21 PDFs available.
We suggest that you visit the page and click on the PDFs which you want, and when they are loaded, save them to your hard disk.
They are available at http://www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com/masterclasses.asp
We are pleased to announce that RUBooks will be sponsoring our competitions for 2010 /2011. The overall winner of every competition and trophies will receive a photography book (to the value of around £15-25).
RUBooks is a website brought to you by the team at Readers' Union. Originally established in 1937, Readers' Union has a strong reputation for providing an excellent choice of quality books and products to book club customers across a wide range of interests (including The Photographers’ Book Club). There is no commitment to buy from RUBooks; simply order what you want, when you want, and take advantage of the great deals on offer.
For a wide selection of Photography technique books visit www.rubooks.co.uk/photography
Members can now get 25% off photo prints at Harvey Normans located beside Ikea at Holywood Exchange.
All you need to do is to produce your personal Club ID Card.
Mark Allen has compiled a tutorial showing how to resize images suitable for HD
NEWSFLASH 5th December 2009
Our own Nigel Snell won the Roy Finlay Memorial Cup and came 2nd with 3rd in the PDI's.
He swept the boards
Hearty Congratulations Nigel
The following are very useful and clear tutorials on Pictures to Exe. Well worth a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkztzW-lB_w&feature=player_embedded#t=53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhu8N1CoOg0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8-nMqzSIg4&feature=player_embedded
Nigel Snell won a highly commended at the British Wildlife Photographys Awards 2009 for his superb photo 'Mallard Drake'.
He also had his photo published in 'The Times' This is a major UK wide competition and Nigel is to be congratulated.
"Unlocking Knowledge,
Empowering Minds"
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. To gain entry, as a mere student, you have to be the best of the best. An MIT education costs a fourtune: however mere mortals, like us, can watch and learn. MIT now offer videos of their courses, as they actually take place. So, be prepared for some people walking in the way of the camera and so on. They also offer free lecture notes, No registration required. here is some more info:
MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.
What is MIT OpenCourseWare?
MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.
* OCW is not an MIT education.
* OCW does not grant degrees or certificates.
* OCW does not provide access to MIT faculty.
* Materials may not reflect entire content of the course.
Do a search for 'Photography' and you will be amazed at what is on offer, (538 hits). In many cases you can download the courses to your ipod, iphone, itouch. Wonderful stuff and all for free.
Mark Allen
RedBubble is a vibrant global community of people with creative interests. It’s something different for each of us:
- a place to share the illustrations you create at night,
- a forum to seek feedback on the story you’re writing,
- a creative antidote to the day job,
- lunch break entertainment,
- a gallery to inspire,
- a marketplace to buy and sell unique works of art and,
- a place to be inspired by like–minded people.
RedBubble is a forum for self expression, an inclusive art gallery and a supportive and welcoming community. However; be aware that unlike our private members group on Flickr (see below),
Redbubble is open to the world. BNDCC now has its own group on Redbubble, click here to find out more.
For more information, and to see some photos from members of BNDCC group on Redbubble please click here.
We now have 24 members in our private members Flickr Group. However; in order for this to work we need more club members to join the group and existing members to participate more.
This Flickr group offers members the opportunity to get useful feedback on their images. It is already a very worthwhile extension to the club, but it will only work if members are prepared to post images and take some time to comment on the images posted by other club members.
All 'foundation' members should grasp this opportunity, post their images and seek feedback. They should also comment on other members images, (whether they be 'advanced' or 'foundation' members). Simply say what it is you like about the photo, or what you think doesn't work. You will find that you and other members will see things in a photo that the author may not have seen or noticed. Only by participating in the debate can we all learn from each other.
All 'advanced' members should also consider joining. You can help by sharing your knowledge, skills and experience. You never know, you might pick up a few tips about your photography along the way!
Remember the aim of the club is to "promote and develop all aspects of photography through example, discussion and competition". This Flickr Group clearly addresses two of these - example and discussion. Its success depends on its members.
For more information click here.
How to prepare Projected Digital Images (PDI’s)
I have been asked to show folk how to do this many times. At the time it all looks so simple and straightforward.
Two weeks later folk have forgotten and therefore this short tutorial is offered as an aide me moire.
Download Adobe Acrobat PDF tutorial here. (For future reference it is also included in our downloads section to the main left menu.) It also includes links to Photoshop actions for batch resizing, for Audio Visuals, etc. - Mark Allen, Comp Sec.
What do you do if a over zealous police officer (or private security guard) demands that you hand over your camera or memory card, or insists that you delete images from your camera? Do you have to comply? The simple answer is NO!
Private Security Guards have no specific legal powers, they have the same powers of any citizen, the same as you and me. Police Officers clearly have much more powers, but even the police cannot demand your memory card or insist you delete images from your camera. They must obtain a court order, even if you are a photo journalist who stumbles across and takes photos of a crime scene.
Clearly; common sense must prevail, so be polite and smile, show the police your camera club ID card. Then politely ask the Police Officer(s) if they are aware of the PSNI Media Policy, specifically page 27 para 3 that relates to photographers. As long as you are polite you will probably find that the police officers may be unaware of the the Policy. As soon as they realise their mistake, and as long as you remain calm and polite, they should back off.
It is in your interest to download and keep a copy of the PSNI Media Policy. Carefully read page 27, para. 3. While this specifically applies to journalists, as an amateur photography you are (probably) a potential freelance photo journalist.
All new members are issued with a Bangor and North Down Camera Club ID card. If you do no have one yet, see David Roberts and request one.
(For future reference it is also included in our downloads section to the main menu.)
