#bcgmonthlycompetition

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Back Into Monthly Competitions

October was the first month I have entered images into the Brisbane Camera Group monthly competitions for a while. The set subject was “Entrance” and was defined as “A picture of the entrance to a building or enclosure. The inclusion of a closing device is optional. The presence of a person may be included but must not be the dominant feature.“

Here are the images I submitted and the results I received.

CitCat – Acceptance

The judge comments that the image is spectacular and most arresting. Unfortunately, the highly decorated door tends to be lost in the overall graffiti confusion. If only one half of the door was open, to actually reinforce the fact that there is a door there. I can’t say I disagree with this assessment. It is a busy image and the entrance is easily lost in the surrounding graffiti.

Temperance Hall – Merit

I am really happy this image received a merit award. The judge commented on the beautiful side lighting which picks out all the incredible detail, especially in that door. The sadly weathered door forces speculation about the history of the building and the fate of the organization that built it. It meets the criteria of the set topic head-on. It conveys a good story, it is a good use of colours and good use of light.

La Nocella – Merit

I am really pleased this image was recognised with a merit award. This image holds a special place in my heart as this was the first overseas trip for many years we had gone on, and it was with a group of like-minded photographers.

Comments by the judge included “I like this image which reminds me of Italian hill towns like Scanno with intimate doorways, lots of steps and washing hanging over the street. It certainly fits the theme and is nicely composed and appropriately cropped. The three entrances reinforce the message. There is a good use of colours, good use of light and it is a strong composition.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, prints are not being judged at the moment. Everything is DPI only. Reluctantly, I submitted a range of images in the annual competition of the club and now await the judge’s response.

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The Best Laid Plans………….

Phew! What a month it has been. As can happen, the best laid plans come to zero. Our lives were turned around on Sunday 4 August when the Police phoned and told Marie her father had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. They said he was in hospital and that he was okay. We immediately stopped what we were doing at the time and went straight to the hospital.

As the evening unfolded and we spoke to the medical staff in the emergency department, we were not certain how the future would unfold. Would he pass away, or would he make a full recovery, or would it be somewhere in between? Being 92 years of age, his chances were not rated highly. The Neuro Surgeon told us he had a bleed on the brain and some fractured vertebrae in his spine.

Given these circumstances, we cancelled our planned 5-week overseas holiday so we could be here to assist in his recovery and adaption to life without a motor vehicle. Now, he is in rehabilitation and progressing well. Accordingly, photography has been less prominent in our lives as we have spent a lot of time visiting him and attending to some of his affairs.

I am pleased I had devoted some time to choosing images for the monthly competitions so I could submit entries for while we were away. This meant I just had to send the images to the printer for them to be ready. For the August competition I submitted my entries into the Open section. The results I obtained were very pleasing. Here are my entries and the results:

Cloud over Marseille – (Merit)

Three Doors – (Merit)

Burlesque Babe – (Honour)

As I mentioned last post, the opportunity to learn about Photoshop from Andy Cross through Maud Street Photo Gallery over six Sundays was too good to pass up. I completed the last three modules since last post and now need to get my notes up to date and indexed so I can find the techniques I need during my workflow. As with most things, if I don’t use what I have learned, it will be forgotten and attending the course will have been a waste.

The September competition topic is “Framed”. The definition we have been provided with is:

Framed refers to using elements of a scene to create a frame within your frame. For example, you might shoot through a doorway, pulled back curtains, branches, fences, tunnels, or arches to highlight your subject.

I have worked on some images that fit this definition. They will likely be the ones I submit to the set subject category rather than the open category in September.

Until next time, keep on creating!

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New Post has been published on http://www.kgsinclair.com/2019/07/learning-opportunities/

Learning Opportunities

Where did the time go? Seems like the last few weeks are one big blur! There haven’t been many opportunities to get the camera out and make some images. From having a week and a half off work due to the flu and spending the last three Sundays attending Photoshop lessons, very little time has been left over.

The deadline for submitting images for the monthly competition seemed to approach without warning and caught me unprepared. Therefore, I quickly scrambled three images I entered in the annual competition last year and submitted them in the monthly open section. I was disappointed all three images were only awarded acceptances.

I think this is a valuable lesson though. Just because an image performed well in the annual competition, there is no guarantee it will perform well in the open section of the monthly competitions.

Leanne in the Ring – this image placed second in the People section of the annual competition last year. The judge indicated there were some lighting issues with the image especially around the hand gesture. This area is a key focus point of the image that we want the viewer to look at and the hand is not lit well enough to draw the eye.

Preparing for Winter – this image placed first in the Social Documentary/Photo Journalism section of the annual competition. As an image in the Open section, it didn’t hit the mark well enough. The guy throwing the piece of wood is too dark and needs to be lightened so he is more a point of focus in the image. Some of the lighter areas could be darkened to draw the eye through the image.

Weaver at Work – this image placed third in the Social Documentary/Photo Journalism section of the annual competition. The judge indicated this may have worked better as a black and white image due to the varying strong colours in the background which distract the viewer.

Photoshop is a tool I have used but struggled with in the past. My prior education has been via Google searches to find out how to do what I wanted to achieve. The opportunity to learn from Andy Cross through Maud Street Photo Gallery over six Sundays was too good to pass up. To date, I have completed three modules with three modules to go.

Marie and I are going on a long-awaited break soon so I am working hard to prepare my competition images for while we are away. Also, I am aiming to prepare images for just after we get back. This will reduce the pressure and make it easier to start reviewing the images we have returned with.

Until next time, keep on creating!

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30 Years

This month just seems to have been busy! I ran out of time to prepare images that met the Brisbane Camera Group monthly competition topic of “Transportation”. As I could use images from the annual competitions that hadn’t previously been used in monthly competitions, I decided to enter three in the Open section.

Two of my entries received acceptances and one received a merit. I was hopeful of a better result but I think effort to make new work in the set subject rather than pulling out old images for the open section will push me harder and build my skills better. The images I entered are below.

Romenade du Paillon (Acceptance)

Scanno Exit Reflections (Acceptance)

The Strongest Man (Merit)

At the Brisbane Camera Group Presenters Night, we were given a taste of photo books in all their shapes and sizes. My eyes were opened to the creative efforts some people make with there books. The following week we had a “workshop” session and I discovered websites and software available to create photo books and the various services that will print them.

While I had no plans to get involved in photo books when I attended these sessions, I came away motivated to give it a try. One of the options I was impressed with was the books available through chatbooks.com. This seemed like a great way to dip my toe into the water for very little cost. So, I picked 30 images from the week Marie and I spent in Caloundra in February to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I have titled the book “30 Years – February 2019”. I am now eagerly waiting for it to be printed and delivered.

Marie has been working on her skills in taking in camera multiple exposure images. On our last photo walk, I have also been giving this form of photography a go to see what I can do with it. Doing it on a photo walk means one’s creativity is stretched to the max as you have to make the best of what is presented to you. This makes it challenging and difficult to get to come away with many “winners”. We also did a photo walk through the valley on a Saturday night which was an interesting experience.

Here are some of my recent images:

Looking to next month’s competition, the topic is “Impressionist”. The definition is “A style when the photographer tries to convey the feeling of a scene, a general impression, or suggestion of a scene. Lacking in detail these impressionist images emphasize colour over line and are often soft, dreamy, and have a painterly feel.” I am working on some images and plan to have three prints to submit for this topic. I am confident I won’t need to resort to finding images for the open section to compete in May.

Until next time, keep on pressing that shutter button!

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New Post has been published on http://www.kgsinclair.com/2019/03/celebrations-and-competitions/

Celebrations and Competitions

Wow! Is it really two months since I posted my last update? Where has the time disappeared to? All I can say is I have been busy, and I know that is no excuse.

The Brisbane Camera Group February competition has been and gone and my result was an acceptance for each image submitted. This was not the start of the year I was looking for as I was hoping for one or two merits at least. While I understand the judge’s reasons for the acceptances, I also know they are opinions I can choose to take on board or not. Here are the images:

Church of Saint Ferreol-Augustinians Marseille – The judge suggested the image could be improved by cloning out the church behind.

Inside Galleria Umberto I – Naples. Improvements suggested included showing less of the ceiling and having a panorama style print showing the art work with less distractions.

La Pergola Nice France – He suggested less sky and a person on one of the balconies would make a difference.

In February, Marie and I spent a week in Caloundra celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We both took many images especially of the beach. Marie has been playing around with in camera multiple images and encouraged me to give it a try. Here are a couple of my images that worked out okay.

Ice Cream Time at Noosa

Keeping a Watch

Learning to be Surf Life Savers

The March competition topic was “Movement” – “a finished image that depicts motion blur resulting from long exposure or panning or in camera movement. The image cannot be a freeze frame photo, it must show some blur in some part of the image.” I submitted two prints into the competition set subject and one print into the open section.

This was a far better month! I received one merit and two honours, so I am really pleased with these results. My “Movement” prints scored a merit and honour while my open entry was an honour. Here are the images:

Slow Dancer (awarded an honour)

Getting Ready to go back for More (awarded a merit)

Bicycle Built for Two (awarded an honour)

Looking to next month’s competition, the topic is “Transportation”. The definition is “The image must show the action of transporting someone or something or the process of being transported.” I haven’t begun to think about this topic yet. Time is running out, so I need to start sooner rather than later.

Until next time, keep on pressing that shutter button!

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The Long Weekend and Image Preparation

Since my last post, Marie and I haven’t attended any workshops. We spent a “long weekend” at Noosaville on the Noosa River and a highlight was a boat trip through the Noosa Everglades. The waters are like a mirror and everything is reflected in detail. I have been posting some images from the weekend on Instagram. Here is a selection of them:

    Each month at the BCG Speakers Night, there is a digital show of images submitted by members. These images don’t have to be competition quality. They are meant to be a reflection of current work. For the show on 10 September, I submitted the following images:

Jemma

Me and My Girls

Night Lights on the River

Tanya

  Apart from our little break, this period has been quite busy. I have been preparing for the Brisbane Camera Group AGM which was held on 10 September as well as attending to a number of action items from the recent Committee meetings of the Club. Also, I have continued selecting images for possible entry to the BCG Annual Competition.

My Print Project Challenge has been developing slowly and further progress has been made. I need to create a maximum of 6 images for my entry. I now have 2 images that are well developed and 3 that a partially developed and 1 that is still back at the beginning stage. I still have time on my side but need to be careful that it doesn’t run out too quickly.

The BCG Monthly Competition wasn’t high on my list this month. As a result, I didn’t enter any images. It was more important for me to progress my Annual Competition and Print Project Challenge entries. In conclusion, here are a couple of images being considered for entry in the Annual Competition:

    Until the next post, keep on clicking!

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New Post has been published on http://www.kgsinclair.com/2018/08/seeing-where-the-light-falls/

Seeing Where the Light Falls

This month featured my first attempt at astrophotography. Brisbane Camera Group had an outing on the shores of Lake Wivenhoe and we were fortunate that the clouds parted so we could witness the Milky Way. Our club President provided guidance to those who had never done astrophotography before. The challenge is to avoid light pollution impacting on the image. Also, the full impact of the Milky Way is not evident until post production. Overall, it was a good learning experience. Here are some images from the outing:

  Circus! Circus! Circus! was the title of a Cam Attree Workshop Marie and I attended this month. It was a great opportunity to photography Lucy Luxe as the Ring Master and Pete Hartwig as the strongest man. We also had models performing on the rings which was challenging to photograph. Our models were from aerialicious – Tami Dawson & Leanne Smith. Here are some images from the workshop:

      Marie and I were fortunate to attend a studio lighting workshop run by internationally respected glamour and fashion photographer Peter Coulson. I attended his natural light workshop last year here in Brisbane and gained a lot from the experience. He has a couple of sayings that stuck in my head – the photographer’s job is to turn shit into chocolate. He also said that when socialising people ask him what his profession is. He responses by saying he is a photographer. When asked what he photographs, he responds by saying “eyes”. He says that models that can communicate with their eyes have a longer career than those who can’t.

The workshop was learning first with some time to put it into practice. The placement of the model relative to the light source and the image impact were demonstrated. A key focus was learning to see where the light falls. He advises not to get caught up in the beauty of the model, instead focus on the light and what it is doing to the image.

Here are some images taken at the workshop:

      Weather was the set subject for this month’s competition at Brisbane Camera Group. I decided to enter the open section with two prints of images taken when Marie and I visited Italy and France last year. The aim was to receive feedback on the images in readiness of preparing images for the annual competition.

One image received a merit and the other an honour, which was a very pleasing outcome. “Morning Reflections on Lake San Domenico” received the merit and the judge indicated a spot at the bottom left corner of the image that I should have removed. Also, she suggested that I removed the sky from the top of the image so that it is only shown in the reflection. “Sienna Cathedral Ceiling” received an honour with no feedback on improvement. Here are the images:

Morning Reflections on Lake San Domenico – Merit

Sienna Cathedral Ceiling – Honour

  My Print Project Challenge entry is progressing slowly. During the month I have taken more images as my ideas develop and take shape. A couple of images taken as part of these shoots have been shared on Instagram. These are not in the format they will take for the Print Project – they were just a bit of fun. Here are the images:

  With the closing date for the BCG annual competition getting closer and closer, I have started to develop a short list of possible images I will enter. My plan is to enter prints only this year. The Annual Competition is made up of six subjects: Pictorial Monochrome, Pictorial Colour, Nature, People, Creative / Experimental, and Social Documentary / Photojournalism. I plan to enter at least 4 of the subjects at a minimum. If I have images that satisfy Nature or Social Documentary / Photojournalism, then I will enter these also.

Until the next post, keep on clicking!

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New Post has been published on http://www.kgsinclair.com/2018/07/learning-from-amazing-images/

Learning from Amazing Images

Wow! What a month for photography exhibitions. Marie and I attended the Queensland Camera Group Print Project challenge exhibition. The quality of the entries from the members was very high and it was easy to spend time there getting lost in the images. Some of the techniques used were thought provoking for our own work.

The Professional Photographers Association of Queensland (PPAQ) Print Exhibition was the first time they had held such an event. It showcased the work of their members. Again it was easy to get lost in the images. We also spent time discussing various images with the makers and they were very happy to share tips and techniques with us.

We were confronted with many images that expanded our world view and showed some of the pain and suffering in the world today when we attended the World Press Photography Awards exhibition. We were struck by the power of photo journalism to tell a story in a single image. I wonder how these photographers can spend time in these environments and not come away with their lives being impacted by what they have witnessed and lived through to gather the images they made.

Our home club, Brisbane Camera Group, was the organiser and host of the Queensland Interclub Audio Visual Competition which is held every two years. Marie and I attended the awards evening where every Audio Visual submitted was played and the winners announced. This was a different way of seeing images and was very enjoyable. The quality of work was very good. A key to having an effective Audio Visual is being able to tell a story that holds the attention of the audience. This requires both well captured images and a suitable soundtrack.

Marie and I attended an Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Workshop run by Ash Kashyap to improve our skills with this software. We came away having learned new ways to process our images. For me, I enjoy seeing someone else’s workflow as there is usually something I can take and use in my own workflow to improve my images more effectively.

The second Adrian Lowe Workshop was held recently. Adrian is the creator of the SMARTS process of evaluating an image. His talks are about learning about yourself and how you impact your photography. Using this knowledge, you learn to create images that are unique to you. That way you will stand out from the crowd and have your own style.

Construction was the topic of our July monthly competition. I submitted two DPIs taken with my mobile phone. One image had some work done on it to make it appear more “surreal”. The other was a more natural representation of the scene. The judge for the month was Melissa Anderson, an AIPP qualified judge who I have a great deal of respect for. My “surreal” image received an acceptance and the key take away was the treatment I had applied had confused the colour palette and there were aspects in the image that made it hard to know what the focus point of the image was. The other image received a Merit which I was very pleased about. The images appear below.

Preparing to Lay a Floor (Merit)

Under Construction (Acceptance)

  I am still making slow progress with my Print Project Challenge entry. I purchased a couple more props for the shoot which should help. Last weekend I captured a few images of my nephew and his girlfriend for possible inclusion in the project. It was a lot of fun and I’m hoping I can make some of the images work into the story line. Here are a couple of images from the shoot.

  My Instagram activity has been modest this last month. I have called up some older images and worked on them before posting. A few new images were also featured. They have been a mixture of portraits and other images. Here are a couple of images for you to enjoy.

  Until next post, keep on clicking!