Archived Meeting & Competition Reports (2019-20 Season)

Down to: February January December November October September

March 2020

17 March 2020 onwards

All meetings from March 17th until the end of the season were cancelled due to the Corona Virus 🙁

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10 March 2020: Critique evening – DPIs

Our third evening for DPI critiques featured the subject “Weather”. There was also an “Open” section. Our judge for the evening was Sue Chapman ARPS CPAGB.

During the first half, Sue critiqued the “Weather” images. Sue had expected lots of cloud formations, and was pleasantly surprised to see quite a wide range of images encompassing weather. She was quick to offer praise where due, and suggestions for improvement.

Sue gave first place to “Rainwater Standing” by Aliy Fowler. “Stormy Seas” also by Aliy was second, with Peter Riley third with “Wet Day in Whitstable”.

After the break, there plenty of “Open” images for Sue to critique. She was really torn between two images, but finally chose “Museum of the Moon” by Aliy Fowler, with “Peace and Tranquillity” by Denise Smith in second place. Steve Roberts LRPS was third with “Egg and Wine Glass”.

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03 March 2020: Members’ evening – practical

This week, members had the opportunity to take photos at the club. Our subject for the evening was Portraits, and many of the members brought studio equipment along. A family member of one of our members came along as a model, and some members even donned their modelling hats!

It was a great, fun evening, with everyone chatting and helping each another. Much was learnt and many excellent images were taken.

February 2020

25 February 2020: Home Battle vs Faversham & District Camera Club

This week, Herne Bay club invited Faversham & District Camera Club for a friendly, inter-club battle. Both clubs provided 10 prints and 10 DPIs, and our judge for the evening was June Sharpe ARPS.

June was tasked with critiquing the prints in the first half. Herne Bay won this section with the very close score of 177 to Faversham’s 176. Top scorers were “If you go Down to the Woods Today” by Aliy Fowler and “Major” by Colin Winch, which both scored 20 points each.

In the second half, June judged the DPIs. This time Herne Bay was soundly beaten by Faversham, 168 points to 183. Herne Bay’s top scorers were: “Padley Gorge” by Steve Roberts LRPS (19) and “Sunflowers” by Teresa Russell (19).

The DPIs and Prints together gave Faversham a convincing win, 359 points to Herne Bay’s 345. Well done to Faversham, and we look forward to the return leg at their club next season.

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11 and 18 February 2020: Competition: Scavenger Hunt

Over the course of two weeks we ran our Scavenger Hunt, a just-for-fun digital competition, with a prize at the end, kindly provided by our judge Di Long LRPS CPAGB.

The competition consisted of ten subject categories: Deckchair(s); Something beginning with the letter H; The colour Purple; Up in the Air; A Bridge(s); The Number 13; Moss/Lichen; Door Knob(s)/Handle(s); Old Gravestone(s); and An image from Neptune Platform. Members had to provide one image for each of seven of those categories.
There was a great deal of variety across the images, with some categories being chosen by all the competitors. Di certainly enjoyed the diversity within each category, often finding it quite hard to separate the marks from one image to the next.

As always in this competition, when added up, all the scores were very close together. In fact this time, all three top places scored the same mark. Once filtered, first place went to Steve Roberts LRPS. Second place went to Aliy Fowler, and third place went to Teresa Russell. Steve’s winning images are shown below.

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04 February 2020: Talk by Dave Mason – I Shoot People

Dave Mason is a photographer who, to quote his own website, “takes great pleasure in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary”. He has a real talent for capturing the kind of humorous and surreal situations that occur frequently yet fleetingly on our streets.

Presenting an abundance of images which bore testament to his ability to find photographic potential where most of us would walk on by, Dave gave us an extremely enjoyable evening full of images both fascinating and funny!

If you missed the evening or wish to see more of his work, his website has several galleries of his images: www.davemasonimages.com

January 2020

28 January 2020: Competition – Print Panels

Kirsty Ralfs ARPS QGP was the judge for our annual Print Panel Competition, held this week. A panel can be described as a set of images that hold together with a unifying theme. We chose to have sets of three images, and members were allowed to enter up to two sets.

It was an interesting and informative evening, with Kirsty offering a very full and in-depth critique of all of the images during the first half, and then of each complete panel after the break.

At the end of the evening, Kirsty gave first place to Eileen Wilkinson ARPS, CPAGB, AFIAP, with her panel titled: “Tribute to Anna Atkins”. Second place went to Steve Roberts ARPS with “Stone and Glass”, and “Me, Me, Me” by Sean Knight was third.

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27 January 2020: Away Battle vs Isle of Thanet Photographic Society

This year, Herne Bay club was invited to the Isle of Thanet (IoT) club for a friendly, inter-club battle. Both clubs provided 12 prints and 12 DPIs, and our judge for the evening was Paul Adams ARPS DPAGB FDPS.

Paul was tasked with critiquing the DPis in the first half. Herne Bay’s top scorers were “Beachy Head” by Peter Riley, “Quiet Contemplation” by Denise Smith, and “At the End of the Day” by Steve Roberts LRPS, which all scored 19. Herne B won the round, 209 points to IoT’s 206.

In the second half, Paul judged the Prints. Herne Bay managed one 20: “If you go Down to the Woods Today” by Aliy Fowler; and three 19s: “Marching Across the Landscape” by Steve Roberts LRPS, “Danny Ayres Trailing Dust” by Sean Knight, and “Flood on the Marsh” by Eileen Wilkinson ARPS, CPAGB, AFIAP BPE1*. Herne Bay scored 213 points to IoT’s 209.

The DPIs and Prints together gave Herne Bay a convincing win, 422 points to IoT’s 415. Well done to us, and we look forward to the return leg at Herne Bay next season.

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21 January 2020: Talk by Leanne Bracey – From Start to Present

Leanne Bracey gave a very interesting account of her life journey into photography, ending up as a Picture Editor for national and consumer magazines. Leanne has directed and produced photoshoots for ‘Harper’s Bazaar’, ‘Psychologies’, ‘Men’s Health’ and ‘Sainsbury’s Magazine’.

However, Leanne didn’t start taking her own photos till quite recently, starting in 2009 with a “little plastic Lomo”. She put on an exhibition in Whitstable in 2010 and was then invited to be part of a group exhibition. It’s what led her to meet a brilliant photographer who introduced her to the Voigtlander Bessa camera.

Since then, Leanne has travelled the world taking photos. “The variety of life and cultures on the world’s streets is inspiring,” she says. However travelling to these places has reignited her love of writing – in her words: “I also love to document what I’m hearing, smelling and seeing with words.”

As of 2019, Leanne is Food Picture Editor for ‘The Sunday Times Magazine’, a role that allows her to work with a fabulous editorial team, world renowned food photographers and food and prop stylists. She also shoots ‘My Life My Way’ features for Psychologies Magazine, a job she absolutely loves.

To illustrate her talk, Leanne showed a number of the images she had either organised or taken herself, and showed how these were then fitted into the editorial on the page.

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14 January 2020: Critique evening – Prints

Our third evening for print critiques featured the subject “Mono”. There was also an “Open” section. Our judge for the evening was June Sharpe ARPS.

During the first half, June critiqued the “Mono” images, which were quite wide-ranging. She offered praise and suggestions for improvement, her keen sense of humour often coming to the fore.

June gave first place to “At the End of the Day” by Steve Roberts LRPS. “In the Centre” by Denise Smith was second, and on his first day as a member of the club, Barry Parnell was third with “Eye to Eye” (image not provided).

After the break, June had a wide selection of “Open” images to critique. In first place, she chose “Grizedale Forest” by Steve Roberts LRPS , followed in second place by “The Art of Imperfection” by Eileen Wilkinson ARPS, CPAGB, AFIAP BPE1*. In third place was “Leaf Alone” by Gill Best-Knight.

June also chose to give Highly Commended to both of Colin Winch’s images – “Herne Bay Helter Skelter at Sunrise” and “Misty Morning”.

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07 January 2020: Members’ Evening

For the first week of the New Year, members were given the opportunity to reverse roles and sit as judges. The evening was organised by Eileen Wilkinson ARPS, CPAGB, AFIAP BPE1*, who provided a set of random images for members to critique.

It was a chance for members to discuss images, none of which belonged to members, and offer their own suggestions about how they would change/improve them.

After the break, members were offered a new set of images, and were asked to score them. There was then discussion on which images members liked and disliked. An entertaining evening where everyone had their say!

December 2019

3 and 10 December 2019: Members’ evenings

On 3 December, members enjoyed a quiz evening. Chairman Peter Riley was the quiz master, his daughter Liz operated the laptop, and members divided into three teams. We had party nibbles at the break, and it was a great, fun-filled evening for everyone.

On 10 December, we had our Christmas meal at The Heron, Herne Bay. It was good for everyone to meet purely on a social level to chat and enjoy each other’s company. We had a great meal and all looked forward to coming back together in January.

November 2019

26 November 2019: Critique evening – Prints

We had the second of our print critique evenings, this time with the subject “Nature”. There was also an “Open” section. Our judge for the evening was Tony Bentley ARPS CPAGB.

In the first half, Tony took a leisurely run through the “Nature” images, with images ranging from animals and birds, to butterflies and rocks. He offered praise and encouragement in equal measure, all delivered in his usual gentle but amusing manner.

Tony gave first place to “Otter” by Sean Knight. “Common Bonnet Mushroom” by Steve Roberts LRPS was second, and third was Amaryllis by Volker Joffkandt.

After the break, Tony was presented with a wide selection of “Open” images. He chose “Dog Legs” by Gill Best-Knight as his favourite, followed in second place by “Rover 100 Wing Mirror” by Steve Roberts LRPS. Third was “Golitha Falls, Bodmin” by Eileen Wilkinson Eileen Wilkinson ARPS, CPAGB, AFIAP BPE1*.

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19 November 2019: Home Battle vs Whitstable Photographic Group

For the first time, we hosted a battle with Whitstable Photographic Group. Both clubs provided 10 prints and 10 DPIs, and our judge for the evening was Paul Adams ARPS DPAGB FDPS.

Paul was tasked with critiquing the prints in the first half. Herne Bay secured one of only two 20s awarded (‘The Arch as Kingsgate Bay’ by Clare Edmonds), and also a 19 (‘If you go Down to the Woods Today’ by Aliy Fowler). However, Whitstable won the round, 184 points to Herne Bay’s 167.

In the second half, Paul judged the DPIs. Herne Bay managed four 19s: ‘Lost in a Concrete Jungle’ by Steve Roberts; ‘Walls and Spaces’ by Denise Smith; ‘The Moon over the Bay’ by Clare Edmonds and ‘Beachy Head Lighthouse’ by Peter Riley, securing a win, 177 points to Whitstable’s 176.

However, this was not enough overall, with Whitstable winning the battle 360 points to Herne Bay’s 344. Well done to Whitstable, and we look forward to the return leg away to Whitstable next season.

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12 November 2019: Talk by Janine Ball – Composite tips and tricks

Janine Ball gave a most interesting and inspiring talk on composites. She began by explaining the meaning: the blending of two or more images to create one final image. This definition makes compositing sound quick and easy, and sometimes it is.

She said that changing a sky or adding a tree should be considered a composite, and can be done relatively quickly. However, often, a number of elements or layers are added to create one image, which in turn requires many hours of photography and post-processing work to complete a final piece.

Janine used the first half she talked about gathering the individual elements she used. She often uses her phone to take images of interesting objects (cheaper than buying them!), blank backgrounds, every-day items, and textures. She also said it was important to have a good filing system for images to keep track of the different elements that may be used.

She said depth of field was important, and elements should always be sharp – if needed, they could be blurred later. She suggested using the same lens for composite elements, and it was helpful to get the same light levels and tones, check for reflections, and avoid difficult perspectives.

In the second half of her talk, Janine showed some of her composite images and showed the different elements she had used, and how she had put them together. She mentioned that titles were very important and could change the meaning of an image. She said she often got her initial ideas from proverbs, song titles and even well-used phrases.

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5 November 2019: Members’ Critique Evening (Abstract / Open) – DPIs

This week’s meeting was a critique evening for DPI with a subject of “Abstract”. There was also an “Open” section. Our judge for the evening was June Sharpe ARPS. Abstract is a ‘pet’ subject for June, so she gave us an extremely helpful critique of all the images, but with a very amusing spin.

June gave first place to “Squares” by Denise Smith. “Autumn Sycamore Leaf” by Frank Bowman was second, and third place went to “Out of This World” by Eileen Wilkinson. June also gave a Highly Commended to “Mid Channel Calm” by Bernard Neal, and a Commended to “Appealing” by Volker Jottkandt.

After the break we had the “Open” section, which, as always, featured a highly diverse array of images. June gave first place to “Tranquility at Dusk” by Eileen Wilkinson. Second place went to “Cor Look at all Them Birds” by Kevan Ford, and third place to “Standing Alone” by Clare Edmonds.

October 2019

29 October 2019: Members’ Practical Evening (Still Life)

Members had a most enjoyable hands-on practical evening, taking images of items that fitted on a table top. It was nice to see an eclectic mix of objects to photograph: from violins to Lego men! What was especially good was the interaction between members, with people helping one another, discussing shots, and generally chatting among themselves.

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22 October 2019: Talk by Paul Adams ARPS DPAGB FDPS

Paul Adams is a member of Bexleyheath Photographic Society and is also General Secretary to the Disabled Photographers’ Society. He lectures to and judges competitions at clubs all over the South East.

Paul gave us an illuminating talk entitled “Taking better photographs”. In the first half of the evening he showed us an abundance of digital images (from those taken early in his career to more recent ones) and in each case explained to us what he was trying to achieve, what worked, what didn’t and what to think about when taking photographs.

In the second half of the evening we saw more DPIs and then Paul distributed a selection of mounted prints so that we could see how the same image can be more successful as a print, and to allow us in some cases to compare mono and colour versions of the same shot.
It was an interesting and edifying evening. You can see Paul’s work on his website at: www.padamsphotography.co.uk

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15 October 2019: Critique evening (Abandoned/ Open) – Prints

This week’s meeting was a critique evening for prints with a subject of “Abandoned”. There was also an “Open” section. Our judge for the evening was Glyn Bareham LRPS CPAGB of the Invicta Photographic Club. Glyn gave us a thoroughly entertaining evening with insightful and helpful critique of all the images on display.

From the wide range of imaginative interpretations of the “Abandoned” theme Glyn awarded first place to “Unloved” by Volker Jottkandt. The second and third places went to Aliy Fowler for “The Remains of the Sea Mack” and “Faversham Creek” respectively.

The “Open” section of the evening took place after the break and featured a highly diverse and strong array of images. Glyn gave first place to “That’s why Turner loved it here” by Clare Edmonds. Second place was given to “Ten Green Bottles” by Eileen Wilkinson and third place to “1st Bend Bunching” by Sean Knight.