Coromandel Peninsula NZ by Dave Brooker
Cranleigh Camera Club was established in the 1960s and currently has around forty members of various photographic abilities.
29 October – An enjoyable and informal evening reviewing images for the club challenge Some like it hot. As may be expected, members treated the subject in various ways although one or two images could have been deemed as tenuous interpretations of the challenge to say the least! Common themes were: chilli peppers (most popular), naked flames, steam, volcanic activity, smoke and locations in hot climates.
5 November – Photographer Paul Graber gave an excellent presentation Why do we still shoot monochrome? In the old days one had to choose black and white or colour film and you were then stuck with the result. Despite expectations that monochrome might die out in the digital era it still remains hugely popular. He investigated the reasons for this by discussing some iconic images from the twentieth century before moving on to a selection of his own images and discussing how best to process pictures to obtain good monochrome capturing the mood the photographer wishes to convey. He uses Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to do this with the help of additional software including Nik and Topaz AI. After the interval Paul gave a live demonstration of his monochrome conversion techniques using some pictures sent to him earlier by Cranleigh camera club members.
12 November – David Smith, SPA Chairman, returned to the club this season to judge our 2nd PDI Colour open and set subject (Culinary) competitions. He gave an excellent critique of the 34 entries, equally split between the open and set subject sections, and awarded a maximum score of 10 to two images in each competition. In addition two images in the open and one in the set subject were awarded 9.5. Congratulations to Pete Baldrey and Chris Flood for their winning entries in the open (Natalia and Street portrait of an elderly man) and to Angela Karney and Ann Smith (Mixed spices and Spaghetti) in the set subject competitions.
Gannets – Mating Pair _ Swales Parry
19 November – Presentation: Around the world in 66 days. Dave Brooker, ex-CCC chairman and honorary club member, gave a photographic insight of his 2019 trip. While he originally planned an AV presentation, broadband speed issues while using Zoom meant he had to revert to a slideshow. This late change did not distract from the quality of the fine photography on show and the very interesting subjects and places visited. His tour started in Dubai before moving on to Singapore, New Zealand (North and South islands), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Hawaii, and finally the USA (San Francisco and New York). We were entertained with a wonderful selection of spectacular landscapes interspersed with indigenous flora and fauna and interesting architecture and iconic landmarks, which no doubt will have whet many members’ appetites for putting some of the places he visited on their own photography bucket list.
3 December – There were 32 entries for our second PDI Mono competition with 16 images in the open and 16 for the set subject Culinary. The SPA judge David Eastley LRPS gave an excellent critique. In the set subject he awarded a maximum score of 10 to the image from Miles Thompson (Fruit on a plate) and a 10 in the open to the image from Chris Flood (Street portrait of a man with an interesting face). He also awarded 9.5 points to two further images, one from each section. After the competition we held an EGM to formally elect the new Chairman – Ed Hull and Vice chairman – Chris Flood.
10 December – This year, owing to Covid-19 restrictions, we held our 2020 Christmas party using Zoom. Sitting in the comfort of our armchairs with our party hats on, we began with a slide show of members’ Christmas images. This was followed by our quiz master John Warbrick’s annual quiz and he was obviously intent on testing our brain cells somewhat. Mike Harrison scored the highest thereby demonstrating he is not only a good photographer but a walking encyclopaedia as well! In keeping with tradition, the Chairman announced the subject for the Chairman’s Challenge: Minimilism. Up to 3 images to be reviewed at our 29 April 2021 meeting. For those unsure of this genre of photography there is a very good article on the web by Sarah Wilkerson – 9 tips for beautifully minimalist photos.
