CLUB NEWS - EVENTS
GCC MEMBERS CLUB NIGHT 22/03/23 – NAUTICAL THEME & TEAM CHALLENGE PRESENTATION
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In preparation for the next set-subject theme, the evening was kicked off by Denise who presented a fantastic range of sail boat photographs captured by herself and Tom. The shots, mostly taken from being on the water, showed all the action of competitors usually participating in sailing competitions on Corio Bay.
Whilst much of the photography featured action, some images show-cased the serenity and calmness that can be enjoyed in sailing. It was not just about the boats as sailors were captured in various forms of activity as well as photographs of artifacts that are nautical.
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After fielding some questions from the floor, the next part of the evening was devoted to the Team Challenge presentation. Two weeks prior, photographers went to one of four locations - Barwon Heads, Geelong Library, Eastern Beach and Torquay - to attempt the 10 photo challenges assembled by David R.
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In excess of 150 photos were displayed from 18 photographers who wanted to be challenged. A wonderful array of imagery met the brief and a large proportion of photographers were able to create images to meet all 10 challenges. Amazing to see the similarities of images but also the differences captured in the same location.
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An informal chat was held with the participants to understand the why's and wherefores of their image making on the evening.
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GCC BIRDS & NATURE SIG OUTING 18/03/23 – YOU YANGS
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An intrepid mob of bird and nature photographers gathered at the You Yangs Visitors Centre. We were very glad that we had arranged to meet early as it was going to be a hot, blustery day.
After convening, a lot of discussion was had about equipment with the inevitable chat about ‘how big is yours?’
A briefing and map distribution was held by Sue before the group scattered to close by locations: Big Rock, up the top and to small dams to find birds and other critters.
The birds were a bit elusive but some photographers managed to capture some images. Some chose to seek invertebrates and crawl through the undergrowth to capture some ‘bugs’.
Those who braved the conditions had a friendly first outing for the new SIG. We all look forward to many more.
Some images will be shown at the next club-room meeting on April 18 at 7.30pm. Check the SIG Facebook page for further details.
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GCC MEMBERS CLUB NIGHT 15/03/23 – Guest Speaker Paul Rushworth
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The evening was devoted to our guest speaker Paul Rushworth, a Werribee Open Range zookeeper and a photographic enthusiast.
Paul introduced us to his background being raised in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia and showed us pictures of his time growing up and living with nature and as well as showing us the dramatic landscape of the highlands and escarpments.
Moving to New Zealand and then arriving in Australia, he has spent a decade at the Werribee Zoo pursuing his wild-life passion following on in his father’s footsteps who was one of Africa’s early park rangers and a pioneer in wildlife education.
During the evening, Paul, also a passionate bird-watcher, presented a large array of exemplary photographs of bird-life along with some African wildlife and flora. Besides some of the usual techniques of bird photography, he informed us that on the odd occasion he has climbed trees to get the shot but more recently has been using a drone. After gaining special permission from the Zoo, it seems that the local bird population ignore the device probably under the presumption it’s just another bird.
A very informative evening filled with some great inspirational photography that was concluded with a Q&A session and several private conversations with Paul afterwards.
GCC MARCH COMPETITION MEETING 01/03/23
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The club competition, held on 1st March for Open Prints, Open EDI's and Altered Reality EDI's), was adjudicated by guest judge Sam Mariani whose interests are Travel and African wildlife.
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Sam is from Melbourne and a member of the Preston Photographic Club and is very well traveled to parts of Australia, Europe, Africa and Asia.
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During the judging, Sam remarked on keeping an eye on the foreground and in particular, remove any negative space that will detract from the main subject. Further, watch out for the contrast levels and depth of colours as sometimes these will need to be increased to remove "flatness" and give the image more dynamic range.
At the end of the judging, Sam gave a presentation of his photographs from India, particularly street and portrait scenes which were predominately in black & white. Those in colour demonstrated how colourful India is for photographic endeavors.
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Congratulations to all the winning entries on the night which comprised of a considerable number of excellent images as usual. The winning images can be viewed on the websites Gallery page.
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