Nigel Heffers Heard visits us from deepest Devon next Wednesday with his talk entitled "The Eternal Amateur".

The talk includes images from small town America, book covers, aeroplanes at Yeovilton, musicians and everyday portraits of characters found in every town as well as a wide variety of images taken in Devon & Cornwall. The theme running throughout the evening promises to be one of telling stories by taking photos to record what the world is all about.

Please follow this link to download the minutes of this year's BPS AGM.

 

A couple of points were raised at the AGM which you will see in Item 6 of the minutes; one was the fact that the new door closer fitted to the clubroom entrance door was causing problems (due to its stiffness), it has now been adjusted and is working OK.

 

The second was a suggestion made by David Southwell; David had requested that Council look into the possibility having the door into the main store cupboard moved so that entry to the store would be gained through a new doorway in the main entrance lobby; this is to avoid disturbing members seated near the existing door when access is required to the store during meetings. As a result of this request a detailed drawing and specification were prepared and a quotation obtained for the works involved; the value of that quotation is £1600. Council felt this to be too high a cost relative to the benefits that would be derived by a comparatively small number of members.
In addition to the cost aspect, the subject of security was raised. Some members may not be aware of the fact that the entrance lobby is not only used by BPS, all the owners of the other flats in the building also have access to the lobby for gas & electric meter reading which means that a standard lightweight internal door would not be acceptable and a secure lock such as is fitted to the door leading from the lobby to the clubroom would be required. This in itself is no major problem and has been built into the quotation; however it has not been uncommon to find that the existing store door has not been locked after use, which would present a significant risk in the new configuration.
A third factor to be borne in mind is that at present there is a cupboard in the lobby where the new doorway would be formed, which would have to be removed. It is full with 50-60 glazed picture frames which are used when BPS hold external exhibitions, these would need to be stored somewhere which in itself would create another problem.
 
As a result, Council have decided that the benefits are too small to justify the expense and the added risk.

Last weekend saw the annual PAGB Projected Image Competition being held at Warwick. 36 clubs from across the UK attended with BPS representing the WCPF along with Plymouth Camera Club and The Zen Photographic Group.

The competition was divided into 2 preliminary rounds followed by the "Plate" and then the Final. Round 1 consisted of 8 images, Round 2 of 8 new images and both scores were added together to declare the result. The highest scoring 8 clubs contested the Final; the remaining clubs contested the Plate Competition. The Plate Competition consisted of 8 images, of which 4 may have been used in previous rounds. The Final consisted of 20 images, of which 10 may have been used in previous rounds (you will be tested on these figures next Wednesday!).

Many thanks to all BPS members who provided images, all of which helped us to gain a very creditable 6th place overall, which means that we automatically qualify for next year's contest. In addition to the good showing of the Society, The Best Image in the Championship and winner of the Practical Photography Trophy and a PAGB Gold Medal was Val Duncan with her image - At the Ballet

Full results below:

 

The Clubs and their Federations		Round 1	Round 2	Total R1&2	FINAL
Wigan 10 Foto Club	L&CPU	107	99	206	267
Chorley PS	L&CPU	103	95	198	256
Arden Photographic Group	MCPF	102	103	205	255
Smethwick Photographic Society	MCPF	102	102	204	255
Dumfries Camera Club	SPF	99	96	195	247
Bristol Photographic Society	WCPF	96	99	195	239
Cannock Photographic Society	MCPF	99	96	195	233
Rolls-Royce (Derby) PS	N&EMPF	100	94	194	227
					PLATE
Inn Focus Group	WPF	93	97	190	104
Beyond Group	EAF	95	94	189	101
Dundee Photographic Society	SPF	97	94	191	101
Southampton Camera Club	SF	90	97	187	101
Zen Photographic Group	WCPF	91	94	185	100
Derby City Photographic Club	N&EMPF	91	87	178	99
Plymouth Camera Club	WCPF	87	100	187	98

 

Individual BPS members' scores:

 

Title	Author	R1	R2	Final
At the Ballet	Val Duncan		15	15
Snow Goose Landing	John Chamberlin		14	13
Incoming Tide	John Chamberlin			13
Working together	Greg Duncan			13
Early Snow on Wyoming Range	Greg Duncan		13	12
An Alien Romance	Val Duncan		12	12
Memories	Barry Mead	13		12
Wet Cold Snow	Greg Duncan	13		12
Gull feeding on flies at MonoLake	Val Duncan	12		12
Who's Ball	Jeff Hargreaves	12		12
Fly on Woolly Bear	Ann Mead			12
Going for the Basket	Val Duncan			12
Ballet Dancers	Derwood Pamphilon			12
Final Charge	Barry Mead			12
Shady Dealer	Ann Mead			12
Welcome	Barry Mead	13		11
Royal Terns Displaying	Peter Smith	12		11
Buscott-Trees	Neil McCoubrey			10
The Encounter	Keith Wood			10
The Future of Warfare	Barry Mead			10
One Eye on the Ball	Jeff Hargreaves		12
Jackal Pair Scavenging	John Chamberlin		11
The Omen	Barry Mead		11
Red in the Pocket	Greg Duncan		11
Terrace View	John Chamberlin	11
Dune Tree	John Chamberlin	10
	Total	96	99	239

Members are reminded that the closing date for this year's TSPC is almost upon us, Wednesday 31 July. If you have any queries regarding this competition I'm sure that David or Patsy Southwell will be more than happy to answer them for you - they can be reached either by phone: 0117 960 2113 or email: david@vizion2000.net