To: Firstname Lastname
Your BPS Membership No:
Hello, Firstname |
These last few issues of BPS in Focus have existed to a great extent because of the contributions from members. If the newsletter is to continue going through this lock down period, I am going to need contributions, so if you have anything you think other members would like to know about, such as special on-line events or exhibitions, photographic hints, tips and tricks, etc. please let me know at the usual address: bpsnewsletter@bristolphoto.org.uk
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Firstly, I must correct the date I was given for the meeting, it is in fact next Monday, 6 April and not 6 March as stated in the last edition.
DI (Zoom) meeting – 6 April 2020
From the last newsletter, Special Issue of 30 March, you will know that the DI meeting as programmed for 6 April will go ahead, not in the clubroom but online using Zoom conferencing software. Apologies about the wrong date given in there. I hope those who are not familiar with Zoom will have had a chance to join trial sessions which were published in that newsletter. There is still a chance to try out on Saturday at 15:00 hrs. using the link below.
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/300264035
Meeting ID is the last 9 digits i.e. 300264035
As usual for DI meetings I had requested members to submit the images to me using my email address a.chauhan@blueyonder.co.uk . I will show them on my screen which everyone should be able to see on their screens. Also the speaker’s commentary should be audible to all if your Zoom software is set up correctly. All images will be deleted from my computer after the meeting just as they have been deleted from the club computer. As before the images should be in JPG format, sRGB colour space and for this first meeting keep the image size to 1600 x 1200 pixels as in the club competitions. The size restrictions will also allow me to receive the images as attachments within the 20 Mb limit per email. Alternatively send me via Dropbox (please send me a link to download from your computer). As I need time to arrange all images in a single folder for ease of presenting smoothly please send them to me asap but by 4 April, Saturday evening at the latest. Please prefix the filename with 01, 02, 03 etc. so that they will be shown in that order if you wish. I have received two sets of images so far and there is plenty of room for more.
A few things to note which may of help:
· Download Zoom software (www.zoom.us ) for PC or Mac or App for iPad if you have not already done so during the trials.
· Get familiar with controls for microphone and video as best as you can. These are at the bottom for PC and top for iPad.
· No webcam is necessary but if you want to speak you must have a microphone.
· On joining check the video is turned on.
· Check microphone is working if you intend to speak. It will be muted by Host for all during the meeting but turned on for the contributor when the Host is presenting his or her images.
MOST IMPORTANT – The link and details for Monday’s meeting are:
Topic: DIG - April
Time: Apr 6, 2020 07:30 PM London
Link to join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/292986927
Meeting ID: 292 986 927
See you online on Monday.
Ashwin Chauhan
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Annual Projected Image Competition |
This competition will go ahead - though not in the usual time-honoured fashion.
After discussion with the judge, Rosemary Wilman HonFRPS AFIAP BPE5*, we plan that the judges’ comments and awards will be at a meeting using the Zoom app, on the evening already scheduled for the competition that is the 20 May. The closing date for entries will remain as the 29 April, so you have plenty of time to prepare your entry.
Sheila has already judged two competitions in this way and has found it a useful way for clubs to keep their activities continuing in some manner at the present time.
Ken Clarke
competitions@bristolphoto.org.uk
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BPS member, Kevin James, thought some of the newer members (and maybe some not so new members!) might like to see this article he wrote on photographing bluebells.
Since writing this, the lock down restrictions have become much more stringent, however it could well be worth keeping the article for next year - to this end, I have attached a pdf copy of the document for you to download and keep.
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A Guide to Bluebell Photography by Kevin James
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I have been doing bluebell photography now for a few decades and thought a few hints and tips might be of help for novices, or anyone considering this in the approaching bluebell season.
- First of all, it is important to know a little about the subject you are photographing, and so a bit about bluebells seems appropriate. Bluebells come out around mid-April and last until mid-May. This can vary a week or so, depending on a hard or mild winter.
- Habitat, bluebells prefer shady places, preferably not in direct sunlight, hence why they survive best under hedgerows or in vast swathes in the woods. They will grow out in the open, however too much sun, and they wilt quickly. They need a good level of moisture in the ground to survive, we have all seen little girls picking bunches of them in the woods, only to see them wilting badly within 20 minutes.
- They are best photographed in cloudy bright light, with windspeed of less than 5mph. Also try the last week of April, when they are near their peak. A tripod is preferable, as in a wood there is not much light available. When using an aperture of F11 (for decent depth of field) and ISO of 200, exposures of half a second are common. Cloudy light reduces hard shafts of bright sunlight punching thru’ the leaf canopy, which is so bright, it burns out all it falls on. This cannot be recovered, even in raw. Sometimes shooting into the light (as the in the example above), gives good effect.
- Colour, when bluebells first come out, they are quite a dark blue. However, as time goes on, they become more of a purple colour (more red is added), this fades to a grey blue then turning white and dying, a bit like us really!
- What people don’t realise, is that while all this is going on, the leaves on trees also start to come out, and are usually fully out by mid-May. This introduces a serious colour problem, the bluebells in the wood are lit entirely by yellow light, as leaves are 90% yellow at first, finally turning green after about 6 weeks. When you get home and look at the images on your computer, they don’t stand out like you remembered them, they all look grey and flat. This is because Blue and Yellow are opposite on the colour wheel, one cancels the other out!
- The answer to this is to use a 2X blue filter when taking the pictures. However, being all digital these days, finding a stockist with a blue filter is near impossible, especially in the size filter thread you want! so a bit of “fiddling” in Photoshop is needed. This involves hitting the CNTRL+U command to get the hue and saturation window or menu up. From the drop-down menu in the window select “yellow” then reduce saturation by 25. Repeat again but using blue, increasing by 25 instead of reducing the saturation.
- I also use a photo filter layer above the image layer and set the colour to blue. Try different layer opacities, starting at around 10%. With these measures, you should see an improvement in the overall appearance of the bluebells in your image.
- Taking pictures for maximum impact
- Use a tripod because of the slow shutter speeds needed.
- Take the pictures on 5mph wind days, you can’t take pictures of bluebells swinging left and right at half a second shutter speeds and get them sharp!
- Do not have the horizon halfway up the screen, have 2 thirds bluebells or 2 thirds trees.
- Set your aperture to F11 and focus a third of the way into the scene, (use spot focusing for precision) to maximise depth of field.
- When taking a picture do not use wide angle lenses, step back 10 paces from where you were, then zoom in to get the same picture. This compresses the perspective of the scene, reducing the gaps between the flowers, giving more impact to the scene. If you do use wide angle lenses, you will find you have all greenery and only a few bluebells!
- Finally, good luck, enjoy the photography and fresh air, in these testing times.
Kevin James.
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FIAP "We Stay Home" Competition |
In light of the current "stay home" situation in which we all find ourselves, FIAP have launched a competition for pictures taken at home since the lock down. Below is a description of the competition and the rules as set out by FIAP:
Covid-19 is seriously attacking public health. Frontiers are closing, governments are asking people to stay home for preventing its expansion. This is undoubtedly an unknown situation with many social side effects. Although it may sound easy to stay home for one day or two, it can become difficult if more people are obliged to remain home for a couple of weeks or even longer. We are not used to these circumstances and we even ignore how to spend our “free” time.
FIAP is actively participating in the “We Stay Home” campaign. What better than taking pictures when you must stay home? For this reason, FIAP is announcing an international photo competition opened to all photographers of the world, with pictures taken at home during this period. The participation is without entry fees. Instead, for each photographer who participated in this special competition, FIAP is going to contribute a certain amount of money to a world organization specialized in the fight against the Corona Virus (to be advised by the World Health Organization).
The rules of this competition are as follows:
1) No entry fees.
2) One (mixed) section with both Color and B&W digital images.
3) Free subject, under the special condition for the pictures to have been taken in the place photographers are confined after the 15th of March 2020.
4) Each photographer can submit up to 4 photos. Digital files must be in JPEG format, 8 bit, RGB, with the longest side 1920 pixels, 300 dpi. Each file should not exceed 4 MB in size.
5) Each photograph must have a unique title. Words such as “Untitled” and “No Title” are not acceptable even as part of an image title, nor are camera capture filenames. Photos with any watermarks are not accepted.
7) Judging: May 8, 2020, by the FIAP Board of Directors. An entry may be rejected if it does not conform to the Contest Rules and Conditions.
8) Results: May 13, 2020. Each entrant will receive via e-mail a report card with the results of his/her submitted photos. All results will be uploaded in the website of the Contest.
9) FIAP will produce a PDF catalogue downloadable from web. FIAP may also consider publishing a photo book to commemorate this difficult period of public health worldwide, if the photos submitted are deemed suitable. In that case the authors may be requested to send their files in higher resolution.
10) FIAP will give 10 special awards. The Top Award will include the participation fee (one pax, not including the transportation cost) for the next FIAP Photo Meeting.
11) This contest is under FIAP Auspices and not under FIAP Patronage. Therefore, the participation and awards in this special contest are not eligible for FIAP Distinctions.
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Many members will remember Ross McKelvey who visited BPS in May 2017 to present his print lecture, several club members subsequently visited his studio in Belfast to attend one of his workshops. Ross has a pretty active Facebook page together with a number of Photoshop tutorials on YouTube. These tutorials cover subjects that include adding textures, cutting out, mono processing. printer settings, colour management, composites and many more - these can all be found on his YouTube channel by following this link. Tutorials last from between 2 to 25 minutes long and are easily followed and well worth watching.
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The following email has been received from FIAP
FIAP: Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique
ALERT
Dear FIAP friends, at this time of great suffering for the whole world, some vile jackal, is sending messages via email or messenger asking for money to help FIAP members arrive or return from one country or another.
WARNING DO NOT ANSWER, IS A FAKE MESSAGE.
No member of the FIAP Board of Directors and FIAP Service Directors has ever sent or will send such emails,
Thank you all for your kind cooperation.
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For those of you chomping at the bit to see how well you did in last week's quiz, fret no longer - just click on this link to download the answers.
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We have received the following from Photography News.
Photography News: Free Copy
Hi
I hope you and your members are faring well in these challenging times.
We know most clubs have stopped meeting in a physical sense with the aim of starting up again for the new season in September. This leaves us with a dilemma.
We will continue publishing Photography News during the summer, but of course if we send these out in one batch as normal these copies will be sitting in the recipient’s home for several months.
During this period of lockdown and uncertainty, we would like to offer your members copies of Photography News sent direct to them, at no cost.
I would be most grateful if you could circulate this offer and if individuals wish to take up all they need to do is email myself with PN Free Offer and your club’s name in the subject box and they will be added to the mailing list - the address is at end of this email.
The next issue is due to be sent on 17 April so the deadline for this offer is 8 April and your members can expect to get a free mailing until everything is back to normal.
Just to confirm, members’ details will only be used for this free PN offer during this difficult period and will not be used for any form of marketing or passed onto any third party.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to drop me a line.
Your sincerely
Torie Ford, on behalf of Will Cheung - Editor
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To download issue 252 of the PAGB eNews, please click here.
This is a new one: to download the latest issue of FIAP News, please follow this link.
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Make Money For BPS Every Time You Shop On Amazon! |
Now, if you so wish, each and every one of you can support BPS with every purchase you make on Amazon by using Amazon Smile. Click on the link below – then it’s self-explanatory.
It must be easy, even I managed it!
Ed
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Salon acceptances: BPS photographers are now achieving large numbers of salon acceptances and constraints on time and space mean we can't include them all. So please only advise of awards or other milestones.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not possess psychic powers and need you to tell me if you've had successes. If you want to blow your own trumpet (or someone else's), then this is the place to do it. Please let me know and I'll include details in a future issue.
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If you have anything to sell, or you're looking for something to buy, just let me know and I'll include it here. Please bear in mind, we only advertise items for BPS members.
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Would all members please note that before you plan your shoot and book your model, you should check whether the studio/clubroom will be free. This can be done easily and at any time by viewing the Clubroom Bookings calendar in the Members' Area of the BPS Website. Bookings can be made by contacting Mike Bigger at bookings@bristolphoto.org.uk.
Log in details to the Members' Area are at the end of this newsletter.
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Please don't forget that if you change your address (home or email), or gain additional photographic distinctions, it would be appreciated if you could let the Membership Secretary know so that she can keep her records up to date, this will also ensure that you continue to receive your newsletters - please email all changes to membership@bristolphoto.org.uk
The distinctions we have on record are those shown at the top of this newsletter. If they are wrong, please visit the Members' Area of the BPS website where you can register any changes using the on-line form provided; this form can also be used for change of address, email etc.
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For those of you who aren't sure what MPAGB, EFIAP/s and many more such seemingly random collections of letters mean, just click here to download the list.
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Missed a Copy of the Newsletter?
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To view past editions of this Newsletter, please click on the following link and then select the date(s) you are looking for - BPS Newsletter Archive
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BPS Website - Members' Area "Log in"
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To enter the Members' Area of the BPS website you will need the following:
Username - chatroom Password - pixels
If you have any problems getting into the Members' Area, please contact Carol, either by email: membership@bristolphoto.org.uk or by telephone: 0117 924 1338
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Bristol Photographic Society,
Unit 13, Montpelier Central, Station Rd, Bristol, BS6 5EE
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