Leo Rich DPAGB APAGB EFIAP/g ARPS: Wednesday's talk is based on Leo's experiences in going Digital, humorously entitled "The Idle Rich - Sliding into Digital" This might be the only laugh you will get when you see the results of his moving into this new genre. At least it will reassure those who are also struggling with Projected Digital Images that there are those who are even less able than themselves. He is one of the few people who has been able to replicate his inability to take quality slides into doing the same in the Digital World. The evening will cover many subjects with a sizable chunk coming from his visit to India in 2013. Why not visit Leo's website to see example of his work.

Advanced warning, 27 January is the closing date for Round 3 of the Print Competition when the judge will be David Lingham FRPS. Please put your prints in the box beneath the Presidents' board at the front of the clubrooms. Full competition rules can be found in your BPS Handbook on pages 22 et seq.

Not everybody who entered the last round has collected their prints, these are still in the box and could well be heading for that great shredder in the sky if not collected!

Any queries, as usual, to David Aldersion (printcompetitions@bristolphoto.org.uk)

A reminder that DPIC will be held at the Corn Exchange, Market Street, Exeter, EX1 1BW on Sunday 7 February from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Doors open from 9:30am for refreshments.
Tickets are available from the Corn Exchange ticket office telephone 01392 665 938 or online at www.exetergov.uk/cornexchange. The hall has tiered seating with good viewing from all positions. There is a coffee lounge, an induction loop system and disabled access.
This is a competition between all clubs in the Western Counties (WCPF) region and BPS usually does well, the top clubs go forward to represent WCPF at the national PAGB Championship at Warwick in July. It would be great to see a large contingent og BPS members travelling down the M5 on the 7th to support the club.
To buy tickets, go to the Corn Exhange website.

Andy Hoang, the manager at our neighbours Calumet, has recently joined the ranks of BPS members. Andy is holding a test shoot on 21 January, this will involve high end lighting equipment provided by Broncolor, who is a leading manufacturer of studio lighting equipment. There will be light shaping tools such as the Broncolor 222 parabolic which gives a powerful light.  He will be using these tools in conjunction with the Broncolor Scoro S pack which can freeze movement whilst still maintaining the light consistency.
There will be an international published stylist as well as a nationally recognised hair/makeup artist. Models will be provided by the Mustard models agency which is pretty reputable in the model game.
The theme will be salmon pink which is one of the colours of 2016 (heaven help us!).
This will mainly be a test shoot for Andy (working at Calumet, the lucky beggar has access to these things!) but he would like to invite any of our members to view the product in action. If they were keen to learn more or even have a hands-on workshop than he could organise one later on in the year.
The shoot will be taking place between 10am and 3pm on the 21st and anyone is welcome to come along.

Fellow photographers will be saddened to hear that John Gray FRPS has died in Cardiff at the age of 83. During  2015 he learnt that he had terminal cancer but faced the inevitable outcome with great bravery and he was keen to talk about photographic issues right to the very end.
Most of his working life was spent at Rolls Royce as a compressor designer, first in Cardiff and then at Filton near Bristol. He was a member at one time of Bristol PS before he became a long standing and highly respected member of Cam and Dursley CC. On retirement he returned to Cardiff where he became a member of the local club.
John's talents were many (in his early years he was a racing cyclist) but he will be best remembered in the photographic world for his highly creative images which enjoyed huge success in the 1980's and 90's. and for which he has awarded the Fellowship of the RPS. He won award after award for his high impact creations which were technically perfect. He developed his own techniques of copying slides through textured plastic to create 'impressions' and of projecting slide images into puddles of water which led to their distortion and the creation of many unusual effects. He was rightly proud of an exhibition of his prints displayed at the RPS in Bath in 2012. In his retirement he enjoyed travelling and produced many fine images on these journeys.
John was an eloquent speaker and delivered many absorbing talks to local clubs where he was in great demand. He always explained in detail how he had achieved his images and listeners were left in awe of his technical expertise. John also turned his design skills to making many beautiful objects in wood where his patience and skill again shone through.
Above all, John will be remembered as  a highly respected man of great charm and courtesy who had a wonderful creative mind which was particularly expressed in his photography. He will be sorely missed by his wife and family but also by his many photographic friends and acquaintances who were truly privileged to have known him.

John Chamberlin FRPS

John Hudson sent me the following:

 

 

Below is John's photo

 

The Photography Show is again taking place at NEC Birmingham in 2016. The dates are from 19-22 March. The organisers have confirmed the line-up for The Live Stage and Behind the Lens, both of which are included in the entry price.
The Live Stage will host a range of experts, demonstrating the techniques behind taking unique images in a variety of environments, from posing new-borns to capturing the illusion of magic and fun at the circus. Food Photographer, William Reavell, will appear, presenting styling tips for beautiful food photography. Other speakers will include Street Photographer, Matt Hart, on photography as therapy, Fashion Photographer, Steve Howdle, on syncing flash at high speed and Vicki Churchill, on turning the everyday into the spectacular. Melanie East will share her tips about photographing babies.
Behind the Lens will see a range of professionals leading sessions covering everything from wildlife to travel to landscape and more. Ram Shergill, known for photographing public figures such as Amy Winehouse and Dame Judi Dench, will give insight into working with designers in the world of fashion. Paul Colley will reveal the art of successful underwater photography, and Ian Cook will look at sports photography in the modern era. Tom Stoddart is a photojournalist whose work includes poignant images of situation of crisis, who will tell audiences about his own photography.
The Photography Show offers something for everyone. The exhibitor line-up includes Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Olympus, Fujifilm, Sony, Leica, Manfrotto, Blackmagic, Epson, Ricoh Imaging, Serif and many more.
Book your tickets here and remember to use promotion code PAGBTPS16 to claim a special PAGB discount. (Choose your tickets and enter the promotion code just before you pay).

Only just over one week left for free entry into the Bristol Salon.

 

Entrants can submit up to 16 images across 4 sections (Open, Monochrome, Photo Travel and Nature) which are put before a panel of selectors who pick the top 25% or so to be accepted. Entry for BPS members is free as long as we receive your entry before 24 January, after that you will have to pay the full fee.
 
To help you with your entry I've prepared a small tutorial that can be downloaded by following this link. When entering, be sure to tick the box on the first page of the entry system to say that you are a BPS member and fill in your BPS membership number which you will find at the top of this email; when you get to the payment page at the end, click ALREADY PAID. Your Confirmation email will still show what fee would be due (if you were not a BPS member), but as long as you click ALREADY PAID you will not be receiving a knock on the door from a debt collection heavy!
 
Here's hoping that we see a rush of entries, but in the meantime if you have any queries, feel free to email me at chairman@bristolsalon.co.uk
 
Full details can found on the BPS website http://www.bristolphoto.org.uk/.
 
All the best
 
Pete Howell & the Salon Team

Lacock Abbey - ‘Iceland, an Uneasy Calm’ is a series of photographs taken in Iceland over the last eight years by Tim Rudman who is acknowledged as one of the very finest landscape photographers working today. This stunning collection will be exhibited at the Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock, Britain’s birthplace of photography, from 9 January to 10 July.

 

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.

 

 

 

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