the first merit competition of the season results are in and Simon Coats has taken and early lead in print and DPI

Mark, David & Andrew are right behind Simon and will no doubt be gunning for top spot

Following on from the Festive Holiday break, members of the Society ventured to Barby for an evening photographic science (!!) and practical demonstration, courtesy of Tony McMaster – founder of the Camera Club Live YouTube channel.

Tony has a very informative and educational YouTube channel that showcases numerous different photographic techniques through a plethora of videos recorded at his studio. During our visit, Tony delved into some of the basic and more complex theories around taking a photograph – including the differences between aperture, focal length and exposure and how it all comes together to change the way a photograph looks when captured in camera.

Different lighting techniques were demonstrated, from simple ‘Speedlight’ flash gun arrangements, to more extensive lighting set-ups including flash and constant lighting. Tony had set up two different ‘still life’ arrangements which present their own challenges when attempting to capture these images correctly in camera.

Tony demonstrated the ‘inverse square’ rule about positioning of lighting in terms of distance from the subject and the energy changes required to achieve the same level of exposure. It was all fascinating stuff and presented in Tony’s helpful and experienced manner.

In the second half of the evening, Tony utilised the second table-top still life set up to further delve into lighting, and making use of a reflector to re-direct light to enhance the exposure of an area in shadow. By taking multiple exposures and using layers in Photoshop, a simple but effective composite image was achieved with all of the subject exposed as the photographer may have intended.

Following this, members of the Society who had brought along their camera equipment were able to try their hand at capturing their own images of the table-top still life arrangements using flash equipment supplied by Tony. This included tripod users and also those brave enough to try this with their modern cameras but hand held.

Hopefully our members will share some of their images for use on the Website and Facebook pages. Our sincere thanks from Dunchurch Photographic Society to Tony McMaster and Penny for being wonderful hosts and of course giving us a great opportunity to learn, and practice. We hope to be able to visit Tony and his studio again next season. Meeting Report Compiled by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB. Secretary – DPS.

Panel Of Prints Results

1st Place Mark Ellis

Abandoned Cups

2nd Mark Ellis

Sunglasses

3rdDavid Cunnane

Silver Pocket Watch

Highly Commended Graeme Webb

Egg & Soldiers

Commended Simon Coates

Canadian Bears

Commended Ken Monk

Canons Ashby Infrared Red – Priory Church

DPS had its first ‘Around the Table’ evening last Wednesday evening and it was great fun. We hope to have more such events in the future and hope to encourage more participants.Don’t forget weeks week we have the East Midlands AV (Audio Visual) Kaliedoscope presentation. Its also the deadline for the Nature competition entries. Its for PDI and Prints so bring you best efforts and check the competitions rules on Nature images. The competition is for members only. Membership for new members is only £30 a year and that is a 50% discount!

384498719_706016331390413_6900097941905460473_n

384270499_160886467077565_1255226822878036322_n

382244649_559888899601896_7066104960390392550_n

386877455_6821011401326590_984484731481519052_n

386851301_915884389933675_5104077083111180738_n

382696446_342025651668124_3755341689481307900_n

384520233_857334642698854_4668077368557296783_n

382904536_1075994083417504_1755122792569795075_n

382533537_300190869434110_2955957626332487544_n

382508005_726310825997158_1276011099910124341_n

386889763_866311447936671_8029851642214791159_n

384523340_1386455015613949_5644681727802059466_n

386786572_1043773599981561_6945294490524966983_n

382890374_1446886489377571_165044379389142097_n

384503851_982235989501028_2422421004928335550_n

384477012_332758819222667_4321801446827849282_n

384486867_275422862127208_7021537869307123726_n

383871661_830875585156831_2219884717358056869_n

384514973_256003020764635_8360753138807221656_n

386440390_528512269471059_8758985525695359854_n

386873103_706196681554080_4651815147290733281_n

Last Wednesday night we were treated to an incredibly well supported and overwhelmingly competitive colour print competition for the Gerry Coyle Memorial Trophy.

Many, many congratulations to Simon Coates for his equine based image that earned the first placing after a tense final round of judging by our external judge, Paddy Ruske.

And well done to all of the entrants. Paddy was at pains to stress the high standard of images shown on the evening.

Highly Commended

Commended

On Wednesday 13 th September, Dunchurch Photographic Society
welcomed Ian Johnston all the way from Droitwich for an entertaining,
engaging and in places, dramatic evening all about underwater
photography. The meeting was well attended by members, who were
understandably curious to learn more about this particular niche genre of
photographic technique.
During the first half of the presentation, Ian provided a detailed overview
of the requirements to undertake such photography i.e. diving
qualifications and not least, the extent of the photographic kit involved as
well. Ian was able to provide an overview of the expensive nature of a lot
of the kit available on the market to make such photographic adventures
possible – but also offered some lower cost solutions that he had been
able to assemble and make a more cost effective experience.
Ian spoke about the locations he performs underwater and ocean
photography and generally what depth he descends to. In general, his
dives are no more than about 30 to 40m.
Throughout the evening, members of the Society were treated to Ian’s
wonderful images, from fresh water, cave diving and salt water dives.
Naturally, this featured different techniques, different light and most
interestingly different water creatures. From seals to whales, anemones
to coral and from fish to sharks. Some of the shark images were very
striking and reminiscent of a certain Spielberg film!
All in all, it was quite a unique presentation in terms of the content and
the opportunity to learn more about this type of photography and its
challenges. The members seemed to enjoy the presentation and there
was plenty of interaction between the audience and Ian in terms of
questions.
Dunchurch Photographic Society would like to thank Ian Johnston for
coming to see us and provide a fantastically informative presentation.
We wish him well in the future for his waterborne adventures!
Report compiled by David J. Bray (Secretary).

Coming up on Wednesday 7th September 2023, 7.45pm at Dunchurch WI Hall, it’s opening night of the season for Dunchurch Photographic Society. Come along and see what it’s all about… meet the members, enjoy the summer competition event, all about the pub! — Music Used under fair use – Dunchurch Photographic Society, nor ‘David’s Playlist’ make any money from this video. The music belongs to Sony.

Posted on 26/06/2023

When

WEDNESDAY, 16 AUGUST 2023 FROM 19:00-22:00

Where

Golden Lion, Main Street, Easenhall, Rugby, United Kingdom

Open to members and prospective new members to attend an evening in the company of like minded people.

Bring your camera, drone or phone as we will meet in the public house car park before heading off to have a wander around the local area to see what subjects can be found and photographed.

Around 9pm we shall reconvene at the pub for a social drink and have a chat about our experiences this evening.

These evenings are open to anyone no matter the skill level

Any Questions just drop us an email

When

WEDNESDAY, 19 JULY 2023 FROM 19:00-22:00

Where

Blue Lias Inn, Stockton Road, Stockton, Southam, United Kingdom, CV47 8LD

Open to members and prospective new members to attend an evening in the company of like minded people.

Bring your camera, drone or phone as we will meet in the public house car park before heading off to have a wander around the local area to see what subjects can be found and photographed.

Around 9pm we shall reconvene at the pub for a social drink and have a chat about our experiences this evening.

These evenings are open to anyone no matter the skill level

Any Questions just drop us an email

On Wednesday 12th April 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society held their annual awards evening and buffet at the WI Hall in Dunchurch. An evening of fun and nostalgia through a sequence of audio-visual presentations to showcase the season highlights for 2022-23. And all accompanied by a food buffet.

The evening was hosted and facilitated by the Chairman, David Bray, and awards being presented by the Society President, Adrian Canale-Parola. Photography of the awards being presented was undertaken by Andrew Swan. The Chairman would like to thank Adrian and Andrew for their input into the evening, along with Mark Ellis who arranged for a fantastic food buffet for the event.

In sequence, the awards presented were as follows –

Simon Coates Trophy – Summer Challenge Print Competition awarded to Mark Ellis.

Jack Hemming Memorial Trophy – Summer Challenge PDI Competition awarded to Jean Sutton.

Gerry Coyle Memorial Trophy – Colour Print Competition awarded to Terry Mann.

Wally Mills Trophy – Nature Print Competition awarded to David Cunnane (trophy presentation delayed for this trophy).

Toft Trophy – Nature PDI Competition awarded to David Cunnane.

Jean Sutton Novice Print Trophy – Merit Competition Novice Print Overall Winner awarded to Michael Bryan.

Jeff Bartlett Memorial Trophy – Panel Of Prints Competition awarded to David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE.

Jean Sutton Novice PDI Trophy – Merit Competition Novice PDI Overall Winner awarded to Michael Bryan.

President’s Trophy – Open Subject PDI Competition awarded to Steven Farmer.

Lanchester Trophy – Merit Competition Advanced Print Competition Overall Winner awarded to Mark Ellis.

John Hughes Trophy – Monochrome Print Competition awarded to Michael Bryan.

Walter Heath Trophy – Merit Competition Advanced PDI Competition Overall Winner awarded to David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE.

Congratulations to all of the winners of this season’s various awards and a huge thank you to all of the members who have supported Dunchurch Photographic Society over the season, and for their input of fine entries into the plethora of photography competitions. Without your input as members, we are nothing at all.

Keep up the good work… and see you next season.

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 5th April 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society held a members evening titled ‘around the table’ where items of photographic interest are showcased by the Society members. These can be camera equipment, editing software, computer related stuff etc. Anything photographic – the beauty of it is, the conversation about photography that this generates. From novice, to more advanced users, evenings like this can be valuable in terms of learning new skills, understanding different subject to try with photography or ways of capturing images and how to process them.

On this occasion, such was the level of input from our members that not only did we not get to see all of the intended content, but the meeting overran in terms of time as well! That’s positive!

During the evening, the Society Chairman, David Bray, showcased some of the recent images that had done well for him in the recent film titles Merit competition. This time, the images had been printed onto aluminium for a robust, and souvenir feel. The key difference was this the prints featured the final edit to recreate the sense of ‘movie poster’ complete with appropriate text and font used.

Elsewhere, Steven Farmer showcased the used of a traditional photographic ‘bellows’ attachment for a camera and lens giving the evening a ‘retro’ feel that was very interesting to see.

One of the highlights of the evening was an introduction to drone photography by Ian Maxwell. On show were two of Ian’s drones and members were given an overview of how to go about drone style photography and benefitting from the overhead views that this can afford the photographer. Included in all of this, Ian gave a detailed description of the basic rules and regulations surrounding drone photography – useful information for anyone looking to enter into this different world of image-capture.

If that wasn’t enough, members were treated to a flying demonstration of one of the drones.

After the tea-break interval, Mark Ellis gave the members a briefing about laptop screen and PC monitor calibration using appropriate equipment and ‘tuning’ software. People may not be aware that images can look very different in terms of colour, tone and contrast on different pieces of display equipment. As such, to help provide a consistent view, calibration of screens and monitors is going to benefit a photographer, especially one who processes their own RAW images in software such as Photoshop.

Mark continued his presentation by working through a couple of images in Lightroom (a processing software accessible from the Adobe Creative Cloud) and showcasing a number of processing techniques and workflow ideas for members to try when working through their own images. The Chairman remarked that as a Lightroom user for 8 years, there was still much to learn from watching Mark’s presentation.

Overall, it was a fascinating evening with members asking plenty of questions and involving themselves in the discussion and conversation about all things photography. And that is part of what being a member of a Photographic Society is about.

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 1st March 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society experienced the Fifty Shades Of Bray Challenge, in its third year of existence.

Following on from the successes of the last two seasons, members of the Society were invited to make their own interpretations of three RAW file images supplied by the Chairman (David Bray).

In previous years the images were critiqued in a light-hearted way by the members whilst learning a little bit more about processing techniques and composition. The twist this year was the images were judged by the Chairman as if it was a competition.

It was a thought-provoking evening where there was plenty of feedback from David about the ‘traps’ in each of his images, image composition, cropping arrangements and various different ways to edit the image.

The Results Are In… And As Follows –

Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

Small gifts were awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

The Chairman would like to thank all the members who supplied their images for this friendly event and the opportunity to try his hand at judging.

Report by Mark Ellis
Programme Secretary 2022-23

On Wednesday 22nd February 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society held the climactic and traditionally hard fought 3rd Round of the 2022-23 season Merit Competition. The set theme for this final round was the challenging ‘Architecture.’ After a marathon of photographic prowess (!!), all four of the available Merit Competition trophies were decided.

As explained previously successful images in each round were able to earn points, whether they were Commended, Highly Commended, Third, Second or First. The Merit Competitions holds four categories – the Novice Print section, Novice Projected Image section, Advanced Print section and the Advanced Projected Image section.

Our judge for the evening was John Haines, making a welcome return to Dunchurch Photographic Society after judging our Nature competitions earlier in the season. As is customary, the evening started with the two Print competitions, before a fantastic tea break! Then, in the second half, the action turned to the two Projected Images categories.

John gave some very insightful and thought provoking critique to the images presented to him during the competition and this feedback will prove very useful to our membership for future competitions and where they might progress towards entering Exhibitions/Salons or chasing some of the more popular photographic distinctions. Accordingly, our members offered entries that were well thought out in terms of content, including patterns in architecture and images of a more traditional flavour. The brief in this round was definitely met.

My key thanks as Chairman go to John for being our judge for the evening, and to ALL of our members who entered the competition – there is no competition without YOU.

The Results Are In… And As Follows –
Novice Print –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Novice Projected Image –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Advanced Print –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Advanced Projected Image –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Congratulations to all of the photographers who were successful across the four categories for this second round.

Merit Competition Final Result –
Novice Print Category Winner
Michael Bryan

Novice Project Image Category Winner
Michael Bryan

Advanced Print Category Winner
Mark Ellis

Advanced Projected Image Category Winner
David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 8 th February 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society
gave itself a flavour of the cinematic as members fought in the 2 nd
Round of the 2022-23 season Merit Competition. The set theme for
this round was ‘Film Titles…’ So, we reached the mid-point of the
three round marathon competition and all of the four trophies were
still very much up for grabs as our members entered images into the
competition in order to earn the points that may see them to glory!
Successful images in each round earn points, whether they were
Commended, Highly Commended, Third, Second or First. There are
four categories – the Novice Print section, Novice Projected Image
section, Advance Print section and the Advanced Projected Image
section. That means, four different champions will be declared by the
end of the Merit competition marathon.
Our judge for the evening was Paul Nickerson. Starting with the two
Print competitions in the first half of the evening, Paul gave an
overview of the entries submitted by our members. After a short tea
break, Paul then oversaw the judging of the two Projected Image
competitions.
Once again, the Dunchurch Photographic Society members offered
entries that were well thought out in terms of content, subject matter
to fit the ‘Film Title’ brief and in several cases, injected some much
welcome creative humour into the collection of entries. Very well
done to all of our members who entered the competition.
My key thanks as Chairman go to Paul for being our judge for the
evening, and to ALL of our members who entered the competition –
there is no competition without YOU.

The Results Are In… And As Follows –
Novice Print –
Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

Novice Projected Image –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3 rd Place –

2 nd Place –

1 st Place –

Advanced Print –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1 st Place –

Advanced Projected Image-

Commended

Highly Commended –

3 rd Place –

2 nd Place –

1 st Place –

—
Congratulations to all of the photographers who were successful
across the four categories for this second round.
Round 3 follows on Wednesday 22nd February 2023 at 7.45pm at the
WI Hall on Southam Road, Dunchurch. Come along and witness the
crucial climax of the Merit Competition for this season. The set theme
will be ‘Architecture.’ Lots of points still to play for, and the
destination of the four Merit Competition trophies is still very much
uncertain.

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 25th January 2023, Dunchurch Photographic Society staged the 1st Round of the 2022-23 season Merit Competition, this time, kicking it all off with the subject of ‘Shadows.’ It was the first round of this epic three-round competition, where members tackle a different set subject in each round. Successful images in each round earn points, whether they were Commended, Highly Commended, Third, Second or First. There are four categories – the Novice Print section, Novice Projected Image section, Advance Print section and the Advanced Projected Image section. That means, four different champions will be declared by the end of the Merit competition marathon.

We have become accustomed to very interesting and competitive evenings at the Society across our varied program of competitions, and this evening was evidence of that. On the subject of ‘Shadows,’ our members included a range of different photographic styles and subjects which included an emphasis on shadows. Entries embraced the set subject and in some cases, there were very creative pieces and also examples of work with a light hearted intent. It made for a fine show all round.

Our judge for the evening was John Lewis from Daventry. John gave a constructive and engaging critique of our collective photographic entries across both Print and Projected Image media. Indeed, Dunchurch Photographic Society members can be proud of the fact that John was entertained and impressed by our work. If we can make the judge’s deliberation and decision difficult, then as members, we have done our job. So well done to every one of our members who submitted work for this competition.

My key thanks as Chairman go to John for being our judge for the evening, and to ALL of our members who entered the competition – there is no competition without YOU.

The Results Are In… And As Follows –
Novice Print –
3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Novice Projected Image –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Advanced Print –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Advanced Project Image –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

—
Congratulations to all of the photographers who were successful across the four categories for this opening round. There’s still plenty to play for as the marathon continues with Round 2 on Wednesday 8th February… the subject being ‘Film Titles…’

“I feel the need… the need, for speed.”

Come and have a look at the ‘stories’ being told in our images.

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 30 th November 2022, Dunchurch Photographic
Society held their annual Open Subject Monochrome Print
competition at the WI Hall on Southam Road, Dunchurch. This time,
our members were playing for the highly cherished John Hughes
Trophy.

A strong entry from across the membership resulted in no
less than 45 monochrome print entries, with each participating
member being permitted to enter up to three prints for this event.

The judge for the evening was Robert Ings, who made a welcome
return to the competitive arena (!!) in Dunchurch, and the usual
diverse range of subjects was on display throughout the evening as the
competition ensued. Once more, the DPS members made it a difficult
decision for the judge to pick out what he deemed to be the successful
images within this year’s competition. Don’t ever change Dunchurch
– it is to your credit that our modest village society can create such an
array of beautiful work.
As always, in my role as the current serving Chairman of the Society,
I thank all of the members who took part in this fascinating and
closely fought competition. And naturally, I would like to give our
collective thanks to Robert Ings for his valuable and insightful
critique of our images.
Many congratulations to Michael Bryan, who won this competition
for the first time with a story-telling action shot titled, ‘The Last
Kick.’
Of course, well done to all of our members who experienced success
in the competition with images that were commended, highly
commended or finishing 3 rd or 2 nd place. A fantastic evening, and yet
another wonderful review of the standard of photography achieved by
Dunchurch Photographic Society members.
Confirmed Result –

Commended –

Highly Commended –

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 16th November 2022, Dunchurch Photographic Society were engaged in a very competitive evening of photography amongst the membership – it was the annual Open Subject Panel of Three Prints competition at the WI Hall on Southam Road, Dunchurch. This time, our members were playing for the much cherished Jeff Bartlett Memorial Trophy.

In all, there were approximately 20 different panels submitted by members for this event, included panels of three different prints displayed together, and triptychs of 3 printed images together within a single mount. This all made for a varied competition, not least for the very diverse range of image subject, printing styles and processing techniques that members had used to finalise their images.

The judge for the evening was Paddy Ruske from Lichfield, gave our members some very honest and so very useful critique of the different panels that were on show during the evening. It was very hard fought, with lots of quality images, and clear thought processes that our members had undertaken to get their submissions into a competition worthy standard. All of this made for a very difficult decision for the judge as he gave his final verdicts.

As the Chairman of the Society, I thank all of the members who took part in this engaging and unique competition in our season calendar. Without your images, we have no competition, it’s as simple as that.

Naturally, I would like to give our collective Society thanks to Paddy Ruske for his valuable, good humoured and insightful critique of our images.

Confirmed Result –
Commended –
Whooper Swan by Andrew Swan

Stone Vaulting Cameo by Ian Andrew

Flies by Ken Monk

Bikes Right Left And Centre by Michael Bryan

Kingfishers by David Cunnane

Cherry Melt by Mark Ellis

Cameras by David Cunnane

Coffee Time by Mark EllisHighly Commended –

Over He Goes by Graeme Webb

3rd Place –
Swiss Hornet by David Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE

2nd Place –
A Canna Flower by Terry Mann

1st Place –
Salacia Of The Sea by David Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

On Wednesday 2nd November 2022, Dunchurch Photographic Society held their annual Open Subject Projected Digital Image (PDI) competition at the WI Hall on Southam Road, Dunchurch. This time, our members were playing for the coveted President’s Trophy, and they were treated to approximately 45 entries for the 2022/23 season. In line with our Society rules, each member can submit up to three images into this event.

The judge for the evening was Robert Ings, who battled his way in inclement weather conditions from the Lichfield area. As ever, the range of subjects entered by Dunchurch Photographic Society members put on not only a fine visual and thought provoking spectacle for the audience, but crucially made it a tough competition for Robert Ings to pass his critique and judgement. That’s just how we like it as it reflects positively on the strength and depth of the imagery provided by our members. So well done to everyone who entered to help make it a fine showing once again.

As the Chairman of the Society, I thank all of the members who took part in this fascinating and closely fought competition. And naturally, I would like to give our collective thanks to Robert Ings for his valuable and insightful critique of our images.

Many congratulations to Steven Farmer, who won the competition for the second year running with an image titled ‘Bird On An Island.’

Of course, well done to all of our members who experienced success in the competition with images that were commended, highly commended or finishing 3rd or 2nd place. A fantastic evening, and a very positive and proud reflection on the photography achieved by Dunchurch Photographic Society members.

Confirmed Result –
Commended –

Highly Commended –

3rd Place –

2nd Place –

1st Place –

Report by David J. Bray AFIAP, CPAGB, A.CPE
Chairman.

Coming up on Wednesday 21st September 2022, we have our ‘bring a thing’ and critique evening. Members are encouraged to bring along any new prints or projected images for us to talk about and share constructive critique. These can be images that members might seek to enter into exhibition or competition, or to stimulate discussion about processing techniques, image composition and presentation. There is no set subject – bring along holiday snaps if you wish to show them. The evening will also be available to discuss any new processing software or camera equipment/peripheral gear that they have been using and that they might recommend. In summary, a members evening to encourage the conversation about all things photography. —

This weeks featured image is ‘Fells And The Felled’ by Rosemary Gibbs LRPS. A charismatic entry into our recent Summer Challenge on the subject of ‘Orange.’

Coming up on Wednesday 14th September 2022, Dunchurch Photographic Society will be hosting the Midland Counties Photographic Federation (MCPF) Travelling Portfolio presentation. This will feature numerous inspirational and successful images from across the Midlands.

7.45pm kick off at the Dunchurch WI Hall on the Southam Road.