Yesterday saw the first SIG Sports/Action outing to see the Point to Point horse racing at Marks Tey. The course is very accessible for photographers; providing you are sensible and keep out of the horses’ way, you are pretty much allowed to go anywhere.
This gave us some great vantage points for pictures. Here is a selection of members’ work:
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As the Club has grown in size, we have recently introduced some Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to try and cater for specific genres of photography in more depth. We currently have SIGs for Macro, Digital Processing, Studio Lighting, Strobist, Sports & Action, Landscape and Street Photography.
A member of the club has volunteered to lead each group (in a very informal way) to get discussion going or organise relevent photoshoots, workshops and outings. Yesterday the Street Photography group (ably lead by keen street photographer Pete Tachauer) went to London to visit Columbia Road Flower Market, Old Spitalfields and Brick Lane.
The weather was very cold but largely sunny, and there were plenty of characters out and about for us to photograph. Street photography is a genre some people aren’t very comfortable with at times (myself included) so it was good to see everyone having a go. It’s only by going out of our comfort zones that we learn and improve our skills. Those who did so were rewarded with some great shots of the people we saw. Here is a selection of images by club members taken during our walkabout:
Following a talk given by Peter Warne to the Club in June entitled “A walk on the wild side” which related to the wildlife of Epping Forest, the club decided it would be a good idea to arrange an outing to the Forest with Peter as our guide. On Saturday 17th September at 10am, 10 members of the Club met at Jack’s Hill Car Park in Epping Forest, all armed with cameras, tripods and an enthusiasm to learn about the forest. Within 5 minutes of starting our walk we were not disappointed as we encountered over 5 different varieties of fungi and straight away the group started getting out their gear to make a permanent record of the various species. Members were lying, sitting, standing, crouching, with tripods, without tripods, with flash and without flash and all snapping away trying to capture the life of the forest. Throughout the day as we encountered items of interest our guide, Peter, kindly provided a detailed commentary relating to the habitat and whatever we had found.
Later on in the morning we visited the Deer Sanctuary but a decent zoom lens was needed and some slightly better lighting conditions, although we were lucky to see many stags that are likely to be getting ready for the rutting season next month. Peter showed some of us a shortcut to the Park but sadly some of the group had been separated and had to rely on instructions from me on how to get there, luckily disaster was averted as Peter kindly walked back to find them. After what seemed a lengthy break for lunch we proceeded back to the car park and on the way continued to find interesting subject matter. The stinkhorn that we had visited earlier in the day had been almost been eaten completely by the flies by the afternoon and this was a fascinating find. Sadly we also saw evidence of Fungi Rage as many of the lovely fungi we had seen and capture earlier by the pathside including two beautiful shaggy inkcaps had been destroyed probably by human feet playing football.
What amazed us all is that we didn’t have to walk far to find interesting subjects to photograph and the 7 hours we spent in the Forest seemed to have flown by. We had all learnt a significant amount about the plant life in the Forest and how closely linked the fungi are to the continued development of the forest. This is a venue that is definitely worthy of another visit perhaps in the Autumn for the rutting of the deer and the change in colour for the leaves.
Our thanks especially go to the patience and knowledge of our guide Peter Warne. Here are some of our members’ photos from the outing:
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On Thursday 11th August, the GNPC descended upon Colchester town for another of its evening walks. Kindly arranged by Lisa, the evening’s theme was ‘Pink’, ‘Stone’ and ‘Circle’. The small contingent of members met at St.Mary’s car park, then headed off through the grounds of the Church to explore further.
The early rain showers passed, and the group made its way to the old Castle grounds. Though the summer evening wasn’t as bright as one might hope, the town and gardens were awash with colour from the multitude of flower beds and hanging baskets.
The evening light was all too quick to fade within the grounds of the Castle, yet the High Street became more vibrant as the night closed in, with its illuminated architecture and the neon signs advertising the shops & bars.
Many thanks to Lisa for arranging the outing, and NeilW for writing the whole thing up for us.
Here are some of our members’ shots from the walk:
A group of club members spent a very enjoyable day at the War & Peace Show in Kent last week. There was plenty to see and loads of images to be had, from battle re-enactment scenes with all guns blazing in the main arena, to the wounded being tended in field hospitals in the living history displays.
Here is a selection of pictures from the event:
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On Thursday the 2nd of June the massed ranks of the GNPC gathered in a Coggeshall car park to wander round one of the nearer villages to Great Notley, taking in the local sights and preserving them forever through their keen lenses.
Lisa Forsyth organises a myriad of club outings near and far. This one had a great turnout of around twenty members, some who arrived early to beat the rush and some who turned up fashionably late, but with the majority on time. All were primed with the night’s themes which were: Red, Texture and Rectangles. These help focus the walks and provide a common thread by which everyone could be judged. There was even a rumour of a prize for the best themed shot.
Not just ducks that are a hazard.
We must cut a strange dash, when 20-odd photographers wander round a village and I was approached by the local vicar when I was taking shots in the church. He was very jolly and happy to see us all enjoying the local ambience. Once all the things that could be shot were shot we regrouped in the pub for some chat about the evening and all things club related. Well done to Vivien for running off with the prize.
Here are some of our members’ shots from the day:
On Sunday 6th March a small gang of members from the Club attended the Focus on Imaging exhibition being held at the Birmingham NEC. This is Europe’s biggest annual imaging show which covers everything from image capture through to output and beyond. There were over 200 exhibitors (sadly no Canon representation) and product launches galore, including all the very latest digital cameras and equipment.
We set off at 8am from Braintree in a minibus provided and very kindly driven by David Beardwell, one of the members. Once we arrived any plans of staying together in small groups soon disappeared as we scattered amongst the various exhibitors. First of all we received an excellent demonstration of the Gitzo Tripod range and Jules and I made a decision that we needed to upgrade our tripods (not sure why but maybe the comments about my mini tripod had finally taken their toll). After this we wondered round the various exhibitors and were amazed at the range of products and services on display, there was certainly enough to keep both the keen amateur and the professional amused. It also wasn’t a great place to be in possession of a credit card with a limit remaining on it.
For me the most interesting chat was held with a member of the Royal Photographic Society who kindly explained the process of applying for LRPS and then the ARPS distinctions and this is definitely something I will be keen to work on in the next 12 months. Bargains to be had were many and for me the investment in the Manfrotto 190PROXB tripod and three way head was great (£40 saving on lowest price I could find on internet). Lenses which were on the shopping list were not as competitive as the internet and other gadgets purchased by fellow members included a Wacom tablet, various books, lens pen and editing software. Great company and a great show. We will definitely be back next year.
Despite the variable weather, several members of the club enjoyed a day out to Mersea Island for a photoshoot this weekend. Here are some shots from the day:
GNPC is affiliated to the PAGB through the EAF.
We meet at The Church in Great Notley, Bridge End Lane, Great Notley, CM77 7GN on Thursday evenings at 7:45pm. See the meetings page for a map. Or Email Us for more information.
