Category Archives: Workshops

Processing Challenge Images

Members had been sent during the Summer, a number of base images reflecting landscapes, people and other as shown above. The challenge set was to use at least one of those images and combine with others to make a composite.

If only….. by Adrian Lowe Wheeler

Topsy Turvy World by Lisa Potter

Ruby’s Secret Garden by Colin Coleman

The main aim was to give members an opportunity to practice their processing skills and perhaps try something new. All images were viewed and a selection discussed in detail at the club night on Thursday 22 September. A few of the members volunteered to go through their photoshop techniques and discuss the layers in their image.  It included what techniques they adopted and why.

Questions were answered and instant processing help given to less experienced members.The overall objective was well achieved: to advance everyone’s knowledge of Photoshop and the many different ways of approaching the same task. All came away having learned at least one new thing.

Macro / Close-up night – a chance for members to get their cameras out of the bag and use them, even try a genre that they may not like or have never tried before.

Members demonstrated the art of setting up a tabletop for photography (for those days when the weather may be a little miserable) and we had a variety of props including various macro lenses and attachments including focus stacking rings, minature toys, flowers etc etc.

Tom Lewington demonstrated a light box, gels and a grip for small flowers, including an excellent handmade stand to hold the lightbox.

Lisa Potter showed a flower press that you put in a microwave! this reduces the amount of time taken to dry the flowers from about 6 weeks to 10 seconds. Great for creating texture layers to use on fine art style images.

Dave Greenwood set up a product photography area with black perspex and Joby lighting.

John Buckley is on a quest to buy “back” all of “his” cameras that he has owned and sold over the years. He found on eBay his first ever camera the Olympus OM10 launched in 1979. Here is Dave G’s re-imagination of how the advert may have looked at the time.

Olympus OM10 by David Greenwood

Church Triptych – Ian Carse

The GNPC meeting of 4 June gave a 45 minute challenge. As it’s name suggests, members were given 45 minutes to go out and take their best shot. You could go by foot, bike, car or by gyrocopter, this was all irrelevant – go as far or as near as you like, just be back within 45 minutes. All images were to be shot in JPEG. On return they were put straight onto the screen from the camera cards.

This task poses two problems for the photographer. Firstly the speed of having to locate, compose and take a shot can be difficult for those used to planning the shot and lighting in advance. Secondly that the images are given directly out of camera without any additional processing. This can be like sending a modern soldier into battle with a sword. Yes you can definitely kill someone with a sword, but it is a whole lot easier with a kalashnikov.

Soup Cans – Tom Lewington

For the second part of the evening the images were discussed in the safe environment of the club. Praise, gentle suggestions for possible improvements, laughing and joking.

The winner was the church triptych by Ian Carse. Ian has used an in-camera effect to pick out and exaggerate reds in the image. All agreed that the result was stunning and interesting. A side conversation was over whether the man with the trophy in the centre was Sepp Blatter.

Daisy – Roy Essery

First joint second was soup cans by Tom Lewington. What makes this image is the one falling over vegetable soup can. Tom did not arrange this, it was a pure photographer’s eye spot. Side conversation was about which soups sell best in the Summer. This shared joint second with Daisy by Roy Essery. A classic flower capture directing the eye with light onto the flower head in the bottom third and with aperture set to render a blurred background.

The night was a great success with much fun had all round.