Special Interest Group Night 17/03/21

Tonight, it was the turn of the SIG leaders to tell of the activity of their

Special Interest Groups. These are a new venture for the club, having

only been started in July 2020 at the instigation of Chris Rogers.

SIGs are open to any member and free to join. Their purposes are: - To

provide a forum for members within which they can pursue their

individual interest, improve their photographic skills and compare

experiences with other members with similar interests. They all augment

the members’ club experience within HPIC.

Groups so far established are: Travel, Nature, ‘Scapes, and Portraits and

their activities to night were presented, respectively by Alan Stopher,

Mark Turner, Chris Rogers and Graham Sykes.

The topics discussed, on a monthly basis, by each group, turn out to be

broadly the same: Definition of the genre, the genre’s scope and

limitations, camera craft, composition, post processing techniques and

what makes a great image. To reinforce the theory, assignments are

undertaken to put into practice the lessons learnt in the SIG group

meetings.

During the meeting each Leader called upon their group membership to

comment on their experiences. All were universally supportive of the SIG

concept and stated that they enjoyed their monthly informal sessions.

They enjoyed the opportunity to discuss, the technical issues they

encountered whilst executing the assignments, with the more experienced

members be it via Zoom, Whatsapp and/or Facebook.

Members felt they were learning a lot and all were looking forward to

implementing their post Covid plans of getting out and about!

The skill levels within the SIG groups range from novice to experienced as

the images below show.

Are the SIGs here to stay? Well, that depends on members continuing

to show an interest and the quality of their contributions – so it really is

down to the members!

Curious? Like to know more? Then go to the members area of the Club’s

website and follow the links to the SIG groups in which you are interested

and join up!

Brian Eastwood - Katmandu Funeral Pyre

Clayton Manhertz - The Trinacle

Barbara Sheldrake - Butterfly Mind

Andrew Greenbank - Long Tailed Tit

Practical Demonstration - How to Make a Flag Book 10/03/21

Tonight, we were treated to something different - a practical demonstration!

James was given a challenge, when it seemed that restrictions would never end! For something different could he demonstrate how to make a Flag Book?

So, what is a Flag Book – it’s a type of sculptural artist book invented by Hedi Kyle it is based on a simple accordion book in which papers are glued to the sides of the accordion. These papers stick out like flags hence the name.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.instructables.com/Flag-Book/%3famp_page=true

James took us through the process, step by step from beginning to completed book. Which gave members a different insight and method of showing your images.

There are numerous tutorials on YouTube and various other platforms, with many adaptations to the original principle of a Flag book.

Talk - In My Garden by Roger Hance FRPS AFIAP DPAGB BPE5* - 03/03/2021

Award-winning photographer Roger Hance joined us on Zoom to give us an engaging and beautifully presented talk on how to take pictures of wildlife on our doorsteps.

Besides seeing some wonderful images taken within the bounds of his suburban garden, we learnt about the techniques he used to create his pictures and then capture them using the latest technology. From simple hides to sawn off rotten fork handles, hand-made moth trap to a table top ‘pond’, Roger demonstrated his ingenuity in setting the scenes to be captured. The lens, focal lengths and camera settings were indicated as image overlays so that we could all take something away from his presentation. Roger had recently made the change from Canon full frame to Olympus micro fourth-thirds in order to significantly reduce the weight of his equipment. He demonstrated the benefits of some of the characteristics of the new technology such as in-camera focus-stacking and the amazing Pro Capture setting which enables a rolling series of 14 images to taken from the moment the shutter is half depressed. All of the 45 members present would have learnt something from this professional and well-paced presentation.