Photography Expedition Jan 2015

Re: Wildlife Filming and Photography with Turtles on Heron Island Hi, I am the founder of Wildiaries http://wildiaries.com a nature, travel media company set up to connect people with wildlife, for the benefit of conservation. For the last two years, we have been filming and photographing the people, nature and places of Australia, producing over 50 short films with cinematographer Nick Hayward (BBC Life of Birds) in some of our most breath-taking locations (see here). For the new year (16-19 January) I have organised a trip with Nick and an good friend of mine, Jason Edwards, the National Geographic Face of Pure Photography. We'll be visiting Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef and giving photographers of any skill level the chance to learn about wildlife filming and about the art of story-telling in photos and film. It's also the rare chance to share quality time with two of Australia's most acclaimed wildlife cinematographers and photographers and at a location that is one of our favourites. During the four days we will be using the island and its surrounding waters as a canvas to film and photograph sharks, turtles, nesting seabirds and coral reef. We will be joined by the Sea Turtle Foundation's Tim Harvey who was head of the research station for three years and will be our guide. Nikon Australia are kindly providing equipment to borrow (though it doesn't matter what cameras anyone has) and there will be plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy this very special island in the company of people who have a lifelong passion for wildlife, photography and film-making. If your members are likely to be interested, do you think you can forward this information to them? We'd be delighted to have them along. We can't wait ourselves to get there as it's such an awesome place. I really hope you'll be able to join us. If you need any more information directly, feel free to call me on 0405 220830 or hit reply to this email. For information on the trip, a film we did with Tim Harvey and one of Jason's NG pieces, visit http://wildiaries.com/tours/155-Wildlife-Film-making-Hang-Out-With-Turtles-on-Heron-Island. I also have a PDF with details that I can email if anyone's interested. Kind regards, Simon Mustoe Founder, Wildiaries

VAPS August Newsletter

VAPS August Newsletter is out. Download and find out what is happening in Victoria Photographic clubland.

Click on this link to download the VAPS August Newsletter pdf. VAPS August Newsletter


The APSCON is on again this year in Ballarat. Details form this link. Australia Photographic Society Conference 2014

HOUSEKEEPING = POST PROCESSING!

The following article from Light Stalking touches on a subject that puts the fear of x*?!@ into many photographers...how about you?  Click here for Light Stalking. Who among us really enjoys chores? No one, I think it’s safe to say. It’s a sentiment that, for most of us, surfaces as kids when we’re pressed into the horrific reality of having to keep our room clean and take our turn washing dishes. We learn that chores are an inescapable part of life, but we also figure out that not all chores are created equal — some are far more detestable than others. Unfortunately, many people find that even when engaged in something they absolutely love doing, there is sometimes a degree of drudgery involved in one aspect or another, some chore that has to be completed as an inextricable component of an otherwise enjoyable activity. Photo by Andrew Seaman For many a photographer, this unwelcome chore is post-processing. And you know that the more shots you’ve taken, the more work lies ahead of you — but you can’t let your disdain for image editing dictate how many shots you take. In the interest of keeping as much joy as possible in photography, the following ideas are presented to help you take some of the stress out of post-processing. Photo by Håkan Dahlström Be Extremely Selective About the Images You Keep You have to serve as curator of your own image collection; it’s not an easy job, but you’ve got to do it. As you transfer your images from the memory card to your computer, remind yourself that not every shot is a keeper. Take a critical look at all your new images and keep only the very best. The “best” ones aren’t limited to those that are tack sharp or perfectly exposed, but more importantly are the ones that are most meaningful to you, the images that are most representative of the experience captured in the photos. Working with an application such as Lightroom makes the whole keep/discard process a bit more efficient, as you can simply flag the shots you want to keep and mark the rest as “Rejected.” You can archive those rejected images on a separate drive or delete them altogether. Either way, the point is to have only your best shots in front of you. Photo by Bert Kaufmann Divide the Editing Process into 2 Stages To make things a little easier for future use, start by adding a few organizational elements like keywords, categories, or ratings. Then apply basic edits to your pared-down image collection: straighten, crop, fix exposure; you can even use a keyboard shortcut to apply identical edits to a batch of similar images, which greatly speeds up the process. This first round of edits will give you a better idea of what/how much subsequent editing your images will require. Don’t underestimate the importance of this first phase; it’s easy to dive into doing a full range of editing on a single photo just to come out the other end realizing that you’ve got shots more worthy of your attention. Starting out with basic edits lets you know which images will move on to round two. Photo by jDevaun Now with a set of “almost there” images before you, it’s time for the fine-tuning of each remaining photo. Here, you will adjust and apply things like white balance, contrast, saturation, skin smoothing, burning/dodging, sharpness, and noise reduction. Take your time and get everything exactly the way you want. Take a Break After you have applied the finishing touches to all your images, get up and walk away from your computer. Do something — anything — unrelated to image editing. Just leave your photos alone — they’ll be fine on their own. Return to them a few hours or even a day later; looking at them again with fresh eyes will give you a great deal of perspective and new insight. You might suddenly find yourself wanting to go in an entirely different direction, with an entirely different look; you might sit back and find yourself thoroughly satisfied with what you have created. No matter what conclusion you arrive at, it’s easier to trust your own judgment after you’ve had some time to clear your head and rest your eyes. Photo by streetwrk.com Final Thoughts We all have to accept image editing as a fact of the photographer’s life; the idea, though, should be to make the process an efficient one so that you can get back to shooting as soon as possible. Even if you continue to see post-processing as a chore, it doesn’t have to be as dreadful an activity as it once was (and post-processing digital files is surely orders of magnitude easier than what you would have to do if you were working with film); all you need to do is rethink your basic workflow and get right to it. Who knows, you may even come to enjoy editing your shots. Some people do. It’s okay if you never count yourself amongst those that like image editing, just don’t let it stress you out and take all the fun out of photography. Author information Jason D. Little Jason Little is a photographer (shooting macros, portraits, candids, and the occasional landscape), part time writer, and full time lover of music. You can see Jason’s photography on his photography blog or on Flickr. TwitterFacebookBlogFlickr

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Cheat Sheets from DPS

I have followed this photo blog for some time now and thought that these cheat sheets would be of interest to members.

Click the link below to go to the DPS blog. Bonus they are printable!! A sample is shown below.

digital-photography-school.com/another-15-cheat-sheets-printables-and-infographics-for-photographers/

REMINDER and HELP!

We have an invitation to take photographs at Flowerdale Estate this Sunday, meeting there at 1.00pm.

For those interested there is also afternoon tea (High Tea) available at at a cost of $40/head. 

Bring your photo gear, creativity and empty tummies.

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We need more volunteers for raffle sales on 11th and 22nd October. Let John C know of your availability. This is a vital part of the fundraising for the Photo Exhibition. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated. Just 2 hours of your time is needed. 

Photo Expo - Free Entry!

Seen on Ted's Cameras ClubTed site recently

Link to Web site here

With free exhibits from equipment suppliers and retailers, as well as paid educational seminars and hands on workshops, the Educational Photo Expo is designed for you!

Saturday 6th September , 9.30am – 5.00pm
Victoria University, Melbourne.

Capture and Idea August and Sept.

Please note that due to our August meeting moved to the 30th 

YOU WILL HAVE LESS THAN 2 WEEKS TO TAKE YOUR SEPTEMBER PHOTO – BLACK AND WHITE

due at our September meeting 10th Sept (RSL). 

In case you have forgotten the August Idea is 'STANDING'

Don't forget the August meeting is on Sat 30th at 11 am Neighbourhood House. Bring you STANDING photo. Bring a memory stick with a selection of images with some landscapes for the training.

August Homework will be held over to the Sept meeting.

2014 Raffle

It’s that time again – selling raffle tickets. 

This is a crucial part of the economic success of our photo competition and exhibition. In order to make a worthwhile contribution to Yea Hospital we need to maximise ticket sales.

Please let John C know your availability to sell tickets outside Foodworks Yea and the Alex. Newsgency. I will then circulate a completed roster. Shifts are just 2 hours so please give up a little time to the raffle and help make this years event another success. John has emailed out a roster to all members so please consider giving us 2 hours.

The club has organised a photographic visit to Flowerdale Estate for Sunday August 24th meeting there at 1.00pm . Afternoon tea is available at a cost of $40 per head.(We have a booking for 7 – 10 at this stage). We are invited to submit photographs for use in their publicity. This activity apart from an opportunity to get out and take photographs will also support their offer to supply 1st. prize in the raffle.

Please let John C know before Sunday 16th whether you will be attending.

MEMBERSHIP DUES

A friendly reminder that annual membership dues fell due on 1st July and if not paid by Sept you will not be eligible to win the  "Capture an Idea" prize.

Send cheques to Ann A at PO Box 217 or pay direct to the bank account. Johns email dated 12/8/14 provides the bank numbers or contact Ann A.

Station Pier photo competition

Link to more info on Station Pier Photo Competition

To celebrate Station Pier’s 160th birthday in September, we’re calling on amateur photographers to capture their vision of Station Pier or send in original photos of the pier taken before 1990.

You could win a one of several photographic supplies vouchers or an iPad mini!

Send us your best shots by 4pm on Friday 22 August 2014.

Winners will be notified on Monday 1 September 2014.

Entry categories and prizes

Best Contemporary Photograph - open category

• First prize - $500 photographic supplies voucher
• Second prize - $300 photographic supplies voucher
• Third prize - $200 photographic supplies voucher

Best Junior Photograph - for entrants under 15 years of age

• iPad Mini

Best Historic Photograph - taken before 1990

Both original electronic copies and high quality scans of the original image will be accepted.

Judging Course by VAPS

VAPS JUDGING COURSE

Due to popular demand we

will be conducting another course

On

Sunday 12^th October 2014

at

8.3O am – 5pm

Where: Melbourne Camera Club

Cost $15

As numbers are limited bookings are essential.

To book please email Alfred Zommers: Alfred99@internode.on.net

This course is not only for judges or those who wish to become judges, it is suitable for anyone who wants to improve their photography.

For further information phone

Ron Speed on 0433 364 844

or

Alfred Zommers on 0414 336 234

August Meeting

 

Next Meeting 

SATURDAY 30TH AUGUST 

IN THE COMMUNITY HOUSE AT 11.00AM

Please bring your capture an idea photo and your memory stick landscapes to that meeting.They don’t all have to be landscapes.

There will be NO MEETING WEDNESDAY 13TH AUGUST.