NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2008
FORTHCOMING PROGRAMME
Mar 11th: Monthly Theme Competition - Fish
Presentation by Dr Alex Mustard
Apr 8th: Monthly Theme Competition - Wrecks
Presentation by Alan James - Lighting
Photo Forum - Close Up - Alan James
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Mar 11: Monthly Meeting
Please note that the Meeting (start time 2000hrs) will be at our new venue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map) It is easiest to access it via Durban Road, off Highwood Road - you can turn right at the traffic lights if coming from the Gloucester Road direction. The Casson Centre is the left hand part of the Patchway Community Centre, immediately next door to the Patchway Town Council Offices. There is off road parking adjacent to the Centre and further spaces along Rodway Road, near to the local Spa shop.
Our guest speaker is Dr Alex Mustard and he will give one of his excellent presentations. He has not yet decided on the theme of the presentation but you can expect it to be excellent as usual.
Alex will also announce the results of our 2007 Image of the Year competition. There were eighteen images which came First or Equal First in our Monthly Competitions last year and these have been sent to Alex for judging.
There will be no Photo Forum due to insufficient time at this Meeting. However, if you have any queries on the subject of 'Wrecks' (next month's Competition) then feel free to ask at the Meeting. I will bring along a few wreck images to help answer any queries - you may also bring your own and we can see how much time we have.
The monthly competition theme is 'Fish'. Even if you don't feel you have any winners, send some in to benefit from the audience feedback. Send your digital files to our Competitions Member - Kathryn Rosling (kathryn.rosling@blueyonder.co.uk) and send a copy to Arthur Kingdon(akdiver48@hotmail.com). A word of caution - Kathryn's email has played up a couple of times recently, so do not leave your submission to the very last minute.
BSoUP Splash In
The Splash In takes place on Saturday 12th July at Plymouth. We have a boat booked for this weekend and, at the moment, it is full. If you would like to go on the Reserve list, please let me know.
Important Note: Entries to the Print Competition have to be in by May 21st.
See http://www.bsoup.org/Splash/2008/intro.php for all the details.
St Abbs Splash In
The St Abbs Splash In takes place on Saturday 23rd August. We have a boat booked for the Fri/Sat/Sun and, at the moment, it is full. If you would like to go on the Reserve list then please let me know but note that accommodation up there is in short supply.
RECENT EVENTS
February Meeting
Monthly Competition - Divers
This was a reasonably well supported competition and most entries followed the guidelines discussed during Alan's Photo Forum the month before.
Two images emerged as equal favourites with four votes apiece. Both were by Arthur Kingdon:
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An image from Ras Mohammed of a diver at the front of a shoal of bohar snapper |
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An image from St Abbs - a D100 shot from the 2006 Splash In (Bob Anthony doing a good job as a model) |
| A diver shot with a difference by Anna James was a close third with three votes. |  |
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A nice shot by Rick Ayrton picked up two votes and Fourth Place. |
| Six images received one vote each including this image from Ian Lightfoot. Nice turtle, shame about the divers was the verdict. To be fair to Ian, he was not at the January Meeting so did not benefit from Alan's wisdom. |  |
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A diver in Vobster (or maybe Stoney?) by Jim Drake. |
| A good effort by Jeannie Bailey with her compact camera. Lots of nice colour, good reflection. |  |
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A great sense of scale in this Red Sea image by Ralph Mortimore. |
| Another By Ralph Mortimore. |  |
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And yet another by Ralph Mortimore, so all three of Ralph's entries received votes - well done. |
Annual Print Competition
Once again the Print Competition was not that well supported, with just over one third of the members entering prints. However, it was a very close competition with the places having to be decided on the number of First Places scored during the paper vote. Results:
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British First Place Pam Bowden 22 points |
Overseas First Place Cathy Lewis 20 points |
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Overall First Place Cathy Lewis 40 points
Cathy was presented with the BUPG Print Trophy by Alan James (for the second year in succession). |
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The top three images in each category are featured here:
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Pam's tompot. Still using film, Pam is now scanning her slides and getting some great results. |
| A leopard spotted goby by Cathy Lewis |  |
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This had the organisers scratching their heads as to whether it was a British entry or an Overseas entry. A triple fin blenny from Swanage by Bob Anthony |
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A humpback whale and calf by Cathy Lewis
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The bow of the Carnatic by Arthur Kingdon |
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A tiny boxfish by Tamsin Eyles |
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Photo Forum - Fish, by Alan James
This was a highly informative discussion which revolved around the twenty or so images that Alan had randomly selected from his collection. Alan gave the background details to each image and invited the audience to decide as to how well it fitted the category of 'Fish'. Alan's criteria is based on the fish being prominent in the frame and anything else eg divers should be secondary to the main subject and emphasise it rather than distract from it. He covered individual fish portraits (capturing character)as well as fish shoals (complete shoals or fish 'wallpaper'). It was very well received and also gave a good insight into how Alan achieves some of his stunning fish portraits - surprising how many 'close ups' were captured using the 10.5mm fisheye.
Miscellaneous
South Africa Photo Shootout
I have received details of a photo shootout in South Africa which you may find of interest. A local dive company, Dive at Five, is looking for a small group of photographers and videographers who may like to take part. This is what they say:
Sodwana Shoot Out 2008 - with Dive At Five
Keep Bubbling,
Arthur