NEWSLETTER MAY 2009
FORTHCOMING PROGRAMME
June 8th: Competition - Macro
Foto Forum - Green Water - Arthur Kingdon
Presentation - Simon Rogerson - Wide Angle
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
June 8th: Monthly Meeting
The Meeting (start time 2000hrs) will be at our normal 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.
The monthly competition theme is 'Macro' - this covers any subject of A4 size or smaller. Send your digital files to Bob Anthony ( anthonyrez30@tiscali.co.uk ) and please include BUPG on the subject line. Unsure about entering? Even if you don't feel you have any winners, send some in to benefit from the audience feedback - it's an ideal way to learn.
If time allows, there will be a Forum on 'Green Water' and this will be led by Arthur Kingdon.
The main item on the programme is a presentation by Simon Rogerson (Editor of Dive magazine) on the subject of 'Wide Angle'. Expect some stunning images along with a good deal of advice on how to achieve such images.
RECENT EVENTS
May Meeting
Monthly Competition - Monochrome
There was a sizeable entry of 34 images which reflects the increase in interest in this type of image.
| The clear winner, with six votes, was Rick Ayrton with this shot of coral polyps |
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A couple of images tied for Second Place with three votes each; including this image of a crab(originally blue), by David Stephens taken in the Crystal River area of Florida....... |
| ...and this image of Christmas tree worms by Cathy Lewis. |
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Another image by Cathy Lewis, this time a lion fish, received two votes..... |
| .....as did this lion fish by Arthur Kingdon |
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Five images received one vote apiece: Sweetlips by Bob Anthony |
| Moray by Tamsin Eyles |
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Tarpon, also by Tamsin Eyles |
| Diver with reflection by Anna James |
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Diver and wreck by David Stephens |
Presentation - Diving in Fiji and New Zealand - Cate Barrow
Want to get up close and personal with bull sharks? Then Fiji is the place to go, judging by Cate's images;
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Not only bull sharks but reef and lemon sharks were plentiful when Cate visited. The lemon sharks are a good bit bigger than those found around the Bahamas and were often accompanied by trevallies.
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Cate dived with two organisations- Beqa Adventure Divers and Aquatrek. Both offered shark diving but with different profiles as seen below (Beqa Adventure Divers on left):
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If you want something other than sharks then Fiji has a lot to offer with excellent corals, both hard and soft, plus plenty of fish life.
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The blue ribbon eel starts life black and looks pretty much like a boot lace - not easy to photograph as they are so small and always moving around.
If you have traveled as far as Fiji, then it is only a short hop (relatively) to New Zealand but the diving is so much different. The waters are temperate, the corals are sparse but the fish life is abundant:
In addition - nudibranchs galore, many are huge, plus these very photogenic blue-eyed blennies:
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This was an excellent presentation from Cate, with lots of information plus great images. If you fancy venturing to these far-off destinations then contact Cate for further information.
Presentation - RAW versus JPEG - Rob Bailey
Rob gave a very comprehensive presentation covering all aspects of this subject. Aided by good slides, the pros and cons of each were discussed.
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Although this presentation was aimed mainly at the DSLR user, some compacts offer RAW as Rob listed |
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A summary of each - note the attempt by Adobe to promote its .DNG format
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Blown highlights can be recovered better from RAW files than JPEGs as shown here:
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| A variety of software is available for the RAW shooter but note that the latest cameras may necessitate purchasing the latest software |  |
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Many pros shoot only JPEGs for a variety of reasons - faster shooting, minimal post-processing (especially when the JPEG settings in camera have been customised to your requirements) and any loss of quality (if any) may not be a problem for the uses that the images will be used for. |
For us amateurs, perhaps the RAW option is best but it is very much a personal decision - ponder this:
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This is a more complicated subject than many photographers realise and Rob gave us a good insight into it - many thanks.
Photo Forum - Macro - Arthur Kingdon
Arthur showed a variety of images to examine what actually constitutes a macro image and what makes for a great macro image. For our competition in June, subjects of A4 size and smaller will be acceptable.
Miscellaneous
Competition Success
Our members have really done well these past few weeks - in no particular order:
BSoUP May Focus On - Theme 'People'
First Place - Tamsin Eyles
Fourth Place - Arthur Kingdon
Fifth Place - Cathy Lewis
Sixth Place - Anna James
See http://www.bsoup.org/News.php#FOMay
British Underwater Image Festival
Prints:
APEKS British Award - First: Robert Bailey
Poseidon Portfolio Award - Second: Anna James
On The Day Splash In:
Wide Angle Category
First: Robert Bailey
Fish Portrait
Category
Second: Trevor Rees
Third: Chris Court
Close-up Category
First:
Trevor Rees
See http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/article.asp?uan=5205
Dive Magazine 'Hot Shot' Competition
Tamsin Eyles has won the past two months' competitions!
Epson Red Sea - Monthly Competition - April.
The UK winner was Rob Bailey
See: http://www.eilatredsea.com/?CategoryID=300
Well done to all.
Keep bubbling,
Arthur