NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2006
FORTHCOMING PROGRAMME
SEP 12th: Bali and Beyond - a presentation by Bob Anthony and Arthur Kingdon
COMPETITION PROGRAMME
SEP 12th: Wrecks (click here for full year's programme)
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
SEP 12th Meeting
The Meeting (start time 2000hrs) will be at our normal venue (click here for how to find us).
Please try and be on time as we have to keep the main doors locked while we are using the building. However, there is an intercom entry system so you should be able to get in if you are running late.
The main event is a presentation by Bob Anthony and Arthur Kingdon on their trip to Bali and Wakatobi.
The monthly competition theme is 'Wrecks'. Send your digital files to Bob Anthony (anthonyrez30@tiscali.co.uk ) or bring your slides on the night (let Bob know if you will require a slide projector and screen). We will also be running the 'Reflections' competition held over from last month.
RECENT EVENTS
August Meeting
Despite lots of testing beforehand, the IT gremlins struck again and we could not get the projector to work (note - subsequent tests point to a faulty VGA cable). It meant that the AGM PowerPoint slides were viewed on a laptop computer and the monthly competition was deferred. Fortunately, the evening was saved only because the main presentation was using slides - thanks Charles.
Annual General Meeting
1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes of the previous Meeting were agreed. There were no matters arising.
2. Reports by the Committee:
a. The Treasurer reported a balance of £715.40 at year end which represented an increase of £127.70 on the previous year. Outgoings during the year had included £215 for guest speakers (this included some costs delayed from previous year), £176 for the room hire, £40.25 for website admin costs, £33.55 for competition costs and £23.50 for projector hire. However, there was still an outstanding bill for projector hire which would reduce the increase on the previous year to £77.70.
b. The Secretary reported that he felt we have had a successful year with a varied programme and a healthy influx of new members. The website continued to attract interest and also served as a good tool for keeping members up to date with the Group's activities. He thanked his fellow Committee members for their support. He went on to say how the most difficult aspect of his role was to provide an interesting programme and thanked those who had volunteered to give presentations. In particular, he thanked Alan James and Heather Hammond for being the backbone of the programme and always willing to give a presentation at short notice. However, he advised that Alan had recently embarked on a building project which was likely to keep him busy for the next year or so. This would also mean that Heather would be very busy with an increased workload in the shop. The result would be that we would have to find more speakers to fill the void and the Secretary requested that all members should consider giving presentations, no matter how short.
c. The Competitions Member reported that we had had some stunning images over the year and thanked all those who had entered their work. He advised that the deadline for the Monthly Competition was variable, in line with his work arrangements, but he would always send out an email with the latest time for entries. He requested jpeg file sizes, compressed to no greater than 250K, with a maximum horizontal size of 1024 pixels and a maximum vertical size of 768 pixels.
3. Election of Committee.
The Secretary and Competitions Member were willing to stand for re-election and, with no other nominations, were elected for the forthcoming year.
The Treasurer wished to stand down and, with one nomination, Jim Tyrwhitt Drake was elected Treasurer for the forthcoming year.
The meeting conveyed its thanks to the outgoing Treasurer.
4. Subscriptions.
It was agreed that there was no need to increase the subscription from its present level of £20 per annum. However, new members joining part way through the year would be charged £2 per month for the remaining number of months.
5. Projector.
The Secretary advised the meeting that the projector we had used for much of the year belonged to Alan James. However, Alan no longer had a use for the projector and wished to dispose of it. He was asking £500 for it and had given our group first refusal. The projector specifications are:
xga resolution (1024 x 768 pixels)
lcd technology
2000 ANSI lumens Brightness
400:1 contrast ratio
Bulb Life - approx 2000 hrs (1385 hours used)
The Secretary advised that we could purchase a new projector of similar quality but reduced brightness for around £700. The brightness, though reduced, would still be sufficient for the size of room we currently use.
The Secretary went on to say that he felt what the group really needed was a its own projector, laptop (with software) and screen. This would avoid the current situation of IT difficulties which were exacerbated by borrowing equipment and having different combinations of laptop, projector, or tv. It would also mean that the equipment would be available between meetings for use by members for training purposes or for public presentations. Although the group had insufficient funds for such a purchase, the Secretary advised that a bid for funding could be made via the National Lottery, Awards for All scheme. He outlined the scheme and advised that decisions on bids were made within eight weeks from submission.
After some discussion, it was agreed that the Secretary should submit a bid for funding. It was further agreed that, should the bid be turned down, a decision on projector purchase would be deferred for further consideration.
6. AOB
a. It was agreed that all digital entries to the Monthly Competition must be made by the deadline set by the Competitions Member and no entries would be accepted on the night (other than slides).
b. It was agreed that the Monthly Competition images would still be shown three times but voting would take place on the second showing and, on the third showing, the authors would be invited to talk about each image.
c. There was a good deal of discussion on potential topics for our meetings and the Secretary stressed that anyone would be welcome to give a presentation, no matter how informal or short and urged that all members consider doing this.
d. The meeting discussed the possibility of doing more boat dives and it was agreed that all members should consider organising such trips. The Secretary agreed to advertise any such trips via the website.
e. Jan Davies advised that his vehicle was capable of transporting six divers plus kit and he was willing to give a lift to anyone contemplating UK diving. Those interested should contact Jan direct.
f. Dee Thompson thanked the group for the considerable help she had received as a person new to underwater photography.
g. The Secretary read out a letter from Sally Sharrock which advised of diving at Bovisand. The details are under 'Miscellaneous' below.
There was no further business.
Freshwater Florida
Charles Stirling gave a fascinating account of a trip to North West Florida where he photographed manatees and other subjects. The purpose of the trip was to produce an article for Sport Diver magazine and, as such, was partly sponsored. This sounds a great way to get a free trip but, as Charles explained, it can sometimes make life fairly difficult. Charles's image of his accommodation in a caravan was one such point.
Diving was mainly carried out in the Crystal river and the Homosassa which are around 80 miles north of Tampa. This area is the only one that allows diving with the manatees, all other areas enforce a strict 'no diving' regime.
© Charles Stirling
Charles went there at the end of April which, he explained, was a little late in the season (again, partly out of his control due to the sponsorship). November to April is the season with January to March being the best. Charles did much of his diving with American Pro Diving who can offer a wide variety of diving, other than with the manatees (which is all snorkelling). The only problem with this arrangement was that you were in a party of a dozen or so, all wanting to get close to the manatees, but not conducive to serious photography.
© Charles Stirling
However, Charles was able to do some private trips with local boat owners and managed to capture some great images.
© Charles Stirling
The combination of the manatees, with their wonderful, textured skin, plus the dappled light near the surface of fairly clear water, makes for a particularly photogenic subject.
© Charles Stirling
Charles also described some of the other diving in the area which included river diving and cavern diving. Although the area offers some fantastic cave diving, that is a rather more specialist subject and cavern diving is what is on offer - unless you are a qualified cave diver (aka nutter) of course. The caverns are very photogenic and, again, very clear water can be found.
There are plenty of attractions for the non-diver, including trips on the air boats which can zip along at a great rate of knots, and visits to wildlife parks. However, the area is a bit off the tourist trail and those wanting shopping or theme parks may need to extend their stay.
This was a fascinating presentation which was a change from our 'regular' Red Sea/Far East destinations - I, for one, am very keen to go there (as soon as the USA Immigration difficulties are addressed).
Monthly Competition
Due to the technical difficulties outline above, it was decided to defer the competition until next month.
MISCELLANEOUS
Bovisand Diving
Sally Sharrock (who insists she is not on commission!) tells me that Bovisand is now open for diving 7 days a week with air, shop, cafe etc and the rib shuttle is running. Shore diving is no problem and parking is £5 per day but that includes a free air fill (sounds a bargain to me). There is also B&B available in the accommodation block. See www.discoverydivers.co.uk
New Website for Underwater Photographers
A new website, full of good stuff for underwater photographers, can be found at http://www.divephotoguide.com Check it out - it requires registration but is very useful.
BSoUP Competitions
There is no excuse now for not entering the BSoUP competitions as they are now accepting entries via email. Also, our monthly competition programme mirrors and precedes that of BSoUP, so you can try out your images the month before. We have a great deal of talent within the group so why not give it a go? Let's show the London lot what we can do in the provinces! Check out www.bsoup.org for further details.
Arthur