Club News 2020 - 2021


Looking back at our programme for 2020 - 2021

Click on What we did in 2020-2021 to see what we got up to in 2020 - 2021 programme when COVID 19 struck the world.


Club visit to Kingston Deverill ford Wednesday evening August 11th 2021

This is an informal get together with advice on how to attempt various types of shot at a river ford. The location is beautiful and off the beaten track. The village is also very picturesque. For more details contact our Treasurer, Meyrick Griffith-Jones.


Club visit to Bennetts Water Gardens July 19th 2021

It was hot, sunny, and beautiful with pleny of shade under the trees plus a nice cafe on site. A number of club members met up at Bennetts Water Gardens, Chickerell, near Weymouth on Monday. This beautiful site features many ponds, fish, lilies and bridges in the style of Claude Monet's famous paintings. It was good to get out and about again and this venue offers wonderful opportunities to take photos.

Photo of group at work Photo of red bridge
Paul contemplating lilies Roger with his camera


Photography Show at the NEC September 2021

After last year's virtual show the 2021 Photography Show is back in person at the NEC Birmingham September 18th - 21st 2021. Click on Photography Show 2021 for details and pre-registration for tickets. The site also has links to useful videos from previous shows.


Astronomy Photographer of the Year Shortlist

Click here to view the shortlisted images from the 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. There were 4,500 plus entries from 75 countries worldwide. The awards ceremony will be on September 16th 2021. An exhibition of the winning and shortlisted images will be held at the National Maritime Museum.


Last talk of this camera club season

Well that was it, another wonderful talk presented via Zoom and featuring Paul Mitchell FRPS with his woodland photography. We were treated to some excellent examples of woodland photos, which Paul commented on and explained his thought processes behind the shots, and then a most instructive section of the talk where Paul went through his processing of an image with both Lightroom and Photoshop. We were very fortunate to have Paul speak to us. Please visit his website at Paul Mitchell Photography.
Do keep an eye on this website, your emails, and the club Facebook group for information on possible trips and get togethers with our cameras.
Over the coming weeks we will be putting together next year's programme. Do get in touch with the club committee with any ideas about what you would like for our club nights, topics, guest speakers and so on.
Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable summer with your cameras.


Photography programmes on TV

Great British Photography Challenge - series of 4 programmes featuring photographer Rankin on BBC4 via iPlayer

Britain in Focus: A Photographic History episode 1 on BBC 4 via iPlayer.

Mark Lawson talks to David Bailey on BBC 4 via iPlayer.

Don't forget to join us for our last Zoom talk of this year's programme on Wednesday May 26th at 7.30pm when Paul Mitchell FRPS will address the club on the topic of Woodland Photography.


Our AGM and other news

On Wednesday May 19th we held our annual AGM via Zoom. Our Secretary, Lachlan, took us through the business of the night in an efficient and enjoyable manner. Reports were given by each of our committee members and thanks were given by our Chairman. Discussions involved our programme for 2021-2022, membership subscriptions, the Library Exhibition for 2021, and the year's competition.
Unfortunately we were not able to award the Chairman's Trophy or the Folkes Memorial cup for Prints because of the restrictions this year but the Digital Image Competition for the Secretary's Shield was very closely contested. The winner, for the second year, was Meyrick Griffith-Jones with 146 points. In equal second place with 144 points were Paul Dyer and James Eastaugh, with Brian Stubbs in fourth place with 143 points. This year and previous years' winners can be seen on our Competition Winners page. Our congratulations to all.

A new photography TV series starts on Monday May 24th with photography Rankin hosting the Great British Photography Challenge at 9pm on BBC4. This is the first of a 7 episode show. A trailer is available here.

Our final Zoom talk of this year's programme is on Wednesday May 26th at 7.30pm when Paul Mitchell FRPS will address the club on the topic of Woodland Photography. Paul is an acknowledged expert in this area and his talk should not be missed.

Do keep an eye on this website and your e-mails for events, get togethers and photo opportunities over the summer before we start our regular programme again in September 2021. If you are considering joining a camera club do get in touch with us. See our Contact page.


Will Goodlett - African Wildlife photography

Yesterday evening Wincanton Camera Club members and a few guests were treated to a wonderful presentation by Will Goodlett from South Africa. His photography was tremendous but his amiable and knowledgeable commentary was first rate. His back story to each of his images provided so much of interest to us all, whatever our level of competence.
To find out more about Will you can visit his Willgoodlett.com website or his YouTube Channel.
Our sincere thanks to Will for his time and effort on our behalf.

Our next meeting is our AGM. Please do join in for news about the club and discussion for the future. Our next speaker is Paul Mitchell FRPS on photographing woodland, Wednesday May 26th. Another talk not to be missed.


Sony World Photography Awards 2021

Sony's annual photography awards are now revealed. For news on the results, a video of the 2021 winners, and details of the 2022 competition please click on the link below
Sony World Photography Awards 2021


Next meeting - African Wildlife Photography with Will Goodlett

Wincanton Camera Club is very fortunate to secure a Zoom meeting with South African Wildlife photographer Will Goodlett for our next meeting on Wednesday May 5th at 7.30pm. This is a great opportunity not only to see and listen to Will talking about his work but to be able to discuss it with him live from South Africa and ask your questions.
You can see some of his work on YouTube at Will's YouTube site
or visit his website at WillGoodlet.com

If you are not a member of our club you can still join our talk for the tremendous value sum of £5. Simply contact our Treasurer, Meyrick Griffith-Jones, to book your place treasurer@wincantoncameraclub.co.uk

but please don't delay.

This should be another great talk.


Final internal club competition - Tranquility Wednesday April 21st 2021

A challenging theme for this competition saw a very varied and interesting range of subjects for our members' photos. Mike Barnard again joined us as judge with the unenviable task of commenting upon and scoring the images. A number of images were held back for further consideration with just one image, belonging to Paul Dyer, gaining the maximum mark of 20. Our thanks to Mike for his comments and marks and to our members for putting in such good images. Congratulations to Paul on his top scoring image shown below.

To see the images for this competition click here.
To see the scores from all our competitions this year, including this one, click on our Club information page
Peace at the bay


Studio lighting for portraiture by Chris Knight

This video tutorial is long but provides excellent practical advice on lighting portraits in a studio. The content is broken down into useful chunks so you can come back to it time and time again.
Introduction To Dramatic Portraiture With Chris Knight | Chapter 1 PRO EDU Photography Tutorial
This video is 2 hours and 39 minutes long but is excellent high quality professional advice on lighting for portraiture.


International Photography Competition websites

Here are a couple of website links to International Photo competition websites and their forthcoming results.

Bird Photographer of the Year

Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021 Shortlist

Don't forget to send your entries for our next club competition to Paul Dyer by Wednesday, April 14th, in time for the competition itself on Wednesday, April 21st 2021.


Springtime photos

For our meeting on Wednesday April 7th we met via Zoom to view members' photos taken on the theme of Spring. This was an informal view and chat, rather than a competition, which was very pleasant and allowed us all to see the lovely photos that our members had taken this springtime. We also welcomed new member, Tracy Walsh, to her first meeting.
Our next meeting, Wednesday April 21st, is the final internal competition on the them of "Tranquility". Please get your three digital images to Paul Dyer as soon as possible and no later than April 14th!
Our next talk will be Will Goodlett speaking about African Wildlife photography on Wednesday May 5th.


WCPF Members' Exhibition

The results are out and it is congratulations to Meyrick (6) and Brian (3) on their acceptances into this year's exhibition. Meyrick has done particularly well in having all 4 of his Open images accepted as well as a couple of Nature images. Brian had 3 of his Open images accepted. The competition from 2020 was put on hold with members able to update their digital entries for 2021 but the prints are held over from 2020 to see if they can be judged at some time in the future.
The full results can be seen from the WCPF Members' Exhibition website


Elke Vogelsang - Pet Photography

Once again our club was treated to a wonderful presentation by our guest speaker. Elke talked us through how she got into photography and then into photographing her dogs. This in turn led to her becoming known worldwide for the humour she finds in her dog images. From this start Elke has built up her photography business into one that can sustain her family, including the dogs, full time as a commercial and editorial photographer.
Elke spoke so well and provided so many helpful ideas for us all to take forwards with our own photography. Elke has donated her talk fee to our local Somerset and Dorset Animal rescue charity which, we are sure, will be very grateful to her as are we for a wonderful presentation.

A number of non-camera club members joined us for Elke's talk. Our next speaker is Will Goodlett from South Africa telling us about his photography of South African Wildlife on Wednesday May 5th 2021 at 7.30pm. If you would like to join us for the talk, at a cost of £5, then please get in touch with our Treasurer.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday April 7th at 7.30pm where we will be reviewing our images of Spring. Make sure you have sent these in to Paul Dyer by March 31st.


Stumbling around in the dark

On Wednesday March 10th the members of Wincanton Camera Club, along with friends from Sherborne-Bradford Abbas Club, welcomed Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP to speak to us about astrophotography. Robert is a prolific author of photography books and delivers many courses for photographers of landscapes, nature / wildlife as well as astrophotography. His website is https://www.naturalworldphotography.net/.
Robert beguiled us with his wonderful photographs and commentary as he took us around local neolithic sites lit by moonlight with the planets and stars above. We were talked through his settings and shown constellations, the Milky Way, Comets, Meteors, Lunar eclipses, Solar eclipses, and the Aurora Borealis. All of these images taken with equipment accessible for the average club photographer.
Our very appreciative thanks to Robert.

Our next speaker, in two weeks time, is the international dog photographer, Elke Vogelsang. Elke's website is https://elkevogelsang.com/. Do come along and join us. Non-members' tickets can be purchased from our Treasurer at the cost of just £5.


Culpepper's Dish

For those looking at possible sites for good woodland photography, Meyrick has suggested Culpepper's Dish, Briant's Puddle, Dorchester, DT2 7HZ. Having just looked it up, there seems plenty to go and see including the famous sink-hole, which is called Culpepper's Dish, as well as woodland, heathland and lots of interesting wildlife.


Blonde and her Bay

Knightshayes Trophy - WCPF Saturday March 6th

The Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) held their AGM and then conducted the judging of the Knightshayes Trophy. Club members from throughout the West of England were invited to enter up to 2 images on the theme of "Togetherness". This would normally have been a print competition with the images mounted on the wall but this year, for obvious reasons, it was decided to judge the images virtually. Of the 179 images entered our member, Brian Stubbs, had two photos longlisted and of these "Blonde and her Bay" was awarded a Highly Commended. Third place went to Penny Piddock of Dorchester for "School Friends" , second place was Carole Zimmerman of Warminster for "Remember say nothing" and the trophy for 1st place was won by Rachel Domleo of Bristol for "Helpless and frightened".
Our thanks to the WCPF, for managing this competition and ensuring that it could happen, and to Nick Bodle who as Chairman of WCPF performed the duties of judge. Next year's topic will be "Simplicity".


Image processing using Photoshop by Meyrick Griffith-Jones - Wednesday March 3rd

This was an extra evening squeezed into our usual programme. Meyrick took us through some of the processing he uses so effectively with Photoshop to produce the stunning images he submits to our competitions and to International Salons. We were treated to the complexity of mask selections, black and white point setting, using two layers to tinker with image luminosity, methods of dodging and burning, split toning, and implementing the Orton Effect. Even for those of us who may have been overpowered by the wealth of information there were still points that we could take away. Thank you Meyrick.

Link to Meyrick's notes.

Our next meeting, on March 10th, is a talk by Robert Harvey entitled "Stumbling around in the dark" about Astro Photography with a DSLR. Watch out for the Zoom link being sent to you.


Royal Photographic Society Digital Imaging Group Print Exhibition 2021

The selection for this exhibition took place on Sunday February 28th. Despite current restrictions print images were submitted, along with digital copies, and can be viewed by clicking on the link RPS DIG Exhibition 2021


Alex Hua Tian

Third internal Club Competition - February 24th Open

Our third competition of the season was an Open theme so any images could be included. The standard of the images entered was very high, presenting our judge, John Tilsley, with a challenge to score them all and speak to each image via our Zoom system. This was clearly the case when John held over 9 images for further comment and reflection before awarding just one mark of 20/20. Our great thanks to John for giving us his time once again. To see the images for this competition click here.



Processing your images for impact by Meyrick Griffith-Jones

We have an additional evening for our club programme. Meyrick is going to take us through how he processes some of his images using Photoshop, but the techniques are applicable whatever editing software you use. Watch out for the Zoom link being sent to your e-mail accounts. The evening will be on Wednesday March 3rd at the usual time - start at 7.30pm.


Camera Club in the Blackmore Vale printed Magazine

The Blackmore Vale Magazine have produced a doube page spread reporting our club's recent success in the WCPF DPIC competition and included a selection of images from our entry into that competition. The magazine is available free from various outlets, including our local Post Office, or it can be viewed online at Blackmore Vale Magazine - latest issue.


New web address and site for Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF)

The WCPF has moved its website to a new domain name and address. The new address is https://www.thewcpf.com/ with a more easily navigable site. The recent DPIC results can be viewed from https://www.thewcpf.com/dpic.
Details of the forthcoming WCPF council meeting, Knightshayes Trophy and guest speaker event on March 6th can be found at https://www.thewcpf.com/knightshayes-trophy. Previous Knightshayes Trophy events have been well worth attending and now you can do it from you chair at home!


Arena Zoom Seminar 2021

Our recent speaker, Polina Plotnikova, made us aware of a forthcoming event - The Arena Zoom Seminar 2021 on Saturday March 6th between 10am and 4.30pm. Seminar speakers include Polina, Sue Brown FRPS, Tony Worobiec FRPS, and Tom Way. Arena is a group of "Photographers from the South" promoting their work. One member of this group is Paul Mitchell FRPS who will be one our club's speakers on May 26th.


Polina Plotnikova talk - Wednesday Feb 10th

What a great presentation we had from Polina. We welcomed guests from Sherborne & Bradford Abbas club plus individuals from other clubs who joined us for this talk. Polina outlined her background which included studying History of Art at Moscow University and then working at Christie's in London dealing with photography archives and exhibitions. She then went on to discuss her inspiration from classical artists throughout the ages and how they influenced her work. We were treated to many examples of her Flower photography, Still Life and Not so Still Life. Polina talked us through her setups and how she achieved the effects she wanted at the same time as fielding questions. Polina is now a judge for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) garden photography competition, having previously won this competition herself, and is also a recent winner of the Pink Lady Food photography competition. We were privileged to have her as a speaker.

Our next meeting, on February 24th, will be our internal competition round 3 - Open Theme. Please make sure you have got your entries in to Paul Dyer.


WCPF Digital Projected Image Competition 2021

This event, thanks to the tremendous efforts of the WCPF committee, went ahead virtually via Zoom. There were 361 spectators at one point on Sunday February 7th 2021 who saw 1,054 images being judged and scored, shortly to be followed by the accumulated scores for each of the 58 clubs which submitted entries.
Wincanton Club did well and gained a score of 196 points and positon of 29th=. This maintains our progress made last year when we were 26= out of 54 clubs.
The images from our entry can be seen by clicking on the WCPF DPIC link along with the scores for all clubs.
Well done to all those who submitted images for selection. Our sincerest thanks to the WCPF committee for their hard work in making this event happen.


Join us for our upcoming lectures by guest speakers - even if you aren't a club member

Taking advantage of our current situation, the necessity to meet online via Zoom, we have secured the services of five photographers and speakers to present us with interactive lectures starting in January. These talks are free to our members but, even if you are not a member, you can still join us for the lectures by booking your place with our Treasurer, Meyrick Griffith-Jones, and paying the grand sum of £5.00 for the lecture you wish to attend virtually. Our places for each lecture are limited to just 100 participants so don't delay in booking your place.

Our lectures start with Mike Barnard, who judged our "Ruins" competition, and his " Magic Lantern Show" on January 27th 2021.
The second lecturer is Polina Plotnikova on Wednesday February 10th 2021 presenting her approach to creative flower portraiture and still life photography.
The third lecturer is Robert Harvey and his presentation "Stumbling around in the dark" featuring astrophotography with a DSLR and then his travels over 4 continents in search of the Aurora Borealis and solar eclipses. This lecture is on Wednesday March 10th 2021.
On March 24th our fourth guest speaker will be International canine photographer Elke Vogelsang who will tell her story of how she turned her hobby of photographing dogs into a commercial business that sees her photography in demand around the world. She will also be offering us tips on how to take great photos of our own dogs.
Our fifth lecturer is Will Goodlett, a South African wildlife photographer who offers an inspirational and amusing talk. He names his two landrovers after charactersin Fawlty Towers! This is not to be missed. Will is joining us to speak on Wednesday May 5th 2021.
On May 26th we have our sixth talk, presented by Paul Mitchell FRPS, on photographing woodland. Paul is an acknowledged expert in this area. You can see his work at www.paulmitchellphotography.co.uk

Each of the above talks is just £5.00 for non-members. All six lectures for £30.00. Why not join our club for a first year annual membership of just £ 20.00 and see all six lectures plus have the other benefits of being one of our club members for the year? You know it makes sense. Please remember to contact Meyrick and book your place before they are gone.


Western Counties Photographic Federation Digitally Projected Image Competition (DPIC)

This impressive event will take place on Sunday February 7th and opens online at 9.30am. This year the event is being staged online, rather than at the Corn Exchange in Exeter, so will be very easy for you all to watch live as images from nearly all the clubs in the South-West of England are displayed, judged and scored in front of your eyes. At the conclusion of proceedings the club scores, because this is a club competition, will be displayed and individual prizes awarded.
The agenda for the day is available by clicking here.
To join the event on the day simply click on the link already e-mailed to club members. Also, see our Facebook page.

The event is free and an educational experience in that you can see how experienced judges view and mark the images submitted by clubs throughout the South West of England.


Our next club night..

Will be a lecture by renowned photographer, Polina Plotnikova, on Wednesday February 10th. We will be joined for this meeting by members from other clubs as well as our own, do make sure to get your virtual seat sorted if you are not already a member. Tickets can be purchased by contacting our Treasurer, Meyrick Griffith-Jones.
The deadline for submitting your images for our next Open Club competition to our Competition Secretary, Paul Dyer, is approaching. Paul needs them at least a week prior to the competition date.


Mike Barnard's Magic Lantern Show

On Wednesday January 27th we were treated to Mike Barnard's "Magic Lantern Show". Mike showed us various selections of his photos whilst talking through the back story to each shot and the technical aspects. Mike's photographic subjects ranged from Flowers, Macro work, Creative Still Life, Portraiture, Slow and Fast Shutter speed images, Nature photography (Birds), War Time themed events in Pickering and Steam Train photography on the North Yorkshire Moors line. All of our members found something of interest and creative ideas in Mike's talk. Our grateful thanks to Mike.


The Photography Show - virtually

The Photography Show and Video Show, normally held at the NEC Birmingham, is being held virtually on March 6th & 7th. Registration is free from here
Those who attended this event last year very much enjoyed the opportunity to see the various sessions being put on and there are usually some trade discounts available.


Our first club meeting of 2021 - Quiz Night

Our many thanks to Roger Lush, quiz master extraordinaire, for all his work in putting together a challenging and fun quiz for members on our club night on Wednesday January 13th. Congratulations to Rob Cochran who topped the score sheet. Paul Dyer presented the club selection of images for the forthcoming DPIC competition which will be available via Zoom from the WCPF. Watch out for details on how you can view this event live. Paul also asked members to prepare their entries for the next club competition, which is an Open themed one, and get them to him by Wednesday, February 10th.


Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) news

As a member of Wincanton Camera Club you are also a member of the WCPF and can enter their regional competitions. Your club selection committee have selected the 18 images from those you submitted for our club entry to the Digitial Projected Image Competition (DPIC) to be held virtually this year. Rather than travelling to Exeter to view this fascinating event and watch the judges score all the submitted images, you will be able to see this process from the comfort of home on Sunday February 7th. It is worth seeing this event to gain an understanding of the judging process and the standard of image required to score well. See the WCPF-DPIC 2021 page for details. Keep an eye out for login instructions.

The Knightshayes Trophy 2021 is another competition coming up in which our members have had some success previously. This year the competition is for digital images rather than the usual print submissions. The theme for submissions is "Togetherness" and members can submit up to 2 images on this theme. Images must be up to 1600 x 1200 pixels and titles as follows:-
1_Title up to 30 characters_Photographers Name inc distinctions_Club
2_Title up to 30 characters_Photographers Name inc distinctions_Club
Entries are to be e-mailed to knightshayes.wcpf@gmail.com by the closing date of Saturday February 13th. There is no fee for entering images. On Saturday March 6th the WCPF Council Meeting will take place virtually after which the judging will take place. At 2pm there will be a lecture by Chris Palmer FRPS DPAGB APAGB EFIAP entitled "The Eloquent Landscape". Again, keep an eye out for login instructions. Also, see the WCPF - Knightshayes Trophy page. These are usually very good events.

WCPF Members' Exhibition 2021 entries open on Monday, February 4th, and then close on Saturday, March 6th. Entries are restricted to 4 PDI classes (Open, Nature, Creative, Photo Travel). If possible, at the time, then the print class entries from 2020 may be judged. More details are available from the WCPF website.


PAGB Competition Archive - virtual galleries

The Photographic Association of Great Britain (PAGB) produce a regular newsletter which is free. The link for you to sign up for this is PAGB News.
The PAGB also maintain an archive of their competition images in a virtual archive that you can wander around. PAGB Competition Archives - virtual galleries
Give it a click and see the standard of image required for success at this level.


Image of Conwy Castle

Themed Competition - Ruins

On Wednesday December 9th we had our second internal competition of our season. This was a themed competition with the subject being ruins. We had a strong entry from our members each entering 3 images to be assessed by our judge for the evening, Mike Barnard from Bridlington. Mike chose to judge the images "live" using Zoom so our members were able to listen to Mike's comments and view images as they were assessed. Our thanks to Mike for this. Jim Eastaugh and Michael Anthony both scored a maximum 20 for one of their images. Congratulations to them.
To view all the images submitted go to our Photographs page and follow the links. To see the scores for each image go to our Club info page and follow the link to our 2020 competition results.


Our next meeting is our second competition on Wednesday December 9th

Don't forget that our next meeting is on Wednesday December 9th and will be the second of our internal club competitions. This one has the theme "Ruins" and will be assessed by an external judge online. It is always useful to have an opinion on the quality of our images from someone other than family and friends. Our images are awarded a mark out of 20 but it is often the judge's critical comments on how our images can be improved that is most helpful. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an experienced judge even if you haven't submitted images. Keep an eye out for the joining instructions in your e-mail box.


Paul Dyer - Local Wildlife - Zoom meeting Wednesday December 2nd

We started our meeting early at 7pm so members could have an informal chat, as we would have done in a physical meet up, and then we were treated to a very interesting talk by club member, Paul Dyer, who showed a wonderful selection of his images. We were able to question Paul about his settings and locations which was very informative.
We then discussed upcoming talks and the need to get our submissions for DPIC selection in to Paul as Competition Secretary as soon as possible. Our club did very well to come mid-order out of all the camera clubs in the South West of England last year and would like to better that this coming Spring.


Meyrick Griffith-Jones - Landscape locations

We were treated to an excellent talk by Meyrick looking at his collected landscape photos from various locations around the South-West. Not only were we treated to some top notch images but Meyrick was able to talk through how he captured them, the settings, timings and places. The talk clearly showed us that you have to put the work in to get the images you want which can mean lots of early mornings and evenings. Meyrick has also done a great deal of research to achieve what he has done. Thank you Meyrick!


Various News items

Our next club meeting via Zoom is on Wednesday November 18th at 7.30pm when Meyrick Griffith-Jones will talk about local locations for landscape photography and show us some of his excellent images. Watch out for the club zoom link coming into your e-mail boxes.
Our next internal competition is approaching rapidly. The theme for this is "Ruins". Be sure to get your images ready and submit them to Paul Dyer, competition secretary, as soon as you can.

The Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) have announced that the DPIC (Digitally Projected Image Competition), normally held in Exeter each year, will be happening on Sunday February 7th via Zoom. For those of you who have never attended, or not for a long time, this is an opportunity to view the competition as it happens from the comfort of your own home. Be sure to sort out your best images ready for when our club calls them in to put our club entry together.

Do keep a close eye on our club programme as we build something with interest for us all under present conditions.
In the Spring we will have Polina Plotnikova presenting her talk "Starting from a blank canvas" - featuring Creative Flower Portraiture and Still Life. Polina is nationally renowned for her work. See Polina's website. Her talk will be on February 10th 2021.

On March 10th 2021 we will be joined virtually by Robert Harvey who will present his talk "Stumbling around in the dark" where he speaks about doing astrophotography with a standard DSLR camera and then goes on to tell us of his travels chasing the Aurora Borealis and solar eclipses in four continents. Robert's website is Natural World


First Zoom Club Meeting

On Wednesday November 4th we had our first Club Zoom meeting for all the members. This was a very enjoyable opportunity to chat and discuss things photographic. We listened to each other's experiences over the period since we last met and learnt about Calendars, Zines, Photobooks. We also welcomed new member, David Foster, to our club.
Our next Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday November 18th when, amongst other things, Meyrick will be telling us about local locations for taking photographs and showing us some of his fantastic images.


Photoshop 2021

There are lots of videos out there explaining the latest changes in the newest version of Photoshop from Adobe. I have added two links to the videos of Unmesh Dinda in the YouTube section. One explains Photoshop selections in the 2020 version and a second video outlines 21 new features in Photoshop 2021. Have a look at the Links page under YouTube Vloggers. (29/10/2020).


Wet Cocker Spaniel

Bradford Abbas Shield - Success!

Well the scores are in and we came 2nd to Yeovil by a meagre 2 points. There was nailbiting tension to the very last photo. Yeovil won with a score of 182, Wincanton 2nd with 180, South Petherton 3rd with 171, Sherborne-Bradford Abbas (our hosts) 4th with 170, Shaftesbury 5th with 165. Our congratulations to all clubs for a very high standard and our thanks to Penny Piddock for her inciteful judging. Wincanton's scores were all at least 17/20 or above. Tony had a score of 18, Jim a score of 19, Brian a score of 20 and Meyrick had an 18 and a 20.
Wincanton's images selected for the evening are viewable from clicking here.
For a small club we have punched above our weight against some very much bigger clubs!


Club Meeting on Zoom - Wednesday November 4th 7.30pm

Watch out for the entry instructions being sent to your e-mail boxes so that you can join us for our first club meeting on Zoom. We will be having a chit chat about what you have been up to since we last all got together. In the future we will also be hosting guest speakers and meetings on various topics. Do let our Secretary, Lachlan, know about any particular topics you want to be included. The meeting will start at 7.30pm.


image of autumn colour on sapling


Club outing to Pen Selwood Woods

A few members took advantage of a break in the weather, October 22nd, to get out and photograph the Autumn colour in the woods at Pen Selwood. Click the following link to view a gallery of some of their efforts. Pen Selwood woods in Autumn colour



Bradford Abbas Shield

On Tuesday October 27th the club will be participating in the Bradford Abbas Shield. This competition is normally held at Sherborne Bradford Abbas club, the current holders of the shield who have chosen the theme of Water for this year's competition, but will be conducted online this year. Be sure to have your Zoom meeting invitation code ready, available from our competition secretary, in order to view the competition as it is judged. The meeting opens at 7.10pm


Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

The Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards 2020 ceremony, hosted by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin were held last night. To watch a video of the event CLICK HERE


Association of Photographers Awards

The Association of Photographers is a membership organisation dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating photographers of all levels – from those starting out, to experienced professionals, and everyone in between. Click on the link below to see a video of the 2020 award winners announced today (13/10/2020).
The Association of Photographers 2020 Award Winners


AJ's Studio and Camera Supplies, Bruton

AJs logo

AJ's Studio and Camera Supplies is a local company based in Bruton, Somerset, supplying top quality photograpic studio and camera equipment internationally. Andrew Dibben of AJ's offers a very large range of lighting equipment to suit all needs and the shop is in the middle of Bruton with ample parking. They also have an extensive website which is well worth a visit.


First internal club competition of the season

Our first competition for club members was held virtually on September 30th 2020. Huw Alban, our judge for the event, viewed our digital submissions and then produced a slideshow with his recorded comments. The scores awarded were generally high with six images obtaining the maximum mark of 20. To view all the images submitted go to our Photographs page and follow the links. From that page you can also download the slideshow and judge comments.
To see the scores for each image go to our Club info page and follow the link to our 2020 competition results.
Our thanks to Huw for taking the time to both judge and record his comments for our benefit.


Success in Welsh International Salon

Congratulations to our member, Meyrick Griffith-Jones, on being awarded a ribbon at the Welsh International Salon with his image of Hodge Close Quarry in the Lake District, taken in February 2020. This image scored a very worthy 14/15 from the three judges.

Photograph of Hodge Close Quarry taken in February 2020


The Virtual Photography Show

Didn't get chance to join in with the Virtual Photography Show on September 20th and 21st? You can still view quite a lot of the videos of the presentations by clicking Photography Show. You simply need to log in with your e-mail address and then you are free to browse. This link will be live for 4 weeks only. Definitely worth a look.


Internal Club Competition

It's time to sort out your best images and get them ready for our internal club competitions. The dates are on our Programme page. Remember to get them in on time to Paul. First up is an open competition.


Glasgow Gallery of Photography - Seascapes

It seems our members are keeping busy. Congratulations are due for Lachlan Fraser whose image, Gale approaching Luskentyre, was exhibited at the Glasgow Gallery of Photography in their Seascapes Exhibition. A beautifully moody seascape image.

Image of coast and mountains as gale approaches Luskentyre


Club member wins Silver at Wyvern International Salon

Salons are basically photographic competitions open to all. Most of these accept around 25% of the entered images into their exhibitions so it is quite an achievement to have images accepted never mind be in the hunt for an award. To win one of the major awards is something else altogether. Our member, Meyrick Griffith-Jones, has recently enjoyed success at the Wyvern International 2020 where he had 3 images accepted and came away with a Silver award in the Landscape Mono class for "Kirkstone pass the struggle" . Our heartiest congratulations to Meyrick.
Kirkstone Pass - the struggle Lifecycle of a potato crisp Prestatyn Beach


Wincanton Club outdoor meetings

A number of us have got together, at a distance, to take photographs locally. We have had very successful evenings at Kington Magna and most recently on Whitesheet Hill above Mere. Keep an eye out for e-mails and notification of when people are going out.

Whitesheet hill flowers


Wincanton Camera Club on Facebook

Our club now has a private group on Facebook for members only.
Click on this link to see the page and request to join. You will need to have a Facebook account which is free.


Promoting our Club

Here is a link to a poster image letting people know about our Camera Club. Do have a look by clicking on the image and if you know anywhere that might consider displaying such a poster then do let a member of the committee know.

 

 


Royal Photographic Society videos

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) have been producing a number of videos recently that are free to non-members. Some of these were originally live interactive events, for which pre-registration was necessary, but are now available on YouTube. I have added a link to our Links page under the YouTube Vloggers section but include a direct link below. Royal Photographic Society (RPS) videos
The topics are many and various. Definitely worth a look.


YouTube video of competition image selection by Ross McKelvey

I came across this video link and think club members will find it interesting. Ross McKelvey videos
Ross McKelvey, an accomplished photographer and judge, shows some top images and gives his comments on each as he reduces the selection to his top 10. I have added a general link to his YouTube site in our Links page.


Camelot Photographic logo
Camelot Photographic in Wincanton is a local business providing multiple services for photographers and those wanting photographic prints. Supporters of our camera club, Graham and Trixie Hiscock can provide printing, mounting, including cutting bespoke mounts, framing and many other services too. Need an unusual mount size for our competitions? Then pop in and see Graham. Do let them know you are a member of our club! Their website is Camelot photographic
Graham and Trixie also run a photographic studio in town at Studio H Photography.


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What we did in 2018-2019

What we did in 2019-2020

What we did in 2020-2021