Camera Club

Hi there,

Outside the wind is blowing and the rain is threatening and it has the makings of what we Scots would call a really dreich day. Fortunately, I went out yesterday when the sun was shining [though it was still a little breezy] to get a couple of shots for this blog.

You may notice if you click on the more recent shots in the postings, to get a bigger photo, that they are a bit soft or even hazy - that is because I have reduced the file size. I apologise if I have gone a bit too far however I am trying to find the middle road whereby you can see the photo clearly but it can't be reproduced on a printer unless it is tiny. I haven't quite worked out what size that would be yet. So stick with me on this.

I am also aware that I have not really put any photo's on the blog that you could call awesome. I am caught betwixt and between. Firstly I want to keep the best photo's for entry to camera club competitions and for my website when I get it off the ground. Also, as the weather has not been too brilliant on the days I can get out and about, I have remained local. Not traveling to where the great views can be found. However as we progress through the months and I get more used to blogging, and the better weather lets me out more I am convinced that they will get a little more interesting. Though I would not be so bold as to suggest that I am yet [if ever] at the same heights as some of the photographers I aspire to emulate.

On that note I thought I would explain my personal thoughts on the vagaries of taking photographs. I have one or two that friends think are outstanding. However the little voice inside of me knows [thinks?] that it was more luck than judgement [even though I purposely went out to take said photos]. Such is the perils of artistic temperament.

The great landscape photographers plan their photographs in advance. They plan their trip well ahead. They stake out their site, find what they think is just the right spot. Know what time and what direction the sun comes up and then get up before the crack of dawn, so they are there, in that spot, ready before the sun comes up and get just the right light.  If necessary, they keep going back to the same spot until they get the photo they see in their head. I am still trying to work out how they get to those spots by torchlight without tripping over a tree root or some such object, and giving themselves a serious injury.

Nature photographers learn all they can about their subject until they know how it thinks etc. They have a good idea of where they will get the best photo, how the subject will behave and what equipment they will need to achieve it. Some sit in hides for hours, days to get that photo. I can't help thinking of the question of toilets when you see these documentaries that have photographers etc. sitting 100 feet up, on a very small platform, in a tree all day/night, so I guess I am not made of the right stuff where that is concerned. [Don't even start on the subject of creepy crawlies!!] I hear sports and photo journalists learn all the ins and outs of their sport/subject to get themselves in the right place at the right time [ as I believe the most ardent paparazzi will also do].

There is a lot of work the professionals carry out before they even get the camera out of the bag. There are also a lot of dedicated amateur enthusiasts who follow the same rules when their day job allows it.

 Now I want to take the ultimate photo, but haven't quite got myself in gear. In my case the lack of determination to get out of bed before the sun rises over the horizon is a huge disadvantage. I can, from time to time take good photo's, sometimes very good photo's, but haven't quite crossed into the realm that makes a good photographer great [or that is what my scores at the camera club suggest.]. I have a great admiration for the professionals and dedicated amateurs. In many cases they always seem to have known what they wanted to do. I was never quite so decisive. Perhaps I more fall into the category of the enthusiasts who know that with todays digital cameras and a bit of luck, there is a chance they will take a perfect shot. Be it on the way to work or whatever. They take wonderful shots that I see time after time in magazines and newspapers. Even on the TV weather forecasts. They are content to put it on flickr or facebook or some other sharing site. They don't necessary care if they can repeat the feat, [regretfully I do] but the camera is in the pocket or on a mobile phone, always at the ready.

However, there are also the photos that are taken for the local camera club [in my case anyway]. A whole new ball game. Those wonderful experts who bring out the coffee table books full of magnificent photos might never have become a professional if they had joined a camera club in their formative years. Or then again, maybe they did in spite of it.

Why would I say that?

The photo's that go on show at the camera club have to be technically perfect to get top marks. This is more difficult than you might think. I can now look at those coffee table books and point out wonderful photo's that wouldn't have got the top mark. It is likely that I will agree the picture is magnificent and will probably personally love it, however the question in my mind is how can it be in a professional book when it is not perfect.

Yes, it has to be well composed and thought out, the focus perfect on the right spots, softer where necessary [the right depth of field], with the lighting bringing out the highlights but not burning them out. Fair enough you say, after all if you want to be a photographer you have to know these things [though many cameras now do this for you.] However it must not be just a record of a building or a person or an animal, or a view, but a story, an interest to keep your eye glued to the frame and searching for more. Some judges would even like a curve or line drawing you into the picture to the main subject. But what makes it worth a 20 or not?  [answers on a postcard please as I am still trying to get my head round that one.]  In addition to the camera skills, there must be nothing to distract you from the main subject [another of my failings] such as a bright flower or object [remove from the scene before shooting or clone out]. You also have to appeal to that particular judges idea of what makes a great photo, so it is also somewhat subjective. Could this adherence to perfection in the camera club scoring have destroyed my ability to just enjoy a wonderful picture? A little.

If you are a purist and just want to take that perfect picture with your camera and not PhotoShop it, the camera club may not be for you. It can be very disheartening to hear the words time after time that you could have cloned that out or toned down the very bright highlight distracting the judge. Then again, I am told that many of those photography icons we revere were in fact also wizards in the dark room much as todays are wizards on photoshop. Your icon may not have taken the perfect photograph after all, but manipulated it just as others do today. They didn't have to deal with hoards of TV aerials or satellite dishes popping up everywhere either. You may or may not agree with Photoshop but it seems that those who do, no matter how reluctantly,  have a great advantage over those that don't, in getting to that perfect photo.

Another camera club stumbling block - look out for the photo title. I fall down fairly regularly on that side of things too. Should be simple you might think,  not quite. For example my recent 'night' picture of  empty station platforms was called The Empty Platforms. I didn't think I could make it simpler and more straight forward. Only to find out I might have received an additional mark if I had thought to call it The Misty Platforms. [I have that picture on my wall as I love it, the judge did rate it enough to give it 18.]. I admit that it was a little misty when I took the photo in the dark early hours of travel. What the judge noticed was that the mist gave the empty platforms a softer edge, which would have been okay if I had included the word misty in my title. Live and learn.

The biggest stumbling block to the 20 however is of course the hugh fact that your photograph is your baby. When you entered it into the competition you thought it was perfect. You liked it. This was your idea of a great picture. You just didn't see the offending distraction, the slightly soft focus, or the lack of story, until it is pointed out to you. Then you can't miss it. Or as in my case, the incorrect title!! Back to the drawing board.

So why do I keep going back? Despite my moans above, the comments are usually informative and it gives me the chance to know what other people think of my photographs. There are good comments as well as bad. The comments on other peoples photographs can also be enlightening. I don't usually agree with the judge on the choice of overall winner, but sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. We also have very enthusiastic speakers from other clubs who come and show their own photographs and presentations from which you can learn a great deal. Including great places to go to get photos that you never thought of.

There is hope for those of my ilk however. Recently, in a talk at our club, a judge, who is trying to change the way judging is carried out, showed us various photo's from magazines and other sources. He encouraged opinions. One, in which we duly pointed out the technicalities that a judge would spot, belonged to photography icon Ansell Adams. It seems that not even the great man himself would have got a 20. [Something which gave me great encouragement]. This particular judge is a bit worried that the creative and emotional element is being taken out of photography in the camera clubs judging system. That we are being pushed down a narrowing corridor and by adhering to all the rules, we are creating our very own photography clones. [I had an immediate urge to be a rebel and trouble maker with my entries in future competitions]. He will be judging our last print competition of the season termed simply 'get creative'. His only requirement -  to challenge him as a judge with something different and unusual. So 'get creative' will be my last chance this season to get the exalted 20 marks for one of my photos. I have a couple of pics already in mind but as a died in the wool, would be landscape photographer, I am not going to bet the family fortune on it - yet!!

Now it is time for this weeks photos.

I am starting where I left off last week with a further photo of Hamsey Church. This is a better view taken from a gap in the trees across from the Chalk Pit Inn. It shows the country position of the church much better and that the dark blob in last weeks photo is a tree. It seems such a shame that this lovely old building is closed and locked most days.

This is a lovingly restored old dutch barn belonging to one of the Offham estate owners. It would make a fantastic barn conversion - if I ever win the lottery!!

Just along the road from Offham is the village of Cooksbridge. Beechwood Hall mentioned last week is in Cooksbridge along with a station on the main route to London, a deli cafe at the station, a timber merchants and a junior school. Unfortunately the village pub, The Pump House was taken over a couple of times before the last owner tried to convert it to private dwellings. For some months now it has appeared to be neither one thing or the other so it is hoped that the barriers around it will come down sooner rather than later. It is more or less the very first thing visitors alighting at the station see.

On the far side of Cooksbridge, on the junction of the road to Barcombe is the Rainbow Inn. Cooksbridge residents have the choice of walking in one direction to the Rainbow or the other to the Blacksmiths [see last weeks posting.].

Staying on the main road past the Rainbow Inn you will come to the entrance of McBeans Orchid House. The glass buildings you can see in the above photo. It is somewhere I continually pass and wonder why I have never visited. Unfortunately I always seem to be on my way to an appointment. One day I will pop in to view their magnificent plants. Perhaps you should too.

The whole of this area is peppered with paths and bridle ways for the walker. This one has come down behind us from the South Downs between Ditchling and Lewes and heads off through the farmlands running alongside Novington Lane, towards East Chiltington. Where could it take you? I will leave you to discover that one for yourself.

Lets hope the weather is kinder next week and I can get out to some of our more famous sites.

TTFN