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14 June 2020
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President:
Dan Crowley
Mobile: M 0457 813 508
Vice President:
Sam Anderson
Mobile:
Secretary:
Bruce Williams
Mobile: 0401 065 053
Treasurer:
Barbara Reed
Committee:
Robin Pitcher
Matt Kaarma
Philomena Kaarma
Lorraine Sladden
Shoalhaven Photographic Club Inc. Blah Blah Newsletter
Assessment Night: Low Contrast Another digital assessment with our judge being Phil Ramsden from Sydney. As I recall, Phil has judged for us at least a couple of times in the past and I believe he led a street photography workshop in Nowra one weekend a couple of years ago. Phil has been a photo club member for something like 60 years!! Great effort! Unlike the previous digital assessment (Texture), Phil kindly agreed to join us at the zoom meeting and present his assessments live, in real time. I certainly appreciated the effort to which he went, as I’m sure did all the members. Phil and Dan enjoyed a lively, lighthearted chat in the 15 minutes or so while waiting for everyone to log in.
Unlike texture, the set subject of low contrast provided a bit more scope for creativity. Surprising (or perhaps not) yet another judge made a very clear point about monochrome being his preferred genre and, as previous alluded to here, the photographer should really be asking him or herself whether or not colour actually enhances the image or merely detracts from the play of light on the subject.
I was very pleased to see some excellent work being put forward by our members. Pauline and Lorraine especially come to mind. I particularly liked Pauline’s composition of both the cafeteria corner and balustrade scenes and Lorraine’s lighting of the flower arrangement.
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Unfortunately, three regular members did not have images assessed despite being submitted. It’s possible that uploading was an issue somehow or other but anyway, the images were not in the correct place at the allotted time and were therefore not included.
We all (myself included) tend to leave things to the last minute which means Dan has a lot of images to package and very little time to do it. The committee is therefore considering making the deadline for submissions somewhat earlier to avoid that last minute rush. Below, I have included images from Robin Pitcher, Judi Anderson and myself as they were not seen on the assessment night.
Anyway, time to reveal the photo of the month and this time it was awarded to Matt Kaarma his self portrait. This image is reminiscent of fashion magazine portraiture with soft lighting and soft, desaturated colours. It definitely ticks the low contrast box! Even though Matt’s shirt and the wall behind are different colours, it’s hard to see where one blends into the other. Well done Matt.
Normally this newsletter pays tribute only to the Photo off the Month and People’s Choice winners, but, as this is a bonus issue and because I know a lot of work went into creating these images, I thought I would share Robin Pitchers’, Judi Anderson’s and my entries which did not get the benefit of Phil Ramsden’s judging skills.
Photograph of the Month
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I’m constantly amazed at the number of places around the globe that have been visited by both Robin and myself. I recognise the window from Gaudi’s Park Guell in Barcelona and the old wooden church on a beach in Iceland. I’m thinking the ice lagoon was a different one to that which Sue and I visited. Not normally shy when it comes to commenting I’m going to keep quiet on this occasion and invite you to be the judge.
Robin’s images
Robin Pitcher: Gaudi’s Window
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Robin Pitcher: Glacial Scene
Robin Pitcher: Black Church at Budir
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Judi’s images
Judi Anderson: A Spring Afternoon
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Judi Anderson: Leaves of Red
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Judi Anderson: Zurich Afternoon
Bruce’s images
Great Wall of China
Not much processing required other than cropping. The weather itself provided the low contrast
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Paperbarks beside the Blackwood River (Augusta, WA)
A little bit of reduction of the contrast and the dehaze sliders plus the natural low colour contrast makes this reminiscent of a foggy morning. Not unusual in these parts!
Kangaroo on the beach at Potato Point. Simply cropping in tight got rid of all the unwanted bright spots and areas of high contrast. The contrast and dehaze sliders were moved a little to the left
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Do try this at home! Here’s a little bit of processing suggestion you can try at home to produce a low contrast image, thanks to the power of the Levels and curves adjustments and blending modes. First, the original image. Paperbarks at White Tree bay (Lake Macquarie NP). Definitely not a low contrast image.
Using a levels adjustment layer. The screenshot shows the adjustments made to the gamma and output sliders
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and this is the result. Really quick but a bit washed out for mine.
Next, the pixel layer and its levels adjustment has been duplicated and the blend mode changed toscreen as shown in the screenshot and the result in the image below that
Now we’ll see what a curves adjustment looks like. Again, here is the original image.
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Below is a snapshot of my whole screen, showing Photoshop open. On the right side, in the layers panel you can see the original pixel layer called background and two layers above that called Curves 1 and Invert 1. Take a look at the histogram with its large peak to the left of centre, showing most of the pixel information is comprised of shadows.
In the screenshot below you can see I have added a curves layer. I activated the selection tool and picked a spot somewhere in the shadows and simply dragged that tool upwards. This is what caused the upward deflection the white line in the curves adjustment dialog box. You can see there is a significant reduction in dark areas in the actual image and a corresponding shifting of the peak in the histogram toward the right. Notice that the little eye symbol in the layers panel is now switched on so that this curves layer is now visible.
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Finally the last screenshot shows that the invert adjustment layer is now visible. I have changed the blend mode to soft light and reduced the opacity to 46% which gives a more subtle effect I think.
Curves layer visible
Both Invert and Curve layers visible. Blend mode soft light, opacity 46%
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Free Photography Tutorials Affinity Photo
For those of you who took up the Affinity Photo lockdown offer, here’s a link to some of their free tutorials.
https://affinityspotlight.com/article/get-inspired-with-31-creative-video-sessions-for-affinity/?utm_source=SpotlightEmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter
How about a bunch more free tutorial videos on YouTube from Tony Bramley at The Light Academy including Affinity videos and a whole lot more of interest to any photographer.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsbVM4wkFATXtvFc5DN7F1g/videos
Nick Melidonis Landscape Photography.
Nick is a pro photographer and educator for over two decades and writes regularly for ‘Better Photography’ magazine. During the lockdown, he has developed and released a series of informative and fun on-line sessions that have been well received by WA Camera Club enthusiasts and he would like to offer these to Eastern States Camera Club photographers as well. There are FREE sessions as well as some very modestly priced sessions on popular topics. Some of them are close to being booked out.
https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?e=&u=4551c234a7c831a90c5e81570&id=d740785c22
Next Workshop: Info lifted from the club’s web page (thank you Robin) June 24th - Workshop - Back-lighting - probably via an on-line Zoom meeting, we will let you know closer to the date. Dan Crowley – This tutorial will examine the use of back lighting as either a principle lighting source or complimentary light to produce an image that highlights the subject’s qualities. We will also touch on “Shape” as a later set subject.
Not wishing to steal any of Dan’s thunder ahead of the backlighting workshop but here is a link to some more tutorial stuff found on the 500px website.
https://iso.500px.com/guide-photographing-silhouettes/
In case you missed June Anderson’s Wildlife workshop zoom meeting or you would simply like to view it again, here is a link to the recorded version of the meeting. Thanks to Denis for recording and Robin for passing me the link. https://youtu.be/bvzuAKyO08Ujune.
Only people with the link can watch it. Robin has also published it on the SPC website and club Facebook pages.
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Next Assessment: (digital). July 8th - Assessment Near and Far - Digital entries if social distancing rules are still in effect The challenge here is have objects in the foreground and the background equally sharp. We want you to use your camera settings or, if possible, choice of lens to capture the image with near and far both in focus and not rely on software stacking or other tools. In simple terms, using a high f-stop number such as f/16, will give you the desired result. a wide-angle lens naturally has a deep depth of field and may also be a good choice even at lower F/stop values. A telephoto lens might give you a great close up but it’s not what you need for this assessment. Suited to a landscape but a more intimate scene with closer subjects, one or more near and one or more far could work.
Looking for a new caravan and/or tow vehicle? A reminder that SPC member Chris Darnell is looking to sell his caravan and 4WD tow vehicle. The caravan is a 17ft 6in, single axle, Franklin with all facilities you would expect. It is full height ( not a pop top) and The vehicle is a Toyota Fortuna 4 wheel drive. Both are only a year or old.
Lastly: Canon Australia has recently kickstarted a new competition.
Titled Canon Moments Matter, the photography challenge is hosted on Canon Australia’s social media channels (Instagram and Facebook) and encourages Australians to look for, capture, and post the moments in their everyday lives that spark joy, inspiration or positivity using both hashtags #Canon Australia and #MomentsMatter. Moments of laughter, imagination, reflection, play, discovery, simplicity, quiet, togetherness. These moments matter.
The purpose is that despite the challenging times we’re facing, everyone has the potential to experience moments of positivity and joy in their day that we can truly treasure, or use as motivation and inspiration to keep moving forward. We know that captured moments have the power to tell stories, and that shared images have the power to spread positivity and inspiration to those in our networks and communities who might be struggling or need of connection. If a moment matters to you, it will matter to those around you.
Canon Moments Matter - How to get involved
Simply capture an image or a video of a moment that matters to you, then share it on your social channels applying the hashtags #CanonAustralia #MomentsMatter. Instagram is the main channel but you can also get involved via Facebook too.
Entries using both hashtags may be spotlighted on the Canon Australia Instagram channel and here on the Canon Australia website.
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The challenge will continue for as long as the national social distancing mandates are in place - which are easing but are not over yet.
For more information, visit Canon.com.au/explore/stories or reach out to Justine Taylor ([email protected]). Creating together, inspiring each other and being strong for our loved ones is just one way that we can be in it together for the common good. We look forward to seeing what moments matter to you.
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