March (ing on)

Well, I guess that is about the end of March.



I quite enjoyed the competition night (projected images) this month. My entries are below.




The Waxeye was praised for its colour and composition. The difference between the Highly Commended it got and Honours was (as far as I could determine) the colour of the background. Apparently early spring in Auckland when it is trying its best to rain should have blue skies, that cobalt colour you can get with the judicious use of a polariser. Yeah, wouldn’t it be nice!




I ended up choosing a different frame from the series I took at Tanu Beach of the touch-rugby players. The main criticism was around the background (…a marvellous sunset…) and the fact that the players were only in silhouette. Fair enough. That was one of the reasons I chose that frame – and a measure of desperation that my library of “Sport” images from the past two years is very limited. There was one Honours frame from C Grade – and I can not dispute that it deserved the award; it was a beauty.



So, I can’t and won’t complain. Two HC’s out of two.



There was a quick “technical” to close the meeting on panorama photos. Quite satisfying to hear an expert tell you that what you have been doing is absolutely right… I might be heading for the print competition next Monday (HT!! skates ON!!) with a Taranaki print.



April set topic is “Privacy”. I have a couple that I am thinking about. More on that later.



I am getting a replacement print for one of the photos in my gallery; a sunset taken at Mangere about ten years back. It is in a cheap frame and the glass is not uv-proof. It has suffered badly as a result so I am replacing that glass. Mrs probligo also wants a new photo for the opposite wall and has selected one of the Tamaki fog series for that. I am putting another of them into competition next month to judge the water for a B&W competition in May. I am converting to B&W using the process suggested through PS9. Not easy for a beginner… The ‘Naki print is also on order.

March so far...

Well, the month is half gone.



I went to club for the first meeting of this month. There was another couple of new members :D This is getting to be quite uproarious. But as I said in the previous post the test will be when my next set of entries goes in. I am tossing up between the Tank photo I submitted last month and another which I might put into a later category.



If I use the Tank photo, I need to dodge the background somewhat. I NOW HAVE PS ELEMENTS 9 so it should be a breeze, right?



Yeah. Right! That battle will continue. The original is in fact on film, printed to cd, so I am not sure of the quality at that level.



I spent this weekend digging through the old files. There were a number of quite important frames I have been missing. In the course of that search I found at least three of the lost ones plus a "perfect" image for the Sports next week. I have also dug out a frame for Open so here goes ...

February - 2010

I went along to the camera club of choice on the second Monday of Feb and signed myself up. Good-oh, I thought. No dramas there! Happy faces but apart from an announcement at the opening of the more formal part and one or two sidelong glances from some oldies there was very little reaction. Well to be frank I was not expecting to be welcomed as the prodigal son.

That night was on print mounting, a topic that was one of the difficulties I had originally. I was hoping to catch up on what was acceptable, the current techniques. What I found was that I need to invest some $250 in a matt cutter. An extremely interesting tool ranking alongside of a balsa stripper for builders of small aircraft models. Perhaps next year...[GRIN]

In the meantime, there is much to be learned from the experts. I have to get the discipline back in gear.



The third Monday of each month is “projected images night”. So, I selected a couple appropriate to the occasion (I have stuck them in below). I have to say they are not my best. The Yasur image is “clouded” by the ash being emitted continuously from the crater. That makes the hot lines from the ejected rock look as though they are out of focus. BTW that was a 40 second exposure taken about 20:00. (What a weak excuse, the old Minolta was on its last legs as well).



“Tank” (and that is his nickname) is a delightful chappie, from the north of the Hokianga. He has been competing at the Opo Chops for more years than he cares to remember. As you can see from the expression on his face, he enjoys it even if he can’t keep up with his handicap. I like the image because of the smile on his face, and the action even if the motion blurs and all are absent… I was very tempted to enter it in the Set topic of “Hot” but the volcano “won”.

How would it have done in the club comp? Acceptance probably. It certainly would not have ranked with some of the others shown. So I have to be a bit realistic about things; most of all the ability I have which I know is small compared with many others.

Now notice the doubt there? My entries did not turn up in the competition. Nor did my badge either. I have not yet been approved as a member. Well, fair enough I thought. I wasn’t too worried because of the standard (or lack thereof) of my entries anyway. I wonder if anyone will look back through the club records for about 5 years back. I know my name is on at least one trophy; but that was then…

Last night the club newsletter for March arrives by virtual mail. Greetings to one new and one returning member. OK! My name in lights!! Not. I must have joined on the wrong night. [ANOTHER GRIN].

March should be interesting when I send in my entries. I am going to tag them with a reply requirement for receipt and open. Ah, the fun… :D

Belated Update -

I realised that I had missed the heading, so that has been corrected.

We (Mrs probligo and yt) went to the Lantern Festival. Interesting. And some very crappy images. I might get brave enough to select one or two of the better ones...