Photography on a budget. Talk on 9th July by Fiona Hodgkiss

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Written by SPS Admin

During the pandemic I presented a talk on Zoom, Photography on a Budget. I expect many people have an old camera, or maybe one they recently acquired second hand and could be concerned that they cannot get the results they desire. My advice is to work within your camera's limitations and focus on the photography that it produces well. Be inventive and find ways around your photography problems.

The ultimate issue is 'seeing' a photo. The most expensive latest camera will not take photos if you do not 'see' the photo and have new ideas. I work on the basis that if my eye is drawn to something then it is worthy of a photograph or a project. Something may be out of place or I may see something that makes me feel curious. Of course, many landmarks or beautiful things also need to be photographed. Be observant and be inspired by your everyday surroundings, you might just spot your new project when you are out briefly on an errand. 

I also asserted that mindset is important. It is important to enjoy photography as an activity. Over time one thing has been obvious, if I have passionately enjoyed a location or a project, I have taken far more photos than when I've felt neutral or in a negative mindset.

While I dream of taking a sunset photo showing palm trees at a beach in Hawaii, that is not budget photography! I always thought sunsets look better by water, instead I had a pandemic lockdown challenge where I recorded the sunsets from the bottom of my garden. A view across a playing field towards an industrial area may seem unlikely and not at all picturesque but by paying attention to composition and editing I was able to record a wide variety from the same two fence posts.

Images used in this talk are embedded in this pdf document.

'Photography during the Lockdown' Talk by Ove Alexander on 14th April

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Written by David Hastings

Ove presented a wide ranging and very interesting talk on a plethora of ideas for photography projects to do at home — ranging from high tech gadgetry in the house to flowers and wildlife in the garden, while we are not allowed out. There was something to interest everyone and anyone who want to continue their hobby during lockdown. The slides from the talk can be found on this link.

Following on from this talk, Ove proposed that we hold an internal club competition on the theme of photography at home, with four sections as follows:

• Creative (including Raid the Archives composites)
• Flora
• Fauna
• Open

The image must have been taken – or composite created – after 31^st March 2020. Maximum 2 entries per author per section. The competition will be held on Tuesday  2^nd June 2020.

Submissions by 5th May on Photoentry.

If you want more detail on any particular subject please contact Ove at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who will be more than happy to help.

COVID-19

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Written by David Hastings

Virtual sessions using on-line technologies will be held during this period of Covid-19 restrictions

President's Challenge: Buildings and Structures

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Written by Terry Ottway

The first competition of the Autumn Session is always the judging of the President’s Challenge by the members. This year the theme was “Buildings and Structures”.

The judging took place over two rounds with the members asked to choose their best six images, ranking them from 6 points to 1 point. Following this round of judging, the top six images were identified and these were then judged in a second round, with each member being asked to choose their best three images ranked from 3 points to 1 point. After a very close finish, the image titled “As I Saw It” by Roy Nash was chosen as the winner. The six images making the final are shown below.

As I Saw It (1st)	Tower of London (2nd)	London Eye (3rd)
Manhattan Skyline	Gate to Secret Garden	Barcelona Olympic Stadium