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March 2008 Newsletter

Inside This Month’s Newsletter…

  • Subscriptions
  • March 5: Futuna Chapel photo-shoot, photos from Mount Victoria, Bill Leask’s member’s slot
  • March 19: Club outing / workshop in the field and set a challenge for next meeting
  • April 2: Show best of challenge pics and summer pics and get feedback.
  • February’s events
  • Exhibitions in Wellington
  • PSNZ National Convention 2008, Timaru
  • Regional Interclub battle
  • Canon/TPM photo contest
  • Fieldtrip accommodation

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Newman Centre is still in the throes of extensive renovations, which probably won’t be finished until late April. This will continue to force us to have meetings outdoors or at people’s houses – not that this is a bad thing, of course.

Subscriptions

As in previous years, it costs $25 to join the Arts & Crafts Centre and an additional $10 to join the camera club. Treasurer Heuchan says he’d prefer that the Centre's fee was paid directly to them and not through him or the club's account, and that he just collects the $10 from each member. If you’d like to pay your $10 directly to the club account, the details are: Photo club account, BNZ, Wellington Branch, Achiever Savings 02-0500-0562691-097.

March 5: Futuna Chapel photo-shoot, photos from Mount Victoria, Bill Leask’s member’s slot

We will meet at Futuna Chapel, Friend Street at 7.30 pm. To get to Futuna take Parkvale Road and turn onto Friend Street. About 200 metres cityward Futuna Chapel is clearly visible on your left. There is a housing development around it. Park ON THE STREET and we will meet in the car park next to the chapel. The entrance is just around the
building so if you are late walk around and come in.

Futuna Chapel is an iconic piece of modern architecture designed by John Scott and opened in 1961, “arguably the most significant New Zealand building of the 20th Century” (quoted in www.johnscott.net.nz). This building is not open to the public, but we have special permission to use it so don't miss this opportunity. It's not your everyday ex-church either.

So, the first item of the evening is a photo-shoot inside the chapel.

Secondly, a review of photographs taken at our Mount Victoria field-outing. Bring your best 5 pictures, and we will have a laptop and the club's digital projector set up to view them.

Thirdly, Bill Leask has a member’s slot, and although he’s still figuring out what to show, I’d imagine that a few oil-rig photos might slip in along the way.

Fourthly … if we can manage it, we are hosting the annual Karori-Hutt Battle later in the year, and have to decide on some topics. Hence the topic list sent out to you a week or so ago. Last year, the Hutt club challenged us with 10 open prints, 10 open digital, 10 “Glass” prints and 10 “Purple” digital. Was that too many? Do you like set subjects? Please give this some thought over the next few days.

March 19: Club outing / workshop in the field and set a challenge for next meeting

April 2: Show best of challenge pics and summer pics and get feedback.

More about these meetings closer to the time.

FEBRUARY’S EVENTS

February 6: Waitangi Day outing

Stella reports: Plenty of good photo opportunities at the Waitangi Day do – musicians, people dancing, stall holders, graffiti artists painting a portrait of Bob Marley. Even some protesters - a small group with a few flags including the Maori sovereignty flag and one saying “Class War” complete with skull and crossbones.

With bright summer sun directly overhead it wasn’t easy to get good images. Fill-flash would have helped a lot for closer shots, but I only took my little digital camera and the flash no longer works since the camera suffered an electrical short. I took lots of photos anyway (discipline seems to go out the window with digital). And the music was great!

February 20: Club outing to the top of Mount Victoria

Bruce Pool organised a satisfactorily large group of us to go to the top of Mount Victoria on a wonderfully warm and wind-less evening. We got there in time to watch the moon rise above the eastern hills, a sunset of orange clouds, and a birds eye view of the harbour and city lights.

Bruce put together a list of topics to photograph, which he’s kindly allowed me to reproduce here, as inspiration for other places or your own trip up to Mount Vic:

Drive to the top of the Mt Victoria Lookout and find a park. We will be photographing the main lookout area (not the lower lookout near the radio masts). This higher lookout has recently been redeveloped and now includes new seats, ground lighting, metal railings, artwork, an old cannon, the views of Wellington and much more.

Your assignment is to attempt to photograph the following items listed below, in a CREATIVE MANNER. This assignment is voluntary. You may choose to use it as a guide or do your own thing.

Rather than take snapshots, take a minute to study what you are about to photograph. For objects - look at what it’s made of; look at texture, look up and down object, could you take a photo with perspective? Does light reflect off it, or through it? Is it casting a shadow? Could you photograph it in silhouette? Would it look good photographed out of focus? What about abstract photography – patterns rather than identifiable objects? Perhaps place a person besides the object to show comparison of size. What about taking a photo (if you have manual settings on your camera) deliberately darker or lighter to create mood?

  1. The tiled triangular memorial to the south end of the carpark.
  2. Ground lighting on the path leading to the main lookout area.
  3. Wooden and metal seats.
  4. The tall informational display signs in the carpark.
  5. Metal handrails.
  6. Information signs at the lookout summit.
  7. Patterns on the ground.
  8. Views of the city lights.
  9. A photo of the large white cross on Mt Victoria.
  10. The Maori carving on the lookout summit path.

EXHIBITIONS IN WELLINGTON

Photospace Gallery - 1st flr, 37 Courtenay Place (above Sahara Cafe)

Hours: 10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Saturdays.

13 Feb – 3 March: Lucien Rizos - Fringes and backgrounds:2003,
From a moving bus:2007.

Toi Poneke gallery - Wellington Arts Centre, 61 Abel Smith St,

13 Feb-7 March 2008
From Afar - photo media works by ALANNAH GUNTER
Open: daily, 10am-5pm

Te Papa - Cable St, Wellington

Toi TePapa - includes photographers Aberhart, Richard Collins, John Johns, Noble, Peryer & Len Wesney, but also worth seeing for the Maori art and European paintings, sculpture and ceramics.

Pataka - Cnr Parumoana/Norrie St, Porirua

Nicola Dove - Observance - to 6 March

Thanks to the Photospace website, www.photospace.co.nz, for the above information.

PSNZ NATIONAL CONVENTION 2008, TIMARU

  • Hosted by Focus Aorangi Photographic Society of Timaru
  • Wednesday 9th April to Sunday 13th April 2008
  • All information available on PSNZ website www.photography.org.nz
  • (Registration Forms, Programme, Accommodation, Post Convention Trip)
  • Further information or queries contact Max Diehl mdiehl@paradise.net.nz
  • Fieldtrip: Historic Precinct in Oamaru (Organised by North Otago PS )
  • Speakers: Ron Davies (Wales) World renowned expert on Audio Visuals.
  • John Doogan FNZIPP (Christchurch) Adobe Photoshop Ambassador
  • Robert Catto (Wellington ) Low light photography
  • Gottlieb Braun-Ewart (Tekapo) Photography of the McKenzie High Country
  • Matheson Beaumont (Dunedin) The Master of the Landscape
  • Melanie Burford (Dallas USA) Top Level Photojournalism
  • Emma Hughes (Waiheke Is.) Talented People Photographer

REGIONAL INTERCLUB BATTLE

This year‘s battle will be hosted by the Kapiti Coast Photographic Society on August 12. While this is still a way off, I suggest that you cut out the following list of topics, carry it around in your wallet, and LOOK AT IT from time to time.

  • Plumbing
  • Clouds
  • Night
  • Abandoned
  • Liquid
  • Glass (not reflective)
  • Rocks
  • One Tree
  • Glint in the Eye
  • Wide
  • Interior (Architecture)
  • Orange

Perhaps you’ve just looked down the list and thought, “oh yes, I’ve got a good one for that category.” OK, so write it down, or put the image in a separate folder, or something like that.

THE CANON/THE PHOTOGRAPHERS MAIL COMPETITION

The latest issue of The Photographers Mail is advertising this year's Canon/TPM annual photo contest, subject "Shape and colour", one entry per person, closing date 11 April. If there's one topic that KCC people stand out in, this is it. The Photographers Mail is a free publication available from camera/photo shops all around town (or you can subscribe to it by mail for $20/year, $35/two years); after a quick search, I couldn’t find anything about the competition on the web.

FIELD TRIP ACCOMMODATION

I received two brochures for photographic field trip accommodation. One is about Bach 54, Mokau, north Taranaki, www.bach54.co.nz. Fully self contained, sleeps 4, $85/night for 2. Certainly a lovely area, but consult a tide chart before setting out on the wonderful coastal walks.

The other is for the Old Nurses Home at Reefton, with 30 rooms – I remember it well from my younger days - the old nurses had gone by then … No prices in the brochure, but phone 03 732 8881.

FOOTNOTES

The Karori Camera Club is part of the Karori Arts & Crafts Centre. For information on all Centre activities, contact Stella Mason, 476-6817 during working hours.

Karori Camera Club meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at the Karori Arts & Crafts Centre, at 7.30 pm. Remember that we do have our own website http://karori.cameraclub.org.nz, which lists current and recent events, and links to individual members’ websites. For any enquiries, contact our new co-convenors Stella Daniel (twinkle@paradise.net.nz) or Mark Berger (photosoc_kcc_@moothall.co.nz). For contributions to the newsletter, contact Bill Leask at bill.leask@irba.co.nz or bill.sue.leask@paradise.net.nz.