ACC Q3 DPI Competition

General - Spirit of Ecstasy. Taken at the Egham Royal Show 2010. Scored 9.5 points. The judge liked the composition and the amount of the car in view, particularly as it was suitably out of focus. Also, the colors with the blue bonnet of the Rolls and the reds reflected in the chrome (which is in fact my reflection).

Portrait - Enjoying a Beer. Taken in Mayrhofen. One of the few people portraits I have and it scored 9. Good points being the the out of focus background and composition although let down slightly but the loss of elbows and the base of the beer glass.

Nature - Grey Squirrel. Taken at Brompton Cemetery. Scored 10. Sharp detail in the squirrel, well placed in the photograph and a non distracting, out of focus, background.

ACC Q3 Print Competition

A successful evening at the third quarter, print competition. The judge held all three of my photos back for further consideration. Next week sees the third quarter digital projection competition. Should be interesting as the intermediate standard in the club is very good!

General - Abandoned Boat. Taken in Bideford, September 2011. Scored 9.5. Only let down by insufficient space around the boat. This was not a crop but the full picture so I should have stood further away to take it.

Portrait - Smile! Taken at ACC studio session. Scored 9.5. Let down by the reflection in the glasses. I did notice this but did not know how to remove it in photoshop.

Nature - Golden Pheasant. Taken in Kew Gardens. Scored 10.

Scavenger Hunt Report

Well it was a hot day. London was buzzing with tourists enjoying the sights and the weather. Team Slik met at the London eye and on the stroke of 11A.M. we headed off on our chosen route to take pictures to solve the cryptic clues and 'collect' as many places from the Monopoly board (without straying out of the defined area for the hunt).

Our route took us past quintessential sights, starting at the London eye over the Thames, with the Houses of Parliament in clear view. Up Nothumberland Avenue to Trafalgar square, the Strand and onto Pall Mall. We had a stop in the crypt of St Martins in the Fields for a drink and light bite to eat then onwards up Charing Cross Road through Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Soho and our final destination the Crown and Two Chairmen in Dean Street.

Glad to report that out team was first back with all the questions answered. There was time to try to cool off and have a drink (including the 'perfectly drawn pint' which was one of the images we had to capture). There was a great selection of images and prizes awarded for best overall collection and best shot of the Essence of London.

On the way home I called into the National Portrait Gallery for a quick look at some of the portrait phototography they had on show - I have to say there weren't many that really grabbed my attention!

JLPPC Scavenger Hunt 2011

Somewhere in London....

A scavenger hunt is an event in which the organisers prepare a list of specific items or tasks which the participant teams take photographs whilst following a defined route. The goal is usually to be the first to complete the list and return to a secret final location.

The second running (figuratively speaking!) of a scavenger hunt takes place this weekend. I have received meeting instructions and fellow team members. The forecast is for a hot, sunny day so should be good!

ACC Q2 Print competition

General Jump  7.5 points. Taken in Mayrhofen 2011
Lack of action in picture and jacket should be red!

Portrait: Richard 7.5 points. Taken in Mayrhofen 2011

Nature: Brown Hare. 9 points. Taken on the day of William and Kate's (royal) wedding.

ACC Q2 DPI Competition

Portrait sideways glance 8 points

Nature: Swallowtail 8.5 - background too dark lack of definition in the wings.

General: Catch Me. 9 points. Good lines into distance, the right number of people nicely placed.

New plants for pond

Replaced dead Iris with a new plant and an extra one. Picture to follow
New plants
Iris Sibirica - Butter & Sugar



Schizostylis Mrs. Hegerty - Pink Kaffir Lily

Leaving the nest

Noticed there was no activity from the nest box today. There was a lot of calling from the nearby shrubs and after a little searching found one fledged blue tit.

JLPPC go to Kew

A very sunny April day at Kew with the JLP photography club.
Having made my my way to Kew via rail replacement bus to Hounslow, then train to Kew I arrived at the gardens just before 10 A.M. Headed to Snake's Head Fritillary flowers and they were in good form but not for much longer as they were starting to go over.

Met up with the group at 10:45 at Victoria gate then headed off around the gardens with Neil, who is recording a year at Kew so he knows a huge amount about the gardens.
There were plenty of people about but not so many as to make it uncomfortable. Took plenty of photographs of the flowers and glass house close ups.

Picnic lunch on the grass outside the Orangery then on via the fritillarys to the lake.

Group split up at 4 P.M. but I stayed on for another couple of hours to take advantage of the improving (less harsh) light.  Found a Golden pheasant deep in the pines near the Redwood Grove.

Early Saturday morning walk around Stroude

Having thought about taking pictures of naked trees I thought I’d better get on with it as Spring is well under way and the leaves and blossom is appearing. Having looked out the train window on the way to work, between Egham and Virginia Water, there seemed to be some good candidates for a walk.

Up at 6 A.M. and out to Stroude. Walked up past Whitehall farm and then under railway line. Lots of birdlife around and nice sunny morning. Unfortunately, not many isolated trees so the planned photos did not materialise. Still, I found a good spot for photographing steam trains as they head out west. (near the Proctor & Gamble building by the old pedestrian crossing).

On they way back down Whitehall Farm Lane footpath did take some photos of trees, young calves and a Jackdaw.

 

Technorati Tags: photography. stroude,walk,local

ACC Q1 DPI Competition

Tuesday 22nd is the first quarter digital projected image competition at Ashford Camera club. I have an entry for all three categories Nature, General and Portrait. These were taken on the Isle of Muck, Isle of Eigg and at the Chinese New Year celebrations for the year of the rabbit in London's China town.

The Nature picture is of a horse on the beach at Gallanach on the Isle of Muck.

This scored 9 out of 10, good points being the mixture of foreground, middle ground and background, the horse looking into the picture and colours in the sea.

The general picture is the photogenic red roofed cottage on the Isle of Eigg but with a hiker approaching to distinguish it from other similar shots.

The judge did say this was a typical 'chocolate box' image and there were probably some more interesting shots up amongst the rocks in the background. He also checked the walker was approaching the cottage as my title was 'Nearly Home'. They do take the title into account. The failings of the picture were also associated with the colours, which were a bit muted and could have done with more saturation in post capture.

The portrait was taken amongst the crowds at the Chinese New Year celebrations in London in February 2011.

This also scored 9 out of 10. The judge liked the 'moment' caught in the shot and commented that these shots can be hard to capture in such a busy scene; he wasn't wrong there. 

So, quite pleased with 26.5 out of 30 on the evening. 

The next competition evening is back to prints on 3rd May.

Ashford Camera Club website - http://www.ashfordcameraclub.org.uk/

Summer bulbs planted 11/02

Freesia and Dutch Iris bulbs from Poundland planted in the garden. Let's se what comes up.

New Neighbours?

Sunday morning, 20th February and a Blue Tit is investigating the nest box outside the kitchen window. There was quite an interest last spring and even some nest building but no eggs laid. Fingers crossed they decide to stay this year.

ACC Q1 Print competition

The first quarterly print competition took place on Tuesday, 1st February. The normal categories are General, Nature and Portrait. I put in two prints, both printed to A4 size at home (must do a blog entry on equipment used) and mounted on cream card.

The general picture was taken in Camden with the JLP photography club and is of a large soap bubble with pedestrians behind.  The judge scored this at 8.5

The second picture was a nature picture and was my shot of a Mayfly taken at Wraysbury in 2009. This was well received and scored 9. The points against were just that the body was a little dark compared to the rest of the image.

Ashford Camera Club website - http://www.ashfordcameraclub.org.uk/