Upcoming Workshops…

Watch this space for news of more exciting workshops.

14/03/22

Talks by Elizabeth and Meyrick

On 14th March we were treated to talks by Elizabeth and Meyrick.
Elizabeth took us into the world of the Light Pad and how to go about using one. She illustrated her talk with some lovely images taken on the Light Pad which showed what can be achieved. Extra lighting was discussed and Elizabeth gave us some good tips on buying small additional lighting at a very reasonable cost.

Afterwards, Meyrick showed us some editing tricks using his own images, including how to use a curves adjustment layer to achieve a vast amount.  He also delved into Blend If which was very interesting and will no doubt tried by a lot of our members.

Thank you both for a very interesting and entertaining evening.

24/05/22

Club Night Workshop

Mike, Fo and Jay each gave us a talk/demonstration and which made for a very interesting evening.  Mike spoke about filters and how they can be used to great effect in photography.  He mentioned that of course these days Lightroom is very good at reproducing some of the effects but not all.

Fo gave a splendid presentation of her outstanding portrait photography, touching on her take on editing.  It was a great insight into Fo’s creative talents.

Jay gave us a talk about on camera flash photography and how to adjust the flash unit to great effect. It was interesting to see the difference as Jay’s camera was tethered to the laptop.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time for Elizabeth’s talk about light boxes and how to use them which was a great shame.  She will be first on at the next workshop evening though so we have that to look forward to.

Thank you Mike, Fo and Jay for giving up your time for us and also thanks Elizabeth for providing cakes as a special treat for us!

 

08/03/22

Portrait Workshop

Jay very kindly came to the hall and ran another fun filled portrait workshop for us – and what a fabulous evening we had.

It was great to see the hall nearly full again, with many members attending.

We were treated to yet another wonderful workshop from Jay, with portraiture as the theme.  We had a professional model, Tess, who was very experienced and a great help to us all (she even had a go at fixing a laptop glitch!).

Thanks Jay for your very entertaining presentation, we all went home having learned a great deal.

 

Model: Tess Lathey Photographer: Jay Warnes

09/03/21

Workshop Evening

We were treated to another fab workshop from Malcolm and Mike this week.

Members sent in questions and queries about an assortment of photography related subjects, and all were ably explained or answered by Malcolm and Mike.

Amongst the subjects covered were Focus stacking, Lens converters, Macro lenses, Bulb mode, Extension tubes, Reversing rings, Low light photography, Basic camera settings and Moving layers and images in Photoshop. It was a very busy evening!

Plenty of questions were asked on each subject and we all came away having learnt something and, as usual, the atmosphere was lighthearted and friendly.

Thank you very much Malcolm and Mike for all the hard work you undoubtedly put in to present this workshop.

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10/03/20

SBACC Workshop

It is some time since the club included a workshop in the programme so there was much anticipation for last night’s meeting.

Led by club chairman Malcolm Balmer, assisted by committee member Mike Herrmann, members were not disappointed.

The first half of the evening was devoted to breaking down the complicated issue of correct exposure and demonstrating simple lighting effects. With the use of a tethered camera and a still life “set” , Malcolm and Mike experimented with settings to illustrate the effect of different exposures. A reflector was used to show how a simple (and cheap) accessory can make a huge difference to lighting. Malcolm explained how a white balance card can be used to obtain accurate colour and different lenses revealed the role of the macro in close up photography.

The second half of the evening was questions and answers with members having been asked to submit any queries they had. This proved a stimulating session as Malcolm and Mike clarified terminology, explained the difference between Jpegs v Raw, discussed file storage methods, soft proofing, ICC profiles and more.

Members deeply appreciated the effort which had gone into to providing such an enjoyable meeting and the relaxed atmosphere ensured easy and regular audience participation. Many thanks Malcolm and Mike!!

01/06/19

Forde Abbey Workshop with Huw Alban

On Saturday, 1st June we had another successful Workshop with Huw Alban, this time at Forde Abbey.

Once again, the weather was very kind to us and showed off the beautiful grounds and stunning flower borders to their very best. The sunny conditions were challenging but with Huw’s expert tuition this was made easier.

While Huw was giving his 1:1 tuition, this workshop was enhanced by the help given by some of our more experienced members. As always, much photographic discussion took place over coffee and lunch.

Thanks Huw for a most enjoyable and informative day and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

11/05/19

Barrington Court Workshop with Huw Alban

Another well run, hands on and fun workshop with Huw, this time at Barrington Court.

The weather was kind to us, the venue full of photo opportunities and with Huw on hand to help, we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Thanks Huw, for another successful workshop and some of us look forward to seeing you again at the beginning of June.

11/04/19

Photoshop Workshop

On Thursday 11th April the club’s chairman, Malcolm Balmer, led a Photoshop Refresher Workshop.
This was an outstanding presentation with participants being given a digital version of the talk so as to save having to miss valuable tips and hints whilst writing things down!!
Malcolm covered useful keyboard shortcuts and illustrated how to use numerous tools within the software. His clear delivery and excellent illustrations made it an extremely exciting evening as people realised that perhaps using Photoshop wasn’t so complicated after all!! Malcolm’s encouragement to and support of club members is exemplary and everyone present was extremely grateful to him for the time he had taken to put together such a professional talk.

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12/03/19

Flash Photography Workshop

On Tuesday 12th March we were treated to an outstanding workshop on flash photography led by club member Jay Warnes, whose professional presentation had everyone enthralled.  Bringing up numerous digital images on the screen, Jay explained how he achieved various effects and artfully demonstrated that flash can broaden horizons and stimulate creativity.   Through the use of reflectors he illustrated how a flat, somewhat boring portrait can be transformed into a  quality image, showing character, movement and warmth.  Fill in flash, first and second curtain sync, catch lights, slaves, barn doors………………….. all new terms to most of us and all technical aspects of a type of photography which offers huge scope for ingenuity.   Time flew and in a couple of hours Jay certainly fired up our enthusiasm and ensured everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

 

25/11/18

Mounting Workshop

On Saturday 24 November camera club members were given a superb talk by Brian Clarke on the presentation of prints and making mounts.   Using his own equipment (Logan), Brian went through the process of preparation, cutting and attaching the image to the mount.  He explained the importance of measuring accurately and ensuring that all images are at the same level within the mount so that if displaying in an exhibition everything is in a line.  It is essential always to use backing board when cutting and it is best to work from one edge.   Brian spoke at length on the various tapes that can be used to attach the print to the mount and explained why he found Duck brand masking tape perfectly satisfactory.

Brian’s superb mono prints naturally sparked questions on his methodology and the final part of the workshop was devoted to editing processes and information on various software packages.

A huge thank you, Brian, for an enlightening morning.

27/01/18

Lightroom Workshop

On Saturday 27 January, Malcolm Balmer led a workshop on Lightroom. A superb digital presentation accompanied by an easily understood dialogue covering all major aspects of the software, left members with a far clearer understanding of what Lightroom offers.

The two hour session covered workflow, cataloguing, collections, developing, short cut keys and tremendous advice on how to get the best from Lightroom. Malcolm also provided an excellent digital copy of the slides he presented which will prove an invaluable tool when it comes to putting into practice all that was learnt at the workshop.

Lightroom is a powerful development tool which many members have not had the opportunity fully to explore. Malcolm’s presentation has fired us with enthusiasm and we are extremely grateful to him for all the work he put in to running such a professional induction course.

25/11/17

RPS Accreditations Workshop

On Saturday 25th November Mike Hermann and Norman Crabb presented a workshop about how they worked towards, and achieved, their distinctions.

It was such an interesting morning, with lots of interaction between members and presenters.

A lot of thought went into putting this workshop together, so many thanks to you both.

The morning was a great insight into the way the RPS accreditation works and Mike and Norman encouraged us all to think about having a go and hopefully, some of us will.

Mikes panel can be seen left, with the ‘eleventh’ image below.

Photoshop – Malcolm Balmer

10/10/17

Photoshop Workshop

At a very well attended meeting, Jay Warnes gave us a presentation on Photoshop, showing us all the tricks and methods he employs in post processing.

Along with many others present, I learned new ways in which the programme can be used, and squeezing the use of most of the Photoshop tools into two hours was definitely a considerable achievement.

Needless to say we overran, but the coup de grace for me came when, after our chairman had called time Jay explained the use of the gradient tool, which has now become a firm part of my processing routine.

Thank you Jay for a most enjoyable session – I think that all of us who were lucky enough to be there have taken a substantial step forward in our post processing skills.

23/09/17

Sherborne Castle Photoshoot with Huw Alban, May 2017

What an enjoyable day we had!  The weather was kind to us too.

We all went our separate ways from the start and Huw caught up with us in turn, giving us 1:1 tips and advice.

Some of us needed a break for coffee (!) but we all met up for lunch and a general chat about the morning session.

Thanks Huw for a very enjoyable, informative and well run day.