Hello Everyone

I hope you have kept well and have been able to get out and about recently now that some of the government restrictions have been lifted.

It has been almost 6 months since the club last met. However the committee has been busy devising ways for us to meet up again in the new season. As you can imagine there will have to be some changes to how we normally meet.

1. The Centenary Club is open again but it is not possible for us to meet there and comply with the Government Covid 19 requirements.

• It has therefore been decided to hold on-line meetings for the whole season.
• We have decided, as have most other Camera clubs, to use Zoom as it will suit our needs the best. It is compatible with all devices (ipad, iphone, laptop, desktop PC, OS or Windows).
• We plan to use the Zoom Pro package for which the Club will pay a monthly fee. This will allow up to 100 members to join meetings with no time limit. There will be a break half way through the meetings to socialise and re-fill glasses.

2. We will retain the monthly competitions but there will be no Prints section.

• Members will be asked to submit up to 3 DPIs per competition, rather than the usual 2.
• Members are asked to send in their images a week earlier than normal so that the judge has a week to preview them and prepare his presentation. The dates will be clearly shown on the programme.
• The judge will make his remarks and give scores via Zoom on the Club night. All members will be able to watch the competition, on their devices, from home.

3. The other weeks meetings will have speakers who are willing to give Zoom talks. This will enable us to hear from photographers from other parts of the country we would otherwise not have access to. Meetings will be opened up so that people may ask questions.

• Chris is busy booking speakers to create a varied and interesting programme.
• The season’s programme will be emailed to you in due course.

4. Although we are not paying for the Centenary Club room hire there are still fixed costs to be covered:- Western Counties Membership Fees, Public Liability, Insurance, Zoom payments and fees for judges and speakers. We will also not benefit from the monies raised by the Monthly Raffles which help cover some of our expenses.

• This years membership fee will be £35.
• Joy, our Treasurer, will be send you an email explaining how and when to pay Club Subscription Fees. The club’s account is now on-line which will make money transfers and payments easier i.e. no cheques required.

5. The Committee has held several Basic Zoom meeting plus a dry run competition and has sorted out the teething problems now. We envisage holding a couple of practise meetings with all the club members before the season starts so that everyone is familiar with the procedure.

Dates for your Diary.

8th September Members first practice meeting starting at 7.30pm. Short presentation and identify any problems
15th September Joy to email request for subscription fees to be paid
22nd September Last day for subscription fees to be paid. Joy will send Steve the membership list so that he, as host, can invite you to future meetings.
29th September Informal Zoom meeting ‘Welcome Back’ with all members. Have a glass of wine or beer handy and have a catch up and discuss the season’s programme
6th October First meeting of the season. Talk by Steve Mile ‘100 Strangers’
13th October TBA
20th October On-line AGM
27th October Open Competition

I think that’s enough from me now! More information will be sent in due course.

Keep taking those photos!

Kind Regards

Ruth Secretary

20 Shot Competition 23rd June 2020

Home & Garden

New Format – There can be no meeting on the Tuesday evening (when we normally go out and photograph the 20 set subjects.) Instead, all subjects can be taken from your home, house and garden and may be completed over 3 days.

If you do not have a garden of your own then a neighborhood or communal garden will be acceptable while still considering social distancing guide lines.

Subjects will be sent out Via E-Mail on Monday evening 22nd.

Notes: –

1. There is NO entry fee……at this time…. Depending on how the competition is going to be judged. If on line using DPI’s (No cost) or from Prints (£5 charge), In the normal way !! if and when club meetings resume…..

Watch this space !!!

2. Because of the nature of subjects and the restrictions of social distancing, you will have 3 days to take your images, Tues/Wed/Thurs. Then 2 days Fri/Sat to edit, then Sunday to submit your 20 shots to Steve Baker (Competition Secretary).

3. Remembering to resize your images for 6X4 prints. There should be no major post processing (except for image 13 anything goes) only to crop, resize and some slight enhancing.

4. I Hope you will Join in and keep the spirit of the club running.

Thank you and Good luck!!!

Mick Rose

Once the restrictions are lifted and we can get back to normal club activities, the cumulative total of points scored per member will be added up and the winner will receive a bottle of wine, kindly donated by Chris and Bob. So, members who have not yet participated, here is an incentive to submit your images to this competition. Remember any member can score the images, even if they have not submitted an image.

Its great to post some happy news Don and Vanessa got married this Thursday I know we all wish them every happiness

The club will be holding a weekly online competition commencing week beginning 30 March 2020 for as long as the current Coronavirus restrictions are in place. So that means that DPI’s for the first week must be submitted by the latest 29 March 2020.

Competition Rules

1. One DPI of any size to be emailed to; progsec@weymouthcameraclub.co.uk.
2. Image to submitted by no later than the Sunday for inclusion in the following weeks competition. The title of the DPI should be as per the following:  image_name-member_name
3. Images will be on the web from Monday to Saturday.
4. Judging will be by members during that week by email to progsec@weymouthcameraclub.co.uk. No judging entries will be accepted after the Saturday of that week.
5. Judging will be 1st choice down to last choice i.e. Image10 1st, image3 2nd, image15 3rd etc. You cannot vote for your own image
6. The results of the weekly competition will be shown on the website with a picture of the winning image.
7. DPI’s can be any subject, any age, but are restricted to images that have not been awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd or highly commended in a club competition.
8. No prizes or certificates will be awarded for these weekly competitions.

If you have any questions please email; progsec@weymouthcameraclub.co.uk.

We have just setup a Facebook Group page this will allow Club Members to upload images  and share ideas

To use the Group page just open the Club’s Facebook page and on the left hand side of the page go to Groups then open Weymouth Camera Group

Due to the Government advice regarding the closure until further notice of all clubs and social meetings, the committee have made the regrettable, but necessary decision to close down the Camera Club meetings until further notice. Our website will have details of when we can resume our weekly meetings when we have those details, but we anticipate that this will not be until late September for the start of the 2020/2021 season.

The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain
DEFINITION OF NATURE TO BE USED IN PAGB COMPETITIONS

Note that images already meeting the separate FIAP Definition of Nature will satisfy this less restrictive definition. Nature photography means Images where living organisms are the primary subject matter. The story telling value of an Image will normally be weighed more than the pictorial quality.

Nature includes:

• Images taken with subjects in controlled conditions such as zoos, game parks, botanic gardens, aquariums and enclosures where the subjects are dependent on man for food. Scientific bands, tags or collars are permissible.

Nature excludes:

• Images where people are included.
• Images where the subjects are obviously domestic animals or plants.
• Images where an obviously artistic treatment has been applied.

Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is permitted, as is cloning of image defects and minor distractions including overlapping elements.

Montage is permitted, provided that the finished image looks natural and has not been manipulated “artistically”.

In a Nature Event or Category, an Image appearing to meet this Nature definition will be accepted as Nature. The Judges will normally assume that any Image presented to them does meet this Nature definition.

Access to some biological subjects may be restricted. Where that is relevant, then Photographers warrant that they have followed relevant codes of practices and hold any necessary licences.

Wildlife

There are no Wildlife Events or Categories in PAGB competitions. Within a Nature Event or Category, an Image may be considered for a Wildlife Award. Before confirming any Award, the Chair of the Organisers will seek assurance that the Image meets the following definition.

Wildlife is defined as one or more living organisms free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat, photographed as a single Image. There must be no additions or removals of any component part within the Image as it is presented. The Photographer may be required to supply the original Image file.

“Well that makes it as clear as mud“