We have a new club web site at http://midnorthcameraclub.co.nz/
The new site will be the primary web site for the Mid North Camera Club so please bookmark the new site and use that from now on.
Letter from Doug Dysart Wednesday, Dec 21 2011
General 7:43 am
To Mid North Camera Club members
As your new President, I’d like to wish you all a merry Xmas, good health and a happy and prosperous 2012.
My aim will be to encourage higher turnouts at meetings.
Our club can only improve through regular attendance with as many taking part in competitions and activities as possible.
Friendly discussions, sharing ideas and fun at the same time increases ones knowledge and confidence so that photography can be enjoyed at all levels.
This not only makes it more interesting for everyone but helps to make us think a bit in a creative way and develop skills.
At times last year I observed a limited amount of interest and participation by members and wish to know if it was due to lack of time and opportunity, uninteresting competition subjects, or not enough digital competitions.
We could develop into a more visually oriented group and to this end the purchase of a good quality screen will make viewing of projected images more enjoyable next year.
There may be a case for “open” subjects to be added each month for those who have difficulty getting images to enter in the “set subject classes” and this could be discussed at our next meeting.
As an idea, each month could still have a total of three images submitted by a member but a maximum of two for any one subject and one in the other. With all subjects we could possibly look at having a maximum of one print or none at all if this is favoured.
An open class subject could include an image taken during the last two years as long as it has not been in a competition before.
Our club’s aim is to cater for beginners through to professionals and point and shoot cameras to DSLR’s.
We all have a lot to gain by entering competitions and learning from friendly, constructive and helpful criticism.
The Far North Council Then and Now project appears to have stalled.
As the council sponsored us, we have an obligation to put more effort in and undertake to complete this important project as soon as possible.
To members who have not submitted images, which may be digital, please put your thinking caps on or get family and friends involved for suggestions by looking up their old photos and books to scan images from.
“Then and now” does not necessarily imply old age only, but change as well.
This may be where a building has been replaced or modernized, (woolshed, cowshed, freezing works, factory, house, church, hall, school, railway, airfield, wharf etc) as well as a park, playground, beach area, sports field or road that’s been upgraded.
Your photos could also show where there has been no change at all as it would be of interest to see how little some things have altered over a lengthy period.
While it would help to photograph from the same viewpoint, the main objective is to have images that convey what has happened over a period of time and what has transpired in Upper Northland.
Your committee is there to help you enjoy your membership, so please let us know what you would like and how we can improve the club.
Please contact myself or Coral regarding guest speakers, workshops and fieldtrips you would like provided.
February competition = “ Holidays” in digital format.
Plus, your Then and Now project.
Your feedback is welcome, kind regards,
Doug Dysart
Interclub Competition Photos Monday, Nov 21 2011
General 5:53 pm
If you wish to view all the Interclub Competition entries they are on the Whangarei Camera Club web site – thumbnails only and will be there for just a few weeks so be quick.
Click on this link to view – http://www.whgcameraclub.org.nz/node/939
October 2011 Newsletter Wednesday, Oct 26 2011
General 2:26 pm
Due to the likelihood of lack of numbers that will be attending our meeting on the 10th November, we have decided to cancel that evening, and hold it one week later on the 17th November.
At our September meeting Denis went through the received mail that had not been forwarded to members. Yours truly gave a presentation on taking and adjusting Smoke images, plus the taking of Bokeh images.
Next we went through the New Life images that had been received. As Denis had missed putting the ‘Logo’ images on to his laptop, we only had a few from Alan to look at. Therefore at our next meeting we (depending on numbers) should be able to peruse all Logo images and decide whether or not one is suitable to adopt as our Club’s official logo.
The Whangarei Interclub meeting was a success once more, with eight members attending from our Club. The judging was harder this year, with no 10’s being given. Alan was our top scorer with an 8. Congratulations Alan. Whangarei Club came first scoring 71 points. We came second with 56.6 and Dargaville and Wellsford tied with 53.5. It appears as though Whangarei will always come first being a much larger club and therefore a lot more images to choose from, but our ‘second’ was good to see.
The subject for our next meeting is Diptychs or Triptychs. Also this month we need to have all of the ‘Self Assignment Project’ images in. Just a reminder – the Self Assignment Project is a set of four images that all relate to each other in some way.
It would also be good to see more Logo images giving us more to choose from.
Our next meeting will be at Kaikohe on the 17th November 2011.
June 2011 Newsletter Monday, Jun 20 2011
General 2:34 pm
Things were changed around at this meeting, with Jill getting straight into her presentation on Highlights and Shadows. Thanks Jill, and now we will all be more aware of checking the histogram right from when the image is taken. If the histogram is ignored, it is just another area which could become ‘hit and miss.’
The following is an email sent to me by Claire Giesbers which is self explanatory.
I have been asked to see if there is anyone in the club who would be prepared to judge a photograph competition in Kerikeri in August. This is for the Storylines festival, and will consist of a competition for three age groups – I think they were under 5’s; 5-11 years, and 11-16 years. There would be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize for each group, and all entries will be received before the actual day. There is no need for any commentary to be given. The theme is along the lines of ‘Paws and Claws, Fur and Feathers.’ At this stage the Storylines festival is in very early planning stages, and I will be able to provide more (and more accurate) details as planning progresses. If there is anyone prepared to take this on, could they please contact me.
Claire’s email address is amcg@ihug.co.nz or phone 401 4980.
Claire Buckley brought up an interesting topic regarding assignments for Camera Club members to carry out after listening to a presentation. This could be incorporated with the subject for the following meeting, or as a separate assignment. This seems to be a good suggestion, which will be discussed at our next Committee meeting.
At our July meeting, Denis will be giving a presentation on Diptychs and Triptychs. This is a meeting not to be missed, as the subject for our November meeting will be the same.
The subject for the July meeting is Black/White or Sepia, which will be on the 14th July at Kaikohe Citizen’s Hall,Tawanui Road, Kaikohe at 7 pm.
November 2010 Newsletter Thursday, Dec 2 2010
General 5:33 pm
Present:- Leonie, Roger, Vin, Dot, Graham, Wally, Denis, Coral, Grace, John S. Alan, Avis and Lynnis
Apologies:- Irene and Doug Dysart
Denis went through the ten photos that had been chosen for the Interclub Competition, the subject being ‘Water’. It was interesting to hear the judge’s remarks (on the back of each photo) and how many points each one had scored.
I must apologize for not outlining the Oct. Club competition in the last newsletter. Nobody realized it was in fact for the Mountain Trophy, which entails four images presented on 2 x A4 size backing sheets. As all images were presented ‘singlely’ they will be judged as such for this year. Denis has suggested we need to move into digital photography more next year and therefore we should look at changing the format of the Mountain Trophy. Maybe we could look at either Diptych or Triptych photography which sounds challenging but very exciting.
Avis brought along her ‘Momento’ Photo Album for us to see. This is something that can be downloaded off the Internet for free, where you design your own layout using your own photos and then it is made into a hardbacked album (which you pay for). Another great option for presenting our images.
As digital photography is becoming more popular, Denis gave us a few pointers on dimensions etc. for presentation purposes.
For presentation on a projector, the size is very important.
Maximum size – 1024px. Wide and 768 px. High.
They must be jpgs. Also fill sides on a portrait image or top and bottom on a landscape image with black to bring it up to the 1024px x 768px. Size.
The night was not without some drama, when Vin had a nasty fall down those steep concrete steps. Thanks to Avis for taking Vin home for the night, as he was not in a good state to drive all the way home to Russell. Vin phoned today, and I am pleased to advise he is well on the road to recovery and is off on a good holiday. Look after yourself Vin and we look forward to seeing you again in the new year, without your 2 black eyes and bumps and bruises.
As this is the last newsletter for the year, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas, but hope to see you ALL at the AGM, with a plate, on the 9th December at 6pm.
Kaikohe Citizen’s Hall, Tawanui Road, Kaikohe.
September 2010 Newsletter Sunday, Oct 10 2010
General 7:11 am
Present:- Dot, Diane, Vin, Jill, Coral, Leonie, Roger, John, Julianna, Alan, Denis, Shaun, Wally, Doug, Irene, Grace, Jenny
Welcome to our three new potential members Jairam, Xennon and Ian. Hope you enjoyed the meeting, and you will all become full members in the New Year.
Interclub Competition:- Coral to check with Whangarei re supper and raffle etc.
Denis requested more ‘Water” photos be presented if possible as ten photos have to be chosen from our Club. Our three new members were keen to participate. At next weeks meeting we hope to hear what photos were chosen.
Bay of Islands Show – 13th November. Coral to check with McFadzien’s re Entry forms and schedules for the Photo Section.
Referring back to Shaun’s old/new photos, and seeing so many of the ‘old’ photos taken last month, it will be interesting to see some ‘new’ results this month. Don’t forget to bring them along so we can see the results.
We would like your suggestions as to what you would like to learn/participate in from our Club. It would be much appreciated if you complete the form attached to the emailed newsletter and bring it to the meeting next week to help the Committee plan our schedule for next year. No name is required and if you are not attending this meeting, please email it back to me (as above) or Denis at denis@deniswilford.com
Many requests have been put forward from both members and new members re more workshops next year. All our new members are eager to learn more and to participate in these. Maybe at our AGM in December we could look at making a sub-committee whose responsibility it would be to organize a monthly workshop or speakers that would benefit us all.
October meeting – Thursday 14th October 2010. 7pm at Kaikohe Citizen’s Hall, Tawanui Road, Kaikohe.
Northland Interclub Competition – Coming Thursday, Sep 30 2010
General 5:56 pm
It’s that time of the year again – the Northland InterClub Competition where the four Northland Camera Clubs, Mid North, Whangarei, Dargaville and Wellsford, get together and see who wins the trophy.
Each club submits 10 photos on the given category – this year it is “Water”. The photos are judged and given a mark out of 10.
On the night of October 20th all clubs meet for a pot-luck dinner at the Whangarei Club Rooms (St. Pauls Church, Kamo) as this is the most central location.
After the food the photos are displayed one at a time with the judges comments and mark revealed. The marks are kept as a running total and no one knows which club has won the trophy until the very last photo as the leading club can change as the marks are added to the running totals.
August 2010 Newsletter Sunday, Sep 5 2010
General 5:14 pm
August Meeting at Kaikohe. 2010-08-12.
Present:- Rob, John, Roger, Doug, Vin, Diane, Liz, Shaun, Wally, Alan, Denis, Coral and Claire G.
Apologies:- Dot and Leonie
Shaun once again gave us an update on the historic/latest photo project he is undertaking with our help.
The copyrights of these old photos is always questionable, and a discussion on this ensued.
After supper Denis showed some of his “Church” photos be had taken on our day out.
The subject for our September meeting is ‘Portraits.’
This is very short and sweet, but there is nothing else to report.
September Meeting – Thursday 9th September 2010
7pm at Cherry House, Landing Road, Kerikeri.
July 2010 Newsletter Thursday, Aug 5 2010
General 6:38 pm
Present:- Alan, Irene, Leonie, Jill, John S, Roger, Liz, Denis, Shaun, Vin and Coral.
The subject for this years Inter Club Competition is ‘Water’ and as they will be pre-judged this year we ask that they be presented at our next meeting. 10 images will then be chosen and mounted by three of our own judges (Denis not included). The results will be announced at the Interclub Evening held in Whangarei on the 20th October.
At our July meeting we were hoping for more of our ‘new’ members to be present. Denis gave a very interesting and informative talk as to the difference depth-of-field makes to an image. Even though this is one of the basics in photography it was good to go over the main principles again for all members.
As some members have time restrictions on their travel home supper break will now be 8.15pm sharp.
On the 24th July eleven members spent the day photographing churches in Kerikeri, Paihia and Russell. As the weather was perfect we were able to take photos both inside and out. Inside lighting was a challenge but the general consensus was a most enjoyable day and further knowledge had been gained.
MEMBER REQUEST:- Jill is requiring the use of a scanner that will convert 35mm slides to digital. If anyone can oblige, please phone Jill on 407 6524.
August Meeting – Thursday 12th August. 7pm at Kaikohe Citizen’s Hall, Tawanui Road, Kaikohe.
