From the President August 2013 President’S Annual Report 2013

VIEWPOINT Castle Hill RSL Photography Club Issue 87 From the President August 2013 President’s Annual Report 2013

This will be my last report as President, having The club is in a strong financial position even completed the maximum term of two years in after paying for our very dynamic and highly Inside this issue: the role. It certainly is with mixed feelings that I functional website and enhancements, a high present this report to you and I know I will miss grade video camera and upgrading our hard- the challenges and excitement that come with ware/software. We have seen a variety of excit- Competition Results 2 the job, yet at the same time, I will appreciate a ing and dynamic lecturers during the year and Letters to the Editor 4 bit of time off for some photography and other some interesting set subjects on competition endeavours. When I joined the club in October nights. Participation in competitions continues to Hills of Gold 5 2006, little did I realise that I would have the be marginal; we need to get more members honor of being your club’s President, let alone submitting entries. There have been many train- Sharpening 8 having the privilege of being associated with ing days with new initiatives being implemented such a fine group of people. to help members become more proficient. The Weekday Outing 15 number of social events this year has given The club continues to grow with numbers in- members the opportunity to expand their photo- Club Activities 21 creasing from 260 to 315 over the two year graphic skills. Where would we be without the period. Over this time I have had the support weekly Reminder Notice keeping us current with Meet Mary Elias 24 and backing of an outstanding Management all the activities and let’s not forget the monthly Committee and any success that may be attrib- Viewpoint Newsletter. uted to me or the club should really be given to this team. Over this time, we have had some The AGM will take place on August 6th and we difficult decisions to make and we have had need people willing to join the committee and some lively discussions on the best approach to sub-committees. The following people will be take. However, I know that each and every standing for committee positions but others are committee member has the best interests of the welcome to stand for the same positions, espe- club and its membership at heart. It's this team cially the vacant ones. Voting will take place at approach and the sharing of ideas and opinions the AGM. Remember it’s your club and it does- that has made it all work. To each of the Man- n’t run itself, don’t leave it to the small group of agement Committee members and their sub- volunteers who dedicate a lot of their personal committees over this time I offer my thanks and time. We do of course also need people to fill the thanks of the club, for your contributions, some of the many other ancillary positions so especially to those members who for various please consider helping out. reasons are not seeking re-election. The nominations for the positions for the Even with this increase in numbers our club has next year are as follows - remained friendly, welcoming to visitors, new President - Graham Gard Image by Mary Elias members, judges and anyone else who arrived Vice President - at our meetings. It takes a combined effort by Secretary – Dennis Furini all club members to maintain this attitude of Treasurer - Malcolm Hobson sharing and consideration, which in the long Program Coordinator – Barbara Glover Thank You term will make us a stronger and better club, Training Coordinator - Bob Cook helping us all to improve and appreciate our Competition Coordinator – Val Fenbow Robert and all mutual interest in the art of photography. Member Benefits Coordinator – Dale Chadd Much of our success can be attributed also to Social Coordinator - Jacci Schipp those various the support provided by the Staff, Board and Publicity Coordinator - Sports Council of the RSL Club. They also pro- Membership Secretary - Michael Schwarcz position hold- vide an annual financial grant, which allows us to secure the necessary tools we need to keep I would like to finish by thanking everybody for ers for another the club thriving. Without their help and facili- the privilege afforded to me by being voted ties, our club could not be in the position we are President of this fine club for two years running. great year. today. The best way to repay this support is to assist the other Sub-Clubs and the RSL Robert Shelberg Viewpoint Club whenever possible. President CHRSLPC Page 2 VIEWPOINT Congratulations - Competition Winners July 2013

‘Hiroshima’ Open Digital Image of the Month Hari Hishan

‘Baby Seeds’ Set Subject: From Above: Digital Image of the Month Charles Brown

Page 3 VIEWPOINT Congratulations - Competition Winners July 2013

‘Clarrie’ Open Print of the Month Tony Spence ‘Who’s Been Eating My Dog Biscuits?’ Set Subject: From Above: Print of the Month

Jacci Schipp

Page 4 VIEWPOINT Letters to the Editor

Hello Hazel, From Member’s Benefits ………..

For Financial Members Only I have recently purchased the Nikon D800. It is an amazing camera and I am still trying to master it fully. Product Requests (Expressions of Interest) As it is reputed to be one of the best DSLRs for re- compared with cording movies I had a go at it. I am not an expert but I Orders placed on the Online Store would like to find out if there are other members in- terested in this area so we could share our knowledge Product Requests of the subject. My task was to record a music video Financial Members of CHRSL Photography Club may reg- clip which can be now viewed on the web. I welcome ister their interest in purchasing a product advertised any feedback. on the Online Store. It does not signify we have those http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0g2T_- products in stock however the Member Benefits Coordi- 6wgs&feature=youtu.be nator will make every effort to quickly accommodate Expressions of Interest in respect of discounted items on Regards the Online Store. It is important to note that the Pho- tography Club is bound by the minimum dollar amount of orders set by its suppliers, for example, $350.00 by Jan Varecka [email protected] the Penguin Group. This means the Coordinator needs to receive, on average, 12 requests before a block order Hi may be placed. I would like to mention a recent experience of mine that started badly but had a happy ending. Once the target dollar amount is reached, members are advised and asked if they wish to proceed with a pur- Some months ago I had some items stolen from my chase. Until products are received and listed online as home including a photography album. being in stock, no payments are accepted.

Recently I had an email from Mary Spence forwarding Orders an email from the police asking if the club had any Orders, however, relate to stock on hand. Orders may contact details for me. be placed and paid for on the Online Store for stock on I contacted the police and now have recovered the hand which can then be collected at a club meeting items that had been stolen. upon production of a receipt.

The Police Officer said she had seen an award in a Dale Chad photo album she had recovered . The award had been given to me by our club in 2003. “Remember that the image I couldn't thank her enough for the initiative she had taken to trace me and return my property. is a record of your encounter

So this incident does show that there are more advan- - too much tranquillity dur- tages of being a member of our club than we could ever imagine. ing the shoot may result in your portrait lacking emo- Regards tional energy” Paul Waite Tom Ang Page 5 VIEWPOINT Hills of Gold Grant Nichol At two o’clock on the morning of October 19th, The Holtermann Panorama was a series of 23 1872, there was great excitement at the Star of albumen silver photographs which together Hope Mine at Hill End, in the mountains north of formed a continuous 978cm view of Sydney Har- Bathurst. The mine manager, Prussian immigrant bour and suburbs, later displayed in Philadelphia Bernhardt Otto Holtermann revealed a “veritable and Paris. wall of gold”. Out of this came what became known as the Holtermann Nugget, the largest sin- The Holtermann Collection of glass negatives, gle mass of gold recorded anywhere in the world. UNESCO listed, is housed in the State Library of It was 59 inches high, weighing 630 pounds, with New South Wales. an estimated payable gold content of 5000 The gold rush at Hill End and nearby Sofala be- ounces and worth over £10,000 at the time. It gan in the 1850s. There were many mines, many would be worth at least seven million dollars to- miners and many of them became rich, either day. from reef gold extracted from quartz rock or allu- vial gold washed out from river gravels. Nuggety Gully on the ridge of Hawkins Hill reputedly yielded more gold in a shorter time than anywhere else. In the 1870s, the rip-roaring township of Hill End boasted a population of 8,000, 2 news- papers, 5 banks, 8 churches and 28 pubs. But as the easy finds of gold diminished, Hill End, like most gold rush towns, declined. Miners, who were often paid a share of prospective profits rather

than cash, chose to move to other gold rush towns, such as Orange. By 1945, Hill End had only 700 residents, and, by 2006, only 166.

Among the first to re-discover Hill End in the 1940s were the flamboyant artist Donald Friend and his friend Russell Drysdale, who purchased

one of the old cottages. Drysdale’s iconic work The Cricketers was created there. Many other prominent artists were to follow, including Marga- ret Olley, Jeffrey Smart, John Olsen and Brett The Holtermann Nugget and its finder (Hill Whiteley. Several artists live in Hill End cottages today as part of the artist-in-residence program Even before this astonishing find, Holtermann run by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. was a very rich man. In later life, he was the founding member of the Hill End Borough Coun- cil, built a palatial mansion at St Leonards, became a member of parliament and promoted his own range of patent medicines. Holtermann’s main passion was photography. He sponsored several major projects in conjunction with photographers Harry Beaufoy Merlin and Charles Bayliss. The settled areas of New South Wales and Victoria were photographed to help promote migration to the colonies. A view of Syd- ney was taken from the tower of the St Leonards mansion on two single negatives, each 5ft by 3ft, at the time the largest photographs ever taken by Sofala as seen by Russell Drysdale the wet-plate collodion process (enlarging techniques had yet to be invented!). Page 6 VIEWPOINT Hills of Gold Grant Nichol Are displayed around the village. Photographers and writers have also been charmed by Hill End. To quote Jacqueline Forster “There is something about the light in the village of Hill End that ren- ders both natural and man-made objects other- worldly with its Midas touch. Perhaps it is the memory of some 10,000 fortune seekers who flocked here to try their luck with sluices and pans on the goldfields. Or maybe it is this late autumn day, tinged by shafts of sunshine through turning leaves of the majestic oaks, elms and poplars lin- ing Beyers Avenue”. Well-known photographer Bill Moseley is a resident and acclaimed landscape photographer Melinda Moran has a gallery at nearby Turondale. Historic photographs by Faces from the past - Hill End Museum Beaufoy Merlin of Hill End in its heyday

Sofala’s gold rush was short-lived. It had a population of 10,000 at one time, but by the late 1850s relatively few prospectors were left. Its pictur- esque streetscape, later painted by Drysdale, has hardly changed in the past 170 years. Sofala was filmed by Peter Weir in The Cars that Ate Paris and its village streets were shown in the 1994 film Sirens. Its population in 2006 was just 208. Hill End’s historical significance was recognised in 1967, when the village was placed under the

protection of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. With restrictions on redevelopment, the remaining 40 cottages and buildings, dating from Great Western Store, Hill End the 1860s, have been left virtually untouched as a colonial village, preserved in time.

Today, Hill End is a much-loved tourist village, with historic cottages and churches, museums, underground mines, mining gullies, fossicking and gold-panning areas, walking tracks, lookouts and spectacular scenery, just waiting for the swish of an artist’s brush or the click of a photographer’s camera.

Castle Hill RSL Photography Club has a three- day weekend away to Sofala and Hill End from Friday October 18 to Sunday October 20, 2013. Full details will be shown in coming issues of the club’s weekly on-line reminder no- tices.

Grant Nichol Archway at Golden Gully, Hill End

Page 7 VIEWPOINT Hills of Gold Grant Nichol

Turon River Bridge, Sofala

Main Street, Sofala today

Sofala

Sunrise at Kissing Point Lookout, Hill End

Beyers Cottage, Hill End

A cave at Golden Gully, Hill End Beyers Avenue in autumn, Hill End Page 8 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

RESOLUTION – Some Points • Resolution is determined largely by the quality of the camera and the lens. • The better the equipment the more detail. • Actions taken on an image during or after capture can only degrade the resolution. • You cannot create detail. • Sharpening software has little to do with resolution.

• Resolution is the ability to reveal detail

We know when an image is sharp ACUTANCE BUT …… • Acutance has to do with the contrast of adjacent What makes an image sharp What makes an image not sharp or near adjacent pixels. What sharpening tools to use When to sharpen • Our eyes interpret light pixels lying next to dark How to sharpen pixels as an edge. How much to sharpen • The quicker the transition from light to dark (i.e., the greater the contrast), the sharper the edges appear to be.

Sharpness consists of ACUTANCE A HIGH ACUTANCE is where there is a high contrast RESOLUTION between the pixels that forms an edge

and

ACUTANCE

This appears to be sharp because the transition is immediate, therefore the edge between the rectangles and the background appear to be sharp RESOLUTION • Is the ability to resolve fine detail. • Resolution charts have finer and finer lines and are used to test the resolution of lenses. ACUTANCE • The more ‘line pairs’ per millimetre a lens can A LOW ACUTANCE is where there is a low contrast between the pixels that forms an edge resolve, the better the lens.

This appears to be un-sharp because the transition is gradual, therefore the edge between the rectangles and the background are not sharp • Resolution is the ability to reveal detail Page 9 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

ACUTANCE How many ways to sharpen an image NAME USES • An high contrast transition gives the impression 1. Sharpen No control of being sharp and well defined 2. Sharpen Edges No control • A gradual contrast transition gives the impression 3. Sharpen More Better it is out of focus or a lack of sharpness 4. Sharpen Tool Good for spot sharpening 5. RAW Sharpening Good, easy, controllable 6. Unsharp Mask Good easy, controllable 7. High Pass Filter Good easy, controllable 8. Smart Sharpen Advanced, very good 9. Red Channel Sharpen Good for face sharpening 10. Light Channel Sharpen Good to remove fringing 11. High Radius Sharpen Good for repeating patterns 12. Contrast Increase Better to use sharpening 13. Gaussian Blur Good to blur background

Demonstration IMPORTANT POINTS SHARPEN • Sharpness has nothing to do with the body of an SHARPEN EDGES SHARPEN MORE image, it is all about edges. SHARPEN TOOL • Sharpening tools cannot increase resolution or detail, they can only make the detail that is already present stand out by increasing contrast.

TERMINOLOGY There are many methods of sharpening, some are very simple, some very complex. Most of them use similar terminology IMPORTANT POINTS • Sharpening tools increase the apparent • Amount sharpness by increasing contrast along edges. • Radius • Sharpening cannot bring an out-of-focus image • Threshold into focus.

How Sharpening Works Figures-1 and -2 show the difference between an unsharpened and sharpened image. The extra 'detail' we see in Figure-2 is created by adding contrast to 'tonal boundaries' or 'edges' within the image. Page 10 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

Radius Determines how wide the edge contrast (or halo) is, measured in pixels. The higher the radius, the larger the halo that is created around the tonal boundary. AMOUNT

• Controls the overall strength of the sharpening • Controls how much to increase the contrast of edge pixels • Too much Amount you get halos along the edges • Too little, you’ll get little or no sharpening effect • A good starting point is 100%, this varies depending on the image quality and the subject

Amount Determines the 'strength' of the edge-contrast added to the image.... that is, how dark and how light the two adjoining edges become.

Radius Examples using different Radius setting and how they affect the image.

When trying to identify an optimum sharpening radius, view it at 100% on-screen. Keep an eye on regions with high contrast edges, since these are also more susceptible to visible halo artefacts.

THRESHOLD RADIUS • Controls the minimal brightness change that will • Determines the number of pixels around the be sharpened. edge pixels that will be “contrast-enhanced” to • Determines how different the pixels must be provide the sharpening effect. from surrounding areas before they are • The greater the value, the wider the edge considered “edge” pixels to be sharpened. becomes and the more pronounced the • The greater the threshold value, the less the sharpening becomes. sharpening effect. • 1 - 2 gives a satisfactory overall sharpness • In most instances a value of 2 - 4 will be • 3 gives something a little bit more pronounced acceptable.

Threshold Determines how much difference is required between tonal boundaries before sharpening is applied. A low threshold introduces noise into the sky, because slight tonal variations trigger sharpening. Threshold is used to control where sharpening takes place, a useful tool to avoid sharpening where we don't RADIUS want it... like the sky, or a facial portrait where we don't want to sharpen wrinkles or blemishes. • Higher Radius values will cause halos. • The easiest way to ruin an image is to apply too much Radius. • Inanimate objects can use the most radius. • Human faces can tolerate the least. • Landscapes fall in between. • Radius and Amount interact, reducing one allows more of the other.

Page 11 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

Amount Threshold Determines how much Determines how dark difference is required between CAPTURE SHARPENING and how light the two tonal boundaries • Aims to address any blurring caused by your image's source, while also adjoining edges become Radius taking image noise and detail into consideration. Determines how wide the • Blurring is caused by the camera sensor's and the camera lens. edge contrast will be • Capture sharpening may be applied automatically by the camera for photos which are saved as JPEG files. • Some experts recommend turning the Camera Auto Sharpening off.

CREATIVE SHARPENING • Creative sharpening is usually applied selectively, based on artistic intent and/or image content. • There is no fixed formula for Creative Sharpening it is based on personal taste and some guidelines.

OUTPUT SHARPENING • A printed image needs more sharpening that the screen display • Output sharpening is applied at the very end of the image editing process • This depends on factors such as print size, viewing distance. • Also depends on the printer, ink and paper type • Trial and error on sharpening amount

As much as you want, but when the image looks strange, you’ve gone too far. ADDITIONAL SHARPENING ADVICE

• Sharpening is irreversible, save the original image.

• RAW & TIFF files respond much better to sharpening than JPEG files.

• Blurring due to subject movement or camera shake may require advanced techniques such as DECONVOLUTION or Photoshop's “Smart Sharpen".

• Noise should be reduced before sharpening otherwise the noise will also be sharpened

• Shadows are too dark • Images will often appear sharper if you also remove chromatic aberrations. • Highlights are burnt out • Colour graduation is gone • Grossly over-sharpened images can sometimes be partially recovered in • Fine details are lost Photoshop. • Image looks stark and dirty

Deconvolution Software What sharpening doesn’t do • Deconvolution is more than just sharpening, it can increase the resolution in an image and remove blur. (not available for Mac computers) It will not help recover lost details in pictures that are too blurry, dark, or too • Photoshop Plug-in, $40.00 from Astra Image,Victoria Australia. bright. Sharpening doesn’t give back details. http://www.phasespace.com.au/products.htm

• Background is sharper • Face is mildly better • Face detail is still lost Page 12 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening



Yes……… Except Example

If you have soft images for creative impact SHARPENING: UNSHARP MASK

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E

WHY Sharpen How to Use Hi Pass Filter Virtually every digital image needs to be sharpened. Open your image, make a Layer copy The process of image capture and translation from the camera's sensor into a Select >Filter>Other>Hi Pass, you will see a grey overlay on your image. set of pixels is a process that inherently produces soft images. Increase the radius until you can begin to see the edges of your image. The more you increase Radius the more of the image will appear and be This is why nearly all digital cameras provide some form of sharpened - stick to the edges. in-camera sharpening.

It is recommended that you avoid in-camera sharpening for two reasons: • In-camera sharpening is less accurate than what you can do in Photoshop • The sharpening process in-camera damages your image and cannot be reversed.

If you capture in RAW then the in-camera sharpening does not apply.

If you capture in JPEG then in-camera sharpening will affect your image.

Raw Image Hi Pass Selection

How to Use Hi Pass Filter Explanation Change the Layer Blend mode to Overlay SHARPENING: UNSHARP MASK Made a merged copy of the layers by holding the following keys Unsharp masks are probably the most common type of sharpening, and can be CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E, this is your final sharpened image. performed with nearly any image editing software.

The sharpening process works by utilizing a slightly blurred version of the original image. This is then subtracted away from the original to detect the presence of edges to create a mask of the edges. Contrast is then selectively increased along these edges using this mask — leaving behind a sharper final image. Un-sharpened

Sharpened

Page 13 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

How to Fix Colour Aberration, Vignetting & Distortion All lens create colour fringing, geometric distortion and vignetting problems. Because the sharpening process increases the image contrast, it also increases Depends: the effects of fringing and vignetting. • On the size of the image Fringing is always evident between high contrast areas as colour boarders of • On the amount of detail in the image • On the editing processes involved Green/Magenta or Yellow/Blue • The below image was not sharpened Select >Filter>Lens Correction Tick the boxes and the image will be corrected

Blur Background: • Copy the Layer Smart Sharpen: • Sharpen the image This is the Rolls Royce of the sharpening filters provided by Photoshop as it has • Copy the Layer more control over the amount of sharpening, the sharpening algorithm and • Blur the Layer over the amount of sharpening applied to shadows and/or highlights. • Apply a mask to paint out the Blur • Flatten the image

There are two modes of operation, “Basic” or “Advanced”.

Sharpen: • Amount, Radius - work the same as in Unsharp Mask. • Remove - allows you to remove the blur created by moving objects. • More Accurate - does exactly that.

Shadow: • Fade Amount - controls the amount of sharpening in the shadow areas. • Tonal Width - controls the range of tones in the shadows to sharpen.

Highlight: • The controls work the same as above for Shadows but on the highlights.

Smart Sharpen: Smart Sharpen is the most powerful of the sharpening filters however it has two disadvantages. • It involves a great deal of processing effort • Uses a lot of memory which means it is slow. Page 14 VIEWPOINT Taken from Les Harvey’s Workshop on Sharpening

Instructions To get this dreamy effect, SETTINGS I USE 1. Create a copy of the Layer (CTRL + J) 2. Sharpen, Unsharp Mask, Amount 100, Radius 1, Threshold 3 SUBJECT Amount Radius Threshold 3. Flatten Layers People 150% 1 4 4. Copy the Layer City/Landscapes 65% 3 2 5. Select Image, Apply Image, Layer Copy, RGB, Screen, OK General 85% 1 4 6. Copy the Layer 7. Filter, Blur, Gaussian, 25, OK, set blend mode to Multiply Other Things 200% 2 1 8. Select 2 top layers and Merge layers, reduce Opacity to taste This depends on the subject matter and the artistic effect, 9. Select Person, Feather 100, Select, Inverse sometimes the image needs to be “soft” without sharp edges. 10. Copy Layer (CTRL + J), blend mode is Multiply Sometimes the tonal range dictates there should be no sharp edges. 11. Save image OTHER SETTINGS

SUBJECT Amount Radius Threshold Sharpening for WEB 400% 0.2 2 Sharpening for Print 100% 0.8 4

Important Things to Know

Image Size • Different size images require different amounts of sharpening. • The pixel size in a 12” x 8” image is the third of the size of a 36” x 24” image. • A smaller image requires a lot more sharpening than larger images. • Therefore you should always sharpen with the prospective image size in mind.

Sharpening & Noise NAME $$$ Comments • Sharpening increases Noise – Reducing Noise make the image softer • Reduce the Noise – then Sharpen around the Noise Nik Collection $149.00 Plugin - full suite including filters, sharpen HDR, Silver Efex, Color Efex, Viveza Other • Blend modes can increase contrast between layers – Layers should be merged before Topaz Infocus $69.99 Photoshop Plugin sharpening is applied. Focus Magic $45.00 Lifetime registration • Must always sharpen after a HDR in Photomatix • Must always sharpen after a photomerge in Photoshop Sharpen $99.00 Focal Blade $69.95 Photoshop Plugin or Standalone XeIMG Editor Free User rating 10.0 (4,705 downloads) Sagelight Editor Free User rating 9.0 (16,892 downloads) Fotor Photo Editor Free User rating 7.0 (26,119 downloads)

#1 - there is no substitute for having a The Photographer’s most powerful sharp image in-camera. DO DON’T tool is a restless vision, and the more • Adjust your Dioptric lens • Avoid high ISO’s • Focus on the Eye or vital spot • Avoid camera shake restless, the better. Photographers • Consider your focus options • Avoid burnt highlights • Use the AF-ON button • Avoid deep blacks need to constantly search for a new • Check focus in Live View • Avoid over sharpening • Fast shutter for Fast action • Panning for Fast action angle or viewpoint, and to be on the • Continuous shooting • Tripod for Slow shutter look out for unusual perspectives. By • Remote for Slow shutter • Mirror Lockup for Slow shutter being imaginative with viewpoint, • VR On for hand held shots • VR Off for tripod shots • Use Sharpest Aperture you can create more striking and in- • Larger Depth of Field triguing images. Tom Ang Page 15 VIEWPOINT Weekday outing. The HeadOn Photo festival. Deanna Brown

Friday 21st June. 2013. Our June weekday outing took a little bit of a different tack, we visited the HeadOn Photo festival’s exhibitions held in the State Library. The exhibitions we visited were: Magnum on set, Head On Portrait Prize, Black on White, Street, and Benjamin Lowy: iAfghanistan.

iAfghanistan was particularly interesting as it was shot entirely on an iphone and included some quite ‘risky’ photography that would have been nearly impossible (and extremely dangerous to the photographer) to take on a larger camera. The Black on White exhibition stirred emotions and discussion showing us all the power of a photographic study and how, by using the medium of photography, we can stimulate discussion and discourse on community and political issues. While the Portrait Prize exhibition provoked discussion on technique, composition and subject matter selection, an interesting and culturally rewarding outing.

After viewing the exhibitions, it was lunch at the City Express on Circular Quay and after, an explora- tion of the sculptures outside of the Overseas Passenger terminal. The HeadOn Photo festival Magnum on Set See some iconic photographs taken by some of the Magnum photographers, in the “Magnum on Set” exhibition. There are 116 images on show, featuring portraits of film stars and directors, including inti- mate portraits of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Charlie Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor and John Wayne.

Page 16 VIEWPOINT Weekday outing. The HeadOn Photo festival. Deanna Brown

Head On Portrait Prize Head On Portrait Prize exhibition, Australia’s most critically acclaimed photographic portrait competition and exhibition, reflects a vibrant, diverse cross-section of new and traditional photographic practices.

Black on White: Belinda Mason. Photographer Belinda Mason travelled to remote communities in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, at the first anniversary of the Australian Government’s Intervention Policy, to hear community reactions and ask them to record a visual record of their opinion.

a Brown

Page 17 VIEWPOINTPage 15

Weekday outing. The HeadOn Photo festival. Deanna Brown

Street In Street, nine Sydney photographers showcase their city in their own way utilising technology, from large format film to iPhone cameras, to capture the beauty and humour that exist in the familiar.

Benjamin Lowy: iAfghanistan iAfghanistan presents a selection of Benjamin Lowy’s work produced over nine years following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. It shows Afghans still plagued by many of the same issues they experienced under the Taliban — poverty, violence and extremism. It also shows a more free-spirited society than is usually seen in the media.

Page 18 VIEWPOINT Weekday outing. The HeadOn Photo festival. Deanna Brown Page 19 VIEWPOINT Weekday outing. The HeadOn Photo festival. Deanna Brown Page 20 VIEWPOINT Viewpoint Competition

The ”Viewpoint Article of the Year” competition

Prize $100 To be eligible for consideration articles must be – Original – your own work, Of interest to photographers and You must be a Financial Member Articles provided between the August edition of 2012 and the November edition of 2013 will all be considered. Articles could be - technical, about general photography, set subject related, how to ...., hints etc., great photography venues, etc. etc. etc. Don’t be limited by this list — use your imagination and do something different. Judging will be carried out by the publicity committee and their decision will be final. The winner will be announced at the End of the Year Dinner in December 2013. Things of Interest

Please see our new Things of Interest page for tips, information on such as things as:

· What’s on Around Sydney · Workshops · External Competitions · New products, good deals etc To view the new page, first log onto the club website then click on the link below and follow instructions. https://www.chrslphotographyclub.org/membership/things-of-interest/

Note: For this link to work you must be logged on to the website.

Alternately after logging in, visit the Member’s Area where you will find a link to the new “Things of Interest” page. If you have any feedback or hot tips that may be of interest to members, please email the Publicity Coordinator .

Check Out the ‘Buy Swap and Sell’ on the Website Bruce Armour

Before purchasing check the ‘Buy Swap and Sell’ on the club website. You may be able to save. After purchasing—sell on the website. (for financial members only) https://www.chrslphotographyclub.org/membership/second-hand-goods-for-sale/ Check out the ‘Member’s Benefits’ on the Website

There are many great benefits available for members of our club. Check the website. (financial members only) https://www.chrslphotographyclub.org/membership/member-benefits/

Page 21 VIEWPOINT

Club Activities for August 2013

Lecture Night : John Snelson

‘Three Songs - No Flash’ - An Update

Annual General Meeting

Pro Show Gold Workshop A full day of tuition and hands on training for making AV presentations. A follow-on course for experienced users of Pro Show Gold. The Workshop will be from 10:00am till approximately 4:00pm. Please arrive in time to set up your laptop and be ready to start at 10:00am. Lunch, tea and coffee etc will be provided throughout the day.

You must book for this workshop as lunches, helpers etc have to be organised prior to the event.

Workshop Night Three Judges and their opinions - Val Fenbow, Rod Murphy and Bob Cook A panel of judges will discuss their opinions on several images. Are their views the same?

Page 22 VIEWPOINT The Future CalendarClub with Activities CHRSLPC for August 2013

Bob and Chris Cook’s Studio Portraits

A full weekend of fun and education for students of studio portraiture Day one is Lighting Techniques using the studio and a mannequin. Day two is a live model shoot where the students run the studio. Usually the model will pose in fashion, lingerie and fine art nude poses.

Lunch tea/coffee etc included. Cost is $100 to cover the cost of the model, lunch etc. and must be paid in advance. 4 students only.

Competition Night Negative Space Competition For some the concept of Negative Space is difficult to understand and therefore easily forgotten when taking photographs. It is only natural to concentrate on the main subject and to forget everything surrounding it.

Title and author unknown

Negative Space, by definition, is the empty space around the subject. This space is too often taken for granted because it came with the scene when you pressed the shutter. There is nothing you can do about it, right? Page 23 VIEWPOINT Club Activities for August 2013

Negative space, however, is one of the many tools that you can use to define a composition. The area around the main subject has to balance an image, support the subject and give the subject a place. The negative space gives the eye a place to rest and consequently puts emphasis on the subject, making the subject stronger. An image with no significant negative space can be considered busy and distract- ing.

The purpose of the Negative Space Competition is to make you think about the Negative Space in your images.

Images submitted in the competition must demon- strate good use of Negative Space and the use of Author: Massimiliano Uccilleti the Negative Space in the image must make the image stronger. To do this the amount of Negative Space in the image has to be substantial but not necessary more than that of the main subject.

Title and author unknown

The judge for this competition will be Vincent Nash.

We will start the evening with Set Subject prints, followed Set Subject digital images. After the break, we continue with the Open Subject prints followed by the Open Subject digital images.

Page 24 VIEWPOINT Meet Mary Elias I have had various cameras over the years, quite a few point and shoot cameras, a Canon EOS Film Camera, a Canon Ixus digital camera, an APS camera and a dedi- cated panorama point and shoot camera. Since I have been in the club I have had a Nikon D70, which I sold, and now have a Nikon D90, D200 and D700. I find the D700 to be a great camera, but am not liking the weight of it, so am thinking of getting a D600.

What is your favourite lens at the moment and why is it your favourite?

I don’t have a favourite - they are specialty lenses, and so I use them for specific things. I have a 50mm f1.4 prime lens, a wide angle lens, a macro lens and a 28-300 lens - (these are all Nikon lenses). I love the full frame camera, but miss the x 1.6 at the long end - when photographing wildlife.

What are your photographic goals?

To continually improve my shots in camera, and to improve my photo editing and to make more of an

effort to enter external competitions. What does being a member of the CHRSL Photogra- phy Club mean to you? How and, when and why did you start photography? It means I am able to meet and mix with like minded My name is Mary Elias and I have been a member people. I have been helped immensely by various of the club since 2007. I won B grade in 2010, and people in the club, whether it be workshops, or out- was moved into A Grade. I am now finding myself ings, or guest speakers. I am enjoying the interaction in some very intimidating company! on Facebook with various members of the club - who post items of interest, and for their advice when I My father was a very keen amateur photographer have had a query. I have found the members to be back in the day of black and white film. I have fond very sharing of their knowledge. memories of sitting in the darkroom (our kitchen at the time) with blankets over the window and a Are you drawn to any one type of photography coloured low watt light bulb, with trays of develop- (landscape, portrait, macro etc.) and why? ing and fixing solution. My Dad had a rather bulky I like to try all types of photography, but would have enlarger and we experimented with various grains to say landscape and wildlife photography would be of paper for different effects. We all now do this my favourites. post production work on the computer, with colour, and without all the strange smelling solutions. What are your thoughts on today’s competitions and Judges? What camera have you used in the past and what do you use now? I think there should be a special category for I shared my father’s cameras which were a Prak- “creative” or “montage” photography as there is quite tica and a Voigtlander. I can’t remember what my a demand for it. I also feel there should be an entry first camera was. level grade with minimal editing. When the club Page 25 VIEWPOINT Meet Mary Elias generous with their knowledge. The Club magazine had the mini prints category it was very helpful and Viewpoint, and the website are also extremely infor- encouraging for photographers who were new to mative. I am extremely grateful to all the people who the club and who may not yet have had the editing give their time to make all of this possible. skills. Any other comments you would like to add? I think judging is very subjective, and it is a bit dis- appointing when judges say a photo doesn’t meet Just to say thank you all, and continue as you are – the criteria of the set topic, but still manage to give everyone is doing an amazing job. it an award. Having said that, there are some very good judges around. Gentle constructive criticism always assists. Whose photos in the Photography Club do you admire the most and why? The photographers I admire the most are those with their own unique style - whose photos you can instantly recognise as being taken by them. Do you have a “photographic moment/adventure” to share?

I have done a fair amount of travelling, but my most amazing adventure would have to be my trip to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The wildlife, the scenery, the wildlife, the beautiful “tented” accommodation, the wildlife...... I guess you get it. Most people have other interests as well as photography. What are your interests, sports, hobbies, clubs etc? I was a mad patchwork quilter for many years, but photography has taken over. Alas there are only so many hours in a day. I have noticed that there are a lot of quilters in the club. I also really love 4WDing in the outback, places like the Flinders Ranges, Central Australia, Victorian High Country , Barrington Tops, South West Queensland etc. Name one thing we don’t know about you? I used to play a lot of tennis – playing two ladies comps and one mixed comp , a social game and a lesson each week for several years.

Do you have any suggestions for the Photography Club? I find the club the best organised club I have ever been associated with, and the members all very Page 15 VIEWPOINT Images by Mary Elias

Page 27 VIEWPOINT Images by Mary Elias

Meet Peter Hogarth

Castle Hill RSL Photography Club

President: Robert Shelberg Castle Hill RSL Photography Club [email protected] Atrium Castle Hill RSL Level 6, 77 castle St Vice President: Castle Hill Graham Gard [email protected] PO Box 25 Castle Hill NSW 1765 Treasurer: http://www.chrslphotographyclub.org Mal Hobson [email protected]

Newsletter Contributions Secretary: Dennis Furini If you have any articles that may be of interest to our [email protected] members, please email them to - [email protected]. Program and Meeting Coordinator: Barbara Glover Articles could include - [email protected]  Camera hints Competition Coordinator:  Photoshop hints Val Fenbow [email protected]  Holiday photography and/or Local Photo-shoots

 Awards, competitions, exhibitions Social Coordinator: Jacci Schipp  Upcoming events [email protected]  Workshop and Lecture reports Enquiries Officer:  Recommended Book reviews Mary Spence [email protected]  Reports etc.  Anything else that might interest photographers Benefits Coordinator: Dale Chadd Please send articles in Microsoft word or plain text [email protected] format with photos attached as separate files. Sub- mitted images should be a jpg file with a maximum Publicity Coordinator: resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Jenny Bailey [email protected] In order to ensure your article is included in the next newsletter, please submit it by the 17th of the month. Training Coordinator: Bob Cook [email protected]

Membership Secretary: Michael Schwarcz [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Hazel Hogarth [email protected]