EPC Newsletter May-June 2023

F O C U S

SHARING VISUAL ART

EDENVALE PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB

MAY/JUNE 2023

Dear Members,

I want to take this opportunity to thank those who make the effort to come to our live meetings. It is the right thing to do, we must respect the fact that the Judges make the effort to come out in the cold of winter and often come from another town to judge for us. Thank you very much!

It is hard to believe that we have half the year behind us already The club evenings are chilly but with the support of all the members, we kept it warm and hearty with the good company and the help of a bit of old brown sherry

Hopefully, you will all jump at the opportunity to learn a few basic skills from Francois Venter. In order to improve your photography you have to learn to “develop” your images in one of the digital options available. There is just no other way!!

Please consider joining us at the Congress in Natal We had a lot of fun last year in Greyton If you first join the PSSA then you pay less Follow the link to the Congress brochure at the bottom of the page

We put out a lot of ideas for club outings, but not many members take part in these offerings. Can I ask for suggestions, what will make you participate…please send us some ideas?

The new Impala Log Year starts now so from now on all the Salons entered will be counted on the Impala Log, we need as many members to enter as possible, that way it can improve the Club’s position on the Log as well as your own. If you are a PSSA Member you also get to enter Salons at a reduced rate.

Keep on shooting, keep entering and keep sharing your visual art

Kind Regards,

Hanli

Cover image: Cattle Egret Ettienne van Niekerk

"It is difficult to continuously submit good quality images for club nights and I had to delve into my archives for images to submit this time.

Taking photos of birds has always been my passion. I often practised in the backyard of the complex in Kempton Park where I used to stay. My mission was to take photos similar to some of these wildlife experts. I must have taken 10 000s of images of birds in flight and only got a handful of photos to date, that is worthwhile.

I now believe the quote of Gary Player “The more you practice the luckier you get”. It is never easy and I think that I was lucky in capturing a few images over the years that were good enough to be used.

The Cattle Egret image was taken on an afternoon when I was more interested in getting an image of a Grey Headed Heron The Egret was busy building his nest in a very ugly tree. At first, I didn’t even pay attention to this image and only saw it a month ago whilst looking for images to use."

SET SUBJECT THEMES FOR 2023

July - Leaves

August - Whiter shade of pale

September - Painting with light

October - Insects

November - Reflections

ADJUSTED CLUB NIGHT DATES FOR 2023

July 12th at MGC

July 26th online

August 9th online

August 23rd at MGC

Leaves photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

MEMBER ACCOLADES

Congratulations to members for their following PSSA awards, medals and salon acceptances:

Recent Salon Acceptances:

8th PSSA National Salon:

Clare Appleyard (Acc + COM)

Linda Carter (Acc + COM)

Jacques Lourens

Brian Shaw

Hanli Smit (Acc + COM)

Dave Wolstencroft

5th HCPS National Salon:

Ted Kinsman

Brian Kleinwort

Jacques Lourens

Brian Shaw (Acc + COM)

Hanli Smit

Dave Wolstencroft

Clare Appleyard: "Turbulence at Sunset"

8th PSSA National Salon, Category Runner Up - PSSA Bronze Medal

MEMBER ACCOLADES

Congratulations to members for their following PSSA awards, medals and salon acceptances:

Recent Salon Acceptances:

6th Paarl National Salon:

Dave Wolstencroft

3rd SAVAS National Salon:

Brian Shaw

Ettienne van Niekerk

Dave Wolstencroft

5th Alberton National Salon:

Quentin Lemmer

Andrew Mayes

Sonja Olivier

Brian Shaw

Hanli Smit

Dave Wolstencroft

Ettienne van Niekerk

Hanli Smit: "Lift the veil"

Greek Artistic Photography International Salon - Honourable Mention Ribbon

CLUB OUTING: DULLSTROOM BIRDS OF PREY CENTRE

EPC has secured a club booking for the Dullstroom Bird of Prey Centre for Saturday 4th November. A maximum of 10 people are permitted, so get your name on our list!

"Come and spend a morning with us, and we will devote our time for your perfect shot

We fly a variety of birds and also do portrait shots/natural poses of others Group size limited to ten photographers. Morning starts at 7:00am with a short break at around 10:00am. Further photographic opportunities are offered during the morning demonstration at 10:30am."

We are currently investigating accommodation options in the area, and are looking for venues that could also suit the landscape photographers amongst us. If you are interested in joining us for one night, or for the weekend, please let a committee member know so that we can start confirming some bookings.

African Fish Eagle. Image by Ian Lindsay from Pixabay

HOW TO READ THE EPC PROMOTION LOG

By Dave Wolstencroft

The promotion log is broken down into 3 main areas. These are:

These are the golds, points and salons required for promotion to the next star level. Gold includes COMS. Images that score 10 points or more on a club evening (including Set subject) count towards the gold total. Any points received, regardless of the score (silvers and bronzes included), count towards the “Points” total. Salons are taken from the acceptances we receive from local salons. Any international salon acceptances need to be forwarded to David Wolstencroft for inclusion in the total.

These are the totals you have to date for the current star rating. These values are reset when a promotion happens

HOW TO READ THE EPC PROMOTION LOG

By Dave Wolstencroft

These are the golds, points, and salons you still need for promotion It is essentially column “A” minus column “B” When a target is reached, it becomes red to indicate the target reached When all three requirements are red, promotion has been achieved. Note that where the requirements are “zero”, for example salons for 1 star, it will not be red in colour. The column will be orange when 2 of the 3 requirements are red and the third requirement is less than 20 to indicate promotion is imminent.

Note that if any outstanding requirements go negative, for example, person A requires 1 gold and 20 points before the next meeting and then achieves 3 golds and 35 points at the next meeting, column C will become -15 and -2 respectively These negative values become the starting values for the new star rating, so that person will start in the new star grading with 15 points and 2 golds

Set Subject

The set subject points are stored in the green column These are the points received for the current club year for set subject image submissions The highest score at club year end is the winner of the set subject category

Additional Requirements

For promotion to 5 star, service to the club is required. This is indicated in column . This can take the form of a presentation at a club evening, arranging and coordinating an outing, running a workshop or committee service, or something along those lines

Please note that all points received, for club and set subject, irrespective of award (gold, silver, etc.) count toward points in the promotion log and club log.

JUNIOR WINNERS: 17th May

JUNIOR NATURE WINNER

JUNIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Did you bring one for me?

Grooming

Sonja Olivier

Brian Shaw

SENIOR WINNERS: 17th May

SENIOR NATURE WINNER

Cape Vulture

Ettienne van Niekerk

SENIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Coy Cosmos

Dino Bottega

JUNIOR WINNERS: 24th May

JUNIOR NATURE WINNER

Spikey

Brian Shaw

JUNIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

The Take-off

Brian Shaw

SENIOR WINNERS: 24th May

SENIOR NATURE WINNER

Black-headed Heron

Ettienne van Niekerk

SENIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Day Lilly Study

Ted Kinsman

JUNIOR WINNERS: 14th June

JUNIOR NATURE WINNER

JUNIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Oxpecker

Sonja Olivier

Boulders Beach

Debra Russell

SENIOR WINNERS: 14th June

SENIOR NATURE WINNER

Cattle Egret

Ettienne van Niekerk

SENIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Breakwater View Clare Appleyard

JUNIOR WINNERS: 28th June

JUNIOR NATURE WINNER

Last Light

JUNIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Linda Carter

Magoebaskloof

Linda Carter

SENIOR WINNERS: 28th June

SENIOR NATURE WINNER

Walking on water

Quentin Lemmer

SENIOR PICTORIAL WINNER

Reaching for the bar

Dave Wolstencroft

SET SUBJECT WINNERS

24th May Panorama

Mankwe

Sonja Olivier

BASIC PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP With Francois Venter

When? Saturday 8th June

Where? Modderfontein Golf Club

Time? 9am - 12pm

Setup your computers between 8 and 8:30am for a 9am sharp start

Bring? Your computer/laptop plus your own extension cables and plugs

Please make sure your Lightroom and/or Photoshop software is properly installed, with all updates and licenses in order. Francois will be working on edits in live time so you may end up falling behind if your machine or software needs to run updates.

https://lightbrush.co.za/

Photographs by Francois Venter

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY LEARNING...

One of the most common refrains heard at any PSSA Photoclub is, "Can you teach me Photoshop?" Also on the common question list is "What were your camera settings?", frequently uttered when someone sees an image they admire. The reality is that photography is a lifetime of learning and, if you want to move through the ranks within the PSSA, you have to commit to your OWN learning. That means investing time, energy and money to attend workshops, go on outings and register for (and complete!) online courses and tutorials.

If you speak to anybody in any PSSA club who has reached the upper echelons, they will have invested serious resources in committing to their own learning. One of the best resources at our disposal, and one which is mostly free (and we do like the word "free", don't we?) is YouTube Yes, the humble online video channel that we all have access to contains a wealth of knowledge that's ready and waiting for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

All you have to do is watch, learn and then apply what you've seen. Sometimes, you might have to watch a video more than once. Sometimes, you'll have to pause the video, follow the same editing step on your own photo, and then continue the video before pausing again to apply the technique. You can stop and start as many times as you like. You can practise as many times as you like. The power is in YOUR Hands.

Here are some of our favourite channels to help you get started (click on the banners to get to each YouTube Channel):

Aaron Nace's PHlearn channel is jam-packed with incredible tutorials that will take your editing to the next level.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS WE LOVE

PiXimperfect, hosted by Unmesh Dinda contains over 800 videos to teach you everything you need to know about editing

Local photographer Mark Dumbleton has a great channel with powerful wildlife editing tips for both Lightroom and Photoshop.

Mark Denney's channel focuses on landscape photography skills and with new videos weekly, you'll never run out of things to learn.

We know how important feedback is in helping us grow. The Crit House channel provides thoughtful feedback and discussion on photographs.

Fellow South African Alex Kilbee presents creative ideas to help us see photography from a different perspective on The Photographic Eye.

Visual Education Studio by Karl Taylor is a master of light and his videos will help you with studio lighting, portraits and product photography

YOUTUBE CHANNELS WE LOVE

Local favourite Martin Osner's channel has some great webinars on fine art and art photography and how to turn your photographs into art masterpieces

Canadian Simon D'Entremont is a professional wildlife photographer and his channel is full of sneaky tips on how to improve your bird and wildlife pics

Serge Ramelli shares huge amounts of knowledge on editing, composition and general skills development.

Nigel Danson's channel will blow you away with tips on editing, shooting, printing, birds, drone shooting, and so much more An essential channel

Photoshop Cafe with Colin Smith covers a variety of editing tutorials, shooting skills and equipment reviews.

Peter McKinnon is a prolific content creator and internet photography and videography legend. His channel covers a multitude of topics and will always leave you inspired.

Beginner Photoshop Workshop

If you find the thought of self-study overwhelming, local photographer Charlaine Gerber is hosting a beginner's photoshop course during the month of August See some of Charlaine's work at www.pialux.net and contact her directly if you'd like to attend her workshop.

The Swan, by Charlaine Gerberr

SET SUBJECT PREPARATION: A Whiter Shade of Pale

Our Set Subject for July is "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and, like all of our Set Subjects it's open to interpretation - both on the part of you, our members and our guest judge for the night.

A few interpretations mentioned on our EPC WhatsApp chat included high-key, portraits in light clothing, white buildings, white still live objects and light-tone monochrome images.

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

Image by Jiří Rotrekl from Pixabay

Image by Franck Barske from Pixabay

SET SUBJECT PREPARATION:

A Whiter Shade of Pale

Image by wendy CORNIQUET from Pixabay

Photo by Christian Lambert on Unsplash

Photo by Roma Kaiuk on Unsplash

THE PSSA AND AI: New rules for PSSA clubs and members

▪ For the purposes of all our Competitions, Salons and Honours applications, a photographic image is defined “as being a captured image on a light-sensitive device/surface (e g photogram technique, film camera, digital camera, smartphone, tablet, etc…) and recorded on paper, film or in a digital format.”

▪ An artificial intelligence (AI) generated image is not deemed to be a photographic image because it was created from scratch by the AI system and contains no image captured by the entrant. Therefore, this type of image will not be accepted into our events

▪ Use of AI features (such as: clear, de-noise, masking, sharpening, subject selection, tone adjustments, upsizing image) contained within a post processing application are permitted in our events provided they comply with a categories editing criteria and do not contain any elements which were not captured by the entrant (e g element, texture, sky, etc ) AI sky replacement is permitted provided that the new sky was captured by the entrant.

▪ All elements must be the original work of the photographer. It is okay to take inspiration from other photographers or artists. However, if the inspiration contains the same colour, composition, element(s), perspective, angle, subject, and tone of the original then the inspiration is not deemed to be the original work of the photographer. Another example is that a photographer may NOT capture a screen image or photograph an image found on the internet and incorporate it in a composite image that is later submitted to a PSSA event

▪ All aspects of the post-processing for their submitted image must be undertaken by the photographer.

THE PSSA AND AI: New rules for PSSA clubs and members

▪ Entrants may be required to provide all supporting images used to prove that all components of the submitted image are their original work and that the image does not contain the elements created or captured by someone else; and as such they hold and will retain the copyright for the image.

"The long-held myth that photography = truth is rapidly disintegrating and we are at the front of the queue for what comes next

Just under a year ago, a prompt for a black cat that I gave to V1 of Midjourney (image left) vs. the exact same prompt given to V5 recently (image right, May 2023). Since I made the comparison, V5.1 is already out as well as a new style called RAW."

Athena Carey, Photographer (source: Facebook)

This year’s congress is being held in the midst of the dramatic scenery of the Northern Drakensberg

It is a short drive to the Royal Natal Nature Reserve, with breathtaking views of the Amphitheatre, and the Oliviershoek Pass area provides for excellent landscape photography along with opportunities for macro, farmlands, battlefields and much more.

We have secured some excellent speakers who promise to provide insights into different genres, as well as the developments in photography today. There will be ample time to explore the surrounding areas to ensure you are able to capture the images you want. We will be on hand to guide you.

Guest speakers: Matthew Willman, Emil von Maltitz, Rory Baker, Linda Ness, Matt Yardley Workshops: Astro Photography, Model Shoots, Table Top, Macro

Tours & Photo Ops: Landscape & Farms, Tevreden Cheese, Farm Zulu Dancers

To register and book for 2023's Congress, head to the PSSA website and the dedicated Congress page:

https://pssa.co.za/pssa-congress-2023/