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Edenvale Photo Club Newsletter - MAY 2021

Sharing Visual Art since 1950 CERPS WINNERS 2018 AND 2019


02 / MAY 2021 COVER IMAGE “Enchanted “ by Gary Andrew Peck

BEHIND THE COVER STORY There’s not too much to tell really. Covid-19 restrictions on outings and travelling led to a decision to set up a still life nook in one of the bedrooms to keep shooting and practicing some lighting setups. I subsequently saw a few

Originally, I used only natural elements in the composition but when I came up with the title I added the buildings because I felt it added a bit more of a fantasy element. The stars and moon were the last additions to help enhance that feeling of magic and surrealism. The base image of the teacup was made with one backlight and a card reflector in the front. I think all in all it ended up being a composite of around 18 images taken in various places all with different lighting conditions. The decision to go monochrome was made at the start because I knew it would tie all graphic elements togetherby removing the distraction of colour and lighting. It’s really not a typical image from me but I do like to change it up from time to time. I often learn something new in the process.all in all it ended up being a composite of around 18 images taken in various places all with different lighting conditions. The decision to go monochrome was made at the start because I knew it would tie all graphic elements together by removing the distraction of colour and lighting.It’s really not a typical image from me but I do like to change it up from time to time.

images online themed around a ‘storm in a teacup’ and put

I often learn something new in the process.

that in my list of things to attempt.

CONTRIBUTE TO FUTURE ISSUES ANY MEMBER CAN SUBMIT MATERIAL FOR CONSIDERATION IN FUTURE PUBLICATIONS PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT IMAGES HAVE A MINIMUM RESOLUTION OF 1080 x 1925 pixels. Of course, we also have to adhere to the regulations for data protection and the rights of use according to the copyright law, therefore, we ask you to supply a declaration of consent of the person or website that you extracted your submission from. Please use the following email address to send contributions and consent letters hanlis54@gmail.com Proof reading of this magazine Kindly done by Heidi Broschk

EDENVALE PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA


03 / MAY 2021

DEAR MEMBERS Judging has always, and will probably remain to be, a controversial topic. A lot has been said and written about image evaluation, yet still the controversy remains. Why is that? Each judge has their own perception and likes and dislikes, experience, and style. This certainly has an effect on commentary and scores. Years of do’s and don’ts have created a very box type style of judging. The same comments are usually heard; thirds, loss of detail, blown out areas, noise etc. Yes, these are important and should be considered, but not at the expense of the overall image. For that very reason, the judging process and evaluation methods are being revisited, revised and improved. A large group of CERPS club members are currently taking part in a JAP (judge accreditation program) which is striving to educate and enlighten, not only judges, but also club members. Yes, that will take time to filter through and for us to start seeing a difference. I, for one, am excited to start seeing this bear fruit. There will be further courses in the future and I would urge every club member to attend if possible. Even if you never have the intention to judge, not only will this further your photography by opening up your mind to new ideas and other points of view, but it will also put you in the judges shoes. Only from this vantage point will you be able to appreciate the process and to understand what a judge needs to do in the minimal time they have for image appreciation. Look after yourselves, look after your photography and take every opportunity to learn and grow.

Dave

Chairman: David Wolstencroft 083 229 8066 davewol@gmail.com


04 / MAY 2021

Committee Members

BI-WEEKLY MEETINGS ARE CURRENTLY CONDUCTED VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID REGULATIONS Chairman:

Treasurer:

Scoring & Promotions:

Ted Kinsman 083 461 2350 tkinsman@global.co.za

David Wolstencroft 083 229 8066 davewol@gmail.com

Marketing and Secretary: Natasha Bird 082 920 8898 mnktrad@mweb.co.za

Newsletter Editor & Graphic Design: Hanli Smit 083 253 1034 hanlis54@gmail.com

Certificates & Awards Des Alexander 083 226 1452 neoncomp@webmail. co.za

New Members, Social Media & Website Clare Appleyard 083 234 0247 clare.appleyard@gmail.com

MEETING TIME AND PLACE 2ND AND 4TH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH AT 18H30 FOR 19H00 EDENVALE COMMUNITY CENTRE COR. VAN RIEBEECK & 2ND STREET, EDENVALE

Salons, Judges and Outings: Heidi Broschk 079 886 8515 heidib@uj.ac.za


05 / MAY 2021

IN THIS ISSUE Page 6 Page 14

PAST MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY --Francesca Woodman

MAY CLUB NIGHT WINNERS

Page 26

SET SUBJECT WINNERS

Page 36

CELL PHONE WINNERS 12 MAY

Page 37

CELL PHONE WINNERS 26 MAY

Page 38 Page 42 Page 50 Page 52

CELL PHONE 101 BY CLARE APPLEYARD

FOCUS ON FLOWER PHOTOGRAPHY by Heidi Brosck SAON CLOSING DATES MEMBER FOCUS- DAVID MORRIS


06 / MAY 2021

PAST MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

F R A N C E S C A W

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Francesca Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring herself and female models. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. Woodman attended public school in Boulder, Colorado, between 1963 and 1971 except for second grade, which she attended in Italy. She began high school in 1972 at the private Massachusetts boarding school Abbot Academy, where she began to develop her photographic skills and became interested in the art form. Abbot Academy merged with Phillips Academy in 1973; Woodman graduated from the public Boulder High School in 1975. Through 1975, she spent summers with her family in Italy. She spent her time in Italy in the Florentine countryside, where she lived on an old farm with her parents. Beginning in 1975, Woodman attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. She studied in Rome between 1977 and 1978 in a RISD honors program. As she spoke fluent Italian, she was able to befriend Italian intellectuals and artists. She went back to Rhode Island in late 1978 to graduate from RISD. Woodman moved to New York City in 1979. After spending the summer of 1979 in Stanwood, Seattle whilst visiting her boyfriend at Pilchuck Glass School, she returned to New York “to make a career in photography.” She sent portfolios of her work to fashion photographers, but “her solicitations did not lead anywhere. In the summer of 1980 she was an artist-in-residence at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. In late 1980 Woodman became depressed due to the failure of her work to attract attention and to a broken relationship. She survived a suicide attempt, after which she lived with her parents in Manhattan. On January 19, 1981, she committed suicide by jumping out a loft window in New York. An acquaintance wrote, “things had been bad, there had been therapy, things had gotten better, guard had been let down.” Her father has suggested that Woodman’s suicide was related to an unsuccessful application for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.


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Francesca Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring herself and female models. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured.


13 / MAY 2021


14 / MAY 2021

ONE STAR CELL PHONE WINNER ONE STAR NATURE WINNER 10 2021 12March MAY 2021

Reflections

Hitesh Daya


15 / MAY 2021

ONE STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Symmetry

David Morris


16 / MAY 2021

TWO STAR NATURE WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Cattle Egret yummy breakfast

Peter Fine Peter Fine


17 / MAY 2021

TWO STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 12 MAY 2021

A family of 3

Peter Fine


18/ MAY 2021

THREE STAR NATURE WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Eye to Eye

Brian Kleinwort


19 / MAY 2021

THREE STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Gone Fishing

Brian Kleinwort


20/ MAY 2021

FOUR STAR NATURE WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Tiger Love

Stephen

Kangisser


21/ MAY 2021

FOUR STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 12 MAY 2021

Classic Pose

Stephen

Kangisser


22 / MAY 2021

FIVE & 5 STAR HONOURS NATURE WINNER

12 MAY 2021

Snack time

Johann

Harmse


23 / MAY 2021

FIVE & 5 STAR HONOURS PICTORIAL WINNER

12 MAY 2021

K9 Search and Rescue Dog Chazz Vicki Street


24 / MAY 2021

SET SUBJECT WINNER TREES 12 MAY 2021

Pumpkins Birthday Vicki Street


25 / MAY 2021

SET SUBJECT WINNER STEAM 26 MAY 2021

Misty Morning

Ted Kinsman


26 / MAY 2021

POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU ENTER NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY The Most IMPORTANT aspect of Nature Photography to remember is that NO MANIPULATION IS ALLOWED WHAT IS CONSTRUED AS MANIPULATION? Manipulation shall constitute any or all of the following modifications to the original image: •Adding an element to the image that was not contained in the original capture; •Removing an element from the image that was contained in the original capture; •Moving or repositioning an element of the image that was contained in the original capture. In the categories Nature and Photojournalism, manipulation is not allowed .

In the Open category, there is no restriction whatsoever in the way authors choose to post process an image.


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The following actions are allowed, and are not seen as manipulation, and therefore may be used with Nature images: •Cropping •Correction of lens distortion, chromatic aberrations, purple fringing, lens vignette and vertical/horizontal perspective adjustments; •Removal of dust spots or scratch marks from sensor or scanned images; •The blending of different exposures of the same scene to broaden the dynamic range e.g. High Dynamic Range (HDR); •Photo stacking to overcome the limitations of the digital sensor heat artefacts in long exposures. • Focus stacking to widen the depth of field especially in Macro photography. In the case of Nature and Wildlife, HDR and focus stacking will not be considered as manipulation and may be used provided that the end result is a faithful representation of the original scene. Please note: HDR and Focus stacking are not allowed in Photojournalism. Study the rules for each competition or Salon as they will be unique.


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TWO STAR NATURE WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Bateleur

Linda Carter


29 / MAY 2021

TWO STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Wave Dance

Fabiola Geeven


30 / MAY 2021

THREE STAR NATURE WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Old Scarface

Andrew Mayes


31 / MAY 2021

THREE STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Big eyed bird

Andrew Mayes


32 / MAY 2021

FOUR STAR NATURE WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Leopard Cub on a Branch Stephen

Kangisser


33/ MAY 2021

FOUR STAR PICTORIAL WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Portrait of a Lady in a Chair Stephen

Kangisser


34 / MAY 2021

5* & 5 Star Honours NATURE WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Scratching an itch

Dino Bottega


35 / MAY 2021

5* & 5 Star Honours PICTORIAL WINNER 26 MAY 2021

Enchanted

Gary Andrew Peck


36 / MAY 2021

CELL PHONE WINNERS 12 MAY 2021

1_CP_ Buddha at rest David Morris

5_CP_NightMarket_Vadivelu TT


37 / MAY 2021

CELL PHONE WINNERS 26 MAY 2021

1_CP_Zig Zag_David Morris

3_CP_twisted sister_Caryn Wilson

5_CP_InToTheDusk_Vadivelu TT


38 / MAY 2021

WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY CLARE APPLEYARD

Conquer your cell phone camera: Part I

Cellphone cameras have come a long way in the last 21 years. Yes, that’s officially how long camera phones have been around. Back in 2000, whilst we were still lugging our Nokia 5110’s around and playing “Snake”, the Kyocera VP-210 was officially launched in Japan. Boasting a whopping 0.11Mb camera, it allowed users to take a maximum of 20 photos before spitting out a “Memory Full” message. My first cell phone camera was a Motorola V300 phone (circa 2004) and I remember a discussion with a work colleague as to how pointless having a camera on a phone was. With the exception of maybe taking a photograph of a car’s number plate or damage in case of a car crash, we both agreed that it was unnecessary technology. This was, of course, well before the advent of social media where taking and posting incessant photos of food, drinks, dogs, kids and selfies would become de rigueur. Now, cell phone cameras are an integral part of our life, and technology has turned these pocket size partners into incredible devices, capable of capturing incredible detail and rendering realistic colour representation. The saying goes that the best camera is the one you have on you, and inevitably, we have our cell phones with us all the time – even when we go to the toilet (yes, you too are guilty of scrolling through Facebook whilst on the toilet (:-). Some of the EPC members are sceptical about the validity of cell phones as a legitimate camera, and many will argue that they personally can’t take a decent cell phone photograph. The reality is that the principles of cell phone photography are exactly the same as those you apply to photographing with your DSLR or mirrorless camera. Indeed, if you are to maximise the full potential of your cell phone camera, you need to pay as much attention to focus, light and composition as you would with your “normal” camera. Many of the cell phone entries we see at club night are merely “snapshots” – photographs that you wouldn’t consider entering in a regular nature or pictorial setting. There is no reason to consider the cell phone category any less seriously or competitively than the regular categories. Over the next few newsletters, we’ll be sharing what we hope is some useful information in helping members break through their cell phone camera stigma, and develop their skills in both taking cell phone photos and editing them. This month, we’ll look at three of the most important aspects that you should be paying attention to when taking cell phone photos.


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Focus If you wouldn’t consider submitting an out-of-focus nature or pictorial image to club night, why would you consider submitting an out-of-focus cell phone image? At the 1* starting level at EPC, focus is essential, so bear that in mind when taking a cell phone image. Just like auto-focus on a traditional camera, your cell phone camera might not be focusing on exactly the element of the photo that you’d like it to. It has multiple focal points and it generally has no idea of knowing what you want the main focus to be. Simply tapping on the phone screen when the camera app is open will bring up a yellow square that is your focus square. By tapping on various elements within your composition, you can move the focal square to where you would like it to be.

Photo example 1: Focusing on chocolates at front of image Photo example 2: Focusing on glass of milk at back of image

Remember that if you have tapped to focus, but move your phone before you take the photo, the element you focused on could now be out of focus.

Composition Everything you know about composition for “regular” photography should be applied to your cell phone photography. This includes the Rule of Thirds, the Golden Ratio and avoiding “amputation” of elements within your photo. Most cellphones will have the grid of thirds already on screen when you open your camera app and some apps will allow you to overlay the Golden Ratio onto a scene.

Photo example 3: Rule of 3’s grid overlaid on image as you compose


40 / MAY 2021 Pay close attention to your composition and look for elements that you might be cutting off – somebody’s head or hand, or a bicycle or tree for instance. Whilst most cell phone cameras have a zoom function, this is a digital zoom, not an optical zoom, so rather physically move closer to your subject than using the zoom function. Remember that sensor and lens sizes on a cell phone are tiny, so work towards the best in-camera composition, rather than depending on a later crop. The more you crop into a cellphone image, the worse the resolution will be. Cell phones also allow you to change the proportions of a photograph, much like you can in a traditional camera. On an iPhone, the default setting is 4:3, but you can also change this. Tap the little ^ arrow on the top of the screen when you’re in camera mode and a new menu bar will appear under the screen. Tap on 4:3 and it’ll bring up other options like 16:9 or 1:1, the square format made popular by Instagram.

Photo example 4: Watch for amputating things (ie. the Chocoloza logo) Photo example 5: Rather leave a little space to allow for a small crop vs Example 6 Photo example 6: Where you go in too close and amputate

There are multiple ways to adjust your exposure prior to taking a cell phone photo. We’re going to look here at ways to do it on an iPhone, but Android phones such as Samsung or Huawei will have similar features. On an iPhone, when you tap on the screen to focus, you’ll see a little yellow square pop up. To the right of that of the box there is a little brightness icon ( ) – tap and hold on the icon and you can slide it up to adjust the brightness up, or down to adjust the brightness down.

Exposure Paying attention to the exposure of your image is as important in cell phone photography as it is in traditional photography. In fact, it may be more important as the file size and sensor size doesn’t allow for as much post-processing detail to be recovered as you can from a raw photo file.

Photo example 7: Tapping on a bright part of the photo gives a balanced exposure

Photo example 8: Tapping on a dark part of the photo ends up with blown out highlights


41 / MAY 2021 An alternative method is to hit the little ^ arrow on the top of the screen (as mentioned above in the composition section) when you’re in camera mode. On the new menu, you’ll see a ± icon in a circle. Tap this and it’ll bring up a sliding bar that you can then use to adjust your exposure down or up. Photo example 9: Exposure slider at 0

Photo example 10: Exposure slider underexposing by 0.30 stops

Photo example 11: Uncorrected exposure, focus spot on blackboard

Photo example 12: Adjusting exposure slider to under expose by 2 stops

Next month, we’ll start to look at adjusting the f-stop on your cell phone camera (yep, it’s possible), as well as a few of the main editing apps you could be using.


42 / MAY 2021

WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY HEIDI BROSCHK

GENRE FOCUS

FLOWER

PHOTOGRAPHY

How to use Backlight for creative Flower Photography


43 / MAY 2021 Every flower photographer knows to run out of the house with our cameras on an overcast day. Cloudy skies cast soft, even light on our floral subjects which enhances the delicate beauty of petals without harsh shadows or bright spots. Unfortunately, such lighting can become a little one-note. If you find yourself wanting more drama in your flower photography, try adding backlighting in your workflow.What is Backlight Photography? Backlight photography in which the photographer faces her light source and places the subject in front of her, shooting towards the light source. This technique is often used in outdoor portrait photography. So, if you are already familiar, we can adapt those principles to produce striking and evocative floral portraits as well. Why should you backlight? Whether your light source is the sun or artificial, the warm light shines directly through the flower petals, highlighting their translucence and making them glow, often with an actual halo of light around the subject. The effect on flowers is ethereal and definitely dramatic. I often find backlighting draws out interesting juxtapositions between subjects and backgrounds.Overall, once you get a hang of this technique, you will find it to be a great tool for playing, experimentation, and honing of your technical skills. Let’s explore the first step in any photography – when and where to shoot.

Time of Day If your light source is the sun, which certainly makes sense when shooting outdoors, choosing the right time of day is crucial to making backlight photography work for you. My favorite time to photograph flowers basking in backlight is either in the first hour and a half after sunrise or in the last two hours before sunset. When the sun is closer to the horizon, it casts warm, golden light, giving your subject a nice glow. Keeping an eye on your camera settings in the rapidly changing light, especially shutter speed and ISO, will help you use every ray of sunshine to your advantage. Shooting outside closer to midday is impractical for backlighting since the sun is shining directly above the subject, casting harsh light and rendering unpleasant shadows and unrecoverable highlights.

In the image above the cherry blossoms were photographed during midday and as you can see the highlights around the subject take the attention away from the flowers.


44 / MAY 2021 Best locations for backlight flower photography I love to photograph flowers in nurseries. Several of the images in my portfolio were made in my neighborhood garden centers. At a nursery, I can arrange the pots to suit the light, which offers much more flexibility than the plants in my garden. If you’re lucky to have a garden of your own, you’ll find plenty of inspiration there but nurseries are a still a great resource since they carry such diverse types of plants year-round. There’s sure to be something you don’t grow that catches your eye. So, get to know your local nurseries and see what they can spark. I am known to stop my car on the highways, people’s yards, and really any random spot where I am struck by the color, shape, or smell of flowers. If you are adventurous like me, you may want to knock on someone’s door before photographing their property. Really, most people are friendly and don’t mind. Botanical gardens, wild flower fields, or city parks are all great places to visit – even a morning or evening walk around the neighborhood. I would urge you to keep looking for opportunities because flowers are all around us. Bringing It Indoors Where I live, it’s still cold. Some days, when my creative juices are flowing but my body refuses to go out, I create my own backlight at home. All I needed was a rose, a cheap constant light, a black velvet cloth for background… and here is what I got.

The beauty of this genre is the fact that you can do it It Indoors


45 / MAY 2021 Camera Settings Once you’ve found your scene, shooting in manual mode is vital to creating your best backlit floral photographs. Our cameas usually excel at front-lit photography but may have trouble autofocusing and metering for backlight. Slightly overexposing the image allows you to capture all the details of your subject. Remember that your light source is behind the flower, so the front of it is darker than the back. I suggest starting at a wide aperture, anywhere from f/2.8 to f/5.6. Shutter speed can be somewhere between 1/60th and 1/400th but make sure to account for weather. Since you’ll often be shooting outdoors, your shutter should be adjusted to get a crisp image, even on a windy day. ISO can be adjusted depending on whether shooting handheld versus using a tripod. Let’s talk a little more about exposure and metering. Spot metering is the best way to determine exposure in backlighting. Standard exposure readings often underexpose backlit subjects when the camera meters the entire scene. Spot metering, however, allows you to focus on a specific part of your composition and make exposure decisions around that area. This is another place to experiment in backlighting. See what metering does for different parts of your frame. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Take a few test photos, and tweak your settings to achieve the look that pleases you. This step is a great opportunity for experimentation – so have fun with it! Camera Lenses and Accessories My favorite lenses to use? Macro, of course. But I also love to use my 70-200 lens or even 100-400 lens. You can avoid lens flare with telephoto lenses (more about lens flare later). Personally, I like less contrast for my floral images as it brings out the delicate nature of the flowers. If you feel the same, use a reflector or diffuser to soften the light and thus the overall contrast.

White Balance for Backlight Photography Getting the correct white balance makes the colors of your image more realistic, especially the greens that often frame flower compositions. If you aren’t already, get into the habit of carrying a WB card or color checker passport and take a picture or two with your WB tool once your scene is set. Adjust based on these tests. It is always my goal to get the white balance correct while on scene but I also shoot in RAW in case I need to adjust in post-processing. Playing with WB in post can help you get a more realistic image, certainly, but it can also give you a lot of creative freedom. A good thing about flowers is that they do not complain about color shifting if you change their petal colors! Dealing with Camera Lens Flares When bright light enters your lens and is reflected, it gets scattered and creates lens flares. These can be circles, hexagons, octagons or can show up as haze across the frame. It’s not usually visible through the viewfinder and it can be difficult to detect in the field. One way to know whether you are getting lens flare is to look at the front element of your lens. Usually there will be spot(s) on the lens where the light hits – that’s lens flare.


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Dealing with Camera Lens Flares When bright light enters your lens and is reflected, it gets scattered and creates lens flares. These can be circles, hexagons, octagons or can show up as haze across the frame. It’s not usually visible through the viewfinder and it can be difficult to detect in the field. One way to know whether you are getting lens flare is to look at the front element of your lens. Usually there will be spot(s) on the lens where the light hits – that’s lens flare. If you, like most photographers I know, want to avoid lens flare, you’ll want to be cautious of shooting directly into bright light. You can avoid lens flares by doing the following: • • •

Adjust the angle of the camera Use a lens hood Block light with your hand or a hat

Many photographers want lens flare, however. You should feel free to incorporate lens flares into an image as an artistic element. Especially when shooting into light with wide-angle lenses, lens flare becomes unavoidable. If lens flare is interesting to you, adjust your camera angle and composition to incorporate this element, again checking the front of your lens element, and try to balance it with the rest of your composition. To remove or not to remove camera lens flare created by backlight is an artistic choice. Some like it and some hate it!


47 / MAY 2021 Optional: Dew/Water Drops If you are fortunate to come across dew around sunrise, I strongly recommend running out the door with your camera. Water droplets add interesting textures and reflections to floral compositions, sometimes shifting a photograph’s focus in surprising ways. The light interacting with water also creates beautiful, specular bokeh, or out-of-focus blurring. Look out for my upcoming Visual Wilderness article about bokeh and how to use it!

Of course, you can always turn on a sprinkler if you’re feeling impatient or struck by creativity. Mother Nature can sometimes use the help. Even if you don’t personally have a garden or sprinkler, a neighbor, friend, or family member could probably let you use theirs. If shooting in a nursery or garden, the staff will be regularly watering their plants, so keep an eye out for dewy plants there as well.


48 / MAY 2021 Post-Processing Backlit Photography Shooting in RAW gives you a lot more flexibility in post-processing. Just a few little tweaks go a long way in backlit photography. Since this technique creates images with high contrast, the camera does not evenly render details in both light and dark areas of the frame. Because of this, I recommend overexposing your photos in the field. You can enhance these areas to make much more appealing photos suited to your style, whether that means drawing out the contrast or softening it. My personal workflow involves darkening the background and dodging any bright spots on the subject. This makes the flower pop without blowing out the lightest areas. Here is an example of back lit Tulips that shows how bad light can be salvaged by a lot of selective dodging and burning done in Lightroom. Backlight photography can be challenging, and it’s easy to create unpleasant exposures if you are using auto mode. But the more you practice, the more you develop the skills to see the quality and direction of the light and how to use it for creative flower photography. Next time you are out and about in the garden or on a stroll through a field, pay attention to backlit flowers. The reward is worth the observation and the observation soon turns into obsession. BTW, don’t just stop at flowers, pay attention to leaves as well! Happy shooting!


49 / MAY 2021

Images from our Fitness Model Outing

Thanks Natasha Bird for the behind the scene images


50 / MAY 2021

Closing dates for upcoming Salons 2021 find the information brochures on the PSSA website 2021-04-30 Jurassic Coast International AV Salon (Brochure available) 2021-05-01 7th Tygerberg National Salon (Brochure available) 2021-05-08 Durban 100 Year Anniversary National (Brochure available) 2021-05-15 5th Vanderbijlpark National (Brochure available) 2021-05-22 3rd SASOL Highveld National Salon (Brochure available) 2021-07-03 1st Witzenberg Photographic Society Digital & Print Salon (Brochure available) 2021-07-17 PSSA National Youth Salon 2021-07-31 TAF PDI 11th National Salon (Brochure available) 2021-08-14 16th Krugersdorp Camera Club National Digital Salon 2021-08-21 Sandton 8th National Digital Salon 2021-08-28 VPS National Salon 2021-09-11 AFO 10th Digital Salon 2021-09-18 5th Lowveld National Salon 2021-10-02 8th Swartland Salon 2021-10-09 Camera Obscura International Salon Circuit - Edenvale


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Member FOCUS

DAVID

M O R R I S Please tell us about yourself? I am a middle aged male and consider myself a normal guy who enjoys trips to see beautiful places and especially scenic waterfalls When did you start photography? I started taking photographs over 10 years ago but never in a serious disciplined way. My photographs have usually been record shots of something that I enjoyed seeing. However, I have an interest in improving my photography skills inspired by Paul & Bung so I decided to join a club for mentorship and guidance. What equipment do you use or what do you hope to invest in? I currently use a Fujifilm APSC mirrorless camera and if I improve I would one day hope to invest in the medium format Fujifilm camera system What is your favourite genre of photography? I favour travel photography and videography to record my travels. I would also like to improve my portrait photographs. Where would you like to see yourself in a years time? I would love to be able to put my techinal theory into practical results How did you learn to know about our Club? I have family who are members at the club and wanted to join them in a shared hobby


53 / MAY 2021

David

Morris Photography


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