A Note from the President

As you read this, winter will have arrived across the motu. Given how wild the weather has been over the first half of the year, who can say what we are in for? Kōwhai trees in both Christchurch and Upper Hutt are already in flower it shouldn’t be happening for a couple of months.

The AGM at the end of April was attended by a similar number to the previous year and in my opinion ran reasonably well. Two motions were discussed and voted on, even though neither the mover nor the seconder attended the meeting. Both proposals were defeated by large margins.

Prior to the AGM, and even at the meeting, it became obvious that we need to tighten up the process about how motions are accepted and then discussed. We are going to review the bylaws and set out a process that everyone can understand.

The AGM resulted in some changes in the faces on Council, and these are outlined later in this issue. As is common in recent years, the organisation did not fill all of the positions. Council met following the AGM, and I am pleased to report that Caroline Ludford LPSNZ LRPS was appointed as Vice President. At the same time, Chryseis Phillips relinquished the secretarial role to look after membership, and we welcome Janet Munnings LPSNZ LRPS as the new secretary.

Finally, in terms of appointments, Lee Boddington has agreed to look after both the editorial and layout duties of CameraTalk

The North Island Convention held in Whangārei at the start of May was a great success, with everyone having a good time. The weather gods gave us a short reprieve from the rain, just long enough to run most of the field trips. Waka Kotahi reopened State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills the week of the convention, making travel a lot easier. Driving through the area really gave you an idea of the size of the issues they had faced.

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo opened the weekend with a challenge to capture his city photographically and then put up a $100 prize for the best image. The competition was judged by me and awarded to Bob Scott APSNZ for his image of the Canopy Bridge at night.

I commend Whangārei Camera Club for hosting a great convention as well as running an excellent salon. They also ran an informal social event on the Friday night, and everyone who attended appeared to enjoy it.

Now that the Regionals have been run we are going to review them, as both attracted much lower numbers than we had expected, or had in the past. I can think of a number of reasons why this might be so, but we need more concrete evidence. Therefore, we will be surveying both attendees and the general membership as part of this exercise.

We will also be looking at the future shape of regional salons. Anyone who has run one of these will know that most of the revenue comes from digital images, but the majority of the costs are associated with the prints. At present digitals essentially subsidise prints and we have to ask if this is sustainable long term.

With the regional conventions out of the way, attention is now switching to the National being held over Labour Weekend in Lower Hutt. We are a little behind with planning for the event due to the amount of effort required for the Regionals, and this will have to be addressed going forward. It is clear that relying on one team to put together three conventions in a year is too much to ask and we will need to split out the teams. Nonetheless, the main speakers are in place and the programme will be revealed over the next two months, with registrations opening at the start of August.

As the weather gets colder we are sometimes less inclined to get outdoors with the camera. Winter is a great time to practise new skills indoors or to catch up on YouTube. I hope everyone stays healthy and warm through it.

Paul Whitham APSNZ