December 2014 cape camera by Cape Town Photographic Society

CAPE CAMERA December 2014 Official Newsletter of the

Cape Town Photographic Society

Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message 2

Judging dissected

Top images open

News flashes

Judges selection

Top images general 12

125 Year celebration 4

December judge

PSSA news

AV year end

Top images set

125 Year Diary

Cape Camera • December 2014

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President’s message

t is hard to believe that the year has only a few days left before we go into the New Year. With that in mind, I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. May the best of this year be the worst of 2015. 2014 Has been a busy year, but nothing in comparison of what 2015 will be. Hopefully, all members will take an active part in the celebrations planned for our 125 year celebration (see more information on pp4-6) The Cape Town Science Centre does not close for the holidays, other than the public holidays, i.e. Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s day. I will be taking annual leave from the 13th December. When I get back to work, I will be involved with running a number of workshops. One of these will be how to get good images with your camera and the second workshop will be to print pictures from negatives in the dark room.

Monthly meetings Please note: The January 2015 meetings will deviate from the normal meeting schedule, namely: 14 January: Competition 21 January: Audio-visual There will be no Education & Development meeting in January 2015. Monthly meetings are held in the St Stephens Church Hall in Pinelands at 7pm. 1st Wednesday: Competition

I have many negatives that I will use to demonstrate the technique of printing pictures. I still find this a fascinating process. I will use my Kaiser Systems V enlarger. I wonder if any of our members do some printing in the darkroom? When we all get back after the break I hope to see all the exciting images captured by our members. Some of you will, no doubt, have been abroad or visited some of the fantastic destinations near here. Talking of the places near here, members still in Cape Town were able to look at the work done by our members in the AV section on the 17th December (see p7). I have seen some inspiring work from our members, some who have only taken to doing AV’s recently. Wishing you all the best and happy clicking of the shutters, Detlef Basel Hon PSSA, APSSA

Cape Camera dates 2015

On the cover

Winner Salon PDI Set Subject (29) and PSSA senior entry:

War bride by Kim Stevens. “I like the mood and the darkness,” said the judge, Jan Verboom. “I love the treatment, which takes it to a whole different level.”

2nd Wednesday: Audio-visual 3rd Wednesday: Education & Development

Contact CTPS council members

President

Vice-president Development & Education

Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer

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Detlef Basel president@ctps.co.za Tel: 082 898 6759 Nicol du Toit treasurer@ctps.co.za Karyn Parisi development@ctps.co.za Jacoba van Zyl info@ctps.co.za Nicol du Toit treasurer@ctps.co.za

Cape Camera is published after the last CTPS function of that month, namely: January 2015: 26 January February 2015: 25 February March 2015: 30 March April 2015: 20 April May 2015: 2 June (after the CTPS Congress weekend) June 2015: 22 June July 2015: 27 July August 2015: 24 August September 2015: 24 September October 2015 31 October November 2015 23 November

Property Manager Website Manager Competitions Convenor Audio-visual Convenor Public Relations Officer Publications Officer

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Richard Goldschmidt Steffne Hughes webmaster@ctps.co.za Lesley Parolis competitions@ctps.co.za Robert Maginley rmaginley@worldonline.co.za Steffne Hughes webmaster@ctps.co.za Trudi du Toit editor@ctps.co.za

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Cape Camera • December 2014

CTPS news flashes You can still order 125 Year jackets

As part of the 125 Year Celebration next year, CTPS is sponsoring special celebratory navy club jackets with wind-, waterproof and breathable features so that members can buy them at a vastly reduced price, namely R248 (including VAT and 125Year Celebration badges). Due to the Barron factory closing in December, we can still place final orders until January 5th. The distributor, XCO, will have the jackets delivered in time for the first 125 year celebratory outing on January 24th. They can take further orders after that, provided that a minimum of 5 jackets are ordered at one time. The samples will therefore again be at the January 14th meeting for members to try on. Contact Trudi du Toit on editor@ctps.co.za or 021 461 2544 for more information.

December 2014 competition stats Of the 107 entries received for the December competition, 2% entries were from Beginners, 11% from Intermediate photographers, 45% from Advanced and 48% from Salon photographers. The average score awarded by judge Jan Verboom was 23, and 65% of the entries got Gold awards, 31% Silver and 4% Red. Nearly a fifth (19%) of the entries received a score of 27 or above (90%).

2015 Set subject themes

Members may enter a maximum of three images in any category per competition. It is no longer compulsory to enter an image in the set subject, nor are entries in for print or PDI restricted to two. The 2015 judges are still to be finalised as a sub-committee chaired by Pat Scott is taking another look at the judging procedures during club competitions. The Set subject themes for 2015 will be: 21 January: Yin and Yang. 4 February: Windows and/or doors 4 March: Composite image 8 April: Monochrome 6 May: Nature 3 June: Hands and feet 1 July: Low key 5 August: Macro 2 September: Scapes 7 October: 125 year celebrations 4 November: Shadows and/or reflections 2 December: Rustic

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Members perform elsewhere Shaun Laishley was awarded a Licentiate of the PSSA (LPSSA) in the latest honours list. Above is one of his images, Please don’t get up, which was accepted in the recent Bosveld Salon. Two members got acceptances in the Tygerberg Photographic Society Salon: Mo Bassa for Vernazza Cinque Terra and Marius-lee Pretorius for City Lights. Points needed for Salon Advanced Intermediate Beginner

Gold 24 22 20 18

Silver 20 18 16 14

Red 16 14 12 10

Promotion criteria Members are promoted to a higher level based on the following criteria: • Beginner to Intermediate: 3 gold awards & 30 points • Intermediate to Advanced: 5 gold awards & 40 points • Advanced to Salon: 50 gold awards. Points awarded in the club competitions count as follows: Gold = 3, Silver = 2, Red =1. Salon acceptances count 3 points.

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CTPS 125 years celebration

The 125 Year celebrations for CTPS in 2015 has many memorable outings, a mini-congress, salon for society members only, exhibitions, etc. in store. Make sure you’ve diarised the following events for the first half of the year. Please make sure you book well in advance, where required

Table Mountain : 24 January A social function on the top of the iconic symbol of All members: Bring drinks and snacks, or picnic supCape Town, Table Mountain, kicks off our pers, to enjoy while watching the sun go 125th year celebrations on January 24th. down and take photos of the city below as We offer two options: for fitter and less-fit the lights begin to come on. members. • The last car down from the mountain is at 9pm. For fitter members: Meet at the lower caCosts involved: Tickets for the cable-way ble car station at 3.30pm to ascend. should preferably be pre-purchased on the • Walk along the top to Mac Clears Beacon; web. The return ticket price is R225. You • Take photos of the city and the Peninsula have to queue for the half-price tickets from the highest point; (R112.50). • Mini-walk led by Richard Goldschmidt Booking and cancellation: The event • Return to upper station by 6.30pm, to meet will be cancelled — or postponed — if the the other CTPS members. weather is unsuitable. Therefore, let RichFor less fit members: Enjoy the half-price ard Goldschmidt know if you are interested ticket rate after 6pm. in attending so that he can inform you of • Walk the paths around the cable station, take photos of the city from the various Richard Goldschmidt, or- any change of plans. viewpoints; ganiser of the January out- Contact Richard Goldschmidt at Richard@ • Meet other members on the deck on the ing and Stanford weekend goldschmidt.co.za or call cell: 082 558 3037 or home 021 794 3648. west side below the restaurant at 6.30pm. in February.

Stanford weekend: 20 to 22 February Richard Goldschmidt is organizing an action-packed activity programme in Stanford over the weekend of 20-22 February as the second outing of our 125th year celebration. Activities: a braai at the rendezvous base on Saturday night and perhaps also on the Friday night; • Sunset birding cruises on the river, sunrise birding photography from a dedicated hide on the lake; • An architectural guided tour of the heritage buildings and market in the village; • A trip to Die Kelders archeology cave and beach, breakfast looking out over Walker Bay, • A visit to a brewery/winery • Free time to relax and do what you like. Accommodation: CTPS will be hiring a newly renovated property that can sleep ten members in five ensuite rooms and will use this as a rendezvous base for all. Members are urged to book with Richard Goldschmidt as soon as possible. • Another option is Valda Finch of Stanford River Lodge. She is holding seven rooms open for a few weeks, only for our members. These are superior rooms with magnificent views and there is a swimming pool. Members should make their own bookings with Valda asap.

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• Members who do not wish to avail themselves of these arrangements can find other accommodation through the Stanford tourist website – but should do so as soon as possible. Costs: CTPS will subsidize some costs and will generously contribute to providing a meal — and perhaps more. Further details will be provided once members commit to attend. • Members interested in the rendezvous base must be prepared to pay R800 (per person in total) for the two nights stay. Costs could come down when we know numbers interested. • Accommodation can be cheaper if members bring their own stretcher and sleeping bag and are prepared to sleep in a dormitory situation. • Valda Finch prices vary between R750 per room per night (sleeps two) and R940 for the honeymoon suite. Bookings: Members are requested to e-mail or phone Richard Goldschmidt as soon as possible to show their interest/commitment at Richard@goldschmidt.co.za or call cell: 082 558 3037 or home 021 794 3648. • Valda Finch: see www.wheretostay.co.za/stanfordriverlodge or call 028 341 0444. • Stanford tourism www.stanfordinfo.co.za or call Tel: 028 341 0340

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Cape Camera • December 2014

Blue bus afternoon outing: 28 March Keith Bull has agreed to lead a late afternoon outing on one of the hop-on, hop-off tourist buses traveling around the Peninsula. A designated route will be followed, with members taking photos whilst moving, and at designated 30-minute stops. Details will be finetuned and announced in due course. Proposed departure: Members park in the Portswood Ridge parking area at the Waterfront and meet over the Members are encouraged to hold back two or three of their best images of each outing for the 125-year competition set subject in October 2015, and also provide as many of their images as they wish for the making of an AV of the event — or for inclusion in Cape Camera.

road at the terminus at the Aquarium at 4pm. Ideally, it would be great if we have sufficient numbers to hire a private bus and depart by 4.30pm. Proposed stops: Perhaps we stop at the following destinations for photo opportunities: Groote Constantia, Imizamo Yethu township in Hout Bay, Hout Bay Harbour, Camps Bay beach road, close to where they sell the curios. We have sundowners and snacks there and wait for sunset at 9h16. We then proceed back to the V&A Waterfront just before 8pm. Alternatively, maybe go to the top of Signal Hill for night photos before returning to the V&A a bit later? Duration: The bus travels for 1 hr 15 minutes, so including 4 stops, the duration would be 3 hr 15 minutes. Cost: Bus tickets bought online for the Blue Peninsula Mini tour cost R150. The cost of creating a unique tour for us will be investigated, hopefully by Keith Bull.

Bein Wine Photo-Op Picnic: 25 April

Luka and Ingrid at Bein Private Cellars have a fun donkey-cart ride and wine tasting at sunset, and we have booked this as our April outing, reports Pat Scott. It is actually not so much a donkey-cart ride, but rather a walk up the hillside and the donkeys accompanying take the wine and food up for a fun Bein Wein Panorama by Pat Scott. wine tasting with delicious snacks at the top. It is quite a walk, about 40 minutes plete the overall round trip on a farm road, with great photographic opportunities Unfortunately numbers are limited for this outing, 15 on the way and superb panoramic vista when you get to –20 max, so it will have to be the first come up to the first 20 people. the picnic spot. The return trip is barely 15 minutes downhill to com- Contact Pat on p.a.charteris@gmail.com

CTPS 125 Celebration Exhibition: 20 July - 4 August

Pat Scott is planning to hold a very special photo exhibition in the Marble Foyer of the ArtScape theatre towards the end of July to introduce CTPS, and the development of photography, to the public. The exhibition will consist of photographs taken over the past 125 years. The exhibition will coincide with the performance of West Side Story, which is expected to attract a large audience. “We are going through the archives to look for past images, but would really appreciate your help in tracing as many past members as we can, in order to get photographs to display at the exhibition,” says Pat. “A little anecdote: I was in the Kruger Park in August this year and met a lady whose husband was a member of CTPS over 60 years ago. She still has his pictures, and I have asked if I could go round and select a couple to ex-

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hibit. So please, if you know of anyone with connections with the past, let me know,” she asks. The exhibition will be including images from current members, but we will let you know more details in the new year. For information on photographs by old members, contact Pat Scott on p.a.charteris@gmail.com.

Featuring members from the past Cape Camera will next year be publishing features on long-standing CTPS members and anecdotes about interesting events from the past. Please contact Trudi du Toit at editor@ctps.co.za if you are a long-standing member, know a long-standing member, or have anecdotes we could include.

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The CTPS 125 Year Congress at De Hoop The CTPS Mini-Congress planned for the weekend of 29-31 May 2015 at De Hoop is taking shape, reports PAT SCOTT De Hoop is a photographic haven with magnificent sand dunes, beautiful extensive beaches, a fascinating river, plus an array of birds and animals…what more could you ask for? reports PAT SCOTT. Well, how about four renowned photographic personalities to give you presentations on their outstanding works and then hang around to guide you with your photography! That, in a nut-shell is what you will get if you attend the CTPS Mini-Congress at De Hoop at the end of May. The four speakers are: • Paul Bruins, on Evening into Star photography; • Chris Fallows on Nature; • Nicole Palmer on Macro photography Sun rises on the Dunes by Pat Scott illustrates the photographic opportunities offered by the De Hoop nature reserve. and • Martin Osner on Creative Landscapes. • 5 x Campsite Rondawels (2 per cottage with outside Nearer the time we will publish more detail on the inshared ablutions) = 10 people dividuals and their actual presentations. • 6 x Equipped Cottages (4 per cottage with 1 bathroom) The plan is to give members time to shoot mornings = 24 people and evenings, and to have the presentations mid-morn• 1 x Equipped Cottage (6 per cottage with 1 bathroom) ing and mid-afternoon, except for Paul Bruins, who will = 6 people kick it all off on the Friday evening. • 3 x Opstal Houses (6 per cottage with 1 bathroom) = Again, a more detailed programme will be sent out 18 people nearer the time. This will provide accommodation for 58 members. Accommodation We will have a special dinner on the Saturday to celebrate CTPS’s 125 years…plus our President, Detlef’s 80th Fortunately De Hoop management have been very generous with promise of a good discount on their normal birthday, the week before. And yes, CTPS will pick up the prices: the more we take the cheaper the cost, so no de- bill for that great treat. So make a plan and start saving finitive pricing yet, but as a ball-park figure it will range to come and join in the celebrations! You can start claiming your spot now by contacting Pat from R250 to R400 per person per night. They have booked the following accommodation for us: Scott on p.a.charteris@gmail.com.

Plenty of photographic opportunities Apart from the monthly club competitions, club members will be encouraged to record the 125th year celebrations in pictures and also to pit their skills against other photographers in our celebratory National Salon. • Members will be encouraged to photograph the celebrations throughout the year, to enter their images in the set theme The 125 year celebrations for the October monthly competition. • The Cape Town Photographic Society 125th Anniversary Salon, planned for our birthday month of Oc-

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tober, will include prints (salon director Antenie Carstens), PDI (Lesley Parolis) and AV’s (Neels Beyers). Nicol du Toit will be the overall salon director. • A photo competition for schools is planned to promote the club to the younger generation. Learners will be encouraged to take photos during the July school holidays. • An exhibition of members’ work from the past 125 years is planned for the foyer of the Artscape to coincide with the performance of West Side Story at the end of July (see previous page).

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Cape Camera • December 2014 Far left: Henk Mulder (in background), Elmara Willis, Nellian Bekker and Len van Wyk enjoy the snacks. Left: Patricia Marais and Neels Beyers deep in discussion.

Audio-visuals celebrate year end

The CTPS AV Section meeting held on 17th December 2014 was part year-end celebration and partly a showcasing of the entries in the A Place Near Here challenge, reports Robert Maginley

he last AV meeting of 2014 was attended by 20 members. Members were informed about the The Cape Town Photographic Society 125th Anniversary Salon planned for October 2015, which will include an AV salon, organised by Neels Beyers. More details about categories and entry requirements will be provided early next year. There are also a number of international salons members can enter in 2015 and details can be found on the PSSA website – www.pssa.co.za — under the AV tab. Congratulations to Nellian Bekker for her acceptance and runner-up in the Lowveld National Salon (see box right). Plans for 2015 An outline of what members can expect for 2015 includes workshops, speakers and a monthly celebrity. • On alternate months there would be competition nights, with two sections, Open and Set. • Members are asked to submit ideas for the set subjects. • A new feature would be the Beginners Award. This is to encourage members who have not made an AV previously, to enter. A beginner is someone who has made less that 5 AV’s and has not won any award in either a salon or club competition. • There will also be monthly prizes for the Best AV and

Runner up and acceptance for Nellian Bekker Two AV’s entered by Nellian Bekker was a runner-up and got acceptance in the 1st St Lowveld National Audio Visual Salon. Watery World was the runner-up in the Nature Section. All from the same tree was accepted in the Open Section. the Best Beginner AV on the same lines as for the general competition nights. The entries from The Challenge competition where screened and audience members were asked to comments. We trust this will help AV makers in the future. The organisers also learnt valuable lessons from running their first competition and we look forward to organizing similar events in the future. “We would like to thank all the members that supplied the most delicious snacks, well done to all,” says Maginley. “From the AV Team we would like to wish all our members a great festive season and a great photographic 2015!” Robert Maginley has been co-opted to represent the AV Section on the CTPS Council in 2015, following the resignation of Joy Wellbeloved.

Left: AV group chair Robert Maginley has been co-opted to represent the section on the CTPS council. With him is award-winning AV-maker Ingrid Gane. Right: Jeanette du Toit, Cathy Bruce and Ken Woods share a joke.

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Judging re-evaluated At the November competition evening Pat Scott announced that we’ll be returning to the three-judge system for a trial period of four months from January 2015

udging formats and judges have been contentious issues for CTPS, as well as photographic societies and clubs across the country, for more than 120 years. As Pat Scott (right) points out, in 1897 a member walked out of a meeting in protest against the bad judging. The problems experienced with judging, and the training of judges, was the main point of discussion during the PSSA Forum held during the PSSA AGM in Skukuza earlier this year. After consulting with clubs, the PSSA has now produced their guidelines for promotion and evaluation of images (i.e. judging) — see p13. In the Western Cape, PSSA Regional chair Johan Kloppers has called a meeting of club representatives for January to discuss issues about judging. It is clear that judging is under scrutiny from many quarters — and no surprise that the CTPS Council agreed that a sub-committee re-examine the judging procedures during our monthly competitions. At the November 2014 competition evening, Pat Scott reported that we will again be introducing a three-judge system for a four-month trial period from January to April 2015. But, there will be changes to the former three-judge sys-

tem used: • One external (professional photographer) judge and two internal judges (club members) will be employed per competition evening; • One internal judge will have judging experience and the other one will have an interest in judging; • All three judges will receive the images for remote judging before the competition, but the judging will only be finalised after viewing the entries on the competition evening; • All three judges will award a score, but only the external judge will be asked to comment on the evening; • Club members and council will be able to evaluate the system and the judges during the trial period, which will be reviewed at the May council meeting. At the time of going to press, the January judges and evaluation methods had not been finalised yet. Information will be provided closer to the time.

The background worker who selected judges Jeanette Brusnicky and John Spence share a love of photography.

Few members are aware that Jeanette Brusnicky had been appointing the judges for the competition evenings over the past four years

Four years ago, in 2010, Jeanette Brusnicky was elected to the CTPS council to take responsibility for finding and appointing the judges for the monthly competitions — and she has quietly been fulfilling this task as an unheralded background worker until the end of 2014. 2010 was the ideal time for her to join the council: she had the time after she retired from her post as a medical scientist at the Tygerberg Hospital the previous year, and had bought a Canon 7D SLR camera when her interest in photography was rekindled when she and John Spence joined CTPS at the behest of a friend in time to go on the Struisbaai weekend.

While taking on the responsibility of selecting judges might appear daunting to many members, Jeanette, a global genetic pioneer used to challenges like performing genetic examinations on the remains of the Israeli athletes blown up in the helicopter during the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage drama, found it “interesting”. She was on an extended sabbatical at a German university in the early 1970’s when the ethics, possibilities and boundaries of genetic engineering were widely discussed at international symposiums. Jeanette not only attended these as a representative of the university, but also contributed by delivering and writing papers for

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Cape Camera • December 2014

More about our December judge

an Verboom is the owner of filmed near Somerset West. Roodebloem studios yet, he is Verboom started his career in comnot a fan of photos shot in a mercial photography as in-house studio, he says. photographer for brandbuilding The studios are favoured by many agency Ogilvy, which became Ogiltop companies for advertising, cevy & Mather Rightford Searle-Tripp lebrity, fashion and film and TV and Makin in the late 1980’s. shoots — and are all usually fully His belief that a photographer albooked well in advance. ways has to add something to an As a stills photographer for the image, not just shoot what is in past thirty years, Verboom has not front of him, resulted in an individonly mastered the art of studio phoual style that made him a soughttography, but also the whole specafter photographer for local and trum of genres, from social media international productions. “If a perto billboard to on-set, behind-theson adds some value, I will give an scenes to portraits. Jan Verboom with CTPS Competition Con- image a higher rating, because I like He also illustrated that it is the venor Lesley Parolis. interpretation,” he explained. photographer, not the camera, that He is also a big Instagrammer, makes the photo, by showing some iPhone images he which he considers to be a great platform to learn about had shot of the pirates in the Black Sails TV series being the art of photography.

PSSA Entries: Every month a judge must nominate a competition Salon Print Open winner: Got you at last! by

entry from a senior (see p2) and junior photographer to enter in the PSSA club competition. See the PSSA website at www.pssa.co.za. Left: Intermediate PDI Set winner: Wow Bubbles by Brian Hallock (27) is

Dante Parisi (28): Verboom commended the photographer for the time and patience it required to get the shot. “I like the lighting and the isolation from the background,” he said. He also liked the crispness of the image.

the PSSA junior entry. Portraying humour in photography is very difficult, said the judge, who believed this image succeeded in protraying humour. “I love the expressions and the t-shirt.”

scientific journals. When she returned to South Africa in the 1970’s, her employer, Tygerberg Hospital, could benefit from her pioneering involvement in this new medical scientific field, from which other South African scientists had been excluded due to politics. When she was elected to the CTPS council, a threejudge panel system was in place. “We had an external judge and a senior and more junior member judges,” she recollects. At that stage members could submit six images each — three print and three digital. All three judges were encouraged to comment on the images “but the junior judge usually did not wish to comment.” Because the evenings became too long, this system was abandoned in favour of one external judge. “Members would suggest suitable judges and I would

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appoint judges from this list.” She continued doing this even after she stopped being a council member. Jeanette was also responsible for selecting the set subjects and tried to select a judge with specific knowledge of the particular set subject for that month — e.g. wildlife, portraiture, action sport, etc. The professional photographers were usually very keen to judge the CTPS competitions — but, because they make their living from assignments or leading photo tours, there was always the danger of a professional cancelling at short notice when a job opportunity presented. That could result in a stand-in, who is not an expert in a field, judging a set subject — but that happened very rarely, she says. Jeanette would book the judges at the beginning of the year, and re-confirm closer to the time, when she would give them the briefing documents as well.

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Winning and top images December

Set subject: Portraits

Left: Advanced winner Print-Set: Township Family Portrait by Karyn Parisi (28). The judge liked the composition and the feeling of togetherness and connectivity portrayed. He also thought the HDR treatment suited the shot. “I like the double shadow, colour and crispness.”

Above: Salon winner Print - Set: True Colours by Marius-lee Pretorius (27). “A strong

visual image,” said the judge, who liked the white eyes that stand out. “I like the mystery of the shot … it doesn’t tell you why or what.”

Right: Advanced winner PDISet: Grungy Zombie by Dante Parisi (28). Verboom highly com-

mended this image because “this picture interprets, there is a story attached to it.” He especially liked the treatment.

Left: Beginner winner PDI - Set: Wannabe Dinosaur by Barbara Hallock (24). “A lovely shot!” said the judge, who

liked the soft background, but nice detail and clarity of the portrait.

Right: PDI-Set Salon: Looking to the Light by Jean Bradshaw (27): "Beautiful," "like poetry" "feels like theatre" "evoking a mood," are some of the descriptions Verboom had for this image.

Left: PDI-Set Salon: Man at the Market (26) by Joan Ward. Judge Verboom liked the ruggedness of the face. "You can almost feel the personality, of this man lost in his own thoughts." He also liked the light on his shoulder.

Below left: PDI - Set Advanced: Putting on the Glitz (27) by Steffne Hughes. The

Intermediate winner Print-Set: Fun with Bubbles by Brian Hallock (24). “A good mood shot,

catching a moment. A fun element is the kid’s face - awestruck and focused on the bubble,” said the judge of this “sweet shot”

judge liked the retro Hollywood feel and commended the lighting.

Right: PDI-Set Intermediate: Friends (27) by Catherine Jenkins. “A lovely shot, captur-

ing a nice moment of recognition between two people,” said Verboom of this portrait of George Hallett and Arianne Jensen. “One can sense the caring.”

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Cape Camera • December 2014

December winners & top scorers: Open

Advanced winner PDI - Open: Desert Landscape by Cathrine Bruce Wright (28): “Beautiful, a lovely

time of day,” said the judge. “I love the light coming through, the beautiful earth colours.”

Salon winner Print - Open: Shaft of Light by Kim Stevens (28): The judge liked the tonal values and he liked the fact that it doesn’t look like it would look like at first glance. “I like the drama and the way the subject matter was pushed.”

Right: Salon Print Open: Stealthy Stare by Pat Scott (28): “A moment

captured,” said the judge. “You get a sense of closeness, as if the animal is unaware of the photographer.” He liked the detail, clarity and shallow depth of field.

Left: Salon winner PDI - Open: Young lioness at the waterhole, by Jeanette du Toit (28): "Lovely light!

You can almost feel the tension in the animal. You can see the lion is aware of its surroundings."

Right: Salon Print Open: London Millenium Bridge by Malcolm Jones (28). The judge appreciated the treatment and interpretation of the scene and the visual strength of the white line of the bridge.

Winner Intermediate PDI-Open: Dune and Gemsbok by Trudi du Toit (24): Quite

a strong image, said the judge, but the shadow on the dune at the back and on the back of the buck bothered him.

Right: Advanced PDI Open: Cooling off by Ken Woods (28). "What a great action shot!" said the judge.

Far left: Salon Print Open. Walls, doors, arches by Lambe Parolis (27). “I like the orange and

blue and the clarity and crispness of the image,” Verboom said. He liked the composition of the architectural shot, but would, however, have liked a bit more drama — for example, “something captured in the portals.”

Advanced Print Open: Twilight Zombies by Karyn Parisi (27) The judge liked the treatment

of the subject matter, he also liked the cyan background that makes the subjects pop out.

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More December top scoring images Right: PDI - Set: Portrait of a Rhinoceros by Jeanette du Toit (27). “I

love the tones,” said Verboom. He liked the line through the body and the repetition of the mud on the ground. “A good nature shot.”

Salon PDI-Set: Perpend by Marius-lee Pretorius (27). “There is lots of drama in the image,”

Salon Print Open: Looking out to Sea by Jean Bradshaw (27). The

said the judge, who commended the strong use of depth of field, which “definitely puts an edge to the image.”

judge liked the long open shutter speed and the informal interpretation. “I like the colours and ethereal, dreamy feel.”

Right: Salon PDI Open: Up Up and Away by Jenny Powis (26). “I love

Salon PDI Set: Pelican Portrait by Joan Ward (26). “Lovely clarity in the detail - like the sparkle

in the eye,” said the judge. He also liked the blue and green background.

the colours — a beautiful moment, a sense of serenity,” said Verboom, who also liked the cloud in the distance.

Salon PDI - Open: Orange is my Colour by Neels Beyers (26).

“I like the way the orange stands out. It is an unusual shot, which tells a story,” said judge Verboom. He also liked the people in front of the shot.

Right: Advanced PDI - Set: Face of Rajasthan by Jacoba van Zyl (26). "I prefer a portrait of some-

one with a road map on their face, indicating lots of stories through life," said Verboom, who liked the engagement with the photographer.

Left: Advanced PDI - Open: Taking off by King Tong (26). “A nice shot with good clarity,” said the judge, who also commended the sharp detail on the bird’s face.

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Cape Town Photographic Society

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Cape Camera • December 2014

PSSA Congress in the Cape Canola fields Cape Photographers and the Swellendam Photographic Society will be hosting the 61st PSSA Congress in Swellendam from Sunday 9 to Friday 14 August, 2015. The Congress in the Canola 2015 will be held in the Swellengrebel Hotel, who are also offering specially reduced rates to delegates.

On the PSSA website there is also information about other accommodation that will offer special rates for congress delegates. See more at www.swellendamtourism.co.za/congress-in-the-canola-accommodation. To register for the congress, follow the link from the PSSA website (www.pssa.co.za) and click on the Congress tab at the top.

PSSA News

The PSSA has posted a Club Advancement Guidelines document on their website, created for new clubs, as well as existing clubs that want to measure their current system and possibly introduce changes or adopt these best practice principles

he PSSA had compiled guidelines for clubs on what they consider best practices, based on feedback from 33 member clubs PSSA with regard to their promotion systems. The survey covered three topics, namely what advancement levels clubs implemented, the requirements for advancement and the award system used. They found that most clubs used a 1-5 Star system (our salon level would, for example, be 4 Star), but that many clubs introduced further star levels to keep the longstanding and most advanced photographers motivated. Most clubs used the same award system as we do, with the addition of a Certificate of Merit (COM). The PSSA propose at least ten advancement levels for clubs: 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star, 4 Star, 5 Star, Master Bronze, Master Silver, Master Gold, Master Platinum, Master Diamond — with the addition of Senior Master levels, where required. CTPS has four levels of advancement. They found that there is little standardisation among clubs about the requirements for advancement, and

Members competing for Impala

Several CTPS members are among the PSSA members currently competing for the Impala Trophy, awarded to the photographer with the most points gained in PSSA approved salons during the official PSSA year (ending on the 30th June). Halfway through the annual competition Shaun Laishley is ranked in the top third, Marius-lee Pretorius and Nicol du Toit in the top half, and Joan Ward, Kim Stevens, Jan Swiegers, Mo Bassa and Lesley Parolis in the top two-thirds of the 468 ranked photographers. One point is awarded for a salon acceptance, two points for a Certificate of Merit, club medal or runner-up position, while the winner of a PSSA medal (1st place) gets 3 points. Salon judges are awarded 4 Impala points, but this may not constitute more than 33% of their total.

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therefore recommend that advancement be based on time, rather than points. Points should be awarded for all possible awards on a weighted system, with a minimum number of Gold and COM awards. In all but the entry level, advancement will also require acceptances in PSSA salons - but only three acceptances per photo should count, and points awarded for international acceptances are discouraged. The aim is to retain a member for at least five years, at the time of which he should be at 5 Star level. The document gives detailed guidelines on the time frames for advancement between levels (8-10 months) and points. Most clubs use three judges, each awarding points out of 5. They recommend that each judge starts by awarding 5 points, and then deducting a point if the photo is incorrectly exposed; lacks sharpness; if the digital processing is incorrect; it lacks good composition or impact. The judge must comment on why points were deducted. When judges award points out of 15, points can be deducted on a sliding scale of 1-3 for each of the five judging criteria. The full document can be read on www.pssa.co.za/ clubs-mainmenu-148/club-advancement-guidelines.

Enter website competition Members may not be aware that they can enter any one of their images every month in the PSSA Website Image competition. The competition is open to all PSSA members, or members of an affiliated PSSA club (like CTPS). The image can be submitted via Photovault at www.photovaultonline.com. The winning image will be displayed on the home page of the PSSA website for the duration of the month. See www.pssa. co.za/galleries1/website-winning-pics-nov-2014. The Website Picture of the Year will be selected at the end of the PSSA calendar year (30 June of each year).

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Cape Town Photographic Society

Cape Camera • December 2014

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125 Year celebration diary Save these dates for 2015

Table Mountain outing - climbing for the fit members, via cable car (half-price after 6pm) for the not-so-fit. Meet on top for sundowners and picnics (See p4)

January 24, 2015

February 20-22, 2015 March 28, 2015

Weekend in Stanford: urgently confirm attendance with Richard Goldschmidt and book accommodation (See p4). Red tourist bus late afternoon outing around the Peninsula with unique stops for photography. (See p5) Bein Wein Private Cellar outing in Vlottenburg with donkey ride and wine tasting at sunset. (See p6).

April 25, 2015

CTPS Congress for members in De Hoop Nature Reserve. Expect top speakers like Chris Fallows, Paul Bruins and others. (See p5).

May 29-31, 2015

Schools photo competition launched. June 2015

Outing in Stellenbosch area under guidance of a renowned photographer.

July 20 to 4 August, 2015

Exhibition of members’ work across 125 years in Artscape Opera House foyer, during the run of West Side Story musical (See p6) Postberg outing during flower season. Date and details to be confirmed.

August 2015

PSSA National Congress in Swellendam 9-14 August. Organised by Swellendam Photographic Society and Cape Photographers. See PSSA website at www.pssa.co.za (Congress tab).

September 16, 2015

An illustrated talk on the club’s 125 years’ history. Possible AV shown? Cape Town Photographic Society 125th Anniversary Salon for print (Antenie Carstens), PDI (Lesley Parolis) and AV (Joy Wellbeloved), coordinated by Nicol du Toit.

October 2015

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Cape Town Photographic Society