The workshop on Sunday was well attended, with participants dividing in to two groups .

Phil Wilding demonstrated the process of Focus Stacking with set-ups suitable for Nikon, Canon and Fuji Cameras. Image processing with Photoshop and Zerene Stacker was shown, before everyone took shots with their own equipment. Keith Fitzpatrick was also kept busy helping people with their images.

Bill Marks demonstrated print mounting procedures, and Jan Wilding helped those wanting to practice.

Thanks go to Phil, Jan and Bill for bringing in all the equipment; and making several computers available for practice.

If you have any suggestions for future workshops then please get in touch with Jan Wilding or a member of the committee.

London Camera Exchange Chester and Sony will be holding a hands on event at Chester falconry and Nature Gardens with brand ambassador and wildlife photographer Luke Massey whose work has been awarded in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well as winning Travel Photographer of the Year’s Wildlife category 2016 and the Wildscreen Panda award for Emerging Talent in 2018.

Along with demonstrations and talks from Luke during the day attendees will also have the opportunity to try the very latest Sony equipment and have a chance to try and capture that perfect shot of the Cathedrals birds of prey in flight.

The event is open to photographers of all levels and is not limited to just Sony users so why not bring your current kit along to compare. Tickets for the event are £25 and booking can be done in store or by contacting LCE Chester on 01244 326531.

The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain recently held its annual competition ‘The GB Cup for Small Clubs’. Clive Smith submitted our entries which were chosen from last season’s CPS highest scoring club competition images.

In the Open Category, Chester improved from joint 35th out of 57 clubs countrywide last year, to be a very respectable joint 19th out of 56 clubs this year with a total of  104 points. It’s a reflection on the subjective nature of judging that Terry’s excellent “Sad Ollie” , which did so well at the L&CPU Interclub, was at the lower end of the results this time. Each image is scored out of 5 by three judges, giving a possible maximum of 15 points.

Chloe Malcolm Peacock 9

Sad Ollie Terry Daltry 9

Breaststroker Malcolm Peacock 10

Canoeist Malcolm Peacock 10

Me And My Teddy Sue Champion 10

Summer Blooms Sue Champion 10

Spicy Janice Wilding 11

The Mandolin Rocks Keith Fitzpatrick 11

Summer Blues Keith Fitzpatrick 12

Vestrahorn With Reflections Ray Groome 12

The digital images entered for the ‘GB Cup for Nature’ did not fare as well , with Chester scoring 96 points to finish joint 76th out of 86 clubs. This is however a very tough category ,with some formidable opponents from across the country. 

Reddish Egret Ray Groome 12

Spider And The Fly Malcolm Peacock 10

French Bee On Lavender John Hoyle 9

Elephant Enjoying Dust Bath Patricia Keegan 10

Primula Vulgaris Malcolm Peacock 9

Yellow Eyed Penguins Grooming Keith Fitzpatrick 10

Mute Swan Rob Tarrant 9

Southern Ground Hornbills Sue Champion 9

The Gibbon Gaze Ken Waldie 9

Broad-bodied Chaser Cyril Langman 9

If you still have not signed up for the informative monthly PAGB newsletter then visit:

http://www.pagbnews.co.uk

We’ve all got images that we think are truly wonderful, – but which judges pass over with barely a mention.

Well don’t trash them in a fit of frustration. Next season we are having an interactive session with an experienced judge who has only recently moved into the LCPU patch. First he is going to discuss his experience of judging giving you plenty of opportunity to air some of your gripes and grievances. Then he wants to reassess around 20 images that in competition have failed to live up to their creator’s expectations. And again, he wants you to discuss why you think it should have done better.

So don’t tear up or dismantle your disappointments. Put them carefully to one side and they may get picked out for reassessment in what should be a really interesting evening.

A very pleasant evening and excellent meal was enjoyed by club members at Curzon Park Golf Club on Tuesday 8th January 2019.

Congratulations to CPS member Malcolm Peacock for recently achieving the British Photographic Exhibitions One Crown Award – BPE1 *

Malcolm has shared a few thoughts about his experience:

” This Year I decided to give external competitions a try, and selected the British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE) as my first venture into the world of non-club competitions. I have found the whole experience challenging & very enjoyable. Delighted too, in my first year, to have been awarded the BPE1 star after gaining twenty five acceptances. One acceptance in a BPE Salon equals one point, twenty five points equals BPE1* “

If you are interested in finding out more about the process, and the approved exhibitions then visit the BPE website at:

http://www.britishphotographicexhibitions.org.uk

Chester PS took part in this year’s L&CPU Interclub Digital Image Knockout competition on Saturday evening at Poynton Civic Centre.

Thirty nine clubs from across Lancashire and Cheshire took part, with judging carried out by John Cartlidge EFIAP/p APAGB BPE5*.

Due to the number of entries, only 4 out of the 8 images submitted by each club were used. The standard was really high, but the experienced judge lost no time in eliminating 30 of them in the first round. Chester lost an image in each round resulting in a total of 10 points to finish half way in the rankings. The overall winners , after a tie break, were Poulton le Fylde with 17 points.

Chester’s entry included images by Keith Fitzpatrick, Ray Groome, Malcolm Peacock and Terry Daltry . Terry is to be congratulated for Sad Ollie surviving until the 4th round. The evening gave a good overview of the standard of work being produced, and was a real insight in to the speed of the judging process and importance of impact.

P 20__M Peacock_Chloe

AD 19__Keith Fitzpatrick_Summer Blues

P 20 Points – Ray Groome – Reddish Egret