From Friday 22nd June until Saturday 30th June, members of the club will exhibiting their prints of Chester at the Wesley Church Centre on St John’s Street as part of the Chester Heritage Festival.
Chester Heritage Festival Photographic Exhibition
Panasonic Day at Chester Falconry Centre with LCE
Here’s your chance to get that close up raptor shot you’ve been looking for – and try out some of the latest gear from Panasonic.
On Friday 15th June local retailer London Camera Exchange have arranged exclusive access to Chester Cathedral’s Falconry Centre where you will be able to capture the birds of prey both in flight and in close -up while getting your hands on some of the latest Panasonic camera equipment and putting it to the test in real world conditions with the help of Joshua Cunningham from Panasonic UK and Paul Hackett who is a Panasonic Pro Photographer Ambassador who will be able to answer your questions and assist you.
The Falconry day including lunch and 3 hours exclusive access to the birds of prey is £25 and you can book either by dropping into the store in Chester or calling them on 01244 326531.
Itinerary
9.15am – Meet at LCE Chester store,9 Bridge Street Row, Chester, CH1 1NW
Briefing of the day’s event, handing out of camera & lenses and Q&A
9.45am – Leave store and walk to Falconry Centre
10.00-11.00am – Shooting Portraits/Static images of the birds and reptiles.
11.00-1.00pm – Varying displays where we will have control to change the direction of the birds flight to get a variety of images. You may also have the opportunity to handle and fly the birds.
1.00pm – Make our way to the Cathedral Cafe for lunch and an image Review to select your favourite picture for 12×18 print.
For those who wish to stay after lunch we will be returning to the Falconry Centre for a public showing at 14.30 followed by a short street walk as well before ending back in LCE Chester store.
Annual Dinner and presentation of Trophies
In a closely contested season , Malcolm Peacock was awarded Chester Photographic Society Photographer of the Year with 480 points. The 2nd Place Photographer of the Year was Sue Champion with 479 points, and Patricia Keegan was 3rd with 467 points. Ray Groome won Print Photographer of the Year topping the sections for Nature, the President’s Transport Theme and also Monochrome. The Annual Open competition for Prints was awarded to Malcolm Peacock along with the President’s Transport Themed Digital section. Patricia Keegan was awarded Digital Photographer of the Year , topping the Annual Open and Nature Digital sections. The People Trophy for Digital images was won by Sue Champion with Keith Fitzpatrick winning the People Prints. Ron Sutton won the Digital Monochrome category and John Hoyle was awarded Beginner of the Year for his Digital Images.
Members enjoyed their Annual Dinner at Eaton Golf Club on 17th April, when the awards were presented by President Keith Fitzpatrick.
Trophy winners pictured below:
Patricia Keegan, Ray Groome, Ron Sutton, Sue Champion, Keith Fitzpatrick and John Hoyle.
Funan closed
Of very limited interest. Those photographers who pass through Singapore will know of the Funan Mall, a five story shopping mall devoted almost exclusively to photography. Sadly, one of our members called in there in March, only to find it had been demolished for redevelopment. He concluded that there was little point in purchasing in Singapore, when better prices can be found in the UK high street. Nowadays, only the USA seems to offer significantly better priced kit?
Cambrian Photography Photo Show
Cambrian Photography in Old Colwyn are one of the remaining independent camera shops in our area, and they seem to thrive. They are staffed more by enthusiasts than by salespersons. They hold occasional shows, where the main manufacturers set up stalls, and you can try out their latest kit, and get special deals on the day. They also run programmes of guest speakers during the day, for which you need to book seats.
Their next event is on Saturday 26th May. Speakers are Thomas Heaton (Landscape, and youtube video producer), Alyn Wallace (Astro, Timelapse and landscape), and Jonathan Edwards (Landscape, Commercial and product).
If nothing else, you can sample their lemon drizzle cake and coffee. All free.
Two exhibitions to visit
If you venture across the Mersey this month you can can visit two excellent photographic exhibitions and possibly make a day of it with a pleasant lunch in between.
Southport Photographic Society’s 71st National Open Exhibition
Southport Photographic Society’s is holding its 71st National Open Exhibition which is a nationally recognized exhibition run under the BPE (British Photographic Exhibitions). It is one of the dwindling number of exhibitions that includes prints. Alongside the national exhibition the Society is hosting a children’s and the members exhibition and you can see it in the main concourse of Wayfarer’s arcade, Lord Street, Southport with the members and children’s in a nearby shop.
The exhibition runs from 24th March 2018 to 8th April and entry is free. Click here for details.
RPS International Photography Exhibition 160
Also this month at the Chapel Gallery in nearby Ormskirk you can visit the Royal Photographic Society’s International Photography Exhibition 160. That’s right this touring exhibition has been held almost every year since 1854 making it the longest running exhibition of its kind in the world.
The exhibition reflects the breadth of photography today and brings together work from student, amateur and professional photographers. It encompasses both single images and series across all genres, including Documentary, Landscape, Editorial, Photojournalism, Fashion, Contemporary, Conceptual, Portraiture, Abstract and many more.
The exhibitions runs from 17 March to 14 April (Tuesdays to Saturdays only) and entry is free. Click here for details.
ANNUAL DINNER & PRESENTATION OF TROPHIES
The club’s Annual Dinner and the presentation of trophies takes place at Eaton Golf Club on Tuesday 17 April, 7 for 7.30pm.
You do need to add you name(s) to the list that will circulating on club nights over the coming weeks, but there is no need to pre-select your choices from their perennially excellent menu which you can see by clicking on this link > CHESTER PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ANNUAL DINNER 2018
For those new to the club, Eaton Golf Club is located in the village of Waverton which is just to the south of Chester off the A41. Click here for directions.
RECENT EVENTS
High Speed Flash Photography 20th February 2018
George Franks demonstrated how to capture images with high speed flash ,using four different set-ups, before letting members have a go using their own equipment.
Red peppers and lemons were photographed falling in to water, and liquid droplets captured as they hit a glass rim. This enjoyable practical evening was all too soon “over in a flash”, but hopefully everyone has been inspired to have a go at home.
Clone It Out Workshop 11th February 2018
What better way to spend your Sunday afternoon than getting to grips with the Cloning, Healing and Patch tools in Photoshop ! Some of the attendees are pictured below working on their images.
Fabric of Industry; Northwich 17 February
Derek Randall, a professional fine art photographer, has put together Fabric of Industry – an exhibition that explores the microscopic worlds hidden within industrial materials taken from Northwich’s industry at the town’s Lion Salt Works museum.
Derek says, “My photographs explore subjects like the beautiful inner worlds of salt crystals formed over decades on site and the colours and inner landscapes produced by ageing metalwork – worlds that go unnoticed to the naked eye but whose beauty creates worlds in the imagination of the viewer.”
Derek will be giving a free talk explaining the inspiration, development and processes of producing his photographs at the launch which is on Saturday the 17th of February at 2pm.
Entry is free entry but if you wish to reserve a place, please email derek@derekrandallphotography.com
