We are sorry to report that Mike Reed died on Tuesday 16 July at the age of 87.

Mike had been a member of Chester Photographic Society since 1973 and had held many posts on the committee. He was a Hon. Vice President of the Society in recognition of his contribution over many years. He was an A.R.P.S. and a well-recognised Lecturer and Judge in the L&CPU. He represented C.P.S. on the L&CPU Committee for a few years and his contribution resulted in him being granted a life membership of the L&CPU.

Graham Latter, president, spoke on behalf of all members: “A great loss to the club and I have many memories of chats and advice from him over the years. My condolences to Eileen and their family.”

There will be a memorial service at Rowton Methodist Chapel at 11.30am on Tuesday 30th July followed by refreshments at Rowton Poplars Hotel.

Eleven members went along to the National Waterways Museum in Ellemsere Port on Saturday 8 June for a Portrait Workshop led by Manchester photographer Sam Chaloner.

We spent some time examining some of “The Greats” of portrait photography over the years, and learning about what motivated them, before getting into the practical tutorial on how to achieve good quality portraits.

Sam had brought along two professional models who very kindly and patiently allowed us to practice our new skills, in the mini-studio he had set up as well as using natural light in the museum. Since it was raining, we were limited to working indoors which nevertheless allowed plenty of scope for interpretation.

Word has it that the models were convincingly upstaged by one of our very own. We will let you judge for yourself.

On Sunday 2^nd June 2019 six CPS members got up early again to catch the action in this years’ Deva Triathlon. With the Swim starting in the Groves and the Bike Transition in Grosvenor Park, the competitors then headed out on the Bike Route over the Old Dee Bridge via Eccleston, Rossett and Borras;  before returning via Aldford and back into the city along Boughton to end up back in the Park. The Run Route then went out of the Park, over the Suspension Bridge onto the Meadows, looping back along the riverside paths past Salmon Leap and onto the Old Dee Bridge and along the Groves.

Dan Craigen, the event organiser from Chester Triathlon Club, gave us the brief of recording not only the event in the City setting but more importantly the work of the volunteers and marshals along the routes. Despite poor lighting conditions on the day we managed to get a good coverage of the whole event, and were able to give Dan a CD of 315 images of the Triathlon.

Report by Jan Wilding

A few CPS members took part in this year’s Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union Individuals Competition which was judged by Howard Tate, Richard Speirs and Simon Allen. A full roundup of all the results can be found on the L&CPU website:  L&CPU Individual Results

Well done to Richard Barrett who had ” The Persistent Pedaller” retained for use by the L&CPU in inter-federation competitions. The judges commented on the high standard of entries, so with some of the best workers in the region taking part, it is well worth taking a look at the slideshows of high scoring images for each category – which can be found on the Information Portal or via this link: Slideshows. You may just spot one or two familiar ones.

 

Jan Wilding and Sue Champion had prints retained for the touring Portfolios, and Sue also had a print retained for the forthcoming exhibition.

Why not give it a try next year.

Sunday 19th May 2019 saw a group of CPS photographers trying something new.

On locations from Delamere Forest to a Victorian Cemetery in Chester, Graham Currey, model and photographer, lead us on a journey through time in the company of his many characters. The lovely old Delamere station and the tracks gave us a starter for what turned out to be a very creative and enjoyable day. We were ‘shot’ by the railway tracks by ‘Gangster’ Graham, before heading into the forest with ‘cowboy’ Graham and Davy Crockett.

We ended the day in the Victorian Cemetery in Chester amongst the old gravestones in the company of Wyatt Earp and a Victorian Gentleman.

Throughout the photoshoot, Graham offered some shooting advice, came up with ideas for poses within the various locations, and responded to any requests from us for alternative angles. With each character and pose he ensured he made eye contact with every photographer in turn, and also ensured we all had ample opportunity to capture as many images as we wanted. You may even see some of these in future competitions!

Graham and his business partner Emma Finch also run Photography Session Days at various locations in the northwest www.sessiondays.co.uk

Jan Wilding

Malcolm Peacock has been awarded Chester Photographic Society Photographer of the Year for the second year running, and scooped seven trophies after scoring 502 points. The 2^nd Place Photographer of the Year was Keith Fitzpatrick with 477 points, and Jan Wilding was 3^rd with 467 points. Terry Daltry was awarded Beginner of the Year for his Digital Images.

Malcolm won both Print and Digital Photographer of the Year, the Annual Open Print and Open Digital three part competitions ; along with the trophies for the People and Monochrome Prints.

Members enjoyed their Annual Dinner at Eaton Golf Club when the awards were presented by retiring President Keith Fitzpatrick.

The President’s Annual Set Theme of Low Light was won by John Hoyle for his Digital Image and the Print section topped by Jan Wilding.

The Annual Nature Digital award went to Rob Tarrant, with Ray Groome collecting the Nature Print Trophy.

Richard Barrett received the Digital People trophy with Vicky Naudi winning the Digital Monochrome award.

Members are planning a print exhibition later in the year when many of the competition images will be on display.

 

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.