Hi Members,

This month I've not much to offer for my report. It has been a very silent period, with members sleeping the winter away. With the oncoming Spring, the activity should start to increase again.

When Phodia 3 goes to air I will be starting up some workshops and I will be looking for volunteers who are specialized in a certain areas of photography to conduct these workshops. In that way we all can learn from one and other. The exact form of the workshops is still to be developed and any ideas are welcome.

With the start of the renewed Phodia I will also place some information about the user meeting in October, I think I have a fine program.

We still get new members every month and slowly Phodia is expanding and we should take care that regardless how big Phodia gets, the overall mood stays the way it is.

Every photographer can download the Adobe DNG converter for free and can convert their used RAW format into that DNG format thus making a universal format. This could be helpful when uploading in to Photo Edit.

Maybe a new idea for the Newsletter is to start a topic about your last photography related purchase.

gr. Rob :-)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

this month is one of Phodia's founding members Harold Thompson

I can clearly remember when I first joined an online photo club, I couldn't wait to read any comments I might receive on my photos. With the internet, most of the comments come in within the first 24 hours of posting a photo, thus making the learning curve a fast one. You get to find out quickly what you might have done right or wrong. So how would it be when you had to wait up to 6 months to receive a comment on your photo? With Postal Photo Clubs you literally have to put your photo in an envelope to 'post it'.

    • Q:Harold, can you give us an idea how the Postal Photo Club functioned.
    • Harold:In our club we had an average of 10 to 20 members. The members would send their prints to me. I would then record all prints, put them together in a box along with a comment sheet and post them off to the members, who would view the prints, make their comments and give a score out of 20 on the print. Then everything went back in the box and sent off to the next member. We also had notebook to write in. The notebook was used for asking advice or for any queries.
    • Q:So the member who made the first comment didn't get to see all the other comments.
    • Harold:No, all prints were actually sent twice. When the prints had completed the circuit they would come back to me and I would include them in the box again with the new prints. That way everybody had a chance to read all the comments.
    • Q:You mentioned everybody received scoring points out of 20. What were the criteria in those days for scoring.
    • Harold:The prints were judged on an overall basis from 1 to 20.They would send the votes to me as a means of me knowing where the box was at any time. The top scorers would then go to an outside competition.
    • Q:So Harold, how long have you been writing comments now.
    • Harold:I/we joined the postal group around 1981 and I took on the secretary's job in 1985 and did it until around 2006-7 when I joined FC.
    • Q:So you have been writing comments then for 29years. That is a long time Harold .......Do you ever have the feeling 'that's enough' along with the thought of quitting the photo clubs.
    • Harold:No, it adds to the learning curve both for me and hopefully for others. I find it easier than standing up in front of a camera club and doing it live.
  • Q:Did you do much of that....standing up in front of the camera club and doing it live :)
  • Harold:About 4 to 5 years both in our own club and at other clubs for their monthly competitions. I also spoke at the interclub competitions. I was always trying to be constructive and not destructive and to maybe again help with the learning. Plus I also gave talks on processing. The talks were about the wet darkroom and helping beginners at the club.
  • Q:Going back 29 years, I take it was all done in b/w......... do you miss the darkroom at all
  • Harold:Yes, it was the waiting to see the results and then trying to adjust it. We also developed slide films. I just like the lack of working in the dark and the smelly chemicals though I still like the challenge of the darkroom.
  • Q:There is a lot of talk lately about digital editing and how to improve the photo through this means............ what are your thoughts on this
  • Harold:It has made editing open to a wider audience which I feel is good for the hobby. It was not easy for everybody to have a darkroom and also the time in setting up and clearing away.
  • Q:Most comments related to improving the photo refer to digital editing e.g. contrast, crop etc. Wouldn't it be better if we could get our camera techniques right and rely less on editing.
  • Harold: It is always better to get in right in camera. It is easier now with having the histograms in the camera to check when taking the photo. Another thing is that you can also change the ISO. With film it is fixed. Then with film we had to wait for them to be processed by either yourself or sending them away. With slides it could be up to a week. If the shot had not worked it may not be possible to retake it.
  • Q:I have noticed looking through your photos in Phodia that you cover a wide range of topics. Is there a particular field of photography that you like the most...e.g. landscapes, portraits etc
  • Harold: No, not really. I just like to take different subjects, maybe a little more to wildlife these days with the walks round the Nature reserves.
  • Q:So in closing Harold, do you have any advice you can pass on to newcomers to photography and our new Phodia members.
  • Harold: To enjoy the experience and hopefully learn from comments and suggestions. Also to try to give your feelings about other members work, and remember, it is always a personal view.

This is the last interview for this series. We will start interviewing again next month. If there is some one you would like to see interviewed, let us now and send your suggestions to Newsletter@phodia.net

Places to Visit

This month we travel across the sea to the beautiful country of Holland, a place I have always wanted to visit, and all within an hours drive for our Administrator, Rob.

I have chosen to start our journey in the beautiful old town of Hoorn. A town of many monuments and museums which also boats an old Harbour and modern Marina with cheese warehouses included. After having explored this grand old place there are many pavement cafes where you can sit, enjoy a drink and watch the world go by. Hoorn

Our next place we stop at is ENKHUIZEN; this is another coastal town, again with both old and new harbours which are often used by boats of the Brown Fleet. In the centre of the town there is much to see that brings back memories of the Dutch East India Company.I already have the feeling that these towns have a huge amount to offer the photographer. Enkhuizen

Another must while touring around this very beautiful part of Holland is the very famous town of Edam. While very famous for the Edam cheese that we all know , it is also famous for the wonderful looking buildings from The City Hall, to the Old Wooden House of Edam, and the Great Church or St Nicolaas Church. Edam is just full of wonderful photo opportunities Edam

Rob I feel is a very lucky man to live in a part of Holland with so many beautiful and interesting towns and places so close to where he lives.There are many fine beaches, coastal areas with wild life to see at the Artis Zoo. Artis

And of course the other thing that Holland is so famous for, The Bulb Fields, something that would certainly be near the top of my list of places I must visit. Rob provided a link to Keukenhof and when I opened this link the wonderful colours of all these beautiful flowers just jumped out at me and made me wish I was there with my camera and tripod trying to do justice to this wonderful part of the world. Keukenhof

I would like to thank Rob for letting me show you just a few of the wonderful places close to where he lives, and I hope I haven't made to much of a mess in my description of the very lovely places.

The Photo Link Reference Library

Photographers

In this March issue of the Newsletter, I have included links to Photographers whose style of work I enjoy and admire very much. The first link is to a young Belgian photographer called Bart Heirweg. I like his style of photography very much, but click on the link and judge for yourselves. Bart Heirweg

My next choice is a photographer who specialises in Social Documentary Photography. I would love to take portraits of people the way this man does. He really captures all the emotions and feelings in the faces of all the people he photographs. For me, he is a true master of his craft. Phil Borges

For those who enjoy street photography then the French photographer Robert Doisneau displays the real art of photographing people completely unobserved, capturing wonderful expressions on the faces of the many different subjects he comes across in everyday life, often capturing humour in the many different situations he shot. Robert Doisneau

Blogs and Editing

Many thanks to Ken Piros for this link he sent into the Newsletter. www.joemcnally.com

This is where my age shows, but I haven't a clue what a Blog is or means, but for those that like them, here is another I came across on the Internet. www.richardpeters.co.uk

This link may be of interest to some, it is a free piece of photo editing software which I thought was pretty good, especially being free. www.getpaint.net

The Newsletter Desk

Just a few points of interest this month, if you are looking for a back copy of the Newsletter you can find it in Phodia under Home, Newsletter then the month.

For those who have had problems recognizing the Links in the Newspaper, they are highlighted in yellow print, with just a shortened name of the link showing. It is done this way as many of the links have very long web addresses.

Next month we will be running a survey in the Newsletter. The survey will be kept as short as possible, around 12 multiple choice questions, and the names of people participating will not be recorded.

The survey will be done in two parts;

  1. General information on the members, for example; age, working or retired etc.
  2. More specific question on Phodia, for example'..how many hours do you spend per week in Phodia, number uploads, do you participate in the Monthly Theme, Photo Edit.

We are hoping for a good response to the survey as it will help with the development of Phodia 3.

For those of you who are thinking about attending the Phodia Meet in October, please note the dates have been changed. The Meet will now take place on the weekend of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of October. Rob will be posting more information on this in the Phorum when he is able to type again.

Photography Tips

by Colonel Arbuthnot

This will be the first of a series of articles concerning photography. In this first article I will go into landscape mode.

10 landscape tips

You will find here 10 tips and these tips are meant as a guide line. Every situation is different and needs its own discussion

  1. Maximize your Depth of Field
    • Try to shoot with a high number on the aperture, which means a small opening. You will have to compensate with a longer exposure or / and a higher ISO. The result will be a larger depth of field.
  2. Make use of a tripod
    • While using a large aperture the shutter speed might become a problem; use a tripod to overcome motion blur.


  3. Look for a focal point
    • Try to look for a point where the viewer can rest on. When viewing a landscape you might get lost without a resting point. Also place the focal point on the right position; you might use the rule of thirds.
  4. Use the foreground
    • With the use of a foreground you can add a lot of depth to your picture and give the viewer a lead into the picture.
  5. The Sky
    • When possible, use the sky as an enhancement for your scene. If the sky looks rather dull, crop the scene to give a high horizon. An interesting sky may lead to a low horizon. Consider the use of a filter for more detail in the sky.
  6. Lines
    • Lines can provide a great lead into the picture for the viewer, also the feeling of depth will increase when you use lines.
  7. Weather
    • A sunny summer day can be great for sunbathing but will mostly lead to somewhat dull pictures. Your pictures will look better when the weather is more dramatic; an upcoming thunderstorm or a sky full of blue and clouds can make a picture look much better.
  8. Golden hour
    • Use the golden hours of the day for the best (warm) light. Go out at dawn and dusk to get that light. Also the angle on which the light shines on your landscape is much better.
  9. Horizon
    • Keep your horizon straight. Consider where your horizon is, the rule of thirds works often very well.
  10. Point Of View (POV)
    • Try different points of view to get a better shot, explore the sight for the best pov and the best result.

    One extra tip

  11. Have fun

Monthly Theme

The February Monthly Theme 'Still life' was won by Jenipher Baker. Her photo 'Dinner time' won with an average rating of 7.7.

Following this were 2 photos from Manu

Fragile with an average of 7.6 ended up second.

Molinari with also an average of 7.6 (just a slight difference with number two) ended up third

Congratulations Jenipher on your win.

Time Frame

What can I say other than; a very disappointing result. We saw the Time Frame as an opportunity for the members to get to know one and other a little better, through the expression of a photo. We also saw it as chance to build up a bit of community spirit within Phodia and get to know on other a little better but unfortunately most of the members saw it differently and the result is we fell flat with this article.

Many thanks to the members who did partake and their support is very much appreciated.

But Time Frame doesn’t finish here. Being foolhardy and not ones to give up, we are going to run a similar theme in June. So have your cameras ready and watch for further announcements in the following issues of the Newsletter and in the Phorum.

Germany

United Kingdom

The Netherlands

By clicking on one of the thumbnails you will be redirected to the Time Frame Photo page on Phodia.net.

newsletter@phodia.net || jenpiher.baker@phodia.net || lawson.mcculloch@phodia.net.