West Haddon Photo Club
Featured Events
These are the full details for the events we have planned that are coming up in the next few weeks.
If you want to see all the events we have planned this year then take a look at our Programme Page.
The management at the Pytchley Inn have invited West Haddon Photo Club members to take part in a photo competition. They have generously offered a prize of a voucher worth £100 for food and/or accommodationto the person taking the photo they judge to be their favourite.
Photos should be taken to show The Pytchley to best advantage and may be interior or exterior views, however, as a courtesy, permission must be sought first from The Pytchley staff, who are aware they may be approached. Anyone who is recognisable in a photo who take must sign a model release form (it's complex, so you may wish to ensure that no-one can be recognised!).
There's no limit to the number of photos members may submit, but the The Pytchley reserve the right to use any or all submitted images on their website or promotional material. Photographers retain their copyright.
You may find it useful to have a look at The Pytchley's website to see what type of images they'll be looking for.
More details are contained in the Pytchley Photo Competition Information & Guidance sheet. If you need any more information please ask one of the committee members.
For our last talk this year we welcomed Nigel Spencer to present 'An Evening of Wildlife Photography' to our members and guests.
Wildlife photography is quite rightly very popular, not just because of the enchanting images, but also because of the desire of many photographers to take one themselves. Those of us who have tried know how hard this is, but Nigel's superb images made it look easy.
In an extensive presentation Nigel talked about how he had drifted from landscape photography to taking predominately wildlife images, at the cost of having to lug huge, heavy lenses up mountains in freezing weather. The results were worth it; we were treated to intimate and spectacular photos of birds and animals.
Whilst there is a element of luck (13 days in a hide waiting for a bear to show up) Nigel was at pains to explain that preparation, not least understanding your subject and their habits, was crucial to getting the shot. It was also interesting to hear him speak about the commerciality of photos - crucial if you're a professional photographer - and how subjects, composition and colour effect this.
The popularity of wildlife photography, and of Nigel as a speaker, was demonstrated by one of our biggest audiences for a talk this year. Thank you to Nigel and all who came along to the talk.
For details of the talks we have next year have a look at out 2025 Programme.
We were very pleased to welcome back Justin Minns who presented 'A Learning Curve'. Since we last invited him to talk to us he has become a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society - take a look at the beautiful photos he submitted for his Presentation Panel.
On his website Justin describes himself as, 'An award-winning professional landscape photographer - best known for my images of East Anglia - but my work takes me to many parts of the world, creating atmospheric imagery for clients including the National Trust, British Museum and English Heritage'.
About 'A Learning Curve' Justin says, 'Over the last few years I have become increasingly absorbed by landscape photography. This presentation aims to pass along some of the things I have learnt during that time, illustrated by plenty of images'. He certainly lived up to his promise.
Justin broke his presentation into sections, using each to focus on a particular aspect to take into consideration when making a photo. For example in 'Let there be light' he talked about how the light changes, not just throughout the day - the much-sought after blue and golden hours - but also how the weather effects it - sunlight through mist.
In 'Compose yourself' Justin explained how to place your subject in the frame to increase the impact of the image, and to draw the viewer's attention using light, colour and leading lines. In case his audience was despairing of ever producing the quality of photos he was showing us, Justin showed he had to work hard too, not always succeeding immediately, in his 'If at first you don't succeed...' section.
Many of Justin's photos were taken in East Anglia and Essex and he has produced a couple of books packed with his sumptuous images that explain where to go and when so you can try and take your own. Photographing East Anglia and Explore and Discover Essex are available from FotoVUE and there's currently a 15% discount on these and all the other books they sell.
This talk was one of a number of events we hold during the year and was sold out. To avoid missing out on future events have a look at our 2024 Programme for forthcoming events.
Copyright © All images are subject to copyright by the respective photographers and MUST NOT be reproduced in any form without their permission.
Website copyright © West Haddon Photo Club.
