Andrew Macpherson

The Club Exhibition at the Rhodes Arts Complex (Bishop’s Stortford was Cecil Rhodes’ birthplace so he’s commemorated in the name) went gently.  The main benefit is when other events at the complex use the gallery to have their refreshments, as this gives quite a good audience.  We had a reception on Wednesday evening, and were really delighted that the Lady Mayor and several councillors attended, as did Malcolm Tinn President of the EAF

We also had a visit from the town’s tourism officer who wants members to submit photos

Click to join the World Wide Photowalk in Bishops Stortford

for inclusion in the tourist calendar she is putting together for 2011.  She agreed to extend the deadline till after the photowalk so participants could enter too.  I’ll post that link when it’s available

The poster picture was taken when I was scouting the walk.  Canon 5D MkII, EF14mm f/2.8L II USM Auto bracketed HDR.  And yes I know the HDR is seriously OTT for normal viewing

Ever had that horrible sinking feeling when you look at a piece of really expensive equipment and see something that  might behave more optimally?  One that has suddenly acquired symptoms to make you believe that a hefty bill is coming?

In this case my EOS 5D MkII had suddenly acquired bad habits, viz shooting Large JPEGs vs RAW, beeping on autofocus, sRGB vs Adobe, brightness vs RGB histogram, blinkies off  etc. I spent ages trying to work out what was going on to make it power on in this perverse state, why my settings would not ‘take’ over a power cycle.

Who’s feeling smug and knows the answer?  Well done! Yes I had inadvertently set a custom mode, and once that mode dial was back in Av all was how it should be.

The panic search did point out that firmware 2.0.7 was now current, so to celebrate return to normal, I’ve upgraded.

On Saturday July 24^th I’ll be leading the Bishop’s Stortford photowalk, part of the worldwide photowalk. I’m expecting it to be great fun, and a great chance for us all to show off how fine Bishop’s Stortford is.

Scott Kelby, prolific author, is offering a prize of one of his recent books on Lightroom 3 or Photoshop CS5 for the best local photograph, and we also hope to offer the author a fairly large print of their winning photograph locally.  The local winner also gets entered into the worldwide contest for a $1000 photo equipment worldwide first prize (and lots of runner up prizes too…).

The prize is great, but the main aim of the day is to get local photographers together to share their enjoyment and enthusiasm, maybe offer mutual help and encouragement…  All levels of photography experience are welcome, all equipment from camera phones through point-and-shoot cameras, DSLRs to stand cameras with sheet film backs will take pictures — bring what you’re happy with.  Any one of these might take a great photograph, guided by your imagination and eye as the photographer.

I look forward to seeing you on the day!

I already know from experience that I can’t cope with long dark days in winter, but visiting northern latitudes in summer is a real treat.  Particularly when the scenery is spectacular enough to attract a World Heritage site designation.

The run from Oslo to Bergen is pretty dramatic even on the fast route.  Once one decides to take the scenic trail (roads 7 and 50) the wow factor goes into overload.  There we were at 1200m with a partially ftoven lake and snow fields coming down to the water’s edge a mere 10 days from the Summer Solstice, or the 500m switchback down a precipice with the turns dug into tunnels in the cliff face…

Anyway we stopped in Aurland, and the hotel manager waxed lyrical about various viewpoints, and a not to be missed ferry trip up the Nærøyfjord leaving from the jetty at 09:15.

The day was slightly hazy to start with, but rapidly improving

By the time one has set the polarising filter on the front of the lens the resulting raw files look like HDR processing — so much so that I though you might enjoy a comparison.

Nærøyfjord Photo 1

The other photo looks extremely simmilar

Nærøyfjord Photo 2

And finally a third offering of the same image.  Which do you rate?

Nærøyfjord Photo 3

The actual information is available when you click (continue reading…)