Welcome to Basingstoke Camera Club January 2005

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Well, 2004 has come and gone and we have eaten and drunk far too much over the festive season and vow to get out doors for more exercise and to work off all the over eating. A great excuse for getting out and taking more pictures. I seemed to have lacked the time or inspiration for 2004, so hopefully a new year will help. Brian’s youngest sister has announced that she will be marrying her boyfriend of 5 years, they plan to marry in Zimbabwe this December and I have already been given the task of the official photographer, so will have to brush up on my portraiture skills. Thankfully, we have 2 other weddings to attend before hand, so will hopefully get more practise. Also, with the promise of a trip to Zimbabwe, will hopefully get time to do some wildlife photography as well. 

Well, lets hope that we all have a profitable and festive New Year. Don’t forget that the Exhibition is coming up and entries will be required by the 12^th January 2005. 

Tracy May              

Photography and the Calendar year.

After thinking about what I could include in our newsletters, I came to thinking why did I not include what was the best time to photograph certain things. Here is the first instalment:-

January and February

With Britain and Europe now in the grip of winter, this stands to reason to be the one of the best months to photograph these really wintery scenes. Although winters are somewhat milder than they used to be, allegedly I still find them somewhat cold, snow is not always where you want it. There may be no sign of snow at sea level but at a higher altitudes the landscape can be transformed. Search for the most suitable places in advance and listen to the weather reports, although though this could mean travelling to the continent or perhaps Scotland. 

If the weather is overcast and the lighting flat, woodlands and forests provide an opportunity for creative photography. Small but interesting details which are often hidden by greenery could make for an interesting close up. Look also for the break in the clouds – shafts of sunlight can transform a wintery scene.

Something must be said about the cold frosty mornings, this can make for great photography, although it does mean leaving the warmth of your bed earlier than normal. But the later sunrises and earlier sunsets make for more sociable lighting conditions.

Although the northern hemisphere is in the middle of winter, the southern hemisphere is in the height of summer and if you should be one of the lucky ones that can travel to these far off places and of course, can bear the heat. These southern hemisphere locations are alive with new, young exciting prospects waiting for a keen photographic eye.

The Antarctic’s brief breeding season is in full swing, African Weaver birds are knotting their nests on the wild continent and Amazon butterflies sip salt at low water in the southern Americas.

Africa is in it’s rainy season and this can be one of the best times to see large number of birds, that flock in their thousands. One of the most spectacular sights is the Carmine Bee-eater that when disturbed fly into the sky with a burst of pink and blue, like the Flamingos which also flock in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro crater. It is also a brilliant time to see Africa at it’s greenest, which does make a change from the brown and dusty winter. Most animals drop their young to take advantage of the green flush and wild flower abound.

The sunsets can be spectacular at this time of year, when large storm clouds loom over the horizon as the sunsets.

Just to remind you: -

JANUARY

6th. Prints - 3rd. round. Judge: Alex Fife. Winchester PS.

13th. Wyn Voysey "Towards Publishing"

20th. Anne Mahany "African Experience"

• 27th. Slides - 3rd round. Judge: John Chandler CPAGB. Burghfield CC & S. Reading CC.

FEBRUARY

3rd. Exhibition.

• 10th. SPF. Round 4 (v Winchester v Prism) Judge: Glyn Edmunds EFIAP. ABIPP. AMPA. ARPS. DPAGB. Hayling Island, Chichester & Southampton C Clubs.
• 17th. Set Subject 2nd. 'Wet Weather' Judge: Chris Hutchinson. Yately CC.
• 24th. Slides - 4th round. Judge: Andrew Wilson ARPS. Bracknell CC.