All posts by Lorna Brown

Chichester Camera Club exhibition at the Novium Museum

25th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

I am delighted to be able to let you know that the Club has been invited to work with the Novium Museum – Chichester’s local museum – and holding an exhibition in the temporary gallery there between November and March. That is a professional exhibition space and we will have full support and assistance from the museum staff, in curating and hanging the exhibition, which is part to mark the 125^th anniversary of the Club this year.

While this is rather early days, the overall plan is to exhibit some of our archive prints, our current work and feature images inspired by Chichester District. That is a wider area than the 10 miles of the Cross, so I would encourage you to get out over the summer and into the autumn to take images throughout the district. That’s broadly from Selsey Bill up to just beyond Linchmere and from this side of Rowland’s Castle across to Wisborough Green. There will be a selection process for the best and most wide-ranging of those images as the new season starts, and over the summer the Photocomp portal will be opened for you to upload your images.

As a taster the images below are a taster of the work from our archive and images inspired by Chichester district.

Old Harry by Charlie Simcox, circa 1942
Some Enchanted Evening by Brian Southward (Boxgrove Priory and the Cross)The Sheep Judge by John Howes (Weald and Downland Museum)

For Goodness Sake Don’t Drop Your Keys by Ken Worrall (Bosham)

Chair, Competition News, News, Uncategorised

Thursday 17th May

18th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

It’s warm congratulations to Mike Harris who won last night’s PDI of the Year with The Worker’s Hand. John Howe’s had an excellent result with second and third places, with Curious and Judging Sheep respectively. Also commended were Stephen Marsh with Estuary; Andy Dulson’s Vashti Cunningham USA; Nigel Hayes with Bognor in May; Sarah Nichol’s Feeding Frenzy; Jeff Owen’s Please Come In; Lynne Owen with Love in the Mist and Paul Williams with Venus Ann.

Our judge for the night was John Tilsley, another change to the original programme, and gave us a very illuminating and entertaining evening of first class judging, followed by a presentation of his own images. John , who is based near Dorchester, is a very experienced photographer, a past President of the Western Counties Photographic Federation and chair of its judging panel which trains new judges. His skill in that area was evident, with a very warm, positive take on images. He has a very acute eye, and a wide ranging knowledge, and very open in his own tastes. He was most complementary about our images, praising the breadth of photographic styles we presented to him and his top picks also represented a good wide range of work.

This was our last photographic evening of the season, but we certainly go out with a bang next week with PAGB on Monday, Digital on Tuesday, Multi Media on Wednesday on Thursday and the AGM on Thursday!

In the background, work has now started on processing all the entries for the Annual Exhibition, and to look ahead, the Members’ Pre Meeting is on Thursday 2nd August at Tangmere as usual and the Preview evening for Members and guests on Friday 10th August.

Mike Harris’s The Worker’s Hand

John Howes’s Curious

John Howes’s Judging Sheep

Chair, News, Uncategorised

Thursday 10th May

11th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

Last night saw our annual visit from the Southampton International Exhibition – one of the foremost world-wide photographic competitions – with our friends Sue Dunham and Ian Hutchinson. This year is the 105th Southampton salon, and attracted entries from 55 countries across the world. With such a high number of submissions and an acceptance rate of about 20 – 25%, success is a real achievement and it was good to have a good local showing at SIE this year, with success for Chichester members in both print and PDIs.

Sue and Ian brought along the PDI selection with nature, travel and open sections. These included images from John Howes, Sheila Tester and from Ann McDonald who did particularly well this year with merit awards and a FIAP Gold Medal for Best Environmental Portrait in the travel section.

As Ann stressed in her vote of thanks, entering the national and international salons can be really rewarding – that moment when you get your first acceptance is a real high – and as the travel sections in these only accept images which are more or less straight from the camera (no cloning, additions or subtractions – just cropping, colour correction and dodge and burning), they are a good way to start, and don’t have to feature exotic locations. As Ann said, our PAGB Group supports members interested in salons as well as the PAGB accreditations, so do come along to find out more.

We always enjoy having Sue and Ian and their road show with us, and we noted that Sue was awarded her APAGB last year for ‘meritorious service’, service that includes 26 years with SIE – and well deserved too!

Ann McDonald’s Man in a Turquoise Turban won the FIAP Gold Medal for Best Environmental Portrait in this year’s Southampton International Exhibition

Chair, News, Uncategorised

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

11th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

You are probably aware that new data protection regulations come into effect on 25th May and have had requests from various organisations and companies you deal with over the internet to update your contact with them. These regulations will have a bearing on Chichester Camera Club too we are currently ensuring we will be compliant.

This will mean updating our membership forms and renewal forms, as well as publishing a ‘privacy notice’. Watch out in the next few weeks for these changes.

All Special Interest Groups and those sending group emails across the Club membership MUST ensure they use BCC for all the email addresses (use your own email address for the ‘open’ send to address).

Thank you for your assistance in this.

Lorna Brown – Chair

Chair, News

AGM – 24th May 2018

11th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

Please find below the links to the papers for the 2018 AGM. Please download and read these in advance of the meeting as paper copies will not be available on the night.

Refreshments this year will be provided by ‘Cook’, (the ‘Remarkable food for your freezer’ people) which has been arranged for us by Carmel Lynch – our thanks Carmel!

Do please attend this important meeting – the only one in the Club’s year devoted to the Club’s business, and which last year was not quorate. There are a considerable number of changes to both the Management Committee and to Post Holders, so please come along to show your support for those who give so much time to the Club and make all of our activities possible.

There is also an opportunity to ask questions, express views and contribute to an important discussion regarding promotions and classifications.

AGM Agenda 24th May 2018

Draft Minutes of the AGM 2017

Treasurer’s AGM Report May 2018 – Final v2

Club Elections 2018 – 2019

Lorna Brown – Chair

Chair, Competition News, Uncategorised

Upcoming important dates

4th May 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

We are rapidly nearing the end of the 2017 – 2018 Season with a few important dates in May.

After our week off, we meet again on the 10th May for an evening with Southampton International PDI Show. A special opportunity to see the pick of this world renown photographic salon with our good friend Sue Dunham.

Thursday 10th May is very busy with the deadline for Annual Exhibition entries, including uploading print and PDI entries, as well as the deadline for the Selection Committee’s request for PDIs for the forthcoming PDI national competition in which we are representing the Southern Counties, and the PDI of the Year deadline.

Our AGM is on the 24th May this year – do please attend this important evening, which not only reports back on the current year but looks ahead to next. Papers will be distributed via the Club’s Newsletter next week, on or before the 10th May. Please download them and read them in advance of the meeting.

The PDI of the Year competition is on the 17th May, with judge John Tilsley replacing Chris Neill-Griffin. This is likely to be the last stand alone PDI of the Year, as at last year’s AGM it was agreed to trial three PDI competitions in the 2018 – 2019 season. If the trial is successful, it will require a formal proposal to change the Club’s Competition Rules at next year’s AGM.

John Tilsley, our judge at the PDI of the Year on Thursday 17th May

Chair, Competition News, News

Thursday 26th April

27th April 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

EDITED 4TH MAY TO ADD WINNING IMAGES: It was a real pleasure to have Jim Pascoe with us last night for the 3rd and final Club Class and Intermediate print competitions, this time accompanied by Nicky, his wife. Jim and Nicky were both here back in September, entertaining us with Fay Bowles, all from Highcliff and Infinity camera club, and Jim with us as a judge last season judging the Advanced prints.

Jim and Nicky have a professional photography business in Hampshire, and specialise in ‘people pictures’. These include weddings, schools, dance and portraits – many taken in natural surroundings. Jim, who holds Associateships with both the British Institute of Professional Photographers and the Royal Photographic Society, as well as a BA in Photography, says how important it is to engage with your subject and make them feel relaxed, and that comes across in his judging too. He is a very warm and – as Phil Acland put it in his vote of thanks – respectful judge, very open about what he likes and how some of what he says will be his opinion, but none the less an acute technical judge, and very ready to score well those images he admits aren’t necessarily to his particular taste but are well executed. We certainly gave Jim some very strong images to judge and it’s always good when a competition evening has the kind of easy atmosphere Jim creates. With a few technical issues last night it was still an enjoyable evening and a relaxed one – of not for those biting their nails as the last marks came in and league positions for the year were finalised, although the technical hiccoughs mean these can’t be published with the speed they are normally!

Don’t forget there is no Club meeting next Thursday, 3rd May, but that is the deadline for entries for the PDI of the Year competition. The following Thursday, 10th May, is also the deadline for the Annual Exhibition. There are no Special Interest Groups next week either, but Print Group meets on the 8th May, an opportunity to bring along exhibition entries for discussion about how to best put them together in a panel and find out more about how the judging and selection for the Annual Exhibition works.

The 10 point winners from the 3rd Intermediate and Club Class Print Competitions

Linda Bullimore’s Female Mallard Blenheim Palace

Sarah Nichol’s Home from Market 2Sarah Nichol’s Stone in the Sand

Andrew Vance’s Tate Modern

Andrew Vance’s National Monument Edinburgh

Ken Worrall’s Millennium Bridge

Ken Worrall’s Permission to enter politely declined

Chair, News, Selection Committee News

External Competitions and Grading Appeals

27th April 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

Many of us find the external competitions the Club enters mystifying, even now I write about them with a degree of trepidation. Which bit of Regnum Crouch is the PDI competitions, which part of the SxPF competitions are open to those with any photographic distinctions and which are not? It is of course the Selection Committee who have to understand the often Byzantine rules that operate, and the complexity of some of these are one of reasons why the Selection Committee needs a really good number of images to select from as they may need to find – say – eight different authors submitting no more than two images each, some of which may (or may not) have distinctions, plus six more authors who definitely don’t have any distinctions. It can be really challenging – and don’t quote me on the example criteria!

For the past two years the Management and Selection Committees have been working together to attempt to make the the way the Selection Committee works clearer for all our Members, so you will now see lists of whose work and which images have been selected both on the pin board at the Club, on the website (once publication limitations are met) and via the newsletter.

You may also have seen we published the Selection Committee Guidance earlier this season (most key roles such as Chair, Treasurer and Committee Member guidance is now available, with some soon to follow) and you can find it here: –

Selection Committee – Role Guidance

We have also now agreed a process for any appeals about promotions from one classification band to another, which you can find with other useful links on the Documents web page, or via this link: –

Documents

The work on making what can seem complex and confusing, both about how the Club itself operates and how we engage with other organisations will carry on, and you can expect further news as it progresses.

Lorna Brown – Chair

Lynne Owen’s The Face in the Window

Chair, Uncategorised

Thursday 19th April

20th April 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

Bristol Salon of Photography is one of the top international photographic exhibitions and its ‘roadshow’ forms a regular part of our programme, brought to us by Pete Howell and Carol Sykes. The 2018 Exhibition once again attracted applicants from across the world and the show we enjoyed last night really was a world-wide trip. There were superb images from photographers from more than 50 countries in four categories; open colour, open monochrome, photo travel and nature. We were treated to a wide selection from the successful entrants in all categories in a projected image format greatly enhanced by the carefully chosen sound track – what a difference some music makes!

The Club had a number of Members who had been successful in the Salon – and with an overall acceptance rate of less than 23%, that’s an achievement. Last night’s show included work by Sheila Tester and Peter Rocchicciolli and with a particularly good showing by Ross Laney who had had five acceptances with three Honourable Mentions, one in mono and two in nature. One Club Member who is a regular in any acceptance list is Ann McDonald – missing this time as she was one of the judges!

Pete and Carole will be back next year – and, I hope, once more with a good showing for Chichester!

A few key dates for the diary, with only four Club sessions left this season: 3rd May – there is no Club meeting (local elections) but this is the deadline for both PDI of the Year entries and formal proposals for the AGM. 10th May – the deadline for Annual Exhibition entries, boxes will be out for print submissions next week.

Penniless by Ross Laney, was awarded an Honourable Mention in Britol Salon of Photography.

Chair, External News, News

Photographer required

19th April 2018 Lorna Brown Leave a comment

We have an enquiry from David Powell who asks if any of our experienced members might be interested in a small project to take pictures at a birthday celebration in Birdham on the harbour, for about 3-4 hours in the late afternoon of the 7th July, for which he would pay a fee.

If anyone is interested please let me know and I will pass on David’s contact details so you can call him directly.

Lorna Brown

Patron: The Right Worshipful Mayor of Chichester. Affiliated to the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain through the Southern Counties Photographic Federation.