QCG Collected Works - Part III

Here it is - the last of the series of three installments of blogs, featuring the images and words of the 2020 QCG Collected Works. Our book has now been reproduced by Momento Pro and will be included in the camera club kits which Momento Pro send to their customers as an example of a goodie. Good job to us!

Puffin Beak Tap Mating Ritual by Anne Pappalardo

This image received an Honour in the Nature Category (print) and is one of my favourites from a special family holiday taken in 2019. I was fortunate to visit Skomer Island in Wales which is a well-known haven for puffins. While puffins do not mate for life, they do tend towards monogomy. They rarely change mates, and before building a nest, perform a mating ritual where they sweetly rub their beaks together. I was so thrilled to capture this image as it is different to the usual ‘beak full of sand eels’ but more importantly to me, shows the very real connection to each other these birds enjoy.

Puffin Beak Tap Mating Ritual by Anne Pappalardo

Little Feet by Sue Chen

This image has special meaning to me as I actually 'made a photograph’ and went through a course of ‘pregnancy’ from concept to ‘giving birth’ during Covid lockdown. I had to wait for the right season to have the small mandarin and the pomegranate then looked for the perfect leaf that compliments the shape and colours. Took about three days to photograph it as I kept changing the layout, angle and distance of the "little feet".  Lol...

Little Feet by Sue Chen

Afternoon Stroll by Nick Lefebvre

I took this picture of the Science Museum in Valencia, Spain one winter's afternoon in 2015. We arrived at the City of Arts and Sciences within which the Museum sits at 2 pm and left after sunset. It was so interesting. 

Afternoon Stroll by Nick Lefebvre

Flora by Jasmine Westerman

A tree in bloom, yet this one flower held my attention.

This ‘lady’ in colonial style dress, her head dressed with a bonnet, a shawl draped over her shoulders, and a billowing skirt drawn tight into her slim stem waist.

I left some time later, who knows how long. 

 In awe of Nature, its perfection personified. 

My Life in a Box by Jasmine Westerman

This (honour) image best represents what 2020 was for me, taken in ‘Lockdown’ during the COVID pandemic.  

It’s a self reflection of what I valued in my life, and to ponder what was, what is and what will be....pity my saxophone couldn’t squeeze into the box. 

Very deep thinking to find the box was really quite shallow.   What was clearly the most important thing, was the desire to connect with other people and the outside world :)

Flora by Jasmine Westerman

My Life in a Box by Jasmine Westerman

Fog Flood by Tony FitzGerald

This image of Brisbane city was captured from My Coot-tha very early on a chilly and foggy early winter’s morning.  I particularly like the image because of the amazing eerie lighting effect created by the city lights illuminating the fog from beneath prior to the sunrise overwhelming the scene.  This illumination effect is accentuated somewhat by the long shutter speed used to capture the image.  I finished up with quite an audience of early morning visitors to the lookout looking over my shoulder in amazement, some asking why they were not able to achieve a similar results with their phones.  In time they probably will.

Fog Flood by Tony FitzGerald

No Fear Here by Ray Eisenmenger

Other travellers often spoil the view for photographers but in this case they played their part beautifully.

No Fear Here by Ray Eisenmenger

Resting on a Bed of Green by Jane McMenamin

On a cold morning in early winter, wrapped in my woollies, I watched this egret fishing for breakfast in the Brisbane River. When it took a break on a floating island of green vegetation, I was struck by the beauty of its delicate breeding plumage. My early start to the day was well rewarded!  This image received a Merit in the Open Category.

Resting on a Bed of Green by Jane McMenamin

Una Heera by Rodney Nancarrow

My love of music is equal to if not greater than my love of photography so it is pure joy when the opportunity presents itself to combine the two. This image is of Dawn, the singer and one of the main songwriters of the band and was taken at the 2019 to 2020 Woodford Folk Festival. Una Heera are a talented young Brisbane band who describe their genre as music from the forest. Not only do they present themselves beautifully on stage but their music is joyful and soothing. The backdrop was a full stage size LED screen with ever changing colours and patterns so it did present some challenges but in this image I feel it worked nicely.

The Possession by Rodney Nancarrow

 The base image for The Possession was taken at “Melaleuca”, a holiday cottage in Boreen Point that was originally owned by the writer, poet and activist Judith Wright. The cottage is constructed of rammed earth and is very museum like, filled with an eclectic collection of antiques and bric-a-brac. I thought that the doll with the spooky eyes in the old pram would make a nice still life study on the front patio but the image just seemed to lack something. I decided to do a simple composite and add my carnival friend in the window and I was quite pleased with the unsettling feeling this addition gave to the image. For me The Possession exemplifies my slightly skewed sense of humour.

Una Heera by Rodney Nancarrow

The Possesion by Rodney Nancarrow

There Goes the Bus by Gaye Slade

This image was given an Merit in March 2020 in the Set Subject ACTION. I took it early evening in front of the Treasury Building, Brisbane.  A city bus crossed in front of my camera just as I was taking it.  As the camera was on slow shutter speed it gave a light trail.  It is one of my favourite images as I love this building especially at night.

There Goes the Bus by Gaye Slade

2020 Best of the Best Awarded Images

Best of the Best Images are selected by a panel of three judges at the conclusion of each compettion year. They are selected from the honour and merit images and are considered the ‘best of the best’ for that year.

Visitng her Ghosts by Anne Pappalardo

Print of the Year - Visiting her Ghosts by Anne Pappalardo

This image is a composite I made following a presentation by Michelle Kennedy at one of the club’s Focus Meetings. The fact that it did well is testimony to the success of the club’s Focus program and to the fact that Michelle was so generous in sharing her techniques. This year, due to Covid, these awards were announced via Zoom (rather than our annual dinner), and the club took the opporutnity to showcase all of the shortlisted images for the Best of the Best award (we’d never done that before). When the Print of the Year awards were being showcased I remember marvelling at the caliber of the work. It was humbling just to be included in the shortlist.

Trapped in a Kaleidoscope by Phil Lawrence

DPI of the Year - Trapped in a Kaleidoscope by Phil Lawrence

I am interested in Creative images and in many instances and where appropriate have included my grand children as models. This image also received an Honour in the QCG August 2020 Open Competition.

Ette by Betty Collerson

Gaye Edwards Portrait Prize - Ette by Betty Collerson

This image received an Honour in the June 2020 A Grade Portrait and Open Competition. It was then chosen Portrait of the Year 2020 in the Gaye Edwards Annual Portrait Prize. I photographed Ette Karney, who is from the Ivory Coast, and now lives in Brisbane, in a Portrait Master Class Workshop run by John Lomas, from the Brisbane Camera Group.

The Outback Publican by Martin Riley

Black and White Print of the Year - The Outback Publican by Martin Riley

This image received an Honour in the set subject ‘Portrait’ in June 2020. This amazing character, Lester, was the publican at the Middleton Pub, located west of Winton in remote western Queensland. Lester was full of charm and stories and even recited his own poetry to us on the veranda of the pub. This image just captures his cheeky disposition perfectly!

The Path by Harvey Kramer

Mountain Landscape of the Year - The Path by Harvey Kramer

This image received a Merit for 'Scapes' in 2020. It was also awarded first place in 'Mountain Landscape of the Year'. Mountains, trekking and photography go hand in hand for me. Our group was trekking the mountain up from Lake Mackenzie on the Routeburn Track in the NZ Alps. It was February and there had been an unseasonal snowfall overnight. As we climbed higher, the unveiling panorama was breathtaking. The awesome beauty of Nature literally stopped me in my tracks!

Contemplating a New Wheelbarrow by Martin Riley

Most Apt Title of the Year - Contemplating a New Wheelbarrow by Martin Riley

This image received a Merit and Most Apt Title in the Open competition in March 2020. This lady was captured at the busy and atmospheric fish markets in Negombo, Sri Lanka. She was escaping the chaos in a quite laneway, and I loved the gritty nature of the surroundings with the rusty old wheelbarrow and the exposed electrical wiring. The lady’s mind seemed to be miles away - contemplating a new wheelbarrow?

QCG Collected Works - Part II

This is the second installment of three blog posts featuring the fabulous images from QCG’s photo book of 2020 Collected Works. The perfect bound soft cover book was printed by Momento Pro who sponsor the club’s photo book competition. QCG’s next photo book competition is slated for 2022. Read on to enjoy some fantastic images by some super photographers and to gain some insight into the story behind each photo.

New York - A Moment in Time, by Joy Melchiori

The image was given a Merit in the 'Open' Section in May 2020.  I saw this street scene and just couldn't walk by it without capturing the moment.  I actually loved the busyness of the scene - the colours, people, window reflections, and birds - and yet, there was a stillness about it as each person had their own little story going on.  It's one of my favourites as each time I look at it, I see something new.

A Moment in Time

Black Cockatoo in Gum Tree, by Debby Talon

This image is a photograph that I took of one of the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos that reside around our property throughout most of the year, and it is one of the seven species of cockatoos we have here in Australia. Several creative processes took place to produce the final digital photograph to make the painterly abstract background, and to enhance the vibrant colour palette of the gum leaves. The end result is an original fine art photograph of one of our amazing Australian wildlife, the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo.

This style of photography is what I enjoy the most as a Visual Artist and Photographer as I love creating images that look very different to the original photograph. Often, during the creative process, it is a very pleasant surprise to see the final image. I also like to make my photographs a bit different, working towards my goal of an individual and recognisable creative style.

Black Cockatoo in Gumtree

Casino at Sunset, by Ken Butler

This image (Merit, Open, May 2020) was taken from Brisbane Square late one afternoon in March while my son and I wandered around the Square and the Cultural Centre across the river recording city views. For me it makes a great shot because the nature of the light at that time of day delivered a contrasty image with a faux metallic look when converted to black and white in NIK software.  It was taken with a wide angle lens, enabling great sharpness across much of the image.  This was a major factor in producing the picture’s special look and feel.

Casino at Sunset

Beyond the Apocalypse of Climate Change ... Dust & Drought, by Ray Shorter

The overwhelming consensus of evidence-based science is that our planet is warming.

My project focused on producing a visual narrative of how the world may be after the apocalypse of the climate change emergency we are all facing. This image depicts how increasing frequency of extremes of weather and especially drought in many parts of Australia threaten our food production capacity.

My hope is that the narrative I have tried to create does not actually come to pass and that we are able to change the way we live to mitigate the more extreme scenarios of the climate emergency we face … for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

Beyond the Apocalypse of Climate Change

Double Up by Paul Cook

This image is one of my personal favourite Street photos. It gained an honour in the 2020 April Open Black and White Competition. For me, the image reflects a simplicity and character of a time past or present, location here or there. I'm hoping this image can take you to a time and place you imagine it to be. This image was taken in the same way most of my street photographs are taken, a mirrorless camera, viewed in black and white, with manual settings, manual zone focus. All that is left to do is wait for the right moment and press the shutter button. Steps of Cathedral of St Stephen, Elizabeth St Brisbane. 

Double Up

Emerging Skimmer Drying by Bob Britcher AFIAP AAPS PSQA

Captured September 2019.  Received an HONOUR at IPSWICH & PENINSULA in 2020.

Emerging Skimmer Drying

Rainbow Lorikeet & Bees on Xanthorrea by Bob Britcher AFIAP AAPS PSQA

Captured September 2017 but not exhibited yet.

Rainbow Lorikeet & Bees on Xanthorrea

Fraser Island Predators by Esther Andrews

For us the Covid pandemic lockdown ran from March to May 2020.  I’m really not sure of the details of the dates.  It’s almost surreal looking back on it now.  I still remember the phone call from my son, “Quick Mum, you’ve got to come up now.  They’re stopping the planes.”  Their baby’s due date was approaching and they had a toddler already.  There was no work in Brisbane.  I might as well be locked down in the north for a bit longer than the planned visit.  So after a mad scramble to finish my SEQ entries, off I went.  

 Six weeks in the warm north with one and then two delightful grandchildren.  It was only on my return that I realised I was weary.  My children laughed and said, “you need a holiday to get over your time up here!”  And they were right.  So when the opportunity arose to go to Fraser Island I grasped it with both hands.  It was a brilliant photographic week with no domestic responsibilities and no constant child watching.  (The toddler isn’t known as ‘lightning’ for nothing.)

 When the three related images competition came around, this was a good time for me to try something special. 

 I have always loved sandhills.  Going to Fingal to run up and down the coloured sandhills is a happy childhood memory.  On Fraser Island they called to me with freedom and space and quietness.  Even the approach of the dingo only added a respect for his space, his territory.  This land belonged to the animals, the birds, not to us.  We watched, we waited, and, of course, we took photos!

 To me this composite image is from a moment in time; it is a trigger to the beauty and peace that is ours, despite the horrors of other parts of our world, both near and far.  It lifts my strange year being an intermission that gives both strength and calm.

 And when the judge said nice things about this image, I knew it would be a good one to share!!

Fraser Island Predators

Togetherness by Gaye Edwards

Covid19 restrictions led to a new photographic and environmental interest.  These two little native female Red-backed Fairywrens at Oxley Creek Common symbolise the challenge and the charm my photography enjoyed during very anxious times.

Togetherness

St Petersberg Sunset by Philip Lawrence EFIAP,FAPS,CAPS/b

I received an Honour for St Petersberg Sunset in the Print section of Scapes late February.

St Petersberg Sunset

Fabulous photo book of collected works by Queensland Camera Group members

Photo books are an amazing way to showcase images in the printed form. During our Covid-affected 2020 year, the club ceased print-making from the early part of the year, and while we resumed making prints right at the end of 2020, there were a few beautiful images which probably missed out on being presented to the club as prints.

So last year, the club invited interested members to submit a favourite image to be included in a special photo book of collected works from 2020. Those photo books have now been published and copies are being distributed to each participating member. This is the first of a three part series where we share the images that went into these wonderful books, along with the words that were included for each picture.

My Girl, by Ken Marchant

 “My Girl” was the first image that I received an Honour for at QCG. Taken at Crows Nest – I sat patiently for some time to capture this interaction.

My Girl

A Wagon Full of Trouble, by Georgie Crossley

I received an Honour for this image in Wings and Open, Open category. This shoot was so much fun as we had 13 puppies on the day. This litter was 4 weeks old and all of them were so cute and cuddly. It required 2 puppy handlers to keep all the puppies on the wagon.

A Wagon Full of Trouble

Mates, by Martin Riley

This image received  a Merit in the Open section of our July 2020 competition. In addition, it was lucky enough to win 1st place at the 2020 Ekka exhibition in the Camera Club division.  These two wonderful characters were spotted in a beautiful cloister in the northern Italian city of Alba. I love this image not only for its wonderful textures and the priceless blank looks on the men’s faces which say 1000 words, but it takes me back to one of my favourite parts of the world renowned for its rolling hills and importantly world famous wine!

Mates

Sarah and Robert Ready for Winter by Margaret Whyte

I have been a fairly regular attendee at QCG's Special Interest Portrait Group and have learned so much about both studio lighting and natural lighting for portraits.  I am lucky to have willing family members to model for me and received two merits in the Open section of our August competition.

Sarah

Robert Ready for Winter

Sharing and Caring, Chris Pigott

This image came about as at least one good thing from Covid. One of our QCG committee meetings was held face-to-face in a park rather than via Zoom and I was distracted by the presence of these colourful birds. Anne Pappalardo who knew about them told me they were Rainbow Bee Eaters. So I came back the next day with my camera and they really put on a show.

Sharing and Caring

Back Scratch

Framed in Orange, by Peter Moodie

This image was given an honour in the open category in 2020. When in Iceland in 2019 we visited the Arbaer Open Air Museum, a place that displays the built history of Reykjavik. Among the buildings was a simple grey shed, with orange framed windows, that happened to be framed by autumn orange berries hanging from a tree branch over the window. I enjoy this image because of the striking contrast between the orange and industrial grey.

Framed in Orange

Betty Collerson:

Glittering-throated Emerald Hummingbird

This image, from the May 2020 A Grade Still Life and Open Competition, received an Acceptance. It was taken in March 2020 during a visit to my mother in Brazil. She has a nectar feeder hanging in the veranda of her ninth-floor apartment in Belém, Pará. It attracts a great number of birds during the day, and other creatures, such as microbats and native geckos at night. These incredibly fast, dazzling, and enchanting little creatures are hard to photograph, and I was happy to get these images after much trying.

 Nectar Feeding Microbat

 This image, from the September 2020 A Grade Wings and Open Competition, was awarded an Acceptance. It was also taken in Belém in March 2020.

Glittering-throated Emerald Hummingbird

Nectar Feeding Microbat

Monument Valley Buttes, by Max Biddlestone

This image was given an honour in an Open subject in 2020.  It was taken during a visit to the "American West" located in Utah just over the border from Arizona.

Monument Valley Buttes

Keep on rollin’, by Suzanne Mulligan

This image received an Honour in the set subject ‘Action’ in March 2020.  It was taken at the “Lumberjack Show” in Ketchikan, Alaska.  These very fit young men (one an Australian) performed various action tasks - wood chopping, axe throwing, pole climbing and in this photo they’re each trying to dislodge the other while staying on a log in the water. 

Keep on rollin’

Next week we’ll publish the second installment of the images from QCG’s Collected Works 2020.

On the QCG Virtual Couch with Nick Lefebvre

I was born in Johannesburg. My wife Jenny was born in the then Salisbury, Rhodesia and we emigrated to Australia in 1989. I trained as a geologist, but morphed into the mine site environmental guy when working up in Central Queensland. From there, I worked in the MIM (Mount Isa Mines) head office and then consulted to mining companies specialising in environmental auditing, sustainability reporting, data gathering and analysis

My most interesting shot taken during this time is probably this aerial shot of the Grasberg  copper/gold mine on the island of New Guinea (Papua province of Indonesia). Grasberg is the biggest gold mine and second biggest copper mine in the world and is 4,270 metres above sea level.  A small glacier is situated adjacent to the mine along the ridge line.

Grasberg by Nick Lefebvre

Pets: We don’t currently have any pets as we still intend to travel once it’s safe post Covid. Our last pet, Keea, was a fox terrier.  We have although, house-sat a number of other people’s pets and farm animals in the last five years. This menagerie ranged from cats in Devon, an Airedale in a small village in Scotland, a collie, horse, chickens, goats and two grouchy alpacas in Milton NSW, two collies in Bray, Ireland and dogs and cats in Christchurch NZ, including these two:

Nick and Jenny’s ‘house sitting’ pets, above and below.

What gear do you shoot with? My dad was a Nikon man and although I flirted with other film camera makes, I now have two full frame Nikons, the D600 and the D750. I have the Nikon 24-120mm, Nikon 70-200 vr 2 and a Tokina 100mm portrait/macro lenses as well as a 1.4 x converter. 

The earliest pictures taken by me, that I still have, were from the mid-seventies, but I only became really interested in photography when I bought my first DSLR (a Nikon D80) in 2005.

Preferred style of photography: Probably better to ask what I don’t really prefer which would be still life and macros otherwise I’ll shoot anything that interests me. We recently travelled extensively overseas and in Australia and thus I have many landscapes, architectural, travel, events, street and candid shots.  Since we have settled back in Brisbane I have been keen on improving my portraits, learning a lot during Gaye’s excellent portrait shoots and also looking around for good value or free (TFP) modeling shoots in Brisbane. I am keen to try astro photography when I am next away from ambient light. Thus, I am not sure what my style is, I will leave that to others to decide.

A shot by Nick, taken recently on a photo shoot in the Valley, Brisbane.

Editing and Internet: I edit mostly in Lightroom Classic, occasionally dropping into Photoshop to try a few things that I’ve learnt along the way.

I have some of my pictures on 500px, Viewbug and Instagram (@nicklef99) and occasionally challenge other photographers on Gurushots.

Best holiday: I was retrenched in 2013 and couldn’t find a job, so after gloomily observing the other grey hairs sitting around Kenmore Village doing nothing, and contemplating a similar fate, I proposed to Jenny that we sell the house and car, put our furniture in storage, and travel as cheaply as possible (in part through house-sitting).

She nervously agreed and we started in South Africa and then camped for six weeks in Namibia. Jen wanted to look for poppies in Tuscany so we went there. We spent time in England, Scotland and Ireland then flew to Vancouver going inland to stay with friends in Kalowna. They lent us their vehicle to drive through the magnificent Jasper-Banff National park and on to Calgary. We flew back to Lisbon and drove, (carefully, on the wrong side of the road for me) for six weeks around Portugal and then repeated the exercise in Spain. After flying home to Brisbane, we explored New Zealand for three months and then spent time in Victoria and NSW

If you are bored being ‘locked down’ and feel like following our adventure I have a photoblog (not too many words) of the trip. Jenny occasionally contributed.

If you decide to have a look: To start you need to make your way to the bottom of the main page using the older posts link at the bottom of the page until you get to Melbourne where we started. Use the next post link at the bottom of an individual post to navigate to the next post

https://nickbrisbane.zenfolio.com/blog

Favourite song: I am a 60’s tragic and there are many great songs from that decade that I love but I’ll choose Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross as it invokes memories of many beach holidays at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXeKi6ZkbOw

I have a 2020 favourite song that I think most will like - so if you haven't been to Africa, time to go when you can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qlx6D2E1UA

Favourite meal: My favourite meals are probably crispy chicken wings (Jenny's speciality) or lamb chops (pretty basic!). I’d start the evening with Droewors with a cold beer (Droewors is dried thin sausage, an Afrikaans staple).

Favourite image from another member: I like two of Ray Shorter’s many great shots.  The play of light on the landscape in both images is just excellent.

‘Storm Over Grand Canyon’ by Ray Shorter.

‘Neist Point Lighthouse’ by Ray Shorter.

Favourite Image of My Own: Southern Namibia blew me away with rolling deserts, mountain ranges and silence. There are very few people in the south of the country and I couldn’t get enough of it. This picture captures what I feel for the place; deserted, silent and peaceful.

Nick’s favourite image of his own, taken in beautiful Sothern Namibia.

What am I doing during lockdown: I seem to be doing a lot more about the house than I have ever done before!  I’m not really motivated to take many photos but I am learning more editing tricks and editing the photos taken during our Australian travels. Plus, as I learn more about editing I realise I’ll have to go back and start at the beginning, re-editing photos and finding pictures that I originally discarded.

Nick at home.

What to do with your competition prints

Competing at Queensland Camera Group is fun and a great way to improve your photography. 

At QCG, the print is supreme – we strive to promote the printing of images as the superior way in which to enjoy and appreciate a photo.  There’s also no hiding in a print – the good, the bad and the ugly are all there to see which is why a faultless print is something after which we all strive!  And there’s so much to consider – colour, black and white, stock, matting, size, orientation – the list goes on!  Printers themselves aim to deliver the best blacks and the widest array of printing styles and products.

After you’ve been in the club for a while you will, like many of us, begin to accumulate some beautiful prints.  We’ve put together these ideas on what you might like to do with them:

• Home gallery – it’s obvious, but needs some thought and a little planning.  If you find yourself printing the same sized images for competitions it makes creating and maintaining a home gallery so much easier to organise.  Just pop out your images from their mats, and into a frame.  Hang, and admire!  Gallery systems can be purchased online as well as at Bunnings.  Here are some examples from some of our club legends!  

Phil Lawrence’s home gallery.

Phil Lawrence’s work space and surrounding gallery.

Tony FitzGerald’s work up on the walls at home.

Gorgeous home gallery by Tony FitzGerald. This is a gallery-style set up where the images are hung from a sliding mechanism above and just out of shot. A similar system is used in many galleries, including Percolator Gallery where we will host Collections 2020. Beverage, anyone?

• Photo swap – a personal favourite!  Do you have an image that you admire over and above any that you have seen in club competitions?  If so, why don’t you ask the maker if they would like to do a print swap with you?  You choose the print you so admire, and they choose something from your collection.  I have David Bullock’s beautiful ‘Egg and Bowl’ still life in my kitchen and David has a portrait of his friend Sarah which I took a while ago.  ‘Egg and Bowl’ bring me so much happiness every time I look at it in my kitchen, plus I was absolutely thrilled that another club member liked an image of mine so much that they were keen to hang it in their own home.  The practice of print swapping is not new, but it was to me when David first proposed it to me.  My image of Sarah is part of a gallery which David has curated for his home – a mixture of his own images and the images of others -  and I asked David how he made his selection.

  “My own (images in my home gallery) are all time favourites where I achieved exactly what I intended in my mind’s eye,” David said.

  “The others are images that have blown me away in the capturing the moment perfectly and appeal to my particular preferences and affect me emotionally. Almost always prints.”

  Many of the professionals who participate in the AIPP APPA (Australian Professional Photography Awards) competition often swap their entered images with each other.  It’s a lovely compliment to pay to another photographer.

Egg and Bowl, by David Bullock.

Sarah, by Anne Pappalardo.

Swapsies! Phone photo of David Bulock’s home gallery, which features his own images and prints by other makers.

• PSQ Salon of Excellence – the Salon of Excellence is a club vs club competition that is held annually as part of the Photographic Society of Queensland’s annual conference.  It is open to any member of a camera club, and you participate as a member of the Queensland Camera Group.  There is a cost to participate, but it is not expensive, and, you enter a digital thumbnail of your print via My Photo Club, with which we are now all experienced!  There are four categories in which you can enter including Nature, People, Social Documentary and Mono and you are able to enter four prints and four DPIs in each category.  The competition is graded, so you will compete against others in your own grade, but still representing the club.  QCG has taken home two Salon of Excellence trophies in 2018 and 2019 because of both the strength of our images and the number of members who participate, particularly in the area of prints, where we are one of the strongest clubs in Queensland.  Please consider entering as a way of giving back to your club!  It would be great if you could look through your portfolio of prints and consider entering them in this competition.    A coordinated delivery of print entries will be organised by the club, so you will not have to worry about getting your images to the Gympie Camera Club (who coordinate the judging).  For more information contact Esther Andrews from Queensland Camera Group.  The link here will take you through to the winning entries from 2019 https://psq-seq.myphotoclub.com.au/.  Entries close Friday 27 March, so there is plenty of time to look through your existing catalogue and maybe print one or two new images!  Good luck!

A couple of years ago, John Edwards and David Bullock would set up a display of our competition prints outside the front doors of Frontier Digital.  Not only did the customers at the shopping centre enjoy viewing our images, it also led some foot traffic into the Frontier store, which was great for Frank.  We’ve also for the last couple of years had exhibitions at libraries in the western suburbs as well as a long stint in the gallery at Brisbane Square Library.  If members have any other ideas or contacts that would allow QCG to hang its prints, please let us know as providing a gallery experience to our members is one of the goals we aim to achieve.

Good luck finding new homes or uses for your competition images – don’t forget to tell us how you’ve given them continuing life. 

What to do when you're asked to be 'The Photographer'

On joining a camera club, something many people will find is that their photography improves to the point where they begin to receive requests to photograph an event or important milestone. 

It is such a wonderful compliment but can be fraught with one or two downsides, particularly if you are not charging for your work or are asked to contribute to a charity event or similar, purely as a volunteer.

We chatted to a couple of our senior QCG members for their tips for when you are asked to shoot for free.

“It is very easy to ask someone to be an official photographer, but what is it they want a photographer for?”, writes QCG vice president and competition grader Tony FitzGerald. 

“As we all know, there is a bit more to photographing an event than just turning up with a camera and taking some snaps.

“I have done a bit of this style of work in both a paid and volunteer capacity and have found that for every hour at the event, there is typically 2 to 3 hours required behind the scenes in sorting, post production and resizing.  So there is potentially quite a bit of time and effort required.  Just ask Gaye Edwards about the backroom work she does on the multiple birth photography activity (and the club get some value for this activity).  Potential volunteers should be aware of this.”

Tony makes the following points in deciding whether or not to take on either a voluntary or paid job: 

1.     How long is a photographer required for?  Note: again from experience you need to be there at least ½ hour before the function commences to meet the key people, get the lay of the land and to orientate yourself.  Could easily be a 3-4 hour total site activity.

2.     What photos are the photographer expected to take?  These could include people arriving, random individuals and groups prior to formalities commencing, MC and speakers at a rostrum, people at tables, formal photos of dignitaries and special guests, large group photos.

3.     What is the requirement in respect of the number of final photos to be provided? This could range from 6 -10 samples for social media to 50 -60 photos for archival purposes.

4.     What is the expected turnaround time?  Some want images on the night to post on social media straightaway.  This could be problematic for cameras without Wi-Fi etc.  If not straightaway, when? Two days or two weeks?

5.     What is the expected application for the photos?  Social media, website, archive, printing.  This will have an impact on post production, resolution, file sizes etc

6.     How are the images to be provided?  Email, memory stick, Dropbox etc.

Former QCG president and leader of the club’s portraiture special interest group, Gaye Edwards says that like for a wedding or any important event, a shot list is absolutely essential.

“The event organisers should be able to supply one, particularly if the event has been held before,” Gaye said.

“Ask if the organisers only need jpegs, and what sizing is required, and how quickly are they needed!

“Although it's exciting to be asked to volunteer, keeping your time to a minimum is essential.  Ben Hur sized jobs take the shine off any glory.  You don't want to feel you've been taken advantage of,” Gaye said.

“And if the event is indoors it will likely require flash, so that's a specific skill and an expense (batteries, rechargers, backup flash etc.).”

Gaye says consideration also needs to be given to ensuring the source of the request for volunteer services is legitimate.

“Family and friends are one thing, but if you have been approached by an organisation, make sure they are both legitimate and reputable.  Ask for full details of the charity, organisation or business – your personal safety is imperative.”

QCG member Nick Lefebvre also recommends understanding your legal obligations as a photographer as well understanding public liability issues, particularly with regard to people you are posing.  If you are working for money, consider organising a contract signed by both parties, and if you are looking to turn your photography into a business, get professional business advice aimed at protecting your assets.

Shooting an event or special occasion is a great responsibility and can challenge even the most experienced professionals.  Planning, questioning and forethought will be key to your success.

A final word from Tony FitzGerald:  “As you can see there is potentially more than you might expect by simply agreeing to be a volunteer photographer.  Having said that it is a really good experience and may lead to bigger things if that floats your boat.”

Image by Tony FitzGerald. Jean Kittson was guest speaker at a women’s forum, where Tony worked as a volunteer photographer. This event later led to paid gigs.

Image by Tony FitzGerald.

Image by Tony FitzGerald.

Gaye Edwards took this shot of ‘Archie’ for a pet rescue organisation. Her challenge was to take promotional images of animals who were having troubles finding their ‘furever’ homes.

Gaye says Archie was quite the poser once he relaxed!

Gaye made sure she did not travel alone to her photography shoot.