BLUEBELL TIME, HOUGHALL WOODS

Arnie Atkinson is right! Loads of them are there and in their prime now. Send your bluebell pics to John Attle if you’d like to show them.

CLUB NIGHT NEWS 28.4.11

ROYAL WEDDING PARTY NIGHT!

Yes, grateful members enjoyed a surprise celebration, complete with Union Jacks, on the eve of the royal wedding, of delicious cakes made by Sandra Hewitson and Joanna Gray’s mother-in-law, Ellen. Meantime, Angy Ellis was already on her way to London, rumoured to be camping out at Buckingham Palace. Angy-spotting will add to the enjoyment of the big day.

GUEST PRESENTER EXTOLS VIRTUES OF COMPETITIONS AND DISTINCTIONS

John Williams DPAGB of Penrith and District CC was the latest in a long line of terrific club night guest speakers. He showed a wonderful range of top class photography clearly showing the considerable merits of showing your pictures in competitions both at club and international level, with club level being the toughest of all possibly due to more prolonged scrutiny.

DPS DIGITAL NIGHT

Wednesday 4^th May 7.00 pm County Hall. Alan Stott will be demonstrating how to put together an audio visual presentation of your photography, whether it be fine art or documentary, using picturestoexe and Photoshop.

TAYLOR WESSING PORTRAIT PRIZE

Now on at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and an absolute must for portrait photographers. Send your cryptic comments, as you might put in the visitor book, to Tony G for a Blog compilation item. Also showing is the annual exhibition of the Sunderland Photographic Association with prints by such legends as Arnold Hubbard and Alan Brown.

ASSIGNMENT SALTBURN!

Saturday 7^th May meeting at 10.00 a.m. in the car park. From the A19, simply follow the A174. At Saltburn, the car park is just across the bridge over Skelton Beck to the right. Early birds will be their long before but it is important to meet up at 10.00. Lunch will be at the Ship Inn. All members are welcome to turn up but it is a good idea to register on Colin Armitstead’s mailing list so you can be kept up to date with developments.

By popular demand (thanks George!) Colin’s Challenge is back – “Stones and Rocks”

BOUNTIFUL BLUEBELLS

Arnie Atkinson reports that the bluebells in Houghall Woods are in all their glory. Hurry! only lasts a week apparently. Feel free to email your pics to John Attle for the Blog.

CLUB NIGHT 5^th MAY - NOT AT THE USUAL VENUE!

Results night, 2^nd Progress projected images, will be at County Hall due to the referendum polling at St Oswald’s at the earlier time of 7.00 pm.

EPSON PRINTER for SALE

Epson R1800 A3+ printer 2 1/2 year old complete with Permajet inkflow system. The ink flow has all it bottles full (125 cc) and in addition 5 of its 7 colours have  a further 50-60% of ink

May consider splitting

Further info from Barry Armitage tel.01913841865

BikeWise Easter Egg Run

Hundreds of bikers from all over the region and beyond assembled once again for this annual charity event at Carrville for the 2011 Bikewise Easter Egg Run. Members of the Durham Photographic Society, led by John Attle, were on hand to photograph the colourful and heart-warming proceedings, as the bikers registered and set off en masse through Durham City, led by Durham and Cleveland Constabulary outriders, to distribute Easter eggs to children’s wards in Darlington and Durham hospitals.

A further sum of £892 was raised for the Meningitis Research Foundation which was well up on the £780 raised last year.

See all the DPS pictures on the BikeWise website here LINK

ASSIGNMENT RICHMOND : Gallery Now Open

Images from the outing to Richmond, N Yorks, can now been posted. From the homepage of the website, click on Assignments.

Next up – back to the seaside, this time Saltburn, on May 7^th. Details on the Blog or from Colin. It will be a great day!

UPDATES to the NCPF WEB SITE

The following updates have been made to our web site since the last update message and all can be accessed via:-

www.ncpf.org.uk

1. Home Page:-

An appeal for volunteers to work on the new Executive Committee.

2. News Items:-

Update of results for NCPF from the April PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit Adjudications.

I would be obliged if you could bring them to the attention of your fellow members and if possible and appropriate ensure that the information is displayed on your club notice board.

Best wishes,
Dave Coates
(NCPF Webmaster)

++TAYLOR WESSING –news flash++

The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize exhibition at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens was unexpectedly closed Saturday 22^nd April due to electrical problems. It may be wise to telephone first if planning a visit over the next few days.

Tel: (0191) 553 2323

SB

CLUB NIGHT NEWS 21.4.11

MEMBERS AV NIGHT

Those thinking about it now need to commit! Names to organiser Mavis Ord please.

DPS DIGITAL NIGHT

Wednesday 4^th May 7.00 pm County Hall. Will include a timely AV tutorial!

TAYLOR WESSING PORTRAIT PRIZE

Now on at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and an absolute must for portrait photographers. Send your cryptic comments to Tony G for a Blog compilation item. Also showing is the annual exhibition of the Sunderland Photographic Association with prints by such legends as Arnold Hubbard and Alan Brown.

CLUB NIGHT 5^th MAY

Will be at County Hall due to the referendum polling at St Oswald’s at the earlier time of 7.00 pm.

ASSIGNMENT SALTBURN!

Next up, an outing to Saltburn by the Sea Saturday 7^th May meeting at 10.00 a.m. in the car park near the pier, with the all important lunch at the Ship Inn. More information from Colin Armitstead.

TIM HETHERINGTON 1970 – 2011

The world awoke yesterday to hear the shocking news of the death of one of Britain’s top photographers in Misrata.

Many DPS members will remember seeing Tim’s harrowing exhibition at the Side Gallery in 2011 of his photographs of the civil war in Liberia from his book, Long Story Bit by Bit – Liberia Retold. He spoke movingly of his photography and life as a documentary film maker at the traditional opening of the exhibition.

Just some of the world wide tributes to Tim can be found here:

www.timhetherington.com

http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/21/tim-hetherington-obituary

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/8466775/Tim-Hetherington.html

NEWS REPORT: RPS Distinctions Workshop

The Royal Photographic Society Northern Region recently hosted a Distinctions workshop at Backworth Hall near Newcastle, organised by Jane Black who was recently at the club, attended by a large gathering of enthusiasts, including a contingent from Durham PS, either putting forward panels of pictures for comment or simply to observe. The workshop was led by a dream team of Fellows, Leo Palmer FRPS, Rikki O’Neill FRPS, Sandy Cleland FRPS with Associate Karen Berry ARPS.

The format was that successful Licenticeship and Associateship panels were shown and explained, followed by putative LRPS panels of 10 and ARPS panels of 15 being put forward for comment by the distinguished judges. The acuity and perspicacity of their insights and advice was breathtaking and extremely helpful to both the individuals going for their distinctions and the observers seeking to learn for their own attempts.

Our own Neil Maughan DPAGB, LRPS writes:

"The last RPS distinctions advisory day I went to was over 20 years ago, when I first looked into the possibility of going for a Licenticeship Distinction. Spookily that was also in Backworth in the very same room. Where does the time go? No matter how experienced at showing your pictures to different audiences, I must admit, I did feel a little nervous when my name was called to step forward and place my 15 prints onto the print stand. Fortunately I had plenty or morale support from VP Tony, Stephen Bell, Ian Stafford, Lilian Bolt and John Shotton.  After a look at the prints by the assembled RPS Fellows, Rikki O'Neill gave an assessment of my pictures and fortunately, the comments were mostly favourable. Of the 15 prints, he felt 10 met the Associateship standard and he suggested that 5 needed to be replaced with something stronger. I'd brought along some additional prints and slotted them into the panel and he felt the changes really made the panel much better, so in summary, he felt I was "almost there". Apart from needing to change some prints around, I will also re-print all the images so they are 100% pristine and re-mount them onto white card (they are currently in black mounts) as this seems to be the current trend, as I want to give myself every chance of passing the actual assessment at RPS HQ in Bath in June. I'll let you know how I get on". 

The Royal Photographic Society's Distinctions are recognised as measures of achievement throughout the world. Everything you need to know about the three levels (LRPS, ARPS and FRPS) and how to achieve them is on line starting here: http://www.rps.org/distinctions-introduction
It is important to read the Distinctions Handbook which you can download here: http://www.rps.org/resources/downloads/Distinctions_Handbook_Issue_4_Sep2010.pdf

There are over 70 volunteer panel members who will assess your portfolio, including Leo Palmer FRPS, Tony Potter ARPS and Malcolm Kus ARPS from our region. The next distinctions advisory workshop in the northern region will be in May 2012. Several members of DPS can also give informal advice.

COMPETITION COUNTDOWN: ONWARDS TO A TRIPLE BILL

Closing 12^th May

How time flies. Three more magnificent trophies up for winning (is there no end to the Society’s munificence?). You can put in up to three entries in each.

FILLINGHAM TROPHY – SET SUBJECT JUXTAPOSITION

Set, by tradition, by our President who will also judge. The competition will be hot!

HON MEMBERS CUP

The best set of prints that illustrate a theme. Up to six prints per entry.

THE IRIS TROPHY

The best set of digital images that illustrate a theme. Up to six per entry.

As always, both the competitors and the judges will interpret the rules as best they can. Entries in the Hon Members and the Iris, for instance, can range from documentary stories to art photography panels.

Results night 16^th June will be an eagerly anticipated, thrilling occasion given the creativity and range of styles of our members.

CLUB NIGHT PREVIEW, April 21st

Kevin Hodgson: To Capture the Moment

Kevin is a renowned photographer and lecturer and a member of Bishop Auckland Photographic Society. He will be showing slides on the night. So this will be an increasingly rare opportunity to experience the true filmic delights of projected reversal film. Tell your friends! This could start a new retro trend though of course many photographers are already shooting in film and scanning digitally.

News: BEAMISH Great North Steam Night a Success.

Yes, the Great North Steam Fair attracted thousands of visitors to Beamish Museum over the weekend but on the evening of Saturday 16^th of April, 200 photographers had the place to themselves. Many were from photography clubs, including a large contingent from Durham PS, who thoroughly enjoyed the unique photography opportunities and the conviviality of the company of fellow photographers on what was a very pleasant evening with beautiful light.

It is to be hoped that the special, after hours night for photographers was a success for the Museum also and that this will become an annual event.

Meantime, there is the NCPF Beamish Members’ Weekend (18^th, 19^th, 20^th June} to look forward to.

http://www.ncpf.org.uk/index.php?id=ncpf-events

UPDATES to the NCPF WEB SITE

The following updates have been made to our web site since the last update message and all can be accessed via:-

www.ncpf.org.uk

1. Diary Page:-

16/28^th June 2011:- An Exhibition of work by members of Gallery PG.

2. PAGB ‘e-news’:-

PAGB e-news Issue 43 is now available, including info of the recent PAGB AGM, and FIAP awards procedures.

3. Competitions/Annual Competitions Page:-

The full results from this year’s Annual Competitions have now been posted as a downloadable PDF file. 

NB:- This method of circulation has taken over from postal and printed copies; I am advised that the results will NOT now be also sent out be post to clubs.

I would be obliged if you could bring them to the attention of your fellow members and if possible ensure that the information is displayed on your club notice board.

Best wishes,
Dave Coates
(NCPF Webmaster)

NCPF Annual Competitions 2011 – RESULTS

In summary:

INTER CLUB COMPETITIONS

Monochrome Prints

1^st Dumfries 80 points. Durham came 27^th (out of 29!) with 62 points

Colour Prints

1^st Keswick 83 points. Durham came 10^th (out of 30) with 75 points

Slides

1^st Northallerton 82 points. Durham came 4^th out of 6 with 65 points

Digital PI

1^st Northallerton 85 points. Durham came 6^th = out of 27

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Monochrome Prints – no awards for Durham

Colour Prints:

Highly Commended –

Barry Armitage, Chilly Low Falls.

Margaret Etherington, Male Four Spotted Chaser

Alliance Selection –

Angy Ellis, Inner Beauty

Colour Slides –

Highly Commended

Tom Noble, Bygone Age

Digital PI:

Highly Commended –

Lilian Blot, Sand and Mud

John Brown, Up for the Challenge

Alliance Selection –

Lilian Blot, Sand and Mud

David Trout, Blizzard

Selectors Choice Portfolio –

Lilian Blot, Lonely Light

David Trout, Magenta Alley

Neil Maughan, Puffin with Sand Eels

Tony Griffiths, Odd One Out.

An explanation of Alliance Selection and Selectors Choice Portfolio is here: http://www.ncpf.org.uk/index.php?id=annual-competitions

Full listings, both club and individual, are here:http://www.ncpf.org.uk/data/uploads/11-04-2011-ann-comp-results.pdf

DENNIS SCOOPS PORTRAIT OF THE YEAR!

In his own words.

It came as a bit of a shock. I don’t generally go for people pictures. I am more your plodging-about-in the-clarts-on-a lakeland-ridge type of bloke. So I entered the Lambert Hedley Cup with little expectation of getting anywhere, especially considering the level of in-house competition from top notch portrait photographers.

The unusual judging method meant that the longer my picture stayed hidden in the box, the higher the prize was going to be, so by the time the second place had been announced I was pretty certain mine had gone down the back of the bookcase. First Place! Pinch me somebody. I could barely conceal the surprise/delight on my face when I was called up to receive my handsome, sticky print label.

My image, 40s Girl, was taken last year on my first and only trip to the North East Aircraft Museum at Sunderland. I had tootled along for an up-close-and-personal look at the lovely Vulcan, and initially I was a bit peeved that there was some kind of WWII re-enactment going on, with bunches of camouflaged John Wayne types and sharp ladies with seams seemingly painted on the backs of their legs. There was a 40s Fashion Parade and the girls floating about on the broken asphalt were happy to allow me to take photographs. My special 40s Girl had an extra sparkle and I tried very hard to capture some of the pride, grace and dignity she evoked on her catwalk appearances, albeit casting her lovely costume into a subsidiary role.

It was an unusual shot for me and I was keen to show it at the club, if only to prove I did occasionally come in out of the rain, and to get some objective feedback, with no expectation of winning. It just goes to show how hard it is to prejudge your own images. I enjoy taking part in the club competitions at whatever level and I am always grateful for the opportunity to share pictures with other members, and the verbal abuse and badinage is so bonding, but I have to confess - being selected for an award on the night certainly put the cherry on my cake.

Dennis Hardingham

TAYLOR WESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE

Firmly established as the leading showcase for new talent in portrait photography.

Organised by the National Portrait Gallery in London and sponsored by Taylor Wessing, the Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition displays work by some of the most talented emerging young photographers, alongside that of established professionals, students and gifted amateurs.

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, Saturday 16^th April until Sunday 26^th June. Opening hours, Monday – Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 2 pm to 5 pm. Closed Friday 29^th April

NCPF Annual Competitions 2011 – RESULTS

In summary:

INTER CLUB COMPETITIONS

Monochrome Prints

1^st Dumfries 80 points. Durham came 27^th (out of 29!) with 62 points

Colour Prints

1^st Keswick 83 points. Durham came 10^th (out of 30) with 75 points

Slides

1^st Northallerton 82 points. Durham came 4^th out of 6 with 65 points

Digital PI

1^st Northallerton 85 points. Durham came 6^th = out of 27

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Monochrome Prints – no awards for Durham

Colour Prints:

Highly Commended –

Barry Armitage, Chilly Low Falls

Margaret Etherington, Male Four Spotted Chaser

Alliance Selection –

Angy Ellis, Inner Beauty

Colour Slides –

Highly Commended

Tom Noble, Bygone Age

Digital PI:

Highly Commended –

Lilian Blot, Sand and Mud

John Brown, Up for the Challenge

Alliance Selection –

Lilian Blot, Sand and Mud

David Trout, Blizzard

Selectors Choice Portfolio –

Lilian Blot, Lonely Light

David Trout, Magenta Alley

Neil Maughan, Puffin with Sand Eels

Tony Griffiths, Odd One Out

An explanation of Alliance Selection and Selectors Choice Portfolio is here: http://www.ncpf.org.uk/index.php?id=annual-competitions

Full listings, both club and individual, are here:http://www.ncpf.org.uk/data/uploads/11-04-2011-ann-comp-results.pdf

CLUB NIGHT NEWS 14.4.11

NCPF ANNUAL COMPETITIONS 2011

Prints have been returned to the club. Full results, individual and club, are imminent on the NCPF website: http://www.ncpf.org.uk/index.php?id=annual-competitions

ASSIGNMENT RICHMOND REVIEW

Wednesday April 20^th. 7.00 pm at County Hall. Next outing will be announced on the night. Well done to Tom Heslop and Lilian Blot for their recent success with assignment pictures.

2^nd PROGRESS PRINTS

Closing date is next week, with no extension possible. Please supply digital files also (for projection on the night – the judges will not see) which you can bring in on CD or email. Print labels are available as before.

BEAMISH GREAT NORTH STEAM FAIR

Photographers night 16^th April: this is a ticket only event. Pre-booking to confirm your place is essential, tickets are limited to just 200.  Telephone 0191 370 4036 to book.

www.beamish.org.uk

e-news of the PAGB issue 43

The latest issue of enews of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain contains:

Annual General Meeting & the new PAGB President
GB Cup 2011 (Small Clubs) - Illustrated Awards
Free Software and  Exhibition Notices
AP Tsunami Appeal, Permajet Winner & Competition Rota
Information for prospective entrants for FIAP Awards

Click on this link to view: http://www.pagbnews.co.uk/e-news/en43140411AGM.pdf
The PAGB database of e-news recipients is on a secure and confidential facility. If you would like to subscribe, you can do so on: http://www.pagbnews.co.uk

Results Trio Prints, Judge Jane Black

In a tour de force performance by Jane Black ARPS, APSA, Hon PAGB, whose lively commentary was much appreciated by the members, and with an exciting countdown to the HC’s and top three method new to the club, the results were as follows:

Des Kelly Trophy

1^st Joe Grabham. Ice Rink with Tree

2^nd Angy Ellis. Leaving the City.

3^rd Les Travis. The Cloister.

Sterling Award

1^st Angy Ellis. Modern Man

2^nd Angy Ellis. Hyper Active

3^rd Lilian Blot. Lonely Light.

Lambert Hedley Cup

1^st Dennis Hardingham. 40’s Girl.

2^nd Lilian Blot. Lost in my own little world.

3^rd David Forster. Carl

Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks sending the files in record time.

ASSIGNMENT NORTH SHIELDS PAYS OFF FOR LILIAN

Success for DPS member in the 65^th Bristol Salon of Photography

Lilian Blot’s picture Lonely Light was accepted into the 2011 Bristol International Salon of Photography.

Lilian said, “Assignments pay off for sure. This one was taken during the North Shield outing. Also, it pays to take one more picture when really you want to go home, this was my last shot of the day”.

The full results are now in and can be seen here (click on the image titles to see the breathtaking images): http://www.bristolphoto.org.uk/myweb/SALON-2011/index.html

Neil Maughan’s article Internationals – the Basics on this Blog which inspired Lilian and so many others is now also part of the Welcome, New Members Info section of this website which can also be downloaded. http://www.d-p-s.org.uk/new_memb.htm

JIM HORNE PICTURE FINDS A NEW HOME

The way to be happy is to make others happy!

Mae Taylor, who has been secretary to Anne Heywood at Durham Cathedral for ten years, recently left. Durham Photographic Society’s John Attle learnt that Mae greatly admired a print of Bow Lane taken by one of our members, Jim Horne, shown in our Annual Exhibition in the Galilee Chapel in 2010. In a surprise move, Jim presented a framed copy of the picture to Mae on her last day on behalf of the Society in appreciation for her help with the exhibition over many years.

Mae said, “I am so surprised and delighted. I will treasure the picture which will bring back some happy memories of my time at the Cathedral. It is fabulous”.

Mae and Jim are pictured with the Cathedral’s Anne Heywood.

When Hollywood came to Crook:

By Stephen Bell

Well to be honest it was not quite Hollywood but last Sunday gave me 1^st hand experience of how a film production company operates on location.

My story starts with an invitation from a work colleague, namely Paul Hodgson. Paul has suffered from the age of 10 months with a form of meningitis, which has impacted on his life in a massive way, including not being able to speak until he was 10, and being confined to a wheelchair. Paul however has always strived to get on, and has faced his problems head on in a positive and admirable way. Paul's passion in life is football and in particular his beloved Darlington FC. About 10 years ago Paul wrote a book called Flippers Side (Darlo till I die) which quickly sold out to great reviews. The story is a mix of Pauls life intertwined with Darlington’s promotion back into the football league in 1990. Promotion was sealed with a last gasp winning goal from Gary Coatsworth against Welling United.

Paul then decided to write a movie script based on the book and with help from some of his friends looked around for funding to finance a movie production. Their travels even took them to the Cannes film festival in France to try and drum up some interest. There was some interest but nothing concrete so to speak.

However all was not lost when a local film production company from Darlington became interested in the story. Calls were made and a cast materialised including Mark Stobbart (55 degrees North), James Baxter (Emmerdale) Tracy Wilkinson (Bad Girls, Billy Elliott) and Bill Fellows (Downton Abbey) getting on board.

So where do I fit in?

Well as I said I was asked along to the shoot along with other staff members as extras for the crowd scenes. Paul also agreed to me taking along my gear to get some still shots from the day. I met Mark Stobbart who was playing the lead role as Paul, and James Baxter who was playing Ian, Paul’s lifelong friend. Dan Perry the director was great in allowing me full access to the shoot on the provision I did not get in front of their filming. Some of Darlington’s playing staff turned up to play the footballers parts including Neil Wainwright who travelled over from Morecambe and Michael Smith who had the enviable role of playing Gary Coatsworth the scorer of the winning goal. What was a bit special was that Michael himself was diagnosed a couple of years ago with the same meningitis disease which for a while threatened both his career and his life.

Then who should appear but both the local BBC reporters and the Tyne Tees reporters too. Both conducted interviews with Paul as I snapped away unobtrusively. They hung around for a good hour filming for their relative evening news schedules that day. The story appeared that evening on both channels with yours truly making a small cameo appearance as did my work colleagues although Paul quite rightly won the starring role Oscar.

Anyway loads of “takes” were shot from various positions on the pitch, the crowd played their part in creating a terrific football atmosphere and I snapped away to my heart’s content. Was I enjoying myself? Not half. Then came a shout from Dan the director, Steve can you give us a hand? Stephen Bell then became the lighting technician for the close up panning shots taken from the rolling dolly. So what does a lighting director do then? He holds the reflector!!!! Not the most glamorous role but it was still great fun and created some banter from my work colleagues.

After the shoot everyone made their way to the clubhouse for a buffet and a couple of lubricants. The cast hung around and Director Dan asked if I could send him the images I took so they could use them for publicity. You bet I can.

So what’s next then?

The plan is to edit everything together and get the final trailer out to various contacts and venues including the Edinburgh Film Festival, and a return trip to Cannes. This is to try and secure more funding to eventually go ahead and shoot the whole of the movie. So who knows, maybe Hollywood might not be a pipe dream after all....fingers crossed XXX

My thanks go out to everyone who allowed me to have such a cracking day .

  

All Photos © Stephen Bell , Durham Photographic Society.