Castleton & Hope Valley Photographic Society

Please pardon our mess, we are recovering from a nasty accident with a Hard disk drive. Normal service will resume shortly!

Anything below this post may have incomplete data!

           Summer fleetingly reached the Hope Valley, thus members arrived in sunshine to view the AVs, DP images and prints presented by our speakers Judy Smith LRPS, DPAGB, BPE3* and Mike Smith – both members and past Presidents of Sheffield Photographic Society.

Before the presentation our Chairman, Kate Brown, announced that next year’s annual competition will cover the ‘General’ category and the 2017 category of ‘Small prints’ (with a maximum size of 75 square centimetres).

Further details, including the monochrome section for the 2017 Denis Thorpe Prize will be given later. Kate recommended that the small prints should be mounted on card. I’ll give a demonstration on cutting and mounting small prints on cards during a meeting early next year, OR your prints could be mounted for a cost of £2.50 – £3.50 per print by Joan & George Stewardson at The Old Chapel, Thornhill, Hope Valley.

Ray offered to give free lessons on the basics of photography to less experienced members – with a maximum of three members at a time. Contact Ray if you’d like to learn more about basic photography and using your camera.

Keith announced that St Peter’s church had donated £25 to the club in recognition of the part our club played in displaying panels with our 2016 competition prints, in the church, during Wakes Week.

I announced that Judy & Mike Smith had kindly declined payment for their AV and DPI presentation, in recognition of all of the work that Kate & Keith Brown had played over the years for Sheffield Photographic Society. Which brings me onto the highlight of the evening – Judy & Mike’s presentation: Mike & Judy presented a mixture of Audio Visual presentations and a selection of digitally projected images on various themes. Including their visit to Yellowstone National Park in wintertime and the herd of elephants currently on display all over Sheffield.

After the presentation Roger Moore gave a vote of thanks, remarking how much  he and other members had enjoyed the evening. Roger hoped that Judy & Mike will return one evening in the not too distant future, to make another presentation of their work. The loud applause from members confirmed how much everyone had enjoyed the evening.

Preamble – scroll down to the bottom of this page for specific info on upcoming events offering photographic  opportunities.

Our Chairman, Kate Brown, warmly welcomed our 2016 judge, Marilyn Roberts, DPAGN, BPE1. Last month Marilyn had carefully looked at each of our 2016 competition prints, and now visited our club to ‘talk everyone through’  this year’s competition images and announce the winners and those to whom she’d awarded commendations. If you’d like to know the results click onto:  http://www.hopevalleyphotosociety.co.uk/?page_id=1445

Kate then thanked all those who’d been involved in arranging our presence at the Hathersage Gala and our annual exhibition at St Peter’s Church Hope. Jason announced the winners of our Annual Exhibition’s ‘Public Vote’, as visitors to St Peter’s Church were asked to cast their votes for the images they like most. The public votes for the General section were: 1st, Bea Deacon ‘The long walk home’, 2nd, Keith Brown with ‘Cwhorthin Slate, 3rd, Steve Elliott’s ‘Catching the bus’. The public votes for our themed section, Street scenes, were: 1st Steve Elliott’s ‘Red Carnation’, 2nd, Axel Chatburn’s ‘Cycle’s End’, 3rd, Ray Fowler’s ‘In the Shadows’.

In addition to announcing those to whom Marilyn judged to be worthy of first, second or third prizes in the ‘General’ and ‘Street Scene’ categories, Marilyn also Awarded Ian Stanyon the Dennis Thorpe Trophy for the best monochrome entry of this year’s annual competition. (apologies Ian, I hadn’t realised I’d ‘snapped you with your eyes closed):

Kate also thanked David Allwood for another of our informal member’s evening at the Angler’s Rest – the next informal evening will be at 1900 13th September, with the theme being “Filling the Frame”. Pizzas will be available to purchase, then the evening will commence.

Here’s some low resolution snaps as Marilyn  ‘talked us through’ her thoughts on this year’s competition images:

Local announcements

Ian S announced that from 1800 onwards on 20th August, Sheffield’s main city centre roads will be closed for a ‘Cycling Grand Prix’. Ian will be attending the Grand Prix, thus  those interested in this photo opportunity could meet Ian S at the corner of Brown’s in the Peace Gardens at 6pm.  Note – you may wish to walk or take a bus to the city centre as many roads will be closed. Please email Ian S (details in our 2016 Programme), or contact Ian on 07791 907434.

Ian S has also given notice of dance workshops, 23rd July and 20th August, with up to three photographers being invited to attend. NB – please liaise with Ian S in ordfedr that he may forward on the names of those who’d like to attend the dance workshop.

Ian’s also sent me details of another interesting event: Brutalism and Parkour Photography Workshop at Park Hill with Andy Day, Sat 30th July: There’s a few few places left for a one-day workshop with renowned adventure sports photographer Andy Day. Participants can learn the skills of architectural photography by shooting the iconic Brutalist Park Hill, as well as an opportunity to photograph the urban sport of parkour. Tickets can be purchased via the link below. Participants must bring their own camera. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/photography-workshop-brutalism-and-parkour-photography-tickets-26031087684?aff=erelpanelorg

Summer has arrived in the Hope Valley, which for once gave us an opportunity to conduct our meeting with the doors open. Ann, our Vice Chair conducted the meeting, stepping in for our Chair Kate, who had to stay in hospital overnight, following treatment earlier that day.

Guest Speaker. Our guest speaker was Peter Yeo FRPS, DPAGB, APAGB, and last year’s judge for our annual competition. I’ve popped an account of Peter’s inspiring presentation and some of his images within the body of this web post.

Digital images of 2016 competition images. The majority of members haven’t emailed me the three images they have entered into this year’s competition. Please email me digital un-compressed  images, one at a time, to iangord@icloud.com. These images will only be used inside the club and will not be distributed elsewhere unless they have been heavily compressed (to prevent unauthorised copying/use).

Whatever the Weather. Chris(tine) has agreed to hold another Whatever the Weather event at our house and garden (set at the foot of Lose Hill) some time in mid August. The event is primarily an opportunity for members and their families (including children) to have fun and socialise. There’ll be snacks and cakes, soft drinks and games for the children (or those who are still young at heart). Further details will be emailed to members, via Ann.

2016 Exhibition. As per previous years, when we exhibit our competition images we will need stewards. This year our exhibition will be at St Peter’s Church, Hope, during Wakes Week. I’ll send further details to Ann, who will email them to all members. So have a look in your diaries to see if you have any free time between June 25^th to July 2^nd to act as a steward, for two-hour slots,

Ian Stanyon made a number of announcements:

• Photographic opportunities at the Sheffield Grand Prix cycling race, to be held on July 20^th.
• A presentation by an outstanding landscape photographer (Colin Prior) at Buxton’s Pavilion Art Centre on 16^th 7.30 p.m. Fuller details are shown below my notes on Peter’s presentation.
• Ian is working on arranging a visit to the Sheffield Dance Network to one of their workshops, which would give a limited number of members an opportunity to work with dancers to capture interpretive dance movements?  Details to follow should Ian be successful in securing a date.

Our guest presenter – Peter Yeo.

I’ve been following Peter and his work, via the web, and know how popular Peter’s presentation ‘Everything is connected’ is and has been. Thus I had some insight into what to expect, as I knew that Peter is an innovative and talented photographer. Peter’s presentation was through the medium of A3 sized prints – all printed on Fotospeed paper (as Peter is also a Fotospeed sponsored lecturer).

The first part of Peter’s presentation mainly consisted of monochrome prints, with the second half mainly being in colour prints. I’ve attached some example of Peter’s work within this web post.

I already knew that Peter was a creative photographer/ What I hadn’t known is that Peter is also a talented speaker, full of humour and insightful explanations, as he presented his prints.

There were at least four aspects of Peter’s photography, which captivated me (echoing the numerous photographic honours Peter has  been awarded):

1. Peter’s eye for a picture and the way he so carefully composed each image/scene;
2. The interest Peter generated within his images; often from opportunities which would evade the vast majority of photographers;
3. The stories behind so many of Peter’s images – sometimes taking advantage of fleeting opportunities, and at other times reflecting the time, care and attention Peter took in composing an image;
4. The pin-sharpness of Peter’s images and the beautiful way that they are printed – on different types of photographic paper to complement the mood of his images.

In-depth details of the announcements Ian Stanyon made:

Photographic evening and a few beers at Sheffield Grand Prix – cycling event 1800 onwards on July 20^th. See http://www.sheffieldgrandprix.co.uk/ for further details.

Ian is willing to organise the Sheffield Grand Prix evening, which from previous experience is a great evening.  Watching the races from different locations around the circuit, the opportunity to experiment with multiple passes and plenty of chances to enjoy a bite to eat and /or have a sociable drink.

An option is for members to come into Sheffield by bus or train and we can meet up at a suitable location.  There would be no limit on number but Ian said that it would be helpful to know who would be attending and possibly contact numbers? Thus either phone or email Ian (Ian’s contact details are shown in our 2016 programme).

A talk by the landscape photographer Colin Prior   November 16^th, Wednesday 7.30 pm at Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton Opera House, Buxton. www.Buxtonadventurefestival.co.uk   Members should book independently.  However, if people did go we could arrange shared lifts and a beer? Tickets 17.50 / £12.50 (concessions). Again contact Ian by phone or email.

Colin Prior is one of the world’s great landscape photographers, capturing vast sweeping panoramas from around the globe. He has been the subject of a BBC1 documentary, titled Mountain Man (2015), which covered a four-year project to document Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains. And he travelled more than a million miles to 40 different countries to capture some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes as part of a British Airways commission. Colin pioneered the use of panoramic photography for clients in the travel, lifestyle and leisure sectors in the 90’s and has since published seven photographic books, frequently focusing on the Scottish Highlands.

The first half of the meeting was taken up with members handing in their precious images for the 2016 CHVPS exhibition. With two categories, “Street Scenes” and General” it kept Ian and Ann on their toes logging them all while other members drank tea!
We have 81 images entered, 57 General and 24 Street Scenes.

Alan hinchcliffe used his time lapse equipment to capture the hand in

                     
The second half of the meeting started with a welcome form Kate and her handing out certificates to winners/commended from the 2015 exhibition who miss receiving them at the Christmas meal.
Well done to Steve Elliot, Susan Hughes and Les Nixon.

We were the treated to 6 members beating the clock showing images in just 10 minutes each.

Keith Brown – Showed images from an event run by Mercy Ships. A charity funding hospital ships traveling to part of the world with little or no health care. The rich and famous eating a posh dinner funding these ships. Great cause.
We then travelled with Keith to his beloved Switzerland, with stunning images of blue sky’s, mountains and high meadows of summer flowers. Lovely.

Joan Clough – Off to Malta with Joan, who has family living there. Lovely  shots of the harbours and images of the homes of the locals. Joan gave a short insight to the history of Malta along with her husband’s  place in it.

Susan Hughes – What I’ve been up to. Susan has been experimenting  with photoshop and filters. Taking images of moving water (as we have had a lot over the last year!), moving to autumn colour to great effect.
Susan then moved on to a sequence of photos documenting the demolition of one of the Mills in Glossop. Great record and  interesting images.

Alan Hinchcliffe – Took us on an entertaining  trip with over 3000 images  in a time lapse show.
Alan has invented equipment to achieve a great fun result of moving water and the stars of the show the sheep in Winnats Pass!

Jess Hinchcliffe – A fun show from Jess with her Pokemon models and others. A great set up with them having a Easter egg hunt. Jess then moved them outdoors to great effect as they sat happily in nooks and crannies of trees and rock.

Ian Stanyon – Transported us to Scotland’s Mull. With great images of the moody sky at it best over sea and mountains of the far North West. Ian displayed colour images, as you wouldn’t believe the colour of the sea in Scotland and some monochrome lending itself to the moody sky’s.

Keith and Kate thanked all 6 members for an entertaining evening.

Our Chairman Kate is unwell, thus Jason stepped in to temporarily take Kate’s place. Jason announced that Kate’s previous long illness, has returned and that on Wednesday Kate received treatment at a Sheffield hospital. Kate hopes to be sufficiently fit to return for the May meeting. At the close of the meeting, on behalf of the club members, Chris O gave Keith a bouquet of flowers and asked that Keith communicate our best wishes to Kate.

Jason announced that this year’s competition entries are to be handed in at next month’s meeting. Details of the competition, categories, sizes of prints, etc. are on the website – click on to this link for further information: http://www.hopevalleyphotosociety.co.uk/?page_id=1388

Competition entry slips were made available to members as they left the meeting. If you haven’t a copy of this slip, contact me – Ian (my phone number and email address are shown on the back page of this year’s programme.).

The theme for this year’s monthly informal meeting at the Angler’s Rest is ‘emotion’. But if you haven’t any suitably emotive images, bring any image along that you’d like to share with other members. Here’s the link to this informal meeting on our ‘2016 programme’:  http://www.hopevalleyphotosociety.co.uk/?page_id=12

This month’s speaker was Martin Fry, FRPS AFIAP BPE4* APAGB. Martin first became involved with AV’s in the late 70’s and has known Keith B since then. Keith has been trying to persuade Martin to present a selection of his AV’s for some time.    So this evening Keith & members of C&HVPS were rewarded with Martin’s ‘Cotswolds and Cornish Cream’ AV selection. We were treated to landscapes; winter scenes; a sequence about the Seven Bore; the sculptor Barbara Hepworth; the annual Trevithick Day in Cambourne, Cornwall, and much more. Members were able to see why Martin has a such string of honours after his name, as he’s a photographer of significant stature.

           Keith & Kate recently completed their follow up to Grease Gaskets & Gears. You’ll recall that many members visited Les Lennon’s boot factory in Stoney Middleton and took photographs of this important mill – the last factory in the UK to be producing boots. The factory goes back to the late 1800s when Les’s grandfather opened the mill and started production.

     K&K honed down their latest AV: ‘These boots…’ with Les narrating, and gave their premier of their latest AV. The venue was the YHA’s Losehill Hall, where 71 members and visitors enjoyed what was truly a feast for the eyes and music to the ears. MANY thanks to Alistair and Gillian for making this superb venue available for our fundraising AV Night. – where they and their team also provided tea and coffee. Net takings for this truly enjoyable event amounted to just of £300, which will be banked until we can accumulate sufficient funds to purchase a new projector for the club.

Here’s a list of the contributors to the AV programme:

1. Gardom’a Edge – Steve Elliott;
2. Bamford Village – Richard Clemmons
3. Beep Beep – Kate Brown;
4. Jewel in the Crown – Kate Brown;
5. Bamford Edge – Richard Clemmons;
6. Grease Gaskets & Gears – Keith & Kate Brown; then the mid evening interval
7. Castleton Ancient & Modern – Keith & Kate Brown;
8. Carhead Rocks – Steve Elliott;
9. Peace & Love – Keith Brown;
10. Stanage Edge – Steve Elliott;
11. These boots …. – Keith & Kate Brown;
12. 12 Blessings – Kate Brown.

    Images courtesy of Nick Chalkley (and his new lens – bought last week at the Photo Show at the NEC)