Meetings
PROGRAMME FOR THE 2008-9
Welcome to the new season which starts with a Saturday session at Crewe Library called the PHOTO DAY. It will be on Saturday 13th September. Anyone who wants to can call in and ask advice on their digital photography or just see what Crewe PS is all about. There will be a competition which is open to anyone who is not a club member – the prize is a year’s membership.
Our usual Thursday Meetings begin on 18th September and are back at our usual home of Crewe Library from 7:45 pm (unless where stated). Do come and see what we are all about, potential new members can give us the “three meetings trial” before joining if you like.
John Royle, CPAGB, Chairman and Programme Secretary
Click on the title of each week's activity below to read more (or scroll down to read the whole of the season's programme) and very soon after each week's meeting our Chairman and Programme Secretary, John Royle CPGAB, writes a report which you'll then also be able to read by clicking on the appropriate report link.
(You'll find printable and downloadable versions of the programme on the Downloads page)
SEPTEMBER 2008
monthly topics: Shadows or Flora & Fauna.
Thursday 18/09/08 - Open Evening
A welcome to the new season. There will be several items to get you off to a flying start including the L&CPU Slide Folio (Y2).
Thursday 25/09/08 - Tony Pioli ARPS ABPE – Photographing Insects
Tony is well known to us as both a landscape and Natural History photographer. He is particularly interested in macro-photography and his shots of insects have won many prizes – including a full Leica R outfit!
This should be a very interesting evening as we have many members who like to tackle this area of photography and Tony is an excellent speaker and will have many useful tips for us.
OCTOBER 2008
MONTHLY TOPICS: Black or Round.
Thursday 2/10/08 - GORDON JENKINS - Colour
Gordon is a leading light in the L&CPU and has just finished his second term as President, so he is well known to club members throughout the region. His profession is in colour printing so few could be better able to help us understand this tricky but important subject. Gordon is a lively speaker and a good evening’s entertainment is guaranteed.
Thursday 09/10/08 - OPEN EVENING – Featuring RPS NH Exhibition 2008 .
We have the Royal Photographic Society Natural History Group 2008 Exhibition to view. It features Slides, prints and PDIs and has a very pleasing commentary. In addition, please get your requests in for what you would like our resident experts to cover. We have fewer opportunities this year hold these sessions so make the most of it!
Thursday 16/10/08 - L&CPU Documentary Print Folio HAND-IN DATE FOR: FIRST PRINT LEAGUE COMPETITION
Every year 5000 or so photographs are submitted by Clubs to the L&CPU Annual Competitions. They are all judged and marked and various trophies awarded to Clubs and Individuals to mark their success. Selections are also made for the L&CPU entry into the National Competition run by the PAGB and for the various Folios which are circulated to the Clubs. So we get a chance to see a variety of the best work in the Region. Each Folio is made up of about 60 photographs and has a commentary. We can listen, look and make our own comments. Looking at photographs in this way has a profound effect on your own photography.
We'll also make time for a mini Open Evening to cover any topics that we weren't able to cover the previous week.
Thursday 23/10/08 - ROBERTSHAW TROPHY at LEEK There is no meeting at Crewe Library tonight.
Leek Photographic Club are hosting this 4-way inter-club competition this year . The participants are CREWE, MACCLESFIELD, BLYTHE BRIDGE and, of course, LEEK. So it is a cross-Federation competition. Until last year it was a competition for slides but we “went digital” last year, when we hosted and won the competition. So let’s see if we can do it again. The event is at Leek Photographic Club who meet at the Moorlands District Council Offices in Stockwell Street, Leek (DIRECTIONS). The postcode is: ST13 6HQ. They have booked a bigger room than their normal meeting place. It starts at 7.30.
Thursday 30/10/08 - PRINT COMPETITION – First League Competition HAND-IN DATE FOR: PROJECTED DIGITAL IMAGE FIRST LEAGUE COMP.
Last year our entry for the print competitions was simply stunning! We saw outstanding work which eventually gained us a very good place in the L&CPU Annuals – but, more important, delighted us. So what has this year in store? We had several new members last year who were just starting out in Club photography yet they amazed us with their work. We had existing members who really got into their stride with printing and handed in some of their best work yet. Then we had a handful of photographers join us from another club and their work – as expected – came right in at the top. So it will be a very exciting year.
NOVEMBER 2008
MONTHLY TOPICS: Water or My Space
Thursday 6/11/08 - Inter-Club Battle with ALSAGER and Open Evening at Crewe Library
This year the competition will be for prints and slides, so it will make a very exciting evening. We won last year but Alsager are a growing Club with much talent, so no complacency please!
For those not going to Alsager we're intending holding another Open Evening at Crewe Library.
Thursday 13/11/08 - RON SMITH – The Development Of Pictorialism and Modernism In Photography HAND-IN DATE FOR: SLIDE ANNUAL
Ron Smith’s talks have become a regular spot in our programme. They are always hugely enjoyable and much anticipated. This title may sound a little esoteric but I guarantee Ron will have an approach which will make a great evening.
Thursday 20/11/08 - PDI League Competition
PDI stands for Projected Digital Image. Images are submitted as computer files and viewed on our digital projector. It is the easiest and cheapest way of entering photographs for competition and grows directly out of your digital photography. PDI competitions are rapidly becoming very popular and this year we have expanded to two League Competition and a Final (or Annual). The overall winner will take the much revered Jim Harrison Trophy.
Thursday 27/11/08 - L&CPU Colour Print Folio
Colour prints selected from the 2008 L&CPU Annual. An almost overwhelming number of entries produced a great range of work. The quality of colour digital printing has now come of age and this will be a stunning cavalcade of sparkling shots.
DECEMBER 2008
MONTHLY TOPICS: Skies or Religion
Thursday 4/12/08 - SLIDE ANNUAL
Some Clubs have ceased to have slide competitions and many National Competitions too have switched to PDI. We have retained this one competition, so tonight’s best slide will take the Trophy for Slide of the Year. The photographer with the highest aggregate score will become Slide Photographer of the Year. One unique feature – digital images are banned!
Thursday 11/12/08 - George Steele CPAGB LRPS – A Tour Of Western Ireland HAND-IN DATE FOR: SECOND PRINT COMPETITION (LEAGUE)
George delighted us with his presentation about Venice last year and now Ireland will get a similar treatment. The detail in George’s “Venice” was fascinating. Perhaps we will be joined by some of George’s friends from the South Cheshire Recorded Music Society again – wish I could find time to go to their meetings!
Thursday 18/12/08 - Open Evening
Our last meeting before the Christmas break will no doubt feature some celebrations as well as some photographic content. Get your requests in for help with that photographic problem.
--- CHRISTMAS BREAK ---
JANUARY 2009
MONTHLY TOPICS: Glass or History.
Thursday 8/01/09 – Inter-Club Competition with Whitchurch and Mid-Cheshire
The fact that we meet two clubs in Battle tonight arises from a lucky mistake. We usually meet just one club but a booking error years ago resulted in us trying this three cornered competition which works extremely well. Some of our Battles this year will feature PDIs but the format here is still to be decided; three clubs gives us plenty of work to see anyway.
Thursday 15/01/09 – L&CPU Mono Print Folio
Some of the most interesting of the 700+ monochrome images which were submitted for the L&CPU Annuals this year. There will also be a few prints which were submitted to the PAGB in 2007. I am down to do the commentary for the L&C on this one so we may skip that and discuss the photographs instead!
Thursday 22/01/09 – Print Competition 2 – Second League Competition
I’ve already said how much we are looking forward to seeing your creations for this year. Throughout the Clubs there has been a big improvement in print quality as people are mastering the new art of digital printing and work is becoming more and more impressive. Crewe PS has the talent in spade loads and I can’t wait to see this year’s crop of pictures. Scores in each competition are totaled towards the Photographer of the Year and the Print League Competition.
Thursday 29/01/09 – The Bebington Salon Of Photography HAND-IN DATE FOR: THIRD PRINT COMPETITION (LEAGUE)
Stalwarts Bob Dennis APAGB CPAGB BPE2*and John Doherty APAGB will be presenting the best work from this year’s Bebington Salon of Photography National Slide & Digital Competition. We will be joined by Alsager CC – we are making it a joint meeting this year. No doubt we will also see other friends from local clubs too.
FEBRUARY 2009
MONTHLY TOPICS: Self Portrait or Contrasts.
Thursday 05/02/09 – Colin Douglas ARPS CPAGB BPE3* – Cuba HAND-IN DATE FOR: PROJECTED DIGITAL IMAGE SECOND LEAGUE COMPETITION
Colin is one of the most talented photographers in the region and a couple of years back we enjoyed his tour of Spain. Tonight it is that subject of so many characterful shots – Cuba.
Thursday 12/02/09 – North Cheshire PS Inter-Club Print Comp and PDI KO No Meeting at Crewe Library.
One of the best Club events on the calendar, North Cheshire PS’s Inter-Club Competitions are run over the Wednesday (Digital Prints – time we dropped the “Digital” there I think), Thursday (Projected Digital Images) and, on the Friday there is a special event – it has been music over the last couple of years. We are one of the 23 or do clubs who regularly enter this superbly run event and tonight you can visit our friends in Poynton for the PDI Knock-Out.
Thursday 19/02/09 – Print Competition 3 – Third League Competition
Expectations should be running high by now if the entries have been as good this year as they were last. I will be on the look-out for a “Chairman’s Choice” for 2009 by now too.
Thursday 26/02/09 – L&CPU Slide Folio Year 1 HAND-IN DATE FOR: PRINT ANNUAL
We will keep things flexible on the Folio evenings so that if we want to include extras in the programme, we can do. We are keen to keep up-to-date and there will be new developments on show at the Focus On Imaging at this time.
MARCH 2009
Monthly Topics: Lines or Alone
Thursday 5/03/09 – PDI Competition 2
So we have two League competitions for PDIs. Last year three-quarters of the members entered our projected digital image competitions. This is the great thing – there are no extra skills to master before you have a go – no printing, no mounting. You even have a Digital Comp. Sec. (i.e., me) who will help you to enter!
Thursday 12/03/09 – Inter-Club Battle with Sandbach PS HAND-IN DATE FOR: PROJECTED DIGITAL IMAGE ANNUAL –JIM HARRISON TROPHY
Prints and slides certainly, but we may have PDIs too in this annual Battle with Sandbach. We won last year but it is always a close thing and you never can tell.
Thursday 19/03/09 – ANNUAL PRINT COMPETITION
The culmination of all our print work for the year this is bound to be a great evening, especially since it will be presided over by Christine Widdall, L&CPU Vice President and highly respected National judge.
Thursday 26/03/09 – OPEN EVENING
Requests please. If something new has not turned up in our rapidly changing digital scene I shall eat my camera bag (the bigger one, with all the padding bits!)
APRIL 2009
Monthly Topics: Patterns or Trees.
Thursday 2nd April 2009 – PDI ANNUAL – The JIM HARRISON TROPHY
The culmination of our digital imagery for the season! Presided over by the one and only Gordon Jenkins, L&CPU Past President and present Treasurer. Gordon has an excellent knowledge of digital imaging and a very experienced judge. You will all know by now, having met him earlier in the season that you are in for a great evening.
Thursday 09/04/09 – Inter-Club Competition with Nantwich
Nantwich CC are one of the Clubs which has ceased to run slide competitions, so tonight will be for prints and projected digital images (shall we call them PDIs?). Nantwich has a number of talented members and I suppose the greatest compliment I can pay them is to say that this is the one we would like to win!
Thursday 16/04/09 – SLIDE KNOCK-OUT HAND-IN DATE FOR: PDI KNOCK-OUT
We thought last year that this event, with the decline in interest in film, would be something we should miss off the programme, but it was great fun. To spice it up a bit I think we should allow “slides with a digital origin” in this.
Thursday 24/04/09 – AGM and Prize Evening
Usually AGMs are not very well attended but ours break the mold – extra seats had to be called on last year! We combine it with the Awards presentation and that, perhaps, is the trick. Who will walk away with the Gongs this year? Who will get the “Chairman’s Choice” for their work or works?
The what? Well, come on, get used to it – PDI means you see the pictures on our digital projector. Here the KO – “Knock Out” does need some explanation because we don’t have a judge, well, not one judge – lots, you. Pictures are shown in pairs and you vote for the winner and the loser gets deleted – sounds a bit brutal, the sort of thing Ann Robinson might go in for but it is just for amusement. Flawed but Fun. Seriously, a way to try out your new ideas on the members
MAY 2009
Monthly Topics: Noise or Flight.
Thursday 07/05/09 – A Celebration of the CPS Season
We will review the season’s work and have “a bit of a Do”.
This ends the CPS meetings at Crewe Public Library for the Season.
But we still have. . . . .
Thursday 14/05/09 – THE FIVE TOWNS MONOCHROME PRINT COMPETITION
This year the hosts are ALSAGER CC and the event will take place at ALSAGER LIBRARY. 7.30pm. This is a major inter-club competition. Alsager will invite a prestigious judge to preside (last time there it was Margaret Salisbury).