After a few alterations to the start time due to the weather and being ousted the week previous by Hilary Clinton, we finally managed a trip to the Melbourne Uni Campus today. Ignoring the late start because of the weather, Dave Sumner and Leif Anderson met up at the original meet time and were rewarded with some of the best photography light seen this year, isn’t that just Melbourne weather for you? We walked around the campus finding perfectly lit buildings and superb old staircases etc which we couldn’t shoot quick enough. A quick coffee and cake saw 12.30 approaching fast so we headed back to the meeting point to wait for the others. 1.30 arrived and the numbers had swollen and we again set off into the campus looking for the perfect shots. Unfortunately for the late comers, the light had gone really flat and it looked like it might rain. Besides this we all took quite a few images and a lot of camera knowledge was banded about and it seemed that everyone was using or at least trying to use, HDR. John couldn’t remember where to set it on his camera whilst Alan didn’t know he had HDR and Diana didn’t have HDR thanks to Nikon (got that one in) and last of all poor old Andy couldn’t get his camera off 1/3rd stop difference between the exposures. Both Andy and I tried to find the setting but we couldn’t increase the difference which Andy has since mastered after reading the manual. At one point we were almost inundated with wedding parties all coming for the their photographs taking. When one party were coming towards us I really did think that they’d seen that we had that A Grader, Rosie with us and were coming for some advice on photography. We were all pleased when they went off to use the area that we had already shot earlier.

All in all it was a good day but I think that both Leif and I had the best light although I hope to see others efforts at the workshop night.

I’m looking forward to the next Sunday Outing as I hope you all are.

Dave Sumner  

Above photos by Dave Sumner

Photo by Andy Armitage

Hi all! Another great night-out on the WCC Friday Night-Outing.

Some of us went to Pete’s’ house to make some images of the night sky.

Pshaw!!! What night sky? The great cloud mass, that was predicted, decended soon after dark, and the huge orange moon that showed itself, (herself?), ever-so-briefly, ducked behind it for the rest of the night. Did I metion the rain? Well the rain began soon after the moon went behnd the clouds. Not wet rain, not drenching rain, but rain sufficeint to dampen the enthusiasm of lesser mortals; all thoughts of sparklers, glow sticks and baloon torches were forgotten.

No there is more actually! The ever watchfull Pete and Dave decided that the long piece of green “pretend grass” would make a great driving mat, and the little blue strobe light inside might just provide enough illumination to make some images of someone driving at the little white golf balls that suddenly appeared.

As we know golfers dont seem to mind the rain so Dave Sumner stepped out into the wet (as he always does at times like these) and took his stance and began swinging at the ball while we set up under the eves, our cameras on tripods “f stop at 2.8” “ISO at 100”, “shutter speed at 4 secs” and “press the button when I call go”.

Dave tired himself out, Pete took over and soon we were all taking multiple images of golfers taking mighty swings, under flashing blue strobe lights, at shutter speeds of 4secs, 2secs, and 1sec in light rain until 10.00pm.

Thanks Pete thanks Dave – Rosie and I had a great evening.

Our monthly outing this Sunday 3 October will be to the National Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda. These gardens are host to an unparalleled variety of brilliantly coloured blooms, mainly rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, cherries and daffodils.

Meet by the front gate at 10am.

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Hi folks!

Rosie and I joined some of the other camera club members on a night shoot in The City last night. Wish you were there!

To begin with it was one of those beautiful spring evenings that we sometimes get in Melbourne. We even saw a meteor shower over the Yarra!!. It wasn’t warm, although to look at Steve sauntering around in his shorts you wouldn’t believe it; but it wasnt cold either. Still a clear, cloudless, inky black sky provided us with a beautiful back drop to colourful, crisp, pin-sharp images. Did I say crisp and pin-sharp? I wish! Mine were all blacked out, underexposed, shaken, stirred and indeed a wonderful kaleidoscope of mixed colours – in a word they were stuffed! So please dear president will you organise another night shoot at the same venue, as soon as the whether is a little bit warmer? Like Friday, next week!

But seriously folk having experienced and expert shooters like Pete D, Dave S, Lief, Steve and John M there with us, Rosie and I the only “freshers”, it was a remarkable experience. We walked from 7.00pm, when we arrived to join the group on the steps of Parliament House, closely watched over by a policeman on the beat, to 11.09pm when we caught our train back home from Parliament Railway Station chaperoned all the way by Steve who very kindly watched over us when Dave pulled out and headed home. Truthfully, by the end of a long evening, patiently coached by Dave, Pete and Steve in turn, I did get a few decent images. But I got more than that; I learned that taking pictures in the dark was not simply a matter of setting your camera at 15 secs and f22 and pressing the buton to make the shot, but of making sure of all the other little things – “Is your tripod sturdy?” “No don’t lean on the legs!” “Where is your remote cable release?” “Have you taken off the steady shot switch?” “Oh bugger, there goes another tram he whole bridge is shaking!” “Is the ISO rating at the lower scale (100-) not the higher (200+)?” and lastly “Did you not bring along a wide angle lens Andy?”

Thanks gentlemen, and you too Mrs Mallett it was great to have you along too. Will you do that again – please Pete?

Cheers Andy