Please note: all images on this site remain copright of the original photographers. Contact us to request use of any images (webmaster.DPSNZ@gmail.com)
Thanks to Melanie Dick for her appraisal this week, and congratulations to Ian Thomson, Kate Burton and Greg Hughson!
We only have a very small pool of judges within the club, so Melanie very kindly stepped in this month. If you think you might be interested in becoming a judge, check out the upcoming PSNZ Judge Training Workshop weekend, which will be held in Dunedin on 30-31 October. Even if you’re not quite ready to start judging yet, these workshops are said to be very beneficial in sharing insights into what’s involved in the judging process. More info here: Judge Training and Accreditation Programme
1st place: River of Gold by Ian Thomson
2nd place: Waterfall by Kate Burton
3rd place: Misty Mountain Stream Flow by Greg Hughson
View Finder #11: Paul Hughson – Real estate photography in Norway
Zoom
7:30pm, Monday 9 August
Club meeting: Stuart Clook – Alternative Photographic Processes – the art and practise of the handmade photographic print
Print Of The Month: Open Appraised by Paul Sorrell
Mornington Presbyterian Community Centre, 16 Maryhill Tce
7:30pm, Monday 16 August
Focus group meetings
Zoom and various
Saturday 21 – Wednesday 25 August
Print Exhibition
Selectors: Karen Lawton (Open) and John Hart (Natural History)
Dunedin Community Gallery, 20 Princes St, Dunedin CBD
7:30pm, Monday 23 August
Club meeting: Meeting at Dunedin Community Gallery
Projected Image Of The Month: Flow
Dunedin Community Gallery, 20 Princes St, Dunedin CBD
1pm, Sunday 29 August
Field Trip: Taieri Historical Society and Museum
Meet at: -12:15pm at the Bayfield Inlet to carpool – or at the Wobbly Goat at 1pm for a pre-photo coffee – or at 2pm at the little museum Bring $5 cash per person for museum donations
Outram area
Aug or Sept TBC
Field Trip: Monarch Wildlife Cruise
All details TBC – an email will be sent out when they are confirmed
Thanks to Simone Jackson for her appraisal last month, and congratulations to Greg Hughson, Henrik Moller and Noelle Bennett! (Apologies for the delay in posting this).
A quick update: we’ve decided not to continue with the theme challenges for 2021. There hasn’t been much interest this year for some reason, so the slideshows have looked a bit sad! In the same vein though, are our monthly Print and Projected Images of the Month. These are a great way to keep yourself challenged, as you can use each month’s theme to create a brand new image. The upcoming PIOTM and POTM themes are:
We recently had a Scavenger Hunt photo walk around the University campus, where participants were given a list of 12 topics to inspire their photos at the start of the walk. The plan had originally been to take these photos anywhere between Dunedin and Lawrence over a few hours, but the weather was so wet that we decided to stick to somewhere where we could find shelter quickly! We hope you enjoy the results.
The NatMAT group have organised an Astrophotography trip, open to all members, which should be a great night out! Judith Swann has also put together some very handy information to look through before the night, so have a read and start preparing 💫⭐✨
Image by Trevor Douglas
When: Meeting at 1800h on Saturday 12th June 2021 depending on the cloud cover. We will have another look at the weather on Saturday morning and if we need to cancel we’ll let you know, otherwise see you Saturday evening.
The new moon is on the 10th June, so on the 11th and 12th it will still be basically moonless and dark. On the 11th and 12th sunset is at 1658h; moonset is at 1718h and 1805h; and the tide will be falling. High tide is at 1520h and 1600h.
Safety: Think about your safety. Bring a RED LIGHT torch our eyes take longer to adjust to the dark after looking at white light compared to red light. It is also very easy to get temporarily blinded by white light. Put fresh batteries in your torch. Remember Sea Lions use the sand and they don’t leave just because it is dark! Check before you take a step backwards. Lights: Folks around you may NOT want your torch on just so you can make adjustments to your camera. Practice beforehand so you can change your camera settings by touch. Talk to each other about putting lights on. Focus: Focusing in the dark is really hard. Find out if your camera will do focus magnification and turn it on. Teach yourself how to turn on manual focus by touch! On site, find a star and manually focus on it until it is crisp pin point of light.
Cold – More than likely it will be COLD
Layers: Taking astro photos can involve quite a lot of standing around, in the cold, doing very little. You will get cold. Wear some warm layers, bring more, including a wind-proof layer. Hat, scarf, gloves, chemical hand warmer pouches, something to sit or kneel on if you think you’ll need it. Camera & Batteries: Your camera gear will get cold, and cold batteries don’t work so well. Take some spare batteries and keep the spares in a warm pocket. Putting a cold camera into a warm car risks inducing condensation inside the lens and/or camera. A Ziploc plastic bag or dry-bag with a silica gel sachet in and a plan to warm up your camera slowly will reduce this risk. (https://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/how-to-protect-your-digital-camera-in-cold-weather)
Movement – The subject (the sky) moves and your camera is at risk of movement
Subject movement: Actually it is the earth that is moving (turning) while the sky stays still! We perceive this as the stars moving. Photographing this movement is how you get star trails. If you want points of light for stars your exposure time needs to be less than about 25 seconds. Camera movement: The long exposure time means you have to hold your camera completely still so a tripod, bean bag or similar is essential. Remember your cable release, or work out how to use the timer on your camera. Work this out in the light and warmth of home before you set out.
These articles are good backgrounders to taking images of the stars. Read about wide open aperture (f/4 or lower if you can get), higher ISO (1600 and up), longer exposure times (10 – 30 seconds), and white balance to 3200Kelvin (if you can). Then also read the pros and cons of each of these variables in this situation.
Star trails use very similar settings but are taken for longer so your camera captures the movement of the stars OR you take a number of star photos and stack them together to make the star trails.
Milky Way
The techniques and settings for stars usually work for the Milky Way as well. One difference is learning where the Milky Way will be, at the location you’ll be at and at the time you’ll be there. The videos on this site (https://www.davemorrowphotography.com/p/tutorial-shooting-night-sky.html) describe using free apps and programmes (Blue Marble, The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE), Google Maps, Stellarium) to work out where the Milky Way will be. The Milky Way should be just to the seaward side of Taiaroa Head at about 1900-1930h on the 111th and 12th June.
Winter has just about officially begun, heralded in by a very cold blood moon last week. David Steer captured this impressive image earlier that evening, featuring the moon in full queen mode before she started blushing and hiding behind the earth 😊 Inspiration for us all to get out there for the upcoming Astrophotography workshop this month! Please note: there’s been a change in content for our meeting on 14 June, but we’ll still be at Mornington.
Date
Activity
Details
Location
7:30pm, Monday 7 June
(no meeting for Queen’s Birthday)
6 – 8:30pm, Friday 11 OR Saturday 12 June (details TBC – depending on cloud cover)
Field Trip: Astrophotography – Stars – Star Trails – Milky Way – Light Painting
Hosted by the NatMAT group
Aramoana
7:30pm, Monday 14 June
Club meeting: Practical session
Print of the Month: Open
Mornington Presbyterian Community Centre, 16 Maryhill Tce
7:30pm, Monday 21 June
Focus group meetings
Zoom and various
7:30pm, Monday 28 June
Club meeting: Speaker – Robert Scott, In Plain View: a comparison of simple versus complex approaches in the art industry
Projected Image of the Month: Out of focus
Mornington Presbyterian Community Centre, 16 Maryhill Tce
