Finding inspiration in Lockdown

Loo Paper Lock.JPG

COVID-19 is certainly ruling our lives at the moment. In Melbourne we are in Lockdown 2.0 with level 3 restrictions. As we could not meet as a group and opportunities to leave home are limited, we created a virtual field trip. The brief included a range of subjects to be photographed on the same day. This enabled us to think outside the square in a time where our photographic inspiration may be waning. With topics such as flowers, fences, not quite right and social distancing, we set about the challenge. Take a look at our results.

Tip: after clicking the button below a pdf document will open. To view as a slideshow select full screen mode (if it opens in Adobe Reader, select View > Full Screen Mode (or CTRL L on a PC). Alternatively, just use the page controls.

Enjoy.

View July 2020 Virtual Field Trip



Photo Composition

For now we have suspended Club Meetings at Caulfield Photographic Society whilst we monitor the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. Club Competitions are continuing under modified conditions. In the interim, we thought we would stimulate your creativity on Composition. We’ve heard of the rules, the most prominent of which is the rule of thirds. There are many more, such as The Golden Ratio, Leading Lines, always leave enough space for a moving object to move through the image, odd numbers are better that evens with 3 being the perfect number; Landscapes must have a foreground, middle ground and background; and many more. Following these rules will give you great results, but of course rules are meant to be broken. For each rule, there are great images that break the rules. We encourage you to revisit composition. An image can be technically perfect, but needs a good composition to hold the viewers attention. Examine each rule, then challenge yourself to take photos within each rule and then break them.

Adobe Lighroom and other editing programs have features that allow you do toggle through different composition guidelines, so see if any suits your image. Try these out on your images.

One of the Crop Guides Available in Adobe Lightroom. Image courtesy of Linda Donald

One of the Crop Guides Available in Adobe Lightroom. Image courtesy of Linda Donald

Have a look at the following resources to get you started on your journey:

Digital Photography School: Beginners Composition

And now to Break the rules, PhotographyLife: Breaking the rules


Post Processing – The Many Faces Of Matt

Post Processing – The Many Faces Of Matt

Caulfield Photographic Society hosts a “Club Night” 3 or 4 times each year. This means that the speakers or activities come directly from our own members rather than from outside the club. Recently we had a post processing exercise where a number of RAW files were shared with members before the night. The idea was that each member would post process each file and share the results on the club night.

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Fifteen Caulfield Photographic Society Members met at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and were given an excellent personalised MCG Tour by a volunteer guide. He modified his standard talk so we could focus on our camera work but was happy to answer questions. The feedback was very positive with the participants finding it most interesting. There were no events on and the stadium was empty. I think it helped to understand the enormous size of this complex. It was also amazing to think that 70,000 were packed in there the night before and somehow the cleaners had been through the place before we arrived. A colossal task.

Korumburra Weekend

Korumburra Weekend

Caulfield Photographic Society Members enjoyed a great weekend at Korumburra. Located in the foothills of the of the Strzelecki Ranges provided us opportunities to photograph rolling landscapes, autumn colours, farm life, birds, Markets and Coal Creek Community Park and Museum. Comfortable accommodation across two neighbouring houses made for a relaxing social weekend (albeit for the early rises for landscapes!).