_ We have just competed in our first Inter Club Photography Competion organised by the Southern Association of Camera Clubs (SACC) and held in Carrick-on-Siur on February 26th. Five of us travelled to the event, Francis Foley, Steve Baker, Dillon Boyer and Seamus O'Donovan and it was a long day. We left at 7 in the morning and did not arrive home until 8 that evening.

When we arrive we has a lot of work to do as our panels of photographs had to be fixed to the boards provided by the host club. The panels must be laid out so that it is appealing to the judges eye and care must be taken so that the top of photographs are level. Then the judges come in, we leave for and marking commences. We took the 3.5 hour window to travel around the sites in Waterford and build up our portfolio however the weathr was not that kind as overcast skies does not deliver for landscape photography.

Over we were pleased with our result coming in a respectable 13th place in our first outing. We learnt a lot on how judges mark photographs and this will be put to good use in the next competition we take part in which will probably be the National Club Finals in Athlone in May. The pictures that got the best marks for us were:

17 Points – Maura Miller – Half Dome Yosemite Valley Park – Projected Panel
15 Points – Mike Brosnan – Rossbeigh Strand – Colour Panel
15 Points – Dillon Boyer – Dingle Storm – Black and White Panel
15 Points – Francis Foley – Fenit Triathlon – Black and White Panel

The results of our Open Competiton held on February 23rd is as follows:

1. Francis Foley – Canal Basin Tralee Night Time
   
   
2. Peter O'Donnell – Locked Out
   
   
3. Maura Miller – Wise Monkeys
   
   

The Photographer of the Year Competition top five is:

1. Dillon Boyer 120
   
   
2. Tommy Toomey 95
   
   
3. Maura Miller 85
   
   
4. Francis Foley 79
   
   
5. Steve Baker 72
   
   

Our next meeting is on March 8th and the theme is Natural Light Indoors.

For further information contact Francis Foley on 087 905 4161 or francis.foley@live.ie or visit our website at http://ardfertcameraclub.weebly.com. Remember that we always welcome new members and guests to the club which has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, no need to have a fancy camera, come along and learn how to take better pictures. Francis Foley

_ The preparations for our first national photography competition are well underway. At our last meeting we elected a sub committee to select the images that we will enter into the competition. The members of the committee are Dillon Boyer, Steve Baker, Maura Miller, Francis Foley and Paul Keeling. Time is short and there is still alot of work to be done as the competiton is taking place on Sunday 26th February in the Carraig Hotel in Carrick-on-Siur.

Our next meeting is to be held next Thursday February 23rd at the Golf Club at 7.30. The theme for the club competition is Open and a €5 fee will be taken for entries. We will be starting early to allow us to view the panels for the Interclub National Competition and we also want to discuss how to judge pictures.

Spring has well and truly arrived and we're seeing a little strech in the evenings so take the opportunity to get out and take that shot for our club meeting of March 22nd. There are loads of suitable photographic subjects to be taken over the next few weeks, snowdrops and daffodils, tulips, flower and tree buds, cherry and apple trees will soon start to blossom. In the fields look out for lambs, the March hare, frog spawn and birds nesting. Don't leave it until the last day and come empty handed by wasting the possibilites that abound now.

1. Use Motion Blur: that is get your camera to follow a moving subject, this keeps the subject sharp but blurs the background.
   
   
2. Silhouettes: Only the outline of the subject is visible but the background is properly exposed.
   
   
3. Alter your perspective: Shoot from low down on you haunches or belly or from the top down, use a ladder our out an upstairs window.#
   
   
4. Dramatic Light: How the subject is lit can dramatically alter the look of your picture. Light from the top or side or under, don't just shoot head on the whole time.
   

I am grateful to the www.digital-photography-school.com from where I get many of the tips I have published over the last few months.

For further information contact Francis Foley on 087 905 4161 or francis.foley@live.ie or visit our website at http://ardfertcameraclub.weebly.com. Remember that we always welcome new members and guests to the club which has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, no need to have a fancy camera, come along and learn how to take better pictures. Francis Foley

Ardfert Camera Club will be entering into our first inter club competition which will be held under the auspices of the Southern Association of Camera Clubs (SACC). The event will be held at the Carraig Hotel in Carrick-on-Siur on Sunday 26th of February. The SACC is one of two sub regions of the Irish Photographic Federation and it covers all clubs south of the line between Arklow and Clare. We will be entering into 3 events namely a Colour Panel, a Black & White Panel and a Projected Panel.

Each panel requires 10 photographs to be mounted on a display board of size 8ft x 4ft and trhe maximum size of each mount is 20 x 16 inches. A committe will be formed at the next meeting to vet the entries and each member is requested to bring along a memory stick with at least 6 suitable images to our next meeting which is to be held on Thursday 9th of February at 8pm in the Golf Club in Ardfert.

The results of our Black and White themed competition held in January 26th is as follows:

1. Tommy Toomey – Man on Shop Street Galway
2. Steven Horan – Wethers Well Chairs
   
3. Marion Stack – Long Eared Owl
   
4. Dillon Boyer – Meenogahane
   
5. Margaret Raggett – Roots
   

The Photographer of the Year table is as follows:

1. Dillon Boyer – 100
   
2. Tommy Toomey – 86
   
3. Maura Miller – 62
   
4. Steve Baker – 57
   
5. Francis Foley – 54
   

We have cancelled the next competition to allow us to select and organise the photographs for the next competition, however we will also run a workshop on Group Photography on the night.

For further information contact Francis Foley on 087 905 4161 or francis.foley@live.ie or visit our website at http://ardfertcameraclub.weebly.com. Remember that we always welcome new members and guests to the club which has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, no need to have a fancy camera, come along and learn how to take better pictures. Francis Foley