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Tom Way

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

On Friday 18th May, Tom Way, European Wildlife Photographer 2016, explained his approach to wildlife photography. Tom favours a fine art approach to photography, has exhibited world wide, and shares his knowledge by giving lectures, talks and workshops. Having discovered the beauty of wildlife – elephants, lions, leopards, gorillas - in Africa, Tom set up his business to fund his travels so that he could see these amazing animals wandering free. In this country his photography covers local wildlife - kingfishers, badgers, little owls, red foxes, puffins - and provides many of his images sold as framed prints. Abroad, in Africa – Zambia, Kenya, Uganda – he is looking for competition wildlife shots. Shooting mainly with aperture priority, settings are crucial. His images must have light, character, emotion and simplicity, and no tension. Single images with out-of-focus backgrounds are his ideal – if you haven’t got the ideal lens, shoot with the subje…
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Annual exhibition competition

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

On Friday 11th May, we were delighted to welcome Ian Stone DPAGB BPE3* and Marie-Laure Stone DPAGB BPE5* EFIAP Platinum and EFIAP Diamond 1, from Folkestone Camera Club, to judge our Annual Exhibition Print Competition. As our Chairman said, this competition is the climax of our season, and as the prints were put up it was clear that our photographers had entered some of their best work - mono, colour, digital and dark room. Ian and Marie-Laure are experienced photographers in all fields, leaning towards nature, leaning away from creative, but ready to give every image their whole attention. Each image carefully assessed. As well as camera skills, titles and mounts were important, Marie-Laure liked our use of textured papers, sharpness of course, particularly with eyes, cropping, print quality, distracting backgrounds, and effort involved in composition, all taken into account. There was such quality in all images that it was inevitable that many were…
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Paul Sanders - Landscape and fine art photography

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

On Friday 4th May our speaker was Paul Sanders SWPP Gold, a professional photographer, specialising in landscape and fine art photography, running workshops, writing for magazines, and, happily for us, talking about his photography to clubs. Photography started early for Paul, secretly 'borrowing' his father's camera, and never looking back. His career in news photography started with four years covering Europe, and then becoming Picture Editor of The Times, looking after photographers in war situations and studying 20,000 pictures each day. After eight stress-filled years, Paul moved away from newspapers and began his journey into landscape photography. Joe Cornish influenced his initial approach, but true enjoyment only came after his realisation that he should take his own path, do whatever he wanted, and please himself. Photography for Paul is therapeutic - an emotional and spiritual experience. No Photoshop (spend time with your came…
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Print panel competition

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

An evening to celebrate and remember this Friday at APS when David Silk judged the Driftwood Trophy Print Panel Competition. David is a member of Isle of Thanet Camera Club, AG Mono and, recently, the Verve Group, and his photography background covers everything photographic, literally from beginning to end.  Before coming to Ashford, David had researched the art of putting together and judging panels, so was well prepared, he thought, for anything. Anything except the  excellence and quality of every single panel. Apart from feeling that one or two panels could be improved with, maybe, a different centre image, although aware that this was the photographer’s choice, David could find little he would alter on any of them. The photographers had obviously approached this competition with a panel in mind, not just putting pictures together, but spending serious thought and time on achieving perfection, and they had succeeded. Some had come right out of t…
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AGM

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

We held our Annual General Meeting on Friday 20th April. The meeting was well attended. There were a few proposed amendments to competition rules in an effort to avoid ambiguity over just how often the same image could appear, and in what form, and hopefully the final agreed wording will now mean we can all enter our best work and still abide by the rules. The major change is that with respect to league competitions, an image entered as a print cannot be entered again as a PDI or vice-versa.

Neville Marsh, who has been a member of APS for more than fifty years, stood down as President to take a well-earned rest – his experience and wisdom will be missed by the committee. Chris Shore, who is also a long-serving member of APS, was voted in as our new President, so we are in safe hands. 

Philip Hinton was re-elected as Chairman and Katrina Devenport will continue as Secretary, but gave warning that she would be standing down at the next A…
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4th print competition

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge.

On Friday 13th April we were delighted to welcome Dave Mason, a member of Mirage and Arena Photographic Groups, to judge our 4th Print Competition, the final competition, and perhaps most important, of the season. Dave, while embracing all areas of photography, specialises in street photography, taking great pleasure in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary'. Nothing ordinary about the entries in this competition, fifty-one beautiful images from our photographers. Dave's street photography requires 'honesty' but he was open to any creative editing used to enhance images, reminding us that even the dark room workers had their secrets. It was a pleasure to listen to his comments, judging the whole image that was in front of him, covering quite small details, appreciative of composition, colour and print quality. Choosing the final images from so many quality images, especially in a brilliant Division 1, was difficult, and many had …
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Living the Landscape by Alex Hare

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Report courtesy of Marjorie Burge

On Friday 6th April we were privileged to have Alex Hare showing his work under the title of Living the Landscape – A Journey in Technique, Composition and Lighting.  Alex is a professional commercial photographer, and a passionate landscape photographer - see his website at www.alexharephotography.com – willing to share all his knowledge - join him for his workshops and he will take you to bluebells near Canterbury, or, if you have more time, to the Outer Hebrides.


Alex gave us an inspiring talk based on all he had learned on the road to becoming a landscape travel photographer. He started by standing in the exact footsteps of previous photographers, then changing position, and composition, to make the view his own work – 'we are in the ideas business, just having the best camera is not enough'.  Composition and lighting so important - rising early, staying late, to catch the mists and changing colours, the tides coming in and going ou…
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