December 2016 Edition

Welcome to the last Camera clips for 2016. First off I am going to indulge in a bit of a retrospective.

I have been looking at the viewing stats. Did you know that in November and December only 18% of the views (traffic) came from Australia? The other countries who viewed camera clips were, The United States (26%), The United Kingdom (15%), France (9%), Germany (7%) and Greece (6%). This year the most viewed editions were, June (179) and February (177). The most viewed articles were “Robert Frank – the Americans” (613) way ahead of the rest of the pack, “Garry Winogrand“(100), “Vivian Maier” (93), “Landscape photography on the moon” by James Allan (87), “Dawn at Port Adelaide” by Bruce Nankivell (84) and “Zoo Photography” by Helen Whitford (75).

In this edition we wrap up the year with an article on our best work. Top images is a chance for everyone contributing work in the annual exhibition to show case their highest scoring image(s) and to tell how that image was taken, what inspired it and why it was chosen. The banner this month is from Mark Pedlars’s successful monochrome image from the competition. It is hard work chasing up all of the contributors, but I always find this a rewarding exercise. It is only my opinion, but I find it much more enjoyable reading photographers explanations than judges comments. (Of course I would welcome the judges to add to this article if they wanted to). I have always felt that it was important to see not only the prize winners but also the best of everyone who entered. Surely this is a collective effort where everyone benefits from participating.

In the later half of this year the club has undertaken an extensive review of the members opinions and club procedures. The document presented by Sam Savage and Jen Williams, representing the work of the special sub committee is published here for review by the membership. The committee acknowledges the hard work undertaken by the sub committee and thank them for their efforts.

The rest of the articles were written by me. I am always grateful that my contributors have been happy to share their photographic knowledge and their views. Unfortunately I have had difficulty asking people to contribute to this edition. Hopefully things will settle down in the new year.

robert-capa_paris-autumn-1935 So what have I got to say? I grabbed a few ideas from discussions during the year. In one of our review sessions an idea was mooted that there must be a limit to what is acceptable as far as photographic technique. I think I agree. Once you understand what has taken place, some images will be rendered unconscionable. I have looked at a debate about a famous image by Robert Capa to draw out some of these points. What do you think?

“Cover the basics” was another strong message. I was hoping to get a range of authors to flesh out some of their ideas. I apologize that you only have me. Where did I start? Well the transition from having no idea (hit and miss photography), to gaining control, was a series of little buttons and menus on the camera. I have tried to describe the 10 most useful camera controls.

Following that was the acquisition of “kit”. That is all the little nick knacks that will help you take better photographs. I have made a second list of 10 essential bits of kit.

Lastly – what is possible. Well the aim of photography is to get your viewers attention. And you don’t do this by being ordinary. You have to offer a different view of the world. The last article is on how the camera sees the world differently to the human eye. My premise is that you can explore these differences to get the impact that makes a stunning photograph.

Well that is it. Unless we get a latecomer, (if one of my invited authors comes good at the last minute). Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Enjoy the 31 day challenge. (Go and look at the images assemble on the club Flickr page). Good effort in 2016 – See you all in 2017.

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