Hedon Viewfinders Club News following successful meeting

A POSITIVE and productive meeting was held at the last Club meeting on Wed 6th March 2019 to look at improving what services we provide for members and to encourage more involvement.

Firstly, congratulations and welcome to those people formally taking on new roles (although they have already been doing lots to support the Club):

• Glenn Stallard has an interest in training, and with that in mind will be helping the club to devise its programme of meetings, speakers and practical photography sessions.
• Martin Pinder will be helping the club in the management of its exhibitions.
• Jo Stallard will continue to arrange some of the club trips, particularly the photography holidays, in addition she will be playing a role in helping to encourage fundraising for specific things. Jo has also agreed to keep the notes of key decisions made by Hedon Viewfinders. Jo has produced the notes that follow.

Whilst people have kindly agreed to take on roles more formally, we encourage members to continue to offer their support where and when they can to generally lighten-the-load of those carrying out activities on behalf of the club.

Notes of Viewfinders Special Meeting 6/3/2019

21 members present
Meeting opened by Ray Duffill

Agenda read by Kris Munsen
Notes taken by Joanne Stallard

Club dynamics discussed
positives were;
The atmosphere in the club
The speakers we have had up to date
The settings being put on some of the pics posted on the FB page

Details of club finances given by Ray
These finances are shown on FB (Facebook) but before putting on web page settings need looking into so this can’t be seen by all. Suggested by Carl.
Suggested further fundraising to be undertaken for hearing loop for the club.

Meetings arranged to date
Nigel walker 20th March.
Paul Berriff 17th April. (A member) made the kind offer of paying balance owing on this meeting should it not be covered fully by ticket sales.
Costing for speakers discussed & arranged at meetings.
A number of people would like poster advertisements that they can put up in various venues.

Museum Exhibition
Date was discussed 24th April to 15th June. 20 images can be shown. Images for submission should be received by 3rd April. Brochure to be given out with museum submissions & also other images.
More pics in brochures for people displaying in museum. Tuesday 9th April suggested as an extra meeting to sort mounting prints for exhibition (using club funds). Exhibition manned by members & raffle tickets can be sold.

A further exhibition may also be held this year (possibly at Haven Arms). This one will be less restrictive on type of photographs and with more pictures displayed.

Volunteers
Glenn Stallard volunteered to help Ray with booking of speakers & plan in advance for winter sessions.
Martin Pinder volunteered to help with the running of exhibitions.
Joanne Stallard to take notes at meetings when required & write up official records of decisions made.
The number of photographs posted on a daily basis on FB has been lowered from 7 to 5, with this raising to 10 if from a club meeting/outing and members will be advised at the time.

Social media
It was discussed that a poll to be taken on FB page to look at whether keeping group as open is still suitable and the possibility of making the page closed.

Suggestions for further meetings.
Constructive criticism sessions
Professional photographer speaker. A few possibilities available for this.
A video making session, possibly to make an instructional video of a specific area of photography. Carl has access to top quality equipment for this, either before May or after September.
Halloween dry ice session with possibility of members dressing up.
Steam punks session. Martin Cooper to help look into this.
Another Film Noir session.
A mono night.
Use of water on glass etc.
Editing session possibly on a Tuesday to look at various available programmes.

Suggestions for trips/visits/holidays.
Whitby Goth weekend.12th to 14th April.25th to 27th October.
Pickering 40s weekend.
Bempton.
Tophill Low.
North cave wetlands.
Torquay trip.
Night in Hull town centre. Possibly 2 sessions (1 light night, comparison dark night).
Noddle hill nature reserve.
Waters edge. Discussion with Richard P. to arrange?

Any other business.
Competitions to be ongoing on the FB page.
Website to be updated & hopefully used by more members.
New members welcomed.
—– End of Notes —–

Note: We’ve also opened a new page on the website which will provide a guide to our meeting dates throughout the year. See : Key Dates at a Glance.

Hedon Viewfinders Exhibition (Guidance) – 24 April to 15 June 2019

HEDON VIEWFINDERS holds its second exhibition at the Hedon Museum opening Wednesdays and Saturdays between Wednesday 24 April and Saturday 15 June 2019.

Members are invited to submit up to three prints of original and new material (but definitely not more than 12 months old) with content that is related to, or linked to, “Hedon” in some way. You can be as creative and imaginative as you like in interpreting the theme and can submit photos of any genre from Abstract to Wildlife.

Prints in the first instance should be up to A4 (210x297mm) in size (portrait or landscape) and the selection of prints for the exhibition (approximately 20) will be decided on Wednesday 3rd April which is the deadline for submission of entries. Prints will be mounted up to 400x300mm for the exhibition. #UPDATE April 9 (a Tuesday) – Practical session to prepare the exhibition prints for display. Haven Arms 7pm.

Your prints can be brought to the meeting on 3rd April or you can arrange to get them to us before the 3rd. We also invite you to share your digital images with others in the club, to help generate ideas and inspiration, via the Facebook group page album ‘Hedon Exhibition’ or email them to us and we’ll add to the website.

For those needing help with any aspect of printing your images, or submitting your image then please get in touch.

Hedon Viewfinders – Talk on ‘Shooting War’ Wed 20 March 2019

Talk on ‘Shooting War’
Meeting on Wednesday 20 March 2019 at 7:00pm
Haven Arms, Havenside, HU12 8HH

We are delighted to welcome Nigel Walker to Hedon Viewfinders, who will give us his talk on ‘Shooting War’ first given at Beverley Art Gallery last year.

Nigel looks at the impact photography has had on our understanding of and attitudes to war. From the earliest days photography has been seen as an aid to armies, although photographers are now sometimes viewed as enemies of governments seeking to prosecute wars. This talk will look at four wars, four war photographers and four individual pictures that have been significant in the history of recording war. Nigel warns that some of the images shown will contain scenes of war and death and could be distressing for some.

Note: A collection will be taken at this meeting to cover costs.

CONTACT US for more information. Free, fun and friendly photographic club. Open to all. No membership required.

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Special Meeting: Club Review and Proposals for 2019

The next meeting of Hedon Viewfinders is a special meeting to review the club and its activities to date and to consider proposals for its future – particularly over the next 12 months. Your attendance is encouraged and would be greatly appreciated.

The meeting will start promptly at 7pm on Wednesday 6 March 2019 at the Haven Arms, Havenside, HU12 8HH.

It is always a good idea and practice to regularly have a look back at what an organisation has achieved to date, note what has gone well, and note the areas where improvements might be made. Based upon that experience, we can then take decisions and make plans on a better way forward.

This meeting will be an opportunity for each of us to have an input into shaping the future development of the club and its photographic endeavours.

The AGENDA is draft and you have a chance to put your ideas and specific proposals up for discussion. The Agenda will only become final on Wednesday Evening of 27th February. So look back here for the final version on Thursday. For ease of decision-making, any specific proposals should appear on the Agenda.

Ray Duffill normally facilitates the meetings, but at this meeting it would be useful to have another volunteer to do so. A volunteer to take notes of the key decisions (see final item on the Agenda) would also be useful. We’ll ask at the meeting for these volunteers.

FINAL AGENDA

1. Review of the Club – Short session to remind ourselves what we’ve enjoyed/not liked as much from the Club.
2. Finance update – Ray
   1. Balances
   2. Exhibition Boards and other fundraising
3. Meetings organised to date – Ray
4. Exhibition update (24 April – 15 June) – Ray
5. Specific proposals from members.
   1. Decisions that require spending Viewfinders funds to be taken at meetings – Ray
   2. To seek a volunteer who can take responsibility for working with others to manage the booking of speakers and otherwise make arrangements for the programme of meetings – Ray
   3. To seek a volunteer who can take responsibility for working with others to manage club exhibitions – Ray
   4. To seek a volunteer to take notes at meetings when necessary and write up official record of decisions made. To be kept in an official minute book/online – Ray
   5. To hold a second exhibition later this year – Glenn
   6. To relax the rules on Facebook group postings from 7 to 10 – Ray
6. Social Media review – Particularly the operation of the Facebook Group and its competitions.
7. Programme of meetings for 2019; ideas for speakers and practical sessions.
8. Field Trips/photo walks/visits/holidays – Ideas.
9. Viewfinders website – Ray
10. Any other business not covered by the above.
11. To record formally any decisions made on the night, including any votes taken, and to note the member(s) assigned responsibility to implement decisions. This record will be written up as minutes and posted on the website.

Whilst the above might seem much more formal than is normally the case, the issues under discussion do present the club with opportunities to develop and grow in many exciting ways. And rest assured it will be conducted in the typical Viewfinders fun and friendly style.

Paul Berriff – An Extraordinary Life Behind the Camera.

Destined to be our biggest meeting of the year on Wed 17 April 2019. This is an advanced notification to Viewfinders with an opportunity to book tickets.

‘Hedon Viewfinders – Through the Lens’ photographic club, in collaboration with Hedon Museum, is privileged to have BAFTA-winning documentary maker, photographer and film director Paul Berriff, OBE, speaking at its meeting on Wednesday 17th April 2019.

Paul Berriff with the camera he used to photograph The Beatles.

Paul Berriff began his career working as a press photographer in 1960’s Leeds, and was doing ‘street photography’ before that phrase was regularly coined. His press pass also gave him access backstage to local live-music venues where he could meet and photograph the performers, many who later went on to achieve pop and rock star status. His immaculate black and white photographs of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Orbison and other legends have now become collectors’ items. The images, having been stored in an attic for 40 years as negatives, have been lovingly redeveloped and have only quite recently been exhibited for the first time in their full glory. Many of these iconic artworks will be on display at an exhibition at the Hedon Museum from April 24 to June 15, which are the same dates as Hedon Viewfinders own exhibition at the Museum.

It is, however, as a documentary film maker that Paul Berriff is better known, He has produced over 180 prime-time major network television documentaries. In 1988 he won the BAFTA Award for his coverage of the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster, which featured in his ITV series ‘Rescue’. In 2017 he was awarded the Guild of Television Cameramen Award for Continued Excellence in Cinematography.

Paul has also had the most extraordinary life experiences, which in the broadcasting industry has earned him the nickname, the “Indiana Jones of Television”. He has survived a major helicopter crash, leapt to safety from a sinking ship during a North Sea gale, and escaped death in Nicaragua when a volcano erupted around him. Miraculously, he also survived the collapse of New York’s Twin Towers on 9/11, where he was filming at the foot of the South tower at the very moment it collapsed. Having been knocked out and buried under debris, he was the very first casualty stretchered into the make-shift medical facility set up for the victims. Despite his camera having being buried and burned, Paul managed to retrieve it whilst searching for missing colleagues. The dramatic footage retrieved, is some of the most powerful recorded of this horrific event on that terrible day.

The meeting will be an opportunity for Paul Berriff to recount some of his remarkable life experiences behind the camera including seeing some of his unique images and videos.

Paul Berriff – An Extraordinary Life Behind the Camera.
Wed 17 April 2019
Hosted by Hedon Viewfinders Photographic Club in collaboration with Hedon Museum
Haven Arms Restaurant & Bar
Havenside
Hedon
HU12 8HH
7pm
Tickets available now. £5 (£4 to our regular attendees at meetings). Get the date in your diaries!

You can pay me for your ticket online by PayPal at the link below – then email me at viewfinders-ttl@gmx.co.uk and once payment is confirmed I’ll email you your digital ticket and number.

https://www.paypal.me/hu12online/5

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Club News and Torquay Trip

Meetings

Hedon Viewfinders meets every fortnight on Wednesdays at the Haven Arms, Havenside, Hedon HU12 8HH. Our next meetings, all starting at 7pm, are:

Wed 20 February – Show & Tell and optional Constructive Criticism.
Wed 6 March
Wed 20 March – Talk on War Photography, Nigel Walker. A collection will be taken.
Wed 3 April – Deadline for Image Selection for our Annual Exhibition (24 April – 15 June)
Wed 17 April – Paul Berriff OBE an opportunity to hear about the extraordinary life of this award-winning photographer and documentary film-maker. Tickets soon to be available £5.
Wed 1 May
Wed 15 May

We are always after YOUR IDEAS for subjects, themes and experiments for our meetings. Get in touch!

Torquay and The English Riviera 

Learning about seascapes (Isle of Wight).

As well as our meetings which aim to be a mix of both practical and instructional content, we also aim to provide opportunities to get out and about with our cameras, visit exhibitions, attend events of interest, and to take photographs in the company of other enthusiastic photographers. Our outings might be an hour catching a sunset somewhere, full day trips, or indeed a fully-fledged photo holiday.

On Friday 7 June 2019 we are taking part in a 4-day trip to Torquay and the English Riviera as part of a National Holidays breakaway. This is the latest in such trips which have seen us visiting Liverpool (inc The Terracotta Warriors exhibition), Durham, and the Isle of Wight amongst other places. The advantage of these trips is that you can focus as much time as you want on taking photographs of interesting places and people, and concentrate on your composition, technique, etc, in the knowledge that everyone else with you is keen to do the same.

The Torquay 4-day Special Breakaway with National Holidays coaches costs £149 includes an excursion to Dartmouth and whilst we can’t guarantee the weather, offers both beautiful seaviews and landscapes to capture. Includes three nights dinner, bed & breakfast. Evening entertainment in the hotel. Interested? Get in touch and we’ll send you further information and the holiday reference number.

CONTACT US for more information. Free, fun and friendly photographic club. Open to all. No membership required.

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Show & Tell, Constructive Critique and Winter Flowers!

Show & Tell and Constructive Criticism:

HEDON Viewfinders next meets on WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2019 at the Haven Arms starting promptly at 7pm, and is a ‘Show & Tell’ and/or a Constructive Criticism session. You are invited to submit up to three images rather on memory stick/flash drive, or as prints. You may wish to simply show images you are proud of to us all, or you might opt to tell us what you like about them and how you achieved/created them. You can also opt to get some constructive criticism from other attendees about how they think the images may have been improved.

Those who have potential ideas for prints for our Exhibition on “Hedon” in April, May and June, might want to bring in smaller prints (new work, or at least taken in the last 12 months) and gauge a bit of opinion about them to see if it’s worthwhile getting them enlarged, mounted and framed.

Sewerby Gardens Winter flowers photography trip:

We are holding a trip to Sewerby Gardens for a Photo Walk on SATURDAY 16 FEBRUARY principally to experience and photograph the Winter flowers now in bloom! The 50 acre grounds can be explored for free and boast over 10,000 snowdrops and yellow Aconites and wild Cyclamen all in flower. We envisage meeting in the Sewerby Hall Visitor free car park at 11:00am (but keep an eye on this event page for updates). As well as the visit to Sewerby, there’s the options to explore Flamborough or Bridlington too to be decided by those attending.

All Welcome – you don’t have to be a ‘member’ to take part. There’s always enthusiastic photographers present to help with your camera settings and offer other advice should you need it.

Hedon Viewfinders will interest photographers of all levels; regardless of ability, whatever image making device kit or equipment you own. Novices particularly encouraged. Hedon’s free and friendly group where learning about photography is fun!

Forced Perspective Photography – Wed 6 February 2019

FORCED PERSPECTIVE is a photography and filming technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. We are going to have a look at this fun technique at our meeting on Wednesday 6 February, 7pm at the Haven Arms, Hedon. Have a look on the internet for ‘forced perspective photography’ for some ideas.

Hedon Viewfinders – Free, Fun, Friendly photography club that welcomes all photographers regardless of the equipment or kit you’ve got. We are not a camera club, rather a creative club. Beginners particularly encouraged.

CONTACT US for more information.

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Light painting night at Hedon Viewfinders – Wed 23 Jan 2019

Light painting night:

After the success and enjoyment of our last light painting night, we are having another go at our next meeting on Wednesday 23 January 2019 at the Haven Arms (Havenside, Hedon, HU12 8HH) starting at 7pm. The main light painting exercises will take place outside, but we have alternative ideas should the weather be too bad.

Dramatic shots are available remarkably easily on cameras where you can control shutter speed, aperture and ISO, but mounting on a tripod is recommended. However, at our last session, members also got good shots on mobile phones too.

Glenn Stallard will be leading the session and his advice is to “Wrap up warm! And there’ll be advice for members on which camera settings to use.”

Exhibition 2019:

The Hedon Viewfinders exhibition 2019 takes place from Wednesday April 24 to Saturday June 15 at the Hedon Museum. The theme of the Exhibition is “Hedon” and we are asking members to submit original and new work that reveals the ancient town in a new light. Prints (approximately 20-30) to be displayed in the exhibition are likely to be framed and mounted up to 50x40cm but we will issue further advice on this. For those members from Hull and surrounding towns and villages, we will organise some Hedon photo walks, and otherwise issue guidance on getting your shots of the town; its characteristics, flora and fauna, features and people, etc.

We will be exhibiting downstairs at the Hedon Museum whilst upstairs will be an exhibition by Paul Berriff OBE of his iconic photos from the 1960’s. Paul is an award-winning photographer and documentary film maker – and I’m pleased to announce that Paul will be speaking at a Hedon Viewfinders special meeting on Wednesday 17 April on his extraordinary life experiences. This will be ticketed event and should not be missed!

Hedon Viewfinders will interest photographers of all levels; regardless of ability, whatever image making device kit or equipment you own. Novices particularly encouraged. Hedon’s free, fun and friendly photography group.

CONTACT US for more information.

Meetings, competitions and exhibition

Happy New Year! 2019 gets off to its formal start on Wednesday 9 January with our first meeting 7pm at the Haven Arms, Havenside, Hedon, HU12 8HH. It will be a ‘Props Night – a chance to experiment‘. This will be a great night for all those ‘wannabe photographers’ that got new cameras at Christmas to come along as well! All Welcome.

Bring in your interesting objects (ornaments, toys, instruments, flowers, etc) and interesting kit and help create some photographic opportunities to share! If you need to get in early to set your prop up and claim table space, we’ll be open from 6:30pm.

We are currently arranging further events nights, field trips and speakers – so please do pass on any ideas or suggestions you have got.

Competition: Our Facebook group has a weekly competition based on a letter of the alphabet and the winner of each gets to have their photograph as the header of the page in the following week. Whilst this has been successful on Facebook with 1,563 images being posted over the letters A to R by 55 participants, we would also like to invite our members not on Facebook to get involved. This week’s letter is S  and the weekly competition runs from Wednesday to the following Wednesday (entries by 10pm each Tuesday). If you want to take part and are not on Facebook, then we can e-mail out the competition details to you and alert you to each competition, and you can send your entries by e-mail – just get in touch.

52 Weekly Photography Ideas for 2019: Whilst not a competition, our new ideas page will be updated every Monday with a new prompt to creative photography. You can join in on social media using the hashtag #viewfinders52week(WeekNumber) or send in your photographs in response to each idea to us via e-mail.

EXHIBITION 2019 takes place at the Hedon Museum from Wed April 24th to Sat June 15th. Look out for more details – but the theme is “Hedon” and you should be planning now to take your new photographs according to that theme. You should also note our meeting date on Wed 17 April 2019 – at 7pm we have a very special event taking place linked to the exhibition (you don’t want to miss it!).

Look forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday.

Ray Duffill