Category Archives: News

David Queenan is a freelance graphic designer and landscape photographer based in Central Scotland. He is a winner of the Scottish Nature Photography award and runner-up in the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year. In addition to his well-known Landscape work David will also show some of his beautiful Urban and Architectural images.

https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2023/07/programme-2023-24/#week17

See what we were up to last week: https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2024/01/last-night-members-night-flash-still-miniature/

Newcomers are still welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see.
Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership.
Either way, go to the online form on our Membership page to register.
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/

Three speakers, three presentations, three insights. And our first time in the former cafe space downstairs, where there is room for this season’s numerically vast membership.

Graham persuaded Lizzie to model while he talked us through the pros and cons of various approaches to lighting a portrait with flash – face on, bounce, bounce and reflector, plus a backdrop.

Vicky told us about how she produces her wonderful still life compositions, with ideas for subjects, backdrops, and lighting. Giving thought to form, colour, and placement, she showed how simple items can become something magical.

Tom, with some help from Yvonne, shared his love of HO-scale miniature figures from the model railway shop. With his camera tethered to his laptop so we could all follow the action on the big screren, they built up an image of a clear-up job at the crunchie foundry.

This week, we can look forward to presentations from three of our more experienced members:
– Graham Robb will show us how he takes portraits using only flash for lighting;
– Vicky McNamara will demonstrate how she produces her beautiful still life photos;
– Tom Ryan will have fun demonstrating his skills in miniature photography

https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2023/07/programme-2023-24/#week16

See what we were up to last week:
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/…/news/

Newcomers are still welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see.
Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership.
Either way, go to the online form on our Membership page to register.
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/

For our first night back after the break we met for the Grant Cup – this is our digital image competition on a theme, and this year’s theme was: ‘Time’.

Quite how the photographers interpret the theme is entirely up to them – literal, poetic, humourous, abstract. However you approach it, to do well you need to come up with a crowdpleaser, because the voting is by us, the members.

The concentration is palpable as each of 48 images is projected, three times, and handwritten notes are made. 5 marks to our favourite, 4 marks to the second, and so on.

Then all the phones get turned on, and we submit the scores through our online voting form.

Placings are known right away, and we have a further look at the top five images, and hear something of how they were made. There’s time too for another look at some of the others in the field, including some from this season’s new members.

Congratulatons to our winners. As always, these are posted to our Galleries. And congratulations to everyone who entered, and who gained experience and confidence in the process.

We’ve been on a break from our meetings in town, but not idle. Not least: our novice programme is well under way, with many of our newer members getting together with old-hands who have offered to help them get more from their photography. 

We come back on 10 Jan with our Grant Cup digital competition. It’s for digital images on the theme of ‘Time’, and it’s judged by us, the members. Watch out for details in the members’ mailing.

https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2023/07/programme-2023-24/#week15

See what we were up to last time:
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/…/news/

Newcomers are still welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see.
Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership.
Either way, go to the online form on our Membership page to register.
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/ 

Last night we were delighted to host Rob Davis, of Ayr Photographic Society, on his first visit to Perth, to judge our PKM Trophy mono print competition. Rob started out by noting what he had been looking for in our entries: distinct, purposeful and artistic use of light, shade, tonal range, and where the light actually is in the image. And, when they’ve nailed all of that, for images that have a storyline or a narrative of their own.

He also referred to the Scottish Photographic Federation’s ‘What Judges Should Be Looking For’ (we link to this on our Competitions/ general guidelines page), being how SPF judges are guided to allocate marks in the 1-20 system, and which gives a surprising amount of flexibility for rating subjective appeal as well as a solid technical foundation.

He had 57 prints to cover, which gave a good length of time for comments on both the image itself and the quality of the printing, including the choice of paper on which it was printed. There were several film-based images, a darkroom print here and there, and Rob was un-fazed by the inclusion of a cyanotype-printed T-shirt amongst the entries.

Without the distinctions of colour, mono images need to make distinctions by use of tone; one of Rob’s tips, which we’ve not heard before, was to explore the presets in your favourite editing software, and see if any of them can bring out some tonal differences in the RAW file that the eye on it’s own might miss, and then use that as a basis for manual processing.

Commentary complete, there was time to check the scores and spend some more time viewing the prints at close quarters, before heading home and perhaps putting some of Rob’s advice into practice.

This week we have the PKM Trophy, our mono print competition. It’s also our last meeting before Christmas. 

This competition is not just about the image, it’s about the print, so it’s worth sitting close to the easel.

Our visiting judge is Rob Davis from Ayr Photographic Society – click on the link to see some of his work.

https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2023/07/programme-2023-24/#week10

See what we were up to last week:
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/…/news/

Newcomers are still welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see.
Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership.
Either way, go to the online form on our Membership page to register.
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/ 

We had a great turnout upstairs in the Sandeman Room for three speakers from our ranks:

Graham Robb told of his experience setting up a pop-up shop in Aberfeldy with John BOyd, offering studio-style portraiture. From what he says, the photography is the easy bit, the tricky part is managing the oh-so-brief interactions with the client/ models.

Martin Samson spoke of the Scottish Tower House castle, of which there are several thousand, thanks to King David’s land distribution policy of old, and of which Martin has visitied a great many with his camera. A few weeks earlier, Graeme Youngson had spoken to us in praise of taking on a ‘Project’, and Martin’s work with the castles is a fine example of this approach.

Leading into the tea break, Wol GIlbraith encouraged us all to get profiicient at building the bamboo print stands we’ll need for next week’s print competition. There’s a new ‘How To …’ video, here. It’s short, and the bit with the rubber bands comes at 00:45 or so.

No-one can follow the incomparable David Hay, this time sharing his images taken at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. His attention to compositional detail is exemplary, as was obvious when she showed his ‘tourist shot’ alongside his ‘composed shot’ of some of the finest modern architecture in Europe. Staying for a week in a hotel 5 minutes from the site gave him plenty of opportunity to explore before ever getting his camera out, by which time he had a good idea of what was available – including a few compositions that no-one else seems to have found. Wonderful!

Top of the bill for this week’s three talks we have David Hay, with Photographing Modern Architecture at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. It’s an extraordinary city, and we know from the other week that David has an eye for the shot.

Before him, we’ll hear from Graham Robb, on Pop-up Pics in Perthshire. Graham and John set up a mini studio in a pop-up shop in Aberfeldy, offering portrait photography.

And Martin Samson on Scottish Tower House Castles – photographing various tower houses, and regaling us with many tales and legends attached to them.

In the middle, Wol Gilbraith will get us ready to build the print stands we need for next week’s PKM Trophy mono print competition.

https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2023/07/programme-2023-24/#week09

See what we were up to last week:
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/…/news/

Newcomers are still welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see.
Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership.
Either way, go to the online form on our Membership page to register.
https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/ 

Damian’s publicity photo, of him surrounded by dark-framed monos, as used in our Upcoming promotion of last night’s talk, made him look ever so slightly sombre – but he proved to be anything but. A product of a sculptor father, artist mother, and artist grandfather, Damian told how he was slow to realise quite how visual he was, until he moved into photojournalism and to his current position on the picture desk at The Herald in Glasgow.

As he describes it, for him the Outdoors is a place of peace and of wonder, and his landscape photographs capture wonderfully the infectious optimism that comes from being out exploring the land, childlike, for the pleasure of finding what’s round the next corner, over the next hill. It’s not all at well-known locations by any means, and we saw a lot more more golden light than the dark-framed monos would suggest.

After tallking us through a selection of his vast and prize-winning portfolio, Damian generously told us of some of the apps and websites that help his planning, and ours too if we choose to use them. From Windy and its map of webcams showing local conditions all over, to The Photographer’s Ephemeris showing where the sun will be at any given time and place, and many in between.

Damian also showed us what’s in his bag, and it’s not that much. A NIkon D850, three lenses, a couple of filters, and a wee tripod. Oh, and the wee drone that he dare not fly, after he watched his pal ditch his in a river by mistake. Why pack loads of gear if it makes it a chore to carry? Get out there, get exploring, take the photos that make you happy, and maybe you’ll make other people happy too.