Panel-of-3

Congratulations to Trudy Mackie who was awarded 1st place with this wonderful mono meditation on life.

2nd Andy Linden
3rd Marshall Pinsent
4th Christina Dowley

All the winning images will appear in the website gallery soon.

The next meeting of the society will be on 5 January, guests are always welcome.

We're through ... again!

Results of the FSLPS Inter-Club Colour Prints Competition - Group 2, held at Woolwich on 1 December 2009. Judge: Jack Bates FRPS

Clubs competing: Beckenham, Carshalton, Croydon, Old Coulsdon, Orpington, Aperture Woolwich.

1st place: Carshalton Camera Club
2nd place: Aperture Woolwich

Which means we now go on to face Selsdon in the semi-finals at Bromley on 14 January 2010.

Thanks to those who had pictures in the panel and to everyone who helped make it such a successful and enjoyable evening.

Aperture Woolwich through to semi-finals!

Results of the FSLPS Inter-Club Digital Projected Image Competition - Group 2, held at Selsdon on 13 November 2009

Clubs competing: Cheam, Croydon, Orpington, Old Coulsdon, Selsdon, Woolwich.

1st place: APERTURE WOOLWICH with a 3 point lead over the 2nd placed club.

Four of our pics were held back for further consideration, three scored the top mark of 10 points and receive FSLPS certificates and the fourth scored a 9.5.

This is the first time six clubs have gone head-to-head in a DPI competition as part of the main FSLPS inter-club events, the standard of work was extremely high so this is an excellent result for us and means we now go forward to the semi-final at Croydon on 17 February 2010.

The full results can be found HERE.

The Bob Forshaw Digital - 2nd round results

Congratulations to Stu Mayhew who came 1st with, 'Have you seen anyone acting strangely?'

2nd 'Mingle' by Justin Kington
3rd 'Knole Park Stag' by Andy Linden
Joint 4th '1,000 Yard Stare' by Phil Eadie
Joint 4th 'Skeletons' by Trudy Mackie

All the winning photographs can be seen in the website gallery.

Sincere apologies to Christine for the mistake with the comp software!

Tuesday 3 November - Pat Jones

This Tuesday we have a talk entitled 'Chasing the Light" given by the landscape and natural history photographer Patricia Jones FRPS EFIAP MPAGB APAGB. You can see a small selection of her work here.

Please ensure you arrive on time for an 8pm start.

Finally, congratulations to our very own Stu Mayhew who's had a photo published in this Saturday's Guardian newspaper LINK ... which is nice!

Ross Cup 2009 Competition - Update

I have just received a letter from the Reflex Camera Club, who are hosting this year's Ross Cup, informing me that one of the prints from Aperture (we don't know which one at this stage) has been selected for judges comments in the Ross Cup.

This is Kent's premier print competition and has attracted entries from over 33 clubs, so to have one of our shots selected is fantastic!

The exhibition will be held from 12 noon on 21st November and Vanessa Slawson FRPS, will commence her commentary at 3PM. This is a prestige event and it would be great if we had a big Aperture attendance on the day to support our club.

The event takes place at Rainham School for Girls, Derwent Way, Rainham, Kent, ME8 OBX and entry, which includes tea and biscuits, is £3.

I will put some more info up on the club board, but if you wish to attend contact me at stumayhew@aol.com and I can arrange transport etc once I know who intends to go.

Stu

1st internal print competition - top 4

Thank you to everyone who entered last night's print competition. Our judge, Martin Faiers said he was very impressed by the quality of the work submitted this year... so let's keep it up!

Four images scored 10 points, two scored 9.5 and four more scored 9 points. Special congratulations go to Andy Linden who scored two 10s and a 9.5! The top 4 can be seen in the website gallery.

('All gone home' by Andy Linden)

1st internal prints competition

Next Tuesday (13 October) we have round 1 of our internal print competition. Bring a maximum of 3 mounted prints, mono or colour, on any subject, to the meeting. Please try to arrive early as we must begin at 8pm prompt. The judge will be Martin Faiers from Selsdon camera club. Please note: this competition is open to members only.

Also one for your diary is our Autumn dawn/day-shoot
Date: Sunday 25 October
Time: 7:30am (for early risers!)
Place: Knole park Sevenoaks, Kent. (MAP LINK)

If you plan to go by car and can give others a lift please let me know.

Marshall.

The Bob Forshaw Digital - 1st round results

Congratulations to Cairis Hickey who came 1st with 'Firetree'

2nd 'London burning' by John Clement II LRPS
3rd 'Museum' by Lol Mason
4th 'Weather' by Nik Burridge

All the winning photographs can be seen in the website gallery.

Peter Watson's 'INDIA'

A talk with images of India by photographer Peter Watson.

Starts promptly at 8pm

STUDIO WORKSHOP

This Tuesday (8 September) we have a studio workshop. In the main studio there will be a model, while in Room 2, Piers will again be showing us how to shoot portraits with budget equipment. There will also be an opportunity for some still-life work.

Don't forget your camera and tripod!

(Self portrait by Stu Mayhew)

DUNGENESS DAY-SHOOT

Our final event of the summer season is the annual day-shoot at Dungeness on Sunday August 23. For the morning session meet at 10:30am at the Light Railway Café at Dungeness Station and at 1pm for lunch at the Pilot Inn at Dungeness. I expect the afternoon session will go on until the evening (we're a keen lot are we not?).

Sadly I can't make it, but if you have any queries email Dave Mason: davemasonldt@yahoo.co.uk or you can ring him on 020 8854 7157.

The first meeting of the new season is Tuesday 1 September, it's a social evening so there will be wine and nibbles and if that's not enough to tempt you we'll have a digital projection of summer images - so please email up to 6 images to aperturewoolwich@googlemail.com

Be seeing you!
Marshall.

MESSAGE BOARD

Remember to check the club Message Board - for links to sites of interest, photo gear for sale and photography related discussions.

Evening Shoot

We have an evening shoot Tuesday 11 August around the London City Hall / London Bridge area. Meet outside City Hall between 7:45-8pm

The weather forecast is showers in the afternoon, expected to clear by 7pm. So fingers crossed then!

Non-members are welcome to attend.

(Marshall)

EXHIBITION PRIVATE VIEW

COASTAL FRAGMENTS
Three individual viewpoints of the Kent coast

Photographers:
Dave Mason
Trevor Crone
Roy King

Thursday, August 6th
6pm to 7.45pm

Sevenoaks Library and Museum
Buckhurst Lane
Sevenoaks
TN13 LQ
Kent

Until 29th August

__________________

After the private view there will an opportunity for some photography in the nearby Knole deer park.

Evening Shoot - Tuesday 28 July

This is a last minute addition to our summer programme.

An opportunity for some outdoors portraiture and landscape/woodland photography.

Meet at 8pm at the café in Oxleas Wood. If you're driving, you can park near the café, but to avoid being locked in the carpark it may be wise to park in Shrewsbury Lane near the Bull pub and walk across the road to Oxleas. We will finish the evening with a drink at the pub.

Non-members are welcome.

SUMMER MINI-COMP

Congratulations to Elaine, who's photo 'Time for a drag' won 1st place in our mini-comp last night.



The full results were:
1st – 'Time for a drag' (Elaine Crammer)
2nd – 'How Green Is My Alley?' (Andy Linden)
3rd – 'Margate colour' (Elaine Crammer)
4th – 'Jump 1' (Nikk Burridge)

All the winning images will be posted on the website gallery later this week.

Exhibition

The Mirage Group - of which Dave Mason is a member, have an exhibition of prints entitled "Your London Bridge" it's at the Cotton Centre, Tooley Street, London until 12th September.

Tuesday 21 July - mini-comp

Next Tuesday in Room 2 we have a digitally projected mini-comp of images taken on recent evening/day shoots. Please email your 4 (max) entries to aperturewoolwich@googlemail.com by Monday 8pm at the latest.

Please note: for this mini-comp non-members who attended the shoots are welcome to enter their photos! (Please see the info on file formats, sizes and naming HERE).

Any photos submitted Monday 8pm will not be entered in the competition, this includes images brought on the night. Sorry!

We now have a MESSAGE BOARD on the website. Please use this to talk about photography, flag up any upcoming events or links to websites you think may be of interest to our members. Also to place wanted requests or for sale ads for your old cameras, lenses, accessories etc.

Finally - quick reminder: Margate day-shoot, tomorrow (18 July), meeting at the clock tower, 11am.

See you there!

Marshall .

Police issue London photography guidelines

The Metropolitan police have issued guidelines to officers on photography in public places.

It says:

"Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel."

It also says:

“section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 does not prohibit people from taking photographs or digital images in an area where an authority under section 44 is in place.”

They do however have the right to view images on a camera or phone being carried by someone being searched under Sections 43 and 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

With regards to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which concerns the offence of eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of the armed forces, intelligence services or police. It says:

"It should ordinarily be considered inappropriate to use Section 58a to arrest people photographing police officers in the course of normal policing activities, including protests, as without more, there is no link to terrorism."

and

"There is however nothing preventing officers asking questions of an individual who appears to be taking photographs of someone who is or has been a member of Her Majesty’s Forces (HMF), Intelligence Services or a constable."

For more details see the Metropolitan Police Website

Piers

STUDIO EVENING

Next Tuesday (14th July 8pm - 10pm) we have a studio evening at Shrewsbury House. We have booked a model for a portraiture session in the studio and, depending on the number of people attending, there will be still-life and possibly more portraiture photography in Room 2.

If you plan to attend on Tuesday please let Stu Mayhew know as soon as possible, email: stumayhew@aol.com

(Photograph by Stu Mayhew)

Evening Shoot

You are welcome to join our evening shoot, Tuesday June 30, at 8pm outside the Gipsy Moth pub near to the Cutty Sark ship in Greenwich Church Street.

More of details about our Summer Programme events can be found HERE.

Make Merry - Portrait session winner!

Congratulations to Kerry (Ticket No.11 A78C RE44) who wins a studio portrait session with Paul and will take away a disc of images and a print of her choice!

__________________

Thanks to everyone who provided prints and books/DVDs, and a big thank you to everyone who gave up their time to help on the stall! Despite the poor weather we promoted the club and made a substantial profit from the sale of prints, 2nd hand books/DVDs and our raffle!

But the biggest thank you is reserved for Jean, without whom none of this would have been possible!


(Marshall)

PLUMSTEAD MAKE MERRY

We're at the Plumstead Make Merry
Saturday 6 June
12pm to 6pm
Plumstead Common (off Plumstead Common Road)
London SE18
Come and say hello!
Map link

Ross Cup 2009 Competition - Your Prints Needed Urgently

As mentioned at the AGM there is a major print competition to be held on 21st November 2009.

The event will take place at Rainham School for Girls, Kent. I would like each member to submit one print each for selection, 8 of which will then be entered as the Aperture Woolwich Panel.

I need your prints to be left in Shrewsbury House dark room no later than Tuesday 23rd June, or contact me at stumayhew@aol.com if you would prefer to leave the print with me. I will take the final selection to Gillingham by June 30th and you won't see your print again until December!

Please note: If you go to Shrewsbury House on a non-club day you will need to sign the book at the porter's cabin to collect the key for the darkroom. Please take along your club membership card.

The maximum size mount is 400mm x 500mm and please put your name and title on the back of the mount.

This competition is of very high standard so please ensure the quality of both your print and mount are very good. I know the images will be of usual Aperture standards!

I hope everyone enters a print for selection and a further announcement will be made via the Blog or at the start of next seasons club meeting.

stu

South London Press - Photo competition

South London Press have launched a weekly readers' photograph feature. The best ones will appear in the South London Press Friday edition. The theme is, loosely, South London. The pictures could be inside or outside, of people, streetscapes, buildings or parks. The jpeg files should be no larger than 5MB and should be sent to photographic@slp.co.uk. More info on their website, click this link.

End of the exhibition

Sadly our exhibition at Woolwich Town hall is over for another year. We’d like to thank the town hall staff for all their help and generosity in allowing us the use of the beautiful public hall. The exhibition has helped raise the profile of the club and we have made some useful contacts (more about this later!). Thank you to everyone who exhibited work and a special thanks to those who gave their time to help put up and take down the exhibition.

Next Tuesday is the AGM and prize-giving. Trophies and certificates will be awarded in the following categories:

• The Print of the Year
• The Digital Projected Image of the Year
• The Bob Forshaw Trophy
• The Set Subject Competition ('Reflections')
• The Panel of 3
  
• The Snow Show Competition
• Disposable Camera Competition

See you there!

(Photo by Chris Turner)

RESULTS!

Print of the Year

1st 'Lanzarote Stairs' by Jean Bright
2nd 'Windpower' by Stu Mayhew
3rd 'Sunset at Fairfield' by Marshall Pinsent

Digital Projected Image of the Year

1st 'Broadstairs pool II' by Marshall Pinsent
2nd 'Emerging' by Pete Davis
3rd 'Big Brother' by Dave Mason

Congratulations to all the winners and special thanks to our competition judge Nene van Dyke.

All the images can be seen in our website galleries

Print & Digital Image of the Year!

We're coming to the end of our main season now and the last two meetings are definitely not to be missed!

Tuesday 19 May - Print & Digital Image of the Year!
We have a judge for the evening, sadly Simon Cowell can't make it, but luckily for us Nene van Dyke has kindly offered to step in at the last minute and do the honours. If you fancy a flutter down at the bookies all the runners and riders in the digital and print comps can be viewed in our web galleries!

Tuesday 26 May - AGM & Prize giving
This is an opportunity to confront your committee members about their outragious expense claims - was that Nikon Trouser Press really necessesary? And are we justified in claiming the studio as our second home? (all perfectly within the rules of course). Anyway we're all very sorry and I personally promise to replace that out-of-date packet of Hoola Hoops I pinched from the darkroom - honest!

And... if that doesn't sway you - there will be drinks and nibbles!

Marshall.

AWPS EXHIBITION 2009

Download a PDF of the poster

Download a Jpeg of the poster

Why Not Enter Some Photography Competitions ?

Now the club season is almost at an end, why not challenge yourself and try your luck in one or all of these competitions!

Follow the links and all the best!

DK Travel PhotoBritain Competition -

http://competition.photobox.co.uk/front/welcome

International Garden Photographer of the Year ‘Early Bird’ summer competition

http://www.igpoty.com/competition.asp

British Wildlife Photography Awards

http://www.bwpawards.org/

CIWEM’s Environmental Photographer of the Year

http://www.ciwem.org/arts/photographer/

stu

AWPS Annual Exhibition

Monday May 11 to Friday 22 May.

AWPS Members may exhibit up to 4 framed photos. Sizes 50cm x 40cm or 50cm square A3 or A4. If anyone would like to exhibit larger images than this (long panoramics etc), please have a word with me or Dave.

ALL pictures MUST have two 'mirror plates' firmly screwed to the frames (see pic below). These can be bought at most good DIY stores. Please bring your framed photos to the club, where they will be stored in the darkroom until the exhibition goes up.

A few people have offered to help put up the exhibition on Friday afternoon (May 8) and take it down on the afternoon of Friday 22 May, but we still need a few more hands so if you can help please let me know.





There is no restriction on the style of frame you use, but it's worth mentioning the Ikea 'Ribba' range of frames. They are well made, come in a variety of sizes and colours and include bevel cut mounts. For example the 40x50cm frame comes with mount to display a picture 29 x 39 cm. It costs £10.36. And obviously you can always modify the mounts to suit. Ikea don't do sell these on line so you'll need to pop along to one of the stores to buy them, Thurrock or Croydon. IKEA LINK

Marshall.

SUMMER PROGRAMME 2009

Our Summer programme is open to members and prospective members. Most events are free to attend apart from activities based in Shrewsbury House where we ask for £1 to cover the cost of the room hire.

SUMMER PROGRAMME - 2009

Please note: The programme may be subject to change so check for updates on the on the club blog.

18th April Saturday Shoot - Competiton rules

On April 28th we have a mini-competition based on photos taken with disposable cameras at this Saturday's Pontoon Dock day-shoot.

Have them processed at Boots or similar and mount the prints on a board (maximum size 50cm x 40cm) for inclusion in the competition.

No digital manipulation or correction allowed!

Have fun!

April 14th meeting

It's Round 4 of our internal prints competition. FOUR prints in total on any theme in mono or colour. If you're unsure of the rules read them HERE. We have an external Judge (David Woods ARPS) so if you are entering prints please try and arrive before 8pm so Paul can shuffle them in his own special way!

On Saturday 18th April we have a day shoot at Pontoon Dock and Thames Barrier Park. Bring a disposable film camera - pics taken with them can be entered in our mini-comp on 28th April. Take your regular camera gear along too, Pontoon Dock is too good a location not to. Meet outside Woolwich DLR on the Saturday at 10:30am or at Pontoon Dock at 11am. Boots are currently doing a buy-1-get-1-free offer on 27 exposure single use cameras.

Finally if you want to include prints in our exhibition at the Town Hall in May and haven't already let me know or ticked a box last week, please e-mail me before next Tuesday's meeting.

(Marshall)

7 April meeting & exhibition dates

GUEST SPEAKER
This Tuesday we have a talk by photographer Trevor Crone. Trevor shoots on film, works mainly in mono and produces his own darkroom prints. He's a regular contributor to Black & White magazine and is a member of various photographic groups including Arena and Mirage. You can see some of his work by following THIS LINK. Please try to arrive by 8pm for a prompt start.

APERTURE WOOLWICH EXHIBITION
Our exhibition this year runs from Monday May 11 to Friday 22 May.

We will set up the exhibition at Woolwich Town Hall on Friday afternoon 8 May and take it down on Saturday morning 23 May. We need volunteers on both these days, if you can help please have a word with Dave or Marshall.

All members of the club may exhibit what they consider to be their best work. All photographs must be framed with mirror plates attached so they can be screwed firmly to exhibition boards. Initially we need to know how many people want to exhibit so we can allocate the available space, so please let me know as soon as possible.

(Marshall)

Bob Forshaw Digital Comp - Round 4 - RESULTS!

Congratulations to Justin Kington who came 1st in the final round of this seasons Bob Forshaw competition with 'A Gift'.

The runners up were:
2nd 'Lily' by John Clement II
3rd 'Bus to Narnia' by Marshall Pinsent
4th 'Young Keith' by John Clement Snr

The overall winner of the Bob Forshaw trophy will be announced at the prize giving/AGM on 26 May.

All the images can be viewed in the club gallery.

'REFLECTIONS' - RESULTS

Congratulations to the winner of our internal Set Subject competition - 'Piccadilly Circus' by Piers Marsh.


The runners up were:
2nd 'Better days behind us' by Stu Mayhew
3rd 'Anti-clockwise' by Helen Saunders
4th 'Fragmented Window' by David Warren

All four images can be seen in our website gallery

TUESDAY 24 MARCH - 'REFLECTIONS' COMPETITION

The theme of next Tuesday's comp is 'Reflections' and the deadline for digital entries is Monday night.

Size: the usual 768 pixels on the longest edge.

E-mail them to: davemasonldt@yahoo.co.uk

It seems that some people have already prepared prints – if you are among them, please bring your prints along and they will be included in the competiton. 4 images - prints or digital per person.

MARGATE EXHIBITION

Dave Mason has 3 images in 'Glimpse' an exhibition of photographs of Margate. 4-19 April, 10am -5pm, Margate Harbour Gallery, Margate CT9 1AP.

Wratten Lecture 2009 by David Noton. Weds 15th April

David Noton is giving this years Wratten Lecture called "Waiting for the Light" at Shirley Methodist Church, Eldon Avenue, Shirley, Croydon.

David is internationally acclaimed for his landscape photography and has had several exhibitions of his work. I will have further details at this Tuesday's club meeting.

Tickets are £5 and available in advance via croydon camera club - www.croydoncameraclub.org.uk

David Noton website: http://www.davidnoton.com

stu

VIC SMITH COMPETITION

Good news from the Vic Smith competition - we came joint 3rd! 11 clubs entered this year, last time we entered (two years ago) we came 11th out of 13, so I reckon we're back in the game! Congratulations to Andy Linden who won a Silver Medal for 'On Your Bike' (see the 'Snow Show' post below)

A pdf of the full scores can be downloaded here: LINK

Next Tuesday promises to be another interesting evening as we welcome guest speakers Steve and Syvia Wilbur who will give a prints and digital images presentation.

Tuesday 10th March

Tuesday is 'Movie Nite' at the club, so bring your popcorn, Kia Ora and a comfy cushion!

There will be a selection of classics to choose from including a couple of half-hour films on landscape photography (light and composition) by Charlie Waite, and another short film on, arguably the master of black & white landscape, Ansel Adams. Contemporary art-photography also gets a look-in, Dave has a couple of surprises for us, but I can say no more in case I scare people off!

Website - the winners of the 3rd round Print comp have been added to the gallery and the new 'Member's info pack' pdf containing the updated competition rules and general club info can be downloaded from the 'about us' page.

Flickr - New members Helen and Chrissie now have Flickr galleries so please pay them a visit and say hello!

Tuesday 3 March - Guest Speaker

Print talk by sculptor and photographer Nenne van Dijk FRPS, DPAGB.

Nenne van Dijk is a sculptor by profession and her work is in private collections and public places throughout the world. Now in semi-retirement from sculpture she is fully committed to photography, concentrating mainly on nature and portraiture.

Nenne is a member of Beckenham Photographic Society and you can see a few examples of her work in their website gallery: LINK

Free Exhibition

There is a free exhibition located in The Mall Galleries , The Mall and will be displaying images from this years Digital Camera Magazine's Photographer of the Year competition . It run's until Feb 28th and is free

http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/

stu

TUESDAY 24 FEB - 3RD INTERNAL PRINTS COMP

Next Tuesdays print competition will be judged by Len Johnson LRPS of Uckfield CC.

Thanks go to Dave Mason for arranging this at such short notice.

Federation Finals Day 2009

This event will take place on 25th April 2008 at All Saints Church Hall, Onslow Gardens, Sanderstead starting at 2.30PM with doors opening at 1PM for a print and slide show exhibition. Tickets cost £5 inc tea or coffee and biscuits!

You can enter 2 mono prints, 2 colour prints and 2 slides (!) and entry costs £1 per print or slide.

Photographs that have gained a certificate of merit in the 2008-09 season gain free entry.

If you would like to enter please bring your prints to the next Aperture meeting on Tuesday 24th Feb which is out print competition night. Maximum mount size is 40 x 50cm (16"x20")

Any questions please contact stu or marshall who will be happy to help

stumayhew@aol.com
marshall.pinsent@talktalk.net

Next week and last week!

GUEST SPEAKER
17th February: our speaker is Jack Bates FRPS who will be showing prints and talking about his work. You can see some of his photography here.

... and here!

SNOW SHOW
Congratulations to Andy Linden who won last Tuesday's 'Snow Show' mini-comp with this superb image:


(the top 4 photos will be uploaded on the club website competition pages later this week)

Finally, our special thanks go to Elaine who kindly donated a bottle of Moet Chandon Champaign as our 1st prize!

10th Feb Meeting

I hope this snow hasn't created too many problems for you. Going by the pictures appearing in our Flickr pool it's clear many of us have made the most of the unusual conditions by getting out and about with our cameras.

So change of plan this week; instead of mini-talks we thought we'd use the Tuesday meeting to show these winter wonders while they are still hot (or cold!) and maybe build in a little comp with a bottle of plonk awarded for the best pic of the evening.

So if you want to show your snowy pics please send your Jpegs to me by Sunday night (not to Dave this time as he's in Berlin!) this is an informal thing so there is no limit on the number of pics you send - the only stipulation is the photographs must have been taken this week.

Size: the usual 768 pixels on the longest edge.


Cheers,
Marshall
EMAIL

NIGHT SHOOT - CANCELLED!

The general consensus is that due to the weather and ongoing transport problems we should cancel tomorrow nights London shoot.

IF the weather improves enough, a few people may try to make it to the Bull pub (Top of Shooter's Hill) for around 8pm.

The good news is that all this snow is inspiring some wonderful photos, so please post yours to our Flickr pool!

A Selection of Photographic Websites and Links

I thought I might share a few photographic based websites with you:

Some great night shots of our fair City

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/more_of_london_from_above_at_n.html

General Photography Interest

http://photo.net/

Royal Photographic Society

http://www.rps.org/

A great resource for various photographic related events

http://www.photographers-resource.co.uk/diary/index.htm

Online Photoshop video tutorials

http://www.wonderhowto.com/search/photoshop/

http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials.asp

If you get snowed in I hope these give you something to do!

stu

FLICKR FACTS & FEARS!

Flickr is a fantastic on-line photo community and a great way to share your images with the world, however 'sharing' should not be confused with stealing! Sadly the theft of images from Flickr is on the increase, often by commercial companies who use software designed to search the image database and download your pictures. To avoid this you can do several things:

1 - Stop uploading large image files! Make them no bigger than club digital projection size (768 pixels at the longest edge).

2 - Change the 'Privacy & Permissions' settings in your Flickr account. This gives you control over who can download your pictures (my comments in brackets):

• Only you (obviously OK!)

• Your Friends and/or Family (your choice, probably fine for most people)

• Your contacts (again up to you, but check people who make you a contact carefully before accepting them)

• Any Flickr user (unwise)

• Anyone (Astonishingly, Flick actually recommend this option (!) but most Flickr users would say it is most definitely NOT recommended!)

Go through the other Privacy & Permissions settings carefully to make sure you are happy with them.

The Aperture Woolwich blog - If your Flickr photo is tagged with 'Aperture Woolwich' it will appear in the little flickr slideshow window on our blog. However if you change your Flickr 'Who can blog your pictures' permissions from 'Any flickr member' to any of the other options, your images won't appear on our blog or anyone else's.

Finally, a new item has recently appeared in the Flickr Privacy & Permissions settings:

Make your photos eligible for invitation by Getty Images?

Flickr have cut a deal with the Getty stock image library business to allow them to scour the database for images they can offer for sale. Currently there is a lot of controversy about this and much confusion over copyright and how much control you will have over the use of your images if you sign a contract with Getty. So, at least until this issue is clarified it is advisable to opt out of this by changing the setting from the default 'YES' (naughty of them eh!) by clicking edit and un-ticking the box.

Related links that may be of interest:

A Flickr members personal decision: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jann/3233283114/

Getty & Flickr: http://www.pdnpulse.com/2008/07/getty-and-flick.html

Flickr member who's images was stolen: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63263430@N00/3184792040

INTRODUCING OUR NEW EXTERNAL COMPS SECRETARY!

The recent surge in the popularity of digital photography has meant the number of competitions open to enthusiasts and semi-pro photographers has increased. So to keep the club informed and encourage us to enter more of them, Stu Mayhew as kindly agreed be the club's External Competitions Secretary.

If you hear of any competitions you think would be of interest to our members please let Stu know, you can email him at: stumayhewuk@hotmail.com

The FSLPS inter-club competitions and our internal club comps will continue to be run by Paul Gosling: p.gosling@tesco.net

NIGHT SHOOT - LOCATION CONFIRMED!

The night shoot this Tuesday (3 Feb) will be in London's Swinging West End!

Meet at 7:30pm at Piccadilly Circus - near the statue of Eros.

See you there!

(MAP LINK)

The Vic Smith Inter-club Trophy

The Vic Smith Inter-club Trophy for projected digital images. 12th March 2009 (closing date 5th March).

The closing date might seem to be well distant, but we all know how quickly the weeks can pass by.

Just four photographers would be sufficient for a panel (although most clubs would aim to make a more representative selection).

More information and the regulations etc can be found on the federation website. www.fslps.org.uk (Direct link here *)

More on this at the next meeting.

* The dates on the FSLP page have not been updated so for 2008 read 2009!