Wednesday 2 August 2023

Pictures over a Pint

After seven wonderful years of meetings at Birlingham's village hall, we've decided to change the format!

Post Covid life is different and people prefer to meet up virtually or on a much more relaxed basis, so from September 5th our photography based get togethers will continue to be held on the first Tuesday of the month, 7pm, but at pubs, cafes and other venues.

Dubbed 'Pictures over a Pint', the set up will be much more casual, free of charge, open to anyone and will provide support, hints and tips and general photography talk to anyone who comes along.

The first get together will be at The Bell Inn, Eckington, Tuesday 5th September, 7pm. We may stay with that venue or we may move around. Some meet ups will include a local walk, so bring your camera with you, just in case!

Many thanks to everyone who has supported BPC since 2016 and we look forward to future ventures and adventures in the new format.


Wednesday 2 March 2022

Astrophotography and much more by BPC member, Mark Waidson

The March club meeting - one of the best yet!


Both images ©Mark Waidson


Members were treated to an absolutely stunning presentation by fellow member, Mark Waidson, as he unfolded his photography journey before our very eyes. 

Mark is renowned for his early starts and late finishes, perfect times of the day, he says, to capture beautiful shots of misty mornings and spectacular sunsets. However, he is a man of many talents and his photography takes him to some remarkable locations for landscapes, cityscapes, street and even astro photography.

Mark brought with him three camera set ups to give fellow members an idea of how much bang you get for your buck and, of course, it's no surprise that using a telescope generally produces the most spectacular work. However, some of his work was shot on kit with a more modest price tag and, consequently, available to the vast majority of club members. Mark said that most modern cameras will pick far more light than the human eye can detect, so even if things look a little on the dark side it's worth giving astro photography a go. He adds that it's not all about the big ticket items, simply doing a little homework before setting out and finding somewhere which has as little light pollution as possible is the key to astrophotography, but, he says, it takes patience, warm clothing and a Thermos of hot coffee!

Some of the work included in his presentation was made from a single shot and then put through post production software and some of this shots were created by stacking several images in order to get the depth and sharpness needed in astro images. Mark suggests the free software Sequator is an excellent package - more information and free download here 

Another of his go-to software, and one which isn't free, is the Audio Visual (AV) software Pictures to exe - it costs $75 for the standard Windows version and $149 for the Pro/Mac/Windows version. There are other AV packages around and most Macs have a factory fitted version of 'Movies' and, whilst this may not be as good as Pictures to exe, it is something to try for anyone who wants to give AVs a whirl without shelling out for very specific computer software.



Tuesday 14 September 2021

Create your own backyard bird photo studio!

Many thanks to BPC member Kevin for giving us the heads up on this Youtube video, which is all about how to encourage birds into the garden and how to provide them with natural looking perches whilst you, the photographer, take the photographs from the comfort of the house, shed or even a garden chair.

Click here

Friday 20 August 2021

Scanning and repairing old photographs

Many thanks to BPC Member, Margaret, for the following two links.

How to scan hard copy photographs

https://bit.ly/3AVBN3D

How to repair old and/or damaged photographs

https://bit.ly/3y0gUT7

If you don't have a scanner, it's worth using a macro lens or macro facility on a tripod mounted camera and making a new digital image of the old one.  As a digital image it's repaired in just the same way as if it had been scanned.

Sunday 27 June 2021

ND filters - by Richard Barley

Worcester-based photographer, Richard Barley, explores the versatility of ND (neutral density) filters.

K&F gave him a nine stop ND to try out and he's uploaded his findings to his YouTube channel.

Find out what he has to say here.

Tuesday 14 April 2020

Digital Camera online tutorials

Many thanks to Jim for sending in this link to dozens of online tutorials provided by Digital Camera, one of the better camera glossies on the market.

Lots of stuff about camera techniques plus software including PS Elements, which is a bit of a rarity!

The BPC WhatsApp group offers lots of interesting snippets like this one and a bit of chat.  It's exclusive to BPC Members, if you haven't joined yet and would like to, send your mobile number to birlinghamphoto@btinternet.com and we'll add your name.

Click here for Digital Camera tutorials

Wednesday 18 March 2020

Stuck at home? Learn Lightroom with The Lightroom Queen!

Many thanks to Jim for sending in the following.

The Lightroom Queen knows a thing or two about Adobe software and in particular Lightroom.  Many of her Ebooks are free and she offers a 'no-stings attached' newsletter.

To get you started, the following link will take you through to The Lightroom Queen's website.

Good Luck!


https://mailchi.mp/lightroomqueen/summer-sale-free-lightroom-ebook-and-more-1882373?e=ef96b9d147