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	SOCIETY NEWS
July 16th.	Tonight were competitions for digital projected images and slides Judged by John Cartlidge. The dpi competition had 51 entries from 17 photographers and the results were :- 1. Keith Leatham - Colours of Time 2. Mick Smith - Surf and sand 3. Marion Thomson - Raising the dust. The slide competition had 15 entries from 5 photographers and the results were :- 1. John Hole - Winter silence 2. Colin Lewis - Construction crane 3. John Millward - Room with a view.
June 24th	Tonight was an AV competition. There were 15 entries from 8 authors judged by Martin Fry. The results were :- 1st - Heather Woodhams:- Oradour-sur-Giane 2nd - Janet Sprason:- Tracing Irish Roots 3rd - Heather Woodhams:- Winter Came HC - Jim Gennard:- Llangollen C - Keith Leatham:- Knockers
June 17th	Tonight we had an evening out with cameras, we met at Leasowes Country Park , Halesowen. The weather was perfect and there was a good turnout of members. We had a leisurely walk through the park, led by Phil Waldren. There was a lot of time spent chatting and socializing and we even had time to take some pictures. It also gave the newer members, the opportunity to seek advice while they were actually taking pictures, all in all a very enjoyable evening, that everyone enjoyed.
June 10th	Tonight was Mono print competition number 3. There were 48 entries from 14 photographers. The judge, Peter Clarke, made awards as follows :- 1. John Bissell:- Gothic 2. Marion Thompson:- The Waterfall 3. Marion Thompson:- Walking on ice
May 27th	Tonight''s colour print competition had 47 entries from 15 authors. The judge Ian Hodgkiss made the following awards:- 1. Doctor Foster went to Gloucester - Jeff Riley 2. Shoreline sunset - Keith Johnson 3. It's not easy being green - Ben Peasley
April 22nd	Tonight's digital projected images competition attracted 59 entries from 21 photographers. The results were :- 1. If looks could kill - Ben Peasley 2. Overview - Heather Woodhams 3. Coffee in Paris - Steve Bennett. The slide competition attracted 16 slide from 6 photographers. The results were :- 1. Beamed wood - Colin Lewis 2. Ageing - Bob Pritchard 3. Salt Rust - John Hole Both competitions were judged by Andrew Gagg.
April 1st	Tonight was the 2nd. Mono Print competition judged by Gary Philips. There were 57 entries from 19 members, and the main awards were :- 1. Subway - Glen Ness 2. Mountain Cloud - Marion Thomson 3. Two Brothers - Steve Bennett
March 18th	Tonight was the 2nd. Colour Print competition judged by John Hartshorne. There were 74 entries from 25 members, and the main awards went to :- 1. Winter Reflections - Ben Peasley 2. Rose Pink - Janet Sprason 3. Once upon a time - Jeff Riley
February 25th	Tonight the Society held its 1st Slide and Projected Image competition of the year judged by Steve Cutler. There was an entry of 34 digital images from 12 photographers and the results were :- 1. Bring on the clowns - Keith Leatham 2. Shadows on the wall - Sue Keeling 3. Wash house - Jeff Riley There was an entry of 15 slides from 5 photographers and the results were :- 1. Burning the leaves - John Hole 2 Walking back - Bob Pritchard 3. Blossom time - John Millward.
February 11th	Tonight the society was treated to an evening with our president Heather Woodhams. Heather talked about the progress she had made in her photography. From a raw beginner when she joined the society 13 years ago to the highly competent, professional photographer she is today. We were treated to the sight of many prints and digital images spanning the arts of conventional dark room work, old processing techniques such as Vandyke brown and Cyanotype, via pin hole photography, through to modern digital techniques. As well as prints and digital images we also saw some state of the art audio visual shows. A packed house of members enjoyed a very professional presenration. A very appreciative vote of thanks was given by Jeff Riley .
February 4th	Tonight the club had it's first mono competition of the year, which attracted 51 entries from 18 photographers. The judge was Dave Venables.The results were :- 1:- Marion Thompson - Misty morning Lindisfarne 2:- John Bissel - Cargo of Time 3:- Keith Leatham - Godafoss falls
2010 January 21st	Tonight was the club's 1st colour print competition of the year judged by Ian Hodgkiss. There were 27 entries which allowed Ian to take time discussing each picture. We had a large number of new people at the meeting and they found this very beneficial. The results were :- 1:- Sue Keeling - M People 2:- Keith Leatham - Iris Impressions 3:- Sue Keeling - Through the Mist
December 2009	Stourbridge Photographic Society has had another successful year with their membership growing to 65. At the recent AGM the year was reviewed and awards presented. There have been various outings to local venues and father afield to London and Wales with many successful photo opportunities for members and learning techniques for newer people. The battles with other camera clubs also saw success and acceptances in exhibitions were celebrated. A special night with Guy Edwards from Dorsett drew over 80 people with visitors from other clubs, all enjoying a wonderful selection of landscapes and nature pictures. The Digital Group, running monthly on a Wednesday night, also has a keen following with members learning new techniques and seeing digital instruction nights from more experienced photographers. Awards were presented to Jeff Riley as winner of the Threesome Plaque in Colour Prints and the 3 of a Kind competition. To Keith Leatham for the Threesome Plaque in Mono prints and Sue Keeling for the new Themes competition. Marion Thompson won the Threesome Plaque in Digital Images, also the Open Slide competition and Open Digital Images section, husband Cliff won the Threesome Plaque in Slides. Heather Woodhams won the Colour and Mono print awards.
October 30th.	Tonight the club held a "Themes" competition. During the year 6 themes were set and members had to submit one photo for each theme. 15 club members entered. The results were:- Big Is Beautiful 1st - Keith Leatham 2nd - Phil Turner 3rd - Colin Lewis Pure 1st - Keith Leatham 2nd - Phil Turner 3rd - John Bissell Stillness 1st - Phil Turner 2nd - Jeff Riley 3rd - Tanya Skelding Lost 1st - Stephen Bennett 2nd - Phil Turner 3rd - John Bissell Retro 1st - Stephen Bennett 2nd - Heather Woodhams 3rd - Tanya Skelding Comfort 1st - Sue Keeling (Overall Winner) 2nd - John Bissell 3rd - Tanya Skelding
August 17th	Stourbridge Photographic Society is enjoying its summer months with members taking part in outings whilst the usual club nights on a Thursday continue. Stourbridge Library has, at the moment, an exhibition of members work with a display of prints, which can be seen until August 29th, and these will be again on display in November for anyone who misses them. In June the members had a day out in Bridgenorth organised by Garry Jackson, who set clues to be followed and answered by taking a photograph. The weather was excellent and the results were viewed at a July meeting where Heather Woodhams was voted the winner for her correct answers and imaginative images. Another outing was a social in the form of a skittles night at a country pub with basket meals provided when again the sunny evening meant the 29 members could enjoy their meals outside. Other ventures have included a trip to Wales, Leasowes Park and this week to Bumble Hole all providing the chance for newer members to have tuition in camera skills from more advanced friends in the group. The regular Thursday night meetings have been well attended, particularly a battle with Stourport Camera Club which saw Stourbridge emerge as worthy winners on the night. An away battle with Great Barr club also saw a win for Stourbridge. A bring and buy sale gave members a chance to sell unwanted photographic items and pick up a bargain at the same time. The forthcoming programme has two highlights with the return of Irene Froy on September 3rd and on the Wednesday Digital Night, September 9th, a special visit by Martin Addison both not to be missed .
April 30th	Stourbridge Photographic Society has had a very entertaining start to 2009 with thought provoking lectures from Paul Foley and Colin New, both speakers travelling from outside the Midlands, along with new talks from local photographers Peter Gennard and Geoff Stone. All the talks give encouragement and new ideas to Stourbridge's ever growing membership. New members are being encouraged this year with tutorials in the basic use of a digital camera and help from the more experience members on special evenings devoted to advice sessions. The member’s internal competitions are well supported with Heather Woodhams winning the first and second Colour prints and also the first Mono print section. Colin Lewis won the second Mono print. In the Digital images and Slide sections a battle is being fought by a husband and wife team, with Cliff Thompson winning in the first Digital image and Slide section and Marion Thompson winning both Digital and Slides in the second competition. The club arranges a walk once a month to encourage members to take photos and also advise can be given to the less experienced. Mini bus trips farther a field to Wales have also become popular outings, with members off to the Gower for the May bank holiday. Looking forward to June there is the annual car rally where members answer clues in the form of a photograph and new this year is a changing theme competition which will be judged in October. So far members have had to picture “Big is Beautiful”, “Pure” and “Stillness”, the results of this are awaited with interest.
February 5th	The first mono competition was held judged by Gary Philips. The results were :- 1st place - "WRITING IN THE SAND" by Heather Woodhams 2nd place - "SAILING BY"by Keith Leatham 3rd place - "APPROACHING STORM" by Jeff Riley
January 1st 2009	The first colour print competition of the year was held. There was a very large entry which was judged by Peter Young. The results were :- 1st place - "SAILING" by Heather Woodhams 2nd place - "FIGHTING THE FLAMES" by John Bissel 3rd place - "MIST RISING" by Marion Thomson.
December 17th	Stourbridge Photographic Society held its AGM on the 11 th December when the Annual Awards were given out to members and the new Committee and Programme for 2009 were unveiled. The competition secretary reported that a total of 39 members had entered pieces of work throughout the year and the overall winners were :- Open Mono Prints - Jeff Riley who also won the Open Colour Prints Sue Keeling won the overall Digital Projected Image section Michael Smith won the Slides. The Threesome Plaque, for members' best 3 pieces of work, were awarded to: - Mono prints - Garry Jackson Colour Prints - Phil Waldren Digital Images - Glen Ness Slides - Sue Keeling. There has also been success in Competitions against other clubs, with wins over Wall Heath, Wolverhampton, Great Barr and Stourport. In External Competitions Stourbridge came 6th in the Midland Counties Championship and won a Gold Medal in the Austrian Supercircuit. Two members are celebrating success in Smethwick International Exhibition. These are Michael Smith who had two images accepted and Sue Keeling who won a Royal Photographic Society Silver medal for a print and a Highly Commend Award for a digital image, plus another acceptance. These will be awarded in the New Year. A very creditable year for all members. At the year end membership stood at 65 with 17 new people having joined during the year. Members have enjoyed various days out, to the Black Country Museum, the Peak district and Wales where valuable instruction was always on hand from more experienced photographers. The new Committee was elected with Heather Woodhams remaining as President, John Bissell as Secretary and Garry Jackson as Treasurer. New to the Committee were Karen Marshall, Phil turner and Dave Roberts. The President outlined her hopes for the new year - a monthly Sunday photographic outing is planned, the Digital Group on the second Wednesday each month guidance to beginners. There is to be a new Audio Visual competition with digital images set to music, and a theme competition running every 6 weeks with ideas suggested by members is to be introduced. At members' request there is to be a beginner's tuition course introduced to teach basic techniques in camera use and digital software. The Committee are sure this will be helpful to new members just starting out and wishing to improve their picture taking. The new 2009 programme was handed. This begins on January 8th with an Instant Exhibition. Members are invited to bring along two pieces of new work, not seen at the club before, for display, these can be slides, digital images, prints, or a sequence of images to music. On January 15th new members and beginners will be particularly welcome with questions answered and guidance given by the more experienced members. Both these nights will be an opportunity for anyone thinking of joining a camera club to come along to see what goes on. They will be particularly helpful to anyone who may have had a new camera for Christmas and need some advise on how to get the best out of it. The Club's final meeting for the year is its Christmas Social at The Bonded Warehouse which consists of a fish and chip supper, cakes and desserts provided by members, a quiz and some musical entertainment. Stourbridge Photographic Society is a very friendly club with all members being encouraged to improve their images with help from more experienced members. All level of skills are always welcome and January is an ideal time to join when the new programme starts. The club meets at The Bonded Warehouse,Canal Street,Stourbridge on Thursdays at 8pm, just turn up on January 8th or email us.
August 6th	Stourbridge Photographic Society is continuing with its varied programme throughout the summer, with outings from its main venue of the Bonded Warehouse. The members enjoyed a very pleasant evening with a canal boat trip towards Kinver with a fish and chip supped provided along the way, the weather stayed fine and members had the chance to socialise on the journey. A visit has also been made to Stourport Camera Club to take part in a battle consisting of mono and colour prints, Stourbridge took the lead in the colour section by 19 points but Stourport won the mono by 11 points resulting in an overall win by Stourbridge. An evening walk was also enjoyed and the monthly Sunday outings are well supported offering the opportunity for newer members to learn the skills of choosing the right view point for the best photo. The internal competitions at the club room have continued with the subject of "Aged" being won by Jeff Riley with a much admired mono print of hands holding a mug. The 3rd slide and projected image competition had a smaller entry than usually due to holidays, with 50 images overall. Sue Keeling won both sections with Sun Worship in the Digital and Winter Chapel in the slides. A annual battle with Great Barr Camera Club was held at home with judge Peter Siviter, Stourbridge achieving the overall winning score. Coming up in the next few weeks is the results of the photo treasure hunt, when members searched Malvern for answers to cryptic clues set by Gary Jackson. Each member taking part must come up with 20 photos as answers including a memory picture of the day, Gary will judge these on 14th August with a prize for the winner. A highlight on August 21st is a return visit from Irene Froy with her talk "Pictures on Permajet", also on September 4th from John Gould with a lecture called "Colours of the Rainbow". Both these photographers are well known for their unusual style of portraying images and there will be guests from other camera clubs invited.
June 4th	Stourbridge Photographic Society has been on a high over the last few months with the success of the club in both national and international exhibitions. They took part in the Midland Counties Knockout which involved all the photographic clubs in the Midlands submitting a selection of Digital Images for a judging panel and achieved a very credible 6 th place. In the Midlands Photofolio Exhibition currently on show at Smethwick, eight members received acceptances in Mono and Colour prints and the new section of Digital Projected Images. The greatest achievement to date this year is the club's success in the Austrian Super Circuit of Photography where eleven members had their work accepted and the club won a Gold Medal for the best mixed entry of work. In the club's own programme of events new members have had some success in the Monthly Competitions with Janet Sprason winning the Digital Projected Image section and Michael Smith winning the Colour Print, both members only joined the club in 2007 and have benefited from the help given to them by more experienced members. The club has monthly outing to encourage members to take photos, travelling to Padley Gorge in the Peak District last month and visiting Malvern Wells this month for a photographic quiz whose answers are in the form of photographs. On June 19th there will be an evening run by the members for those new to photography who may be interested in joining a club or just want some help with their camera.
April 3rd	Tonight there was a competition for mono prints. The judge was Dave Johnstone. Marion Thompson got third place with "Sisters"; Glen Ness was placed second with "Dusty and Major Tom" and Rob Evans got 1st place with "50's Metal".
February 29th	Members of Stourbridge Photographic Society did very well in a recent national exhibition Midphot. Sue Keeling had three projected images accepted :- Sun Worshiper, Light Swirls and Attic Room. She also had two colour prints accepted:- Gaudi Balconies and Venetian Dreams. Michael Smith had one projected image - Table for two, and one Colour print - Pastel Light accepted. Ian Walker had one mono print - Recession accepted. Heather Woodhams had a panel of prints - Dirty Work accepted and was Commended with a Certificate of Merit for her mono print Groynes. John Bissell was Highly Commended with Certificates of Merit for his colour print January Morning and his mono print Stokesay.
February 21st	A Battle was held on the 21st February against Wall Heath Camera Club, where both clubs entered 20 mixed prints each, to be judged by Peter Siviter, Stourbridge came away as the winner, scoring highly in its mono print entry.
February 7th	Mono print competition number 1. Judge Tony Thomas. There were 47 entries. The results were as follows:- Commended Glenn Ness ~ Reflections Jeff Riley ~ Sheds of Holy Island Heather Woodhams ~ Under the Wire Highly Commended Cliff Thompson ~ Railway Children Third Place Marion Thomson ~ Morning Reflections Second Place Ian Walker ~ Recession First Place Jeff Riley ~ Roof Lines
January 17th	Colour print competition number1. Judge Peter Gennard. There were 84 entries in this competition which is the largest number the club has ever had in a single competition, The results were as follows:- Commended Lynn Butler ~ Geyser David Jones ~ Moody View Sue Keeling ~ Urban Fox Glenn Ness ~ Canal Walk Jeff Riley ~ Colours of Age Michael Smith ~ Pastel Light Keith Leatham ~ Spirit of Autumn Highly Commended Cliff Thompson ~ Buttermere Shore Sue Keeling ~ Whitley Court Fountain Detail Third place Phil Waldren ~ The White House Second Place Phil Waldren ~ Hanging On First Place Ian Walker ~ November Morning
January 08	Stourbridge Photographic Society began its new programme with an excellent talk by John Hartshorne entitled "Travellers Tales". The Society has grown in membership during the last year and also in status with many members acheiving success in exhibitions, the greatest being the Trierenberg Supper Circuit held in Austria where Heather Woodhams received a silver medal for "Mist Rising" and Ian Walker received a gold medal for "Victoria Square" and a medal for his very successful mono print "Bandstand". Many other members also received acceptances in this International Exhibition to such an extent that the club was awarded a Gold medal for Best Mixed Entry Club, this honour only given to two British Photographic clubs in 2007. The new program has many highlights with varied lectures, competitions, including the new section for Projected Images, outings and battles with other local camera clubs. The next date to look forward to is January 24th when Margaret Salisbury is travelling from North Wales with her lecture entitled "The I's of a Dragon", she is a long established, much respected photographer and other local camera clubs have been invited for this exciting evening. This is followed on 31st January by a Beginners Evening when new members have the opportunity to seek advise from the more experienced photographers at the club.
4 November 07	Please note that the date of the Christmas social is Thursday 13th December not Friday 14th December as shown on the original programme.
18 October 07	Stourbridge Photographic Society has been active over the Summer months with outings, club competitions, battles against other camera clubs and visiting lecturers. The third Slide Competition of the year was won by Colin Lewis, the Mono Print Competition by Jeff Riley and the Colour Print by Phil Waldren. The final slide competition for this year will be on 1st. November judged by Graham Hodgkiss. The Match a Slide Competition against Hagley and Dudley Camera Clubs saw Stourbridge PS celebrating as the overall winner, and the same result was seen when Walsall Photographic Society visited for a Print Competition. For the first time digital entries were accepted as well as slides for the "Three of a Kind" competition, where 3 pictures have to follow the same theme. The winner in the slides section was Sue Keeling and Jeff Riley again celebrated a win in the digital section. A new Studio group has its first meeting on October 31st also in the Bonded Warehouse, led by Rob Evans. Members will get their first taste of portrait photography and how to set up studio lights. It is hoped that this group will continue if there is enough interest from members. There is an exhibition of prints by the Society on show at Stourbridge Library for the next few weeks. Everyone is welcome at Stourbridge PS whether a beginner or an experienced photographer. The group has a long history of successful photographers with darkroom pictures and slides and have embraced the new era of digital photography, so much so that they are now the leading camera club in the area. The friendly members are always willing to share their ideas and offer help and encouragement to new comers. Our program runs from January to December and there is still time this year to see some interesting lectures, particularly Jon Baker, an excellent local landscape photographer on November 8th with "Every Step a Different View". And the year ends with the AGM on December 6th and then a Christmas Social on December 14th.
26 July 07	Stourbridge Photographic Society are celebrating after two wins in successive battles held against other photographic clubs. On the 19th July the club members travelled to Great Barr Camera Club to present 20 prints to be marked against 20 prints provided by Great Barr members and were successful in gaining eight points advantage overall. On the 26th July the club welcomed old rivals Stourport Camera Club to their venue at The Bonded Warehouse, where the entry this time was 10 slides and 10 prints from each club. There was an audience of over 50 to hear Tony Thomas from Wrekin Arts give comments and scores on the pictures until Stourbridge emerged as winners with an overall score of 322 to Stourports 293.
14 June 07	Mono Print Competition No 3 1. Be Kind - Cliff Thompson 2. Man of Jaiselmer - Marion Thompson 3. Bloody Monday Again - Jeff Riley Colour Print Competition No 3 1. Skeletal - Cliff Thompson 2. Vulnerable - Rob Evans 3. Bluebell Wood - Ian Walker
24th May 07	News from Austria We are proud to announce that on the recent Austrian Super Circuit, Stourbridge member Ian Walker was awarded two gold medals and our president Heather Woodhams a silver. Stourbridge Photographic Society was awarded a gold medal as the best mixed club.
3 May 07	Mono Print Competition No 2 1. Abdul - Cliff Thompson 2. Fallen Giants - Marion Thompson 3. Senn from the Seine - Sue Keeling Colour Print Competion No 2 1. Machine - Ian Walker 2. Rat Race - Ian Walker 3. Dirty Work - Heather Woodhams
26 April 07	Set subject competition, slides and digital Urban Landscape Slides 1. Telford Power - Rob Evans 2. Brindley Place - Rob Evans 3. Mediterranean Vista - Rob Evans Digital 1. Big City - Ian Walker 2. Victoria Square - Ian Walker 3. Light Trails - David Robert
12 April 07	Slide Competition No 2 1. Sand Biker - Rob Evans 2. Peeping Tom - John Bissell 3. Martagon Lily - Cliff Thompson
15 March 07	Print competion No 1 (postponed from 25 Jan ) Judge Tony Broome Colour (65 entries from 24authors) - Dirty Work - Lynn Butler - View to Nowhere - Ian Walker - From Out Of The Mist - Dave Morley Mono (41 entries from 18 authors) - Bandstand - Ian Walker - Emotion - Ian Walker - Smile- No Chance! - Tanya Skelding
22 Feb 07	Slide competition No 1 Judge Malcom Ranieri There were 41 slides by 9 authors. - North American Bison - Marion Thompson - Medow Fritillary - Marion Thompson - St Culgen - Sue Keeling
23 January 07	Programme Change The 5 a Side Competition has now been brought forward to the 22nd of March, as the upstairs room was not available on the 26th of April, this date will now be Set Subject comp Urban Landscape.