Monthly Newsletter of the Creative Camera Club, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa

website: www.creativecameraclub.co.za

Where photography turns into art…

In this issue: Winning images and scores, October CCC meeting;

Interclub details;

Examples of environmental portrait shots

Travel article: A Sea Cruise Around Svalbard

Body of work exhibition

October CCC activities: more details inside

Monthly shoot: Sunday 16 October, 7.30 am: Intaka Bird Sanctuary, Century City

Creative topic: Environmental Portraits

Interclub Competition, Friday 28 October 6pm: SANLAM Centre, Bellville

The Creative Camera Club is a small interactive community of seriously

enthusiastic and committed photographers, meeting monthly to share their work

and have it independently judged in an attempt to raise their standards of image

making. In so doing, they aim to develop their interests, visions, imaginations and

camera skills to levels of creative excellence that make their photographs

outstanding and memorable.

Creative:

Orchid Face – Douglas Young: 25 No Room at the Inn – Michele Kinross:23 Methuselah - Elaine Cleghorn: 23

Feeding Time – Jane Bursey: 23

Open:

Urban Fog- Jane Forsdyke: 24 The Hut – Michele Henry: 24 Stretch my wings and fly – Jane Bursey: 23

A face set in Stone – Michele Nel: 23

Shoot:

Marathon Beard – Douglas Young: 23 Top Speed- Anthony van Zyl: 21

Street Action- Anthony van Zyl: 21 Line Abreast - Douglas Young: 21

Marathon Portrait- Anthony van Zyl: 21

Prints:

Guitar- Paul Nuttall: 23 Play Time- Michele Kinross: 23

Three Zebras – Chris Kinross: 23

A note for those who weren’t at the 3 October CCC Meeting:

The judging at this meeting was done by all 41 members present. Their scores out of

30 were then computed and averaged, but not made known until later. Following the

judging, there was an open discussion wherein authors were invited to speak to their

images. Useful critical comments and suggestions were then made by members. The

images shown above reflect the top scores in each section, many of which were tied

scores.

Feedback at the meeting indicated that it was a worthwhile exercise worth repeating,

particularly if more time was available for discussion and interaction about the images.

SCORES @ Meeting - 3 October

Title Name Score Award

CREATIVE

Lines And Curves Anthony van Zyl 17 N/A

Green And Gold Arvind Bhawan 22 Gold

Sunset In Motion Carl Geel 21 Gold

Contemplation Carol van Blerck 22 Gold

Slippery Slope Crighton Klassen 20 Silver

Orchid Face Douglas Young 25 Gold

Methuselah Elaine Cleghorn 23 Gold

Beaverlac Flower Gerrit Opperman 19 Silver

Feeding Time Jane Bursey 23 Gold

Hyobanche Sanguinea Lennon Fletcher 19 Silver

Textures And Colours Lesley Morse 22 Gold

Brief Encounter Marian Boardman 19 Silver

Dance With Abandon Marianna Meyer 20 Silver

No Room At The Inn Michele Nel 24 Gold

Raindrops Sooc Paul Nuttall 21 Silver

The Backhand Roger Trythall 18 Silver

Clothing Blues Shaun Fautley 20 Silver

Behind The Daisies Wendy Taylor 20 Silver

OPEN

Ballroom Sunrise Carl Geel 21 Gold

Standing Guard Carol van Blerck 21 Gold

Four Warthogs Chris Kinross 22 Gold

Holey Hat Claude Felbert 19 Silver

Aqua Nymph Crighton Klassen 21 Gold

Yellow Weaver Douglas Young 22 Silver

El Capitan Yosemite Elaine Cleghorn 21 Gold

Waiting Water Gerrit Opperman 18 Bronze

Stretch My Wings And Fly Jane Bursey 23 Gold

Urban Fog Jane Forsdyke 24 Gold

Straw Plant Lennon Fletcher 20 Silver

Through The Arch I See Lesley Morse 23 Gold

Burnt Marianna Meyer 22 Gold

The Hut Michele Hendry 24 Gold

A Face Set In Stone Michele Nel 23 Gold

Two Points Of View Paul Nuttall 19 Bronze

Cuba Failed Socialism Roger Trythall 21 Gold

Fleet Footed Fashions Shaun Fautley 22 Gold

Model With Afro Terence Atkins 21 Silver

PRINTS

Three Zebras Chris Kinross 23 Gold

Beaverlac Waterfall Gerrit Opperman 22 Gold

Daisy Double Jane Forsdyke 21 Silver

Spring Lennon Fletcher 22 Gold

Play Time Michele Hendry 23 Gold

Guitar Paul Nuttall 23 Gold

Model A Terence Atkins 21 Silver

SHOOT

Marathon Portrait Anthony van Zyl 21 Silver

Street Action Anthony van Zyl 21 Silver

Top Speed Anthony van Zyl 21 Silver

Line Abreast Douglas Young 21 Silver

Marathon Beard Douglas Young 23 Gold

Taking Strain Douglas Young 18 Bronze

Hungry Gerrit Opperman 20 Silver

Cape Town Marathon1 Marian Boardman 20 Silver

Cape Town Marathon2 Marian Boardman 19 Silver

Emergency Tent Paul Nuttall 20 Bronze

Head On Paul Nuttall 20 Bronze

Through The Fence Paul Nuttall 20 Bronze

Runner In Red Shaun Fautley 20 Silver

Cape Town Marathon 1 To 15 Terence Atkins 20 Bronze

Cape Town Marathon Terence Atkins 20 Bronze

Creative Camera Club - Member Position Report

January 2016 to October 2016

Member's name Star

Rating Entry Count

Total points

Average score

Score to date

Paul Nuttall 3 Star 32 701 22 75

Douglas Young 3 Star 32 676 21 70

Gerrit Opperman 2 Star 30 602 20 68

Anthony van Zyl 3 Star 27 588 22 63

Drienie van Zyl 2 Star 25 519 21 62

Lennon Fletcher 2 Star 23 491 21 56

Jane Forsdyke 2 Star 21 465 22 56

Terence Atkins 3 Star 23 474 21 52

Crighton Klassen 2 Star 17 365 21 47

Claude Felbert 2 Star 16 352 22 43

Shaun Fautley 2 Star 13 287 22 37

Jenny Morkel 2 Star 13 271 21 35

Angus Rule 3 Star 14 299 21 31

Marianna Meyer 2 Star 11 239 22 29

Chris Kinross 2 Star 10 223 22 29

Michele Hendry 2 Star 9 220 24 29

Karin Rai 2 Star 11 222 20 27

Jason Purcell 2 Star 10 217 22 27

Elaine Cleghorn 2 Star 10 213 21 27

Cari Stek 2 Star 10 202 20 25

Cecil Walker 2 Star 10 199 20 25

Wendy Taylor 2 Star 9 185 21 24

Lesley Morse 2 Star 11 219 20 23

Nicky Elliott 2 Star 9 182 20 23

Roger Trythall 1 Star 10 184 18 22

Mujahid Ur Rehman 2 Star 7 157 22 18

Shirley van der Hoek 2 Star 9 175 19 17

Marian Boardman 1 Star 7 140 20 16

Kenneth Burton 2 Star 5 107 21 15

Michele Nel 1 Star 4 91 23 12

Carol van Blerck 1 Star 4 90 22 12

Jurgens Van Zyl 1 Star 4 89 22 12

Andrew Mcfarlane 1 Star 4 82 20 11

Paul Samuel 1 Star 3 72 24 11

Koji Nakashima 1 Star 5 89 18 9

Riaz Ismail 2 Star 3 66 22 9

Jackie Wernberg 2 Star 4 76 19 7

Jane Bursey 1 Star 2 46 23 6

Darren Sievers 1 Star 2 42 21 6

Carl Geel 1 Star 2 42 21 6

Kevin McGilton 2 Star 2 39 20 5

Arvind Bhawan 1 Star 1 22 22 3

INTERCLUB 2016

The Western Cape Photographic Clubs’ Interclub 2016 Competition takes place on 28th of October

2016. For our Club the action starts on 7th of October with the collection of the photographic entries.

The real work of set-up starts on Monday 24th October.

Not only do we urge members to support the Club by coming to this major event, but we need some

volunteers to help with various activities, mainly on the day. We need people to man the door to the

auditorium, to sell tickets and to help with the set-up of the gallery.

This is the major Western Cape Photographic Club event of the year, and is the ideal opportunity to

see what eleven of the twelve other clubs and their members are achieving, and to give you a bench

mark of what to strive for. You may also be inspired by new ideas, challenged to try different techniques

or take your photography out of your comfort zone and into different genres.

Where: CR Louw Hall, SANLAM Centre, Strand Street, Bellville.

When: 28 October 2016

Time: 18h00 – the Gallery will open for the viewing of judged prints on display;

19h15 – the digital images will be shown and judged, followed by Prize Giving.

Food: Light snacks, soft drinks and wine will be provided.

Tickets: R75 pp - available from Jane Forsdyke or myself. – see contact details below.

Volunteers to help: please contact Claude Felbert

Contact Details:

Jane Forsdyke - Email:jane@comstratos.com

Claude Felbert - Mobile: 0832618863

Landline: 021-7125595; Email: claudefelbert@gmail.com

The following CCC Members will represent the Club at this year’s

Interclub: (up to 12 images and 12 prints required) The final selection was

made from all CCC submissions scoring 24 and above since November

2015

Digital Images: Susan Crichton-Stuart; Claude Felbert; Jane Forsdyke; Michele Kinross; Jenny

Morkel; Lesley Morse; Mujahid Ur Rehman; Paul Nuttall; Ruth Orlap; Angus Rule; Anthony van

Zyl; Douglas Young.

Prints: Elaine Cleghorn; Susan Crichton-Stuart; Shaun Fautley; Jane Forsdyke; Crighton

Klassen; Chris Kinross; Michele Kinross; Lesley Morse; Paul Nuttall; Paul Samuel; Douglas

Young.

They need your support by seeing you present on 28 October at Interclub!

Meet at 7.30am

Intaka Island is home to over 120 species of birds. It is a must for any bird watcher!

Although a lot of activity can be spotted throughout the island, two designated bird hides have

been constructed at key areas to maximise your enjoyment and chances of spotting the more

elusive birds or the notoriously camera shy water-mongoose

Entrance fee is R15 and R9 for pensioners

Doug Young writes: With some luck we might spot a pair of Pied Kingfishers and some Pied

Kingfishers.

A while back I took this image at Intaka of a Malachite Kingfisher feeding its chick:

____________________

CONGRATULATIONS!!

The following members have advanced to the Intermediate Level in the CCC Rankings:

Elaine Cleghorn, Crighton Klassen, Shaun Fautley, Michele Kinross, Chris Kinross,

Mariana Meyer, Cari Stek and Wendy Taylor

October Creative Topic: Environmental Portrait

Paul Nuttall provides these images that suggest ways of interpreting the topic:

An environmental portrait is a portrait taken of a person or people in a situation that they live in and a

place that says something about who they are. It is often a place of work, rest or play.

An Environment is something which is totally integrated with the physical and biological factors along

with their own chemical interactions which further forms to serve any form of living. So what does it

have to do with the word Environmental Portrait – in simpler terms any portrait which gets us to know

about the life terms, their physical and biological interactions with the local ecology, showing their

nativity can be called as an Environmental Portrait.

To further study about this interesting aspect let us divide it into 4 classes.

The Character

The Character of the Portrait. The Importance of every aspect of it, their presence, their forms and its

significance. What makes them special there, the locality their adaptation to that environment and what

changes has this brought into their Physique or Mental ability. To capture these elements makes it very

interesting and then it happens to be an Environmental Portrait.

Location and its Relation

The Place they stay, it can be of wide range anything from a tribal village, duplex apartment, or a typical

slum. But one needs to understand to what extent this locality has influenced their attributes. How do

they carry them-self when inside their home ground their physical language, since their behaviour tends

to change when outside their zone. All put together, capturing the essence of any portrait inside their

comfort zone with more environmental values constitutes to an Environmental Portrait.

The Wider Frame

By the term “Wider Frame” we mean you the photographer to show a lot of it. The details covered are

not to be on the face, this story is more about where they belong, how well they have adapted to stay

here. And for clearer interactions, it becomes necessary for you to show where they belong. A Small

trick is to show it large and wide to get a lot closer to what we call an Environmental Portrait.

What does it convey?

What are you trying to convey with this Environmental Portrait? Simple – This is a person who lives, in

this locality which is visible itself in the Photograph. He/She belongs there, that is how they dress up,

carry them self their food, their family, the weather they live on, the problems they face, their mood,

their character it’s all visible in this one single photograph – the Environmental Portrait.

Douglas Young

Photographs: Douglas Young (DY) and Jane Bursey (JB)

A Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, extending up to 80 degrees north and well within the Arctic circle,

Svalbard (formerly called Spitsbergen) lies about midway between Norway and the North Pole. It is the northern-

most permanently peopled land globally, with about 3000 inhabitants in winter. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it

was a fur trapping and whaling base and then, in the 20th century, coal mining became the main economic activity.

It is now predominantly a tourist destination and a research centre. It houses the Svalbard Global Seed Vault,

which preserves internationally supplied vegetation seeds to offset the possible effects of catastrophe. The

permafrost beneath its surface means that Svalbard is not agriculturally viable, so food and all other supplies are

imported by sea and air.

Flying in (JB) Receeding glacier (JB) Typical landscape (JB)

Svalbard is a popular destination for boat cruises around the islands. My wife, Jane, and I joined one of these

cruises in midsummer (June-July) this year for a seven-day trip around the archipelago. Guided by 11 highly

qualified scientists from all over the world – academics, environmental researchers, PhDs and Royal Society

fellows – we were able to find, see and learn about unusual wildlife, geographical and floral features. For most

people on board, the prime attraction was polar bears and we were lucky enough to see two mothers, each with

two cubs, albeit at a distance. Such sightings are uncommon – these were in the pack ice north of Svalbard, at

81°04´N, approximately 990kms from the North Pole.

Although the midsummer climate and midnight sun warmed the air to about 7 degrees, there was still abundant

sea ice and many glacial formations to navigate through and enjoy as spectacular landscapes in the crisp,

unpolluted light.

The downside of seeing many glaciers is being alerted to their alarming, annually accelerating, irreversible melting

and shrinkage due to global warming. It leaves one in very little doubt about global warming when you see what

is happening to the Svalbard glaciers!

There were many endemic birds and some animals to keep cameras clicking.

Nesting guillemots (DY) Puffins (DY) Arctic Gull (DY)

We were also fortunate to see an arctic fox carrying away a captured Brunswick’s Guillemot. When nesting, these

guillemots perch on cliffs above the sea in great abundance and hatch their young on (hopefully) inaccessible

rock ledges, but arctic foxes still manage to prey on them.

Arctic fox with prey (JB) Bearded Seal (DY)

Our sighting of one of the polar bears and her two cubs included her catching a seal which she then fed them

(photos JB). This bear is wearing a collar for research purposes - only female bears can be collared as the male

bears’ necks are too thick and the collars come off. These cubs were yearlings, born the previous spring.

Polar bears are usually found on the pack ice, where the seals on which they prey are found, but can stray into

populated areas in search of food. They are very dangerous, so wherever we landed our guides had rifles with

them to protect us. Carrying flares and a rifle is mandatory for anyone going out of town anywhere on Svalbard.

Walrus giving us the evil eye (DY) The compass flower always faces south (DY) Midnight sun rainbow (DY)

There is unusual vegetation and plant life on the mountain slopes. Walruses can be seen on some beaches, often

snoozing in a huddle with their pals. We were fortunate that one walrus, who was in the water, was being more

active than the others and swam quite close in to the beach. The midnight sun creates unusual monchromatic

rainbows.

Reindeer (DY) Pin Tail ducks (DY) Barnacle geese and chicks (DY)

One port of call was Ny-Alesund, now a research station for the European Space Research Organisation, where

we saw reindeer and diverse bird life. Russia still has a coal mine at Barentsberg, but alarmingly ignores waste

effluent restrictions.

Barentsberg coal processing facility (JB) Longyearbyen’s main street (JB)

Our cruise started and ended in Longyearbean, Svalbard’s largest settlement. Given its small population, it

nevertheless has impressive infrastructure, with schools, a hospital, a university, sports facilities, a library, a

cultural centre, cinema, bars, coffee shops and even a weekly newspaper. There is no cemetery – if you die, you

must be shipped back to the mainland for burial! In winter, transport on land is largely by means of snow mobiles

and dog sleds, hence the abundance of parked snowmobiles awaiting use on the snow/ice-bound winter land.

Snowmobiles awaiting winter (DY) Demarcated “dog parking” (JB) Husky awaiting winter sledding (JB)

Svalbard presents a challenging photographic opportunity as the midsummer light is variable, the landscape is

either ice-bright or dark lava sand (or both), and much of one’s photography has perforce to happen from a ship

or rubber duck that is moving with the waves. A long lens, monopod or tripod, and a polariser are essential. Jane

used a 1.4xconverter to get the polar bear picture as the bears were 800m away. Nevertheless, the experience

of taking photos in this amazing environment was memorable and very rewarding.

Are You a Photographer?

If you don’t print your images, who would ever know?

Digital images are much like our brains – use (print) them or lose them.

Creative Camera Club: Body of Work Exhibition -

25 November 2016

Plans for the Body of Work Exhibition are steaming ahead. It will be held on Friday, 25th

November, at the Red Gallery in Steenberg, Tokai. Tickets cost a mere R100, which will

include the food (with Hallal and Vegan options), and a cash bar will be available. The

Exhibition will run from 19h00 to 21h30, with the prize giving scheduled for 21h00.

Put on your glad rags and a silly, beautiful or bizarre hat, and let’s party! The Bodies of Work

will be judged by Cape Town Photographer Peter Haarhoff and his drie pikkewyne, and there

will be prizes! So knock yourselves out, and dig up your best-ever prints.

14 Brave souls already entered!

Remember, you may enter up to six images, on any theme or subject.

Image Requirements: Size does matter! We will accept:

A3 images (45 x 30cm) Square images 30 x 30 cm

Panorama images 30 cm x not more than 45 cm.

The Deadline: Images must be submitted to me, ready to hang, at the latest by

Friday 11th November.

You can bring them to the November meeting if they are ready. This is to give us time to

plan the layout of the prints, as we have a limited time to do the actual hanging.

Order your tickets. We need to know numbers for catering. (Invite friends and family.)

Help required: We are looking for donations of/ for prizes.

We need help with hanging the images on the day. Please contact me if you can help.

Jane Forsdyke

info@creativecameraclub.co.za