Inside this Issue OCTOBER Editors Note 2 Report from the Chair. Best Images 4 Liquid in Glass 6 Cheat Sheet ISO 8 Meet our Members

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1 OCTOBER 2015 Inside this Issue Editors Note 2 Report from the Chair 3 Best Images 4 Liquid in Glass 6 Cheat Sheet ISO 8 Meet our Members 9 Humidity & Fungus 11 Night Photography 13 Members Matters 16 1

2 Greetings Friends My sincere apology for getting the Shutterbug to you so late this month. The AGM and Award function was held on the 24th Congratulations to all those who received awards. Thank you to all who contributed to this edition. Laura Oppel shares her photographic journey with us and Kathy gives us tips and ideas on November s set subject. Learn how to protect your camera from Humidity and Fungus Try your hand at capturing some special moments at night. However remember to always be safe. I look forward to your feedback and input. Wishing you fewer words and many exposures. Nerissa You never really know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory 2

3 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR Dear Members The end of the year is in sight and your committee members are busy organizing our AGM and year- end prize giving, which will take place on Saturday 24th October at St Mike s hotel. The agenda for the AGM has already been forwarded to all members, so please do your best to attend. After the AGM we will move into the banquet room where we will be awarding and show casing the wonderful talents of our members and we recommend that you don t miss this exciting event. Dahleen has planned a scrumptious menu at the cost of R135 per person, so please indicate your acceptance by mail to either Dahleen or Daryl for catering purposes. We hope that all our members will attend this exciting event and we look forward to seeing you there. We will be offering a number of items in lucky draws and ask that members please consider donating prizes for this purpose. Any item, no matter how big or small will be greatly appreciated. The set subject for November will be liquid in glass and I have done a short description on this for your information. Judges will be looking for creativity and artistic effort and hope that you will enjoy this month s subject. Your committee and I look forward to welcoming you to our year end function. Kathy Kay (APSSA) CHAIRMAN 3

Best Images for October 2015 Congratulations to the Authors! STAR Penny Houghton BEST JUNIOR Henry and Leslie kindly took us out to Port Shepstone to photograph our first drift racing event.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I got home and discovered that I'd managed to get the shot without panning right on by them.

4 Best Images for October 2015 Congratulations to the Authors! STAR Penny Houghton BEST JUNIOR Henry and Leslie kindly took us out to Port Shepstone to photograph our first drift racing event. I was lucky enough to be practicing my recently-learned but not very good panning skills, when these cars were approaching the bend. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got home and discovered that I'd managed to get the shot without panning right on by them. Camera Details: Nikon D810 with a Tamron mm lens at 150mm, ISO 500, 1/1000 sec F5.6, mounted on a tripod with gimbal head. STAR Keith Roach "Image taken recently at Kumasinga Hide, Mkuze Game Reserve. This hide is ranked one of the best in Southern Africa for wildlife photography,with a constant flow of animals drawn to this water source. Cheeky wildebeest decided to rev this young rhino." Camera Details: Canon 7D with Canon EF mm f2.8 L IS II USM. 1/2500sec at f2.8, ISO

STAR Andries Bornman The photo was taken at St Helena Bay (Westcoast) where the children had to stay indoors due to the weather see the expression on their faces and also not happy to pose for photos.

5; 1/250s STAR BEST SENIOR Dave Mullin The image was taken at David Schlapobersky s studio at Bukkenburg Pottery in Swellendam at the recent PSSA Congress.

5 STAR Andries Bornman The photo was taken at St Helena Bay (Westcoast) where the children had to stay indoors due to the weather see the expression on their faces and also not happy to pose for photos. Camera Details: Nikon 7200 with a Nikon mm lens at focal lens of 27mm. ISO 650; F6.5; 1/250s STAR BEST SENIOR Dave Mullin The image was taken at David Schlapobersky s studio at Bukkenburg Pottery in Swellendam at the recent PSSA Congress. David threw clay whilst we watched enthralled as he talked through the process of creating his art pieces. The image was processed in Lightroom 5.71 using split highlight and shadow tones for warmth, a radial filter plus vignette and some added grain for effect. A slow shutter speed ensured that the clay piece showed some movement. The strong natural light allowed a hand held image at a high ISO, and the image was underexposed by one stop to protect the highlights. Camera Details: Nikon D lens at 105mm, Aperture priority F5.6, ISO 1000, 1/50th sec SUCCESS consists of going from failure to failure Without loss of enthusiasm! Winston churchill 5

Set Subject - Liquid in a Glass The set subject this month, namely,

you can photograph a single glass with liquid, or add something to

falling glass We don t mind if the liquid is not in a glass, but a

6 Set Subject - Liquid in a Glass The set subject this month, namely, liquid in a glass can be any liquid in any glass container.you can photograph a single glass with liquid, or add something to the liquid in the glass Or you can get creative and capture a falling glass We don t mind if the liquid is not in a glass, but a glass container, such as a bottle, as long as you use liquid in any type of glass. 6

Most of the time, this will be a studio type of shot, under controlled conditions.

camera mounted on a tripod. To get a shot like the one above, you will need a glass, some liquid, and a white background.

liquid into the glass to check focus, exposure and lighting. Adjust your settings accordingly. Try shutter 1/1000, f9, ISO 400.

7 Most of the time, this will be a studio type of shot, under controlled conditions. The popping cork, above, requires an extra fast shutter speed, while the bottles can be shot with a slow shutter speed and small aperture, with your camera mounted on a tripod. To get a shot like the one above, you will need a glass, some liquid, and a white background. Position a light behind the white background, set your camera on a tripod, set a fast shutter speed and take a few practice shots while pouring the liquid into the glass to check focus, exposure and lighting. Adjust your settings accordingly. Try shutter 1/1000, f9, ISO 400. Experiment with different colour liquids and different glasses. Let the liquid overflow. The above is just to give you a few ideas and to get your creative juices flowing. Try different ideas and settings and above all, enjoy! Yours in photography Kathy Kay ( APSSA) 7

8 8

LAURA OPPEL MY PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY Growing up with my dad, a keen photographer, I always loved observing him taking photos.

My dad had just bought a camera for my mom and had repaired his Pentax *ist DS camera for me.

9 LAURA OPPEL MY PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY Growing up with my dad, a keen photographer, I always loved observing him taking photos. And so, it was bound to happen that the bug would bite, and that I would eventually become interested on what went on behind the lens and start snapping away. My parents always encouraged me at family outings and events to take the odd photo with dad s camera and I would also do the occasional editing for the fun of it. My love and appreciation for the art of photography began back in early 2014 on a family trip to the Western Cape over the Easter holidays. My dad had just bought a camera for my mom and had repaired his Pentax *ist DS camera for me. He thought it was a good idea to show my mom and I a thing or two with the camera. This was a thrilling time, as now I had a camera of my own. With some experimenting, I got the hang of things and taking picture s came naturally, and even managed to get in touch with my creative side, since I d never before had much of a creative bone in my body. A month later, I was blessed and ecstatic to receive a much unexpected birthday gift from my parents; a Nikon D3200! It was love at first sight. 9

Throughout the past year many outings and weekends away were planned around different photo opportunities.

A love for nature, wildlife and landscape photography has definitely flourished, which has more than likely arisen from my ''hippie'' tendancies and spending most of my time outdoors; either on the

I admit that I wasn t exactly ecstatic about this at first, more so because I felt intimidated and didn t feel confident in sharing my work.

Attending was such an eye-opener, all these people coming together, sharing a common interest, and seeing a vast variety of wonderful images. I was in awe!

10 Throughout the past year many outings and weekends away were planned around different photo opportunities. A few highlights included viewing the Cape vultures at Oribi Gorge, visiting a few secret spots on the coast, a road trip to Lady Gray and a short holiday to St Lucia. A love for nature, wildlife and landscape photography has definitely flourished, which has more than likely arisen from my ''hippie'' tendancies and spending most of my time outdoors; either on the beach swimming and surfing, or going on spontaneous hikes and trail runs. At the end of 2014, my dad signed me up at the Hibiscus Coast camera club. I admit that I wasn t exactly ecstatic about this at first, more so because I felt intimidated and didn t feel confident in sharing my work. This all changed at my first camera club meeting in January. Attending was such an eye-opener, all these people coming together, sharing a common interest, and seeing a vast variety of wonderful images. I was in awe! Being part of camera club and meeting new and immensely supportive individuals through the club who are always happy to share their knowledge and advise constantly challenges me to want to push myself harder and better my photography skills. Thank-you! Little did I realise the impact photography has had upon my life. Being an eternal student (or so my parents would say), working towards my Master s degree and having a full time job can definitely take its toll on an individual. Not only has photography become an outlet for daily stressors, it has also become a permanent part of my life; a hobby providing me with an opportunity to get in touch with my creativity, and an opportunity to be able to witness and capture some unforgettable moments in time! 10

11 by Susheel Chandradhas Why High Humidity is Bad for your Equipment Fungus grows in between lens elements and under the lens coatings. Once it gets started, it is a pain to get rid of, and causes soft spots in your photographs, being the equivalent of having a fingerprint on your lens. This is one case in which the prevention keeps the lens doctors away. Fungus or Mould thrive in dark, humid places where there is little, or no movement of air (sound familiar? look at where you store your camera equipment). Very often camera equipment ends up in drawers, cupboards, or basements; all of which are dubious places to store them. Remember that keeping your camera in storage for too long is also a recipe for fungal (and mechanical) disaster. Lenses and cameras need to be kept in use and exposed to light and fresh air from time to time. A camera or lens that is used well, and stored correctly is most likely to see many years of successful picture-taking. taking. Lenses and camera equipment are optimally stored at a relative humidity (RH) of around 35% to 45%. A good rule of thumb to figure the optimal RH to store your equipment at, is to look at it s optimal operating humidity range, and half it. For example, the Canon EOS 5D s operating humidity range is 85% RH or lower, so a good indicative range to store it would be between 35 and 45% RH. Why Low Humidity is Bad for your Equipment Remember, that you could also run into problems from keeping your RH levels too low. All camera lenses and bodies have a number of moving parts gears, sliding thingies, and rolling thingies and they re all lubricated with a light machine oil. Keeping your RH too low could dry up that oil quicker than usual, making these parts wear out sooner, and work sluggishly. I also think that the rubber on the camera tends to harden quicker in dry air. Solutions So what s the solution? The cheapest option is to use your camera as frequently as possible; The exposure to light, especially UV light kills the fungus. While this is not a problem for active enthusiasts, those who store their cameras for any length of time need an alternative. 11

12 Alternative 1 Sunlight / UV Radiation Put your camera out in the sun from time to time. Remove the lens (or you could end up with a hole burnt in your shutter or some other part), filter, body, etc, and put them all out in sunlight for a while. If you manage to work this into your monthly camera care routine, you should be fine. You could also try what some photographers do: use a UV lamp in their storage area. Why? Because prolonged exposure to UV (Ultra-Violet) radiation kills or retards fungal growth. Do remember to take your UV filters off if you decide to try this method out, because they are designed to keep UV rays out of your lenses. The lens coating blocks UV light too, to an extent. Ok, so you re exposing it to light on a regular basis, but what if you live in a region that is perpetually humid? See alternative 2 for an answer. Alternative 2 Dessicants As always, there are the cheap options, and the expensive options. In either case, you ll most likely need a Hygrometer so that you know what the relative humidity is, at any given time. Cheap Option Silica Gel Silica-Gel is the cheap way out. It is a dessicant (something that de-humidifies the air in the vicinity of your camera equipment). You can buy Silica Gel either as crystals, or sometimes as tiny spheres. Most often you find them in porous sachets so that they don t disperse among your equipment. If you decide to go with Silica Gel for your cabinet, remember that you should get the indicative variety. They are blue when they re fully absorbent, white-ish when they re partially full of moisture, and pink when they re fully saturated. You can Re-charge your Silica Gel at this point. You ll need a container like the Dry Storage Silica Gel Dehumidifier to store it, yet create enough air-flow through the crystals. You ll also generally need lots of silica gel. But remember that it lasts a long time, and needs no further investment. Remember, that keeping saturated silica-gel in your camera storage could do you more harm than good by actually releasing more moisture into your storage. Expensive Option DeHumidifiers As with everything, there has always got to be an expensive option. De-Humidifiers usually use mechanical means to reduce the relative humidity of the air around it. De-Humidifiers are usually quite effective, and can reduce the time you spend on modifying your camera s environment, but they generally draw significant amounts of electricity. You could also use your Air Conditioner to reduce the ambient humidity to a safe level for your camera equipment. This is because Air Conditioners dehumidify as they chill the air, leaving a comfortable storage humidity for lenses and cameras. 12

13 Night Photography. Try It By Keith Jones Why do so many casual and amateur photographers shy away from taking pictures once the sun goes down? Haven t they seen the great pictures taken at night by other photographers? Maybe they think those type pictures can only be made by professional photographers with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Well that line of thinking is not true at all. Ooooh oui oh la la la! captured by Bryan Taking night shots is not as difficult as some may think. If you have a camera, a tripod, and a sub- ject you can take some great night shots. That is, as long as there is some light available. It can be artificial light, moonlight, or ambient light from the atmosphere just after sunset. Night photography gives you a chance to have the type of shots that are out of the ordinary not not the same type pictures everyone else has. A few of the more popular night photography subjects are city skylines, well lit downtown areas, moonlit scenes, and tourist attraction areas. However, any scene in your own neighbourhood or town that has some sort of light in it is fair game for night photography. TIMING: You don t have to be out at midnight to take night shots. Some of the best night shots are taken right after the sun has set. Sure it s dark, but there is still a little ambient light remaining from the sunset in the air. This is important because you might be able to record a little more detail in the shadow areas of the scene at this time of evening. As it gets later in the evening, many of the shad- ow areas will appear very dark or black with no detail unless there is some sort of artificial light around that area. 13

14 CAMERA: What type camera will you need? A Digital Single Lens Reflex camera (DSLR) is the best choice for night photography. That s because when using a DSLR camera you ll have more control over the camera s exposure settings. Taking pictures at night will require longer exposure times and a DSLR has more options for changing the exposure settings. Union Station captured by Torrey However, you can also use a compact camera to take night pictures. Most digital compact camer- as have some sort of night mode setting, such as night landscape. A night mode setting will keep the camera s shutter open for longer periods of time so that the image sensor can absorb more light. The main problem with using a compact camera for night photography is that you won t be able to choose the exposure settings. In spite of that, your camera s automatic night mode setting may still be able to produce some good images at times. TRIPOD: A tripod is a must! When taking pictures at night the cameras shutter can be open for seconds instead of fractions of a second. It is practically impossible to obtain a sharp image using a shut- ter speed of less than 1/30th of a second while the camera is being hand held. So make sure to use a tripod. Also try using your cameras self timer or a remote shutter release when using a tripod. The reason for that is because there may be some camera shake when your finger presses the shutter release even when the camera is on a tripod. CAMERA SETTINGS: What are the best camera exposure settings for night photography? There are no standard exposure settings for night photography. Just like daytime photography, the exposure settings for night photography will depend on the amount of available light in a scene. Get started by taking a shot of your night scene. You can start by using your camera s automatic mode or any other mode you choose. Take a look at the result on the LCD screen. If the image is too light or dark, adjust your settings accordingly. If you re using a DSLR camera, you will be able to manually change the camera aperture or shutter speed. If you re using a compact digital camera, try using the exposure compensation EV+ or EV- feature. That will allow more or less light into the camera. (Note: You might not be able to use that feature while in a night mode.) 14

BRACKETING: Bracketing your exposures can be helpful when taking night shots.

Overall taking night pictures is not more difficult than taking pictures in the daytime.

15 BRACKETING: Bracketing your exposures can be helpful when taking night shots. Bracketing your exposures means to take several shots of the same scene at different exposure settings. Take one or two that will be darker and one or two that will be lighter than the recommended exposure setting. You will then have more images to choose from when deciding which exposure setting was the best. Overall taking night pictures is not more difficult than taking pictures in the daytime. It might be a little challenging in the beginning but it will be a fun and exciting challenge. Once you know a lit- tle about camera exposure basics and the operation of your camera, you are well on your way to getting that great night shot. More Ideas: LV@nite captured by John C 15

16 CLUB STATISTICS OCTOBER 2015 October Junior Merit Gold Silver Bronze October Senior Merit 10 Gold Silver 18 Bronze No Award October Total Merit Gold Silver Bronze No Award 16

17 SET SUBJECTS: 2015 Month Medium Topic February Mono Reflections March Colour Low Angle April Mono Table Top/ Still Life May Colour Propaganda Poster (Cash prize available contact Ari & Piet) June Mono Mood & Emotion July Colour Silhouette August Mono Architecture September Colour Weathered (subject must be affected by the weather) October Mono Shadows November Colour Liquid in a Glass December Colour Holiday Spirit Upload your images to Photovault by no later than the last Sunday of each month SALON ACCEPTANCES: Congratulations to all members that received Salon Achievements. Please e mail a copy of your achievements to Akash Basday (akash@basday.com) and Tom Prins (tomprins47@gmail.com) All images receiving multiple Salon acceptances will only count a maximum of three acceptances at club level (irrespective of what was done to it). Administrators will rely on the integrity of members in this regard but spot checks will be done. 17

18 SALON CALENDER More info at and Bloemfontein Salon Westville Salon Tygerberg Salon Swartland Salon Middelburg Salon Cape Town Digital & AV Salon Beachcombers Salon Please check the PSSA website regularly for updates and changes. All members are encouraged to enter Salons BIRTHDAY WISHES - OCTOBER 18

ANNOUNCEMENTS: CLUB EVENING - NOVEMBER: NEVIL TYLER will be the Guest Judge at our November Club evening. All are encouraged to enter images and attended the evening.

All members will be invited to this session. We will keep you informed of Date. Time and Venue. PSSA CLUB WINNING PICTURES September 2015 How does this competition work?

19 ANNOUNCEMENTS: CLUB EVENING - NOVEMBER: NEVIL TYLER will be the Guest Judge at our November Club evening. All are encouraged to enter images and attended the evening. Check the PSSA website for dates and details on the 2016 PSSA National Congress in Langebaan. WATCH THIS SPACE; Kathy, Tom & Henry will be judging live for the Beachcomers Salon in November. All members will be invited to this session. We will keep you informed of Date. Time and Venue. PSSA CLUB WINNING PICTURES September 2015 How does this competition work? For the Club Winning Picture of the month a club representative submits the club winners for Junior and Senior sections via Photovault. The winning images are available for you to view on the PSSA website HUMOUR: 19

INFORMAL SPONSERS Thank you very much to the following sponsors: Photo Freedom (Shelly Centre) Thank you Karen for kindly arranging the display of the monthly star winners images in the shop window.

20 INFORMAL SPONSERS Thank you very much to the following sponsors: Photo Freedom (Shelly Centre) Thank you Karen for kindly arranging the display of the monthly star winners images in the shop window. We really appreciate being able to receive the images after they were displayed. PLEASE NOTE THAT WINNING IMAGES WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED UNTIL THE PHOTO FREEDOM SELFIE COMPETITION IS OVER, DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF WINDOW SPACE. South Coast Herald (Look Local) Shenda for so diligently placing our monthly merit and star winning images on your Facebook page. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chairman - Kathy Kay kathykay@lantic.net Vice Chairman -Ari du Toit bluepond@vodamail.co.za Print Steward -Tom Prins tomprins47@gmail.com PRO/Sect. - Nerissa Naidoo nerissa@stmikes.co.za Treasurer - Daryl Benecke darylb@telkomsa.net TOPS Admin - Akash Basday akash@basday.com 20

SHUTTERBUG. The HCPS. Special Feature Meet Dave Mullin. Upcoming Salons Don t miss out on a chance to enter your images

SHUTTERBUG. The HCPS. Special Feature Meet Dave Mullin. Upcoming Salons Don t miss out on a chance to enter your images The HCPS SHUTTERBUG Special Feature Meet Dave Mullin Get Clued Up on Next Months Set Subject Upcoming Salons Don t miss out on a chance to enter your images Special Feature F-Stops, Shutter Speed and ISO