1

Monthly Newsletter of the Creative Camera Club,

Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa

website: www.creativecameraclub.co.za

Where photography turns into art…

December 2016-January 2017

Jenny Morkel wins top prize in CCC Body of Work Exhibition, November 2016

Congratulations to Jenny for her 4-image set of images: “A Whiter Shade of Pale”

In this issue: Outgoing and Incoming Chairpersons’ messages; Body of Work Results and Images; December CCC meeting: winning images and results; Creative Topics for 2017; Examples of possible Humour images for January/February Creative topics submission; WAUSSAUK International Photo Competiton; New Committee details.

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.

2

Looking back over 2016: Cecil Walker reflects on his year as CCC Chairperson

In December 2015 I had no idea that I was about to become Chairperson of the Creative Camera Club. I thus had no plans or visions for the club. I was blissfully unaware of the club’s commitments and its need for a new venue. I had a vague understanding of how the club worked, I knew the Chairperson, the Treasurer and one or two other people who stood up at meetings and said important things. That was it. In the minute or so that I had to accept my nomination as Chairperson, I thought “why me, who else is on the committee, why did they start with the Chairperson first - this is all wrong?!” Then I thought, “…if I am going to be Chairman, then I had better have a good committee around me, because I know very little about Photography, and even less about running a Photographic club.” Knowing my other commitments for the second half of the year I would need to find an awesome committee and make sure the committee does all the work. Well, that awesome committee was duly elected, and we had members for every position. Some of the positions changed during the year, and some members left. But the committee you elected last year has been very effective and totally committed to running the Creative Camera Club. I will thank everyone in turn, but ask you to give your outgoing committee a big round of applause. My first discovery on becoming Chairperson was that we needed a new venue for our meetings. My second discovery was that it was the Creative Camera Club’s turn to host the Western Cape Interclub Competition. The first thing to organize was a meeting of the new committee in January. We had a new venue which was not all I thought it might be. My apologies for a few unsatisfactory meetings held there. The whole committee performed like a well-oiled machine, with every member pulling her or his weight: Starting with Jane Forsdyke: she was treasurer and secretary, then just the treasurer and back to secretary and treasurer. Jane has done a great job of keeping us all informed and ensuring our finances improved every month. Jane arranged our own bank account, collected our subs and other money due to the club, and then paid all our bills and expenses. Jane you made my life so easy, and was always available for me. She also organized our very successful Body of Work Exhibition in November. THANK YOU, Jane!

Anthony Van Zyl was our Image Manager. Few of us realize what the job entails. This is not just a committee meeting job. It involves many hours preparing for each meeting, and then presenting the images at the meetings. THANK YOU, Anthony - we would have been lost without you. I am pleased to say that Anthony has agreed to continue in his post for 2017.

For the first time since I became a member, the club has produced a monthly newsletter. And what a great newsletter it is. We can all be proud of its informative commentary, information and report back. For our Newsletter, Focus, we must say a huge THANK YOU to Doug Young. And remember a Newsletter will not be half as good without our member’s contributions, so keep them coming.

Paul Nuttall has looked after our Shoots, the monthly Creative topics and organized many much-enjoyed instruction events. Paul, you always had the answer and nothing was too much trouble. THANK YOU for your efforts and for keeping me on track.

Finding judges for our monthly meetings was never an easy job. THANK YOU, Shaun - you never let us down. I am sorry you will not be helping again next year.

I am sure you have all noticed our web site lately. It has been changing and it is kept up to date very ably by Koji Nakashima. THANK YOU, your efforts and attendance at the committee meetings were much appreciated.

To Mike Darci, Ken Burton, Riaz Ismail and others who have served on the committee thank you for your help.

The Western Cape Interclub Photographic Competition has come and gone. The whole event was created out of nothing by Claude Felbert. Claude: you did a great job, we had our niggles and embarrassing moments, but in the end it was a great success. Please be sure to have an Interclub Handbook available for the next club or committee that runs the event next year. I believe that the club is on the road to great achievements. We now have a very acceptable new venue, thanks to Chris Forsdyke. We have two very good members who are determined to improve our CREATIVE skills. I urge all our members to share their knowledge with Doug and Paul and let us make this truly “The CREATIVE Camera Club”. To the incoming committee, never lose sight of HAVING FUN in all the activities you embark upon. To the new Chairperson, Chris, Good luck, there are some very good people staying on to help you guide the club.

Have a Blessed 2017 and start it with a flash!

3

BODY OF WORK EXHIBITION WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE CCC YEAR

Of the two big CCC events of 2016, our hosting of the Western Cape Interclub Photographic Competition,

covered in the November Focus, and our end of year Body of Work Exhibition, the latter was perhaps the

highlight of our year’s activities. 20 members displayed their image portfolios of up 6 to prints each at the

Red Gallery, Steenberg. About 50 people attended, most of them CCC members and a good mad-hatters’

party was enjoyed by all.

Jane Forsdyke, with help from Carl Geel and Daniel O’Donoghue organised, mounted and ran an

excellent function. Peter Haarhof’s judging of the prints was very fair and balanced and his critical

comments encouraging and supportive of our work. His praise for the overall standard and creativity of our

work was very welcome.

Our sincere thanks go to those donating the prizes: Studio 22, Orms, Cameraland and Photographic Repairs.

Results:

1st Prize: Jenny Morkel’s superb set of four prints of flowers – “A Whiter Shade of Pale” deservedly

won the top prize and is our cover feature in this issue of Focus.

The other results were:

Portfolios of prints:

2nd: Claude Felbert for his “Girls, Glitter and Greasepaint”

3Rd: Douglas Young for his “Capturing Colour”.

Best single image: Paul Nuttall: “Falling Waiter”;

2nd: Carl Geel: “Contrasts”;

3rd: Michele Hendry: “Elephants”.

Best Mad hatter prize: Shared by Carl Geel and Daniel O’Donoghue

Images: 2nd Prize: Claude Felbert’s “Girls, Glitter and Greasepaint”

Alien Form Check the Eyes Queen of Diamonds African Gold

Which witch? Difficult Position

4

3rd Prize: Douglas Young’s “Capturing Colour”

Orchid Face Feeler Clean Chair Spectrum

Desert Caravan Sunset Arctic Gull Polka Dot Beetle

Single print prizes:

Ist prize: Paul Nuttall’s “Falling Waiter”. 2nd Prize: Carl Geel’s “Contrast”. 3rd Prize: Michele Hendry’s “Elephant Trunk” .

Jenny Morkel’s Prize Carl&Dan’s Hats Prize

5

WINNING IMAGES: DECEMBER CCC MEETING

Creative:Take Cape Town for a spin:Paul Nuttall 26 Open: Summer: Anthony van Zyl 27

Open: Flipper feet: Michele Nel 27 Print: On the prowl; Jane Bursey: 27

Print: With attitude: Michele Nel: 27 Shoot: Coming through: Jane Forsdyke: 28

6

CCC MEMBERS' POSITIONS AND SCORES JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2016

Name Star

Rating Entry Count

Total score

Ave Score

Total points

Paul Nuttall 3 Star 40 885 22 94

Douglas Young 3 Star 40 850 21 84

Gerrit Opperman 2 Star 35 703 20 78

Anthony van Zyl 3 Star 32 694 22 73

Jane Forsdyke 2 Star 26 587 23 72

Drienie van Zyl 2 Star 25 519 21 62

Lennon Fletcher 2 Star 25 521 21 57

Terence Atkins 3 Star 23 474 21 52

Crighton Klassen 2 Star 19 397 21 49

Claude Felbert 2 Star 20 420 21 48

Jenny Morkel 2 Star 17 347 20 41

Shaun Fautley 2 Star 15 315 21 38

Chris Kinross 2 Star 14 307 22 38

Marianna Meyer 2 Star 14 297 21 35

Michele Hendry 2 Star 13 295 23 35

Lesley Morse 2 Star 15 303 20 31

Angus Rule 3 Star 14 299 21 31

Elaine Cleghorn 2 Star 12 247 21 30

Wendy Taylor 2 Star 11 228 21 29

Michele Nel 1 Star 9 204 23 28

Karin Rai 2 Star 11 222 20 27

Jason Purcell 2 Star 10 217 22 27

Roger Trythall 1 Star 12 222 18 26

Cari Stek 2 Star 10 202 20 25

Cecil Walker 2 Star 10 199 20 25

Mujahid Ur Rehman 2 Star 9 202 22 23

Nicky Elliott 2 Star 9 182 20 23

Marian Boardman 1 Star 9 191 21 22

Jane Bursey 1 Star 7 154 22 20

Shirley van der Hoek 2 Star 9 175 19 17

Carol van Blerck 1 Star 7 139 20 15

Kenneth Burton 2 Star 5 107 21 15

Carl Geel 1 Star 5 105 21 13

Andrew Mcfarlane 1 Star 5 101 20 13

Jurgens Van Zyl 1 Star 4 89 22 12

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

Carrie Pretorius 1 Star 2 46 23 6

Darren Sievers 1 Star 2 42 21 6

Kevin McGilton 2 Star 2 39 20 5

Charlie ODonoghue 1 Star 1 25 25 3

Arvind Bhawan 1 Star 1 22 22 3

7

CCC Creative Image Topics 2017

Paul Nuttall has devised a challenging set of topics!

Months: Topic s: Monday Submission deadlines:

January Beach 30 January

Feb Humour 30 January

March Composing with Leading Lines 27 February

April A World of Motion 27 March

May Isolating the Subject 24 April

June Emotions 29 May

July Low Vantage Point 26 June

August Double Exposure 31 July

September Flares in Nature 28 August

October Wildlife 25 September

November Dusk or Dawn 30 October

December People in The City 27 November

8

9

Chris Kinross, our new Chairperson, gives his vision for the CCC year

ahead:

Happy New Year.

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend.

May we all have our hopes, our will to try.

If we don't we might as well lay down and die.

You and I.

(With acknowledgements to the immortal sounds of ABBA)

As your new Chairperson, there are a few New Year’s resolutions I would like us all to achieve this year:

Submitting photos for Judging - Let’s make it an easier, stress-free, more rewarding experience.

I know how terrifying it is to submit to your first photo for judging. Or how scary it is to post a photo on our Facebook page. Zero positive comments can feel just as bad as the possibility of one bad comment. Putting our work out there, putting ourselves out there, especially in a field that has some wonderfully skilled and talented people, is terrifying.

But no one gets anywhere by playing it safe. You will never be completely confident trying something for the first time. That fear will always be there, and that’s a good thing – it means we’re in a new realm outside our comfort zones. Acknowledge it, calm down, and take the plunge. Remember, it gets easier every time.

Recognise that the judge is human, just like us. There is nothing absolute about judging. While he may be using some objective criteria to guide his judgement he is an individual and may have a personal slant to his opinion. We can be fairly confident that another judge will have a different opinion and give us different marks But it is precisely that individuality that provides us with the opportunity to learn something new from each and every judge. It’s up to us to find something worthwhile to take home with us. And I suppose therein lies the secret to a stress-free, rewarding judging experience.

10

Make our club more Socially Inclusive.

While your committee has the mandate and shoulders the responsibility to steer our club, I would like to invite

everyone who wishes to contribute to the club in any way, to please step forward and be heard. Contact me or

any other committee member with your requests, suggestions or concerns.

Stay behind a little longer at our meetings. Buy a drink (we owe it to the Underwater Club who kindly lend us

their venue) and socialise with fellow members. Get to know each other. Get along with ALL the members.

Discuss, debate, chat and argue about your photography with other photographers. We can all learn from each

other.

If you feel you have something special or particular that you would like to share with everyone, please bring it to

the attention of your committee and we will see if we can weave it in to our programme.

Volunteer - Please make yourself available to help at club functions, if required.

Keeping Photography FUN.

When our past Chairperson, Cecil, passed me the baton he said; “Chris, keep it fun”. And he is right. We all

take photographs to enhance our lives in one way or another. Let’s keep it FUN.

Photography…

Immortalise the things we care about. As photographers we have the abilities to create an image that

someone will cherish until the end of time.

Document the journey through life. There’s a reason people run back into a burning building for the family

photo album. It’s because photos are a part of our identity.

Is a wonderful stress reliever.

Inspires our imagination.

Brings us closer to our Natural Spirituality

Let’s us see things that we otherwise may never have seen.

Makes us see the world differently.

What an astonishing power!

WAUSSAUK INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

CCC has been invited to submit images for the annual WAUSSAUK Interclub photo competition – we

entered for the first time in 2016 and Chris Kinross achieved a second place for one of his images. The

acronym standards for Western Australia, the USA, South Africa and the UK.

CCC members are invited to submit images, which must be received by the CCC Committee in early

March 2017. Details will be given at the February CCC Meeting.

11

CREATIVE CAMERA CLUB: COMMITTEE 2017

Chairperson - Chris Kinross - chris@kinross.co.za 082 443 9210

Vice Chairperson - Doug Young - dougyoung@worldonline.co.za 021 462 4875 / 084 683 2551

Secretary – Gerrit Opperman – gerrit_opperman@yahoo.com w 021 700 1276 h 021 701 9467

083 253 8240

Treasurer - Jane Bursey - janebursey1@gmail.com 082 803 4526

Newsletter - Doug Young – dougyoung@worldonline.co.za 084 683 2551

Image Master - Anthony Van Zyl - azyl@slb.com 082 378 2226

Fellowship - Mike Barci - mbarci@iburt.co.za 021 671 6425 / 073 793 3090

Shoots /Creative Topics/Education - Paul Nuttall ynh@iafrica. 083 250 8000

Judge Coordinator – Chris Kinross – chris@kinross.co.za 082 443 9210

Not on Committee but email/number included for communications:

Web Master - Koji Nakashima - cigarmankoji@gmail.com 082 254 2926