Forest Photography Group starting Tuesday 5th Feb, 6-8pm

Action room, screen printing, darkroom, Bristo Hall, Cave, AV equipment
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Martin
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Forest Photography Group starting Tuesday 5th Feb, 6-8pm

Post by Martin » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:26 pm

James & I were chatting about the fact that there seem to be lots of photographers amongst the forest, many of them are just doing their own thing bout some would like to chat about it, learn from each other, and do some things together.

So we have decided to start a photography group. We've booked the action room for 6-8pm on Tuesday 5th Feb for a first meeting and we'll put some posters up and spread the word.

We thought maybe we'd make it 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month for general meeting up and chatting, but we could also arrange separate times to get together for particular activities.

Here are some things we came up with that we'd like to do - please reply with your own!

- Looking at each others photos
- Teaching/learning technical stuff e.g. equipment, shooting techniques, darkroom work, digital editing, raw processing, colour managment...
- Theme/technique of the week/fortnight/month
- Going out together to shoot in interesting places

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:41 pm

That sounds awesome. Are those of use with no idea what we're doing welcome along?

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Gandhi
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Post by Gandhi » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:55 pm

This is fantastic, can't wait
It's like God's vagina!

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:25 pm

We would have picked a sooner date to start, but Tuesday seemed to be the only day of the week James & I could both do and that didn't clash too badly with WG meetings, today is the 3rd Tues and the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays are Dorkbot.

If people are super keen maybe we can get started sooner though.

And yes, this should be absolutely no-experience-necessary.

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Gandhi
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Post by Gandhi » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:53 pm

If anyone needs a spare camera then I've got two other cameras I can bring along. They are both film cameras. one is a pentax with a massive zoom lens- sorry I don't have the original smaller lens, and the other is a Canon. let me know, if you need them
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nix
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Post by nix » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:43 am

I'm in!

cool..

Andy.. I got some lenses with PK fit.. I think, soewhere..

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Post by Gandhi » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:50 am

Can we have a different theme each month, so we can see all the ideas which people have come up with. e.g. Speed, Light, Party, World in Motion, The Modern Life etc, etc

Thats cool Nix, if you can find them you can bring them along, as long as someone needs the camera that is.
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Post by ravanwin » Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:48 am

i am in the market for good pentax lenses.....

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Gandhi
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Post by Gandhi » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:21 pm

I got a Pentax A35-135 Macro Zoom Lens....I think.
It's this one:
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Post by James » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:26 pm

Why doesn't everyone bring some photographs they like (theirs or someone elses) to get things started?

We haven't got any firm plans for were we are going with this, we'll see what happens ... but themes was one thing we talked about, we can talk about someone one week and then people who want to can have a go and bring the results to the next meeting.

martin, do you want to use that photo you showed me of your friend looking out the gap in the wall at the countryside for a poster? I think that would be cool ....

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Post by Martin » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:56 pm

I think that one's a bit too dark for a poster really.

(the one James is talking about is here: http://void.printf.net/~martin/photos/24C3/78.html to satisfy everyone else's curiosity)

Actually I don't know if there should be any photos on the poster at all, because if we pick photos which are too bad, or too good, or not interesting to people then it might put them off. Maybe we just want some cheesy clipart of a camera.

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Post by Gandhi » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:24 pm

we should use this pic for the poster. hehehe
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Post by Gandhi » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:27 pm

or something cheesy like this one....she really is happy, I wander what she photgraphing
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Martin
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Post by Martin » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:10 pm

I love how she's clearly not actually looking through the viewfinder.

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Post by Shannon » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:14 pm

I love how most cheap digital cameras don't even have a view finder now! My mom can't take a photo in bright light because she can't see what she's looking at on the screen...

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Post by Gandhi » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:24 pm

how about a picture of some taking a picture of someone taking a picture.
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Post by Martin » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:31 am

I only just realised there are five Tuesdays this month, which means this coming Tuesday has neither a Dorkbot nor a photography group meeting.

There seem to be some keen people posting in this thread who can't wait to get started - would any of you fancy some sort of small meeting on Tuesday? It might be good to chat a bit and maybe plan some activities, before the first publicly advertised workshop.

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Post by Gandhi » Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:24 pm

it might actually be a good idea to have a non-official meeting this tuesday to get the ideas flowing and try and get a bit of a structure for the group so that when we come to starting we can jump straight in and get going.

Saying that I can't promise I can come this Tuesday but almost definately can. What time? 7pm? 7.30pm?
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Post by Martin » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:51 am

7 or 7:30 would be fine. James? Anyone else?

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:04 pm

I'm not actually going to be able to make Tuesdays. Down in Leeds each Tuesday until May. :(

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Post by James » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:29 pm

I think I will be able to make tomorrow, although I have a nagging feeling I should be somewhere else .....

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Post by Martin » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:19 pm

Okay, the pre-meeting didn't materialise... but everyone please remember to come to the first meeting this Tuesday the 5th at 6pm in the Action Room!

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Post by Shannon » Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:47 pm

Yes, someone saw your sign and asked me about it. There might be new recruits coming...

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Gandhi
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Post by Gandhi » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:05 pm

woohoo, I'm excited. Got my camera all ready to play around with.
Try and get there for 6pm sharp, but at work all day so may be a few minutes late depending on how slow the busses are.

Is the Action Room the one on the ground floor, by the big blue doors?
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Post by swithun » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:06 pm

The Action room is upstairs, to the left of the church hall.

If my camera arrives today I'll be along.

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Post by Gandhi » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:08 pm

Cheers.
You can share mine tonight if you want Swith.
You can't touch it though, but just look at if from afar!
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Martin
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Post by Martin » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:19 pm

I have spare cameras. Come!

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Post by swithun » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:31 pm

Thanks. There will be the Cafe & Events meeting at 7 to go to.

Damnit. I want my camera to arrive!

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Post by James » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:51 pm

I'll be ten mins late as I'm coming from the office, see you all there tho ....

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Post by Gandhi » Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:42 pm

Was a good start on Tuesday I think and am looking forward to coming along to the next one.

Remember that the assisnments this week are to: just take some pictures and bring them in...they can be of anything.

Martin, is it worth starting up a new thread to put all the stuff we learnt in the lesson...sorry i meant meeting :D would be nice as sometimes its a lot of info to take in...be cool to post any pictures and drawings related to them. We can keep that Thread to all the techie stuff, and any pictures we want to upload, and this one can be kept for chatting and organising

Here's an example.....
Got some good info here, bout what you were teaching:

Exposure and Focus
Just as with film, a digital camera has to control the amount of light that reaches the sensor. The two components it uses to do this, the aperture and shutter speed, are also present on conventional cameras.

Aperture: The size of the opening in the camera. The aperture is automatic in most digital cameras, but some allow manual adjustment to give professionals and hobbyists more control over the final image.
Shutter speed: The amount of time that light can pass through the aperture. Unlike film, the light sensor in a digital camera can be reset electronically, so digital cameras have a digital shutter rather than a mechanical shutter.
These two aspects work together to capture the amount of light needed to make a good image. In photographic terms, they set the exposure of the sensor.

In addition to controlling the amount of light, the camera has to adjust the lenses to control how the light is focused on the sensor. In general, the lenses on digital cameras are very similar to conventional camera lenses -- some digital cameras can even use conventional lenses. Most use automatic focusing techniques.

The focal length, however, is one important difference between the lens of a digital camera and the lens of a 35mm camera. The focal length is the distance between the lens and the surface of the sensor. Sensors from different manufacturers vary widely in size, but in general they're smaller than a piece of 35mm film. In order to project the image onto a smaller sensor, the focal length is shortened by the same proportion. For additional information on sensor sizes and comparisons to 35mm film, you can visit the Photo.net Web site.

Focal length also determines the magnification, or zoom, when you look through the camera. In 35mm cameras, a 50mm lens gives a natural view of the subject. Increasing the focal length increases the magnification, and objects appear to get closer. The reverse happens when decreasing the focal length. A zoom lens is any lens that has an adjustable focal length, and digital cameras can have optical or digital zoom -- some have both. Some cameras also have macro focusing capability, meaning that the camera can take pictures from very close to the subject.

Digital cameras have one of four types of lenses:

Fixed-focus, fixed-zoom lenses - These are the kinds of lenses on disposable and inexpensive film cameras -- inexpensive and great for snapshots, but fairly limited.
Optical-zoom lenses with automatic focus - Similar to the lens on a video camcorder, these have "wide" and "telephoto" options and automatic focus. The camera may or may not support manual focus. These actually change the focal length of the lens rather than just magnifying the information that hits the sensor.
Digital-zoom lenses - With digital zoom, the camera takes pixels from the center of the image sensor and interpolates them to make a full-sized image. Depending on the resolution of the image and the sensor, this approach may create a grainy or fuzzy image. You can manually do the same thing with image processing software -- simply snap a picture, cut out the center and magnify it.
Replaceable lens systems - These are similar to the replaceable lenses on a 35mm camera. Some digital cameras can use 35mm camera lenses.


what do ya think?
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Martin
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Post by Martin » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:29 pm

I think what might work best is to start a new thread for each meeting, including any plans for what to do before/at it. The threads for previous meetings can be used to continue discussions that started at each.

I'll start one for the 19th now.

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:35 pm

Oh and here is a really nice illustrated guide to the basics I was talking about:

http://www.photographyjam.com/articles/ ... re-and-iso

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