It has been great to see the level of activity from, and connection between members during a time when we all stay at home as a public health measure. We have introduced new ways to share photos and new challenges and activities have motivated members to continue to take photos, even while limited in our choice of locations. We have discovered the range of opportunities we have at home for creating interesting and beautiful photos.
Cluster
Members have taken to the new app we have been using, Cluster. It was introduced as a simple and accessible platform to share the photos for the Art Challenge. It turns out that it was very timely to introduce this new platform as it has been used for the weekly challenges with many members sharing their backyard macro, still life and this week, drops of liquids photos.
Another new approach for the camera club has been use of ZOOM to conduct our April meeting and judging night. There was a great turn out and the platform worked well for the judging night. We saw some wonderful photos, featured in this newsletter below. Congratulations to the winners on the night.
Upcoming meetings and ZOOM
We will continue to use ZOOM for upcoming meetings. We plan to meet only when we have a competition and for the AGM in July. We will also meet for the VAPs competition. The next meeting will be on June 9. Details and a ZOOM invitation will be sent out prior. The committee thought that ZOOM worked well for the competition but thought it may be challenging for activities. However, we want to invite you to offer suggestions for other ways to connect. If you have some ideas please add them to the comments below or Graeme Harvey, club president is happy to receive your feedback direct by email.
June competition
Entries for the June competition close on May 12 – this coming Tuesday. A reminder that we are accepting digital entries only. The set subject is Puddles. And to be very clear, there is no meeting in May.
Welcome pack for new members – the committee is developing a welcome pack for new members. We want to make sure new members have all the information they need about the club, competitions, activities, photography trips, newsletters, fundraising, social media and the website, for example. We want to develop it in a way that does not duplicate information held elsewhere, particularly the website, however, we want to make sure that members receive the right information to assist with their orientation to the club. We want to ask members, particularly newer members, what sort of information do you think we should include in a pack? Please add any ideas in the comments section or you can email the club president Graeme direct.
April competition winning photos
The set subjects for the April completion were Self-Portrait and Crowds. The print winner was Looking at You by Brian Boyton and the digital winner was Rob by Rob Watson. We saw some really fun and creative ideas amongst the self-portraits particularly. The open print winner was Milky Way over Mt Hope by Cheryl Munzel. This beautiful photo also won photo of the night. Felicity Johnson’s Hanging Out won the digital entry. We kept with the animal theme for the winner of the monochrome print, Spike by Matt Oliver and Cynthia Watson’s Street Traders won the best monochrome digital entry.
‘Looking at You’ by Brian Boyton 
‘Rob’ by Rob Watson 
‘Milky Way Over Mt Hope’ by Cheryl Munzel 
‘Hanging Out’ by Felicity Johnson 
‘Street Traders’ by Cynthia Watkins 
‘Spike’ by Matt Oliver
We do hope that members are coping well and are remaining healthy in these unusual times and that you have the chance to continue to take photos. You may also be taking the opportunity to expand your skills, organise photos, learn about software, which is my current goal, get inspired on YouTube by famous photographers and whatever other photographic activities keep you occupied as we stay at home.