Happy New Year to BCC members. We have made it into 2021, after what was a most extraordinary year for the world and for the club. We have reflected as a committee, and have heard from members, about how good it was to keep connected in 2020 and it was great to see the members take up new and innovative ways to share photos and engage with each other.
We hope that 2021 will allow us to move toward a more “normal” way of connecting and undertaking club meetings and activities. Some things, such as outdoor activities, we should be able to achieve sooner and you will see that we have some planned for the coming weeks and months. Indoor events may not be so easily achieved and as we all know by now as a community, we need to be prepared for changes if the status of the pandemic changes. This newsletter covers some upcoming events and activities and also provides some important information about how we will conduct club business this year.
Picnic and awards night – Tuesday January 12
Next Tuesday we will gather at Lake Weeroona, just outside the club rooms for a picnic and to present the awards (from judging nights and the end of year awards) to successful members. It will be great to finally gather a club face to face, but of course club member’s health is a priority and we need to comply with current government restrictions. To support this please bring your own food and drink, BYO chair and masks will need to be worn inside, as per regulations. We will need to maintain distancing and will be meeting outside. We will set up a QR code so that we can create a register of attendees and we will also have a manual register for those who prefer that approach. The event will start at 6.00 – 6.30 and awards presentations will start at 7.00 pm.
Entries for the first print/digital competition of the year are due on January 12. The set subject is photo journalism. We are also very pleased to be able to reintroduce prints into the competition. The advice we have is that this could change over the year, based on the judge’s preference.
Membership subscriptions for 2021 are also now due – $50.
Tuesday January 19 – Activity night
We are really pleased to be planning a photo shoot for this activity night. Here are the details:
- Where – Kennington Reservoir, Reservoir Road, Kennington. This is a pretty spot with lots of human and bird activity, opportunities for nature photography and also some artwork that highlights the natural surrounds.
- What – This will be an open activity – members are invited to just take photos of what you can find. We will then ask members to put up to two photos each on Cluster so that we can share and view each other’s work.
- Details – we will meet at the BBQ area near the main parking on Reservoir Road at 7.30.
Other upcoming events (and information about cancelled events)
Tuesday February 9 – print digital judging night. Details about this to come. It is also the night when entries for the first AV competition for the year are due – an open subject of no more than 5 minutes.
Tuesday February 16 – club activity night; a photo shoot at the Garden of the Future, Bendigo Botanical Gardens at White Hills, meeting at 7.30 p.m.
At this time of the year we usually have our first fundraising event. Unfortunately the Australia Day activities at Lake Weeroona have been cancelled by organisers, the City of Greater Bendigo and Rotary.
Competition opportunties
We often receive information about photography competition opportunities. We will start adding these to the newsletter and here is the first one: Maryborough Golf Club is inviting photographers to submit photos taken at the golf course. Entries are due by February 28 2021. There is a small prize of a $50 golf club voucher. Details can be found on their website.