A warm welcome to everyone and can we wish you  A Happy (and better ) New Year.  Where has the time gone ?  Reading this, we will hopefully have had all our Christmas Festivities which we were allowed having written this on Dec. 5^th. I hope we all got what we deserved !

In December, we began with our competition which was Environment. The judge was Daryl Giles who gave us a good insight as to why the prints and images on display just failed to get into the prize section. We can learn from these critiques to benefit our future entries. On Dec. 8^th. we were treated to Lake District Moods by Carmen Norman. ( you can view the competition results by logging on to our website)

The Christmas Social was held on Dec. 14^th which took the form of a meal along with the usual quiz, Our thanks to all who were involved in the organizing, well done, it is always very much appreciated.

I give details of our programme for January.   Jan 5^th is  Photographing the North West by  Lee Metcalfe,    Jan 12^th  Our third competition  Creatures of the World  judged by  Harry Emmett.  Jan 19^th  the Junction 36 Battle  and workshop 7 photographs in 7 days.   I can also give advanced notice of the Humanity competition on Feb.2cnd.  which will be judged by Jim Cunningham.

I am hopeful that with the invasion of this new strain of the virus, we will still be able to continue with what has been an excellent start of our ‘21/’22 programme, unfortunately, I failed to find a crystal ball in my stocking ! 

Maurice  Barker.

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Well, here we are at the end of yet another year of restrictions, but the main thing is that we ARE still here.

November’s meetings gave us an excellent presentation on Urban/Street Photography, our Events Competition, and an interesting night on Sport and Action.

In December, we have the second of our annual competitions entitled The Environment followed by Carmen Norman’s  Lake District Moods ( on ZOOM ). How fortunate we are to be so close to the Jewel in the Crown. We also look forward to our Christmas Social on Dec. 14^th.  An early prompt for Jan 5^th is Lee Metcalfe on  Photographing the North West for Fotovue.

Coming Hot off the Press is the news that our club is to “join up” with another in Rangiora, on the South Island in New Zealand. Rangiora is a large town just north of Christchurch. This venture is still at the foundation stage and is the result of some diligent work of our Chairmen and augurs well for the future of the two clubs even though we meet at diametrically opposite times of the day. Well done gentlemen. I can just see the name Garstang International Camera Club appearing at some stage……….well maybe!

Just because the nights have drawn in and the days shortened, don’t put the cameras away, there are  still plenty of opportunities for some good shots.

And a reminder not to forget to hang up your stockings on the 24^th. I measured up the boxed new Canon R3 and will have to substitute a pillow case in anticipation !

Finally, can I , on behalf of all our members wish everyone who reads this magazine  Season’s Greetings, everything in moderation !

Maurice  Barker.

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Hello, and welcome to our readers. We are slowly leaving summer behind but every cloud has it’s silver lining. The autumn in our part of the globe gives us a spectacle of colours with local woods, fells and even tree lined roads all changing their different shades over the next month or so, and of course our jewel in the crown, the Lake District. Having had a camera in my hand since the age of 9 ( 70 years ago !) , the advent of colour photography, in the early ‘50s, for the masses, had a significant effect on me. Until then, monochrome images had to be hand tinted by someone skilled in this art, but even then, never quite achieved the desired effect.

There remains only one outing in our Summer Programme which takes place on Tuesday,  October 12^th 10am onwards, the venues are Rufford Old Hall and Martin Mere. Any newcomers are welcome at this outing.

We began our new year on Sept. 1^st at the Arts Centre with a successful meeting and number of potential new members , welcome to the club.  It is never too late to join us. Come along and join us. We meet on the first three Wednesdays each month at 7.30. We ask £5 for admission which includes tea and biscuits which is deleted from the membership fee of £48, should you wish to continue.

Our calendar for October is as follows :

Oct. 6^th.      Adrian Lines on     Monochrome Is Not a Filter.

Oct. 13^th.    Stu.  McKenzie (available by Zoom)    Journey.

Oct. 20^th.   Workshop……Monochrome Photography.  (participation by members on Monochrome Photography and processing.)

And finally, I give notice of our first Coffee Morning on Sat. Oct. 9^th. between 10am – 12.30pm. Come along either solo or bring friends / family. All proceeds to the club. This will be followed in the afternoon by a local visit down to the River Wyre to practice photo opportunities, Wildlife/long exposure sports photography etc. Bring your camera…..no pressure ! Everyone welcome.

As the Warner Bros. Cartoons say at the end…….That’s All Folks !

MAURICE BARKER.

http://www.garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Hello and welcome to our latest report.  The club’s summer season is now drawing to it’s close with only two outings remaining ie.

Saturday  Sept. 18^th  Silverdale and Arnside.

Tuesday   Oct. 12^th    Rufford Old Hall and Martin Mere.

Our recent outing was to Heysham, with mixed conditions, mainly cloud and the odd shower. Testing conditions for making good images !

We were also in attendance at the Garstang Show. Did you manage to see us ? We were kept dry since we shared the Horticulural Tent and quite a bit of interest was shown. Our thanks go to the Garstang Show Committee for allotting us the space.

Our ’21-’22 season starts with our first meeting on Sept.1^st in the Arts Centre. For newcomers, we have quite a comprehensive evening with the following features :

A brief analysis of our website,our competitions and a potted history of the Club.  A camera presentation on the use of filters and long exposures ( might I add, not just for newcomers but many members too ! )  A fine buffet,  along with where our membership fees disappear to and how this year will develop (pun !)

The joining fee is £48 but for a taster and any subsequent meetings, we ask for an entrance fee of £5 which will be deducted from the membership fee if you decide to join. Our aim is to provide a safe gathering for all with as much social distancing as can be allowed for with adequate ventilation,

Finally, I wish to thank the Club’s Chairmen and their Committee for steering us through what I believe has been a successful year in spite of the present conditions.

MAURICE  BARKER

http://www.garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Hello to everyone, camera enthusiasts or otherwise. If we were dining out, we would be between courses, having a little respite. Our ’20-’21 programme has now come to an end and we now await the new season which will start on September 1^st.

On reflection, the past year has been as good as was possible given the situation ( I refuse to use the word covid, it has become too much a part of everyone’s vocabulary ,  All meetings were by ZOOM and therefore we could access presenters from nationwide locations. Our thanks go to our Programme Sec. John Moxham for making some excellent choices.

By the time this article is in print, we will have four of our summer outings remaining, which are:

Fri.     July 16^th.     Brockholes.              8am onwards.

Wed.  Aug. 11^th.   Heysham.               6pm.

Sat.    Sept. 18^th.   Silverdale/Arnside  8am. Onwards.

Tues. Oct 12^th.  Rufford Old hall/Martin Mere.  10am onwards.

We were very lucky for our first visit to Glasson, clear blue skies and warm too ! Not so with our second to Calder Vale, a damp afternoon, although I must add that my late appearance was accompanied with sunshine and a colourful sky.

If the Garstang Show does take place this year on August 7^th. the Club will have a stall in the Horticultural Marquee with the aim of attracting some new members.

I must end this article on a sad note.  I have to inform readers and club members past and present of the passing of one of our popular members, Bill Hansell.

Bill had been a member for a number of years and was an excellent and successful photographer, his name engraved on many of our trophies. He was always willing to give of his time and experience to those lesser mortals in the club.    He would always be amongst the friendly jousting bouts between members and their specific marques of equipment, Nikon v Canon v Sony etc. but as most will agree, it’s not the camera but the person behind it !

His most recent award was that of holding  PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR  2020-2021. Skills indeed.    I have attached one of Bill’s images, a favourite of mine. He leaves behind his wife Pat and his Family and we offer them our most sincere condolences at this sad time. R.I.P. Bill.

Hello readers. As you read this, the club’s ’20-’21 programme will have come to an end but we still continue with our social outings  with, of course, social distancing a priority. We have had two outings in recent months, the first to Glasson Dock and it’s environs and the last one visiting Caldervale at bluebell time. For the next one on June 16^th. we take in Rivington Pike and the surrounding gardens. Apart from the social nature of the outings, we have an Events Cup for presentation in 2022. All enries for this award have to have been shot on all or any of these visits and so the range of subjects is vast.

I will give details of outings yet to come in the next issue, although as with anything else in this short report, full details can be found on our website (given at the end) which is very easy to navigate.

Our last presentation on May 5^th. was an interesting evening given by Kylie-Ann Martin on “My Journey So Far “. A young lady who had made great strides in acquiring good qualifications within the space of six years.

We still have our fingers crossed for the possible opening of the Arts Centre in September so that we may once more, meet socially, and with that in mind attract new members.

                               NO EXPERTISE REQUIRED, JUST A CAMERA AND A DEGREE OF INTEREST.

Who would have thought that at Christmastime in 2019 we would have been subjected to all that has happened in the past 15 months ? We are still not through this and should remain vigilant for the sake of everyone. Anyway, good shooting !

Maurice  Barker.

http://www.garstangcamera club.co.uk

Greetings to all readers. By the time this is being read( hopefully ), we will be in the Merry Month of May and if all of Boris’ plans go to order , alcoholic drinks may be served outdoors and, if the weather permits, then it may well be a Merry Month !

We are approaching the end of the Club’s year with just a few meetings remaining as listed here.

May 5^th………..Kylie-Ann Martin……….My journey so far.

May 12^th………A G M. and our Presentation Evening.

May 19^th………Chris Upton……….Travels with my X ( Fuji Cameras )

As I mentioned in my last copy, we hope that “proper” meetings may be held again in the Arts Centre in September and with a degree of optimism and a following wind, we may achieve our goal. However, we will still be using ZOOM for many of the presentations but at least we will be able to converse with each other (social distancing, of course ) much more satisfactorily.  As I write this , A spell of stable weather is predicted (kiss of death ?) and so photographic opportunities should present themselves more readily.  Our Summer outings will have started, I listed them in the April mag. but if discarded , can be found on our website given at the end.

We have said goodbye to  an enthusiastic photographer, a keen amateur for many years, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We send our sincere condolences to all the Royal Family at this sad time.

Good shooting, but still stay safe through the new stages.

Maurice Barker

http://www.garstangcameraclub.co.uk