Last weekend saw the successful and vibrantly colourful State Dahlia Show at the Mount Waverley Community Centre. Four of our members put together 24 beautiful photographs at very short notice, which were exhibited in the Trak Gallery. They really looked wonderful and along with Dahlia arrangements, 2 artists demonstrating drawing and painting and a fascinating stamp collection the gallery looked stunning.
Last weekend the two part “Pep Ventosa Style Photography” workshop, run by club member Jenny Adams, showed us how to create painterly style images reminiscent of Spanish photographer Pep Ventosa.
During the first session, at Springvale Botanic Cemetery, we learned key points of identifying suitable subjects and taking up to 30 images from different but equidistant angles. Participants enjoyed taking images of trees, rotundas, memorials and other structures.
The second session was on zoom; Jenny walked us through techniques to blend the groups of images in Photoshop to create a painterly style images. We had time for some questions and discussion. It was inspiring to learn technique that allows the transformation of a series of simple images to one quite lovely and artistic one.
A link to the presentation notes can be found under Workshops and presentations on our resources site.
Images from the outing and the results from various members are in our workshop gallery.
We have drafted the following outings for the Birding SIG in 2025:
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| Friday 7 March 2025 | Healesville Sanctuary |
| Saturday 5 April 2025 | Stringybark Creek Nature Walk |
| Friday 27 June 27 2025 | Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Friday 22 to Sunday 24 August 2025 | Bendigo weekend away |
| Saturday 13 September 2025 | Western Treatment Plant |
| Friday 10 October 2025 | Wicks Reserve |
| Friday 14 November 2025 | Cranbourne Botanic Gardens |
Our first outing is to Healesville Sancturary in less than 2 weeks, details will be sent out next weekend.
We were recently approached by the Dahlia Society of Victoria to collaborate with them for their annual Show; in particular to provide and display some photographic prints showcasing Dahlias on the walls of the Track Gallery during their Annual Show.
There was not enough time to involve all of our members, however Leanne Poole and a few other members already have some Dahlia images which will be on display this weekend on behalf of the club.
2025 State Dahlia Show
Mount Waverley Community Centre
47 Miller Crescent, Mount Waverley
Saturday 22 February 1pm to 5pm
Sunday 23 February 10am to 3:30pm
If all goes well and we are invited to participate in next year’s show we will ensure all members are able to participate, including potential activities such as an outing to a Dahlia grower or a workshop taking photos of Dahlias in a studio.
Our outing on Sunday 23th February 2025 will be to the MSTEC National Steam Centre
We will meet at 11am at the National Steam Centre, 1200 Ferntree Gully Road, Scoresby 3179.
This outdoor museum offers access to many sheds that contain machines driven by steam. One popular exhibit is the small model steam train that runs on a track around the property. You can hop on for a ride!
In addition to the sheds, you can wander the paddocks that are packed with old and rusty relics of farm and construction equipment.
Judge: Mario Mirabile
Set subject EDI
Intermediate: Jenny Adams – Letterbox Diversity
Advanced: Bob Thomas – Snapshots of Home
Open EDI
Intermediate: Phillip Harris – You are in my Space
Advanced: Angela McLeod – Lines
Open Print
Intermediate: Jenny Adams – Abundant Summer
Advanced: Stephen Jude – The Tree
Set subject definition:
Your perspective on living in the suburbs. The image can be documentary or interpretive, there are no editing restrictions.
Recently Geoff Shaw (one of our members) presented a workshop and ran a hands on session about macro and close-up photography.
Geoff set up multiple workstations with various lighting scenarios. It was a fabulous opportunity to get help with camera and flash settings including focus stacking, to discuss the pros and cons of gear. Geoff’s enthusiasm for the genre of macro photography is contagious and we am sure that many of us will be inspired to further experiment. There was lots of discussion between members with more experienced members helping others.
More photos from our members can be found in our Macro skills session gallery.