Welcome to the Pennant Hills Photographic Club

We welcome all photographers to join and participate in its events and by sharing knowledge to improve and enhance photographic skills. Our club aims to mentor, support, and educate its members, and to foster skills and passion for photography in a collegiate and enjoyable atmosphere.

Meeting Address only: Uniting Church Hall – Corner of Boundary Road and Bellamy Street. Parking is on a grassed block of land opposite the church in Bellamy St., and the entrance we use is facing Bellamy St.

For information on the club please view this link.

To join please download and complete the Membership Form (PDF fillable): Download Membership form

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About Us

PHPC is a medium-sized club of around 40-50 members. Our members range in skill from enthusiastic novices to experienced photographers. The club has a few members who are judges.

We have a number of members who run the mentoring program for our newer members to learn the capabilities of their camera(s). We are large enough to support the growth of members but small enough to be a community, where all members can know each other. The club is here to challenge us to get the best from ourselves and our cameras

Join our Club Upcoming Events - mouse over for details
Apr
1
Mon
7:30 pm Easter – No meeting @ Uniting Church Hall
Easter – No meeting @ Uniting Church Hall
Apr 1 @ 7:30 pm – 9:45 pm
Easter weekend – no meeting
Apr
10
Wed
7:30 pm ZOOM Presentation – Street Phot...
ZOOM Presentation – Street Phot...
Apr 10 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Joint presentation with Hornsby Heights Camera Club.
Apr
15
Mon
7:30 pm Comp 03: Open and Set – Nature @ Uniting Church Hall
Comp 03: Open and Set – Nature @ Uniting Church Hall
Apr 15 @ 7:30 pm – 9:45 pm
Per the Australian Photographic Society definition. See https://www.a-p-s.org.au/index.php/nature-definition
Apr
27
Sat
11:00 am Outing: City Walk @ Central Station
Outing: City Walk @ Central Station
Apr 27 @ 11:00 am
Outing: City walk starting from Central Station 11am (NOTE: No meeting Monday 29th April)
May
6
Mon
7:30 pm Comp 04: Open and Set – Architec... @ Uniting Church Hall
Comp 04: Open and Set – Architec... @ Uniting Church Hall
May 6 @ 7:30 pm – 9:45 pm
Comp 2404 – Open and Set – Architecture.  Images showing the design of buildings, bridges etc.
Recent Posts Archives

2024 Calendar Update

Hi members,

Our 2024 Calendar has been updated and is now on the website for downloading. Go to Information About Your Club, under club documents click on the Calendar 2024.

You can also see what is happening for year on our website under Upcoming Events. If you click on View Calendar you can sort the calendar under Categories: Competition, Meeting, Outing and Presentations.

Enjoy the 2024 photographic challenge!

by Nancy Morley, 19 March 2024

Events to take your camera to in April

It seems like April is the month for photographic events.

6th April – Brigadoon Highland Gathering at Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands.

13 -14 April Steamfest at Maitland www.steamfest.com.au for details

25 April Anzac Day either local events or the city

27-28 April Ironfest at Portland check out the web page for details

Thanks to Alan Hitchell for letting us know about these events.

by Chris Kenyon, 19 March 2024

Samual Markham Workshops

Sapphire Coast
7th – 10th June 2024

4 Days, 3 Nights
Limited to 3 Workshop Participants
Book Now   Great Ocean Road
1st – 5th August 2024

5 Days, 4 Nights
Limited to 4 Workshop Participants
Learn More Jervis Bay
19th – 21st July 2024
3 Days, 2 Nights
Limited to 3 Workshop ParticipantsBook Now   Kiama Seascapes
21st – 23rd June 2024
3 Days, 2 Nights
Limited to 3 Workshop ParticipantsLearn More Thank you
Samuel Markham
Australian Geographic 2023
Nature Photographer of the Year
  samuelmarkham.photography
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by Chris Kenyon, 15 March 2024

City of Sydney competition

City of Sydney Art and About
‘On the way to Inspections’, Sam Ferris (2023 grand prize winner) Show us your Australian Life Our national photography competition with a $10,000 grand prize is now open. We want you to show us what Australian Life looks like through your lens, whether you’re a professional photographer or someone with a keen eye – everyone is welcome to take part. For the first time, entrants aged 13 years and older can enter the competition. Grand prize A distinguished panel of judges will select winners in the following categories: Over 18 – $10,000 grand prize Under 18 – $2,000 cash and 1 x OM-5 Camera + 12-45mm F4.0 PRO Lens RRP $2,499 People’s choice award The people’s choice award invites everyone to vote for their favourite during the exhibition. The photographer who receives the most votes will receive an OM-1 Mark II Camera and 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II Lens valued at over $5,300. The award is open to Australian Life entrants from both categories. Enter up to 2 images online by midnight on Sunday 21 April.
  Learn more

by Chris Kenyon, 15 March 2024

Michael Snedic tips and workshops

Michael Snedic Photography   ***   CONTENTS: ▪ Article – Photographing Rainforests
▪ 2023 WildArt Photographer of the Year winnersArticle – Photographing Rainforests   ▪ 2023 WildArt Photographer of the Year winners New dates for photography workshops just released: ▪ 5 DAY LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK – QLD
▪ 3 DAY LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK BIRDS – QLD
▪ 3 DAY BUNYA MOUNTAINS BIRDS – QLD5 DAY LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK – QLD   ▪ 3 DAY LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK BIRDS – QLD   ▪ 3 DAY BUNYA MOUNTAINS BIRDS – QLD   Dear Nancy, Welcome to my March 2024 photography newsletter. I hope you are continuing to enjoy this wonderful world of wildlife and nature photography. Enjoy the newsletter : – )) Cheers – Michael   ***   Photography Article   PHOTOGRAPHING RAINFORESTS     TEXT AND IMAGE BY MICHAEL SNEDIC   Tarkine   Australia is fortunate to have so many wonderful rainforests. Large areas are protected and visitors are encouraged. Life is hectic for many of us these days, so it’s a joy and a privilege to experience the tranquility, beauty and clean air of a rainforest. I love spending time in them with my camera. But rainforest photography can also be really challenging. Here are few basic techniques and tips which can start you along the right path in these tricky environments. I want to outline the four most effective ideas I’ve discovered for quickly achieving better rainforest shots. 01 USING NATURE’S DIFFUSER
Beginners might be surprised to learn that by far the best weather for shooting in a rainforest is when it’s overcast. The clouds act as ‘nature’s diffuser’ and they’ll stop unsightly highlights and shadows appearing in your images. Whether you’re photographing a waterfall or cascade, buttress roots or a valley filled with tree ferns, subtle lighting will really help you to take a good rainforest photo. On cold mornings mist will often appear throughout the forest, and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, rays of light can also appear beaming through the rainforest canopy. The combination of overcast weather, mist and rays of light can make for very special rainforest images. Remember, this often happens around sunrise, so early starts are unfortunately essential! 02 TRIPOD USE
Small apertures or f-stops, such as f/11 or f/16 for SLRs or Mirrorless, allow more of your landscape scene to stay in focus (they create a better depth-of-field, for foreground to background sharpness), but they also let less light in, so to make a ‘correct’ exposure you’ll need to use a slower shutter speed. Hand holding a camera using a slow shutter speed can then create a blurry image. For this reason I always carry a sturdy tripod. If you’re using a heavier SLR camera and lens, a flimsy tripod can still be quite unstable and any tiny movements (often caused by a breeze) can cause blur in your images. If you’re walking long distances, I recommend you take a carbon fibre or mag fibre tripod. These are lighter, but they’ll provide your camera with more stability. I also recommend using a cable release or a remote trigger device (or even a self-timer setting) with your camera, whether it’s a compact, DSLR or Mirrorless. This will further reduce any vibration caused when you press the shutter button. 03 THE BEST SETTINGS
To achieve good depth-of-field for a rainforest image, apertures of f/11 to f/16 are the aperture settings I recommend when I’m using a wide-angled lens with an SLR or Mirrorless camera. Setting a smaller aperture like f/22, or even smaller, can cause unsightly diffraction (where the edges of your photo lose sharpness to some degree because the light entering the lens is bent or sometimes broken into its component elements). For many compact cameras an aperture of f/8 is ideal, and this is sometimes the smallest aperture you can set. When you’re using a tripod to photograph a landscape in a rainforest, I suggest setting the camera’s ISO rating to 100 (or whatever minimum ISO your camera allows). On this minimum setting no ‘noise’ should be visible in your image. Digital ‘noise’ is indicated by tiny red, green and blue dots appearing all over your shot (visible when you blow the image up). It adversely affects image quality. For photos of rainforests or waterfalls I recommend using the meter setting that reads the entire scene, rather than just a small section of it. Metering is the way a camera reads the overall light exposure of the scene or subject you’re shooting. For the Nikon cameras I use I find the best metering is ‘matrix’. For Canon users it’s called ‘evaluative’ and for some other brands this type of metering is known as ‘multi-segment’ or ‘multi pattern’. 04 LONG EXPOSURES
I’m often asked by photography workshop students how to achieve the ‘milky’ or ‘silky’ water appearance you often see in waterfalls, cascades and other scenes where water’s flowing. This look is very popular with photographers and it’s one that’s relatively easy to achieve. By using a small aperture (a higher number like f/11 or f/16), low ISOs and a tripod, you can achieve that ‘milky’ effect, especially if you’re photographing pre-dawn, after sunset or on a darker, gloomy day. The relative darkness and small lens aperture means your camera needs to use a very slow shutter speed to make a ‘correct’ exposure. If the exposure is long enough, the fast-flowing water in your scene will simply blur as it moves rapidly across your camera’s frame, which ultimately causes the water to look ‘milky’. Sometimes, however, you might not have low enough light when you’re at a waterfall or cascade, so some help is needed! You’ll then need a neutral density filter and longer exposure time (achieved via a slower shutter speed) . Neutral-density filters come in various degrees of ‘darkness’, so the darker the filter, the milkier your water will be. I use variable neutral-density filters because I find you only need one filter rather than a series of individual units with varying degrees of darkness to create different effects. For SLR and Mirrorless users a circular polariser is also effective in rainforests, because it can remove much of the glare often found on wet leaves, rocks and on the water itself. The circular polariser works in the same way as polarised sunglasses. By turning the circular polarised filter around as you look through the camera’s viewfinder, you’ll actually see the shiny areas disappear. The polariser can also work as a kind of neutral-density filter, by allowing you to reduce your camera’s shutter speed and thus once again allowing the water to blur.   ***   WildArt logo 2023   The winners of the 2023 WildArt Photographer of the Year Competition were recently announced. It was loads of fun being one of the judges for this competition, with so many amazing images entered! Check out Hermis Haida’s stunning winner’s image below! See the various category winners: HERE   Hermis Haridas 2024 WildArt POTY winner – Image (c) Hermis Haridas   ***   WildNature banner-01   ***   5 DAY LAMINGTON NP PHOTO WORKSHOP – QLD   NEW DATE RELEASED! June 2024 Want to spend 5 days in a lush rainforest, learning how to best photograph birds and other wildlife, macro subjects and landscapes? To read full details, please click: HERE   Leaf-tailed Gecko - MichaelSnedic Leaf-tailed Gecko – Image (c) Michael Snedic   Gilled Fungi Fungi – Image (c) Michael Snedic   ***   3 DAY LAMINGTON NP BIRD PHOTO WORKSHOP – QLD   NEW DATE RELEASED! September 2024 On this 3 day bird photography workshop in Lamington NP we plan on finding as many bird species as we can over the course of the workshop. You will also learn loads of tried and tested bird photography techniques that will help you achieve great images. To read full details, please click: HERE   Regent Bowerbird-DeNoiseAI-standard Regent Bowerbird – Image (c) Michael Snedic   ***   3 DAY BUNYA MOUNTAINS BIRD PHOTO WORKSHOP – QLD   NEW DATE RELEASED! September 2024 Spend three days in the beautiful Bunya Mountains, Queensland, learning how to best photograph the myriad of birds found there. To read full details, please click: HERE   Rose Robin Rose Robin – Image (c) Michael Snedic   ***   View All Workshops HERE   ***     Do you have any questions? You can send a message via my website Contact Form: HERE   facebook     ©2024 Michael Snedic Photography | Balfour St, Ferny Hills QLD 4055 | 0408 941 965

by Chris Kenyon, 15 March 2024

Hi Friends,

In conjunction with Chimu travel I am hosting a webinar on the Sub- Antarctic Islands Wednesday 20th March.
This is a part of the world very rich in photographic opportunities but not many of us have yet accessed.
I am travelling there later this year as the Special Guest Photographer onboard and thought the Camera Club community would enjoy
exploring the richness of this wilderness through images and stories from those who have been.

Would you be able to share these details with your club members?
There is no fee to attend.

Everybody’s heard about Antarctica but have you heard about the Subantarctic islands?
Have you ever wondered what Macquarie Island,
Campbell Island, Auckland Island or The Snares is like ?
Generally known as the SubAntarctic islands,
they offer extraordinary Flora and Fauna hence why they are known
as the Galapagos of the Southern Ocean.

Join Robin Moon and Chimu Adventures for some Zoom armchair travel,
with lots of images, video and chat with experts in the region.
If you are interested in travelling to this region
we will be talking about the cruise with Heritage Expeditions departing Hobart on November 22nd for 14 days.

Wednesday March 20th at 7:30pm ( nsw time).
Places are limited, so register using
the following link :

Sub Antarctic Islands webinar

or, book through Sony Scene

Many thanks,
Robin Moon
Vice President
Mosman Camera Club

by Chris Kenyon, 15 March 2024

Article from Picture Correct

Greetings fellow photographers,

If you’re having trouble identifying the best way to photograph a scene, the best way to start is to pick a subject or focal point.

Using a Focal Point: sit back for a moment and imagine yourself sitting on the front porch of a house.

You’re looking out at the scene in front of you: there are trees, a street, two sidewalks and houses on the other side of the street.

As you look out, do your eyes continuously wander- nonstop?

No.

They come to rest: on a squirrel in the tree, a child bouncing a ball on the sidewalk, an old woman looking out a window. Sure, we’re looking at the entire scene.

But we look at the squirrel, rest, look at the child, rest, look at the woman, rest, and then continue on.

These are focal points – resting spots.
 
 
In photographic composition, we like to think of them as “anchors”. They keep the viewer’s eyes from wandering aimlessly, unsure of what to take in next.

A focal point is the part of an image that draws the eye of a viewer to the most important part of the image or the area that you want to highlight. How you do this will make or break the final image.

So how is this achieved? Here are a few techniques: The rule of thirdsSelective focusExposure setupLight source placementEye placementand more
“Eye snags” must also be considered. Eye snags are focal points, but they are inadvertent and ill placed. Focal points are there on purpose. You placed them to anchor your viewer’s eyes in your photograph- usually near your subject.
 
 
Sometimes you will have two focal points and there will be competition, but, you can offset this by using size. One of the focal points must be considerably larger which will draw the eye but immediately your focus will move to the smaller focal point. If they are the same size the viewer’s eyes will dart between them. Care must be taken when using a double focal point.

In general, photographs will have one focal point. Sometimes the focal point is the subject, and sometimes the focal point merely supports the subject.

A focal point is essential to any great image. An image lacking this will appear flat and without impact. As you learn digital photography it will become easier and easier to place it in the right position.

For further training on these concepts and more to improve your shots, these popular Snap Cards were just marked down by their publisher and can be a great help out on photography adventures. More on them soon.


Sent with 💌 from PictureCorrect

by Chris Kenyon, 9 March 2024

Next Club Presentations

Monday 18th of March – Presentation by Glen Smith ‘Nature and Wildlife Photography of the Australian Botanic Gardens’ Presentation will be a live event in the church hall

Tuesday 10th of April – Zoom Presentation by Adrian Weir “Street Photography” hosted by Hornsby Heights Camera Club

Monday July 8th – Zoom presentation by Mieke Boynton the Fun and Curiosity of Macros and Aerials”

by Chris Kenyon, 9 March 2024

Australia Cup 2024

Keep those entries coming in!!!

Thank you to everyone who has uploaded entries into the Australia Cup 2024 entry page. From the look of it we should have a very strong entry collection of photographs for the Australia Cup Competition.

In the meantime, if anyone else has any other images that they would like to enter please do so by 11.55pm on Sunday 24th March.

If anyone is interested in still getting another image, reminder that the Berowra Fauna Fair will be held on Sunday 17th March, 10am to 3pm, at the Berowra Community and Cultural Facility, The Gully Road, Berowra. The Fair kicks off with A Smoking Ceremony at 10am.

Looking forward to seeing your entries.

Regards

Janne

by Janne Ramsay, 9 March 2024

Australian Cup 2024

Hi all, just a reminder that entries for the Australian Cup entries for our club to collate, close on March 24th.

As mentioned at our first meeting, the Australian Cup is run by the APS and the topic is “This is Australia” which incorporates anything Australian from family gatherings, people doing things, buildings, landscapes, wildlife etc.

We have already starting compiling a catalogue but with so many amazing photographers at our club, I am sure that many of you have an image or two (or more) that has not fitted into any category for our club competitions but is indeed an amazing image of “This is Australia”.

The entry page has now been upgraded to take anything from 1 to 12 entries per member. We will be able to use up to 3 images per member. We’ll be choosing the images that we believe best suit the topic.

You will find the entry page on the entry page for our regular competitions. The tab is labelled Australia Cup and works like any other upload of photographs for our competitions.

Good luck everyone, looking forward to seeing your images.

by Janne Ramsay, 7 March 2024