January Meeting and Motivational Theme

Thanks to all those who turned up for the Christmas Dinner last Friday. A great time was had by all. Many thanks to Gabriel Keown and all the staff at the Riverside Bar in Garrison, Co Fermanagh for the wonderful food and great service they provided on the night.


Next Club Meeting 
The next meeting of Rainbow Camera Club will be held in our usual venue (The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim) on Thursday 9th January 2014 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. 

Please be aware that the annual membership fee (€25 adults and €10 juniors) will fall due from January. Fees can be paid  at the meeting if you have them with you.

Motivational Theme
The motivational theme chosen for this month at the Christmas dinner was "Black and White". Members may interpret this theme in any way they think suitable, and are encouraged to send in up to three photographs taken between now and the next meeting to rainbowcameraclub @ gmail.com for inclusion in the sideshow to be shown at that meeting. If possible resize your images to 1024 pixels on their longest edge, and send them to the above address by midnight, Tuesday 7th January.

The slideshow of last month's motivational theme ("Sport") which was shown at the Christmas dinner has now been uploaded to the club's YouTube page and can be viewed at http://youtu.be/NTIWiunEng8

Here's wishing you all a happy Christmas, and a great new year!

RAINBOW CAMERA CLUB NOVEMBER MEETING & A.G.M.

A quick reminder that the November meeting of Rainbow Camera Club will be held this coming Thursday, 14th Nov, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm in our usual venue of The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim.

The first part of the meeting will include a discussion of the venue for the Club's Christmas meal in December, and will also include the AGM (Annual General Meeting) of the club, when we shall elect a new committee. If you wish to nominate yourself or someone else prior to the meeting, send the details to the club secretary at rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com. Nominations will, of course, also be taken on the night.

After the break we shall have a slideshow of the photographs members have submitted under last month's motivational theme "Handbags". Members are free to interpret this theme in any way they see fit and are asked to email up to 3 images to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight, Tuesday 12th November, for inclusion in the slideshow. If possible resize your images to no more than 1024 pixels on the longest edge.

The slideshow will be followed by an open conversation to consider a vision for the club as it moves into a new season. This will be your chance to have your say as to how you would like to see as regards the club meetings, photoshoots, workshops, and whatever else you think relevant.

All members are encouraged to attend this important meeting!  

New members are always welcome; just turn up on the night.

Rainbow Camera Club - October Meeting

 

Just a quick reminder that the October meeting of Rainbow Camera Club will take place this coming Thursday, 10th October, in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

Before the break Marty will be showing members how to access: (1) the club's website (2) the club's facebook page and (3) the club's online forum. Each of these enable club members to keep in touch with what's happening between the monthly meetings. Some members may not already be aware of these online spaces where information can be exchanged and shared.

After the break there will be the usual motivational slideshow. The motivational theme chosen at the September meeting was "Car Lights at Night". Feel free to interpret this in any way you wish, and send up to 3 photographs to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight Tuesday 8th October for inclusion in the slideshow at Thursday's meeting. Ideally resize your photographs to 1024 pixels on their longest side.

The slideshow from the September meeting under the theme "Roads" has now been added to our facebook page. You should be able to access it here.

Hoping to see you next Thursday.

Club Photoshoot - Thursday 19 September - Staring at 7:30pm

Just a quick note on foot of last week 's very interesting club meeting (and thanks to Padraig Thornton for his amazing slideshow)...

The motivational theme chosen for this month was "Car Lights At Night".

As a result it was decided that we would hold a club photoshoot next Thursday evening (19th September) starting at 7:30pm in Manorhamilton - during which members could practice or learn some of the skills that may be needed to produce such photographs in low light. All club members are welcome to attend.

Please meet in the car park at Manorhamilton Castle (on the Rossinver/Garrison road just opposite the children's play park) at 7:30pm. If you have a tripod please bring it along with you (a few members may have spare ones). It might also be a good idea to also bring wet weather gear (including a plastic bag for your camera) in case the night is not dry.

It is expected that we shall finish around 9:30. If you arrive late and are not sure where the group have gone you are welcome to text me on my mobile.

Hope to see you many of you on the night!

Marty
Club Secretary.

September News

(1) NEXT MEETING

Just a reminder that the next meeting of Rainbow Camera Club will be held on Thursday evening next, 12th September, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm in our usual venue of The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim.

In the first part of the meeting club member Padraig Thornton has very kindly offered to give us a talk (and possibly a slideshow) at that meeting about some of his nature photographs.

(2) MOTIVATIONAL THEME

In the second part of next Thursday's meeting a slideshow will be given of the photographs that club members have sent in under the motivational theme Roads which was chosen at last months meeting. Members are encouraged to send up to three images under this theme (which you may interpret in any way you see fit) to the club's email address (ranbowcameraclub @ gmail.com - remove the spaces) by midnight Monday 9th September for inclusion in the slideshow. Ideally resize your images to 1024 pixels on their longest edges before emailing them.

(3) IRISH PHOTOGRAPHIC FEDERATION (IPF)

In my last newsletter I mentioned a possible meeting that the IPF wished to hold in the area regarding the setting up of a Northwest branch. This meeting has now been confirmed for next Wednesday evening (11 Sept) in the Mill Park Hotel, just outside Donegal Town, starting at 8:00pm. Rainbow Camera Club members are welcome to attend. I shall be attending to represent the club anyway. The agenda I received is as follows:

1. Welcome and Introduction
2. "The Kingfishers" - the best of Irish Nature Photography,
     a slideshow presentation by Des Connors, FIPF
3. The structure and function of the Irish Photographic Federation,
    John Cuddihy, President, IPF
4. The need for a North West Region,
    Bob Morrison, FIPF
5. Establishing the North West Region.
6. Future plans
7. Conclusion.

That's all for now. I hope to see as many of you as possible at next Thursday's meeting.

Report from Club Meeting held Thursday, 8th August 2013

A few items of news after our Club meeting last Thursday evening...

1. Club member Sean Fox has kindly agreed to take over the role of Treasurer until the AGM in November.
   
2. The motivational theme chosen for this month is "Roads", so head out with your cameras and feel free to interpret this theme in any way you think fit! Members are encouraged to send up to three new images on the theme to this email address by midnight on the Monday before the September meeting for inclusion in the slide-show at that meeting. That means that you should send them by midnight Monday, 9th September. If possible resize your images to 1024 pixels on their longest edge.
   
3. Two slide-shows (for the motivational themes from the last two months) were shown at the Club meeting last Thursday. I hope to get copies of those onto the club's facebook page as soon as possible.
   
4. The Next Club Meeting will be held in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, on the evening of Thursday 12th September from 8:00pm to 10pm. Club member Padraig Thornton has very kindly offered to give us a talk (and possibly a slide-show) at this meeting about some of his nature photographs.
   
5. John Cuddihy, the President of Irish Photographic Federation (IPF) to which we are affiliated, has contacted me about a proposal to establish a North West Region for the IPF. He hopes to hold a meeting of interested clubs in the Mill Park Hotel just outside Donegal town on the evening of Wednesday 11th September. This is the night before our next Club meeting. I shall be attending this meeting on behalf of our club, but if any other club members would be interested watch this space and I shall give you firm details of the time and place once John Cuddihy gets back to me with them.
   
6. A reminder to all club members that we are looking for suggestions as to what you might like to see happening at our monthly meetings. Some suggestions were handed in at last week's meeting, but if you weren't there (or you were but have since thought of new suggestions) please send them to the club's gmail address (rainbowcameraclub @ gmail.com - remove the spaces) - or bring them to the September meeting).

Latest Rainbow Camera Club News

(1) Club Treasurer

Just to let you all know that our treasurer stepped down from the post at our club meeting of 11th July 2013. As a result that position is now vacant and we shall appoint a new treasurer at our next club meeting.

(2) August Meeting

Our next club meeting will be held on Thursday 8th August in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. Details of the format of the August meeting are still to be confirmed.

(3) Motivational Theme for August Meeting

The motivational theme chosen at this month's meeting was "People".

A reminder that the whole idea behind these themes is to motivate members to go out and take new photographs between meetings. Feel free to interpret this theme in any way you like and you can submit up to 3 photographs to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight, Monday 5th August for inclusion in the slideshow at the August meeting. If at all possible please resize your photographs to 1024 pixels on the longest side.

(4) Photographic Competition (Leitrim County Council)

Members may be interested in the following that has been taken from the Leitrim County Council website:-

"Leitrim Co. Council wish to promote the natural beauty of Co. Leitrim in a calendar. We need excellent photographs of the rich variety of landscapes enjoyed within the county while also reflecting the effect of four seasons.

We need the photos in reasonably high definition in electronic format and one print 8” x 10” (W x H) and your permission to use them in a calendar and to put them on public display.

·         8” x 10” Photograph – as high definition as possible ·         Your name, address, telephone number & Email Address ·         The name of the townland from where the photo was taken

Closing date is Sept. 6^th and entries should be marked “Photographic Competition” and submitted to Carmel Coll, Aras an Chontae, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

Prizes will be  €500 (1^st), €400 (2^nd), €300 (3^rd) and €100 for each of the nine other photos judged most suitable for inclusion in the calendar.

The decision of the judges will be final, canvassing will disqualify and all the entries will be placed on public display in the Dock in October where the results will be announced"

Full details are available on the Leitrim County Council website here.

Latest News

Following on from month's successful meeting, a few news items for you...

(1) Change of venue for the July Meeting

Please note that, due to the fact that The Cabin will not be available to us on the evening of July 11th, we shall be meeting at the New Ballagh Centre in Rossinver for that meeting.

(2) Motivational Theme for July Meeting

The motivational theme chosen at this month's meeting is "Catching A Moment".

A reminder that the whole idea behind these themes is to motivate members to go out and take new photographs between meetings. Feel free to interpret this theme in any way you like and you can submit up to 3 photographs to this address by midnight, Monday July 8th, for inclusion in the slideshow at the July meetingt. If at all possible please resize your photographs to 1024 pixels on the longest side.

If you are stuck for ideas have a look at the images from this Google search-results page.

(3) Slideshow of Submissions for the June Meeting ("Boats")

Talking of themes and slideshows I wish to apologise to Hilary Carson for omitting to include her photographs from the slideshow at this month's meeting. I have since added them and the whole slideshow is now available on the Rainbow Camera Club facebook page. You should be able to view it here.

(4) Possible Photography Course for Rainbow Camera Club Members

Sligo based photographer Peter Wilcock, who entertained club members at this month's meeting with a talk on "Composition" - along with an insight into some of his work as a press photographer in England - has kindly offered to facilitate a Digital Photography Course just for our own members if enough people are interested. At present the length of the course has not been decided, but Peter has offered to work with the participants over a number of days, perhaps once a week, perhaps weekday evening,s or daytime Saturday or Sundays, for sessions lasting three hours each. The cost of each session would be a total of 150euro - so the cost per person would depend on the number of participants. It was suggested that the course might culminate in to an exhibition.

Peter will be present at the July meeting to discuss this further, and to host a one-and-a-half hour shoot, so people can get an idea of what might be involved. You are welcome to bring your camera and any other equipment you may have on the night. Hopefully a decision can be made on the night as to whether this course will go ahead.

June Meeting Of Rainbow Camera Club

The Next Meeting of the Rainbow Camera Club will be held on Thursday 13th June in our usual spot of The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. In the first part of the meeting Sligo-based photographer Peter Wilcock will be giving us a talk. Peter was a sports photographer with several UK newspapers, and is also a City & Guilds registered photography teacher. He was also the teacher of the class that produced the Timepiece photography exhibition on "Rossinver/Garrison Past and Present" that launched in the Gillaroo Centre in Garrison last Sunday week, and is now currently on display in the Ballagh Centre, Rossinver.

A reminder that the Motivational Theme chosen at last month's meeting was "Boats". Members are encouraged to interpret this theme in any way they see fit and to submit up to three photographs taken since the last meeting on this theme to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com for inclusion in the slide-show to be shown in the second half of next week's meeting. Ideally resize your photos to 1024 pixels on the longest side. Please send them by midnight Monday 10th of June. There is a YouTube tutorial showing how to resize your images using Picasa. It is very much the same as the demonstration that given by Martin at the end of last month's meeting, and was put together by a member of the Boyle Camera Club, who also have monthly 'motivational themes'. The link is here.

Also a reminder that the 25 euro Annual Membership Fee (10 euro for junior members) for this year is now overdue. If you have not yet paid please try to rectify this at next week's meeting. And if you are having a problem paying it all at once, please talk to a committee member and we can arrange some sort of easy payment plan.

A Joint Photo Shoot with Boyle Camera Club has been arranged for Sunday 23rd June (time to be confirmed). They want to come up to our area, and have suggested that they would like to visit Fowley Falls in Rossinver (further up the road from The Cabin). Put this date in your diaries, and please come along if you are not doing anything else that day.

Finally a copy of the slide-show that was shown last month of the "Sky" motivation pictures members sent in has been put online on the Rainbow Camera Club's facebook page, and you should be able to view it by clicking here.

Club News

The Rainbow Camera  Club had a productive monthly meeting in The Cabin last Thursday evening (9th May). Many thanks to club member Pat Mullan who gave an interesting and informative demonstration on Shutter Priority for the first part of the meeting.

Pat Mullan helping club members set shutter speed

After the break a slideshow was given of members' photographs taken since the last meeting under the motivational theme "The Sky".  This slideshow will be put online in the near future.

This was followed by a demonstration by club member Martin Cooke on how to resize images using Picasa.For those members that missed this (or want a refresher) you can watch a YouTube video showing basically the same process here.

A reminder that the motivational theme chosen for the June slideshow is "Boats".  
 

Sligo-based photographer, Peter Wilcock, will be giving a talk in the first part of the June meeting, which will be held in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim on Thursday 13th June, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. You can see some of Peter's work at www.redbackphotography.co.uk

On Sunday 14th May seven club members met up for a club photoshoot at Glencar Waterfall, Co Leitrim. One of the photographs taken that is available on the club Flickr site here. Hopefully some of the members who attended the shoot have other photos that can be added to the Flickr site in the near future. Email them to the rainbowcameraclub gmail address if you have any.

APRIL MEETING REPORT

Thanks must be given to Rainbow Camera Club member, Deirdre Dillon Malone, who gave the members present a very informative demonstration on the effects of using different Aperture settings.

As can be seen in the photo below, using a large aperture (a smaller "F" number) means that only a small range of the image will be in focus, whereas using a small aperture (a larger "F" number) means that more of the image will be in focus.

This effect is often referred to as the Depth of Field. So, to get a greater depth of field (perhaps when photographing a landscape) it will be necessary to close the aperture down (use a large F number - or F-stop). When you want to make one object stand out (with the rest of the objects in the photo being out of focus and therefore less distracting) you will need to open the aperture (use a small F number). This can be particularly effective when you are taking a portrait shot of a single person.

In next month's meeting Rainbow Camera Club member, Pat Mullan will give a demonstration to the members present on Shutter Speed.

Finally, just a quick reminder that the motivational theme for this month is "The Sky". A reminder about this will be emailed to members a week or so before the next meeting, which will be held in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim on Thursday, 9th May 2013, from 8 to 10pm.

April Club Meeting

Just a reminder that the next meeting of the cross border Rainbow Camera Club will be held this coming Thursday, 11th April, in our usual spot: The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, from 8pm to 10pm. Hopefully as many as you as possible will be able to attend. New members are always welcome.

During the first part of this meeting Deirdre Dillon-Malone will be giving a demonstration of Aperture and how setting different apertures will effect the depth of field, allowing either more or less of the background (and foreground) to be in focus. Pat Mullan will hopefully assist her by connecting the camera via Live View to the television screen so that members will be able to see in real-time the effects from using different apertures.

Also a reminder that the Motivational Theme for this months photographs is Spring. Feel free to interpret this in any way you like (a few suggestions: lambs, Paddy's Day, Easter, daffodils - but it's entirely up to you how you interpret the theme). Please send up to three photographs by email to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by Midnight, Monday, 8th April. If possible resize your photos to 1024 pixels on their longest edge. A slideshow of the submitted photographs will be shown after the break.

As the slideshow will probably probably not be put  together until Wednesday, it is likely that your photographs may be accepted a little late - but this cannot be guaranteed so get them in on time if at all possible. If a member submits more than three photographs, it is possible that only three will be selected for the slideshow.

Hoping to see as many of you as possible on the night!

New Forum for Club Members

A new forum has been set up for paid up members of the Rainbow Camera Club.

You can view it here

March Meeting Feedback

Firstly a quick reminder that the motivation theme chosen by the club members was Spring. Members are encouraged to take new photographs before the April meeting (Thursday 11th April) with a theme around the spring season of the year, and to submit up to three of them for inclusion in the slideshow at that meeting. Ideally resize the photos so that they are no more than 1024 pixels on their longest side, and email them to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight on Monday 8th April 2013

A slideshow showing the photographs submitted by club members for the March meeting has been added to Rainbow Camera Club's facebook page and should be visible from this link.

Finally, if any of you would like to re-watch the video shown at the March meeting about world famous photographer Don McCullin making the switch from film to digital at the age of 77 years it is currently available on YouTube here.

March Meeting

The cross-border Rainbow Camera Club shall be holding its next meeting in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim on Thursday 14 March 2013 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

New members are always welcome; just come along on the night. If you want more details you can ring Martin in the Ballagh Centre, Rossinver (071 98 54030) or Pat Mullan (086 6027007) - note both of those numbers are Republic of Ireland.

At the February meeting it was agreed that the annual membership fee would be set at €25 for this year (no figure was agreed for junior members). If possible, could those members who have not yet paid, please bring their membership fee along to the meeting.

Members are invited to submit up to three photographs for inclusion in a slideshow to be shown in the second half of the next meeting. Ideally these should be new photographs taken since last month's meeting. Email your photographs to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight next Monday (11 March 2013) if you want them included. It would be helpful if you could resize them to no more than 1024 pixels on their largest side before emailing them. Don't worry too much if you don't know how to resize an image - one of the items before the break at the March meeting will be a demonstration of image resizing.

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the night.

February Meeting - Members Photos

A slideshow of the photographs that members submitted prior to the meeting of 14th February 2013 has been uploaded to the Rainbow Camera Club's facebook page and can be viewed here

There were some excellent photographs!

February Meeting

The next meeting of the Rainbow Camera Club will be on Thursday 14 February 2013, in The Cabin, Rossinver, Co Leitrim - from 8pm to 10pm. 

New members are always welcome. Ring Martin at the Ballagh Centre (00353 71 98 54030) or Pat Mullan (00353 (0)71 98 54405) for more details.

As suggested at the last meeting, if members would bring along their cameras on the night, we shall look at how to change settings on individual cameras during the first half of the meeting.

Members are invited to email up to three images - ideally photographs that you have taken recently - for inclusion in the slide-show of members' work that will be run in the second part of the session (after the break for refreshments).  I have already received submissions from a few members.

It would be helpful if you were to resize large images to no more than 1024 pixels wide if they are in landscape format - or no more than 800 pixels high if in portrait format. Don't worry too much at this stage if you are unsure how to do this.

Please email the images to  rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by midnight Monday 11th February at the latest. This is to give time for the setting up of the slideshow.

Hope to see you at the meeting!

Martin Cooke

(Club Secretary)

Rainbow Camera Club Meeting
Thursday 10 January 2013

Venue: "The Cabin" - Rossinver, Co Leitrim 

Time: 8:00pm to 10:pm 

Seventeen members turned up for the first meeting of 2013 of the Rainbow Camera Club. This included several new members.

The meeting opened with Pat Mullan, one of the club's founder members, giving a brief history of the activities of the club since its inception in June 2012, including details of photographic shoots and a visit in November to the Boyle Camera Club.

It was decided that we should organise a committee to co-ordinate the activities of the club going forward. After a lot of discussion the following people were co-opted as an initial committee:-

• Eileen McGuinness (Co Leitrim) - Chairperson 
• Martin Cooke (Co Leitrim) - Secretary 
• Tony Griffin (Co Cavan) - Treasurer 
• Tina Rock (Co Cavan) 
• Greta bb McMorrow (Co Cavan) 
• Hilary Carson (Co Fermanagh) 
• Seán Fox (Co Leitrim)

Some of the members present

(Seated L to R Treasurer, Chair, Secretary)

Tony Griffin and Eileen McGuinness agreed that they would meet on Friday 11 January in Manorhamilton and open an account with Manorhamilton Credit Union and deposit the club funds. Before the next monthly meeting the committee members would make enquiries regarding insurance costs and affiliation with the Irish and British Photography Federations, and report back to the general membership.

This business took quite a while and was followed by a ten minute break for refreshments.

After the break there was a brief discussion on the structure of our future meetings. It was agreed that they should generally be in two parts, with a ten-minute break in between. The first part would consist of an introductory greeting by the club chairperson, who would inform the members present on what would be happening that night. This would be followed by the main event of the evening, which might be a demonstration by one of the members, or a talk by a visiting photographer, or something similar. This would take us up to the break. After the break there would be a chat of maybe five or ten minutes on what's happening or planned to happen that might be of relevance to the members, followed by a slide show of members' photographs - with constructive comments.

The remainder of January's meeting was taken up with a slide show of photographs that members had emailed to Pat Mullan in the days before the meeting. Special thanks should be given to Jonas Dellow for his technical help during this slide show. There were some stunning photographs on view, and some of them can be seen on the RCC facebook page which can be viewed here.

Just one of many photos submitted

February Club Meeting

This will be held on Thursday, 14 February 2013, in "The Cabin", Rossinver, Co Leitrim from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

Members are encouraged to provide up to three new photographs each, to be shown as part of the slide show on the evening.

Please email the photographs to rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com by Monday, 11 February. Ideally resize your photographs to a maximum of 1024 pixels on their longest edge before emailing them.

Welcome to the Rainbow Camera Club - a cross-border camera club set up in June 2012 to just "go out there" and have some fun, sharing ideas, experience and knowledge.

Most people's introduction to photography may have come as a Christmas or birthday present and - apart from the occasional use - the remainder of the camera's life is spent in the darkness of a drawer or cupboard. As a group the Rainbow Camera Club can shine some light on how to actually use the camera and open a whole new world to the members, with demonstrations, motivational competitions, exhibitions, and various outings and photographic shoots throughout the year.

Members of the club like to share their knowledge and make things fun for all involved. The cross-border  nature of the club is reflected in the fact that members currently come from Counties Fermanagh, Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, and Sligo.

New members are always welcome. To join you don't have to have an all-singing and all-dancing expensive camera, nor do you need to be an expert. For information on joining email rainbowcameraclub@gmail.com.

Our next meeting is in The Cabin, beside the GAA football field, Rossinver, Co Leitrim on the 10th January 2013 from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. All welcome!

View The Cabin in a larger map