- When Entering a Club Competitions Please Read the Competition Briefs for the Set Subject.
- Registration for Get To Know Your Camera Day Now Open
- Results for competitions in 2024 February – Digital and Print
- Axholme Interclub Competition: Set Subject – Street Photography
- Membership Renewal & New Membership 2024
- Competition rule changes 2024
- Competitions are Open for 2024
- New Beginnings for 2024
- Results for competitions in 2023 Image of the Year
- Award’s Night Prints
Registration for Get To Know Your Camera Day Now Open
The Calendar for Sun Apr 21st has the registration page for The Get To Know Your Camera Day. The cost is $30 for attendees but the experts who are attending need to register but it is free for them.
The day starts with an Introduction to Photography with Robert Shelberg and follwed by a number of exercises to reinforce some basic principles.
There will be experts in various camera models who can sit with you and explore your camera setting.
See the registration page for details.
by Peter John O'Brien, March 13, 2024
Axholme Interclub Competition: Set Subject – Street Photography
Last date to submit entries: Midnight May 19th.
link to enter images: Goto Competition
CHRSLPC has an interclub competition with the Axholme Club in the UK every six months. In May Axholme chooses the competition set subject and in November Castle Hill selects the set subject. Axholme has chosen Street Photography as the competition set subject, we now require images to enter this competition. There is a UK judge and an Australian judge and the club with the best overall scores is the winner. Street photography is a lot of fun, now is the time to practice some street photography and submit some entries.
As a guide most people do not mind if you take their photograph. Avoid children and homeless / distressed people.
Street Photography Definition
Street photography is a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place. Street photographers capture spontaneous moments of people in a candid state, often without their knowledge. Street photography is not directed or staged, and it communicates the experience of everyday life and the vision of the artist by careful framing and timing.
by Robert Clarke, February 7, 2024
When Entering a Club Competitions Please Read the Competition Briefs for the Set Subject.
If entering a club competition in the set subject section it is very important to review the competition briefs. If your image does not meet the brief, it is likely that your entry will receive a no score. Often members enter images that have manmade structures in Australian landscapes. Manmade structures can be part of the image, but they must not be a dominant element of the image. The competition guidelines state “A photograph of Australian natural land or coastal scenery, which may include people, buildings, animals, or other objects (example manmade roads/tracks & fences) provided these elements do not dominate the photograph”.
If your image has a dominant manmade element such as a dominant building or structure, consider entering the image into the open category.
by Robert Clarke, March 14, 2024
Results for competitions in 2024 February – Digital and Print
There were 46 entries that were rated the highest by our judge(s).
Members can view all images and comment on them by following this link
View / Comment entries in 2024 February – Digital and Print
click here to see a pdf catalog of all competition results
THE CHASE Geoffrey Higgins – Image of the Month – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Feeding Young One branko komlin – Image of the Month – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Little future aviator Monica Mulder – Image of the Month – open A Grade Open Digital |
Scarlet Honeyeater Geoffrey Higgins – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Messy eater Linda Frost – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Dinner time Linda Frost – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Australasian Figbird Carol Abbott – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Down The Hatch Peter John O’Brien – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Fishing Is Easy Peter John O’Brien – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Territory battle z_DSC3083.jpg2 CH Lisa Harris – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
The glory of life zZ72_9932 .jpg2 Lisa Harris – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Mount Kaputar Sandra O’Farrell – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Dragons Tooth John O’Farrell – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Interloper Jennifer Lees – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Bird Brekkie Peter Van Acquoy – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Endangered Alan Fowkes – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
The Girl is Mine Alan Fowkes – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
King Parrot Patricia Sheumack – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Hungry little mamma squirrel Monica Mulder – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Lone Flamingo Terry Lilley – Merit – set subject A Grade Set Subject Digital |
Couple Eric Chung – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Montague Island Paul Nomikos – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Tree Frog Paul Nomikos – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Two Mouths To Feed Choo Beng Chew – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Robber fly with prey 7716 2 Alex Springall – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Quick Snack branko komlin – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Busy Bee Jan Lambert – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Snack Time Ward Kirshaw – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Flying Rainbow Rod Harris – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Life Blood Kay Sath – Merit – set subject B Grade Set Subject Digital |
Kitty Litter Gerard Siddle – Image of the Month – open B Grade Open Digital |
Double Take Peter Robson – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Oops !! Terry Jenkins – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Behind Bars Ian Moore – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Ride the Wave Trung Cang Nguyen – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Lucas 2014 William Stewart – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Business Tycoon Dina Gialouris – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Running for finish Gary Elliott – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Flying Gary Elliott – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Gramophone Dina Gialouris – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Natures Dance – The Art of Survival Manny Mavi – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Anzac Bridge Vito Ricapito – Merit – open A Grade Open Digital |
Eye Steve McHardy – Merit – open B Grade Open Digital |
Memorial IMG_2261r Jean Rhodes – Merit – open B Grade Open Digital |
Sunrise Serenity Gerard Siddle – Merit – open B Grade Open Digital |
Hannahs watching Geoffrey Hodgins – Merit – open B Grade Open Digital |
by Gary Elliott, February 27, 2024
Membership Renewal & New Membership 2024
The cut-off date to complete membership renewals was the 9th February 2024 due to changes in processes with MyPhotoClub (MPC). If you missed renewing by that date, you will need to re-register as a NEW MEMBER and pay the joining fee.
To complete the New Membership Process:
The Photography Club is a sub-club of Castle Hill RSL Club. You MUST be a member of the CHRG (Castle Hill RSL Club, Parramatta RSL Club or the Lynwood Country Club) and be over 18 years old. Refer below for Junior Members aged 16-17 years old, and in the case of a family membership all family members must be both RSL and Photography club members.
• If you need to join the Castle Hill RSL club then click here for details of Castle Hill RSL Membership
• Everyone requires an account to sign into. Your email address is used to sign in.
• Click on the JOIN OUR CLUB button on the Home Page. When you click on the Join our Club button you will be prompted to sign in or create a new account. Create a new account if you are a first time member or Sign in if you are a member who missed the renewal date.
• From this point you will need to pay your membership. To start this process, click on the ‘PAY MEMBERSHIP FEE link/button below. You will be taken to the club’s New Member Registration page on TryBooking which is an event booking site the club is using to process membership payments.
o For the open session option, click the Select button.
o On the membership options page select the appropriate membership option, enter ‘1’ and click the Next button.
o On the ‘Ticket Details’ page fill in the form. This information is required so the club can manage and communication with its members. As TryBooking is a third party application you will be asked to provide information already provided to register for MyPhotoClub. Click the Next button.
o Follow the prompts and complete the payment process.
• The TryBooking payment system offers two options, Credit Card, PayPal and GPay. There will be a booking fee added to the price of the membership by TryBooking, 2.5% or 3.0% transaction fee, depending on payment method, and $0.50 handling fee. Once you complete the process an email will be sent to you with a receipt. Please send a photo of your RSL Club Membership card to the Membership Secretary and a joining code will be sent to you to enter and complete the registration process.
• Junior members, aged 16-17, are now permitted under the following conditions
• The Junior member must apply to become a Junior Member of the RSL at the membership desk
• A Parent/Guardian, as well as the Junior member, must become members of the photography club
• The Parent/Guardian must accompany the Junior member at all club events
• Parents/Guardians and the Junior Member may join the club utilising a Family membership
• By becoming a financial member of the club, you hereby agree to abide by the rules and conditions of the club, refer Club Constitution
NOTE: Members who joined on or after 1st October 2023 do not need to renew their membership, as it’s current until the end of 2024.
If any issues are encountered, email the Membership Secretary. Include in the email details about what you were trying to do, what went wrong, including any error messages, and, if possible, a screen dump of the TryBooking page where the issue was encountered.
by Narelle Wajzer, January 9, 2024
Competition rule changes 2024
Happy new year to all our members and we look forward to some outstanding photography images, training sessions, outings and social events in 2024.
If you haven’t thought about entering the club’s competitions, give it a go as it is a great way to improve your skills as all images are judged and judges usually give suggestions on how to improve images. Even if you don’t enter a competition come along to the competition night to see and hear what the judges say about the entered images.
Due to the introduction of generative fill and advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in photoshop the Australian Photography Society (APS) has developed rules regarding generative fill and AI in competitions. The Castle Hill Competition committee reviewed these rules and has adjusted the club’s competition rules to be in line with the APS. The rules will apply to all competitions commencing in 2024.
The New Competition Rules for CHRSLPC are:
5.6.3 Post-production.
Overview of post-production rules
The simplest way to think of the post-production rules is that you must have captured the pixels in your camera. Software can be used to adjust those pixels in the many options that software such as Photoshop provides. You cannot use any pixels that are generated by software or purchased overlays (for example, fog, dust, light rays etc) as they are not your work.
Post-production rules
Post-production processing that is entirely based on pixels in the original image and does not extend the image beyond its original boundaries is ‘acceptable’. The processing must be under the direct control of the photographer, whether that processing is manual such as cloning, painting, dodging, etc or automated such as using filters or plugins.
‘Content-aware Fill’ or similar modification that is entirely based on pixels in the original image/s and which does not extend the image beyond its original boundaries is ‘acceptable’.
‘Generative Fill’ or the use of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ or other processes that use content generated by software from written / verbal prompts or developed from the work of others is ‘not acceptable’.
by Robert Clarke, January 7, 2024
Competitions are Open for 2024
Members can now enter competitions for 2024. Each month there is a set subject and open competition.
The set subjects for 2024 are:
Month | Set Subject |
February | Nature |
March | Australian Landscapes / Seascapes |
April | Monochrome |
May | Creative / Experimental |
June | People Portrait |
July | Rush Hour |
August | Panorama |
September | Water in Motion |
October | Playing with Artificial Light |
November | Panning |
There are two ways to access the competition entry page where images can be dragged and dropped in. Note the maximum image size and dimensions. Images that have received a credit or higher in a prior competition cannot be re-entered into a competition.
Method 1: In the calendar click on the date of the competition. A pop-up will be seen with the set subject guidelines. Click on the pop-up to make it full size. At the bottom of the pop-up there is a link that will take you to the competition entry page where the set subject guidelines are also displayed. Close the pop-up to access the competition entry page. Make sure that you nominate the competition entered, set or open, digital or print.
Method 2: Click on Members. When the page opens at the top right click on the 2024 year selector. All the 2024 competitions that are open are displayed with the closing dates. Click on the competition that you want to enter; a pop-up will be displayed with the set subject guidelines. To enter the competition, close the guideline pop-up.
by Robert Clarke, December 20, 2023
New Beginnings for 2024
The year 2023 ended with the sudden transition to MyPhotoClub. A lot of effort has been put in by the Competition Coordinator Rob Clarke and the Webmaster Ian Munro to finish the year with the successful End of Year Dinner and Awards Night Sun Dec 10th.
During the break, MPC will be updated from the initial trial site to add the additional polish that we want for our new site. We now have time to devote to that rather than the effort just to complete the year.
Your committee has been planning 2024 and the competitions have been determined and these will start to appear during the break. The Training has been outlined and potential Lecture presenters have been contacted.
The club starts back on the first Tuesday in February, Feb 6th. You will start to see more entries in the calendar during the break.
I would like to thank the Exec Committee for the big effort during the year and also the out of ordinary effort resulting from te sudden demise of the old website.
And thanks to the members who have helped out in the running of the club.
During the break, take the opportunity to be with family and also to get out and about looking for Nature images for the first competition.
It would be great to see more members coming back to the live meetings.
Have a Merry and Safe Christmas and New Year.
by Peter John O'Brien, December 13, 2023
Results for competitions in 2023 Image of the Year
There were 6 entries that were rated the highest by our judge(s).
Members can view all images and comment on them by following this link
View / Comment entries in 2023 Image of the Year
click here to see a pdf catalog of all competition results
Shh Stoaway Dina Gialouris – Image of the Year – Print |
Perfect Paul Prouzos – Top Three – Print |
The Shed Gary Elliott – Top Three – Print |
GWM Surfer Peter Lees – Image of the Year – Digital Digital |
Colourful woodpecker Linda Frost – Top Three – Digital Digital |
Im watching you Ian Roberts – Top Three – Digital Digital |
by Peter John O'Brien, December 12, 2023
Award’s Night Prints
We have just been informed that the judge for the Award’s Night partner has tested positive to Covid. At this time our judge is still negative, but that may change.
We are aware that prints should be judged as prints however if our judge does have a positive covid result then our judge will judge the digital copies of the prints. It is not ideal but is the only option available to us at this late stage.
If you were intending to bring your print on the evening, could you please ensure that that you submit a digital image to the competition coordinator, Rob Clarke via email at “rclarke17@bigpond.com” no later than 7:00pm on Thursday the 7th of December.
In the event that the prints are judged digitally, a print won’t receive an award if the print is not on display at the Award’s Night evening. Please ensure that the print is on display as we are hoping that our judge remains negative and will be able to judge the prints at the Award’s Night.
by Robert Clarke, December 6, 2023