NWBCC News & Events

The Bristol Festival of Nature 2008

2008-06-05T21:22:00.007+01:00

The Bristol Festival of Nature is the UK's biggest celebration of the natural world and this weekend promises to be the biggest yet. Whatever the weather, come down to the harbour-side for talks, sideshows, animal encounters and more. We have a stall in the main tent so come along and ask questions about the club, photography or just to have a chat and stay out of the rain. Come back here to see pictures from both days as they happen, and if you have any pictures from the BFN yourself add them to flickr and tag them 'BFN08'. You can see pictures from the event on our special Bristol Festival of Nature 2008 page.

Bristol Festival of Nature

2008-05-19T20:20:00.000+01:00

Once again, NWBCC is excited to be a part of The Bristol Festival of Nature at the Harbourside on the 7-8 June. There is a fantastic programme of hands-on activities, talks, animal encounters, films, workshops and more. We will be on-hand to help with your photographic queries and to tell you all about the club. For more details on the festival see the Bristol Festival of Nature homepage.

Practical Evening

2008-02-04T22:28:00.001Z

John recently hosted a practical session on tabletop photography at the club. I have never seen so many desk lamps, torches, strobes etc. gathered together in one place. A lot of the images have been posted to our flickr pool. You can see them here.

Website of the Month

2008-01-21T21:18:00.001Z

National Geographic have a section on their site dedicated to photography. There are loads of tips for everything from people to landscape photography, as well as videos. Well worth a look, check it out at the National Geographic Gallery.

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008

2008-01-11T20:09:00.000Z

If you have seen the 2007 exhibition at the Bristol Museum and think you have what it takes then you may be interested to know that entry opens in January for the 2008 WPOY.

Entry opens on 17 January 2008 and all images must be submitted by 24 March by post or 31 March online at www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto. Entrants stand to win an impressive £10,000 prize if they are given the coveted title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 or share of a £23,550 prize fund if successful in one of the categories.

Winning photographers will have their images showcased in an international exhibition that debuts at the Natural History Museum in October 2008 before touring venues across the world. Winning images are also featured in a special supplement to the November issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine and in a hardback commemorative portfolio by BBC Books.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition is the world’s greatest wildlife photography contest and an international leader in the artistic representation of the natural world. Every year, it showcases the very best photographic images of nature to a worldwide audience, giving people an insight into the beauty, drama and variety of the natural world. Now in its forty-fourth year, the 2008 competition is open to anyone with an appreciation of wildlife and a passion for fresh, innovative photography.

You can read more about the 2007 exhibition on our 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year page. If you can't make the exhibition at the Museum see some of the 2007 entries here.

Photo Talk

2007-12-16T13:15:00.000Z

P1030779

Originally uploaded by

peteruck

Another comment from Johnc15 on an image from our Flickr pool. Remember, if you want to comment on any of our pictures on the pool drop me an email at the feedback address below. Meanwhile here is what John had to say about on of Peter's photos:

"Love the textures of the dilapidated old building, the flaking paint of the boat, but a little PhotoShop work would have really brought this out more. The sky needs some attention and the image could be warmed to better effect."

Exposed! Green Market

2007-11-16T07:56:00.000Z

We Have been asked to run a stall at the Bristol Museum "Exposed!" exhibition's "Green Market" on Sat/Sun 24th/25th November. We will be putting together an exhibition of our work for the event. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone to come along and meet some of the members and discuss the club, photography and how we can all help the environment.

So please come along to the Museum, see the other stalls and say hello.

Follow the link for more information about Exposed: Climate change in Britain's backyard.

Tips and Tricks - Free Software for Photographers

2007-10-10T23:19:00.000+01:00

There is no denying that Photoshop is the leader in image editing software available on any platform, but what if you don't need all that power or simply don't want to spend several hundred pounds on a programme that you won't use very often. Well, believe it or not there are solutions available that won't cost you anything. Obviously they can't compete directly with Photoshop but each is a very capable programme. So here is a quick run down, in no particular order, of free software for photographers:

1. Picasa

Free photo sorting and cataloging application from Google. Create slideshows, perform basic photo manipulation and upload your photos to the web.

2. DIM

The Digital Image Mover is a great little application for getting the photos of your memory card. Rename the photos as they are copied, sort into directories and more.

3. GIMPShop

A version of GIMP that replicates the look of Photoshop.

4. Paint.NET

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows.

This is a small example of the free software available for photographers. For a more comprehensive list visit Photo-Freeware.net.

I haven't tested all these applications so cannot vouch for their suitability for a particular purpose. Please be careful when installing any software.

If you would like to recommend any free software for photographers, then please add a comment.

Website of the Month

2007-09-21T20:53:00.000+01:00

Ever wondered why your lenses cost so much? Well, there is an incredible amount of work that goes into them. A lot of it is manually done. You can see just what is involved here.

Photo Talk

2007-09-15T22:21:00.001+01:00

DSCF1074
Originally uploaded by Em_42.

This shot of a rose was added to the pool by Em_42. It's a very nice record shot but there are a couple of ways that it can be improved still further.

1. Use a larger aperture. From the exif I can see that this shot was taken at f5 @ 1/320. A larger aperture, f3.5 or even f2.8 would result in a narrower depth of field. This would blur a lot more of the background and render it less distracting causing the rose to stand out more.

2. Use a tripod. Up close the rose petals are a bit soft, I suspect this was taken handheld. When shooting in close you really need to use a solid base to prevent any camera movement. Especially important when using a larger aperture as the shutter speed will reduce.

3. Don't shoot in direct sunlight. Shots such as this are best taken on a dry overcast day. Use a reflector or even a piece of white A4 card to bounce light back in to the rose to fill in any shadows.

That's it for this week. If you agree or disagree, please leave a comment. If you would like to critique a photo from the NWBCC pool, then please email it to the a contact address below including a link or name of the particular photo.

Tips and Tricks - Join our Flickr group

2007-09-06T23:18:00.000+01:00

Flickr is a photo sharing website, a basic account is free and you can then upload images for friends and family to view anywhere with an internet connection. You can also set up groups for people to join. Which is what we have done to create the NWBCC Flickr group. You don't have to be an NWBCC member to join, in fact we have a growing number of virtual members. So please feel free to join us in the group and maybe post a few pictures in our group pool.

Website of the Month

2007-08-23T16:38:00.000+01:00

Clive Minnitt - www.minnitt.com

There are three main reasons I choose Clive's site for this months Website of the Month.

1. Clive is based in Bristol.
2. He used to be an NWBCC member, and has visited since to present talks and slideshows.
3. The fantastic images on his site, many of which are from the Bristol area.

The rest of the UK is also catered for, along with Cuba, Australia and more. The images are grouped into galleries according to theme, and the galleries have names such as 'Cars', 'Bridges' and 'Doors'. There is also a bio section and a few articles where you can read more about Clive, his work and how he came to be where he is.

Clive appears regularly in Outdoor Photography and is one of the instructors for Light and Land photographic tours. If you have an idea for Website of the Month please let us know at our contact address.

(Image (c)Clive Minnitt. Used with Permission)

Photo Talk

2007-08-14T18:30:00.001+01:00

Rainbow
Originally uploaded by Patrick N.

This month its the turn of John Case, who chose one of my pictures to say the following about:

"Nicely balanced composition, but the subject is overexposed and consequently lacking impact. I doubt the sky was as light as it appears in the photo, usually rainbows occur against darker skies. But in any case the picture could be improved considerably with an application of Photoshop Levels or Curves."

Thanks for that John... I think :-).

Tip and Tricks - Tell us what you think.

2007-08-10T09:59:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed at the bottom of each post there is a small label named "Comment". This is where you get to tell us what you think of the post or to add additional comments.

Click the label and you can leave a message (anonymously if you like) and also see what others have said. The number in brackets is the number of comments already left.

Monthly Photo Talkabout Thing of the Month

2007-07-19T23:33:00.001+01:00

Bristol Festival of Nature 2007 Meet a Snake!
Originally uploaded by Jim @home.

I know, not a catchy title but I am still working on it. It's not really a critique, or photo of the month. It's just an NWBCC member choosing a photo from our NWBCC pool and saying a few words about it. So appropriately, the first one is from our very own chairman Ray Cottrell, who has this to say about Jim's picture on the right.

"Despite the title of the picture, this image conjures up a much wider picture for me - a thronging crowd carrying aloft this reptile, their hands seeking to caress it in adulation. The scene could be from somewhere in India, the snake elevated to the status of a deity - the location only betrayed by the pale white Caucasian hands. Whether this imagined scene was the intention of the photographer at the time of taking is besides the point - this is an image that each beholder can take at face value and make of it what they will.

The composition is what conjures up this image in my mind - the snake takes centre stage in the middle of the picture, the camera appears to be looking up from a lower point and the hands are outstretched upwards. No human faces compete with that of the snake, gazing directly down at the viewer, in sharp focus.

There are no areas of over exposure to distract the eye from the main subject, although a bright area just below the snakes head does attract some attention. As to whether the picture could be improved, it depends on what you are expecting from it. I prefer to let the picture do the talking as it stands. For me there's an alluring magic in the snake's eye."

So what do you think, leave a comment below and let us know. Thanks to Ray, and another Monthly Photo thingy next month. And please let me know if you can come up with a better title.

Bristol's Green Heroes

2007-07-18T16:13:00.000+01:00

Transition Bristol aims to engage local communities to take action on peak oil and climate change by finding ways to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

To help raise awareness of this issue a photographic exhibition and competition is being organised. The theme of the competition is "Bristol's Green Heroes", and aims to celebrate people and their sustainable projects. The winners and runner's up will be displayed in an exhibition at the Soil Association's Organic Festival in September at the Bristol Harbour Side. Further exhibitions are then planned around the city.

For more details and an entry form visit Transition Bristol.

GOING GORGEOUS-LEIGH WILD AT BRISTOL FESTIVAL OF NATURE!

2007-06-03T17:45:00.001+01:00

Thanks to everyone who helped on the Gorgeous-Leigh Wild project leading up to this weekend's Bristol Festival of Nature. The whole event, including our exhibition, was a HUGE success and - just as important - a lot of fun!

The exhibition brought waves of visitors to see the work done by Tracy McNama's astonishingly creative class at Christ Church School, Justin Quinnell's stunning pin hole camera photography with the remarkable young women from Knowle West Media Centre, the photographers of the future at Brentry Parent and Toddlers Group, and of course NWBCC!

Of course we couldn't have done any of this without our many friends and colleagues out there - Mandy Leivers at the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project, Bill Morris at the National Trust Leigh Woods, Angela Congedo, Festival Manager at Bristol Natural History Consortium - and many others!

But the story doesn't end here ... on June 18th the project will move to an exhibition in the gallery at Bug World in Bristol Zoo Gardens, where we can all pay a visit. Also, Parson Street School will be visiting Leigh Woods to carry on the good work!

Bristol Festival of Nature pictures by Jim Gilligan, click on image to see larger version. The Gorgeous-Leigh Wild NWBCC Event Gallery will be updated over coming days and weeks!

Gorgeous-Leigh Wild Winners!

2007-05-26T13:25:00.000+01:00

We're pleased to announce the winners of the Gorgeous-Leigh Wild Photo Competition!

Under 12
1st: Emma Wills
2nd: Andrew Bushell
3rd: Thomas Levoir

12-18
1st: Emily Taylor
2nd: Emily Taylor
3rd: Emily Taylor

Over 18
1st: Tanya Beachus
2nd: Simon Muir
3rd: Ann Mead

Congratulations to all the winners! The prizegiving will be held at the Bristol Festival of Nature on Saturday 2nd June at 2pm. Mark Carwardine will be awarding the prizes, and all the winning images will be on display as part of the Gorgeous-Leigh Wild Exhibition (including "Best Bluebell" by Emma Wills, shown above). Winners will receive details of the event and prizegiving by post.

See the winning photographs here!

Gorgeous Leigh Wild Pin Hole Pictures!

2007-05-23T21:43:00.001+01:00

One of the world's best known pin-hole camera photographers, Justin Quinnell joined with the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project, the National Trust and NWBCC to work with a group of young women from the N'Large Project at Knowle West Media Centre. With Justin's expert help they built their own pin hole cameras, experimented with exposure times and development and then set out for the Downs and Leigh Woods to take some fascinating and wonderfully low-tech photographs! Their work and some of their cameras can be seen as part of the NWBCC Exhibition at the Bristol Festival of Nature in Millennium Square, Bristol, June 2nd-3rd. Don't miss it!
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Bristol Festival of Nature - Christ Church School Pictures

2007-05-22T20:14:00.000+01:00

Over recent weeks, NWBCC and Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project have been working with some fine new photographers from Christ Church School. Mrs McNama's class of Year 4 children had an afternoon learning about cameras and picking up some creative photographic tips, followed two weeks later by a field trip to the Downs and Avon Gorge. Earlier this week the class worked on editing their photos with spectacular and impressive results! Some of the results can be seen on Jim's Picasa Web page. Many thanks to Tracy and Elise at Christ Church School, to Mandy at Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project and to all from NWBCC who helped. Come and see the final artwork at the Bristol Festival of Nature on 2nd-3rd June at Millennium Square. Amazing stuff.. !

The Bristol Festival of Nature

2007-05-19T16:14:00.000+01:00

The Bristol Festival of Nature is the UK's largest celebration of the natural world. And once again the North West Bristol Camera Club is involved. The festival takes place on the 2nd-3rd June in the Harbourside and is a chance for the whole family to take part in various walks, talks, photography, animal encounters and more. We will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the club and photography, as well as showcasing some of our work taken especially for the event. For more details, and a programme of events and exhibitors visit

the official festival website

Picture Perfect

2007-04-19T12:19:00.000+01:00

On March 24th ADGWP/NWBCC ran another Picture Perfect event. Ray led the day with a slide show of hints and tips on digital photography, before we all went out for some field work on the Downs. Later, Ray and Tony presented and discussed samples of the morning's work from participants.

Thanks to Mandy Leivers at the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project, and to all those who came along on the day. Great fun and some fantastic photographs by all. (Words by Jim Gilligan)

The 2007 NWBCC Photography Competition

2007-04-08T19:38:00.000+01:00

With the Gorgeous-Leigh Wild photographic competition we are looking for imaginative and original images which reflect your personal interpretation of the wildlife and landscapes of the Downs, Gorge and Leigh Woods. If colour, black and white, slides or digital are your thing then we would like to hear from you. We have separate categories for kids and adults, so no matter what age you are, you’re welcome to join in.

There are prizes to win plus we will exhibit winning images on our web site, at the Bristol Festival of Nature to be held in June and at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-03-04T19:40:00.000Z

The night of March 3rd saw a total lunar eclipse - an opportunity to capture in pictures one of the less highlighted, but nonetheless, but still beautiful events involving the sun. moon and earth.

Photographing the moon requires, ideally, a long lens, a tripod or other firm support and more than a little trial and error regarding exposure times - ideal for the review facility afforded by digital cameras. During the time of the total eclipse the moon turns a reddish colour, as can be seen in the picture attached to this article.

If you missed tonight's eclipse, another opportunity is bound to come up eventually, lunar eclipses being more frequent than the rarer solar eclipse.

(Words and picture by Ray Cottrell)

We have our own Flickr group

2007-02-22T19:44:00.000Z

We have our own Flickr group. If you have not come across flickr, it's a photo sharing website. Fickr allows you to upload your photos and share with them with your friends, family or everyone. But there is a lot more than that, see here for an introduction. As far as the club is concerned, one of the main benefits will be the forums. Here you can start topics, reply to questions and generally talk about photography and the NWBCC. So come on, give it a go. There are not many members yet, but we hope to expand beyond just members of the NWBCC and turn it into a usefull resource for all.