Namesake Club

Check out our namesake Hillcrest Camera Club based in Phillipsburg, New Jersey in the USA: http://hillcrestcameraclub.tripod.com/. Here are some pics taken at their latest exhibition:
.

Interesting websites

Good photography is not about equipment. It's about the photographer and, for further proof, take a look at Donald Petersen's website. The guy uses a Nikon D40, the company's smallest and cheapest DSLR, and most often, the kit lens. Mind you, I've using a D40 in tandem with my Canon and finding it's a sweet-handling little camera.

Good photography is about composition according to Ken Rockwell. I can't argue with anything he says in the article.

CUMBERLAND WEEKEND - 27 Feb to 1 March

Basically members have 3 options:-

a.. Day visit on either Saturday 28 Feb, or Sunday 1 March - Entry is R10
per person paid into the honesty box as I described last night. Also see
directions below. Bring your own food, drink and utensils (breakfast , lunch
and supper is you are staying late!), but I am sure you can braai with the
campers or bribe the people staying in the self catering house!
b.. Camping from the Friday night (27 Feb) through to Sunday afternoon (1
March). One could just camp the Saturday night of course. Camping costs
R40/person/night, plus the R10 entry fee on the first day - i.e. R90/person
for the weekend, or R50 for just the Saturday night! The campsite is quite
large well grassed and shady trees, braai area, no electricity and a small
ablution block containing one toilet and shower for each (males and
females! - hot water via an ingenious paraffin heater, and solar powered
(with battery) lights in the ablutions). I think a practical limit would be
about 16 people... Note - there is no cell phone reception in the camp site,
but there is a short walk up a hill.
c.. Self Catering House - there is a house beautifully situated on a ridge
overlooking the Umgeni River. It is basically furnished and linen is
provided. You have to bring your own towels, food and drink. There are two
rooms with double beds and one room with two single beds. The one double bed
room has a room leading off it to another room with 3 single beds -
preferably for children. Costs are R90/person/night, children under 12 are
R45/night. Obviously you must still pay the R10 entrance fee on your first
day.
I have booked the camp site and provisionally booked the self catering
accommodation. Please book by e-mailing me, Geoff Purnell at
PurnellG at sbadbn dotcoza, first come, first served! I will be camping.

Directions are as follows:- (I will e-mail a small map to those who want
one)

1.. Take the N3 to Pietermaritzburg.
2.. Take the Ohrtman Road off ramp. At the robots at the end of the
off-ramp turn right.
3.. Travel along Ohrtman Road, past the big Silos on your right, through
one set of robots.
4.. At the second set of robots, turn right into Manning Road (M30), which
becomes Bishopstowe Rd or the M30.
5.. Go through one set of robots, at the second set of robots turn left
(there is a Shell Garage on your right, and I am sure there is a large Table
Mountain sign at the intersection)
6.. Travel for approximately 3km winding up a hill until you see another
sign to Table Mountain, turn right and travel approximately 1,8km.
7.. Turn left onto the gravel district road D408 (there is also a smaller
wooden Cumberland Nature Reserve sign).
8.. Drive down this road for approximately 8 to 10 km, and enjoy the
scenery! Just stay on the road because it takes you right to the entrance of
the Cumberland Nature Reserve. Drive through the entrance (observe the speed
limit!), and after a short drive you will see the tree with the honesty box.
There also should be pamphlets and maps for you to take.
9.. If you are going to the self catering house, drive straight up the
hill.
10.. If you are going to the campsite, turn right at the honesty box tree,
and drive through the picnic sites to the end of the road, cross a small
stream, and you are there!
11.. Day visitors - it may be an idea to meet us at the camp site, or you
will see gangs of evil photographers roaming around on your way in
Look forward to seeing a good turnout at this stunning venue!

Regards

Geoff Purnell

Meeting: February 2009

Our next meeting will be on 3 February 2009 at 7pm at Hillcrest Sports Club. There will be a talk by Harry Lock who had this to say:

“If you thought image manipulation began with Photoshop, think again. Since the dawn of photography photographers have been altering and manipulating the images they make. Whether it is for artistic reasons, propaganda, persuasion, or just for fun, the impulse to manipulate is as old as photography. I will be sharing with you some of the most famous and controversial examples of image manipulation.”

There is no set subject this month. Remember only 3 pictures per member.
.

Calendar for 2009

Your committee has been hard at work lining up an exciting schedule for 2009. The most noteworthy new development is that we are going to try having a second meeting each month. The second meetings are going to be more workshoppy and participative and everyone will be expected to bring a picture for discussion.

The schedule, including meetings, set subjects and outings, is available if you click the 2009 Planner link on the top right-hand side of the page. Details about the second meetings in the month will be posted here later.

By Allan Jackson

.

Christmas Party Directions

The Christmas Party is being held this year at 181h30 on 28 November 2008 at Bhowani Game Lodge. The directions for those who have booked are as follows:

Website: http://www.bhowanigamelodge.co.za/contact_us.php

For the GPS-enabled: S 29.69136 Degrees E 30.64935 Degrees

There is a map on their website but you basically take the Hammarsdale t/o on the N3 coming from Hillcrest.

You go over the N3 and about 8km past Inchanga turnoff and turn right at the Caltex garage. Its the turn off you would take for the Abattoir and Cato ridge airfield. Go for about 5km past airfield, abattoir and so on.

The road turns to dirt and the game lodge is 800m further on.

Any problems, contact me on 082 588 2151.

Christmas party - 2008

We have made a provisonal booking at Bhowani Bush Lodge near Cato Ridge for our Christmas party on Friday 28th November. People who have been there say it's great and it will only cost R70 per head with all the trimmings and a cash bar available. Would you please contact me at the e-mail address on the right-hand side of the page if you want to come. Once you've booked, you owe us. Directions to follow later.

Meeting/Outing October 2008

We will be meeting at the Hillcrest Sports Club at 7pm on October 7, 2008. We will have two guest speakers including Canon Rep Justin Fuchs, who is hopefully going to give us a glimpse of what's coming up from Canon, and wedding photographer Brett Florens, who is going to give us a peep at a new video he's made on photographing weddings. The set subject is Still Life and the best picture on that topic will win a gift voucher.

We'll have supper at 6pm at the Sports Club beforehand and you're all welcome to that as usual. It's still only R35 per head and great value.

Our outing this month is at 18h30 on Friday, 17 October, to photograph the night lights around the Suncoast Casino and elsewhere on the beach. We will meet on the walkway between the beach and the hotel, in front of the main entrance. Bring tripods and a healthy appetite for supper afterwards.

Aug outing / Sept meeting

The outing this month is on Sunday, 31 August, to Inchanga Station, which is the base of the Umgeni Steam Railway. The original thought was to do a club block booking to travel on the steam train from Kloof Station to Inchanga, have lunch and then to travel back to Kloof on the train.

A number of club members have suggested that, instead of riding on the train, we drive and meet up at Inchanga Station which would give us the chance to take pictures of the train at some places along the way.

Riding along with the train

There is no reason why you can't still ride the train if you want to and meet us at Inchanga. The train leaves at 12h30 from Kloof Station but you will have to book your seats in advance. Just go to http://www.umgenisteamrailway.co.za/ and you will find a booking form and online payment facility.

Self-drive

The train leaves Kloof Station at 12h30 and you can meet it at a couple of places along the way. The first good place is on the pedestrian bridge over the railway line opposite the Maytime Centre in Kloof. You have to get onto the road on the other side of the railway line from Shunters Arms in Kloof (the same road that Makaranga Lodge is in). Drive inland from Shunters towards Makaranga and you will see the bridge on your left. The train doesn't take long to reach that spot so you will need to be there promptly.

Head inland again and you soon get a chance to get onto R103. Go into Hillcrest and through the village to the bottom of Botha's Hill. There's a level crossing (Padley's Crossing) on the right just after the Kassier Road intersection.. You should be there not more than 20 minutes after the train has left Koof.

Go up Botha's Hill after the train has passed and you can catch it again at either Botha's Hill Station or at the Alverstone turnoff further along that road. Fast drivers may be able to get in front of the train again but it may be best just to head for Inchanga, where you will probably be able to get the train arriving.

September Meeting

The September meeting will be at 7pm on September 2, 2008 at the Hillcrest Sports Club. We will be having a talk by wedding photographer David Weeks and viewing member's picture after that.

We will have dinner as usual at 6pm before the meeting. Please book your meal by replying to this e-mail.

NEW

You can now submit your images by e-mail to Andre DuToit. Contact Allan at the e-mail address at the top righthand side of this page to get correct the address to use.

PUHLEEZE!! Not more than three pictures per person and please make sure that they are not bigger than 1024 pixels wide and 768 pixels high. Please do not submit after the Sunday before the meeting. Entries sent on Monday or Tuesday will not be shown.

If you don't know how resize and mail pictures:
The easiest way to do this that I've found is to use a free program called FastStone. You can download it from here. Install the program as usual and use it to view the folder containing the pictures you want to send.

Then:
** Select the first picture you want to send by clicking on it.
** Hold down the control key and click on the other pictures.
** Let go the control key and click the Envelope Icon which is third from the right in the strip right under the menu bar.
** A new window will come up with the selected pictures in it.
** Click the box next to Resize Using JPEG Format If Possible so that a tick appears in the box.
** In the boxes next to New Size, enter the values 1024 and 768.
** Click the Send E-mail button on the right and the program will use your default e-mail program to send the pictures. Just enter Andre's address when asked.

It's all a matter of time

Many newcomers to photography give up when they find out that becoming a photographer is a journey that takes lots of time with plenty of failures along the way. Failure, or 'getting skunked', is all part of learning the craft and should be embraced, according to Mooose Petersen.

Outing: July 2008

This is a reminder about our model shoot on 26 July 2008 at 8am at Crinkly Bottom. There will be three gorgeous models and everyone will have the opportunity of shooting all three over the course of two hours. Breakfast afterwards at Crinkly at 10h03am.

There is a limit to the number of members who can be accommodated and so you will have to book by replying to this message. The club will take care of some of the cost of the models but there will be a charge of R50, not including breakfast, per person shooting. If you book, you pay, even if you no-show.

Why not bring some props with you and some pictures of poses you like?

We don't have full details of the next meeting on August 1, 2008, but the calendar says that the speaker is going to be David Weeks on wedding photography. The calendar also says that Barrie is organising; I hope this is so… Further details when we know them.

Activities: June 2008

Natalie Knibbs tells me that two of our members are currently on a trip from Cape To Cairo and beyond. Gordon Battersby and Kyle are keeping a blog of their journey and you're all welcome to visit it to keep up to date and leave messages of support. The blog is at http://safari.blat.co.za and, while I know that the bit about leaving messages is a long shot, you can always try.

Meeting / Outing

We will be meeting at the Hillcrest Sports Club at 7pm on June 3, 2008. We will have see an audio-visual on dragon flies and a talk and pictures by chairman Geoff on his trip up Mt Kilamanjaro in Kenya. We will then view members’ pictures as usual. The set subject is Abstracts and the best picture on that topic will win a gift voucher.

We’ll have supper at 6pm beforehand and you’re all welcome to that as usual. Please send me a message to confirm if you would like supper.

Our outing this month is at 06h30 on 28 June to Summmerveld for the early morning horse training. We will have breakfast there (if John Teece can organise it) or at an alternative venue close by.

Directions

Drive out of Hillcrest along Kassier Road, cross the N3, and pass the t/o to Shongweni Dam. Take the Summerveld t/o and go up the road a bit. You’ll go through a set of gates and, soon after that, you’ll see a turn off to the left (if you go under a bridge, you’ve gone too far) follow that road and park in the car park.

Try not to startle any horses. Part of that is not using flash.

Camera 4 Sale

Jax Swan has an Olympus E-500 Digital Camera for sale. It has a 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 ED lens and an 8.0 Mega Pixel sensor. Like new, R4000. Contact 082 595 5110. See here for a detailed review on the camera.

Meeting/outing: May 2008

We will be meeting at the Hillcrest Sports Club at 7pm on May 6, 2008. We will have a talk by Mike Volckman on photo composition and architecture and will then view members' pictures as usual. The set subject is Landscape/farm animals and the best picture on that topic will win a gift voucher.

We'll have supper at 6pm beforehand and you're all welcome to that as usual. Please reply to this message to confirm if you would like supper.

Our outing in May is to World's View in Pietermaritzburg and the railway museum in Hilton Road. I suggest we meet at around 06h15 (dawn) on May 17, 2008, at World's View. Be sure to bring some some coffee.

We will then proceed to breakfast and the railway museum in Hilton.

Directions

Drive straight into PMB along what used to be Durban Road (I think it's Alan Paton now) and go straight through the centre of town. The road becomes Chief Albert Luthuli Road (R103) - continue straight, past the Royal Showgrounds. Continue until you get to a traffic circle at Athlone Primary School ( 4 kms further) and turn left towards Howick (Hilton). Continue up Town Hill, ( Old Howick Road ) for about 4 kms. There are 5 'rumble strips' on the road to warn you of the turning. Take a left into Worlds View Road and go straight to the view site at the end.

Hilton and the railway museum / station is further along Old Howick Road. Go into Hilton and turn right at the Crossways Hotel. After a bit you will see the Quarry Centre on your right. We'll meet there for breakfast in Bustle's Café (breakfasts from R27) when it opens at 08h30.

After eating, we'll proceed to the museum/station, which is a bit further along the road past the Quarry Centre.

Outing: April 2008

This is a reminder about our outing to Bush Hill Stud Farm on 26 April 2008. We are going to make our way there individually, meeting at around 7am, whereafter we will shoot whatever there is to shoot and have breakfast. The owners of the stud will provide breakfast and we will be expected to contribute to the cost.

*** WE NEED TO HAVE PRIOR NOTICE OF NUMBERS SO YOU MUST RSVP BY 20 APRIL IF YOU ARE GOING TO COME. THIS APPLIES EVEN TO PEOPLE WHO THINK IT DOESN'T APPLY TO THEM. ****

The directions from Ondine are as follows:

Take the N3 from Durban heading north to Jhb.
Pass Pietermaritzburg.
Pass Howick
Pass Nottingham Road
Take the 1st Mooi River off-ramp through toll (R19.00)
Once through the toll turn left - you will find yourself at a T-junction looking at Engen Garage/Wimpy.
At this T-Junction turn right towards Mooi River.
Cross over the Mooi River, you will pass two garages - i.e. Caltex on left and Engen on right. At traffic circle turn left. If you follow the Giants Castle / Summerhill Stud signs you will head in the right direction, but the detailed account of where to go is thus : After you have turned left at the traffic circle do the following :
At the next stop street with Pep Stores in front of you, turn right and follow this road up and over the railway line. Road curves sharply to left and at this stage you will have Standard Bank on your right.
At the next stop street turn right onto the Giants Castle Road. This will take you past the Argyle Hotel on your left and you will climb a long hill out of Mooi River. Continue for approx 2km until you come to a left turn - Hlatikulu Road.
Turn left at this Hlatikulu Road (very important otherwise you will head off to Giants Castle). Continue on the Hlatikulu Road for approx 7 km until the road changes to dirt (ignore the left turn to Connington). Once on the dirt you will travel a further 300m's and Bush Hill Stud is the first farm entrance on your right. Bush Hill Stud is approx 10k's from the traffic circle - if you go much further, stop, as you have missed a turn!

By Allan Jackson