Winner Kerry Boytell Behind the German Lines

April w/end 27 & 28
Ironfest is an historical and cultural event in Lithgow, created by Macgregor Ross, a local artist and festival director. It is a not for profit event that celebrates the relationship between humanity and iron, steel and other metals.

Winner Jim Millar Canberra Balloons

March w/end 8 & 9
It rained Saturday morning and the balloons didn’t take to the skies but the Air force kept the crowd entertained by demonstrating the preparation involved getting ready for a flight.
Sunday was a great morning and crowds came back for a wonderful display of the balloons firing up and taking to the skies. Jim got this great shot, congratulations! Enjoy the red.

           
Monday 18/06:  Momento Pro Production tour.
It was an excellent tour and the feedback says it all.

Kerry has been using Momento Pro books for some time and won April book of the month “Dolomites in Autumn’ and last year won ‘Japan in Winter’.
Both her books were on display in reception.

Sue: Thanks Joslyn for organising the Momento Pro Tour.  It really was great and having a pre-tour get together at café Vite was an excellent idea. We arrived early at the Momento Factory and had a look through the photo books on display. The tour was excellent.

Keith: I enjoyed an informal meeting of members of the club in the warm café, enjoying hot coffee and fresh scones on a cold and wet afternoon.
The Momento office was but a short walk from the café, and we were there guided through the Momento system very professionally by the founders and owners, who were clearly passionate about their creation, and their new premises. Following this tour we were taken to the boardroom where we had the opportunity to inspect and discuss Momento’s multiple products, in some detail.
As a bonus, I discovered that as a member of the club, I am entitled to the Pro membership, which allows me to order high quality inkjet printed books.
Many thanks to Momento for the tour, and also to Sue and Joslyn for all the work that they do for us.

Robbie: The tour was excellent. Thanks for organising it and the wonderful refreshments served at the Café Vite complimentary with the tour. We were fortunate to have the owners of Momento show us around and they made us feel very welcome. I personally got a lot out of the tour because doing photo books is my main photographic activity. I have done over 100 photo books in the last 6 years since retiring and although I have been using a Melbourne based company called photobookshop I appreciated seeing how an up market high quality operation like Momento goes about its business. Thanks again for organising this Momento tour.

Patricia: Firstly, we met for afternoon tea at a spacious café nearby.  Apparently it does a roaring lunch trade, less so for afternoon tea.  Nonetheless, we were provided with an excess of food, both savoury (toasted ‘sandwiches’ out of Lebanese / Turkish or similar large flattish loaves) and toasted banana bread and muffins, plus cream and honey to spread on them.  Coffee or tea as required.
Our appointment at Momento was for 3.30, but we were welcomed when we arrived early, by the youngish, enthusiastic people running it.  It was apparent we were enjoying our ‘guided tour’, which extended from 30 minutes to at least an hour, with plenty of time to admire the printing presses, quality control, assembly and stitching together of the books.  Then we saw and could take examples of the different papers, with well reasoned answers to our questions. Thanks to the club and organisers;  it was a most informative tour.

Simon: NPS visited Momento Pro publishers, a photo book publishing company based in Zetland, and familiar to photographers across Australia.
Members met at Café Vite adjacent to the Momento offices where we were royally treated having a table and a range of lovely assorted cakes, pastries and sandwiches prepared for us.
This popular and spacious establishment is well worth a visit if in the locality.
Sue led us to the Momento offices where we were greeted by the owners. Momento recently moved to this location and the modern designed office block which can accommodate all the printing, supplies and administration facilities. The reception area included examples of printed books including members own works!
We were shown state of the art printers capable of large runs and amazing quality levels. The company prides itself in the bespoke nature of the books, and we could see the dedication with print quality checking, and hand bound covers, bindings and packaging.
The range of papers used is extensive, as is the types of both covers (leather to paper print), bindings from normal to flush flat pages. The high end photography books are individually checked to ensure perfect print quality and coincidentally, we saw examples of this quality scrutiny with a Ken Duncan portfolio being produced. Example of the types of flaws were shown, which in this case results in reprinting to get perfect quality for such high end market book printing. There were many questions from club members concerning the fine detail in producing such publications, and these were dealt with professionally. It is clear Momento are passionate for achieving quality and keen to deal with enquiries and concerns from clients who wish to have photographs printed and bound.
The company is keen to support photographers from amateurs to high end professionals, and as such photography clubs and members upon registration can attract discounts.

Peter: I just had coffee at the restaurant, and didn’t partake in the food on offer. Nicely setup café, pleasant surroundings.
Momento was also most interesting from both a technical and ‘product’ perspective.
My thanks to Joslyn who organised the Momento visit.

Kerry: I thought the Momento tour was excellent. They showed us the working printers and the difference between the prosumer and professional ones. We were also shown the different types of papers different bindings and the difference between the ordinary book and the lay flat book, which I had not appreciated before. We were given paper samples to take home and told of the 10% discount (and a 30%discount for 1st timers) for club members. Momento gave us a much longer tour than the advertised 3.30-4 advertised time, and I think everyone really appreciated this. It was also good to see and feel the different types of papers in books rather than just samples. The afternoon tea and venue were close and good. All in all a very successful outing.

      
Photos; Ai Weiwei                Inside Triton                     Margaret
Friday 04/05, Outing: Biennale Cockatoo Island.
A very enjoyable club outing.

I enjoyed  the day on Cockatoo Island thoroughly.
It’s good to spend time with fellow club members, the venue was great and weather beautiful. Again, thank you Sue, your efforts are very much appreciated. Margaret

     
Images; Sydney Anzac Day March

Australians recognise 25 April as a day of national remembrance. Commemorative services are held across the nation at dawn – the time of the original landing. Later in the day former servicemen and servicewomen meet to take part in marches through the country’s major cities and in many smaller centres.

Monday 16/04: Outing – Mount Wilson for Autumn colours – Cancelled
Sue drove up to check it out but felt it was too early. Thanks so much Sue.

Friday 9/03 Parramatta
Parramasala Festival has grown into a signature event celebrating the diverse and rich cultures of greater Sydney and NSW.
Over 500 performers from 40 cultures made their way along Church Street to open the festival with a street party like no other!

..this place was really pumping, beating of drums, music, dance, & food from more than 40 cultures..
…a parade rich in colour and full of energy,

 
Sunday 4/03 Pyrmont Ballaarat Park 6:00am.
Thanks to Fujiko for organising. It was a perfect morning to shoot sunrise against the buildings looking across to Barangaroo. There were great clouds and the sun gave us lovely colour. We headed off for coffee /breakfast which was an opportunity for a ‘catch up’. Later some of us headed to the older part of the Rocks where there are some very old terrace homes and old pubs, then onto the market area.

            
Friday 11/ Saturday 12
Jochen’s wrap up…
About 12of us drove up Friday night to Hill End and organised an early start for Saturday morning. Sunrise was at 7 which meant we had plenty of time to sleep in. Our location for the sunrise was Merlin’s lookout. A cloudless sky made it an uneventful morning.
After a hearty breakfast we explored the town ship and the old car yard – a collection of 20 rusty old cars strewn over the Forrest. A very special place!
Some had a snooze whilst others visited the local pub and simply enjoyed the warm winter sun. We headed out to Bald Hill for a unique sunset. Back to the lodge for dinner and some of us still had not enough and went out for light painting, star shots or simply night photography.
With hardly any light pollution Hill End is the perfect place for these sort of images.
Sunday morning we re visited the car yard with the idea to light paint some of the old and rusty vehicles. It proved to be a good idea as sunrise once again was cloudless and plain.
On the way home we stopped a little distance outside from Sofala for the Bus Grave yard. A collection of 7 or 8 old buses, trucks and lorries. All filled by a hoarder with all sorts of things modern life has to offer. A paradise for any photographer. This place is well hidden which makes it so unique and interesting.

Overall, an interesting weekend with a super bunch of people. We learn from each other, share knowledge and passion and all aim for the same thing – to produce a great photo.

           
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Sunday 02/7
This month’s topic of ‘Photojournalism’ coincides with a joint ‘Air-Army-Navy’ military parade of current and former “Reservist’s”.  This year, it is to be held astride the magnificent ‘Pool of Refection’, adjacent Sydney’s War Memorial at Hyde Park, and featuring mounted horsemen, with quiet pomp and ceremony, against a backdrop of the beautiful surroundings, lots of polished brass, and a possible politician or two. – Peter Butterworth
Feedback
I found this event to be a good opportunity to practice my street / photojournalism skills. I was glad that I checked out some photographic websites where I found some tips from the professionals – planning and research is really invaluable to work out the best shooting positions in order to choose the best vantage points. It also helped to see images from similar events in order to get ideas for possible compositions/stories. It was a very worthwhile outing and I thank Peter for alerting us to the event. – Alan Park

              
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Friday 05 /Saturday 06
Hi Team, all good to go ahead. Weather forecast looks great. So it will be another super outing!
I understand everyone has organised their own accommodation.
Meet Glen for a Friday sunset shoot followed by Saturday sunrise.
We all meet Saturday afternoon at 3 pm at Kiama Light house parking lot and move from there over to Bombo Beach for sunset at 515pm.
Dinner is organised for all at Olive & Vine – A’ La carte dinning – No BYO and CASH ONLY.
Sunday morning Sunrise 630am at Cathedral Rock – followed by Breakfast – location to be confirmed.
See you on the weekend. Cheers Jochen

Feedback:
Jochen thanks for all your efforts in organising the weekend. Glen and Alistair for your help at the beach, I know it was appreciated very much. Getting us to locations was a great help also. To everyone, it was great to have your company and come together and share a wonderful time of photography, conversation, fine food and drinks. It was a great weekend, perfect weather and everyone had a good time. – Joslyn Davis

I couldn’t make the entire weekend away that the club planned for the Kiama outing, but I did manage to get down on the Sunday morning early enough to participate in the sunrise shoot at Cathedral Rock; It was a great way to share ideas and techniques with other club members and I managed to get some great shots after a little bit of guidance & tuition from one of our more experienced land/seascape shooters. The sunrise shoot was followed up by some great conversation shared over a hearty breakfast and coffee in town. Great way to spend time doing something we all love, look forward to the next club event being planned for Hill End! – Ian Mills
 
I agree it was a fabulous weekend – Michael Hing

I learnt a lot and had a great time – Kian Mak

A fun time and I enjoyed all the locations and shoots we did – Faranak  Salehy

It was a great weekend and I enjoyed the sunset and sunrise shoots, thanks Glen for all your help – Margaret Frankish