January 2012

President's Message

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2012. I look forward to seeing those of you who are back from holiday at our next meeting on Monday 16 January. Also, don’t forget we have a day field trip to Craigieburn on Saturday 14 January. A number of members have expressed interest in applying for Honours this year, and the deadline for entries to the Honours Board Secretary, Trish Brown, is 29 February 2012. We have the opportunity to see the successful sets of images at our March meeting. Sometimes I wonder whether photography is becoming too popular, too technical, too competitive, and altogether too hard? Because cameras are so much cleverer now, under many circumstances photographers can get good results by doing almost nothing expect pressing the shutter. At the other extreme, cameras date very quickly, and the range of hardware and software available seems to increase exponentially, leading to huge advances is what is achievable. So how to keep up with it all?

Specialization is one option: macro or landscape; birds or flowers; if you concentrate on a limited area it is easier to assimilate the new advances. However, there is another way of looking at things. Each of us has a unique way of seeing the world. If we concentrate on communicating this through our photography we shouldn’t need to get hung up on technology. Although passion is the best driver for excellence in anything, including photography, it isn’t always easy to maintain. If we’re feeling jaded, the images often don’t seem to work. There are lots of ways of rekindling that fire: make a connection between something new that interests you, and your camera; go out with a friend who looks at things differently; read a book or magazine; sign up for a course; come on a NPSNZ field trip.

As nature photographers we may be passionate about our subjects, and this should make us better photographers. In an article about his passion, winter photography, in the December issue of Outdoor Photographer, Marc Adamus is sure that the best photographs come from the places the photographer knows and loves best. On the other hand, Henri Cartier Besson said he had no interest in a subject after taking a photograph. He was driven by the form and shape of his subject, and the search for that instant in time when light, form and action came together to capture the magic moment. Every one of us is different, so just as we each have a unique set of words to describe our experiences, we can each present a unique view of the world through our individual images.

So let’s make sure we keep our cameras busy in the coming year.

Best wishes for 2012.

Pol (Pauline)

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