2017

Posted on 28/02/2017 by admin

Bad weather forced postponement of our planned shoot to Fota Wildlife Park on 26th February. However, with the forecast showing a break in the weather in the late afternoon, Ballycroneen was selected as the location for a sunset shoot.

While the group have visited this location for sunrise regularly in recent years, this was our first sunset shoot at this location in a while, and 10 members of the group turned out.

With high tide at 5:30pm and sunset at 6:10pm, conditions were ideal with good colour in the sky, and the large swell left by Storm Ewan gave plenty of wave action.

Check out our gallery of images from the shoot here.

- Anthony O'Connor

Sunset Shoot at Lough Aderra Lake – 18/02/17

Posted on 27/02/2017 by admin

Taking a break from the coast for sunrise and sunset shoots, our Group ventured inland for the first time this year to capture the sun setting over Lough Aderra Lake

We gathered at the east side of the lake taking up a number of vantage points. It was a beautiful evening and as the sun began to set, stunning reflections could be seen spreading across the lake. The local swans also came out to greet us which added to the tranquillity of the evening.

Some beautiful images were captured and you can see them all in our shoot gallery here. Enjoy!

- Eileen Upton

An Eventful Twelve Months for ECCG

Posted on 24/02/2017 by admin

Apart from completing the normal hectic schedule of over fifty shoots, twenty club meetings, several competitions, a beginners' photography course and a one-month exhibition of fifty framed images to name just a few, the last twelve months has truly been an eventful period for East Cork Camera Group.

Finbarr OShea LIPF

Back in March 2016, Finbarr O'Shea went to the Irish Photographic Federation Distinction (IPF) Sittings in Portlaoise where his panel was successful and gained him a Licentiate of the Irish Photographic Federation (LIPF).

Click here to see Finbarr's successful panel.

Zane Llewellyn LIPF

In September 2016, Zane Llewellyn went to the IPF Distinction Sittings in Celbridge, Co. Kildare and he too entered a successful panel and was awarded an LIPF.

Click here to see Zane's successful panel.

At the IPF Distinction Sittings at Thurles, Co. Tipperary the following November, Gráinne Davies became the first ever member of East Cork Camera Group to be awarded an Associateship of the Irish Photographic Federation (AIPF) which was the cause of great celebration for Gráinne and the club. Also at this sitting, Anthony O'Connor and Denis Barry were both successful and were awarded LIPFs on the day.

: Gráinne Davies AIPF

: Anthony OConnor LIPF

: Denis Barry LIPF

Click the links to check out Gráinne's, Anthony's and Denis's successful panels.

Gold Medal Winner - Kevin Day

To round out the year, Kevin Day went to the Southern Association of Camera Clubs (SACC) Qualifying Round of the IPF Nature Photographer of the Year 2016/17 in January this year and scooped one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals and three Honourable Mentions. This fantastic result qualified Kevin to go forward to the IPF Nature Photographer of the Year 2016/17 earlier this month where he won one Gold and two Bronze medals as well as one Honourable Mention for his Red Squirrel studies.

You can see Kevin's impressive winning images here.

All in all, a very successful year and 2017 is already as busy as last year and who knows what more good fortune the year will bring.

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click on the 'Contact Us' link above and leave us a messge.

How I Took that Shot – Zane Llewellyn

Posted on 21/02/2017 by admin

08 Zane Llewellyn - Weather

The shot above got Zane Llewellyn a first place in Grade A in our recent 'Weather' competition held at the Midleton Park Hotel on Tuesday 07/02/17. This is how he made it:

This was shot from the upper floor in Cahir castle with my old trusty Canon Powershot S5, 1/60s @ f/4 due to the poor light. The group of tourists were stopped as they listened to the tour guide. It was raining pretty heavily as they huddled under their umbrellas. The guide was standing directly below me, so the group was naturally facing my direction.

I liked the colour of the photo, but the large expanse of grass on the right was distracting from the colours of the umbrellas.

In Photoshop, I masked the individual umbrellas and the man, and put a black and white filter over it to remove the colour.

The poor light left the umbrellas looking a bit dull, so I boosted the colours with a colour blend layer.

I liked that one guy wasn’t bothered by the rain, I left him in colour as a focal point. This is helped by his position at the bottom of a leading line, the corner of the castle.

Well done Zane!

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above.

How I Took that Shot – Sonja Eisenberg

Posted on 19/02/2017 by admin

Sonja Eisenberg certainly isn't one to let the grass grow under her feet! Only a few weeks a member of East Cork Camera Group and competing in her first internal competition, themed 'Weather', Sonja only went and won Grade C with the image above. This is how she did it:

It was taken on a Ryanair flight from Cork to London in late January 2017, just after take off around 11am. Shot out of the right hand side of the plane looking down on water. Shot on NIKON D3000; AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm lens; f/3.5-5 . Raw File; ISO 200, 30mm, -0.67 ev, f13, 1/640. Sunny setting, centre focus.

Post processing: brought up the overall light but reduced the highlights, increasing the contrast and colour. Also increased definition and reduced down noise as much as possible; there was also a slight vignette and some sharpen intensity. Post processed on the iPhoto in-built adjustment tool on MacBook Air.

Well done Sonja!

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above.