In February we had our first face to face club meeting for close to a year. We gathered together at the clubrooms, in a suitably distanced manner, viewed some great photos and had a live judge. I think members will agree it is great to be able to meet up again and March is full of opportunities to meet up.
AV Judging night – Tuesday March 9
For the first AV judging night of the year we will gather by Zoom. A Zoom link will be distributed in the next day or so. Graeme has sent out an email outlining the plans for the night. These include viewing a video to help us prepare for the Astrophotography activity the following week. The video will provide details about camera equipment needed, best lens for nightscapes, simple camera settings and accessories “to make life easier”.
You may also find some handy tips via this link:
https://photofocus.com/photography/finding-infinity-seven-ways-to-focus-on-the-night-stars/
Entries for the April print/digital competition also close that night. We have been advised that the judge will receive print entries. Members can drop their print entries to the clubrooms on Tuesday March 9 between 6.30-7.00. Will Tainsh will be there to collect them. If you cannot make this time please call Will, his mobile number was provided in the email that Graeme sent on 5.3.21. A reminder that the set subject is creative.
February print/digital competition winning entries
Congratulations to members for their work and success in the February competition. The photo of the night was “Beautiful Music” by Will Tainsh.
‘Beautiful Music’ by Will Tainsh 
‘Tap’ by Cheryl Munzel 
‘Zanzibar Playtime’ by Pier Vido 
‘Hopetoun Falls Otways’ by Norm Stimson 
‘Weathered Wisdom’ by Mal Brayshaw 
‘RSL and Old PO at Dusk’ by Ron Price
Club social trip to Mt Kooyoora/Melville Caves – Sunday March 14
Mt Kooyoora State Park is about an hour north of Bendigo. We will meet at the picnic ground car park, this is the first car park you will reach when you enter the park. Meeting time is 10.30. One of our club members, Rob Scholes, also from Friends of Kooyoora, will share his extensive knowledge of the park with members and will bring along some maps. Along with your camera gear, byo: food, chair, sunscreen, hat, etc. Our region’s wonderful autumn weather looks to make this a promising day.
Activity night – astrophotography at Muskerry Church, Tuesday March 16
For the March activity night we will meet at Muskerry Church at 7.30. For members who want to brush up on their astrophotography knowledge, or learn new skills, there will be opportunities as noted above.
We plan to meet at the church, links to directions are provided below, however, if members would like to make arrangements for a lift please let a committee member know.
Club dinner – Tuesday March 23
The first club dinner for the year will be at the National Hotel in Bendigo. Our booking is for 6.30 pm and we will collect RSVPs by email.
April events
The print/digital judging night is on Tuesday April 13 at the club rooms. We will follow Covid safe measures, as we did in February: distancing, sanitising, collection of names and limited numbers.
We are planning a great activity for Tuesday April 20. We will meet at the clubrooms for a light painting activity. More details to come.
Photography competitions
We have started including photography competitions in the newsletter. We invite members to share with a committee member any competitions they come across that they think will be of interest. For this month, members may be interested in signing up for more information about the Nature Conservancy Australia nature photo comp.
https://www.natureaustralia.org.au/get-involved/take-action/photo-contest/