PHOTOGRAPHY
Rodney Dixon
Our group meets at the Tesco Brookfield Community Room on the second Wednesday in every month. Teas and coffees will be provided courtesy of Tesco.
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 8th May 2024 at 2:00pm.
The group will bring any prints or 10 images on a stick for discussion.
Do see me at my table at the main meeting if you are interested in joining our friendly group of amateur photographers.
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APRIL 2024
We held our usual meeting on 10th April where we viewed prints brought in by members and discussed how these were taken and how they could be improved. The standard was very high.
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NOVEMBER 2023
We had a trip to the Gunpowder Mills in November 2023.
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AUGUST 2023
We went on an outing to Much Hadum on Wednesday 23rd August to see the Henry Moore sculptures. We had a lovely afternoon and took some interesting photographs.
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JULY 2023
The group visited Capel Manor on 19th July for a photographic outing.
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JULY 2023
We met at Tesco Community Centre on 12th July and we reviewed our images from holidays and past outings. This time we used a large TV screen to project the images and this was 100% better than using laptops or projector screens. Many thanks to Stewart Walter for bringing this in.
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JUNE 2023
The group visited Myddleton House Gardens on 1st June on a lovely warm afternoon. We took plenty of photographs, exchanged views, enjoyed tea and cakes in the café and generally had an enjoyable time.
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MAY 2023
The group met on Wednesday 10th May to view the results of our still life photography session from our last meeting. Some very good images were displayed and followed by constructive criticism. We also enjoyed viewing some holiday photographs by our members.
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APRIL 2023
The group met on Wednesday 12th April to enjoy another still life photography session.
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MARCH 2023
The group met on Wednesday 8th March to review the results of our still life photography session. As this proved to be very popular we have decided to repeat this at our next meeting.
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FEBRUARY 2023
The group met on Wednesday 8th February to do some still life photography. This was very successful with lots of objects brought in by members
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NOVEMBER 2022
We visited Broxbourne Woods on 4th November for a photographic shoot on the subject of autumn colours. When we met at our usual monthly meeting on the 9th November we reviewed these photos and also discussed submitting photos for inclusion on the Cheshunt U3A website. One photo will be selected for inclusion on the December programme.
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MARCH 2022
The group met for an informal chat about all things photographic on Thursday 10th March. We also went on a photographic outing on the 16th March to the Tate Modern.
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The group met at St Albans cathedral for a practical photo shoot. We spent a couple of hours inside the cathedral followed by tea and cake at one of the many cafes in St Albans town centre. A zoom meeting will be held to review our photos in the near future. Warning to all motorists: don’t go to St Albans, it’s a nightmare.
We are hoping to organise a group visit to Lea Valley to do some bird photography. I will be in touch with members to finalise a date for a zoom meeting to review these photographs and the St Albans shoot in October.
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FEBRUARY 2020
The group met on Wednesday 10th February where we had an editing session on members’ images. We also discussed our practical photography session on woodlands to take place at High Beech on 19th February
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JANUARY 2020
The group met on Wednesday 8th January. We had a practical session on macro photography which is close up work. Members brought some props such as plants and model trains to photograph. We then projected the photographs onto a screen and showed members how to edit them
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DECEMBER 2019
The group met on Wednesday 11th December. This was more of a social meeting where we enjoyed festive mince pies and discussed the plans for photography in the New Year such as close up photography, woodlands photography, light and shadow and a visit to photograph bluebells.
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NOVEMBER 2019
The group met on Wednesday 13th November. We had an enjoyable and fun afternoon of portrait photography using group members as models with some interesting results. We hope to show some of these prints at November’s main meeting.
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OCTOBER 2019
The group met on Wednesday 9th October. We had a very interesting session on still life photography using household items such as clocks, kitchen utensils and glass ornaments.
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AUGUST 2019
Our group met for its usual monthly meeting on 14th August. Members brought in their SD cards for critique and I was very pleased with the members work. A discussion on street photography the do’s and don’ts of taking pictures of kids and adults, we also set A date for our next photo shoot at Dobs weir each other with settings. We discussed the photographic triangle which when correctly applied should give a good photograph. We also discussed another photo shoot at Dobbs Weir on the 11th September.Our group is aimed at all levels of interest and experience and we look forward to welcoming new members to our group which meets on the second Wednesday in the month.
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APRIL/MAY 2019
Some of our group went on the Battlefields Tour in late April for three days. We went to Belgium and France and we took photographs at the wonderfully kept war graves. We also went to recreations of the trenches, dug outs and tunnels. At our usual group meeting on the 8th May we discussed our images taken at the Battlefields
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APRIL 2019
Ten members of the Photography Group went on a photoshoot to Fishers Green Sailing Club on Thursday 4th April. The weather was sunny but with some April showers so we did manage to photograph a rainbow as well as cloud detail and the lovely reflections. We met again on the 10th April to discuss the results of the photoshoot and give constructive criticism. We also had a guest photographer who showed us how to do some editing techniques ie converting to black and white, straightening horizons and adding birds to a scene in Photoshop Elements.
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MARCH 2019
The Photography Group met on the 13th March and the members brought in quite a few prints for constructive criticism and advice. Some of the prints were really good and showed that the group has made a lot of improvement in their photography and are still learning. One member brought in prints produced with her new camera (a digital Lumix).
We discussed our next photo shoot which is planned for Thursday 4th April meeting at 2pm outside St Clements Church Hall. We will be going to Fishers Green Sailing Club. Our group is aimed at all levels of interest and experience and we look forward to welcoming new members to our group which meets on the second Wednesday in the month.
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FEBRUARY 2019
Seven members of the Photography Group went out on the 7th February to take photographs at Borough Market, nearby London Bridge and part of the Embankment. The weather was lovely and we all enjoyed the outing which was followed by a visit to Wetherspoons near Tower Bridge. On 13th February we held our regular meeting where we browsed through the results of the pictures taken the week before. We also had a guest speaker, Ken Payne, who gave us a demonstration of photo editing using Photoshop Elements 2018. The group enjoyed the demonstration and this will be repeated in the near future.
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JANUARY 2019
This was our first meeting of the New Year. We looked at members’ images via their SD cards and we gave our constructive opinions. We intend to go out on the 7th February to do some practical photography in London starting off at Borough Market through to London Bridge.
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DECEMBER 2018
We met on 12 December. Some members brought in SD cards with their holiday snaps – just right on a winter’s day. We discussed some of the photos and how they could be improved. We also helped other members with their camera settings.
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NOVEMBER 2018
We met on 14 November and we welcomed two new members. We decided to do some table-to photography and then went to Lea Valley to do some outdoor photography. We viewed the prints from our previous photo shoot in central London where we had concentrated on night photography. We shared tips on exposure for night photography.
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OCTOBER 2018
We met on 10th October and we welcomed two new members. We spent the afternoon looking at members’ work and discussing various lighting situations, movement in photography and offering our suggestions for improvement. Our stand at the U3A main meeting was well received and we shall be displaying our prints on the stand regularly. We viewed the prints from our previous photo shoot in central London where we had concentrated on night photography. We discussed a forthcoming photo shoot for 17 October at Connaught Waters in Chingford where we hoped to take autumn landscapes. However due to adverse weather conditions we went to Waltham Abbey Church and photographed the interior of the church. This was followed by a welcome coffee and tea break at the cafe opposite. Our group is aimed at all levels of interest and experience and we look forward to welcoming new members to our group which meets on the second Wednesday in the month
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SEPTEMBER 2018
We met on 12 September and 12 people attended. We discussed a forthcoming photo shoot for 17 October at Connaught Waters in Chingford where we hope to take autumn landscapes. We viewed the prints from our previous photo shoot in central London where we had concentrated on night photography. We also viewed some projected images via SD cards for constructive criticism and appraisal. The standard of photography was very good and we will be displaying our work at the next main meeting in September.
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AUGUST 2018
We met on Wednesday 8 August and we welcomed a new member. We bought images in for critique and we enjoyed the discussion and learning from each other’s work. We made plans for our night photography trip to central London to do some low light/night photography on 15 August. Six of our group went on our expedition to central London as planned. We started at Great Eastern Street where we took photographs of tube trains parked on a roof, there were areas of quite artistic graffiti in this area which provided good subjects for our photographers. We then went on to King John’s Court where there were more examples of large scale graffiti. We then made our way to Brick Lane and streets off Brick Lane provided more photo opportunities. We caught a bus to the Tower of London where we enjoyed a meal in the Wetherspoons nearby. St Catherine’s Dock, Tower Bridge and views of the Shard and other modern buildings by the Thames gave us spectacular low light scenes. The group thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would like to repeat it.
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JULY 2018
Our group met on a hot Wednesday afternoon on the 11 July. Group members brought in their SD cards which were shown on a projected screen. The subject was holiday photography and how to improve it. The group had a lively discussion on this most topical of subjects. We discussed a possible outing for practical low light photography in central London streets. The intention is to travel into London as a group and enjoy an evening out taking photographs. We hope to firm up on this at our next meeting.
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MAY 2018
Our group met on Wednesday 9th May and we welcomed a new member. We went to the local park where we took photographs of trees, birds and nature in all its springtime glory. In the second half of the meeting we discussed the photographs that the members had brought in for constructive criticism. We also managed to load an editing programme (Photoshop Elements) onto the U3A laptop and we hope to make use of this at our future meetings.
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APRIL 2018
On Wednesday 11th April the photography group met at St Clements Church and the meeting was chaired in my absence by Bernard Broomhead. Members were given laminated cards with ‘at a glance’ F stop aperture settings, shutter speeds and ISOs which they found helpful. To improve photography skills, members were advised to practice taking various images of different subjects and bring them in for the group to critique and discuss. In May we hope to go out and take some pictures and bring these back to the group for further discussion. Our group is aimed at all levels of interest and experience and we look forward to welcoming new members to our group which meets on the second Wednesday in the month.
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FEBRUARY 2018
On 14 February we met at our usual venue to choose and mount the photographs in preparation for the church’s exhibition on 17/18 March. We chose 20 prints for the exhibition and of these St Mary’s Church will choose 12 prints for their 2019 calendar. The photographs were displayed at the U3A main meeting in March.
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JANUARY 2018
The photography group met on the 10th January and we met with Vicky Clarke, church organiser for St Mary’s Church which is celebrating its 600 year anniversary this year and we have been asked by St Mary’s Church to take photographs for display at their exhibition on 17/18th March. The group is aiming to take photographs on 27th January and we will follow this up with a teaching session on mounting photographs at our next meeting on 14th February ready for the exhibition.
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DECEMBER
The photography group met at St Clements Church Hall on Wednesday 13th December. The meeting started off with looking at prints from a couple of our members and the group gave their comments and asked how the prints were taken and what settings used etc. We set up props for tabletop photography. The group enjoyed taking numerous exposures and exchanging ideas.
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The photography group met at St Clements Church Hall on Wednesday 8 November. The first half of the meeting was spent doing some outdoor photography in the Lea Valley. The aim was to photograph autumn foliage but we also saw and duly photographed an egret, a heron and a robin. The second half of the meeting was a group question and answer session. One of our members brought in some wonderful prints of London which he had taken. Our group were very impressed by the quality of these prints and were able to find out more about how the photographs were taken.
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The photography group met for the second time at its new venue at St Clements Church Hall on Wednesday 11th October. We welcomed three new members to the group. We spent an interesting time discussing the white balance setting on the camera which enhances photographs in different light conditions. We also touched on the subject of spot metering which improves exposures in certain conditions. The group also discussed outings to photograph the beautiful autumnal foliage.
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We had our third photography group meeting on 9 August. We talked about composition; lighting examples of sunlight, window light, flashlight and directions of lighting. We also discussed the rule of thirds. For our two new members and also for the people who missed last month’s meeting, I repeated basic handling of the camera and its settings and went on to discuss apertures and shutter speeds and what can be achieved from their use in various situations.
The group is aimed at all skill levels and we hope to have informative group discussions and also to enjoy taking photographs in the local area.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday 6 September at 2pm. The venue for this meeting will depend on the number of attendees and weather forecast as the aim is to do some practical photography in the local area.
Please give me a ring if you are keen to join the group - Rodney Dixon 01992 766832
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We had our second photography group meeting on 12 July. We talked about the basic handling of the camera and its settings. We went on to discuss apertures and shutter speeds and what can be achieved from their use in various situations.
The group is aimed at all skill levels and we hope to have both informative group discussions and also to enjoy taking photographs in the local area.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 9 August at 2pm at my house. Please give me a ring if you are keen to join the group.
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We had our first photography group meeting on 31st May. The main topic of this meeting was “getting to know your camera” and its different functions and settings to obtain the correct exposure. We had a good discussion about photographic venues and some of us decided to take a few photographs in the back garden on a lovely sunny day.
The group is aimed at all skill levels and we hope to have both informative group discussions and also to enjoy taking photographs in the local area.