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November 2011

Posted Fri, 09/12/2011 - 18:43 by Detlef Basel

Another day, another month and before you know it another year has gone by. The days go by so fast that one never manages to catch up with all the things one has to do.

The Inter club event which seemed to be in the planning for so long has come and gone. The Fish Hoek Camera club must be congratulated on running a successful show, and more so, on the efficient and pleasurable occasion that it turned out to be. To all the CTPS members who sent in their images and to those who selected the final selection of the entry, thank you. The final results are to be found on the CTPS website. It was good to see 23 of our members there.

Looking at another competition of which CTPS can be proud is the winning of the
PSSA AV Trophy for being the top club in this media. Our members have done us
proud.

The newly formed AV section has got off to a good start.

December 2011

Posted Thu, 01/12/2011 - 00:00 by Detlef Basel

Greetings to all CTPS members at this time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Christ. Let it be a time of good will for all of us, no matter what our personal beliefs or persuasions are. I trust that you will have a wonderful time with family and friends.

For me it is a time that I have been looking forward to for some time. All three of our children will be with us this Christmas, together with our four grandchildren. Our eldest daughter, Clare, who arrives from England on Wednesday 7 December, was a member of the Pretoria Photographic Society while at school and had progressed to ‘Advanced’ status in the club. Today, as a ‘working Mom’, lack of time prevents her from taking many pictures. Hopefully she will make up for lost time during her three weeks in the fairest Cape.

October 2011

Posted Tue, 04/10/2011 - 10:16 by Detlef Basel

I feel honoured at being re elected for another term in office as president of CTPS. I will endeavour to do all in my power to keep CTPS as the top club in our region. Let us enjoy our hobby, which we do because we love it. May we also learn from each other and show mutual respect for each other’s work. As mentioned on a previous occasion, all that I know on photography has been learnt from fellow photographers in the club. Be it from one on one discussions or the recommendation of reading and looking at work on exhibitions of other photographers.

 

September 2011

Posted Sat, 03/09/2011 - 16:58 by Detlef Basel

I have been involved with photography since 1949 when I was given a Box Brownie Camera. This camera took a 620 film and had 8 exposures to each roll of film. It was great fun. Two years later I started printing my own picture with a contact printer. Once at university in 1954 I used the dark room in residence and learnt to enlarge pictures. All this was a hit and miss affair. My first teaching post in Durban saw me start a photographic club in the school, New Forest High School. The pupils where most receptive and produced good work. Three years later I moved to Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, where the process of forming a club was repeated at Llewellyn High School. Moving to Pretoria in 1965, a club was started at St Alban’s College. Many pupils in the school entered National school competitions and did well.

August 2011

Posted Sat, 30/07/2011 - 21:48 by Detlef Basel

August 2011

Work sometimes takes us out of town. This is what is happening to me now. As I write I have to pack and get ready for a trip to Namaqualand at the start of the flower season. However, the main reason for this trip is educational although I shall, naturally, be taking my camera along. On Monday I’ll see learners from Springbok, Tuesday I will be in Port Nolloth, Wednesday will see me in Aggeneys, and on Thursday I finish in Garies before returning home again. The purpose of this trip is to promote science in schools. This week is set aside by the Department of Science and Technology as “The National Science Week” and science programmes are set up in all major centres because much needs to be done to improve the state of science and maths in our country. My contribution is to visit schools in the North West Cape.

July 2011

Posted Mon, 06/06/2011 - 17:27 by Detlef Basel

Presidents Page July 2011

We’re in the month of school holidays and a number of our members have been out of town, visiting family in other parts of the country or just exploring new horizons which enable them to take pictures of places that they haven’t seen before. It is always a pleasure to see images that are of places that we haven’t been to. Also of interest is seeing what members have done to give a new angle to a place that we’re very familiar with. In this way we can share in the enjoyment of fellow members’ holidays.

May 2011

Posted Tue, 03/05/2011 - 21:46 by Detlef Basel

The months go by so rapidly that one does not have time to register the date and time of day. Do all of us have such full programmes that we are not always able to achieve all that we set out to do?

The club is growing from strength to strength with new members joining all the time. There has been much talk around the structure of our monthly competition night on the first Wednesday of each month and also about the workshop night on the third Wednesday of the month. Are we keeping up with the times and are our visual senses able to let us use our cameras to portray what we see and feel? Competitions are not only meant to produce winners of monetary rewards. A sense of inner satisfaction for an image well displayed is important. A sub-committee has been appointed  by council to investigate where we are and where we want to go.

April 2011

Posted Sat, 09/04/2011 - 12:58 by Detlef Basel

Why does one join a photographic club? This is a question one is often asked. The answer of course is that one wants the opportunity to learn more about the art of taking good pictures. This will engender a greater interest and love for the making of good pictures. The technology of the workings of a camera gets more sophisticated all the time, together with the saving and storing of ones images becoming a nightmare. One comes to the club to share with like-minded people the intricacies of this creative art. We learn from each other.

The club must, on the other hand, offer to its members the ways and means by which they can achieve their aims and aspirations. This is done by arranging programmes of interest and of educational value. These programmes may include workshops, outings, lectures and also competitions. The competitions aid in determining whether one has gained knowledge and expertise in the art of photography. It also compels members to take new pictures.