Page 3 - Cape-Camera-March-April-2021

Cape Camera March/April 2021

News from the Council

Well, we are now four months into 2021 and things look promis- on the night. The projector will
ing that we may be winning the war on Covid-19, thus allow- not be set up. It goes without say-
ing us to open up our CTPS activities a little more. Thank you ing that members will have their
to those who replied to the recent survey on your attitude to temperatures taken, will have to
meeting in the hall again. It seemed to show that most of us wear a mask, and the chairs will be
are sitting on the fence, a bit cautious and undecided. Sixty sanitized and spaced at a distance
three percent said that we should resume meetings at the hall from each other. Members will
whilst we were on Level 1 lockdown, of course with the correct have to indicate their intention to
protocols. But only 54% said they would attend such meetings. be present a few days before the
Thirty eight percent said that they would prefer a combination evening to assist us with cater-
of Zoom and in-person meetings. ing and to ensure the hall is not
So, all in all, it is a bit inconclusive. Whenever we do go back per- crowded. Details will come out in
manently to in-person meetings, we will be attempting to run a Snapshot in due course.
them live over Zoom as well, so as to cater for those of you who You can read about the outings we have held recently in this
are in Mauritius, Gauteng, the United Kingdom, and of course in edition, but I wish to remind members of the outing at sunrise
the Republic of Hout Bay. That will be a bit tricky but our tech to Kalk Bay Harbour on Saturday morning the 15th of May. This
experts are working on a plan. will end round about 10h00 with a light breakfast in Kalk Bay.
After discussion, Council has decided that our May competition The second outing in May is to Augulhas for the weekend of Fri-
evening on the 5th of May will once again be a Zoom meeting. day to Sunday 21st to 23rd of May. If anyone is still interested,
But our new format meeting on Wednesday 19th of May will be let Nicol or I know. We have 18 members coming along so far.
held in person at St Stephens hall. Further than that will be de- The next outing is planned for sunset at The Strand Jetty on Sat-
termined by where we are with Covid and with vaccinations. urday the 26th of June, so put that in your diaries.
Now to tell you a bit about our new format which is the inclusion Our application to hold a CTPS Salon has been approved by
of a Print, Evaluation and Social evening every second months: PSSA and is scheduled for mid-February 2022. Kim Stevens will
We have not held a print competition for 14 months, which is be our Salon Director. A number of our members are attending
great loss as it is an essential part of our photographic growth Zoom meetings on the 4th Wednesday of the month to learn
since many quality aspects of our photography can only be as- what is expected of salon entries. This includes evaluation of
sessed through this irreplaceable medium. Therefore Council images for potential salon acceptances. Some of our members
has decided that we would hold one every second month dur- are also attending the Forum JAP Zoom meetings on the first
ing 2021, on the third Wednesday of the month, when we nor- Saturday morning of each month to learn how to judge pho-
mally hold Educational evenings. Members are invited to sub- tographs in different genres. Both of these events are highly
mit up to three prints in an ‘Open’ genre via Photovault and they spoken of and are open to all members as educational and de-
will be judged by an outside judge, the points counting towards velopment opportunities, even though you have no intention
the end of year competition. Our ‘tea break’ will be longer than at the moment of becoming a judge. If you are interested in
normal with wine and snacks being available, in addition to tea/ either event you are encouraged to contact Nicol du Toit for de-
coffee. tails. (nicol@sportstrader.co.za).
It will be a chance to socialize and catch up with fellow mem- Finally I would like to welcome new members, Evelyn Gibson,
bers who you may not have seen for over a year. After the break, Francois Roux and Justin Fletcher, as well as congratulating Viv
we invite members to bring along further prints for discussion Harpur, Kishore Seegobin and Antonio Chavry on being pro-
by all participants in the hall. This will be the education part moted to Advanced level.
of the evening. These must not be the prints that were judged Happy shooting to all. Richard Goldschmidt
President

SANCCOB requests help from photographers

Nicol du Toit asks all photographers to keep an eye out for ringed the letter-number combination AND ring colour. Please do not
Cape cormorants to contribute to the research of the Southern disturb the birds or approach too close; the colour rings can
African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANC- easily be read with binoculars or a spotting scope.
COB). CTPS has received the following press release from them: Although we are releasing the birds on Robben Island, we ex-
SANCCOB rescued over 2000 Cape cormorant chicks in mid-Jan- pect the young birds to join the wild flocks and to move up and
uary after mass abandonments on Robben and Jutten islands. down the coast, thus please keep an eye out all along the coast
After weeks of hand-rearing and rehabilitation, most birds are as Cape cormorants can move quite some distances during the
now ready to return to the wild and we have started to release non-breeding season, following the fish.
birds on Robben Island. Please report ring re-sightings to SAFRING (www.safring.bird-
The cormorants are all banded with metal bands and most also map.africa) or to SANCCOB (katta@sanccob.co.za).
have an individually marked colour ring. We would like to en- Please contact SANCCOB at 021 557 6155 if you encounter any
courage the birding community and the general public to re- injured seabird or find a dead Cape cormorant with a ring.
port any sightings of ringed Cape cormorants and report them
with date and location to SAFRING or SANCCOB. Please record For more information also see: https://sanccob.co.za/release-of-
hand-reared-cape-cormorants-commences-at-robben-island/

Cape Town Photographic Society 2