The meetings for the balance of the year are as follows:
08 September Tuesday
20 October Tuesday
18 November Tuesday
02 December Tuesday End of Year Meeting
CHANGE TO MONTHLY MEETINGS – WEF JULY 2015
It is unfortunate that the president and Council has found it necessary to modify the club to only one meeting a month. This will be with effect July 2015. The one meeting will incorporate E-Image Judging and Prints. Where applicable members will be notified of any changes if we have a guest speaker. The next meeting will be on 23rd June, then on 21st July 2015.
The President and Council hopes to see members attending more regularly.
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Adobe introduces Photographer Package for SA Market
Adobe introduces photographer Package for SA Market
A few months ago at the opening of Photpshop World in Las Vegas, Adobe in response to thousands of unhappy customers, has reacted to comments about rental of Photoshop for photographers.
The rental scheme was rolled out well over a year ago, and slowly Adobe moved towards only being able to get PS CC (CS7) as a rental. It was introduced at $20 p/m for PS and $ 50 for all their products – but that is not really something photographers would be excited by. Discounts were made available to current users, so if you owned CS 6 the special offer for CC was $10 p/m for the first year then regular cost thereafter. Well that offer expired end of August and from what I can understand was not successful amongst photographers. In my opinion there was no real value or reason to spend the money. Lightroom remains a stand alone package that can be purchased and was only included in the full package- once again no point for the photographer.
Since this, Lightroom 5 has been released with a upgrade price of around $ 80.
Now, Adobe has introduced a package for owners of CS3 and higher. If you signed up by 31 December 2013 you got CC and LR for $10 per month. That fee is fixed.
This offer was not available to us here in SA! But with effect late January is was made available at $9-99 + VAT. More specific questions for users already signed up are clarified under the FAQ section on the web.
Interestingly and personally surprising, is how many people feel this is not a good deal. Are people just greedy or am I missing something?? In reality many photographers could easily use PS Elements which is around $105, and you buy it outright. Oh and if you wish you can still purchase CS 6.
Is PS a cheap product. No, but it has never been. It is the market leader in this field. Yes there are alternatives from Capture One and Dxo and I am sure many more and at a lower price point. Gimp is freeware, and some say it is good enough. You can use Onone as a standalone product these days.
I suppose many will debate this forever, but two things have materialized over the last 8 months. Adobe has taken a decision to restructure there massive organization around ” rental” software, and I don’t think they going to change in a hurry. I also realised their transfer pricing was too high for current owners of PS. We complained, they listened and now for $ 120 per year you will have the most current version of PS and LR, amongst some other stuff noted below.
Have a look at the terms and conditions of the offer and see if its for you, http://www.adobe.com/africa/
Now it’s your choice if you want to buy into this new structure and special pricing deal. I am far more interested than I was 6 months ago. The offer is for all CS3 and above owners until the end of March 2014.
Edited on 8/04/14: Well it seems that Adobe have extended the special offer to 31 May 2014. (This may be a never ending offer) In addition they have just launched Lightroom for iPad, which works with the version on your desktop or laptop. This is only available to CC subscribers and is free.
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Resolution Changes Following The 2014 AGM
At the AGM the club passed two resolutions:
1. The club fees will increase by R50 across the board. Non PSSA members will now pay R200, PSSA members R190 and family membership will cost R275 for the year.
2. In order to advance to Beret level an advanced member, in addition to the points required to advance, must have at least 10 acceptances across three categories in Salons (National or International).
The position of the club council as voted at the AGM is the following:
| Marc Leroy: | President / Projectionist |
| Gavin Isaacs: | Secretary |
| John Vermaak: | Treasurer |
| Sidney Hirschowitz: | Head of Prints |
| Dave Gardner | Head of E-Images |
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JPS Photographic Excursion – Rietvlei Dam Nature Reserve
Dear club members, family and friends,
JPS camera club is having an excursion to the Rietvlei Dam nature reserve on the 29th of September 2013. The results of the excursion will be shown at the next print meeting in October.
The gates open at 5:30 am (at least the main gate). It may very well be cold, so please dress warmly (the bird hides are breezy).
In addition to wildlife and birds, the reserve offers some great landscapes and good game viewing.
We will meet at 11 am for a brunch and to share our mornings experiences.
Directions:
From the R21 northbound, take Nelmapius offramp and turn right over the highway. At the next intersection turn right on the M57 towards Olifantsfontein. At the first road after the river turn left torwards the reserve (it is signposted).
Entrance R40 for adults
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MEETING DATE CHANGE – NOW 10 SEPTEMBER 2013
Due to various senior members not being available due to business commitments the meeting of 17th has been moved to the 10th September – a week earlier (a week later would have clashed with a public holiday).
We will be having a prints and discussion evening. Please bring 3 of your prints to show us. You may also bring e-images (also 3 images) to the meeting.
Prints should preferably be A3 of slightly bigger in size (for viewing) and mounted.
We will meet at:
Address of the new venue:
Altas Head office
123 Oxford Road, Cnr Cotswold Drive
(Entrance in Cotswold Drive)
Saxonwold
As you turn into Cotswold from Oxford, the entrance is on your right.
Both Prints and E-images are welcome
Submission of e – images
E-images must be:
1. Within the constraints of the projector 1920 in width and 1080 in height.
This means that a 4:3 ratio image (same as 1024×768) will be 1440×1080 in dimensions, a vertical image in a 4:3 ratio would be 810×1080
2. The image must be less than 1 Mb in size.
3. Images should be saved in the sRGB colour space (colour profile) in order to display properly.
4. Images must reach the Marc Leroy on or before the closing date.
5. Images must be in Jpg format.
Please note there will not be a meeting on the 17th September as it will be held on the 10th September.
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Photographic Outing – Germiston Reefsteamers
Dear JPS club members,
We have been able to organise a photo event at the Germiston train station.
VENUE: Germiston Reefsteamers Depot (See map and directions attached)
COST: R120 per photographer
TIME AND DATE: 07:00 am, 23 June 2013
PLEASE NOTE:
The organisers at the venue require numbers to create an invoice, so we need to know who is interested. Please can you email your interest to Marc by Monday the 10th of June 2013 (members and non-members welcome).
Once you have expressed interest, we will need payment in full for the event by the meeting on the 18th of June 2013 to confirm your spot.
It will be great to see you there. (Brrrr! Why are good winter pics taken in the cold mornings?)
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WE HAVE A NEW HOME
We are very pleased to be able to thank Atlas Finance for providing JPS a new home. Right off Oxford Road, in the suburb of Saxonwold we will be having our meetings.
Please all note the new details:
Atlas Head Office
123 Oxford Road, Cnr Cotswold Drive
(entrance on Cotswold Drive)
Saxonwold
2196
We look forward to enjoying our new home. See you all there.
Photoshop releases new version only available in the cloud
ADOBE SHAKES UP ITS CUSTOMERS!!!
Photoshop CS6 will be replaced by the cloud based Photoshop CC, Adobe announced today. You will no longer be able to purchase a CD or download a purchased copy of the photo editing software. Future versions will be available only through the Creative Cloud with a monthly subscription. There are different plans and pricing structures available. Basically if you own a version of CS, it will cost you $9-99 per month, for the first 12 months. The new Photoshop CC will have several new and unique features and launches in June 2013.
This news has evoked some seriously unhappy customers – just check out what is being discussed on the internet.
Adobe will be selling CS6 for a while and will be supporting camera raw, but will not be bringing any new features to CS6.
I am uncertain how I feel about this news, but as its still hot off the press, I need to see how it all rolls out, and how Lightroom 5 will fit into the monthly package, if at all, before I jump to a conclusion?
Lets hear what you think?
This news has evoked some seriously unhappy customers – just check out what is being discussed on the internet.
Adobe will be selling CS6 for a while and will be supporting camera raw, but will not be bringing any new features to CS6.
I am uncertain how I feel about this news, but as its still hot off the press, I need to see how it all rolls out, and how Lightroom 5 will fit into the monthly package, if at all, before I jump to a conclusion?
Lets hear what you think?
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STATE OF THE JOHANNESBURG PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ADDRESS
Dear Members
I would like firstly to thank you for voting me in to the position. I hope I can lead the club forward in my term. Now that we have had a State of the Nation Address, State of the Province Address and a Budget Speech, here is State of the Camera Club Address.
There are two main areas I would like to focus on.
I would like to focus on in this year is giving photographers in the club the experience they need to grow in the field that they are passionate about (photography). Secondly, I would also like to expand the way the club looks at their images.
Experience in the Club
In terms of the first item, I have found that the most important aspect of growth as a photographer is experience. This takes place at the image planning, capture and post capture stage. How do you improve on these? Well firstly, one has not only to look at images, but to see images. This might sound silly, but it is important. Too often, in this bustling world, we look at a great image, realise its greatness and move on to the next (echoing the rat race we follow). I ask you to stop. Think what it is about the image that you like and what you don’t like. Then think how the image was achieved. . This is not a passive exercise, but an active one where one needs to examine what works and doesn’t work in an image and make active choices about what works for you.
To this end, we will continue having the lively discussion evenings. In addition to this, I hope that we (the council) can organise some exciting events during the year. A couple of ideas that have been discussed so far are: a model shoot, a trip to a bird sanctuary like Marievale or Rietvlei for some bird and wildlife photography. I will also be open to ideas from members who are willing to help organise the events. So, if you have any ideas, please put them forward to me for consideration.
Expanding the clubs images
In terms of the clubs images, we are great at judging within the club, but we have been slightly isolated from the broader photographic world. One of the welcome suggestions from the club is that we have a talk/workshop on how to choose photographs for and enter Salons. Salons are an area where our club can compete at a National level and above. By looking at how we compare to some of the best photographers in the country, we can see where we can improve our photography.
Other
In addition to the above two points, I want to look at the constitution and the rules of JPS to look at what needs to be revitalised. I also want to listen to your suggestions for the club and implement those that can be implemented after consideration by the council.
JPS President – Marc Leroy
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Johannesburg Photographic Society 