Stories and Photos

Preparations for our Photographic Exhibition this coming weekend are well underway, hindered only a little by the wintry weather conditions!

We look forward to welcoming everyone to our opening evening on Friday, December 10th at 7.30pm, and we are delighted that local author and storyteller Barry Feely will be joining us then and will be signing copies of his new book. The Exhibition takes place in the former Chambers Restaurant in Bridge Street, Boyle, for the weekend.

Don't forget that the Motivation entries are due tomorrow (December 7th); the subject is 'A Film Title', and our AGM and Christmas Social will be held next week at 8pm on Tuesday, December 14th, in St Joseph's Resource Centre, Boyle.

There is still time to nominate someone for the committee, and we are pleased to say that there are already a few willing volunteers who have come forward.

LGC

About this weather...

The Regional Round of IPF Print & Projected Images competition due to be held in Mullingar tonight, Wednesday December 1st has been CANCELLED due to the snow and poor road conditions.

Update

Exhibition
Make a note in your diary to come and see our Winter Exhibition from December 10th to 12th, in the Chambers Restaurant Building, Bridge Street Boyle, (opposite the Royal Hotel).
You are invited to join us for the launch on the Friday evening (December 10th) at 7.30pm, when we hope there will be a good turn out to join us in a toast to local photography!
All of the pictures will be for sale - we'll publish more details here nearer the date (participants will receive further information via e-mail).
AGM
Our next monthly meeting, which is on Tuesday, December 14th, is also our AGM. We will publish the agenda here before then, but now is a good time to be considering who should join the committee (we already have a few volunteers!). If you would like to nominate someone, please make sure they are in agreement first! After the AGM we will be having our Christmas Social...
Motivation
We'll be showing the entries for our motivation after the AGM. The topic is "a film title" - tricky, eh? Do you think of the title first and then try to picture it, or do you get the image first and then try to find a film title that fits? Its a bit of fun - we're looking for wit and originality as well as excellent photographic skill! The deadline is Tuesday, December 7th.
IPF National Print and Projected Image Competition
The Mid Western Regional round of this competition is hosted by Mullingar Camera Club. Entries will be accepted at the Arts Centre in Mullingar from 7pm on Wednesday December 1st. Successful images will go on to the national competition in Athlone in February. Check out www.irishphoto.ie for more info.
Photos of India
Leitrim photographer Eunan Sweeney has an exhibition of images he took in India, taking place in the Dock, Carrick on Shannon. It opens on November 27th at 4pm.
LGC

Latest news

Pictured L-R: Linda Duffy, Andy Rimmer, Louise Cole, Susan Duffy, Amy Clarke, David Farrell, Margaret Dolan and Norman Little

Competition

Congratulations to the winners of the Lough Allen Photo Competition: Amy Clarke took first place, with Norman Little second, Linda Duffy third and Susan Duffy fourth. Highly commended were Margaret Dolan, Andy Rimmer and Tommy Earley. View the winning photos HERE. The prizes were presented by David Farrell and the Club expresses its gratitude to the Farrell family for their hard work in running the competition.

Club Business

Our November meeting included mention of the sad passing of one of our past members, Betty Meyler, who died the day of the competition after a long illness.

We also heard from picture framing expert Marion Fink-Thews, who showed us the different effects of coloured mounts and frames.

Tony Murphy gave a detailed critique of the Motivation entries, which were on the theme of 'Natural Frames'. Read the critique HERE.

Our next Motivation will be to picture a film title. We expect wit and ingenuity as well as fine camera work!

The portable studio lights are still available for any member to borrow. Call in to The Greenway Emporium in Market Yard, Boyle, to pick them up.

Forthcoming Exhibition

Next up for the Club is an exhibition/sale of work on December 10th-12th, when members have the opportunity to sell some of their photographs directly to the public. There is no limit of the subject or size, but the pictures must be in black frames with white or cream mounts. You will be able to set your own price, but the Club will take a 10 per cent commission on sales. Please let Louise know (on the usual number you receive texts from!) if you are interested in being part of the exhibition, by the end of this week (November 12th). If we haven't heard from you by then, we will assume you don't want to be included! The exhibition will be in the former Chambers Restaurant, opposite the Royal Hotel in Bridge Street, Boyle. Pictures will need to be ready to hang the week beginning December 6th, so hurry!

November Meeting

Our next monthly meeting takes place on Tuesday November 9th, at 8pm in St Joseph's Resource Centre. We will be announcing the winners of the recent Lough Allen Competition, and we will be showing images from our Motivation ('Natural Frames'). We will also be welcoming picture framer Marion Finks-Thews, who will be showing us what a difference the right mount and frame can make to a printed photograph.
This will also be the opportunity for you to register your intention to participate in our forthcoming Exhibition, which takes place in Boyle from December 10th-12th. More details will be available at Tuesday's meeting. See you there!
LGC

Get Your Pictures In!

If you were at the Lough Allen Photo Shoot last weekend, then you have until Sunday, October 31st to get your photos in for the competition. Up to three entries per person, sent to
info@boylecameraclub.com with 'Lough Allen Comp' as the subject of the e-mail. Files should be named with the title of the image and your membership number, nothing else. Format the photos in the usual way, but remember to keep a copies of your originals. The results will be announced at the next club meeting, which is on Tuesday, November 9th. Don't forget that images for the Monthly Motivation, 'Natural Frames' need to be submitted by Tuesday, November 2nd.

LGC

Come rain or shine!

Join us for the competition photo-shoot on Sunday next (October 24th) - meet for car pooling at the Crescent car park in Boyle at 9.15am, or at Drumshanbo Mart at 10am. This is where there will be a briefing, when you'll receive a map and information about where to go, what to look for and where and when to send your images. More details are in the posting below or you can go http://www.loughallenbasin.com/ and follow the links there. Be sure to bring suitable clothing and footwear - wellies may be an idea, if you want to get up close and personal with the water!
Good luck! The judges for the competition are David Farrell of LoughAllenBasin.com and David Knight and colleagues of Willow Design in Cootehall.
The winners will be announced at the next club meeting, November 9th.
LGC

The Late Late Show

Boyle Camera Club Member John Reynolds sent us the following message: "If you're spending this Friday night in, be sure and watch the beginning of The Late Late Show on RTE1 at 9.30, where I'll be appearing to promote one of my non-wedding photo projects with some of my "models". We're the opening item on the show. I'd like to tell you more right now, but it's all very hush-hush. I know you'll enjoy it though!"

Your Images Can Win Prizes!

Fancy your chances as a prize-winning photographer? If so, you are invited to join us in a Photographic Competition at Lough Allen on Sunday, October 24th. Members will meet for car pooling at 9.15am in The Crescent, Boyle, and then on to Dumshanbo Mart for 10am for a briefing at the start of a project to capture the flora, fauna, landscape, buildings and people of Lough Allen on that day.
The best digital images will win prizes, including dinner with wine for six people at the Ramada Hotel, Drumshanbo; a year's subscription to Outdoor Photography Magazine; a family ticket to the Cineplex in Carrick on Shannon; or a year's free membership to Boyle Camera Club.
Club member Frances Farrell and her family are behind the competition, which arose from their passion for the wonderful natural landscape in and around the Lough Allen area. Frances and her husband David run http://www.loughallenbasin.com/, which promotes the area as a exceptional place to live and work – with a unique ecology which supports species of birds and animals that are rare not just in Ireland, but in the whole world.
Although the light and unpredictable weather conditions of late October will pose certain challenges to everyone taking part in the competition, there will still be opportunities to capture images that will highlight the natural beauty of this special place. The best photographs will then be used on the Lough Allen website, although the copyright remains with the photographer.
Photographs, WHICH MUST BE TAKEN ON THE DAY OF THE COMPETITION, should be sent to Boyle Camera Club via e-mail (info@boylecameraclub.com) by October 31st for judging. Details of how to do this will be circulated at the briefing , when non-members can join us for the day at a cost of €10. You will need your membership number in order to enter the competition!
Our thanks to the Farrell family for the time and effort they have invested in this competition – please help to make it a success by turning up on the day and by spreading the word to others who may be interested.
LGC

October Activities

At our October meeting there was news of our forthcoming Winter Exhibition in Boyle, when members can sell their images, just in time for Christmas! The show will be from December 10th to 13th (to be confirmed) and members are asked to start preparing the pictures they would like to submit. This will be a different type of exhibition to our Summer event – this will be for any ready-to-hang photographs which will be for sale at a price set by the individual photographer. More details will follow.
Our speaker for the evening was Castlebaldwin photographer John Daly who enthused us with the range of creative possibilities using commercial printing services. John showed samples of different materials and techniques he has used for best effect on some of his own images. More from John on http://www.lumicreative.com/.
Peter Boalch gave a short slide show of pictures from a recent holiday in Spain – other members who are willing to share their images in this way are invited to come forward. Peter's show, set to music, ran for just three and a half minutes, and such shows offer us the chance to discuss each other's work, techniques and equipment.
Information about our next outing was revealed, the competition to shoot at Lough Allen on October 24th for some great prizes (details here later).
Two camera courses are being run at Roscommon Learning Links in Boyle by Tony Murphy on Monday evenings, each five weeks long. One is on using digital SLR cameras and the other is for beginners using compacts. The first course starts on October 18th. More details from 071 9664510.
Members are invited to make suggestions for our Christmas meeting/party/AGM in December and to consider who they would like see on the committee next year.
The Motivation for October was 'Trees' and it was interesting to see how inventive members had been in getting an original take on the subject. Next month, the challenge is to use 'natural frames' for any subject, and Joe showed some examples taken from the internet. The deadline for entries is November 2nd.
LGC

October Meeting

The theme of our October meeting next Tuesday (12th) will be printing - and there will be a reason for this, which will be revealed during the course of the evening!

We have a change to the planned schedule in as much as Tony Murphy is unable to join us for his talk on printing your images. This will now become a hands-on workshop at a later date, when Tony will help partipants get to grips with printing their images on their own home printers. Details of the date and venue of the workshop will be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, we are pleased to welcome to Tuesday's meeting, Castlebaldwin photographer John Daly, who has many years experience in the business and will talk to us about his work and the possibilites available using commercial printing services.

We will also have news of our exciting competition to win dinner for six at the Ramada Hotel Drumshanbo, or a year's subscription to Outdoor Photography Magazine, or tickets to Carrick Cinemaplex. Details of the competition, which takes place on Sunday, October 24th, and has been organised by the Farrell family and www.loughallenbasin.com, will be announced at Tuesday's meeting.

As always, the meeting starts at 8pm in St Joseph's Resource Centre, Boyle, and new members are welcome.

Re-scheduled Meeting

Our social evening all about the Aran Islands weekend away back in June has now been booked for Wednesday next, September 29th, as before in Daly's Bar in Boyle, starting at 8pm. Although we will be showing pictures from the trip and reminiscing about what a wonderful time we had, the meeting is open to all members, even ones who weren't there!
LGC

Meeting Postponed

In light of the sad news of the passing of Fergus Ahern last night, we have decided, as a mark of respect, to postpone our social evening planned for tomorrow (September 21st). Fergus was a very well known business person in the town, and in his role as Chairman of Boyle Arts Festival, he was very supportive of Boyle Camera Club's now annual Summer Exhibition. We offer our condolences to his friends and family - Boyle will be a different place without him.
The Camera Club Aran Islands evening will now be rearranged and members will be notified of the new date.
LGC

About the weather...

Heavy rain and high winds have put paid to our plans for a nice afternoon photographing hot air balloons tomorrow. The first official flight of the National Hot Air Balloon Championships was due to take place tomorrow (Sunday September 19th) with Boyle Camera Club members on site to record the event. But the Championship Director, Joseph Leahy, tells us that because of the weather, it is highly unlikely that any balloons will take to the air tomorrow. So sadly, our planned photo-shoot is cancelled.
The balloons will be there all next week, with 40 taking part in any of the 11 proposed flying slots - so there should be a photo opportunity for us there some time!
The Ballooning Championships take place at New Castle House, Ballymahon, Co Longford, until September 24th, with flights (weather permitting) at 7.30am and 4.45pm each day.
Hopefully, some of us will find time to head that way if the weather improves (Monday and Tuesday are forecast better!).
LGC

Up, Up and Away!

There was a good turn out for our monthly meeting last night. Hopefully, we have now found the definitive venue (St Joseph's Resource Centre) and it will become our permanent home. It certainly looks good so far. Next month we will include refreshments (tea and coffee) and we'll work at getting the screen a bit higher so the folk at the back can see better!
Members have been invited to submit photos for the Discover Boyle day on October 3rd. Local pictures for a show of work, probably in St Joseph's Hall (to be confirmed), any size or subject, but with a local theme. Images don't have to be framed, but they should be mounted. Contact Louise for more info.
Our photo-shoot/competition on September 26th has been postponed for a month. It will now be on October 24th at Lough Allen. Visit http://www.loughallenbasin.com/ for a taste of what the area's about - we'll post more details about the event nearer the date.
The Motivation for next month is 'Trees'. Try to challenge yourself to be original! Two entries per member, as always. Send them re-sized with your membership number, category and image title all together as the image name to info@boylecameraclub.com. The deadline is October 5th.
The National Hot Air Ballooning Championships take place in Ballymahon, Co Longford, next week. Its a wonderful photo opportunity (40 balloons are expected to take part) and we've talked the organisers into allowing us certain access behind the scenes. We're going to be there at the start - the first launch on Sunday afternoon (September 19th). Meet at 3pm in the car park at Boyle Crescent for a briefing and car pooling, or contact Louise for details.
If you are interested in pursuing the IPF Licentiate accreditation, let Dermot have your name. This follows on from a talk by Conor Dowling; hopefully a number of club members would like to pursue this as a project.
Our next get-together is on Tuesday next (September 21st), a social in Daly's Bar in Boyle, to show our Aran Islands pictures and talk about what a great weekend we had back in June. That will be an 8pm start - every one's welcome, even if you didn't go on the trip. If you still haven't sent in your Aran Island images, get a move on! Send them in to Joe in the usual way.
LGC

Change of venue for our next meeting

Our next monthly meeting takes place on Tuesday next, September 14th, starting at 8pm. We'll be in a new venue – The Resource Centre behind St Joseph's RC Church, Boyle. It is easy to find, there is parking right outside the door, and we will be in an airy ground floor room.
The Resource Centre is the building which is the former laundry of the Convent. Access to the site is either from Carrick Road (turn into the church car park and drive on through, past the church) or from Abbeytown Road (from Boyle, pass the Abbey and the entrance to the site is on the right just a short way on from the bridge over the River Boyle).
Keep Sunday September 26th free for an exciting outdoor photo-shoot/competition, which will be announced at the meeting!
An extra meeting takes place on Tuesday, September 21st, when all the people who went to the Aran Islands in June are invited to get together to show their images and share their stories. More details to follow.
New members are welcome. If you would like information about joining the Club, contact us at boylecameraclub@eircom.net.
LGC

Success at Boyle Summer Show

Club members took the two main prizes for photography at Boyle Summer Show on Sunday. Louise Cole won first in the Adult Section (winning photo pictured here) and Dan Lonergan won the Best Overall Image. The theme was 'Natural World'.

We hope to welcome some new members following their interest in our stand at the Summer Show, where our Arts Festival Exhibition images were shown on screen.

In October, members have the opportunity to display their images of Boyle during a 'Discover Boyle' event organised in conjunction with Irish Waterways. More details will follow shortly.

The start of our Autumn season gets under way with a meeting on September 14th, starting at 8pm, followed by an evening of Aran Islands pictures and stories on September 21st. We should also have a Club Photo-shoot later this month - watch this space!

LGC

Cheque Presentation to Croí

From the left, Dermot Devine (Secretary), Louise Cole (Chairperson), Barry McCann (Croí) and Kit O'Connor (Treasurer) pictured in Boyle today.

We are very proud to be able to pass on €800 to Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation, following our successful Summer Exhibition. The charity was chosen because of links with some of our members and its focus on our region.

Photographs purchased at the Exhibition are now available to collect from The Greenway Emporium in Market Yard, Bridge Street, Boyle.

Our next Club outing will be a presence at Boyle Summer Show on Sunday next (August 29th). If you are in the town that day, call in and say hello - there should also be a chance to see our slideshow from the Exhibition, just in case you missed it first time around!

The Club's next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 14th, at 8pm.

LGC

News Update

Croi
We are delighted to report that our Summer Exhibition raised €800 for Croi, the West of Ireland Heart Foundation, and we will be making a cheque presentation to the charity shortly. Pictures and prints purchased at the Exhibition will be available for collection from The Greenway Emporium in Boyle (071 9664090) after August 21st.
Summer Show
Members are invited to join us in promoting the Club at the annual Boyle Summer Show on Sunday, August 29th. We will have a table in the Sports Complex from 2.30pm until 4.30pm, with the slide show running from our recent exhibition. We could do with a few people to take turns in sitting there, just to talk to interested members of the public and maybe hand out membership application forms! Ring Louise if you can help.
Also, Boyle Summer Show has a photography section again this year. Last year, two of our members, Debbie Little and Louise Cole, won rosettes – it would be nice if the Club was again represented. Entry forms are in the Show schedule, which is available from Una Bhan Tourism in the grounds of King House, Boyle. The deadline is August 24th. The theme for the photography competition is 'Natural World' and there are categories for adults, secondary and primary schoolchildren, with small cash prizes and rosettes for the winners.
Calendar Opportunity
Siobhan Clancy, an artist working with the Family Life Centre in Boyle is looking for digital images that reflect the themes of love, faith, trust, hope, time and many others for inclusion in a calendar. Day by Day in the Life is the title of the project. All images submitted will feature in a digital presentation on September 23rd when the final selection for the calendar will be announced and they will also get an airing at a culture night displaying the art@work projects in Roscommon the following evening. Deadline for submissions is September 6th. This is another opportunity for Boyle Camera Club members to get involved in the community. More information is available on http://flcartboyle.wordpress.com/.
LGC

No August Meeting

We will be taking a break during August, meaning no monthly meeting this time. Meetings will resume in September (as before, on the second Tuesday of the month).

Our Summer Exhibition in Boyle Library proved to be the best yet, with exceptional numbers of sales, increased numbers of visitors, and some very satisfying feedback from everyone involved.

Paraic Brennan's picture of donkeys in the snow (shown here) proved to be the most popular picture at the show!

People who purchased prints and framed pictures can collect them from The Greenway Emporium in Market Yard, Bridge Street, Boyle, after August 21st. Exhibitors can collect their mounted prints at the September meeting.

LGC