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The latest news concerning Western Valley Camera Club is
listed below Note: Western Valley Camera Club is not
responsible for the content of any external websites. |
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Amateur
Photographer Magazine |
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The
latest edition (01/10/2024) of Amateur Photographer magazine features a four
page spread on Western Valley Camera Club. We
recommend you get a copy ASAP as they are selling out fast locally. |
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01 October 2024 |
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VINCE
PENTICOST FWPF, AWPF |
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It is
with great sadness that Western Valley Camera Club announces the passing of
their well-respected and much loved Chairman, Vince Penticost AWPF. Vince
was a well respected club member who was well known across the camera clubs
of South Wales as a presenter and judge. He served as chairman of Western
Valley Camera Club for a total of 23 years (1997-99, 2002-2007, 2009-2021 and
2024). He also served on the WPF Committee and was President between 2015 and
2017. We
as a club will miss him, along with his sense of humour, catch phrases and
his honest and wonderful critique. |
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10 July 2024 |
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Western Valley
Camera Club and Coronavirus |
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The
Committee at their meeting on the 16th March 2020, have decided that the Club
will suspend all meetings in light of the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus
situation). All activities are cancelled until at least 30th April 2020. The
Officers of the Club will review the situation around the 20th April and will
decide then how we proceed. If
you have any queries about the club and this decision could you please direct
queries to Chris Meaker, Secretary secretary@westernvalley.co.uk or Vince Penticost, Chairman chairman@westernvalley.co.uk |
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16 March 2020 |
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PLEASE READ
– STORM DENNIS |
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As
some of you may be aware the club was affected by the flooding during Storm Dennis
on the weekend. The premises we use (Crosskeys RFC) for our meetings was
submerged with 2ft of water. Anybody planning on visiting the Camera Club
please check before visiting, as we have temporarily suspended our current
programme. We will announce when normal service resumes. |
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18 February 2020 |
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2020 Welsh Photographic
Federation - Memorial Day |
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Western
Valley Camera Club were successful in winning the "Past Presidents Trophy" one of three competitions held at
the Welsh Photographic Federations, Memorial Day. The "Past Presidents Trophy" is
awarded to the best group of four colour Prints. Club Chairman Vince
Penticost is seen receiving the award from WPF President Peter Young. |
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18 January 2020 |
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2018 Print & DPI
of the Year |
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Thursday 13th December saw our annual Print and DPI of the
Year evening which was judged this year by Dave Bennett. The
awards for 2018 went to Vince
Penticost for the Print of the Year with "Sprayed" and the DPI of the Year was won by Ron Lines with "Porthcawl" |
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14-December-2018 |
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2018 Welsh Salon
Successes |
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Western Valley Camera Club members received good results from the Welsh
Salon of Photography 2018 whose results were released today. The club would like to pass on their congratulations to the
following members who between them had 20 acceptances. ·
Chris Powell AFIAP, AWPF (4 x DPI) ·
Eric Williams AFIAP, AWPF (4 x DPI) ·
David Rees (2 x
Colour Print; 3 x DPI) ·
Ron Lines CPAGB, BPE2*, AFIAP, AWPF (3 x Colour Print; 1 x Mono Print; 3 x DPI) In addition Ron Lines CPAGB, BPE2*, AFIAP, AWPF received
two Awards as follows: ·
The Boathouse -
DPI, WPF Ribbon The Evening Shunt –
Colour Print, WPF Ribbon |
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04-April-2018 |
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Sad Announcement from Western Valley Camera Club |
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It is with great sadness that Western Valley Camera Club
announces the passing of one of their well-respected and much loved members
Derek Terry. Derek was an accomplished photographer achieving his AWPF and
CPAGB accreditations along with many international successes. He was a member
of the WVCC executive committee for a number of years as our Exhibition
Officer and he was invaluable in securing us four exhibitions every year
throughout the area allowing us to promote not only the camera club but also the
work of all its members. Although we will undoubtedly miss him for all the
practical things he did for our club, it is the loss of him as a great friend
and supporter that we will miss the most. Derek’s funeral is to be held at Moriah Church, Risca on
Wednesday, 19th July at 12.15 followed by a short service at Croesyceiliog
Crematorium Cwmbran. I am sure that you would all join
with us in offering our sincere condolences to his wife, children and all of
Derek’s family and friends at this sad time. |
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12-July-2017 |
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Success for Members in Institute of Civil Engineers Photo
Competition |
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Two club members whose images were shortlisted in the
final 15 of the Institute of Civil Engineers Wales Photo competition both walked
away with Awards at the presentation evening in Cardiff on the 21st
November. Adrian Webster AWPF two images shortlisted in the final
picked up 2nd place with his image “New Rail Bridge” while Chris Meaker picked up the Peoples Award for his
image “Final Adjustments to Bridge St Bridge” as voted for by visitors to the Exhibition Adrian
and Chris are shown below receiving their Awards. |
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In addition to
the above, Chris had a second image selected for display in the exhibition of
35 entries while member John Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB EFIAPB also had an
image excepted for display in the exhibition. |
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22-November-2016 |
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In Loving Memory of Jan Williams |
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It is with deep sadness that Western Valley Camera Club
announces the passing of Jan Williams, one of our long standing members and a
friend to all. Jan was indeed the backbone of our club and was dedicated to
her role as our secretary, a dedication that she carried forward into her
position with the Welsh Photographic Federation. Jan was always there to provide help and support to
anyone, she enjoyed nothing more than sharing her experience and knowledge
with others but also took great pleasure in learning new skills from her
fellow photographers. Jan was enthusiastic, generous with her time and nothing
was ever too much trouble. The space that she has left both in WVCC and the
WPF will be very hard to fill but we will all be left with fond, happy
memories of a lovely lady and a dear friend. All of our thoughts are with her family and friends at
this sad time. Update 1st
Nov:
Jan’s funeral will be on Wednesday 9th November, at 11 o'clock at the Gwent
Crematorium Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran, NP44 2BZ |
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30-October-2016 |
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Annual Print
Exhibition |
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During
November the club will be holding a Print exhibition of member’s images at
Risca Library. Please pop along and take a look |
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24-October-2016 |
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Members Success
in ICE Photography Competition |
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Three
club members John Cooke J Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB EFIAP/B, Chris Meaker and
Adrian Webster AWPF. All had two images excepted into the Institute of Civil
Engineers, Wales photography competition. 35 images from people all across
Wales are being exhibited in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay until the 24th
November 2016. Adrian has had his two images shortlisted in the final 15
images for the Overall winner while Chris has had one of his shortlisted. The winners will be announced on the 21st November. |
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25-October-2016 |
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Competition
Success |
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On
the 7th November the Club achieved a joint 4th place
finish in Gwynfa CC, Pixels 2015 competition. Finishing 2 points behind the winning
club. A credible performance from an entry of 36 clubs. On
the 10th November the club finished 2nd in the Rhondda Camera
Clubs annual 12 way Projected Image battle. |
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10-November-2015 |
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Members
Distinction Success |
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A couple
of club members have recently earned and been awarded photographic
distinctions as follows: ·
Derek Terry has
been awarded his AWPF at the AWPF Distinction Day on the 8th November
after his submitted panel of 12 Prints was deemed to be of a suitable
standard by the adjudication panel. ·
Chris Powell
received his AFIAP certificate also at the AWPF Distinction Day after
reaching the designated number of qualifying acceptances. ·
John Cooke has
also received his EFIAP Bronze. Congratulations
to all three members |
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8-November-2015 |
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Print
Exhibition |
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Following
on from the Recent exhibition of Club Prints held at the Riverfront Theatre,
Newport. The club now have another exhibition of Prints being held at RIsca
Library during November |
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1-November-2015 |
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Viva El
Presidente!! |
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We
are pleased to announce that Club Chairman, Vince Penticost AWPF, has been
elected as the President of the Welsh Photographic Federation at their recent
AGM for the next two years. It
has been reported that Vince would like to now be addressed as “Mr President”
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7-March-2015 |
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2014 NEWS |
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Barrian Cup Success |
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On Saturday 14th June the club won the annual
Barrian Cup competition organised by Barry Camera Club. It was a fairly impressive performance with
four of the five images entered scoring the maximum 20 points. The five prints entered were as follows: |
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1 No Play Today Lyndon Hatherall (20pts) |
2 Elan Valley Steve Hughes (17pts) |
3 Last Respects Chris Powell (20pts) |
4 Still Waters Adrian Webster AWPF (20pts) |
5 Alone In The Woods John Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB EFIAP (20pts) |
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John Cooke, Vice Chairman is seen receiving the
Barrian Cup. |
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14-June-2014 |
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Newbridge Memo Exhibition |
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The club currently has an exhibition of images on display
through out all of June at the Newbridge Memo, Newbridge. |
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30-May-2014 |
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Festival Park Owl Sanctuary |
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On Thursday 29th May the club had a visit from the ‘Festival Park Owl Sanctuary’ which is located at Ebbw Vale. They brought along a selection of birds
of various sizes for members of the club to photograph. |
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30-May-2014 |
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Members Represent the Welsh
Photographic Federation |
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Members Chris Powell and John Cooke AWPF, ARPS, DPAGB, EFIAP have both
had images selected to represent “The
Welsh Photographic Federation” in the PAGB Inter Federation Competition
to be held on the 8th June. Chris had "Air" selected for the
Monochrome Print while John had "A Man's Best Friend" in the
Monochrome Print and "I Drove All Night" in the Colour Print
sections. |
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29-May-2014 |
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Recent Battle Successes |
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On the 14th May we completed a hat trick of recent battle success
against local camera clubs with a narrow 363-362 point victory over Cwmbran
PS. Prior to this we had achieved a
344-300 point victory over Tredegar CC on the 3rd April and a 328-344 point
victory against Newport PC on the 28th February. |
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15-May-2014 |
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Oxford House Exhibition |
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Throughout March we
have an exhibition of members images on display at Oxford House, Adult Learning Centre, Risca |
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15-March-2014 |
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Bristol Salon Success |
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Club member John Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB EFIAP enjoyed
success recently in the prestigious Bristol Salon when his entry “Alone in the Woods” (see right) was
awarded the RPS Gold Medal – Best Plantlife. This was one of four
acceptances that John had in the Salon. In addition members Chris Powell (2) and Gerry Wells (1)
also had images excepted in the Salon. |
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15-March-2014 |
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60th Anniversary - Polo Shirts |
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The club have had recently launched a new design of Polo shirt
with the latest club logo emblazoned upon it. If you are a current, former or
even future member and would be interested in modelling one of the latest
fashion items of clothing then please contact us by E_Mail webmaster@westernvalley.co.uk |
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20-February-2014 |
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Exhibition at ‘Howards’, Risca |
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Local butcher’s shop ‘Howards’ are hosting displays of
member’s images during 2014. The business owned by Howard Powell, the father
of club member Chris Powell is located at 57 Commercial St, Risca. So if you
would like see some wonderful photos while you do your shopping then pop on
in. The images will be changed at regular intervals with a different member
having their images displayed. |
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20-February-2014 |
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Glyn Hawkins |
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It is with great sadness that we have to tell you that
member Glyn Hawkins passed away unexpectedly on the morning of the 21st
January 2014. He had not been a well man for some years and of late, had become very
poorly indeed. Despite that, he still managed to organise the clubs latest
trip to the Isle Of Wight. Glyn has been a stalwart of the WVCC Committee since 2005
and was re-elected for the 2014 term and will be missed by all his colleagues
within the club. He got on with the
organisation of our many Christmas dinners, annual outings and holidays
efficiently and without any fuss; and by doing so, was the source of a great
deal of pleasure and enjoyment in the club. He was a quiet, unassuming man
with a friendly word for everyone. A gentleman. We offer our condolences to his wife Cheryl and the family. We will let
you know about the arrangements in due course. |
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22-January-2014 |
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60th Anniversary - 100 Strangers
Project |
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To celebrate the clubs 60th Anniversary we are undertaking
a project where we have tasked members to try and capture 100 images of
"Strangers" i.e. People they do know. We have a webpage dedicated
to this project which will be updated throughout the year. So have a look at http://www.westernvalley.co.uk/100strangers/index.htm to see how we are progressing. |
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10-January-2014 |
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60th Anniversary Appeal |
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Upon entering the website, you may have noticed that our
logo shows that 2014 sees the club celebrate its 60th Anniversary
having been founded in 1954. One of the things that we are lacking is
information on the early years of the club, as we now do not have any members
who are old enough to remember that far back. If anybody reading this has any information or stories
from relatives who used to be a member or were a member themselves then
please feel free to contact us with any information you can provide that will
helps us fill gaps in our history. We plan on producing some commemorative products, more
details of which will be announced soon. If any former member is interested
in these then please contact any of the club officers. |
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5-January-2014 |
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2013 NEWS |
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Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy 2013 |
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The Club hosted the annual
Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy at our meeting on the 28th November.
Again we had the usual five clubs enter as well as ourselves, these were,
Bargoed CC, Bedwas Trethomas & Machen CC, Caerphilly CC, Cwmbran PS &
Ebbw Vale CC. The judge this year for the evening was Jan Cawley, EFIAP,
Hon.FWPF. The full results for the
evening were as follows:- |
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1st |
110 Pts |
Bargoed CC (Bargoed won by having more images that scored 20 points) |
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2nd |
110 Pts |
Western Valley CC |
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3rd |
108 Pts |
Ebbw Vale CC |
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4th |
105 Pts |
Cwmbran PS |
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5th |
103 Pts |
Caerphilly CC |
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6th |
99 Pts |
Bedwas, Trethomas & Machen CC |
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There were three images that received a maximum score of
20. This was “Nuthatch” from Bargoed and “Water Wheels” and “Blue Queen”
which collected awards as follows:- |
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Best Architectural Print: |
Western Valley CC
- “Petronas Towers” by Allen
Lloyd ARPS AWPF |
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Best Monochrome Print: |
Ebbw Vale CC -
“Water Wheels” by Bob Thrush |
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Best Print: |
Cwmbran PS
- “Blue Queen” by Dave Kitson |
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Alan Packham from Bargoed CC
receives the Keith
Ferrier Trophy from Jan Cawley, EFIAP, Hon.FWPF |
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29-November-2013 |
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AWPF Distinction Success |
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On Sunday 10th November, 2013 three club members each
submitted a panel of 12 images at the AWPF distinctions to try and obtain
their AWPF distinction. Club member and Chairman Vince Penticost was the only one
of the three members to be successful and achieve the distinction with his
panel of 12 Prints entitled "Miniature World of Flowers" Congratulations to Vince and his panel can be viewed here. |
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11-November-2013 |
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2012 NEWS |
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2012 Stanley Chell Trophy |
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On Saturday 24th November we entered the
Stanley Chell Trophy competition held by Aberdare Camera Club. Our four
Images “Sax in the City” by G Wells, “The Hooker” by C Powell, “Doolough
Eire” by V Penticost
& “The Lone Violinist”
by J Cooke ARPS AWPF amassed a total of 65 points which saw us finish joint
17th. |
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25-November-2012 |
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Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy 2012 |
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The Club hosted the annual Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy
at our meeting on the 22nd November. Again we had the usual five
clubs enter as well as ourselves, these were, Bargoed CC, Bedwas Trethomas
& Machen CC, Caerphilly CC, Cwmbran PS & Ebbw Vale CC. The judge for
the evening was Mervyn Pugh ARPS, AFIAP, AWPF, DPAGB. The full results for the evening were as
follows:- |
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1st |
106 Pts |
Cwmbran PS |
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2nd |
105 Pts |
Ebbw Vale CC |
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3rd |
103 Pts |
Bargoed CC |
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4th |
102 Pts |
Western Valley CC |
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5th |
86 Pts |
Bedwas, Trethomas & Machen CC |
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6th |
84 Pts |
Caerphilly CC |
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There were four images that received a maximum score of 20.
This was “The Lone Violinist” by John Cooke of Western Valley and the
following three images which all collected awards as follows:- |
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Best Architectural Print: |
Ebbw Vale CC
- “Underworld” by Gary Howells |
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Best Monochrome Print: |
Cwmbran PS
- “Dartmoor Farm” by Dave
Kitson |
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Best Print: |
Cwmbran PS - “Sweet Light” by Stuart Plaister |
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24-November-2012 |
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Gynfa CC – Pixels 2012 |
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This year along with 35 other clubs we entered Pixels 2012
competition held by Gwynfa Camera Club in Talbot Green. The competition was
this year judged by Dave Mason The competition requires 4 Projected Images consisting of
2 colour and 2 Monochrome. Our entries this year were “Spanish Villa” by Carole
Mason and “Need for
Speed” by John Cooke for the colour entries and “Ready to Roll” by Chris
Meaker and “Triangular
Treads” by Chris Powell for the monochrome. Our four entries amassed a total of 66 points leaving us
to finish in a disappointing joint 22nd place. Further details of the competition results can be found on
the website of Gynfa Camera Club here. |
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09-November-2012 |
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Match A Projected Image Evening |
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On Thursday 27th September the club held its annual Match a Projected
Image evening against Ebbw Vale and Caerphilly Camera Clubs. This is a
competitive but light hearted competition with the emphasis being on
entertainment. The judge this year was
Brian Coleman AWPF who had the enviable task of defining who had the closest
match to the lead image. The
competition was again extremely competitive with all three clubs still be
able to provide suitable matches after 40 rounds! The eventual winners for the second year running were Ebbw Vale Camera
Club. The trophy was this year presented in honour of former member Dennis
Dixon who passed away earlier this year. Dennis had been a club member for
20+ years and was outward looking and quite advanced with his photography
compared to many members of the time. Dennis was forced to give up club
membership around 2006 due to ill health, although he did keep in touch with
club happenings with regular phone calls. The trophy for the winners was sponsored by Dennis’s wife Norma, and was
presented to Ebbw Vale by one of Dennis’s relatives on behalf of Norma. |
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02-Oct-2012 |
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Annual Print Exhibition |
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The club’s Annual Print exhibition was held at Risca Library and Cwmcarn
Forest Drive between the 1st and 15th September. The exhibition
was well received by members of the public. The photos right show the Exhibition in Risca Library, which was held on
two floors within the building. Following the success of last year again members of the public were able
to vote for their favourite image in the exhibition. The winner of which will
be announced later in the year. |
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19-Sep-2012 |
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Annual Print Exhibition |
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The Club will this year be holding the Annual Print exhibition for two
weeks. Also it will be held at two venues, from the 1st September
to the 8th September it will be held at Risca Library and then
from the 9th September to the 15th September the
Exhibition will move to the Visitor Centre at Cwmcarn Scenic Drive. For the
opening times and how to find the two venues, please visit the respective
websites of Caerphilly CBC below: http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/site.aspx?s=EPSdUZc4tEmuAUh+bDwAkklgtdXqvZuFjuaVM7Mo11NH/eOsQFE9mw== http://your.caerphilly.gov.uk/cwmcarnforest/visitor-centre/visitor-centre Please feel free to drop us an E-mail to let us know your thoughts on
the Exhibition <Click Here to leave Feedback> |
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21-Aug-2012 |
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2012 Welsh International Salon
Successes |
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Congratulations go to
members John Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB AFIAP, Chris Powell and Gerry Wells who
have all had images accepted in 2012 Welsh International Salon. The following
is a list of their respective images that were accepted and an example of
each of their work. |
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John Cooke ARPS AWPF DPAGB
AFIAP
Need for Speed The Outcome Cinders Foggy day at Western Split Personality Myscella Fungi |
Need for Speed |
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Chris Powell
Scala a Chiocciola The Torch 2012 The Hooker The Agony Easy Peal |
Easy Peal |
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Gerry Wells
Coming Through Can't Take My Eyes of You Shanghai Market Street Cobbler |
Can't Take My Eyes of You |
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8-Aug-2012 |
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Cardiff Photomarathon Success |
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Member Chris Meaker has been at it again, being one of the
400 entrants in this year’s Cardiff Photomarathon again. Chris this time achieved
success with his image in the category ‘Friendship’ being chosen as the
category winner in the competition. A picture of Chris and his winning image
is shown below. |
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Chris’s image was one of the images that appeared on the BBC News
website (see here). All the winning
images can be found in the following book (see here) which is available
for sale. |
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31-Jul-2012 |
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Olympic Torch Security Breach? |
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With the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay being in the area on
Friday 25th May and Saturday 26th May a number of club
members were out and about taking photographs of the event at various
locations. It has come to light since
that one member, Steve Hughes appears to have got inside the Olympic Torch
security cordon as shown in the photograph below (He’s the one in the
centre). Steve puts it down to the fact that he was using a large
Nikon DSLR so they assumed he was a member of the press!! |
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Picture from www.bbc.co.uk . |
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1-Jun-2012 |
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Club Images Selected to Represent
the Welsh Photographic Federation |
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Congratulations to members John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF and
Chris Powell who each had an image selected to represent The Welsh
Photographic Federation in the PAGB
Inter-Federation Print Competition from their Welsh Salon, Colour Print
acceptances. Shown below are the two chosen images. |
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The Hooker by Chris
Powell |
Split Personality by
John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF |
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27-May-2012 |
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Battle with Gwent Photographic
& Digital Imaging Society |
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On Thursday 10th May we hosted our 2012 annual
battle with Gwent Photographic. The judge for the night was David Lingham FRPS
from Gwynfa Camera Club. The Prints were judged first which saw Western
Valley take a 156-151 lead. There was only one Print which received 20 points
which was Western Valley’s “The Old Harbour” by Chris Powell. The second half saw Western Valley winning the first half
of the PI competition with Gwent taking the second half, resulting in Gwent
winning the PI competition 156-153. Gwent’s image “Bad Hair Day” was the only
PI to receive 20 ponts. This resulted in Western Valley winning the Battle with a
final score of 309-307 |
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11-May-2012 |
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Club Members Capture the Action at
The Millennium Stadium |
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Following on from the request last year by our hosts Cross
Keys RFC to provide a photographer for club home matches. Members John Cooke
ARPS DPAGB AWPF and Chris Meaker who had covered most of the seasons matches,
plus rugby fan Sarah Beckingham (who was persuaded to join the Camera Club)
and who had already been helping the Rugby Club with photographs, were all
rewarded for their seasons work by being invited by the Rugby Club to go and
photograph the SWALEC Cup Final between Cross Keys and Pontypridd pitch side
at the Millennium Stadium. The images on the right show the intrepid trio in action
at the Millennium Stadium. A selection of images from the game will be posted on the
website at a later date. |
John & Sarah
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9-May-2012 |
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Cross Keys Rugby Club |
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Congratulations go to our hosts Cross Keys RFC who on
Monday 7th May won their first ever trophy when they defeated
Pontypridd 32-19 in the SWALEC Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. |
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7-May-2012 |
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2012 Welsh Salon |
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The end of March saw a number of members have acceptance
in the Welsh Salon as follows:- J Cooke ARPS
DPAGB AWPF - 1 x Colour Print; 2 x
Projected Images C Meaker - 2 x Projected Images V
Penticost - 1 x Colour Print C Powell - 2 x Colour Print; 1 x Projected Images A Webster
AWPF - 2 x Projected Images All the images accepted in the Salon will be on display at
Swansea Museum. See here for details |
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27-March-2012 |
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Congratulations to Member John
Cooke |
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John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF has recently had two of his images
printed in the The Royal Photographic Society magazine, Digit. John's
portfolio for the RPS can be seen here. |
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25-March-2012 |
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Welsh Photographic Federation AGM |
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At the Welsh Photographic Federations AGM on Sunday March
4th, three club members were elected to serve on the Committee as follows:- Our Secretary Jan Williams, was elected as Secretary of
the Federation after serving previously as a Committee member. Our Chairman Vince Penticost, and Vice-Chairman John Cooke
ARPS DPAGB AWPF were elected as ordinary Committee Members Congratulations to all three. |
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05-March-2012 |
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Battle with Newport Photographic
Club |
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Our regular annual Battle occurred with Newport P C was
this year hosted by Newport on Friday 24th February. The judge was Imants
Grindulis from Cardiff CC. The Prints were judged during the first half which
saw the battle evenly tied at 181-181 apiece. In the Print section three 20's
were awarded; "Seascape" & "Water Colour" from
Newport and for Western Valley,
"Cinders" by John
Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF The second half saw Western Valley go on to win the battle
after winning the Projected Image section 183-181 giving a final score of
364-362 to Western Valley. Three 20's
were awarded in this section "Owl Landing" for Newport and
"Porthcawl Storm" by Allen Lloyd ARPS AWPF and "Teds
Bushed" by Dennis Hodges for Western Valley |
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26-February-2012 |
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Ace of Clubs 2012 |
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On Sunday 19th February the club took part in the annual Ace
of Clubs competition in Talbot Green doing battle with twenty other clubs
from across South Wales. A disappointing first round saw is finish in joint
14th place. In the second round we faired a lot better and managed to raise
our position to 10th just 3 points short of progressing to the third round of
the main competition. The 10th place saw us then participate in the Plate
competition for the bottom 12 clubs who were eliminated from the main
competition. In the plate competition we finished a disappointing 4th with
our 8 images scoring 94 points. The full results of the Ace of Clubs competition can be
found here. |
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20-February-2012 |
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2012 Welsh Photographic Federation Memorial Trophy |
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On Saturday 28th January the club attended the
Memorial Trophy competition which this year was hosted by Llanelli Camera
Club. Our four Images “The Lone Swimmer”
by C Meaker, “Sparks” by C Powell,
“Man Mountain” by A Kibble & “Split Personality” by J Cooke ARPS
AWPF amassed a total of 72 points which saw us finish a creditable joint 6th out of 28 clubs from
across South Wales |
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01-February-2012 |
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Result of the Western Valley
Camera Club Exhibition Public Vote |
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During the clubs exhibition at the end of October a ballot
was held for all visitors to vote for their favourite image in the
exhibition. All entrants who placed the winning image first were eligible to
win a copy of the image. The image that received the most votes was “Good Morning
Brockweir” by John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF.
(shown rignt). The lucky winner that voted for John’s image was Lynne
Hiscocks of Risca. Lynne is shown below receiving her framed image from John
at the club’s Annual Awards evening. |
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07-January-2012 |
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2011 NEWS |
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year |
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To all members past, present and future (and casual
browsers) we would like to wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and
Prosperous New Year. If there are any past or future members interested in
coming along to see us, we restart our meetings on Thursday, 5th January 2012
at Cross Keys Rugby Club with our Annual Awards Evening. You will be able to
see all the winning entries plus more from the 2011 club competitions. On January 12th normality returns to the club, when battle
commences with the first club competition of the year which is Still
Life/Table Top Prints (and if the AGM on this subject was anything to go by,
the critique session should be lively!). |
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16-December-2011 |
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Need a Judge? |
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Judges. Like Marmite, you either love them or hate them.
They build you up and then let you down and can destroy your pride in about
30 seconds. The Club Chairman Vince Penticost is regularly out judging
competitions at various clubs in the region. Normally we never hear much
about these events, but recently we came across a report from his recent
exploits of judging a multi club Battle down at Port Talbot Camera Club. Here
is what they had to say about our Vince. ".....I had a funny feeling that it didn't matter
if we didn't win, because Vince was on top form and delivering an excellent
critique for every print. Members, including me sometimes, moan that judges
give flat, senseless mutterings. Well, not this time! We should remember that
there are some good judges out there, who’ve got the pluck to get up in front
of audiences and try to inform and entertain...............When we got to
"Bare Winter" Vince made a valid point that he could notice the branch
had been added. No other judge has picked up on this before (and neither have
us selectors!)" Well if you want to have your work well scrutinised Vince
is your man. (But please don't book him on the date of our AGM!!) |
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15-December-2011 |
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Smethwick International 37th
Exhibition of Photography |
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Two club members achieved success with acceptances in this
year’s Smethwick International Exhibition of Photography. Alan Kibble had
three acceptances, while John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF had a total of 8
acceptances. The following is a list of their acceptances:- |
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John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF Open DPI Vacant Chair
Hoverfly
The Face of Cardiff
Bay Tumbleweed Connection |
Alan Kibble OPEN DPI The Mask Still There |
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In addition John Cooke ARPS DPAGB AWPF was also awarded with
the SPS Medal: Graham Reeves for his image “The Face of Cardiff Bay” (shown
right).
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12-December-2011 |
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Battle against Gwent Photographic
& Digital Imaging Society |
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Our annual battle with Gwent Photographic & Digital
Imaging Society was held on the 8th December at Gwent’s meeting in
Rogerstone, Newport. Coincidentally the judge was again Brian Coleman AWPF.
The first half of the battle was the PI’s which saw Gwent take the lead with
a score of 165-164. In this section two images achieved 20 which were “The
General” from Gwent and for Western Valley “Gobstopper” by Allen Lloyd ARPS
AWPF. Western Valley went on to win the Print battle in the second half with a
score of 167-157 . Two Western Valley Prints scored 20 which were “Cinders”
& “Split Personality” both by John Cooke ARPS AWPF. This saw Western
Valley win the battle 331-322 |
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09-December-2011 |
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2011 Stanley Chell Trophy |
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On Saturday 3rd December we attended the Stanley
Chell Trophy competition held by Aberdare Camera Club. Our four Images “The Warm Up” by C Meaker, “Sparks” by C Powell, “Man Mountain” by A Kibble & “Good Morning Brockweir” by J Cooke
ARPS AWPF amassed a total of 61 points which saw us finish a disappointing
joint 19th. |
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05-December-2011 |
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Congratulations to John Cooke ARPS
AWPF |
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Congratulations to go to our Vice Chairman, John Cooke ARPS
AWPF who achieved his PAGB Distinction on Saturday 26th November
at Llanberis, North Wales. John was one of 35 entrants who were being assessed on the
day. John was required to submit 15 Prints which were then scored by 6 judges
with between 2 and 5 points, giving a maximum of 30 points per image. The
pass criteria was 300 points and John successfully achieved 311 points with
his 15 images. Of the 35 entrants only 17 passed. So well done John. |
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26-November-2011 |
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Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy |
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The Club hosted the annual Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy
at our meeting on the 24th November. This year we had five clubs
enter as well as ourselves, these were, Bargoed CC, Bedwas Trethomas &
Machen CC, Caerphilly CC Cwmbran PS & Ebbw Vale CC. The judge for the
evening was Phil Ray CPAGB who had a challenging evening. It looked like it
was going to be a good competition when the first image for the evening “Up
Front” by Bargoed CC received a top
score of 20. Following the first five rounds, going into the final round four
clubs were tied on 86 points. The competition was eventually won by Ebbw Vale
who scored a maximum 20 points with “Lesser Redpoll” their final entry. The
full results for the evening were as follows:- |
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1st |
106 Pts |
Ebbw Vale CC |
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2nd |
105 Pts |
Bargoed CC |
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3rd |
102 Pts |
Caerphilly CC Western Valley CC |
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5th |
101 Pts |
Bedwas, Trethomas & Machen CC |
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6th |
98 Pts |
Cwmbran PS |
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In addition to the two maximum scores already mentioned
“Simon Shaw” by Bedwas Trethomas & Machen CC also received a 20. The
other Awards for the evening were awarded as follows:- |
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Best Architectural Print: |
Caerphilly CC – “Solitude” by Johnny Rogers |
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Best Monochrome Print: |
Bedwas , Trethomas & Machen CC – “Simon Shaw”
by John North |
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Best Print: |
Bargoed CC – “Up Front” by Lyn Dury |
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Tony Wilkins, Secretary of Ebbw Vale Camera Club is presented with the Keith Ferrier Memorial Trophy by Phil
Ray CPAGB |
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25-November-2011 |
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Battle against Cwmbran
Photographic Society |
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The annual battle with Cwmbran was hosted by ourselves on
the evening of 10th November. The competition which was judged by
Brian Coleman AWPF saw Western Valley take a commanding lead of 168-157
following the Prints. This was then followed by a closer battle in the PI’s
when Cwmbran took the round 163-164. This saw an overall win for Western
Valley of 331-321. One 20 was awarded during the competition which went to
John Cooke ARPS AWPF of Western Valley for “Split Personality”. |
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11-November-2011 |
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Gynfa CC – Pixels 2011 |
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Including ourselves a record 33 clubs took part in the
Pixels 2011 competition held by Gwynfa Camera Club in Talbot Green. The competition
was this year judged by Tony Potter, PPSA, EFIAP/b, ARPS, DPAGB, APAGB, from
Cumbria. The competition requires 4 Projected Images consisting of
2 colour and 2 Monochrome. Our entries this year were “Shoppers” by Chris Meaker and
“Natural History Museum” by Haley Martin for the colour entries and “Father & Son” by Dennis Hodges and “Cinders” by John Cooke for the monochrome. Our four entries amassed a total of 66 points leaving us
to finish in a respectable joint 11th place. Further details of the competition results can be found on
the website of Gynfa Camera Club here. |
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06-November-2011 |
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Western Valley Camera Club 2011
Print Exhibition |
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The Clubs Annual Print Exhibition held between the 26th and
29th October at the Moriah Baptist Church, Risca, proved an all
round success. A steady flow of visitors was seen over the four days of the
exhibition which featured over 80 prints from most members within the club. A popular feature was the ability for visitors to the exhibition to vote
for their top three favourite Prints in the exhibition. The results of the
poll will be announced on this website when available.
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31-October-2011 |
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Photographers help out Cross Keys
RFC |
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The club was recently approached by our hosts Cross Keys RFC to see if
we could help out with providing the club match day photographs for use on
their website. Two club members John Cooke and Chris Meaker have stepped
forward to cover two recent home matches.
A 33-20 win against Llanelli and a 6-26 defeat to Bridgend have so far
been covered. |
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30-October-2011 |
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Western Valley Camera Club 2011
Print Exhibition |
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The Club will be holding its Annual Print Exhibition between the 26th
and 29th October at the Moriah Baptist Church, Tredegar St, Risca,
NP11 6BU (see here) The exhibition will be open between 10:00 and 16:00 daily and will
feature a display of 80+ Prints from members of the club.If you require more
details about the exhibition then please contact the Club Secretary, Jan Williams |
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8-October-2011 |
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PAGB Print Exhibition at Blaenavon |
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The 2011 PAGB Print Exhibition opens at Blaenavon World
Heritage Centre on the 1st October. The Official opening is at 2pm
on Saturday 1st October. The exhibition is open from 09:00 to 16:00 from the 1st
October to 29th October (Not open on Mondays) For further details contact 01495 742333 or www.visitblaenavon.co.uk |
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8-October-2011 |
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Member Success in the Newport
Photomarathon |
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Club Member Chris Meaker finished a credible 5th
in the Newport Photomarathon which took place on the 28th August. All the images that
were submitted at the end of the competition can be seen here. Although Chris is refusing to say which images are his!!! |
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15-September-2011 |
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