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Date Published: 02/12/2024

Murcia photo of the month December 2024

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Here are the top images for last month’s competition taken by the Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC)

The last monthly meeting of the Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) saw the group members expanding their horizons with a visit from a member of a South African camera club.

Antoon joined the meeting and gave a short presentation on some wildlife photography taken in South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park. A delightful array of photographs and techniques were shown to members, along with explanations about the type of interests and operations that his club in South Africa performs.

It was an excellent insight into how a camera club from another continent operates and the Los Alcázares group was delighted to receive Antoon because, despite the geographical distance, both clubs appeared to enjoy similar photographic aims and goals.

Returning to their (slightly) less romantic domestic scene, the club members had participated in another challenging monthly competition entitled “Timepieces”.

There was a wonderful array of photos to be viewed and discussed. These included various styles of watches, clocks, egg-timers, an 18th century bell tower clock and romantic pairs of wedding watches. As usual, fervent discussion took place within the meeting and the winner was Ricci Desai with his photo entitled ‘Eye of Time’.

This unusual and challenging image by Ricci used an advanced technique for capturing the shot. As you can see, his photo of a clock resembles an eye due to the focusing effect he used.

The photo was not easy to create but, after multiple attempts, Ricci achieved a wonderful interpretation of a timepiece. As Ricci explains: “This image was created using a technique of zooming in and out, coupled with a high dose of patience and plenty of black coffee. The idea was to create the illusion of motion radiating from the clock’s centre. I started with a photograph of a simple clock, but I wanted to make the clock special. However, the journey from ordinary clock to something special was anything but simple.

“The process involved first capturing a series of photographs of the clock itself, experimenting with various angles, exposures and zooming in/out to capture the right radiating motion from the clock’s centre. After more than 50 trial-and-error shots (each missed shot testing my patience!) I finally got the effect I wanted. But the story didn’t end there! I loaded the image as a screensaver on my computer, which filled the screen so enhanced the white dial that made the clock appear as if it were glowing from within. I decided this was the effect I wanted so needed to take a photo of the screensaver photo! To emphasise the ethereal quality of the image the entire setup was in complete darkness. The camera was mounted on a tripod to capture a crisp shot of the computer screen without any shakes, rendering the background entirely black and increasing the brightness of the centre with the right exposure. This allowed the clock’s shape to float almost hauntingly in the frame, with a delicate reflection at the bottom, adding a touch of elegance that I didn’t plan on! The whole thing took more than 10 shots to get the right exposure – not easy to do in complete darkness.”

Not only did Ricci complete this great shot in complete darkness but he was so engrossed that he forgot the time (pun intended!) and his wife had to come and stop him from working on this in the early hours!

Ricci was pleased with his end result and, despite the many hours it took to get his photo, he felt that his photo was “as much about the art of photography as it is about the passage of time!”

Only after the competition did one of our members provide the group with the reason why she liked her photograph so much. Although she considered her photo as not of winning merit, Jill Francis brought smiles to everyone’s faces when we heard the actual sound behind the image! This chirping timepiece just goes to show that if a photo makes you smile, then surely it constitutes a good photo?!

The final competition of 2024 has an “Open” title, as in free choice, and will enable members to show off their skills on any type of photo they like, be it a complex studio-type photo, an all-action shot, perhaps some macro photography or just a personal favourite.

The club’s final meeting of 2024 will be followed by a short AGM to complete business for the year and then the Christmas festivities will start, with a meal hosted by the Las Claras centre in Los Alcázares.

The club usually meets twice a month with an indoor workshop and, often, an outing toward the end of the month where the group gets together to collectively work on the monthly competition. The club welcomes new members, either visitors or residents, as with modern day technology we can all keep in contact for training sessions and sharing knowledge via ‘group chats’. If you would like to come along to a meeting, please contact Jill via email on informationladcc@gmail.com in order to receive an appropriate warm welcome.

If you would like more information about the Club, you can visit the website www.Los-alcazares-camera.club.com

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Share the pleasure of photography in the Mar Menor area

The Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) was founded in 2006 and was originally called the LA Digital Cafe, where members met over a coffee to discuss photography. This quickly developed into a more formal programme of monthly photo competitions and outings to places of photographic interest.

Over the years, the club has adapted to the changes in camera technology and techniques, and continued throughout Covid by using ‘Zoom’ for online meetings and learning sessions.

The club is now a small, enthusiastic, friendly group where members encourage and support each other at the start of, and throughout, their photographic journey. The group includes a wide range of people with varying skills, all of whom are happy to share techniques, tips and ideas to improve one’s hobby.

They have monthly competitions and outings that provide an opportunity to explore different aspects of photography and develop camera craft and artistic skills. Their indoor sessions may include in-house training, reviews of monthly competitions or planning outings to cover topics discussed.

They meet once a month at the ‘Centro Cultural las Claras’ in Los Narejos, which has super facilities and ample parking. Any outings are usually towards the end of the month to link in with our regular competitions.

New members are most welcome and if you would like more information, please make contact as follows: