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Date Published: 01/07/2025

Murcia photo of the month July 2025

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Here’s the top image of the month taken by the Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC)

Murcia’s soaring temperatures have certainly not kept LADCC members away from the photographic circuit this past month. The monthly topic this time round was entitled ‘Negative Space’ which for many was simply a challenge in itself, in understanding what to photograph! That, of course, is one of the many benefits of being part of a club: it is never too late to learn from other members!

For those readers who are still scratching their heads wondering what on earth negative space is, here is the definition agreed by members for this competition... it is, in photographic terms, referring to the empty or unoccupied areas surrounding the main subject of an image. This ‘space’ helps to emphasise and define the subject, drawing the viewers’ attention to it, whilst creating a sense of balance and simplicity. So, members produced an array of photos including backgrounds of sky, water, walls, grass, etc., all of which added mood and depth to their photographs.

Once again, Julian Pering produced a winning photo, this time of a delightfully moody early morning scene, with a backdrop of a distant La Manga. According to Julian this was not a straightforward shot as his ‘Alien Sentinel’ photo took considerable effort before the photo was even taken. Over a considerable period of time Julian had collected local driftwood and then painstakingly created his ‘Alien Sentinel’, placing it in his garden to guard against incoming aliens!

He decided to take his creation to the Mar Menor for this photoshoot. Positioning the sentinel in the right place and waiting for the sun to break through had its drawbacks as, to get the right shot, Julian ended up knee deep in water trying to get a good low-level photographic angle. So, what with straining his back when collecting the driftwood, taking months to create his sentinel and then having to explain his sodden shoes and clothes to wife Jo, I think we can agree that Julian went above and beyond the call of LADCC duty to capture this great winning image!

Each month members submit two images in the competition and are given a combined average score. New member Tom Crawford came out on top of the combined average this month with his two delightful pictures entitled ‘Pure Joy’ and ‘Full Gas’.

Pure Joy was a charming black and white photo of a young child playing on the water’s edge, who was seemingly more interested in the water than the wedding she was attending! However, Tom’s favourite photo was of Moto GP biker Alvaro Bautista where he captured a split-second image of the biker trying to keep the bike’s wheels on the track. Tom has visited this circuit, Portimao in Portugal, on several occasions, and advised that he always tries to be in the same place to capture such shots, due to the great light and fabulous blue-sky backdrop which highlights the riders. Readers may notice that there is a common theme with our winner’s photos this month, in that image preparation has been key.

Another photo, ‘Sun in the Sun’ from member Julie Rain, caused a considerable amount of discussion at our monthly meeting as it produced a wide range of scores. Whilst this delightful image met the brief, some members felt that the sign wording, being around the wrong way, proved a distraction to the photo.

However, Julie explained that when she took the photo from the other side, to get the wording the right way around, the image was too dark so she preferred the brighter image. Members then suggested that the brighter photo could be flipped to get the writing correct. This was actually done in the meeting but, again, it didn’t look quite right and everyone finally agreed that Julie had entered the best image. Discussing member’s images has become a really helpful way of learning about how to improve one’s own photography. What do you, the reader, think? Which image do you prefer?

Next month’s competition is ‘Street Scenes’, yet another challenging topic for everyone. Whilst the club takes a summer break from meeting at the Las Claras Centre in Los Alcázares, they will still be taking photos for monthly competitions.

The club usually meets twice a month, at the Las Claras Centre in Los Alcázares, on the first Tuesday of every month and, often, an outing toward the end of the month, where the group gets together to collectively work on the topic for the monthly competition. With modern day technology we can all keep in contact for training sessions, sharing knowledge etc or more regularly via ‘group chats’.

They are interested in hearing from anyone who would like to join the club when the opportunity arises. You will be put on a waiting list and be contacted when a space becomes available. If you would like more information about the club, please do not hesitate to look at the website www.ladcc.es or email informationladcc@gmail.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: