DIG Chairman Clive Haynes writes:

"At recent talks to clubs I’ve demonstrated the use and advantages of the many plug-ins available from the Topaz Labs range. The series of plug-ins is certainly extensive and they perform superbly – in fact, I’m very impressed.
The plug-ins offer a range of facilities from the very subtle to those with more impact, plus ways to emulate artistic effects (such as provided by the late, lamented, ‘buZZ’). The range includes very accurate and halo-free sharpening methods, microtonal detail adjustments, contrast and tonal tools, ways of giving an extra ‘punch’ to your images and many more. They’re simple and easy to use – at sensible prices – And I’ve arranged for a 15% price reduction to help everyone. Topaz Labs have agreed to a link on my website to theirs. Using the link on my site will gain a 15% price reduction on Topaz Plug-Ins products.
If you would like to check this out and see some example images too, visit my website, click on ‘Topaz’ on the front page and the information’s all there.
Extra information: Until 15th March, there’s a ‘Special 20% Promotional Offer’ from Topaz Labs. Details about this offer is also on my website, plus the special ‘Promotional Code’ / ‘Coupon Code’ that’s required.
Direct link to my ‘Topaz’ page"

See Topaz Labs web site here

We have been forwarded a note by one of our members, the essence of which reads:

If the government gets its way with the Digital Economy Bill, anyone will be at liberty to find and use orphan images for whatever they want. All of this will happen without permission from the creator, as long as the finder pays a fee ... to the government. This Bill allows exploitation and misrepresentation on a truly massive scale. If you care about photography and your images, oppose this Bill now. You are urged to print a copy of the template letter and send it to your MP!

Template letter here (which also explains the issues):

http://copyrightaction.com/digital-economy-bill-mp-letter-template.

Choose either a doc, rtf or txt file at the foot of the page.

You can find the name of your MP here:

www.theyworkforyou.com

We understand the Bill is through committee stage and the next ‘report’ stage starts on Monday 1 March so letters need to go out to MPs now.

Chas says: "I don't know how up you are on Photoshop, but there is a little device coming soon, which I just happened to stumble across. It's called Adobe Configurator. It can be found here - http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/configurator/
For those who don't know Adobe Labs is where they show pre release software for the "community" to test it. Adobe Configurator is a programme that lets you create your own panels or palettes in Photoshop. So if you are always using the same tools or actions, you can bung them all in one place for ease of use.
I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say what it's like, and I think it only works on CS4, so take care."

chashockin@ntlworld.com
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chashockin

In an interesting follow-up to our information published here last July, The Independent has today published a piece on how police forces across the country are now being told not to invoke anti-terror laws to restrict photographers' rights to take photographs in public. See the report HERE.

The day opened with the Regional Group's Annual General Meeting, led by Roger Norton. Roger gave his report, sumarising what everyone agreed was a very successful year. The Financial Report from out-going Treasurer Dennis Jeffrey showed a healthy and improved balance, despite the extra expenses of a new radio microphone system and blackout panels and light traps for the windows and doors. The Publicity Report from Alan Cross outlined the extensive work that had been done on this front, including 'rebranding' as DIG Thames Valley, a new web site, and a comprehensive database that enabled regular mailshots to DIG members, non-member attendees, and camera club secretaries. John Scotten outlined the now-completed event programme for the whole of 2010.
Roger thanked Dennis for his work as Treasurer over the past two years, and welcomed Janet Barton as his replacement. Roger also thanked John Scotten for his work over several years as Programme Secretary; the Group members were happy that John was, however, staying on the Committee as a General Member, principally to oversee his 2010 programme, but also to assist any new volunteer Programme Secretary who might come forward in the next few weeks to plan a programme for 2011. No one present responded to a request from Roger to take this on, so members were reminded that, without a programme for 2011, the Group would have to close at the end of 2010. Alan Cross also stated his intention to serve only until the end of 2010, so the Group would need a new Membership Secretary, and ideally would find a new webmaster, for 2011. We were delighted that Carol Drew would remain on the Commitee as a General Member into 2010.
Much debate followed. Views were expressed on the continued need for a Digital Imaging Group, and also the relationship between the national DIG and the DIG regions, the DIG web section, the DIG Forum, and the mechanics for getting information appropriately published. Mark Buckley-Sharp from the floor was able to give some insight into RPS thinking on this, but the view was expressed by many that the RPS web offering fell short of what we needed, and could not fulfil our requirements for a mailing list. A vote was proposed from the floor to endorse the work in this area that we were doing for ourselves (principally our own web site and mailing list), and this received a near-unanimous vote of support.

22 NOVEMBER 2009: NEW LOWER EVENT CHARGES ANNOUNCED FOR 2010

We're pleased to announce lower event charges for 2010. We have decided to keep the Season Ticket costs the same as 2009 (£20.00 for DIG members, £30.00 for non members), as we believe these rates offer exceptional value (just £2.50 per meeting for a DIG member!). But we now have a single Day Ticket charge for all events, in place of the twin tariffs of 2009. Whereas a DIG member would have paid either £4 or £8 for a Day Ticket, depending on the event, in 2009, for 2010 all events will be £5.00. Similarly for non members, the £6.00/£12.00 Day Ticket structure is replaced with a single charge of £8.00 for all events.
For both Season Tickets and Day tickets, it is well worth RPS members joining the DI Group to secure the lower rates!

22 NOVEMBER 2009: MILLENNIUM CUP COMPETITION FOR PRINTS

We were delighted to welcome Gaston Alziary ARPS as our judge for this annual event. Photo above left shows him during the judging. Above right photo shows Gaston presenting the trophy to the winner - Carole Lewis ARPS - for her image 'The Red Vase'.
The photo above shows all of the winners: (L-R) Judy Buckley-Sharp LRPS (HC); Mark Buckley-Sharp ARPS (HC); Peter Hemment (3rd); John Lewis LRPS (HC); Carole Lewis ARPS (winner); John Scotten ARPS (2nd), and our judge Gaston Alziary ARPS.

Please see the Competitions page for more about this competition. On that page, click on the year to see the gallery

Alan Cross's Photoshop Actions for Projected Digital Image preparation

These are the two Photosho Actions for preparation of images for digital projection at either 1024x768 or 1400x1050, presented by Alan during today's meeting. Just download and save the file to the folder of your choice, open Photoshop, open the Actions palette, and choose 'Load Actions...' from the menu list (top right of palette). Load the Actions from the saved-to location.The Actions work with any image of any size, in any colour mode, in any bit depth, and with any number of image or adjustment layers. The result is an image of the required width and height, in sRGB, with a 1-pixel white border, and a black matt either top and bottom or to the sides, to pad the image to the projector's full image size. You can then save your image (Save for Web or Devices...) at whatever compression you (or the competition rules!) require.

Download PDI Prep Action HERE

Gaston Alziary's notes on Fixer Labs Focus Fixer and other plug-ins

Gaston also makes the following points:

• When applying for a free trial (recommended) RPS DIG members should ask for the discount applicable to them
• If members are asked how they heard about this, would they please consider mentioning “Gaston Alziary ARPS” .
• Always magnify image and preview to 100%
• Always save the file immediately after the application of FFV2, as after any significant subsequent alterations there is a probability of PS and/or Bridge crashing, This has never happened to Gaston AFTER saving and re-opening the file.

Vigilant members will have noticed that the temporary national web site (www.digit.rps.org) has now been scrapped in favour of putting all the Special Interest Group's information in one place at www.rps.org/group/Digital-Imaging. We hope that this will make life easier (and a better browsing experience) for our members. Please note that the regional DI Group web sites like this one will continue as independent entities to provide additional in-depth information about their local organisations and events.

Visitors to this site will probably have noticed a recent change to its style. This has been done - voluntarily - to fit in more closely with the RPS corporate style (particularly the black background of the header behind the RPS logo). We have at the same time taken the opportunity to rationalise some of the pages, and also the navigation scheme. We hope this finds favour with our members (and with the DI Group itself). Comments and other feedback appreciated from all, of course.

Regulars will know that we are sometimes troubled by excessive stray light that comes in through the windows and doors, to spoil our display of projected images. Over the summer we have been devising ways of combatting this. The result is a set of panels that are quickly attached across the windows in all the doors with Velcro, and a set of light traps down the sides of the main windows, again rapidly deployed through Velcro fixings. These have all been approved by the management at the Community Hall, and do not compromise safety in any way. The result is not perfect, but a great improvement on the situation up till now.

We though our members might be interested in information on your rights and restrictions on photography in public places. Please see these links to recently published information:

From a lawyer: www.sirimo.co.uk/2009/05/14/uk-photographers-rights-v2/

From the police: www.met.police.uk/about/photography.htm

The winner, runners-up, Highly Commended, and Commended entries are now up in a gallery HERE. Congratulations to David Pearson LRPS for his truly splendid "Waterloo Escalator"!

The images submitted for this fun workshop, along with the originals, are now in a gallery HERE. We have kept the images anonymous!

We thought members might like to know about this local photographic event on 30 June:

www.forwardevents.co.uk/photovision/windsor.php

It is free, but you'll need to pre-register. There is an interesting lecture by Guy Gowan on Photoshop (includes HDR and B&W) and another on Wacom tablets. Also a talk on Aperture by Anton Nelson. Continuous seminars throughout the day, trade stands, and special offers. Hope to meet up with some of you there.

Following the events of our meeting on 31 May, we will soon be publishing here the entries to the "My Way" workshop, and the winners of the Projected Digital Image Competition. Thanks to all those who provided thought-provoking image variations for the workshop, and those who enterred the PDI Competition.

The DI Group's AGM, Exhibition print selection, and a presentation by Gavin Hoey made up a very successful and enjoyable day at Smethwick, with several of our Thames Valley members attending, including committee members Roger Norton, John Scotten and Alan Cross.
As expected, Roger Norton was duly elected to the Committee.
There was a very large entry to the Exhibition, which kept the judges Hilary Roberts, Tony Pearson and Gavin Hoey busy for quite a while! All who entered had one of their images selected, but, owing to the sizes of the various exhibition venues, not all will be displayed at all venues.

We are pleased to let members know that Thames Valley member (and Programme Secretary) John Scotton is now "ARPS DPAGB BPE2*", having recently 'upgraded' his BPE1* qualification. His ARPS and DPAGB panels are shown here. We are hoping to show some his BPE submissions here soon.

Following the announcement here on 13 March (below), we are pleased to let members know that your 'DIG Thames Valley' Chairman and DIGRO (Digital Imaging Group Regional Organiser) Roger Norton LRPS has been nominated, proposed and seconded to join the national DI Group committee. There are two known existing committee members standing down, and, at present, just two new nominations. If there are any further nominations, there will need to be a vote at the AGM, in which case Roger will, I'm sure, appreciate the votes of the Thames Valley members who are present at the meeting. Please make it if you can!

Members of the RPS DI Group should be aware that the Group's AGM takes place on 19 April, at which elections for Officers and other Committee members will take place. Although most posts are ably filled by existing Committee members who wish to stand again, it has just been reported on the DIG Forum that two general members are standing down, on grounds of ill health.
Formally, all Committee members stand down at the AGM, and each is automatically reinstated if there is no other nominee for that post (otherwise it goes to a vote), so the Secretary will accept nominations for all positions on the Committee. Nominations, once agreed by the nominee, need to be formally proposed and seconded.
Nominations must be received by the Secretary Bob Pearson no later than Sunday 5 April. Voting is among those members present at the AGM - there is no provision for proxy or postal voting. We do hope to see a good turn-out of Thames Valley members on the day.

26 January 2009: PRE-BOOKING & SEASON TICKETS

Owing to the success of our meetings, we have decided to offer a pre-booking arrangement for event tickets. Those with Season Tickets are automatically pre-booked, but those wanting day tickets may wish to be assured of a place, especially if they have travelled a considerable distance. The scheme is fully described on the PRE-BOOKING page. Please note the Tariff for an event before booking - the Tariffs are shown under the dates on the Programme page.
Additionally, responding to requests, we will be issuing credit-card-size Season Tickets (as illustrated on the Membership page), which you will normally collect at the meeting following the one at which you pay for your Season Ticket. To speed things up at the start of a meeting, you should bring your Season Ticket with you.

15 January 2009: JOHN SCOTTEN TAKE ROLE OF PROGRAMME SECRETARY

At the Committee Meeting of 15 January, Committee member John Scotten (till then our Secretary) agreed to take on the role of Programme Secretary, as this was seen as vital to the future success of the Group. He currently also retains the title of Secretary, but in name only - we are looking for someone new to join the Committee to take on this relatively undemanding role. So, members - how about it? You don't have to be an RPS or DIG member to join the Committee in this role. Do think about it, for the long term success of the Group.

12 December 2008: PHOTOGRAPHERS & THE LAW

Members may be interested in a recent BJP (British Journal of Photography) article on the legal aspects of public photography. See the article HERE
See HERE for the full report from the National Policing Improvement Agency (610kB download)

NEW LOWER CHARGES for Thames Valley DIG meetings have been announced. Effective from November 2008 until December 2009, the new reduced rates, for both Pay As You Go attendees and Season Ticket holders, ensure even better value for money. See full details on the Membership page.

Thames Valley member John Nathan LRPS has had an article published in this month's 'RPS Journal' (October 2008), illustrated with some of his stunning photographs. Under the title Into Africa, John recounts the tale of the safari that he and his wife took last year in Kenya and Tanzania, timing their trip to coincide with the vast wildebeest migration, in which two million animals follow a route from the Masai Mara to the Serengeti. John tells us that he was also published in ‘The Iris’ (the RPS Nature Group magazine) in the summer. See John's images in our Galleries section.

Received from the Imaging Science Group of the RPS, and of particular relevance to DIG members:

The Imaging Science Group of the RPS is organising a sixth symposium this year, open to all, which will be titled: "Good Picture – 2008: Digital Opportunities", at the same location in Regent Street on Tuesday 16^th December 2008. A very interesting selection of new subjects will be covered this year but it will again be focusing on important aspects of digital imaging.
The attached PDF (HERE) contain the details of the day and refer anyone interested to the website for the online application form: www.rps-isg.org.  This website also contains details of the last five seminars.
If you would like to apply to attend this years Symposium you can do this either on the website above, or by contacting to me at the address below, by email or by ringing me on the number given below.

After the very successful meeting on 21 September, we are showing here some support material from the event:

'Central Southern' becomes 'Thames Valley'!
www.csdigital.co.uk changes to www.rpsdig-thamesvalley.org.uk

The familar face of the Central Southern's 'CS Digital' web site

On 3 September 2008, we changed the name of our Group from 'Central Southern' to 'Thames Valley', to ensure a clearer message about where we are located in the UK. We have always served an area that approximates to the Thames Valley region of the Royal Photographic Society itself, so the new name is clearly a natural choice. Of course, you don't have to live in the Thames Valley to attend our meetings. You will see that the new web site has a bit more of the RPS 'corporate look' about it, something the RPS Digital Imaging Group has been suggesting for a while now.We hope members and guests of our Group will make good use of the web site, not only in referring to it, but in contributing to it as well. We are all about photographic imaging, and this site is certainly a good place to show off your digitally produced images. We will also be showing the winning images in our print and projected competitions each year.

New look 'Thames Valley' Digital Imaging Group web site