Resources
Past Purbeck U3A Photography Group
About the Creative Photography Group
The development of affordable, good quality digital cameras and easy-to-use editing software for the home computer has made photography immensely popular. However, few of us take full advantage of the amazing range of possibilities that digital photography has to offer. The ‘language’ of digital photography can sometimes seem at best baffling and at worst, impenetrable and it is tempting to leave the camera on the fully automatic setting. However, if you spend time getting to know your camera’s controls and experimenting with the various settings, you’ll quickly see an improvement in the quality of your images.
Armed with a sound knowledge of the camera’s settings, learn how to put that knowledge to creative use. The principles of exposure, depth-of-field, selective focusing and shutter speed are essential concepts to understand in order to advance you photography.
Learn the principles of composition and start to think in visual terms. The ability to see the potential for a strong picture and then organise the graphic elements into a compelling composition is a key skill in making photographs. This skill can be learned through practice and looking at the work of the great photographers. While holiday snaps and family photographs can be printed directly from the memory card or camera, for creative images with maximum quality, you will want to use basic (or more advanced) image-editing software that will enhance your images considerably.
The Purbeck U3A Creative Photography group aims to explore the various technical and artistic aspects of digital photography through talks, workshops and projects. Members are encouraged to explore the potential of their cameras and to submit selected images for group discussion which is a valuable way to advance their photographic skills.
By Tony Smith
(Group Leader)
(Group Leader)
Some members of the Creative Photography group ‘on location’ at Harman’s Cross station waiting to photograph steam trains passing on the Swanage Railway
As a group we covered a great deal of theoretical and practical material over the years. However, it became increasingly difficult for me to sustain this momentum. As no one felt willing or able to take over the leader role, it was decided to close the group.
However, the possibility of running short photographic workshops around specific topics will be a possibility in our newly formed Purbeck U3A Information Technology Group.