The Outing to the Saltee Islands on Sunday May 25th. Bus leaving the Arches 6.30 am sharp . Boat costs €25 . Bring Tripods,rain gear,boots and something to eat before getting on the boat to the island. Only take the minimum on to the island, Water and sandwiches or bananas as you will have to carry everything with you. A change of clothes which you can leave on the bus is advisable.

Kieran O’Mahony will give a presentation on Instagram the photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that has  over 200 million users.

We also have Portfolios from Sheila and Brendan.

Instagram is a simple way to capture and share the world’s moments on your phone, Pad or computer. Customize your photos and videos with one of several gorgeous and custom built filter effects. Transform everyday moments into works of art you’ll want to share with friends and family.

Share your photos and videos with friends and followers in a photo feed, or send posts directly to your friends.
Follow what your friends post with the click of a single button. Every time you open up Instagram, you’ll see new photos and videos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.

On Monday night last Blackwater Photographic Society had a very successful joint outing with Killarney Camera Club at Ross Castle and the surrounding areas. 23 BPS members attended on the night and met up with a further nine members from Killarney Camera Club. It was great to meet up with such a welcoming group in this uniquely photographic setting and also be provided with the local knowledge from the very friendly members of Killarney. A very special thanks goes out to Paul Garnett, who along with Rodney, arranged this joint outing. We’re already looking forward to Killarney’s visit to us and hope to see you all soon.

The deadline for submission of images is on Monday 19th May for The Photographer Of the Year competition which will be held on May 26th at 8.00 P.M. The maximum number of images per member is 15 total and they can be submitted in any of three formats  (digital projected) color prints or black and white prints. Members can submit all their entries (up to 15 total) in one format or in a mixture of formats. The marks of your 5 highest scoring entries on the night will be counted to determine the winners.

Members will be entered in three sections Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, however the  overall Photographer Of the Year can still be won by a Novice or  Intermediate if they are the highest scoring member on the night.

To qualify for entry into the Black and White Photographer Of the Year a minimum of 3 of your entries should be B&W prints.In this category your best 3 B&W prints will count.

Entries shall not have been used previously in Photographer Of the Year in any club.

Max size of mount for All Prints is 20ins x 16ins.

Judges will be from outside camera clubs in the Munster area.

On next Monday our normal meeting will not take place at the Arches, instead the club is heading to Killarney on a photo shoot.Anybody wishing to share cars can meet up at the Arches but we will be leaving at 6.00 PM sharp. Members can also go directly to Killarney and the meeting point is at the car park at Ross Castle at 7.00 PM. Members of the Killarney Camera Group have kindly agreed to meet us for the photo Shoot.

Our Fota Island outing was well attended considering the weather was poor at the start of the day.The weather did not stop everyone from getting stuck in and getting great photos.Some of the group continued on to do a evening shoot in Cobh town.We would like to thank Margaret Keogh  and Fergal Mooney from Cobh Camera Club for joining our group on the day. Credits for photos Sheila Angela and Rodney.

The outing to Fota Island in Cobh is going ahead on Saturday next, meeting up at the car park in Foto at 2.30 pm.

On next Monday night we are privileged to have a presentation on Wedding Photography by  David Lavery. David has worked for a number of years as a professional Wedding Photographer and has kindly agreed to share his expertise and insights on all aspects of Wedding Photography.

You are reminded that deposits for the bus to the Saltees will be collected on Monday night.

On Monday April 14th we are having a Black and White Competition starting at 8.00 P.M.

All members are encouraged to submit images on the night in print and/or digital format. As usual we will have three  separate levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced so everybody is in with a chance.

The night shoot to Mallow Castle was a great success despite a shower which threatened to end it prematurely.The rain shower coupled with bright moonlight made for great images of the stone walkways. Around 25 photographers took part on the night.

Following the cancellation of the night shoot last week we are giving the night shoot another go (weather permitting).

Plan B will be a competition using Images Straight From The Camera no manipulation in Photoshop etc.

If time permits Sean Murphy will show the basics of video editing. As most SLRs and mobile phones can now capture video in high definition it is good to to be able to edit and present your videos properly.