So lets start off with this years acceptances:-

Ridgewood 29th Open International Salon 2012. ( USA International) 1 Acc
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair.

Maitland 2011 (Australian International Salon) 1 Accepted.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair.

Welsh International ( UK International Salon) 5 Accepted including 1 Highly Commended.
General Section.
1 Winters Steam
2 S Bend

Natural History Section
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair .(Highly Commended certificate)
2 Red Kite Preparing to Dive
3 Marsh Fritillary

64th Southport Open Photographic Exhibition (UK National BPE) 1 Accepted awarded a Certificate of Merit
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair

GASO Georgia Southern Circuit ( USA International 6 salon circuit) all 4 accepted with 2 Honourable Mention ribbons.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker on Tree
3 Red Kite preparing to dive (HM)
4 Goldfinch on Teasel head (HM)

Greater Lynn Photographic Salon ( USA International ) 2 accepted including 1 Honourable Award.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair (Hon Award)
2 Black Tailed Godwit

Southhampton International Photographic Exhibition ( England International) 2 Accepted including a Certificate.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair ( S.I.E Certificate)
2 Marsh Fritillary

Midland Counties Photo federation Mid Phot salon ( Midland club salon) 2 Accepted including judges MCPF medal.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair ( Dawn Osborne Judges medal)
2 Red Kite Preparing to dive

54th Saguaro Nature Exhibition  (USA International) 3 accepted from 4 images.
1 Marsh Fritillary Pair.
2 Male Little Grebe
3 Red Kite preparing to dive

29th Rushden P.S. Open Exhibition (UK BPE Salon) 1 Accepted
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair

64th Bristol P.S. International Photographic Exhibition.(English International) 3 Accepted including a HM
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair (HM)
2) Marsh Fritillary
3) Red Kite preparing to dive

10th Virtual Imaging Salon “Foto Club Buenos Aires” (Argentina International) 1 Acceptance FIAP Ribbon
1) Grass Snake Hunting in Pond. (FIAP Ribbon) 

10th Suncoast Virtual International Salon (USA Florida) 2 Acceptances including  a FIAP Silver Medal.
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair ( FIAP Silver Medal )
2) Grass Sanke hunting in Pond

34th Solihull PS British Open exhibition. ( UK BPE salon) 3 Acceptances
1) Red Kite Preparing to Dive
2) Marsh Fritillary Pair
3) Marsh Fritillary

German International Digital Photo Circuit (German International 3 salon circuit) 4 Acceptances
1) Grass snake Swimming in Pond
2) Marsh Fritillary Pair

Glasgow & District Photo Union open ( UK BPE Salon) 1 acceptance (GDPU Ribbon)
1) Grass Snake swimming in pond

Grange P.S Annual Exhibition 2011 (Local Coventry Club showing)
1) Goshawk with Prey – 1st Place in Nature Projected Images  (Grange PS Gold Medal)
2) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond – Highly Commened in Nature Projected
3) Marsh Fritillary Pair – Acc

Photographic Society of America 2011 Open ( USA International) 2 Acc inc  Ribbon Award
1) Goshawk with Prey
2) Grass Snake swimming in Pond. ( PSA Ribbon)

Beyond Group 2011 Salon ( UK BPE Salon) 1 Acc inc Highly Commended Ribbon
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond ( HC Ribbon)

Royal Photographic Society Annual Open 2011.  (UK International) 1 Acc
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond

32nd Northern Counties International Exhibition 2011. (UK International) 1 Acc
1) Grass Snake In Pond

1st Alberta Photographic Exhibition 2011 (Canada International) 1Acc
1)Marsh Fritillary Pair.

6th Malta International Photographic Exhibition (Malta International) 3 Acc, inc Silver FIAP Medal
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair
2) Goshawk with Prey
3) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond.  FIAP Silver Medal.

SICAFI Photo Salon (Argentina International) 1Acc
1) Goshawk with Prey.

Sydney International Photographic Exhibition. (Australia International) 2 Acc + Merit award
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair – Merit
2) Goshawk with Prey.

Yardley Photo Club Annual Exhibition. (Local PAGB club Annual) 5 Acc + 1 Comm & 1 Highly Comm
1) Goshawk in Meadow – Commended
2) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond – Highly Commended
3) Marsh Fritillary Pair
4) Red Kite preparing to Dive

Dingwall National Projected Image Exhibition 2011. (UK BPE National) 1 Acc Certificate of merit & BPE Ribbon.
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond. C of M & BPE Ribbon.

17th Shrewsbury Open Photography Exhibition 2011. (UK BPE National) 2 Acc.
1) Marsh Fritillary Pair
2) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond.

29th Bromsgrove National Open Exhibition 2011. (UK BPE National) 2 Acc
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond
2) Marsh Fritillary

21st Guernsey  Salon of Photography 2011 (UK BPE National) 1 Acc
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond.

 118th Toronto Photographic Exhibition 2011.(Canadian International) 1Acc
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond.

37th Smethwick International Salon. (Uk International) 3Acc
1) Goshawk with Prey
2) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond
3) Peregrine Falcon in Moorland

1st Wrekin Arts International Salon. (UK International) 1Acc
1) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond.

Bebington National Photographic Salon 2011. (UK BPE National) 3Acc
1) Marsh Fritiallary Pair
2) Grass Snake Swimming in Pond
3) Goshawk with Prey

2011 Accepted images

2011 gallery of all my images that are accepted into National & International exhibitions around the world.

11 Photos

Looking ahead to 2011 events already seem to be taking shape, the obvious one being the Blue King appearing at the GCR & SVR Autumn Gala’s. Im also looking forward to seeing 3850 in BR Black on the GCR’s windcutters in Jan if all goes well….

See you in 2011.

Cheers
Jon.

2010 Top12 steam images

To round off 2010, i offer you my favourite 12 images taken during 2010. I hope you enjoy them.......Best Wishes for 2011.

12 Photos

The next distinction on the FIAP ladder to stardom is the EFIAP (E the stands for excellence) this pushes the criteria to the next level with more awards & acceptances  required from  more salons & countries. Ive already met some of these but have plenty more work  to do over the  next 2 years before I’m allowed to apply…….But for now i will sit back and enjoy.

Below is a scan of my certificate

Best Wishes  Jon.

2009 & 10 Acceptances (updated 10th November)

2009 Northern Counties International  (UK International ) 1 accepted
“Night Train”

2009 Guernsey national exhibtion  (UK BPE National) 1 accepted
“90773_26″ (AKA FullPower)

Maitland 2010 (NSW Australia International) 1 accepted
“Common Toads Mating”

7th Holland International Circuit (International) 2 accepted
“Great Crested Newt”
“Black Tailed Godwit”

GASO Southern Circuit (Georgia U.S.A International 6 salons) 4 accepted including, 4 honourable mentions ribbons
“Black Tailed Godwit” HM
“Male Little Grebe”
“Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary”
“Male Banded Demoiselle” HM x3

46th Fresno International (California U.S.A International) 4 accepted
“Red Kite in Flight”
“Black Tailed Godwit”
“Water Reflections”
“Last Run of the Day”

53rd Saguaro International (Arizona U.S.A International) 4 accepted, 1 honourable mention
“Black Tailed Godwit”
“Male Banded Demoiselle”
“Black Veined Whites” HM
“Common Toads Mating”

47thAnnual MCPF Exhibition…Mid Phot (UK for PAGB affiliatedClubs) 1 accepted
Great Crested Newt

64th Bristol International Exhibition of photography ( UK international) 2 accepted
“Emperor Dragonfly”
“Night Train”

 33rd Solihull Open Exhibition of Photography (UK BPE National)  2 accepted
“S” Bend
“Barrow Hill Roundhouse”

Wisconsin Circuit 2010 (4 exhibitions around the State of Wisconsin  U.S.A.) 2 acceptances  (1 image)
“Red Kite in Flight” (Meno Falls & Milwaukee  exhibitions)

3rd International Salon Foto Club Quilmes (Argentina International) 1 Accepted.
“S Bend ”

Leicester & Leicestershire Photographic Society 125th Anniversary Exhibition 2010. (UK local club) 9 Accepted +1 HC & 1C

Open Projected Image Section
BlackTailed Godwit
Common Toads Mating
Emperor Dragonfly
Marsh fritillary
Red Kite in Flight

Great Central Railway Projected Images section
Approaching Rothley
Dub-Dee @ Loughborough (Highly Commended)
Foggy Morning @ Loughborough (Commended)
Tornado Passing Kinchley Lane

Glasgow & District Photographic Union 2010. (UK BPE National Exhibtion) 3 Accepted
Black Tailed Godwit
Male Banded Demoiselle
Marsh Fritillary

S4C International Exhibition of Photography (USA California international) 2 Accepted
Common Toads Mating
Marsh Fritillary pair

12th PSSNY International exhibition. (USA NewYork international) 1 Accepted
Marsh Fritillary Pair

2nd Fotogrupo 30/40 International Image exhibition. (Argentina international) 1 Accepted
Male little Grebe

Beyond Group 3rd National Open exhibition (UK BPE National) 1 Accepted
Marsh Fritillary Pair

2nd Cape International Salon Circuit. (3 International Exhibitions South Africa) 9 Acceptances from 8 images
Winters Steam
Full Power
Night Driver
BarrowHill Roundhouse
Departure
Black Tailed Godwit
Red Kite preparing to Dive
Male Little Grebe

Photographic Society of America Open exhibition of photography 2010 (USA international) 4 Acceptances from 12 images
Barrowhill Roundhouse
Full Power
Marsh Fritillary Pair
Red Kite Aggression.

The Royal Photographic Society Open exhibition of photography 2010 (UK international) 1 Acceptance 8 images
Marsh Fritillary Pair.

4th Great Barr Photographic Society Open Exhibition (UK BPE National) 3 acceptances including a PAGB  Judges Ribbon
“S” Bend
Full Power
Marsh Fritillary Pair (Awarded theLawrence Bland – Judges choice PAGB Ribbon)

31st Northern Counties Photographic Federation International Salon 2010. (English International) 1 Acceptance from 8 images
Marsh Fritillary Pair.

40th Havant Camera club open exhibition (UK BPE National) 2 Acceptances from 8 images.
Marsh Fritillary pair
Misty Morning at Thurne

20th Tallaght International of Photographic art (Irish rep International) 3 Acceptances from 8 images.
Male Little Grebe
Marsh Fritillary Pair
Red Kite Aggression.

Chung Ai 4th International Salon Exhibition (Canadian International) 1 Acceptance from 8 images.
Marsh Fritillary Pair.

1st VNUSPA International Digital Exhibition 2010 ( USA International) 4 Acceptances from 8 images.
Volcano Eruption
S Bend
Full Power
Turf Fen Mill Sunset

28th Bromsgrove Open Salon (BPE UK National) 2 Acceptances from 8 images.
Male Little Grebe
Marsh Fritillary Pair

20th Guernsey Salon of photography (BPE National) 1 Acceptance from 8 images.
Misty Morning at Thurne.

Dingwall 2010 National Exhibition of Photography (BPE National) 1 Acceptance from 8 images.
Marsh Fritillary Pair.

Toronto Camera Club’s 117th Annual open International exhibition (Canada) 2 accepted including a FIAP Ribbon.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Marsh Fritillary Pair (FIAP Ribbon)

Smethwick Camera Clubs 2010 International photographic exhibition. (England) 1 Accepted (FIAP Ribbon).
Marsh Fritillary Pair. (FIAP Ribbon)

2010 Accepted images

Images that have been accepted into national & international exhibitions or Salons during 2010.

28 Photos

1) Taken from the Compo clubs 6435 Charter on the Pontypool & Bleanavon Railway – My first visit and it blew me away with its industrial look but set in a fantastic natural environment. This is a railway to watch!  It has bags of potential. Simon Hopkins added some added interest with vintage vans & tractors. Weather was naff to start but by mid afternoon all hell let loose as the sun came out………There were so many i could have used as a  favourite.

2) Taken from the Night shoot with Oliver Cromwell on the GCR in Nov, It was the end to Russ Hilliers charter, they had glorious weather all day and i had to suffer from the confines of the office as id run out of annual holidays…….But i did manage to get to the night shoot so i wasn’t to disappointed. I have found memories of the Britt when it was running on the short demo track @ Bressingham when Dad paid for us to have a short ride on the footplate! This is my fav image from the shoot.

3) Comes from my first visit to Barrow Hill Round house…It was on my hit list for the year and the massive LNER Spring gala was just the reason to visit! Once again Russ Hillier organised the day with a night shoot in the yard & roundhouse.  I returned home absolutely knackered and filthy but grinning like a Cheshire Cat! What a place!

4) Taken from a superb Charter with one of the little quirky Beattie Well Tanks (30587) Organised by Don Bishop @the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. This line has some serious gradients all around the 1:40 region……The Weather was lovely in the morning and right at the end of the day for the last run. I’ll never forget this one as i went to day surgery the next day to have some stubborn soot removed from one of my eyes that was scratching my eyeball. ahh the joys!

5) A holy Grail for so many people involved with the steam preservation was to finally see the Bluebells Dukedog 9017 back in 1950′s BR black livery and on its old stomping ground the Cambrian Coast  line @ Llangollen….This had to rank as the top of my most wanted in 2009….Weather was OK but not brilliant. Once again this was Run by Don Bishop.

6) The Great Central Railways Autumn Gala had a very heavy freight feel about it in 2009. One of the visiting engines was the WD 90773 from KWVR, Russ offered a charter with mixed Freight & Minerals…I stumped for the mixed freight. Terrific light in the morning gave us some magical stuff South of Quorn…The light tailed off badly in the afternoon. This loco is very functional and very basic but looked so at home on the GCR…My Dad said he remembers them clunking over the Rugby GCR Birdcage whilst standing on Rugby platform. 

7) Another charter on the GCR this time with the NYMR Q6 63395 on the Minerals, the loco came down for the Winter Gala (January) The charter i attended was organised by Don Bishop. A wet morning first thing gave way to some lovely spells of Winter light….Lovely day with a short night shoot to round off the day.

’8) My second year at the annual Severn Valley Railways Autumn Gala. Once again we were blessed with superb weather, the list of locos on display was amazing but the main one most came to see was the freshly restored Ivatt 4 43106 “The Flying Pig”. But one of my fav shots came from the MPD @ Bridgnorth at around 2am Sunday morning! With the GWR “Taffy Tank” 5643. I was joined for the duration by great buddy Andy Gamble and we also hooked up with the ever present Rick Eborall…..Terrific 24hours. Cant wait for the 2010 event!

9) The Severn Valley Santa Specials make a very welcome addition to the photters final flurry of the year, trains every 30mins means your never short of action, many will be bunker first but in the landscape shots with locos that were designed to run bunker first this is OK by me especially if the light is amazing  It was, but bloody cold. We drove past fields covered in snow but upon arrival @ Bewdley all we had were frosty fields!!!!   Buggar, bloody good though……My fav shot came from the Pig @ Northwood lane.

10) My final offering comes from my last day out with the camera in 2009. Once again its the SVR on another very cold day during the festive period – the 28th to be precise. The image is a funny one really…..Its the Swanage Railway’s 56xx 6695 powering up the Northwood Lane bank as it approached Orchard Cottage. All went well i did some zoomed shots on my spare Nikon then swapped to my D300 and 28-70 in the excitement i knocked off the grad filter, that got covered in water off the grass and this is the result! A nice loco front with a soft diffused back drop! Id normally have to mess in Photoshop to get this effect….Hey ho next time chuck the filter  into the undergrowth and your in business!!

A very happy new year to all my friends old & new, thanks for the banter & advice. A big thank must go to the Charter organisers my best images come from these now…..  Its been a terrific year Ive got somewhere near to where i want to be with my steam photography. Juggling work, a young family and all that goes with that makes any day out a major feat of organisation. My final word goes to my lovely wife…without her understanding and encouragement  id never be able to do it! Thanks  a million!

So what have in store for 2010 to date?

• Llangollen’s Riddles Std4 tank 80072 @ the ChurnetValley Railway on mixed freight  in Feb - both firsts for me.
• Tornado back at the GCR  in March.
• Hopefully Black fives 45231 & 45407  running a double charter on the GCR in Jan.
• SVR Spring Re-union Gala in March
• A day at the Red kite feeding station in Wales in Feb.
• T9 Charter at Bodmin hopefully!

And what would i like to see happen??

• A charter with the flying Pig @ SVR
• Jubilee 5690 Leander painted into BR green
• A charter on the Swanage railway with a Bullied pacific
• A certain Blue King come to the GCR for running in………..
• A night shoot & Didcot for the GWR 175th celebration.

Oh im sure theres some pie in the sky with some of these but i hope a few come true……;-)

Best Wishes for 2010

Jon Bowcutt.

The B.P.E. stands for British Photographic Exhibitor, and the number (actually a Crown) reflects the number of images that you have had accepted in salons. The BPE circuit runs all year and includes 15 camera clubs such as Solihull, Southport & Dingwall, each acceptance equals 1 point. the table below outlines the number of acceptances required for each “Crown”.
1 Crown = 25
2 Crown’s = 50
3 Crown’s = 100
4 Crown’s = 200
5 Crown’s = 300

When you reach each target you then apply and upon acceptance you then get a certificate with the appropriate ribbon and the initials which are recognised by all salon exhibitors in the UK. For more info and a list of all the salons with entry forms to download click the link below:-
B.P.E website Click Here!

As well as salons for UK only based exhibitors you can also venture out into the Rest of the World, the best way to find these is to go to the F.I.A.P ( Federation International Art Photography) & P.S.A (Photographic Society America) web-site’s which have listings on all affiliated salons.
The PSA is a club which you can join annually and work towards your star ratings in any chosen area, my PSA3 was in Natural History. As for F.I.A.P this is an association which affiliates as operational members, the national associations of photography. The FIAP distinctions are highly regarded and can only be applied for once you have reached a certain level of acceptance’s in salons around the word and won awards in these. AFIAP & EFIAP are the prized initials.
Click here for the FIAP website!
Click here for the PSA website!

There’s also the PAGB (photographic Alliance of Great Britain) Which coordinates specific activities for Camera clubs & Societies around the country by 15 regional federations. There’s merits up for grabs here as well:-
CPAGB (Credit)
DPAGB (Distinction)
MPAGB (Master)
All are bound by certain entry conditions which you have to meet…..But they cost nothing and stay with you for life.

Click here for the PAGB website!

I hope this has helped you understand a little about salons and the benefits from entering them, it can become very addictive, the more you get accepted the more you want…..

Good luck
Jon.

Last week Dave took me through this alternative method for converting an image to Mono….I like it but the jury’s still out on whether its better than my current method or not.I like the way it converts the dark end but you still have to adjust your levels etc before you start.

So i thought id see what you lot think!

Here’s the step by step guide:-
1) Open the image you want to convert.
2) Create a duplicate layer
3) Then De saturate the duplicate layer (shift+Ctrl+U)
4) Go into the channels (RGB) bottom right hand corner & then do a Ctrl+left mouse click (this highlights the 50%greys.
5) Select Inverse (the select tab in the top tabs)
6) Then click “new fill layer” (7th selection down the layer tab) & select solid colour
7) Select the darkest area of black in the bottom LH corner.

8) Then go back to the RGB Layers tab in the right hand corner and change the mode from normal to either Overlay or softlight. You might want to play around with the opacity if you think the blacks are to dark………

That’s about it but you still need to adjust your levels and colour balance and mid tones in the curves if required…….

I like it and think it might work well with certain images….

What do you think??? Ive added two copies of the same image below with each method for guidance….

Cheers
Jon.

This image has had my normal mono conversion applied.....

This image has had Daves alternative conversion applied.........as described above.

Daves method ceratinly makes the blacks very black and creates a mono with more mood, but maybe theres trade off in foreground & shadow detail?? i hope some of you will give it a try and let me know what you think. As ever if you get stuck give me a bell and we can go through it in more detail……

Cheers

Jon Bowcutt.

Follow the link below for the step by step guide…….

Link to great Digital Mono’s

But having said that if theres some definition (ie you can see some cloud formation even though the sky is over exposed) then all is not lost you can make it acceptable.

The best piece of advice i can give you on this subject is to take a deep breath & purchase a set of Lee Filters amazing Neutral density Grad filters they make them in full & half stops, they fit onto the front of the lens with the Lee filter adaptor & filter holder. Yes they cost £50 each but there worth every penny……I have 3 filters ranging from 1stop(0.3)to 3 (0.9). Get the hard grads the soft grads are very gradual so you don’t get the full effect until the last 1/4 of the filter. These hold in the sky but leave your foreground still correctly exposed. You can slide them up and down to match your composition and rotate them if required. As a rule of thumb i use a 1stop (0.3) for bright sunny days to enhance the blue sky, 2stop (0.6) for cloudy bright days & 3stop (0.9) for dull cloudy days. Believe it or not there can be up to 4-5 stops difference between correct foreground exposure & the sky!!!!!! Todays current cameras have no chance.

Anyhow here’s how photoshop can help you. The examples at the bottom show what can be done by opening the same image in camera raw but underexposing  one image upto 2stops. Then you open both in Photoshop and move the underexposed shot over the original image, add a “reveal all” mask to the underexposed image that you’ve just moved (you will see it in the layers palette as a second image) Once done the image will look very dark,but don’t worry, select the eraser or brush and with it set to black you can remove the darkness from the foreground and other areas that were correctly exposed, but your left with a sky that’s looks pretty good!!! The same rule can apply to a dark image that needs to be brought up by a stop or 2…..i know there’s not pictures to guide you here but I’m assuming you have a pretty good  understanding of photoshop….If you get stuck please ask and we could go through it via skype whilst your sitting in front of the image…. There are other slight tweaks you can do but there minor compared to this one…Have a look below and you’ll the effect it can have…….

I hope this helps anyone who suffers with this horrible problem, it can make a great shot look very naff.

Further info on this topic can be found in the May2008 edition of Steam railway magazine, where Ed Hurst describes this method with step by step assistance….Pay your local preserved railway a visit and find the emporium and slip them a quid for the May2008 Beano! It really helps.

Cheers

Jon.

Modified shot using the method described as above…..

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Original image with no processing……see the difference but you can just make out cloud & smoke definition!