PhotoClub UIT-OMPI

Julia Kelly

So my name is Julia Kelly, and I’m a 15 year old student at the International School of Geneva. I’ve only really become interested in photography in the last 2 years – when I was younger I refused to accept that photography could be considered ‘an art’ because it was easier to take pictures than to draw. I take that back completely.

Anyways, I’d have to say what really got me started was this one picture of a leaf I took a while ago, thinking I’d use it as a screen saver or something. When I saw it on the computer, I was stunned – I don’t know why, but there was something I really liked about it.

Seeing an exhibition of the winning photographs from the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2006 was also pretty inspiring – especially those in the category age 10 and under! More recently, I saw an Annie Lebovitz exhibition in Washington D.C. Amazing.

This last shot is probably my favorite of all the ones I’ve ever taken. You can really imagine a story behind it.

Now I use a Canon EOS 400D although it’s taking ages to get to grips with all the different settings etc – there’s far too much to think about! In fact, most of my best shots so far have been taken on a digital compact Pentax camera, which is brilliant for macro photos. Macro is probably what interests me most because it becomes very close to arty/abstract stuff. I like picking out the details, the shapes/colour/patterns you often overlook. It’s very basic/simple stuff. Either that, or I try to capture an emotion or story. I’d also love to learn how to make screen savers/banners/avatars/book covers (like the ones you seen made with film characters etc – corny, I know, but there are some really brilliant ones out there) using photoshop or something similar.

These were all taken on the same day, using the B/W mode on the compact camera. As you can see I have a real passion for dandelions (though only when they have gone to seed).

Things I hate in relation to photography:

1. Overcrowded pictures
2. Aperture priority mode (no seriously I never use it)
3. Noise compact cameras make when turned on/off (when I worked out how to turn that off is when I really got going!)
4. When people just upload every single one of their photos to their facebook / myspace profiles without sorting through them

Useful stuff I’ve learnt: – When forced to use long shutter speed, put 2 or 10 second timer on so that photo doesn’t shake from when you pressed the button (the one that actually takes the photo). – BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE!! Or wherever else you store your photos.

A lucky shot taken in the Papillorama during the macro photography course.

Photoclub: One of the best things I like about the club is all the photography courses organized – thanks. I learnt heaps – especially in the macro one, thank you again Jiri! Oh and one last thing: How many people would be interested in contributing towards one of those machines that turns slides/negatives into digital? It could then be property of the Photoclub, and everyone could take turns borrowing it, because digitalizing old negatives is only really something you need to do once or twice in a lifetime.

For more photos please visit my flickr page.

Genesis Macabalo

It was in 2004 that I began to actively engage myself in photography. During that year my father visited me and I toured him around some parts of Switzerland, France and Italy. It was for this reason that I invested on my first digital camera which is a Nikon D70 with it’s kit lens. I still use it up to now.

What interest me the most are shots of historical places and scenic landscapes. Being an amateur photographer, the camera for me serves as a tool to admire and capture the inexhaustible beauty of nature.

Todaiji (“Great Eastern Temple”) is one of Japan’s most famous temples and a landmark of Nara. It houses Japan’s largest Buddha statue and is also the world’s largest wooden building.

The Nara Park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Nara’s deer are considered messengers of the gods in “Shinto” and have also become a symbol of the city.

These picture on the left and two below were taken within the vicinity of Nara Park. Notice the superb architecture of the bell tower.

Two lovely ladies dressed up as Geisha’s. Not the real one though.

Inside the temple complex of Kiyomizu-dera, one can find several different types of altars. Depending on the type of altar, one can pray and wish for love, good health, wealth, luck, happiness, long life etc…

I decided to pray at every altar. Can you guess which altar granted my wish??? ;-)

This is the main hall and famous wooden terrace of the Kiyomizu-dera. It is currently inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO. The Kiyomizu-dera temple is a well known landmark of Kyoto.

This is the well known Kyoto tower located near the Kyoto Station Terminal.

This is the interior of the massive Kyoto Station Terminal. The sheer immensity of this place easily dwarfs the Geneva Train Station. Take note, the Kyoto Station Terminal is 15 stories high.

This is the famous Mount Fuji. It is the highest mountain in Japan. This picture was taken while I was riding the Shinkansen (the equivalent of the TGV).

This is the Largo do Senado (Senate Square). We passed this place on our way towards the St. Paul’s Cathedral ruins.

The famous Facade of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This too is enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dubbed as the Las Vegas of Asia, the Casino’s is what Macau is really famous for. Since gambling is illegal in Mainland China, wealthy Chinese travel here for the Casino’s.

This shot was taken while I was taking the cable car up towards Ocean Park.

Ivan Babovic

I got interested in photography a long time ago (first black and white photos were taken back in 1980), but the cost was always sort of prohibitive. With digital photography it all became so much easier to learn and improve. I take my camera to all of my trips and I always feel bad when I don’t have it at hand and miss a good photo op.

My current equipment includes a Konica-Minolta Dynax 7D, with lenses Sigma DC 18-200 1:3.5-6.3 D and Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM, Minolta 5600 HS flash, tripods Manfrotto 482 and Manfrotto 190B with 460MG head. I sometimes use my wife’s Canon Digital Ixus 850IS, which allows great and easy macro shots.

This picture was taken outside a castle about 40 km north of Paris, France. I was attending a wedding reception in November and, while all the guests were inside eating and drinking and having fun, I decided to have a little ‘fun’ on my own. The dark setting was just perfect.

The above picture depicts our current way of life, when talking on the phone (cell, mostly) is of crucial importance, so we can’t even stop riding a bike to have a little chat… The picture was taken in Rome, Italy.

This was taken on the island of Zakynthos, Greece. The ‘sleeping crocodile’, as I like to call it, is right next to the famous “Shipwreck beach”. The photo was taken from a viewpoint overlooking the beach, and I thought that it was slightly more interesting than the actual ship wreck.

This picture shows my two colleagues from WHO enjoying the view and admiring the Sphynx in Cairo, Egypt. The two hats looked too cute to miss this shot and they symbolize the bond that the two share.

Finally, this shows the upper floor of the Roy d’Espagne cafe and restaurant in Brussels, Belgium. The floor was closed off for a while, and as I was waiting for my lunch to be served, I decided to snoop around. It turned out to be an interesting moody shot.

I don’t have a particular favourite subject. I find landscapes to be easy, but other abstract shots are more interesting. People are very challenging, I always try to take candid photos that show the real person.

Being an amateur photographer, I do not have any tips to share, except for advice to always try new angles and surprising shots. You never know when the next great shot will come from…

Sherry L. Smith & Xavier Gomez-Smith

To open our Show&Tell page, we are proud to present you our only mother & son team here in the club .. Sherry and Xavier Smith.

Sherry L. Smith

All of the photos I am submitting were taken with a Canon PowerShot A-95.

I like to travel, so a lot of my photos include memorable moments from the places I visit, such as the shot from St. Ives, (Cornwall, UK), …

Cornwall Beach

… after the tide went out, …

St Ives

… or the scene on the Falmouth River (also Cornwall, UK), where I was taking a boat cruise with some relatives of my mother whom I had just met for the first time.

River Falmouth

The polar bear shot was taken at the Berlin zoo. I did not even realize until I downloaded it later that she was pregnant. As I took the picture last fall, I am assuming that she Is the mother of the now famous “Knut”.

In general, I like to take landscapes, nature shots, including animals, scenes with atmospheric skies …

Mother of Knut

Duck

… or interesting scenes that have a bit of irony or paradox to them, like the one of the horse and carriage next to the bus waiting at a red light in Glasgow.

Glasgow Past and Present

I’m still fairly new to photography and know that I have much to learn, both aesthetically and technically. The PhotoClub UIT-OMPI has helped give me incentive to learn more!

Xavier Gomez-Smith

These photos were taken with a Canon A1 film camera using Ilford ASA 400 black and white film. I was using a variable 28-200mm zoom set to around 120mm with an aperture setting of 5.6. The shutter was set to the maximum speed allowed for by the low light conditions, probably 1/250. They were taken without a tripod and at irregular intervals of time.

I enjoy above all black and white photography and I prefer taking pictures outdoors, these ones were taken beside the lake in Geneva. I enjoy capturing amazing landscapes forever on film, but a moving subject is difficult to seize and I feel great pleasure when I am able to catch it. These are among my favorite photos precisely because of the difficulty I had in taking them. When photographing an uncontrollable subject, timing and observation become more important than settings or equipment.

Equipment is important though. An added difficulty was using a traditional film camera without an auto focus. However, the cost and storage limitations of film help me concentrate on thinking my photos through before I start. To my surprise the six photos I took of these birds turned out exactly as you see them without any need to crop or edit. I enjoy digital photography and am an amateur photoshopper. I would like to improve my skills in these two areas because digital photography is the wave of the future, and to a large extent, the present.

As a member of the dying species of film photographers, I must bow down before the digital medium because of its technical excellence today, but especially because it allows the fast and easy sharing of photos. I am very glad to be part of a photo club where the members specialize in digital photography and where the organizers make full use of the digital format to run this much appreciated home page. My only wish is that one day you all get to experience the unforgettable odors and stimulating atmosphere of the dark room.