Club Presentation: Michael Strapec

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Michael Strapec in front of a number of his prints.

We were treated to a rare presentation of the work of club member, Michael Strapec, last night. It was a mix of pre-recorded video and digital images. Michael shared a large selection of images, and offered insight into how he took them, his motivation and ideas. He offered tips for working with reluctant younger family members (a trip to the toy store!) as well as showing off his bag of props he uses for his outstanding portraits.

It was a hugely enjoyable evening. Michael’s stories about his photography were entertaining, and his photos of a recent trip to Romania were a peek into a very different world for club members.

You can see some of Michael’s work on his website at michaelstrapec.com or follow him on Instagram here.

Club exhibition at Blarney Library for month of February

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For the month of February, Blarney Library will be hosting an exhibition of photos by Blarney Photography Club. Call in to their premises in the Square, Blarney Village to see the exhibit.

4 people standing in a library, surrounded by books with photos mounted above.
Pictured at the launch (L-R) are Jim O’Riordan (Treasurer BPC), Ruth Long (Assistant Librarian, Cork City Libraries), Ger O’Halloran (Secretary BPC) and Tadhg Hurley (Chairman BPC).

The exhibition is a collection of work by Advanced, Non Advanced and Beginner grade Photographers.

Congrats to Fergal and Jim on their wins

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Members of the club competed in the recently held John Doheny Memorial Shield 2023, and two came away with awards.

Fergal O’Callaghan competed in the Advanced section and came in third place with his photo of the Fisherman’s Cottage in Connemara.

Jim Rocks came joint first place in the Non-Advanced section with a long exposure shot of waves crashing on rocks just offshore.

Well done, both of you. Lovely and inspiring shots. We all need to get out more with our cameras!

You will find the other winning images on the SACC Facebook page here.

A video showing all entries has been prepared by Mark Gorman and is well worth a watch.

September 2022 Club Photo League

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Our monthly photography competition restarted for the current season in September 2022. During the many lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic we held several competitions online using Zoom, but this would be the first in-person competition. There was no theme for this competition.

It would also be the first one where we collected the votes from members electronically using their phones to vote, instead of pen and paper. This allowed us to quickly count the votes as they were already in a spreadsheet. A post explaining how we used our Crowdsignal account to create a survey, and then export it to Google Sheets will follow.

There were three sections:

  • Colour
  • Mono
  • Projected

Members are split into 3 grades. Here are the winners for each grade:

In Grade 3, Caoimhe Murphy won the colour and mono competitions with these photos.

Joe Murphy had the highest score of the grade 3 members in the projected competition:

In Grade 2, Catherine Daly won the mono competition:

Jim Rocks won the colour:

Donncha O Caoimh won the projected section:

In grade 1, Tadhg Hurley won both projected and mono with these images:

and Seamus Mulcahy won the colour:

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered.

Congratulation Seamus on your Associateship

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Associateship panel by Seamus Mulcahy AIPF

This morning, Seamus Mulcahy’s panel earned him his Associateship Distinction from the Irish Photographic Federation. Hard work, plenty of time and effort, and his skill earned him this award.

All of us here in Blarney Photography Club congratulate you, Seamus, and we look forward to the club meeting next Thursday when you present your panel for our viewing.

Seamus is the fifth member of the club to earn their Associateship, following in the footsteps of Fergal O’Callaghan, Mark Gorman, Rory O’Connor and Cian O’Mahony. Bill Power has a Fellowship distinction. If anyone wants to go forward to that, perhaps Bill can help them.

What is the Associateship? The IPF offers a summary of what they’re looking for on their website:

The Irish Photographic Federation awards distinctions on three levels – Licentiate, Associate and Fellow, in ascending order.
The Associateship is the second of these levels and requires a panel of fifteen images to be presented for assessment. The panel should sit together as a cohesive body of work and demonstrate the applicant’s individuality and sustained ability in photography. Successful applicants are entitled to use the letters AIPF after their name.

The Irish Photographic Federation

At the 2022 Club Open Night

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We had a great night at the open night last Thursday. Club members brought along prints they had made for display on the night. Granted, most prints were made before the pandemic when we were meeting “in real life” and had in-person competitions, but it was nice to see some familiar photos re-emerge into the light of day.

Here below are a selection of photos Henry took on the night. It was great to see so many people. I look forward to the weekly meetings!

A Trip to Owenahincha

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Members of the club travelled to Owenahincha beach last Thursday night for some seascape photography. Conditions did not look good at first, with a blank cover of fog and white cloud overhead but as sunset approached the skies cleared enough to reveal some colour to be seen.

Thanks to Jayne, Catherine, Henry, Rory and Tadhg for the great photos!

2022 Club Open Night on September 1st

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NEW MEMBERS WELCOME

Blarney Photography Club will be holding an open night at 7.30pm on Thursday, September 1st 2022, in Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál Secondary School, Blarney.

Some of the activities we offer include:

  • 8 week beginner classes
  • Informative tutorials & fun outings
  • Competitions and exhibits
  • Extensive programme of events
  • Regular interaction with other photographers

Come along and see if we can help you. Open to new members (over 18) of all standards.

  • Talk to current members on the night about the club. Find out what we do and what you can learn.
  • An exhibit of works by members of the club will be on display.
  • Refreshments will be available.

Take your photography to the next level!

Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál, Blarney on Google Maps.