Directions
Offshoot Photography Society meet in the school hall of St Brigids Girls National School, Park Drive, The Park, Cabinteely, Dublin 18.
Walk With Me
Credits: Andy, Les, Seamus, Olive and Matthew (13th February 2012) The latest Walk With Me competition has completed and judge Philip O'Toole from Tallaght Photographic Society awarded the honours to the panel entitled Stalk With Me. This group was led by Seamus Mac Kenna and the members were Andy McDonnell, Les Byrne, Olive Gaughan and Matthew Roche. The technique explored by the group was On Location Strobist and the chosen theme was a tribute to horror films. Seamus assures us that no photographers were arrested nor models injured during the shoot. The competition had a large number of group entries and special thanks are due to all the leaders who provided their time, expertise and enthusiasm. The Walk With Me competition was organised by Matthew Roche and has proven to be a very successful event.
Whale Watching Trip
Photos by John Coveney
(12th February 2012) Following the good selection of whale and dolphin shots by club members in 2010 and 2011, a formal whale watching trip was organized this year. After some weather difficulties, it went ahead on the morning of Sunday 12th of February from Duncannon on the Hook Head in Co. Wexford on Martin Colfer’s boat the Rebecca C . Happily the weather cleared and the sea calmed down to allow some good seascapes and bird shots (attached – see also the club Flickr page). Unfortunately, the only sighting we had was distant views of an unseasonable Risso’s Dolphin – but the Humpback whale in the area could not be found. To add to the disappointment, the Humpback Whale was found and breached for others in the afternoon! Hopefully, we will have better luck next year. Of course, people can still try for some whale shots on their own initiative by contacting Martin on 087 2657177.
Offshoot Outings
(Photos from Nigel,Peter,Phil) We had an interesting visit to the Victorian Day in Enniskerry where a group of off shooters gained experience of street type photography and asking people could they take their portrait. First Offshoot Official weekend away - Clonakilty Co Cork
On the 22nd of July an intrepid group of 11 Offshoot members Headed for Clonakilty in West Cork for the first Annual Offshoot Weekend Away. After meeting and enjoying a copious amount of liquid refreshment we had an excellent meal in "An Sugan" We wondered as to why anyone would be interested in sculpting Pierce Brosnans bum. Afterwards we enjoyed the unusual treat of a street band and dancing by the famous "Chicken George", a local character. Even after a full meal we enjoyed some Hot Dogs Courtesy of John O Connor. Nothing like it after a feed of beer I suppose. With our heads firmly in our hands the last of us made it to bed in the wee small hours... 8:30 was an interesting experience. Running on adrenaline we enjoyed a full Irish in the Emmet hotel and struggled outside to meet Mike Brown, our Minder for the day. We took a boat from near Union Hall and headed seaward on our search for various forms of sea life. At the start there was carnage as with the rattle of shutter motors we shot the sea birds that Mike lured to the boat. When there was nair a bird left to be shot we set off in search of Whales and Dolphins. With Promises of whale breaches and getting cuddles from Dolphins we powered through the surf. However the big fish proved elusive. Except for the cries of John Coveney from the Crows nest, perfect flat water greeted us. We did, however, get an interesting introduction to the attraction of the Storm Petrel to fish livers (Much to the disgust of one seasick member). On the way back we shot some Seals basking in the gloom of a building Mist.
After steadying our sea-legs on shore and a refreshing meal we spent the rest of the afternoon shooting insect macros at a nature conserve, before heading for home. Although the lack of the big fish was somewhat disappointing we still had an enjoyable social occasion. All in all it was a great weekend where we had a chance to mix and mingle with fellow photographers, shoot the breeze on Photography, have some fun and to spend the day shooting. We would hope to run this again next year, learning from our experiences this year. Thanks to all who made it a great weekend... Matthew Roche - Outings Sec 2011 Outing Summary
Credits: Matthew Roche=Saltees,Ian Gemmell=HuntingBrook,Seamus MacKenna=Saltees,Marie Nevill-HuntingBrook,John Coveney-Baily,Kevin Grace-Ferns (31st December 2011) It was a very busy year with 10 major outings organized and also featured the first Offshoot weekend away. Here is a snapshot:
Walk With Me (Spring 2011): We had a record 9 different teams with a total of 35 members going out on trips from drips to panos, macros to landscapes, street to studio and wildlife. The winning team was the Pano group led by Seamus MacKenna. Here are the winning shots:
( Credits: Dave Whitaker,Frank Courtney,Matthew Roche, Michael Anderton,Richard Boyle,Seamus Mac Kenna)
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