|
This Monday
Nigel Motyer is regarded as one of Europe's leading underwater photographers. He developed his craft through a lifelong passion for the ocean and has been diving and photographing Irish seas since the 1980s. He has an unmatched portfolio of Irish underwater imagery which he will share with us on Monday. His photography has featured in many publications worldwide, including National Geographic.
His work can be seen on Facebook and Instagram.
Outings
The next outing is to the Bluebells at Killinthomas on 6th May.
A reminder for those intending to visit the Saltees to apply for your licence to take photos. The licence can take a few weeks to come through. The link is here and can be sent to wildlifelicence@npws.gov.ie.
We intend to make arrangements for trips in June shortly.
Next Competition
Entries are now open for our next OffShoot Photography Competition, with a €25 One4All voucher to the winning photographer in each Level.
Competition Number 3 of 2026
Theme: Open, Monochrome
Printed or Projected: Printed
Limitations: Up to 2 images per member
Submit Date: 4 May 2026
Judging Date: 25 May 2026
Judge: Patrick Donald (website here)
Printing & Mounting Cost: €18 (normal lustre paper) or €24 (fine art pearl, photo rag matt)
Remember, this is a PRINTED competition. You can choose to print and mount your own photograph yourself – some guidelines here – but most people are likely to want to outsource that job to us for a modest fee.
We’ll be using Steve Crozier/ 360DPI as our printers, as we have in the past.
NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!
We have a slightly different process this time, with an extra step for payment so please read the following carefully before proceeding:
- PICK IMAGES. Choose your best monochrome (Black & White) images to submit – it can be of any topic or genre. You can enter a maximum of two images in this competition. Please remember to name your files using the usual competition convention: Level No-Membership Number-Title, e.g., L3-123-Blue Skies
- CHOOSE PAPER. The standard paper type is Lustre. If you wish to have a different paper type, you need to add three letters after your membership number in the file name.
Paper Type - Code - Price
Lustre - LTR - €18
Fine Art Pearl - FAP - €24
Photo Rag Matt - PRM - €24
For example, L3-123-FAP-Blue Skies for fine art pearl paper.
- SUBMIT IMAGES. As usual, you upload your image files to the OffShoot Dropbox link: here. The closing date for uploading your images is Monday, 4th May. Yes, we know that’s a Bank Holiday, but the Competition team will be on standby all the way up to midnight to receive your entries!
- PAY! Unless you plan on printing and mounting your own images, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to our new OffShoot online store to pay. (You can also click here.) Simply select the type of paper you want, the number of images, and head to the Checkout. If you can, please also include your membership number in the “Message for the Merchant” section at Checkout.
Remember that if you don’t submit your payment, your images won’t get printed ☹
PRINTING YOUR OWN IMAGES
If you are printing and mounting your own images, you obviously don’t need to go through that final PAY step, but you still need to upload a digital copy of your print to the Dropbox link here so we can include it in the PowerPoint presentation on judging night. Insert “OWN” after your membership number in the filename so we know you are printing yourself: L3-123-OWN-Blue Skies.
You can bring your mounted prints along to the OffShoot Club night on Monday, 11th May for collection, as the submission day (4th May) is a Bank Holiday.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION?
If you’re looking for inspiration, have a look at the winning entries from last year’s B&W competition or have a browse of our judge Patrick Donald’s wonderful website.
Finally, if you’re wondering if it’s worth spending a few more quid on the ‘arty’ paper rather than the standard lustre paper, have a read of this.
Best of luck, everybody. We’re looking forward to seeing as many entries as possible. If you do run into any problems, just message John O’Connor or Lionel Barket (in the OffShoot WhatsApp groups) for help.
Exhibition
Our 2026 Club Exhibition will be held in Ballyogan Library (Samuel Beckett Civic Centre, Ballyogan Road) for the month of September.
This year there will be a limit of one image per person. The closing date for images will be the 1st of June.
More information to follow...
SWM - Date for uploading images
A reminder that there is only over a week to go for images for this year’s SWM showcases to be uploaded.
The FINAL date for uploading files is Sunday, 3rd May, and images should be uploaded to the Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/request/CqbqdpuZp5bPtXy8lKcq.
We will then send each group leader a copy of the presentation for final approval and confirm which date you are presenting on. Those who have already requested a preferred date will be accommodated.
The SWM showcases will be held on the 11th & 18th May.
If any leader wishes to include an image or two as an introduction, please use 000 and 001 as the membership numbers. e.g. G-xx-000-Introduction.jpg
As a change from previous years, the maximum number of images that each group member can submit is 3.
Group members should send high-resolution JPEGs to you (WeTransfer works well), with the naming convention as set out below.
G-10-xxx-Stop the Lights.jpg
G-10 is your group number.
xxx is the membership number of the image’s author.
Stop the Lights.jpg is the image title.
In each group’s PowerPoint presentation, the images will be displayed in Membership ascending order – so newer members go last.
G-01 Seniors on Tour
G-02 Exploring Spring
G-03 Take 5
G-04 Minimalism
G-05 Motion / Movement
G-06 Preparation for applying for IPF Licentiate or Associate Distinction
G-07 Silhouettes & Shadows
G-08 Liberties Photo Walk - Revisited
G-09 Street photography
G-10 SWM - Photography Basics
G-11 Abstract photography
G-12 Light Trails (traffic)
Always an enjoyable night and a big thank you to all group leaders, without whose enthusiasm these Showcases wouldn’t be possible.
Hopefully, all that makes sense, but contact us at swm@offshoot.ie if you require any clarification. |
