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Date Published: 01/02/2025

Murcia photo of the month February 2025

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Here are the top two images of the month taken by the Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC)

2025 – a new year and a new start for the LADCC members. With a fresh-looking new website up and running (www.ladcc.es) members appeared eager to impress their friends with another wide and varied choice of photos for the monthly competition.

The theme was ‘Open’, the same as last month, which was a fluke as the themes for 2025 had been drawn randomly. This again allowed members to play to their strengths and, once again, scoring was higher than usual. The subjects of the photos included nature, wildlife (and dead-life, in the form of bones and a completed lunch!), landscapes and tranquil scenes, with the majority taken within the Region of Murcia.

Our monthly winner was deservedly Gary Hull, who managed to capture a stunning image using the technique of Light Painting. This had been introduced and demonstrated by one of our members, Richard Townend, on a group evening outing in Los Alcázares.

During one of the club’s ‘nights out’ (please don’t misinterpret this!), a group of enthusiasts went to a darkened area of the Mar Menor coastline and, under the cover of darkness, got their cameras and tripods out and practised a fascinating new skill. This group of hardy souls (it was cold!) were seen to capture photos of lights being skilfully swung either from side to side or in various shapes. Gary’s winning shot, entitled “Light Sculpture”, showed a great degree of skill using his newly acquired knowledge, and also encapsulated some great photo-editing to improve the image.

This is Gary’s technical explanation: “I used the Live Composite mode on my Olympus (OM System) camera. This lets you shoot a series of images using the same exposure time, with each shot only recording the new sources of light. The camera then merges or ‘composites’ them all into one image. The light source being waved around by a fellow club member was strobing, with each strobe of light showing as one of the thousands of lines that make up this image.

“I'm only just starting to experiment with light painting so there was an element of luck involved in capturing this image, greatly assisted by the computational photographic wizardry built into my camera. The original image was wide at the top, tapering towards the bottom, but I preferred the composition once I had rotated it 180 degrees in editing.”

Gary also placed second in the competition and, for this reason, we are delighted to show viewers our top two photos. His other entry, of a jellyfish, was taken on another of the club’s outings to the natural reserve at Playa de La Hita, Los Narejos. Jellyfish can often be seen around the Mar Menor but, with some super editing enhancing Gary’s photo of the Cotylorhiza Tuberculata, it barely looks like the jellyfish is in the water! They are generally referred to as ‘Fried Egg’ jellyfish due to their white circular bodies and brightly coloured domed head, although I’m not sure this would be on everyone’s breakfast table! This particular jellyfish is not dangerous, just gives a mild sting.

Gary picked out this particular specimen due to its very striking lines and lobes, likening it to a brain, hence its title ‘Jelly Brain’!

Gary was very modest and rather matter of fact when asked about the photo: “I didn’t use any special techniques to capture the shot. The only challenge was the sky reflecting in the water, which I minimised by adjusting the angle I was shooting at. Though I’m really pleased with the image, I would have loved to have better captured the colour of the disks at the end of the club-like appendages extending from the bottom of the body, as they’re a deep purple.”

These outings are just one part of the club’s monthly activities. Although there is no pressure for members to participate, they are a good opportunity to get together with other members, to share help and advice and, as Gary has demonstrated, to take competition winning images!

The club members were also delighted to welcome the ‘Photo of the Year’ winner, Debra Duncan, to an indoor meeting where, with the help of member Richard Townend, she gave an extremely interesting tutorial on Night Photography and taking images in low light. This was a topic which many of the members have struggled with in the past and they were delighted to receive additional help and tips.

Next month’s competition has a slightly more difficult subject matter. The theme is “Industrial” and will test the skills of most of the members.

They were also delighted to welcome a couple of new members who joined the club this month, and look forward to getting to know them and being able to share knowledge and skills with them.

The club usually meets twice a month, with an indoor ‘workshop’, at the Las Claras centre in Los Alcázares, on the first Tuesday of every month and, often, an outing toward the end of the month, where the group gets together to collectively work on the topic for the monthly competition. The club welcomes new members, either visitors or residents, as with modern day technology we can all keep in contact for training sessions, sharing knowledge etc or more regularly via ‘group chats’.

If you would like more information about the club, or would like to come along to a meeting, please do not hesitate to look at the website, www.ladcc.es, or email informationladcc@gmail.com

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Share the pleasure of photography in the Mar Menor area

The Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) was founded in 2006 and was originally called the LA Digital Cafe, where members met over a coffee to discuss photography. This quickly developed into a more formal programme of monthly photo competitions and outings to places of photographic interest.

Over the years, the club has adapted to the changes in camera technology and techniques, and continued throughout Covid by using ‘Zoom’ for online meetings and learning sessions.

The club is now a small, enthusiastic, friendly group where members encourage and support each other at the start of, and throughout, their photographic journey. The group includes a wide range of people with varying skills, all of whom are happy to share techniques, tips and ideas to improve one’s hobby.

They have monthly competitions and outings that provide an opportunity to explore different aspects of photography and develop camera craft and artistic skills. Their indoor sessions may include in-house training, reviews of monthly competitions or planning outings to cover topics discussed.

They meet once a month at the ‘Centro Cultural las Claras’ in Los Narejos, which has super facilities and ample parking. Any outings are usually towards the end of the month to link in with our regular competitions.

New members are most welcome and if you would like more information, please make contact as follows:

Website: www.ladcc.es
Email: informationladcc@gmail.com