New website direction

[Avril Kirby]

Pierre has asked me to explain the whys and wherefores of the direction we are thinking the club website could go. As we've been told by Wendy, we are currently using far more space than we are actually allowed for the fees we pay. Rather than substantially raising our website budget, we can all help by reducing our own images down to 25 that we are proudest of or that represent us best.

This can be done either by "quitting" the club, so that all your images are erased, and then rejoining and starting afresh or, if you'd like to save some of your images, viewing them one by one full size (click bottom right, under photo), right clicking on the image that comes up, selecting "save image as..." and putting it in a folder you've created on your computer. Then you can select "options", top right on the original page and click on "delete photo". Or don't delete it if it's one of the 25 you'd like to show. This is a daunting and time-consuming process for those of us with hundreds of images but it allows us to keep a portfolio on our own page.

We would like to put our best foot forward while going ahead with the exciting Photofest project in 2019. We're expecting that visitors who are considering coming to the island for this celebration of photography will want to have a preview of what might be in store and that, when we open the website to the public, we will have a number of interested viewers.

On a personal note, it would be great to have a bit more club involvement on the site. Maybe put your best photo of the week on and then leave a comment or two for someone else. Everyone loves to have a bit of positive critique on their work. Find an image that speaks to you and just leave a little note for the photographer which says you've noticed their work and given some thought to it. In this way we can encourage each other, something this club has always been good at.

And now back I go to deleting my overabundance of photographs--only 103 pages left to go!   Thanks,  Avril

[David Bartle]

To help keep the website "a more professional look" I have removed all my amateur photos. (I am an amateur and try to remain so, thus all my photos are amateur). I did not join the club to get a professional face or a place to sell my wares. I do not have a portfolio and don't wish to have one. I liked the social atmosphere of the club and the assistance in technical photography that is kindly spread throughout the club at gatherings. I apologize for the off hand, wisecracking comments that I may have left, (in good humour), and hope nobody was truly offended, seems it is deemed  too unprofessional to leave non critique comments. It has been fun. Let's keep it that way. No empires need to be built.

[Simon Henson]

You bring up some good points Dave. There seems to be an increasing confusion about the club working towards 'professionalism'. Professional, amateur are labels that have absolutely no classification in the club, I don't remember who started it all, but it seems to be pushing a few buttons.

I think it's more a matter of SOME members wanting to push their photo skills in any way possible. The Ed program at the meetings is one way, another is to post images on the website and get constructive feedback. I find our members are very willing to share their technical and artistic knowledge with others. On the other hand, some members love to share their images as a way of sharing their experiences and stories when they made the capture. Some members love to talk dirty (cameras, lenses, filters, exposure etc.), some members love the social chemistry at the Club's events amongst the members. ALL of this diversity is what makes our club special. We simply have to find a framework that works for all, and loose the use of terms like professional.

[Curt Firestone]

I never read in the minutes the outcome of this discussion.  I see that a few members are still using the website extensively.  I have stopped posting.  Where so I find the club's decision?