Category Archives: Venture Groups

Venture Groups

Aspire Group Middleton Butterfly House

Aspire Group
Day out to Middleton Common Butterfly Gardens    
February 2024

 

Rob, Suzy, Geoff and Paul headed off to the Butterfly Gardens for an afternoon of photography.  There was much chatter beforehand on the whatsapp group as to what equipment we should take and timings.

Geoff collected everyone and we made good time to our destination.  We enjoyed a coffee at the on-site cafe. 

We had some time to kill and decided to have lunch.  With no hot food available at the venue we were told that the local pub had great food.

 

Back to the butterflies we had sole use of the venue which was perfect as we didn’t have to worry about getting in the way of other people. You have to check where you are walking as they just land on the path and even on us.  They seemed to really like Geoff.

 

We used a variety of lenses from macro to short telephoto. Some of us tried stacking using in camera and manual techniques. We used flash as well  A good day over all and hopefully we all learnt something and maybe some good photos.

 

 

 

Venture Groups

Aspire Venture Group – Guildford Outing November 2022

Aspire Venture Group Guildford Outing 20th November 2022

Sunday afternoon, Geoff and Sue met up at Rob’s house.  He then drove us into Guildford. After 30 minutes looking for parking we rendezvoused with Colston at Guildford Castle as our starting point.

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The weather was a little overcast but Rob, our resident meteorologist, assured us there would be a small shower then all would be ok. We spent some time shooting the view from the castle as the sun started to set.

Geoff and Rob arrived with new cameras to play with and master and Rob used this as an opportunity to practice the auto stacking feature on his shiny new R6.

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The anticipated shower arrived and we hurried to Gail’s Bakery to enjoy a coffee and a cake – Thank you Rob.

Whilst enjoying the break we were lucky to have some entertainment with jugglers and not ones to miss a photo opportunity we started snapping away. Geoff has already posted some of these shots on our Club Facebook page and if you are not already a member why not join?

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We then set off again to capture Guildford by night. We walked up and down the High Street, up to G-Live and down North Street.

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Another little break was had in the All Bar one cafe/bar – Thank you Colston for providing beverages. We discussed what we had been taking and showing each other our photos.

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Suzy captured Rob’s feet in the street light on the floor.

The last leg of the trip was spent walking along the canal looking for things to capture.

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We all thoroughly enjoyed just getting out and practicing and chatting about all things photographic.

If you’re interested in joining our group, speak to any of our members.

Venture Groups

FOCAL POINT AND THE TRIP TO THE RUT

Photos here

The title is a lie actually. Yes we did go to Bushey Park and yes we DID see the deer. The only thing about the trip that had any truth in it.  The rut had finished the week before! Were we down hearted, I should cocoa! We had our honoured guest, Kathleen with us and what she made of our group nobody knows! There was much speculation on what headgear JP would attire himself in, and he did NOT disappoint. Our own Lady Di was very pleased that they had named a fountain after her, and was offering to sign autographs. Ian tried to scare a large stag by making ghost noises, but the stag in question was more wary of JP’s hat and Andy Mason’s beard. Andy’s hand signals need an interpreter

JG was a little quieter than usual, as he managed to oversleep and only just made it in the nick of time. That was useful as he was driving. We were also a little worried about Bruce, as the café was not open by 7.45 in the morning. and he could not get his much anticipated bacon butty. He did get the picture of the day, a habit that has not gone un-noticed in Focal Point.

As usual we had a great morning. Lots of wildlife, plenty of bacon butties, and plenty of laughter. We were delighted that Kathleen joined us and we hope that she too enjoyed her day with our group.

                                                                  JG

Thanks for inviting me, I really enjoyed the day. Kathleen

Venture Groups

   FOCAL POINT – SELSEY LIFEBOAT STATION

SELSEY LIFEBOAT STATION Photos here  

The Focal point Venture Group braved the elements on Saturday to visit the Selsey Lifeboat Station to watch the proceedings taking place during a training exercise.

The crew and station personnel were very welcoming, and gave our group a conducted tour of the Station and the new Shannon Class lifeboat before launching for the exercise. We watched the launching procedure from start to finish and the coxswain carried out a series of passes for our benefit which gave us the opportunity for some close up action shots.

After the exercise, we all proceeded for a breakfast down the road at Bosham, where the bacon butties went down rather well.

Andy and John P returned to Selsey to photograph the recovery of the boat, after the exercise, braving the elements which by that time had turned decidedly spiteful. Probably vengeance for JPs hat!

A most enjoyable morning, and a special thanks to the crew and station personnel of the Selsey Lifeboat Station.

                                                             JG

Venture Groups

Farne Islands August 2018

Farne Islands August 2018

The Club’s newest Venture Group decided to take the bull by the horns, and organise their first trip to the north of Watford. Newcastle to be precise. Some of the group who ventured North, had some great photo opportunities on the Farne Islands, Beamish Museum and several interesting location on the coast. This included watching the filming of an episode of “Vera” at Amble, when the ladies had paid due deference to a local handbag emporium. The mixture of good company, good beer and wine, great food and an excellent hotel, made for a happy week which we are looking forward to repeating in 2019.  Photos

Venture Groups

OUR TRIP TO THE BEAMISH MUSEUM

OUR TRIP TO THE BEAMISH MUSEUM
The first port of call during our trip to the wilds of the North was a day at the Beamish Museum. This marvelous place depicts life as it was at the turn of the 20th Century for the residents of the North East and much of Northern England. The town has been returned to the way it was and the pit village looks as it did all those years ago. The transport system is authentic with the trams, trolley buses and vehicles which operated then, as they do now. The only difference being that all rides are free so mobility is not a problem. What an interesting place for our first visit. It was hardly surprising that we returned a few days later to see what we had not had chance to visit first time round. The difference being that our original admission charge lasts a whole year for as many visits that one can fit in.                                                           JG

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