About the Club

Aims

  • To promote the general advancement of photography and its applications
  • To facilitate the exchange of information and ideas on photography
  • To provide a forum in which members may increase their photographic knowledge and skills
  • To arrange Club meetings, field days & other events to build member’s knowledge, skill and confidence with respect to photography
  • To provide members with links to state, national and international photographic bodies
  • To hold and promote exhibitions of photography

Membership

Membership of TPS (Toowoomba Photographic Society) is open to anyone with an interest in photography. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to become a member of TPS. So if photography is your passion, then come along join us and talk with like-minded people.

The benefits of membership are numerous and include:

  • access to our monthly newsletter.
  • practical training in the use of equipment.
  • various speakers and demonstrations providing helpful information for photographers.
  • competitions conducted regularly with judge(s) proving feedback for members.
  • socialising with like-minded people and meeting members from affiliated clubs.
  • a forum for members to sell or purchase equipment via the club Facebook page.
  • having the opportunity for photographic work to be displayed publicly.
  • mentoring in one-on-one advice on photography.
  • being informed of current photographic trends, exhibitions, photographic tours and workshops.
  • access to members only part of our web site.

Contacts

Toowoomba Photographic Society Inc., PO Box 339, Toowoomba Qld 4350

Email links (click link to send an e-mail):

Committee

Club Patron

    

President

 Graham Harris

  

Vice-President

 Stewart Dorman  

Secretary

 Brue Tame  

Treasurer

 Cheryl Bellette

  

Member Representative

John Stewart

Veronica Sorley

Melanie Emeny

  

IT Manager

 Grant Phillips  
     

Aggregate Competition

Our club runs several image competitions each year.  The Aggregate Competition is held monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at our Club Meeting.  Here submitted prints and projected digital images from our members are commented on and scored by a judge. Images are awarded:

Awards

Aggregate Points

Honour

6
   

Merit

4

Highly Commended

3

Commended

2

Out of Category

0

As part of the Society’s Aggregate Competition, members are divided into B Grade, A Grade and Salon Grade:

  • B Grade is for those members who wish their entries to be judged and scored. Points are accumulated towards an Aggregate score.
  • A Grade is for those members who have achieved a higher standard of photography. Their images are also judged and scored, with points accumulated towards an Aggregate score. To be eligible for consideration for re-grading to “A” grade, a “B” grade member must receive a certain percentage of competition points in one competition year. Currently this is 55%

Members eligible for re-grading are advised prior to December, the start of the new competition year.  The management committee makes the final decision on re-grading.

  • Salon Grade is for those members who have attained the highest possible standard of photography within our club – an A Grade member must attain 60% of competition points in a competition year to move to Salon Grade.

At the end of the Competition year (December), awards are made to those members with the most points in the various categories for each Salon, A and B Grade. Members may enter images in the  ‘Set’, ‘Open”, ‘Creative” and/or ‘Field Day’ subject categories in any or all of the following formats:

  • Prints (all grades – colour or monochrome)
  • Projected images (all grades – colour or monochrome

The definitions for each section category are:

  • Open subject: photograph can be an image of anything
  • Set subject: the topic and definition is specified in the TPS Calendar on our website.
  • Creative subject:

Creative Photography

Definition: Creative photography is the altering of reality

Explanation and Guidelines:

It is an extension of conventional photography into creative art, and its purpose is to take the image beyond the literal through the use of imaginative skill or originality of thought.

There should be a significant photographic content, and inclusion of mixed media of any kind (paint, transfer, digital etc) is welcome. It can be a collage or a montage. The final result must be all the photographer’s own work.  This includes any tools used to alter the image that are not native to the software used, such as

  • Extra brushes that add photographic elements such as snowflakes, raindrops, leaves etc
  • Replacement pre-sets such as skies, sunsets, scenery
  • Expansion packs

If you use image manipulation software you can

  • Combine two images then experiment with different blending modes and opacity
  • Experiment with the inbuilt tools such as colour replacement, invert, free transform, perspective warp, puppet warp, liquefy
  • Create your own backgrounds by photographing interesting textures, skies, sunsets and scenery

If you are not using image manipulation software there are many other ways of being creative, such as

  • Using in camera effects such as zoom pull, multiple exposures, intentional camera movement
  • Cutting and pasting of printed images to make collages and montages
  • Painting on prints or hand colouring

Only TWO entries can be entered in any monthly competition. The images can be shared amongst any of the categories / formats or they may all be entered in one category / format.  Any one image may only be ever entered FOUR  times in one year by choosing 4 of the 5 possibilities – either in ‘Open’ subject, in ‘Set’ subject, in ‘Field Day’, in ‘Creative’ or in the End of Year competition.

Note: Where images have content that may be regarded as disturbing or offensive to the majority of our membership or the public in general, TPS may exercise its right to not display such images.

History

The Toowoomba Photographic Society was formed at a meeting of amateur photographers on the evening of the 22ndMay 1905, held at the Café Alexandra, Toowoomba.  Mr T.K. Lamb moved “That a society to be known as the ‘Toowoomba Photographic Society’ be formed.  This was seconded by Mr Murdoch McLeod and carried unanimously”.

The following officers were appointed:  President: Mr W.R. Robinson, Vice Presidents:  Rev Canon Pughe and Mr G. Moloney, Treasurer: Mr T.K. Lamb, Secretary: Mr Murdoch McLeod, Librarian and Lanternist: Mr F.C. Wills, committee: Messrs W.J. Deazley, J. Moloney, E. Rosentengel and J. Young.

The annual membership fee was fixed at 10 shillings for gents and 5 shillings for ladies and youths under 18, payable half-yearly in advance.

The rules for the society were drawn up by this committee on the following Friday, the 29th May 1905.  The first meeting of the Society was held on Monday, 29th May 1905 at the Café Alexandra at 8.00pm.  At this meeting the rules of membership were adopted and members enrolled in the newly formed Toowoomba Photographic Society.

A newspaper article from the Toowoomba Chronicle detailed the benefits if membership of the Society:

“The Toowoomba Photographic Society which has just been formed should prove a benefit to our amateur photographers.  A great number in the community own a camera of some kind, but as a rule, they are simply machines for wasting plates, films, and chemicals, for the simple reason that the owners have no proper opportunity of learning how to use them.  Few cities in Australia offer the same opportunities of securing good snap shots as Toowoomba.  The camera and chemicals used may be first class what is really of as great importance is the means of being educated in their use.  The new Society will impart this information, and when the warmer weather comes with the lengthening of the days, some very enjoyable outings of the members will no doubt be arranged.  Photography is a pleasant pastime, and only becomes expensive when a quantity of material is wasted through inexperience.”  (The Toowoomba Chronicle, June 1905)

After a century of experience the Toowoomba Photographic Society continues to provide benefits to its members through competition, training opportunities and participation in club outings to further our photographic skills.

Life Members

Listed below are those TPS members who have been awarded Life membership:

  • Robert Brown (deceased)
  • Graham Burstow OAM (deceased)
  • Alan Dietz
  • Graham Harris
  • Tryg Helander
  • Margaret Kebble
  • Alwyn Kucks (deceased)
  • Gerard Saide
  • Val Shield
  • John Stewart
  • Gordon Walsh (deceased)
  • Barry Whisson

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