Dear Members,

At our last committee meeting we discussed in length a number of topics and initiatives to further improve the way the society functions and promote a healthy and welcoming environment for members.

Please see below for further information.
Field Days:
To better target field days, we have developed an online form for members to fill in and register their interest. The form will ask members to update contact details, especially emergency contacts. This form will need to be completed before each outing.
There is also a section for members to list any visitors they are bringing. We have found that any visitor that attends field days must purchase an associate membership to ensure they are covered by insurance.

This form can be found here:
https://tpsi.org.au/field-day-form/

Judging Feedback from Members:
We encourage feedback from our members regarding all aspects of the Society. Judging can be quite an emotional roller coaster, providing feedback to a judge is often of a negative nature. The committee often become inundated with feedback from members after a judging occurs which we have found causes our meetings to go late into the night (our last meeting started at 7PM and finished at 11PM)…. A massive task for your committee members.
As such, we have set up a separate sub committee that will meet on a different night to compile the report for the PSQ Judges, this will reduce the load on our committee meetings. From here-on we ask that all feedback regarding judging be done through this online form – Don’t forget that you can send positive feedback too…. Our judges work so hard and often a nice word will really help encourage them to continue doing this often thankless task.
Judging feedback can not be submitted anonymously, any feedback provided using false information will be discarded.
The form can be found here:
https://tpsi.org.au/volunteers/

Image Scoring:
After much discussion we have added a new scoring option called “Entry” – this will attract a score of ONE point. An out of category image will now only be considered if the image infringes on another artists copyright or contains material of an inappropriate nature. Judges will flag these images with the committee for review.

Commentary at club nights:
It has been noted that there is a growing trend of commentary from members at club nights. Some of the comments have been regarding peoples images being displayed at judging nights, other comments have been noted regarding judges and also other comments being said during Zoom meetings of a sexist, religious or inappropriate nature.
The committee have discussed this and want to put out the following notice:

We want to remind all members that the photography club is a safe and inclusive space for all individuals, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, and religion.
We believe that our club is a place for creative expression and learning, and we want to ensure that everyone feels welcome and respected. We would like to remind all members that any form of discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. This includes making derogatory or offensive comments about photographs, judges, or any other topic.
We urge all members to be mindful of their language and behaviour when participating in club activities. Please remember that our members are from different background, are at a different skill level and in general have come to socialise with and learn from each other.
Inappropriate comments and behaviour will be addressed.
We appreciate your cooperation in creating a safe and respectful environment for all members of our photography club.

Sliding-Scale-updated-March-2023-1Download
Regards, Travis Lord President, Toowoomba Photographic Society. Web http://tpsi.org.au  Email president@tpsi.org.au      

Concerns / Queries / Committee Contact

Do you need to contact a member or the whole committee? Click on one of the blue links below to send an email.

MyPhotoClub

Are you having trouble using MyPhotoClub?
See the links on our front page for more info on how to make the most of it:
https://toowoomba.myphotoclub.com.au

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Next Field Day

Where: Mount Coot-Tha Brisbane Botanical Gardens
When: 15 April 2023
Time: Details to be released closer to the date
Further details: As Above

Guest Speakers

WHO: Steve Parish
When: 25 April 2023
Where: Zoom & Demolay
Topic: Nature Photography

WHO: Sid Owen
When: TBA
Where: Sid Owen’s Studio
Topic: High Key Photography

WHO: Graham Harris
When: 23 May 2023
Where: Zoom & Demolay
Topic: Focus Stacking

WHO: Allan Rosser
When: 27 June 2023
Where: Zoom & Demolay
Topic: Profile Corrections

** IMPORTANT – ACTION REQUIRED BY MEMBERS **

Update your contact details:
Please use our online form to update your contact details – including emergency contact information.
Link to Form:
https://tpsi.org.au/membership/

Scroll down the page to the form section and select “Confirm or Update my Details” – Fill in the sections and press submit.

Please take note of the Updated Weekly Schedule:

We meet on Tuesdays @ 7PM; Face to face meetings are held at DeMolay – Margaret St Toowoomba Opposite Queens Park
Meeting information is emailed out to members via our MyPhotoClub website.
First TuesdayPhotoshop Masterclass (Zoom)
Second TuesdayComp Night – DeMolay (DeMolay & Zoom)
Third TuesdayLightroom Masterclass (Zoom)
Fourth TuesdayImage Review (Zoom) or Guest Speaker (location to be advised)
Fifth TuesdayADHOC – Zoom

We also try to have a field day each month. Locations will be emailed out, you can see our planned outings here:
https://tpsi.org.au/2023-set-subjects/

Training Notes & Recordings:
To Find the files go to our MyPhotoClub Website and Login
https://toowoomba.myphotoclub.com.au/

On the Menu – Click Training Portal and then Follow one of the links.

Associate members can use the links below to access training files

Questions?

Post in our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TPSCLosedGroup

2023 Set Subjects, Judges, Guidelines and Outings
https://tpsi.org.au/2023-set-subjects/

Discussions around Judging: – Updated Jan 2023
There has been a lot of discussion around judging this year, we are working on some changes which will hopefully improve things for 2023. For further information see this post:
https://toowoomba.myphotoclub.com.au/notice-to-members/

Understudy Judge Program
Do you like looking at photographs? Want to be able to give people feedback on their images to help them grow?
If so, you should consider becoming an understudy judge for the PSQ!

Where do I start you ask?
Have a read through the PSQ Judges manual which you can find here:
https://www.psq.org.au/uploads/9/2/9/2/92924276/2020-11-26_psq_judges_manual.pdf
And then, contact our committee expressing your interest and then we can sit with you to discuss your application.

Members Shirts
Order your member shirts here:
https://tpsi.org.au/store/members-shirts/
We are looking to add some options of TPS hats as well.

Need help saving images for comp?
See the instructions here:
https://toowoomba.myphotoclub.com.au/saving-images-updated-2022/

Want to enter a Print into the Comps?
See here for instructions:
https://toowoomba.myphotoclub.com.au/entering-prints-to-tps/

Equipment for sale:
Do you have equipment you wish to sell, or looking for something to buy?
You can now put them up for sale using our online forum:
https://tpsi.org.au/community/for-sale/