History 2014 - Present

2021
This year’s activities were again disrupted by Covid restrictions. For a brief period from April to June, we were able to meet in person, but all other meetings were held on Zoom. Nevertheless, we maintained a regular program of meetings on Zoom, with enthusiastic participation in competitions and many stimulating presentations. The Portfolio Program was the most severely impacted, so the final exhibition was deferred until March 2022. The Committee decided to introduce a new category of free membership called “Friend of NCP” for members who were no longer able to participate in activities but were keen to keep in touch via InFocus and Facebook.
The year started with a social competition on the appropriate subject of “Hope”. For the annual point-scoring competitions:

• Analia Paino judged “Shadows, Reflections and Silhouettes”
• Alan Rose judged “Cityscapes”, which was also the topic for Photorally in May.
• Don Munro judged: “Creative, Abstract and Surreal”
• Tanya du Toit, Tim Moon and Allan Coker judged “Open”
• and Malcolm Fackender judged “Interconnected”, which was the topic for the Interclub Competition with Mosman and Lane Cove.

• Mieke Boynton presented brilliant landscapes and aerial shots
• Peter Hammer showcased his creative photography
• Janet Tavener presented some fine art prints
• Meredith Schofield introduced her book on travels around Australia in a Kombi van
• Mark Ward introduced Sydney Video Makers and showed some of their work
• Sandra Dann was using lockdown to resurrect throw-away photos
• Don Munro told us all about Maximalism
• and Steve Mullarkey gave workshops on Long Exposure and How to Make an AV.

Outings were mainly confined to the first part of the year, with walks around the Malabar rifle range, Somersby and Mt Penang gardens, sunrise at Long Reef and several city walks with Dex Dijkstra. The weekends away to Newcastle and Mudgee were particularly enjoyable socialising occasions. Participants on these trips created “Postcards” which were popular features of InFocus.

At the AGM in November, John Pettet stepped down from the Committee after many years of service. Margaret Frankish and Howard Morris joined the Committee.

2022

The first meeting of the year was once again held on Zoom, with the topic of “Freedom”. Fortunately, freedom returned at the end of the month and normal activities continued for the rest of the year. The 2021 portfolios were successfully exhibited in March, with assessments provided by Len Metcalf.

This year marked the 70^th anniversary of Northside Creative Photography. A dinner was held at Roseville Club in May at which the guest speaker, John Swainston, speculated on the future of photography and Judith Bennett conducted a fun quiz about the club and its history.

For the monthly competitions:

• Don Munro assessed images on “Maximalism”
• Allan Rose judged “Nature” images
• John and Leanne Alessi judged “Portraits”
• Sandra Dann judged “Decay” which was the topic of the Interclub event with Mosman and Lane Cove
• Don Dickens, Tanya du Toit, Meredith Schofield, Pieta Ward and Dex Dijkstra judged “Open” competitions.

• Glen Smith featured nature and wildlife in Australian botanic gardens
• Allen Coker demonstrated flash photography
• Don Dickens discussed design principles
• Ian Ledgard showed ‘before and after’ image transformations
• Alfonso Calero presented his smartphone photography
• Don Munro explained minimalism
• Jan Glover spoke about her creative approach to photography
• Hemant presented “My Artistic Journey”
• Alia Naughton presented AVs made by members.

Weekends away to the Snowy Mountains and Junee (for the Canola Trail) were very successful. Shorter outings included visits to Vivid Sydney, Cockatoo Island, Cumberland State Forest, sunsets at Pyrmont and Balls Head, a wildflower ramble in St Ives and walks around the city and Newtown with Dex Dijkstra. The topic for  Photorally was “Sydney by Night”.

At the AGM, Jan Glover stepped down from the Committee after 14 years as Vice President and 26 years on the Committee. She was a Life Member, and her enormous contribution to the club was gratefully acknowledged. Nigel Streatfield and Heather Miles also stepped down. Howard Morris became Vice President and Guy Machan, Rod Carter and Robin Miller joined the committee.

2023
In January, our valued member and friend Peter Sambell sadly passed away. Peter was always cheerful and helpful, and his presence will be sorely missed. 

This year saw the establishment of two Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to nurture skills in Lighting and Audio-Visual production. A large number of members also joined the Portfolio Program and Susan Buchanan generously opened her home on three afternoons each month for mentoring and group interaction.

For the monthly competitions:
 

• Don Munro judged “Minimalism”
• Tanya du Toit judged “Creative” images
• Don Dickens reviewed images showing “My Vision of the Future”
• Oriana Mitchell judged “A Few of My Favourite Things”
• Martin Mischkulnig judged “Architecture” images
• Dex Dijkstra judged images showing “A Moment” which was also the topic for the Interclub competition with Mosman and Lane Cove
• Pieta Ward judged “Slow Time”
• Doug Carley and Ignacio Palacios judged “Open” competitions.

• John Swainston presented his book “Sydney Lockdown”
• Absolutely AI gave us a glimpse of the future role of AI in photography
• Gail MacDiarmid presented her drone photography
• Michael Hing showed images of his travels in Ethiopia
• Susan Buchanan spoke on visual communication
• and we saw a video from David du Chemin on “The Heart of the Photograph”

We enjoyed a long weekend in Orange and an outing to Narrabri with a focus on astro-photography. The Photorally topic was “Arches”, helped by visits to the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Central Railway and the Harbour Bridge.

At the AGM, the Treasurer advised that the club had 77 members. Howard Morris stepped down from the Committee and Maria Mazo was elected as a new member.

2024
This year a new “Photoshop” Special Interest Group was formed, in addition to the Lighting and AV groups. All groups were very productive during the year and contributed to the Members Presentation Night at the end of the year.

In June, John Pettett stopped producing InFocus, due to perceived loss of interest by members. This decision was reversed at the end of the year, with publication to resume in 2025.

In July, the club mourned the passing of Jacques Roussel. Jacques was a life member of NCP, having joined in 1996 and served several years as Vice President. He was a fine photographer and a friendly presence at the front desk, welcoming members to meetings.
For the annual point-scoring competitions:
 

• Dennis Jones judged a “Nature” competition
• Dex Dijkstra was in his element with “Mono in Mono”
• Pieta Ward judged our “Abstract” images
• Don Munro judged “Futurism” following his presentation on that topic
• Tanya du Toit judged our “Creative” efforts
• Don Dickens assessed our “Shapes and Forms” which was also the topic of the Interclub event
• Robin Moon judged “Landscapes and Seascapes”
• Alan Coker judged our “Sport” images following his presentation on that topic
• David Groundwater judged an “Open” competition

• Bruce Usher, on his editorial project “A Few of My Favourite Things”
• Kerry Boytell on “My Nature Journey”
• Samuel Markham on landscape photography
• Federico Rekowski on his unique narrative approach
• Nilmini de Silva on aerial and abstract views
• Mieke Boynton on awesome abstracts
• and Len Metcalf on composition

Members had fun at the Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival in March and enjoyed springtime in Mayfield Gardens and Oberon in October. Day outings included a guided tour of the “Shot” Exhibition at the NSW Library, exploration of White Bay Power Station and a Church Crawl in Sydney.

At the AGM, Maria Mazo stepped down from the Committee and Liz Bell was elected as a new member. At that meeting, members adopted a new NCP Constitution. The update was necessary to comply with changes to the NSW Associations Incorporation Act and Regulations.