Claire Kent
 

Claire’s commitment and recognised drive was instrumental in building the Coal Country Camera Club, now known as the Latrobe Valley Camera Club.  During that time she has run courses within the club such as ‘Back to basics’ , ‘How to use a DSLR’ and ‘Depth of Field’.  She has held workshops or taught courses on such topics as picture matting, scrapbooking and she has given slideshows at meetings of trips away.
 

In 2006 Claire joined the Gippsland Leadership Program, giving lectures regarding photographic matters and inviting them to the camera club. She exhibits at Gippsland Cancer Care Centre and at the Latrobe Regional Hospital on an ongoing basis and was an entrant in the ImageInaction (2015) exhibition and both the Latrobe Valley Camera Club and, prior to that, the Coal Country Camera Club Art in Photography Exhibitions.  She participates in the bi monthly photography competitions and won the peoples’ choice award in 2011 which had the theme ‘Thanks Dad’.  She entered Tyers Art show in 2007 and the Stratford District Art Festival in 2006.  She donated photographs to the Cancer Care Auction in 2008 to raise funds for their building and gave photography gifts to local community events.  She entered the VAPS interclub competition in 2007, 2009 and 2010.  She co-ordinated a club event, along with models and costumes, at Hanging Rock in 2007 and a Scottish dance group exhibition where the club photographed the event in 2007.

Claire produced the Club Newsletter from 2006 to 2010. From 2007 to 2011 she kept the minutes, drew up the agenda and ran club meetings, emailed notification to members and chaired monthly committee meetings.  

She was club spokesperson in local editorials from 2009 to 2011 and was the contact person for all enquiries. These many contributions speak for themselves.  She demonstrated a strong and positive commitment in her term as president and during her tenure this small club saw membership numbers grow, thanks to her approach-ability, friendliness and willingness to share in her role as spokesperson and president.  She has continued on the committee and attends most outings and weekends away.  She organised Lightroom training weekends in 2008 and 2009, organised photography weekends to Trentham, Apollo Bay, Wilsons Prom and Waratah Bay.

Claire is often called upon in her employment to use her photography skills and this is done as a volunteer. She is strong in her commitment to family memories, always seeing the opportunity to take beautiful family photos of loved ones which she gives to the person at a later date.  She started the club scrapbook albums to keep a photography record of Coal Country Camera Club, now the Latrobe Valley Camera Club. The albums continue to be updated. Claire volunteers in many facets of photography within her community (award days, community fun runs, Shave for a Cure and Starlight Foundation).

Claire has been an integral member of the club. She is active, approachable and always willing to share her knowledge and give support.  As you can gather from all the above, Claire will often volunteer within the club to assist in the running of meetings, outings, learning or teaching.  In the last 16 years her participation in the photography community has been beneficial to many organisations and charities. She is highly regarded and often approached by the wider community for photographic input and support. The VAPS committee and her club delight in honouring her with a Meritorious Service Award.
 

The online interclub system went well this year again with only a few minor hiccups.
 

 

Thank you for all of the clubs who adhered to the rules of 5mm print thickness. Even though there was a slight increase in the number of members using foam core backing the total number of plastic tubs used to transport the prints remained the same and therefore not causing any transport issues.

 

18 clubs were supplied with new A2 folio bags as their old bags were falling to pieces or were likely to fall apart before too long. Clubs should be able to transport their images in one bag as each print should not be thicker than 3mm foam core plus 1.2mm front matboard. The new bags are quite durable and should last a long time. If you have to get a replacement then you can purchase them from Officeworks for a current price of $60. You can order them online and get them delivered for free.

Although APS has started accepting images that are 1920x1200 pixels and VAPS now have a 1920x1200 projector. We will still be sticking to the standard of 1920x1080 for the foreseable future because most clubs still only have a 1920x1080 projector.
 

We also have to be mindful of projection facilities at convention venues.

VAPS has kindly donated to 20 clubs an A2 art folio/folder for the transportation of their prints. The clubs have been provided these as they have no suitable bag or bags that were starting to fall apart or likely to fall apart. Most clubs already use these folders to ensure there are limited issues with delivering of the prints.
 

Several images entered in the recent VAPS Interclub were not well matted and some had to be repaired or rejected.  Many images had insufficient double sided tape holding the backing board to the front matboard, also a number of images used sticky tape or adhesive tape.
Due to the multiple handling of the prints the risk is that the mat boards or tape become separated, damaging either the owner's print or someone else's print.

Over the last few years we have had several issues with the mounting of prints for the annual Interclub competition and exhibition.
 

Understandably members have been upset when their prints come back damaged. As prints get handled up to 18 times during the judging/exhibition process, it is necessary for both the exhibition personnel and the print owners to protect prints appropriately. With this in mind, it would be an excellent step if comp stewards could promote the following requirements, so that their members become familiar with what is expected for the VAPS exhibition. Some clubs have changed their club rules to comply with VAPS exhibition rules to achieve this.

Most clubs already use the A2 art folio/folder. These are available from Office Works at a cost of $60. (recommend: Jasart A2 College Portfolio). The cheaper ones tend to fall apart after a while. Fifteen prints, if mounted appropriately, will comfortably fit into this type of folder.

Because of this need to fit the required sized folder, there is a problem with the thickness of the mounted prints.The problem arises when some members use 5mm foam core backing instead of a piece of matboard taped to the back. This makes the finished print thicker than 5mm and the total thickness of 15 prints is then about 90mm which will not fit into one folder. Hence some clubs have sent their prints in a cardboard box or Australia Post bag.
 
5mm foam core backing is banned from 2019.Those members who persist in using foam core backing, may use 3mm foam core backing which is readily available.Total thickness of 3mm foam core and 1mm matboard will be about 4mm.

To ensure print protection, please promote the following:
 
Prints must be mounted correctly so that the matboard does not separate from the print or from the backing board. If you use double sided tape it must be at least 20mm wide and completely taped around all four sides. 10 mm pieces of tape do not adhere long enough.

Good quality masking tape (not painters masking tape) is available from any hardware store. Framing tape is preferable for attaching the print along the whole top edge to the matboard.

Prints should not be wrapped in cellophane as it has to be removed for judging and therefore creates extra handling and work for the volunteers.
 
Prints that have backing thicker than 3mm, or start to fall apart because they are not mounted correctly, will be withdrawn from the judging and the exhibition.
 
We ask that clubs change their practices and rules so that members do not have to prepare their prints specially for the VAPS Interclub.

VAPS Club Members    
APJA Events in 2019
Upcoming APJA Events.
 

Training fees for 2018-9
 

Danielle LeGassick: editor@vaps.org.au