Like the Phoenix we have risen from the ashes and the DIG Western Centre faces the new dawn with renewed energy and a philosophy of mutual self help.

We have a lot of skills between us and by EVERYONE - and yes that means You - chipping in and becoming an active member, we will become a vibrant Centre that everyone wants to be part of.

In format we have agreed the following;

Janet Haines has taken on the Centre Organisers role and will fulfill the admin functions, book hall, send out emails etc.  Denis McConnell has taken on the Treasurers role and will do our annual balance sheet.   John Long will take on  the web master role.

 On a rolling basis each meeting will be run by an Event Organiser for that date.  This person will have the responsibility to run the meeting on the day.  It does not mean that he or she has to make the presentation.  They can choose, and organise to use, a.n.other individual to deliver the content.  

 We agreed that we want to cover talks about various software(s) such as Nik, Lightroom any new Adobe releases. We will cover various techniques, possibly printing and papers.  Once the Centre's funds have increased a little we may possibly even bringing in outside speakers once in a while.  Rather than the print competitions, which we have had sporadically in the past, we decided that a quarterly 'project' might give us all more learning.  The topic is agreed by the attendees and at the following meeting we then bring along our 'project' offering as a DPI for group discussion.  So even if you aren't happy with your result if you were to contribute it to the meeting you would find others may be able to give you help and guidance, from which you would learn and grow.  The afternoon session will continue as a 'show & tell' where you can bring along AVs, digital or print images for everyone to enjoy.  Always a popular session.

 Our venue will remain at the Merryfield Hall, Ilton, TA19 9HG  This offers excellent facilities, with the added attraction of good value yummy food as well.  It seems pretty central for most members, so too good not to continue there.   The day will run from 10.30am to 15.45pm, whilst the hall will be booked and paid for from 10.00 - 16.00, to give us time for coffee on arrival and 15mins to pack and leave.

 Promotion - we want to try to reach out to more potential members and had a brief discussion along these lines:-Each member will encourage other photo friends to come along.  We will endeavour to get web links from some Club web sites to our RPS Western web site (once it is populated and fully active).  

The WCPF will give us some very welcome coverage, including web links and newsletter mentions.  

Our events will be publicised on various Events diaries.

 Members - although this meeting is run under the auspices of  the RPS Digital Imaging Group, primarily aimed for the benefit of their members, it is not exclusive to them.  Both RPS and non-RPS folks are more than welcome.  Indeed anyone who wants to come along is very welcome.  We do have a small  charge for attendance at each meeting - £3 for DIG members and £5 for anyone else. Payable on the day.

 DATES for your diary - meetings have been booked for 

 June 24th - Sheila Haycox is the Event organiser for the day and will be covering various topics which will include, layers, layer masks, opening in RAW.

Sept 23rd - Ann Owen will be the event organiser - details to be announced soon.

Dec 16th - currently pencilled in is Peter Phillips, whom we hope will do us a Lightroom talk (this is not yet confirmed)

 The day will run as follows:

 10.30 - the main presentation

12.00 - project feedback session

12.45 - lunch

13.45 - Show & tell

15.45 - finish

Project for this next quarter to produce an image using Topaz.  If you do not have a Topaz on your computer then you can download a demo from the Topaz web site to give it a go.  To get this do go to the Clive Haynes web site www.crhfoto.co.uk where you will find not only some helpful info on how to use the various programmes but also a 15% discount too if you want to buy.  Topaz is available for MACs and PCs and is a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. 

 We hope you will feel as enthusiastic as those of us who attended the meeting on 25th March did.  We thank those who came along for the day to support the idea of keeping the Centre afloat. Also the individuals who have put themselves forward to ensure that the meetings continue, whether that is committing to take on being the Event Organiser for the day, or a full time post.

 Together we can make the RPS DIG Western Centre rise from the ashes and become a vibrant, fun group we can all enjoy.