Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
SRGC Shows and Events => Events => Topic started by: Nick_the_grief on March 02, 2011, 12:33:56 PM
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I guess you all know but it's the AGS show on Saturday at Loughborough. If I get chance I'm going to stick my nose in and see what it's all about. Is anyone else going to be there?
Details below
March 5 †
12 noon to 4.00pm
LOUGHBOROUGH SHOW,
Burleigh Community College,
Thorpe Hill, Loughborough,
LE11 4SQ.
(J23, M1; A512 towards Loughborough; look for signs after first roundabout.)
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Nick,
Mandy and me will be there along with quite a few other forumists no doubt. Will keep a look out for you.
Cheers
Mick
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Why is it that as well as the vision of Show Secretaries Doreen and Eric Webster working away on all the show preparations I also get a vision of dozens of folk baking busily to fuel the cake needs of the show visitors? ;)
Have a great day out!
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If the weather holds then we will be there, as usual. Trying once again to get the White balance right so the awful lighting does not spoil the photographs!
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I'll keep my eye out for a smiling yorkshire man and a white cockerel with a camera then ;D I'll be the good looking one sneaking cuttings :o (only joking about the
good looking last bit)
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Hello all,Just had a phone call from Doreen on a Loughborough show matter,The entries are very good,
not at all poor as you may think after the bad winter,(so that rules me out)So do not miss out on a good show,there are also nine or ten plant stalls,see you there then.Tony
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I should have told you that the plant sales area is open from 10 00am you will find plenty to tempt you to spend a few bob.
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Why is it that as well as the vision of Show Secretaries Doreen and Eric Webster working away on all the show preparations I also get a vision of dozens of folk baking busily to fuel the cake needs of the show visitors? ;)
Have a great day out!
Never mind the cakes....first training session of the season for Pudsey piglets :D :D :D :D And no doubt a discussion as to where the competition will be held this year.
Don't like the sound of that good entry bit from Tony, going to be too much competition fro me (as usual) :'( :'( :'( :'(
Can't remember Doreen doing anything but fret about whether enough plants would turn up.
And for the forumists who don't know me, look for the cherubic 2 year old, exactly like my Avatar....or ask the grumpy, bearded, balding Scotsman with a Stewards badge who I am!
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Taking your lettuce along Martin? :P
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That pub carvery was very good in February Martin,we were outnumbered by our friends from further north,perhaps we ought to ask Brian to give them a ring to warn them of an invasion.
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Never mind the cakes....first training session of the season for Pudsey piglets :D :D :D :D
Yippee ;D ;D
And no doubt a discussion as to where the competition will be held this year.
Definitely top of the the agenda, we have to get our priorities right.
And for the forumists who don't know me, look for the cherubic 2 year old, exactly like my Avatar....
yeh, yeh ;D
and for forumists who don't know me, I could wear my avatar sunglasses 8) (well it is funny lighting in the hall ;D )
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Can't remember Doreen doing anything but fret about whether enough plants would turn up.
There isn't a Show Secretary anywhere who doesn't worry about that- part of the job description is to be able to fret about enough entries even when the hall floor is groaning under the strain of so many!
With nine or ten plant stalls that must be a record, isn't it? Never heard of so many up here, but then again there aren't many venues which could accomodate that number.
Good news for those with losses over the winter to find replacement plants, eh? :D
The spells of sunshine some of us have been having must be bringing on show plants at speed now....I bet it's a lovely show.
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With nine or ten plant stalls that must be a record, isn't it? Never heard of so many up here, but then again there aren't many venues which could accomodate that number.
I think Harlow might have 12. I think it's only those first two shows that can justify that number, because everyone is suffering withdrawal symptoms after the winter and buys plants like they are going out of fashion ;D
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I'm hoping to be there and will daringly wear my red forumists sweatshirt, so say hello.
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I'm hoping to be there and will daringly wear my red forumists sweatshirt, so say hello.
Good idea to let Folks know, Anne.....
Diane, you'll need those sunspecs after all........ ;)
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I'll go topless :-[, then while everyone is in the toilets being sick I can clear up at the sales ;D 8)
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I'm planning to come out of hibernation and get down to Loughborough. As I have finally got my own digital camera I will be the one with my head in the manual looking up White Balance. ??? :)
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Are there any Forumists living near the Burleigh College in Loughborough who could give a visiting Bulb Despot a bed for a couple of nights later in the year ? :-\
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I've got a tent they can borrow Magi ;D
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Very kind of you, Nick.. it's for October.... I think the BD would prefer something inside a building :-X
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Does that mean they'll want my sub zero sleeping bag as well ;D
Still I'm excited, only one sleep before Loughboro!! all those lovely plants .... better put the camera batteries on charge! ;D
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Take two ...
Well I'm no longer an Alpine Virgin :o Well impressed with the plants - excellent. I took a few photo's but the lighting is dreadful there. Still Had a look round and Met up with quite a few fellow forumists (good to see you all) What a friendly bunch!! And then went to the dreaded plant sales and didn't spend a penny.....
And if you believe that !!
Few plants - I feel another sink garden coming on ;D
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/th_My_Haul1.jpg) (http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/?action=view¤t=My_Haul1.jpg)
Few seeds - my favourite pastime next to taking cuttings
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/th_My_Haul2.jpg) (http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/?action=view¤t=My_Haul2.jpg)
And best of all ... A 3" pot of compost !!!! it did come with a free Hosta ;D
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/th_My_Haul3.jpg) (http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/nick_the_grief/Loughboro05_03_2011/?action=view¤t=My_Haul3.jpg)
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Good to meet you, Nick. Your sales look quite restrained, you have a little way to go yet, but you have taken the first step along the slippery slope to a crazy addiction.
Here's two examples of that crazy world many of us are part of:
The first - (galanthophiles take note please) - there was a hepatica on sale today for £495 (actually there were several at that price) - AND I think some had been sold at that price. I did show Nick the cunning trick of how to cut off the price from the top of the nursery label before going home so the spouse doesn't know what has been paid (some nurseries will lend you the scissors ;D )
The second - a car had been driven 300 miles to that show today (they set off at 3 am) - and the same distance back again, except I expect they are not yet home.
Pictures to follow later, but there were lots of forumist taking lots more pix than me.
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Well did not see any of you there, but I did alter the white balance and take a 150 pictures just to be sure. Even bought a few plants.
Excellent show. Hope you all managed to go and look at the Artistic section. My arthritic hands were aching at the thought of the work which had gone into the Embroideries. Gone are the days when I could do them.
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SOrry I missed you Palustris - it would have been good to catch up after all the years on the Grapevine ;D I thought about altering the white balance but just shot in RAW instead and let Adobe take the strain 8)
1 I took earlier - although they seem grainy ... Must have knocked a setting somewhere
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A few photos from todays show
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Folks, I've moved this thread to the Shows Area.... more folks will look for it here, I think.
Anne, I've merged the existing (moved) topic with yours.... keep all these great show pictures together ;)
It looks to have been a fun day with lots of good plants....... well done everyone, hope you all enjoyed yourselves!
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I'll try to post a few photos from the show:
First some general shots.
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Plants:
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More:
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I see two snowdrop people in Anne's first photo - both watch the forum
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Nice hepaticas!
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Daffs of course :)
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Arty things:
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Oh, and a lot of large cushiony things, one of which won the Farrer ;D.
5 forumists meeting up:
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Lovely pics everyone! What a motley crew! Bet there were one or two cakes consumed yesterday eh? Wish I could have been there. Show looks great.
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I only recognise 1 out of 5 - Diane
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Oh, and a lot of large cushiony things, one of which won the Farrer ;D.
I hear the large cushion that won the Farrer for Mark Childerhouse was a really large and fabulous Saxifraga. Congratulations on that win 8)
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.... large cushiony thing...
5 forumists meeting up:
You don't mean the one in the leicester Tigers shirt do you ... thats me ;D and a rare thing too. I'm not often captured the other side of a lens. As to cakes ... you don't think I manage to keep a silth like figure and eat cakes ( I did sneak a large portion of bread pudding before I left home though ::)
The baby faced chap on my left looks different to his avatar though
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.... large cushiony thing...
5 forumists meeting up:
The baby faced chap on my left looks different to his avatar though
You just didn't look closely enough ::)
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Leicester Tigers T-shirt? - green and white hoops?
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Leicester Tigers T-shirt? - green and white hoops?
http://www.leicestertigers.com/ green, white and red, Mark.
Those five forumists are, Mick McLoughlin, Diane Clement, Shelagh Smethurst, Nick the Grief and Martin R ........surpirising how nice they look in broad daylight.... not sure about a dark night, or getting in front of them in the cake queue though..... ;)
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I see that no-one has yet posted a picture of the Farrer medal plant, so here it is- Saxifraga 'Mary Golds'. I think I've managed to get the white balance right - if so there is a slight pink tinge to the flowers. If it doesn't look right, someone tell me :-\. The lighting in the hall really is a challenge!
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The lighting in the hall really is a challenge!
I have to admit, there is a lot of discussion about the weird orange lighting at Loughborough. I haven't yet reached the chapter about how to do white balance on my new camera, so fall back on Photoshop. So the first thing I try is the one click - Enhance - Auto Colour Correction. I admit it's not perfect, but very effective in most cases, and very quick. To illustrate the point, here's Crocus vernus albiflorus
1. As taken in the hall, dodgy lighting in full view.
2. One click on the Auto colour correction - that's not made a bad job of it - 1 second
3. Masked round the pot in Photoshop and corrected the bench a bit more (as the plastic cover tends to reflect the orange light) - 5 seconds.
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How wonderful to see such sheer dedication (or is it madness ;D )
John Lee and Bill Robinson set off at 3 am and drove 300 miles to get to Loughborough, here treating themselves to a well deserved cup of tea.
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right then Hope Maggi doesn't mind.
Quick answer to the white balance problem. You could try one of these Diane
http://www.premier-ink.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=lens+caps&x=0&y=0 (http://www.premier-ink.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=lens+caps&x=0&y=0) it replaces the normal lens cap and you take a photo with it on and adjust acordingly - neat huh
The other way (I did it and I can only speak for PS elements 9) is to go into guided edit and there is one called remove colour cast click on that and then go to your picture and click on something that should be white or black ( name label is usually good) and it will compensate for the sodium lighting. (it took longer to do this demo of the two shots than to correct it!) top ones before and the bottom is after.
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right then Hope Maggi doesn't mind.
Quick answer to the white balance problem. You could try one of these Diane
http://www.premier-ink.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=lens+caps&x=0&y=0 (http://www.premier-ink.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=lens+caps&x=0&y=0) it replaces the normal lens cap and you take a photo with it on and adjust acordingly - neat huh
Nick, looking at the item in the link... I see a name across the lens cap.... doesn't this show in the photo? Also, if using this device what other adjustment is needed afterwards?
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Maggi,
You take an initial picture with the lens cap on, then the camera uses this to set a customised white balance for the lighting - click on the 'more information about this product' link on the website, which goes into a bit more detail.
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Thanks Peter... will read further. :-[
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To expand on my earlier reply (I'm posting from work, between patients :D )
Most cameras, even the little compacts, will have a custom white balance setting somewhere in the menu, so you find that you generally have the option of taking a test shot which is then applied to subsequent shots until you turn the white balance back to auto (or wherever you noramly have it). So I would expect you would take the test shot with the lens cap on and then you're all set to fire away.
I did something similar for Bill Robinson on his new camera at Loughborough on Saturday - it was so new he hadn't had time to read the instruction book!
Of course to make the problem worse at Loughborough, one side of the hall is a range of windows, so I find that you noramlly have to reset the white balance for each row of tables on a sunny days there; not a problem this time as the weather was miserable.
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Never mind the cakes....first training session of the season for Pudsey piglets :D :D :D :D
Yippee ;D ;D
I understand this will culminate with an event at the Cheshire/Macclesfield Show for which we'll return to England (from Ireland not Australia ;D ) to try to rise to the challenge! We'll be practising with good Scottish and Irish "Full Breakfasts" on the way!
Peter and Nick,
I see I'll need to re-investigate my camera's abilities before getting to the Conference and these Shows!
cheers
fermi
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Ah, a challenge from the deep South! Look forward to meeting you Fermi