Murcia photo of the month March 2025
Here’s the top image of the month taken by the Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC)
¡Una pregunta! What do the following all have in common – a fisherman, gas pipelines, mining paraphernalia both past and present, the manufacture of alcohol, mills, a waterwheel, building construction and a cemetery? These were all considered as industries by members of LADCC by way of entries in the last monthly photo competition, entitled “Industrial”. Quite a ‘tight’ title given to the competition but, as above, photos were widely spread over a variety of industries.
The ‘Industrial’ topic proved challenging for the members. Strangely enough a number of ‘alcoholic’ photos were taken, encapsulating whisky making in Scotland, wine making in the province of Alicante and some well-established beer making in the UK. It seemed to be a hidden theme amongst the group! However, the majority of photos were taken within the Región de Murcia.
The mining industry often raises strong opinions within a community, usually not good ones! However, on this occasion, it proved a real benefit to Bob Gasston. He managed to make a couple of visits to the Cabezo Gordo mine and, although not allowed to enter, he managed to capture this winning photo entitled “Unleashing the power from Cabezo Gordo” with the help of a 55-210 zoom lens. He then cropped the photo to remove distractions and then – the only other editing – he enhanced the soft, golden colours.
Bob explained to the group that his first visit was marred by wind and dust which, for the locals, is quite a common scene, but also the poor light did not help. However, a return visit at ‘golden hour’ helped highlight one of the machines working at the mine and Bob got his photo. Golden hour light, usually the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise, is used a lot by photographers as it is a soft, golden light that gives a warm glow to objects.
It was pleasing to see that the club’s outing last month, around Portmán, was well supported by members. It also provided a great photographic environment for members to highlight industries of bygone eras. However, it also showed some downsides of industry, where environmental damage, water contamination and the displacement of a community has led to a sorry state of affairs. A lot of entries this month were photos taken on this outing.
Scoring took longer than usual for our members as we had the highest number of entries this year (well, it is only the second month!). It was particularly pleasing that our new members did well, and newbie Julian Pering was the overall winner for the month. Each member submits two photos and, after combining the scores for both photos, Julian came out on top. His photos were both of the Escombreras site, just outside Cartagena. Well done Julian!
The club usually meets twice a month, with an indoor ‘workshop’, at the Las Claras centre in Los Alcázares, on the first Tuesday of every month and, often, an outing toward the end of the month, where the group gets together to collectively work on the topic for the monthly competition.
The club welcomes new members, either visitors or residents, as with modern day technology everyone can all keep in contact for training sessions, sharing knowledge etc., or more regularly via ‘group chats’. If you would like more information about the club, or would like to come along to a meeting, please do not hesitate to look at the website, www.ladcc.es, or send an email to informationladcc@gmail.com.
Share the pleasure of photography in the Mar Menor area
The Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) was founded in 2006 and was originally called the LA Digital Cafe, where members met over a coffee to discuss photography. This quickly developed into a more formal programme of monthly photo competitions and outings to places of photographic interest.
Over the years, the club has adapted to the changes in camera technology and techniques, and continued throughout Covid by using ‘Zoom’ for online meetings and learning sessions.
Fast forward to 2024, and the club is now a small, enthusiastic, friendly group where members encourage and support each other at the start of, and throughout, their photographic journey. The group includes a wide range of people with varying skills, all of whom are happy to share techniques, tips and ideas to improve one’s hobby.
They have monthly competitions and outings that provide an opportunity to explore different aspects of photography and develop camera craft and artistic skills. Their indoor sessions may include in-house training, reviews of monthly competitions or planning outings to cover topics discussed.
They meet once a month at the ‘Centro Cultural las Claras’ in Los Narejos, which has super facilities and ample parking. Any outings are usually towards the end of the month to link in with our regular competitions.
New members are most welcome and if you would like more information, please make contact as follows:
- Website: www.ladcc.es
- Email: informationladcc@gmail.com
