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The Annual Convention in 2012 will be held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel,
Nottingham from 11th to 14th May.
This is a firm booking, so put it on
your calendar now!


Above pairs are for parallel
viewing. The images are also in a small gallery where you can choose
different viewing methods.
Click here! We will be expanding this area soon.
Meanwhile, the 2011 Convention has taken place and was a
great success! The information below is for information only and will be
replaced with 2012 information as it becomes available.
Meanwhile there have been positive results following the
many personal chats that took place at the Convention. Just two that the
WebMaster is aware of are:
On the some members' Fujifilm W3 cameras, the Parallax
Control was not working. One member contacted Fujifilm and reports that this
is a known issue which is easily solved! The W3 has three "Power Saving"
settings and the Parallax Control does not work if the first one is chosen!
Select the second and the problem is solved!
There is a new piece of software that is being used for
creating 3D AV shows, but which can be a little difficult to set up to
achieve the required 3D AVI output. Sharing of dialog box settings has
allowed a short movie to be created which will be shown at the stereoscopic
meeting in Bury less than 2 days after the end of the Convention!
And, it is this sort of interaction, as well as the
opportunity to see lots of top class shows and handle many different pieces
of equipment that keep people coming back to the Convention year after year.
Have you been to one, yet? If not, plan NOW for 11th - 14th May 2012
Ideally
situated within sight of Chesterfield's world famous ‘Crooked Spire’
church of St Mary’s, the 2011
convention will be held at The Legacy Chesterfield Hotel which stands
proudly on the fringe of Chesterfield town centre.
This is a great occasion to
meet up with friends or make new ones with a like minded interest in 3D.
Come along and learn some new ideas or see the latest 3D cameras and
equipment. The highlights of our convention are the 3D projection sessions
held on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. These present an
opportunity to see some of the best 3D shows from our members and around the
world.
After last years convention
members said how enjoyable the shows had been and praised the quality of the
society's new digital projection system for delivering sharp, bright and
vibrant images which are now acknowledged by some of the most die hard slide
fans as of acceptable, if not superior, quality. Certainly, from the
organiser's point of view, the convenience of using one set of compact
digital equipment is a great improvement. However the real advantage lies
in the ability to quickly gather digital shows from anywhere around the
world, to be shown without risking the loss of the originals in the post!
We will also have the usual mix
of workshops, demonstrations, AGM, sales tables and talks. Plus the new
competition allowing you to submit an audio-visual 5-minute show (AV5),
following the successful pilot organised by Barry Aldous in Letchworth last
year.
Please let the organisers know
as soon as possible if you would like to offer a 3D show, workshop, sales
table or display for the convention.
(ALL shows will be
projected digitally. Shows on film must be available for digitisation by 1
March 2011.)
Remember this is your
convention so please let us have any new ideas you would like us to
consider, or any previous features you would like to see return.
For example, we are currently
debating whether to hold the usual two yearly auction normally due at this
convention. The last few auctions have been low on items and even lower on
bids!
Should we still have an auction
this year? Let us know your views. Unless we here soon from sufficient
members in favour of an auction we will simply organise tables for members
to display sales items (instead of the normal 10% auction commission, a
contribution towards society funds at the discretion of the selling member
would be appreciated).
Saturday in Chesterfield is a market day and our hotel is the perfect base
to explore on foot the town centre which is steeped in history including one
of the oldest and largest out door markets in the country dating back to
1204. There are several shopping arcades to discover plus The Shambles with
connections as far back as The Middle Ages, or for the real shopaholics
Meadowhall Shopping Centre near Sheffield is less than 30 minutes away
either by car or by train from the station opposite the hotel.
Also
near by are the tranquil surroundings of Queens Park with its wonderful
floral displays, cricket ground and bandstand. For the thrill seekers on
Saturdays you can go up the tower of
St Mary’s
church with the 'Crooked Spire'.
After a
hearty breakfast on Sunday morning, we can embark on our regular coach
excursion for a day in picturesque Derbyshire.
We are spoilt for choice here
since Derbyshire and the surrounding area has a wealth of unique attractions
all well worth visiting, not forgetting the peaks and dales and their
stunning landscapes.
Chesterfield and The Peak District National Park, which was our first
National Park contains
some of the best
historical houses and stately homes in the country, all within a short
drive. These include the magnificent Chatsworth House together with Haddon
Hall, Bolsover Castle, Hardwick Hall and Renishaw Hall to name but
a few. Castleton and the Blue John
Caverns are also ‘must-sees’ as are the Derbyshire towns of Matlock Bath,
Buxton and Bakewell (home of the famous pudding). Not forgetting
Derbyshire's unique Well Dressings staged across the county between May and
September - How will you fit it all in? Why not extend your convention
weekend? Stay an extra night or two at the special discounted rate for
additional nights and see more of this delightful area at your leisure.
A most
likely candidate for our outing as a curious and photogenic attraction is
for us to step back in time and visit the Crich Tramway Village Museum as
part of our day out plus one or other of the many attractions in this
picturesque area.
Enthusiasts of industrial heritage and railways have a special affection for
Derbyshire and the Peak District, Sir Nigel Gresley was a Derbyshire man and
Sir Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mill is part of a World Heritage Site of
industrial importance. Also George Stephenson who built the famous 'Rocket'
locomotive is buried in Chesterfield. With such a heritage there are many
railway attractions in the area.
Chatsworth House is a
marvellous place to visit and is very close to Chesterfield. It has been
the outing at both previous conventions in this area at Buxton in 1964 and
1983. However, the weekend of the convention is their International Horse
Trials and we have been warned that Sunday would be very busy. For those
interested we are prepared to organise an additional group trip to
Chatsworth on Monday 16th May. (If you have far to travel you may
wish to book an extra hotel night now.) Please let us know on your
registration form if this additional excursion on Monday 16th May
is of interest to you.
Our Convention Hotel is large
enough to accommodate us all under one roof. The large modern restaurant
will be able to seat us all for dinner and the 4m high ceiling of the
ballroom, seating over 200 theatre style, should allow trouble free viewing
of our projection shows. The Ballroom is air-conditioned and fully blacked
out having often been used by the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers (IAC)
international competition (BIAFF) who also use large screen projection
shows.
The hotel has spacious public
lounge bars with free Wi-Fi and a
restaurant where you can relax and enjoy the friendly service for which the
hotel is renowned. There are 73
en-suite bedrooms, including three rooms adapted for wheelchair users. In
addition the hotel boasts full leisure facilities, with a 17 metre
swimming pool, sauna, steam room,
Jacuzzi, as well as a fully equipped gymnasium.
(Please
note; the passenger lift can accommodate a manual wheelchair, but due to the
size is unable to carry a motorised buggy.)
The Chesterfield Hotel is
situated immediately opposite the railway station that has direct trains
taking less than two hours from London St Pancras. Chesterfield is also
within easy reach of the motorway network (10 minutes to M1 J29).
Nottingham East Midlands International Airport is within a 45 minutes drive
as is Doncaster Robin Hood Airport and
Manchester International Airport is just over an hour away. There is ample
free car parking opposite the main hotel entrance.
We have organised a special
hotel rate of £50 per person per day, which includes a three course Dinner,
Bed & Breakfast. This price applies to the convention nights of Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, if you would like to extend your stay either before or
after the convention additional days can be booked at the reduced rate of
£45 per person per day, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast.
We are conscious of the current
economic climate and that the ISU convention in Holland next August is very
accessible for UK members. With this in mind we have endeavoured to
organise a convention we hope will allow members to support both conventions
if they wish, but maintain the usual standards we have all come to expect
and enjoy.
Please book your hotel
accommodation BY POST using the
Hotel Booking Form and
Convention Registration Form you should now have received with your
annual subscription renewal, or you can download the forms from the links
above.. Please also note the ability to register at a discount before
31st March 2011, or to register for individual days if you
would just like to visit us briefly.
Final details for the
convention programme and outing are still being worked out and will be
announced in future issues of the journal and regularly on the web site.
We look forward to welcoming
you all to Chesterfield in May 2011 and hope that you will have a very
enjoyable convention. |