Talk – Nature Special Interest Group 08/02/23

We are lucky that we have a few members who have committed to providing a hybrid experience to enable those who cannot physically attend to observe the meeting on line. This involves more equipment than is normally needed for a club evening. My report on this meeting was made possible by the skills of the technical team as I was one of eight members who could not be at our club room. Thanks are due to all involved.

This evening was the second opportunity for a SIG (Special Interest Group) to report back on its work so far. As previously reported (see 09/11/22 news), a number of SIGs were started in 2020 to add to the programme during Covid restrictions and optimise our use of our Zoom licence.

We were given an excellent presentation by the group leader, Mark Turner, which set out the aims of the group and included a wide range of nature images taken by club members, some of whom explained what they had taken. My thanks go to Mark and all who participated by putting in panels of four images on a nature photography theme.

After the break we had an opportunity to see the rest of the Oldham Mono Competition, which was the main focus of last week’s meeting. Our club came a creditable 10th out of the 21 clubs which took part.

Finally there was a discussion about how images are chosen for external competitions and a special plea made for members to submit possible images when the Competition Secretary, James Gibson, issues call outs for work suitable for set subjects.

Workroom - Annual Exhibition Review Evening 30/11/22

This week we held our annual exhibition review evening. This is an open forum and an opportunity for any members who are considering submitting images to the next year's annuel exhibition to present early versions of their work. In doing so they had the opportunity to tell us whether they intend to print or project the images and to receive suggestions on possible improvements. On the night James Gibson and Kevin Lloyd led the discussion, reviewing each image in turn and offering ideas as to where there may be opportunities to revise entries and avoid the dreaded 'judge bait'.

We look forward to seeing how they turn out in the new year and whether members decided to take them up on their advice.

Speakers - Barbie & Rusty Lindsay 16/11/22

This week the club met remotely on Zoom to welcome the highly decorated and extremely successful Barbie Lindsay MPAGB FBPE EFIAP/s AWPF and Rusty Lindsay MPAGB FBPE EFIAP AWPF, who regaled us with their Zoom In on R & B talk.

Barbie and Rusty are a pair of self-admitted photography obsessives from East Anglia, who are both members of the prestigious Beyond Group. The pair have both been into photography for over thirty years and their extensive experience was obvious. Over the course of the evening they showed us a wide-ranging selection of their work with a particular focus on creative and street, giving us insight into the concepts, thought processes and storeis behind their shots.

Thirtyfive members joined us and it proved to be a fascinating and often humorous tour through the Lindsay archives.