Speaker – James Kerwin – Abandoned Architecture 20/7/22

Hard on the heels of last week’s challenge to bring along prints of ‘Decay’, we had an enthralling Zoom presentation on the subject of ‘Abandoned Architecture’.

Far from being a casual trespasser seeking Urbex thrills, James demonstrated high technical and artistic skills as he took us through his journey to become an acknowledged exponent of interior photography. It came with the added piquancy that James was delivering it from the couch of his apartment in Istanbul. If we had forgotten what it was like to travel over the last two years, our lost enthusiasm was soon reinvigorated by a stream of fascinating stories, and images taken in derelict palaces, churches, cinemas and gothic greenhouses. At every turn we were able to marvel at the architecture and the ingenuity of the speaker in finding them and bringing them to life. James shared with us his insights into what kit to use and the techniques which went into his spectacular photographs. His choice of tripod types, wide angle lens and tilt-shift optics were all explained as were one, two and three point perspective as compositional aids.

His stories and enthusiasm for pastures-new left a number us looking up how to get to Georgia or Armenia. Many thanks to James for sharing so much with us.

The images shown are taken from screen shots via Zoom and in no way do justice to the fine detail James produces with his mammoth prints.

Monthly Challenge – Decay 13/7/22

This month’s topic challenged members to present a print (yes a welcome return to A4 prints!) on a subject which gave plenty of scope for interpretation: Decay. Around 20 members submitted an A4 print for us to view. Voting soon commenced and each print was scrutinised closely for subject matter, impact, story-telling message, technical aspects and choice of paper. Votes were counted during a refreshment break and set aside until they were revealed at the very end.

These sessions give experienced members a chance to try their hand at critique and this week we enjoyed the double act of Carla and Kevin Lloyd giving their thoughts on each item of work. Nothing much gets past these two and there were plenty of tips on how to improve images as well as appreciative comments for authors to note. The subject had certainly got members’ creative juices going and one even managed to distress the final print through burning the edges to great effect.

Congratulations to the three highest scoring photographers – Alan Stopher (1st) with his portrayal of the sad state of Huddersfield’s George Hotel, Peter Thornton (2nd) with a macabre monochrome impression of three corpses and Tony Renshaw(3rd) with his dramatic ship wreck on an Irish beach.

1st - Seen Better Days by Alan Stopher

2nd - Dust to Dust by Peter Thornton

3rd - Ship Wreck by Tony Renshaw

'The Oscars' - Trophy Presentation Evening

Tonight, saw the much awaited ‘Oscars’ Presentation evening.

34 members and guests gathered at the Parish Hall with the evening broadcast out

to 9 members to celebrate those members who had images held back in various

genres, with the question who was going to be awarded the trophy!

All members were greeted with a glass or wine and nibbles or an alternative, the

atmosphere was one of excitement and trepidation!

Sadly, this year there were no Beginners or entry level entries by members, so we

started with the projected images in the Intermediate and Experienced sections. The

images were projected which were held back and then the trophy winner for each category was announced, in most cases to surprise from members!

After a break we then went on to the prints in the Intermediate and Experienced

sections, again the images were projected which had been held back and then the

trophy winners were announced again with surprise from members.

Certificates were awarded to members who although did not receive the trophy came

away with either a commended or highly commended in the various categories.

A very enjoyable evening was had by all.

Trophy Winnners (from L to R): Mike Hey, Colin McGregor, Alan Stopher, Carol Haigh, Chris Rogers, James Gibson & Richard Fulcher

Our exhibition of the prints will be on show in the Unit 16, in the Piazza in the town

centre from July 9th .