Tuesday 14 October Gardening For Wildlife Photography

 This evening we welcomed David Chapman to give a talk on Gardening for Wildlife Photography. David is a professional photographer and author. He has written articles for several magazines and also gives talks to gardening clubs.

David's talk was very interesting and informative. He gave lots of tips on how to create a garden to encourage wildlife to visit and live in the garden. He talked about the plants that are needed for different types of insects; not just to feed on but also to lay their eggs and hibernate.

He also explained how to create homes for bees, hedgehogs and birds.  He stressed the importance of pond building, including the correct depth that is needed for for the variety of creatures that might visit and the vegetation for them to feed and rest on.

He showed a variety of images taken in his garden and also shared how he constructed the settings for his compositions.

There was something for everyone whether you are a wildlife photographer or someone who just loves to garden and encourage wildlife to visit.

Tuesday 7 October Portrait Photography

Tonight we had a practical session led by Andrew Stringer, one of the club members who loves to photograph people, and Ken Barrett, who was a wedding photographer for many years. They both provided the lighting and the backdrops.  Ken used a very famous saying that 'you need to break every bone in your model to get the right pose'.  He stressed that we should all take photos of our families as they provides us with memories of the present and past. He also gave the settings that members should try.

We had four models but one went the extra mile with his props. It was like having Mary Poppins with a magic bag with all the different outfits that he changed into. Giving members plenty of opportunity to tryout various poses.

There was a lovely atmosphere in the hall. Members busy taking photos of the models and helping each other.  Even those who rarely take photos of people participated and enjoyed the session.

Here are some of the images.

Berni by Rachael Trivett

Gordon and Georgie by Rachael Trivett

Gordon by Rachael Trivett

Paul by Rachael Trivett

Our Geoff by Jack Mitchell

Our Gordon by Jack Mitchell

Happy Trevor by Jack Mitchell

Our Geoff Looking Good by Jack Mitchell

Our Graham by Jack Mitchell

Our Paul by Jack Mitchell

Tuesday 23 September Sport Photography

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Gavin Bickerton-Jones to give a talk about photographing sport activities. He was a junior racing driver, a freelance motor racing engineer and has also worked in international motor sport as a photographer. With such a background and as someone who has been on both sides of the fence he is highly qualify to give this talk. 

He covered a variety of sports including athletics, football, rugby, motorbike racing, swimming and Formula motorcar racing. He gave some value tips such as doing some research about the sport, finding the best place to stand and camera policy to make sure you have the correct lens.

He also talked about experimenting with the shutter speed and thinking about whether the background, foreground, reflections, signage or shadows would enhance or be a distraction to the image.  He recommended getting down low to get eye contact, depending on the sport. He stressed the importance of waiting and judging the moment to press the shutter button. He also displayed the settings he used for some of his images.

All these tips can be adapted to other types of photography. A very informative evening.