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.

Talk - Landscape and Portrait SIGs presentations 09/11/22

This week we had talks from representatives of the Landscape and Portrait Special Interest Groups (SIGs). In a change to the planned schedule, the Nature SIG did not present this week and their presentation has been rescheduled for early 2023.

The SIGs were formed in 2020 at the height of the COVID restrictions and meet for 1 meeting per month, separate to regular scheduled club meetings. They take the form of a video call rather than face to face and are focussing solely on a single topic, with the aim of developing members' skills. They're open to all and run the gamut from the truly novice members who have never shown their work before, to seasoned 'pros' who compete nationally and internationally with their work. Members submit work and discuss approaches, processing tips and offer advice and different perspectives on how to shoot and process.

Firstly, Chris Rogers kicked off the presentation of the Landscape group, describing how it has evolved to become a well-rounded 2 year course. This is accompanied by a variety of 'homework' challenges for members to complete at their own pace to build their skills and challenge their techniques. Chris was followed by member presentations from George Fewster, Tony Renshaw and Susan Murray, who shared some of the work they've produced as members of the group, how they've progressed and how they approached the various shots.

The second half of the evening was given over to the Portrait group, lead by Graham Sykes. His presentation attempted to show work by every active member of the SIG and showed what a diverse range of approaches people take, even when shooting the same models and set ups.

It was a fascinating insight for those of us who haven't been able to attend SIGs and shows what a wealth of knowledge and talent exists within the club. It's great to see members supporting each other and collaborating to bring up the standard of photography. We look forward to the forthcoming Nature SIG presentation - the bar has certainly been set very high!