Street Photography: Light and Life on the Streets - Damien Demolder

A former editor of Amateur Photographer and a regular contributor to photography reviews and journals, Damien runs street photography workshops in London.  He gave a very entertaining talk on his take on street photography.  He started by explaining what his approach was when on the street - looking for that decisive moment, looking for the light, giving the sense of 'being there', capturing something 'different' - something that others will not have seen.  He demonstrated this focus with a set of sillouettes - high contrast shots with the subject sillouetted against a bright, colourful background, and not just there, but there at the moment that the subject is cleverly framed as well - the decisive moment!  Then he moved onto shadows - again, a different take on street photography, where the shadows are the subject, when the subject is not actually even in the shot.  Damien certainly got us all thinking and seeing street photography a little differently.  A very enjoyable talk.  You can see more of Damien's excellent work on his website.

A Photographic Immersion in Havana - Roy Essary MPAGB

Another busy night at the Club with the members very keen to see the architecture, faded grandeur, glorious colours and of course, those classic american cars of Havana.  Roy shared many anecdotes about the people he captured, the discussions he had and the reactions he encountered in his street photography.  Roy is a photographer who really likes people and street photography comes to him so easily and naturally.  One image sticks with my mind in particular - two men in the street, looking menacingly in Roy's direction as he took their photo.  I thought - was this where Roy did not have such a good day?  The next image gave me the answer - one man was smiling and clearly engaged in telling Roy a story.  Then the next image - the badly injured hand of the other man.  On seeing this, Roy returned to his hotel to fetch his Savlon cream, which he happily gave the man to help his hand heal.  The talk was peppered with these little cameo's and all the more interesting for that.  Roy's images were everything we could have wished for and left us feeling we had visited Havana for the evening.  See more of Roy's images here.

More of the Way I See It - Rosemary Willman HonFRPS ABPE AFIAP APAGB

When Rosemary spoke for Cambridge CC in October 2021 she was obliged to present her work via Zoom because of the Covid restrictions so, it was with great pleasure, we were able to welcome her back in person last evening to show printed images of her work.  And what a show it was!  The first half of the evening was devoted to viewing her many accomplished images, printed on a variety of papers, taken during her travels in India, Santorini, Iceland and the isles of Scotland. Rosemary has a keen eye for the unusual and we enjoyed her own interpretation of the Icelandic landscape, as well as her clever capture of light and shade in Greece.  Her images are often minimalist in style and many convey a painterly view, most of which is captured in-camera with minimal post-processing.  Rosemary’s skills in macro photography were also demonstrated by some flat-lay projects she had undertaken during lockdown.

During the second half of the evening, we enjoyed projected images taken during her recent trip to Japan.  Photographs taken both inside and out of Tokyo’s towering glass buildings captured dazzling reflections of city life, and Rosemary’s winter scenes of Hokkaido featuring trees and fields in a deep snow-covered landscape were elegant in their simplicity and style.   A visit to Rosemary's website is well worth it.

Macrophotography - Ann Miles FRPS EFIAP FBPE

70-80 members filled our hall to listen to our very own Ann Miles, one of our longest-serving members and very much an inspiration to the whole club.  She shared her considerable knowledge of equipment, settings, fieldcraft and the subjects. It was a masterclass.  Ann's website is  well worth visiting, whatever type of photographer you are.  You cannot fail to be inspired by something there.   From her profile:  I trained as a biologist and spent my working life in scientific publishing; this enabled me to keep abreast with all the changes from traditional to digital photography and printing. I have been an active photographer all my life and, for about 10 years, taught general and nature photography at university degree level. I am a Member of The London Salon which keeps me in touch with the best of pictorial photography around the world. I gained an Associateship in Nature and a Fellowship in Visual Arts and served as Deputy Chair of the Fine Arts Panel for 8 years. I now sit on the Natural History Distinction Panel. This reflects a wide spectrum of photographic interest. In my photography, I enjoy images that depict the interactions of people, architecture, nature and landscape. I have lectured all round Britain and give workshops and individual tuition.

Pax Aeterna - Clive Tanner

A packed meeting were treated to a wonderful show of exquisite prints, along with many interesting historical and architectural facts.  
Clive Tanner in his own words:   I am a photographic dabbler, moving from what was the latest to something even newer but at the same time, following my chosen photographic interests, mainly cathedral and church interior architecture. I have been fortunate to have friends/colleagues with similar interests who have guided and encouraged my picture making and help with the quest for photographic distinctions; so far these include Fellowship of Royal Photographic Society, Master Photographer of Photographic Alliance of Great Britain, Fellowship of Irish Photographic Federation and Associate of Welsh Photographic Federation, there is also Associate of Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. I am proud of these achievements and the recognition, but they do not make me a better photographer, hopefully experience, reading and talking to those who are recognised as great photographers will have positive effects.   I will show prints which were successful for the distinctions and others which have been in books of my pictures which have been produced since covid lockdown.

History Re-coloured - Richard O'Brien

Richard is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop, an IT instructor and a keen amateur photographer.  He combines his skills in demonstrating his start-to-finish process for restoring old photographs and applying colour.  His presentation, via Zoom, was aimed at all levels of photoshop user, from basic to expert, using tools common to all recent versions of Photoshop and Elements and avoiding some of the most recent advanced tools.  This made it a very practical and useful workshop, for everyone.  His presentation was extremely clear, well organised and engaging.  Another very well-attended evening.

The Greater Picture - Tom Way

Tom Way was an extremely charismatic speaker and spoke to a packed audience at Cambridge Camera Club.  His enthusiasm for his photography and for his subjects was both inspiring and infectious.   His talk gave us a broad view of Tom’s life as a fine art wildlife photographer.  He demonstrated his camera settings whilst speaking about the critical components he feels essential to creating evocative wildlife imagery.  He outlined the importance of large format print and explained how he creates a viable business through photography.

Landscape and Ariel Photography - Mieka Boynton

Mieka Boynton delivered a very engaging and informative talk, along with her spectacular images.  She started by giving her view on what made landscape images standout.  She listed 'Unusual weather conditions; A special feature (glacier; mountain; winding path); An isolated tree; Reflections; Patterns / repetition / symmetry; Filters and long exposure; Your viewpoint; Night Photography and Choice of lens'.  Basically, show people what they do not 'normally' see.  Her “Landscape and Aerial Photography” presentation begins with a very brief explanation of her background, and then – through audience interaction – highlights a series of maximum-impact elements of Landscape Photography. The advice given is valuable for photographers at all levels. She also presents a selection of her aerial photographs and provides some useful advice for members if they wish to try their hand at this genre.  

Mieke is now an Internationally-acclaimed landscape photographer.  In 2008, Mieke travelled to the rugged and remote Kimberley region of Western Australia and promptly fell in love with the landscape. She took up photography as a means to share her amazement with family and friends, and quickly caught the photography “bug.” Mieke became a full time professional photographer in 2018 and that same year, was named “Victorian Travel Photographer of the Year” by the Australian Institute of Professional Photography. In 2019, she was awarded the title of AIPP Victorian Landscape Photographer of the Year. She is the first Australian and first woman ever to win the renowned Epson International Pano Awards, with three of her abstract aerial photographs receiving Gold Awards. In 2021, she achieved her Masters distinction with the prestigious Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique (FIAP) - one of only 5 successful applicants world-wide. Mieke now lives in the beautiful alpine township of Bright in Victoria Australia where she and her partner (award-winning photographer Matt Palmer) have opened their “Alpine Light” photography gallery.   Read more about Mieka on her website www.miekeboynton.com

The Best Camera is the One You Have With You .. Your Phone! Thomas Peck CPAGB LRPS

Tom's subject clearly had a lot of appeal as he had very good attendance for his lively talk.  He has been taking photographs for many years now. Originally he focused mostly on macro photography of flowers, and then expanded to include landscape, architecture and portraits.  Tom shoots with Sony & Leica cameras, but this evening he focused on what can be achieved with a phone.  He began by showing some of his first iPhone images dating back 10 years or so of family, friends, the family pet and holidays.  While he still loves his professional kit – suggesting '... it’s that blokey geeky equipment thing.'  but then he came to recognise the iPhone as a useful tool for recording locations in anticipation of visiting with clients.  Since that realisation, he has further explored the full capabilities of the phone and the editing apps available.  The second half of the talk was an interactive session with the members using their own phones as Tom taught us how we can embellis our images using the many features to be found on the mobiles phones today.  

Tom told us that the real pleasure of photography is that it forces him to slow down and really look. That’s never easy in our rushed world, so a chance to stop, look and see is truly valuable. He hopes the his pictures convey that in some small way.

Sports Illustrated - Roger Evans MPAGB FBPE EFIAP/p

"Splashdown"

Roger's talk was extremely entertaining.  An excellent raconter, he took us through his very earliest days as a sports photographer - a 'stringer' (part-timer) for the Telegraph, when he modestly admits it was a case of 'all the gear, but no idea'!  But his love of sport and his passion for photography made him determind and a fast learner.  His first days were in boxing, where lack of knowledge meant he missed a golden opportunity to photograph Frank Bruno, so he soon realised that 'preparation is key' and he now plans every detail of the event he is attending - from who will be there, and when, to where the sun will be at any given time of the day, and therefore the best locations.   Over 40 years, he has photographed over 25 different sports - from amateur cricket to top class athletics at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.  His favourite is gymnastics.   He was the recipient of both a Silver Medal and a Special Merit in the Gynmastics section of the World Photography Awards 2021.   Across all sports, he has witnessed both triumph and disaster and captured both the same.  As his skill developed, he has pushed himself to take images with a difference and has won many accolades for his efforts.  Our members enjoyed a very entertaining evening, whilst picking up many tips and tricks.