Last Tuesday at Avoncroft started with a very well-attended and well-appreciated early session from Jenny Webster, talking about Still Life photography – not just talking, it was also a practical session with several setups on stage complete with lighting. Many photographs were taken!
The main session was our ever-popular “Volunteer evening”, featuring 5 very different presentations from our own members. We started off with Ele’s “very serious” presentation which turned out to be anything but serious. The demonstration of what AI is capable of these days was at the same time very amusing and a little bit scary! I will never trust any video I watch again…
Alan McCormick’s presentation was in the form of a couple of AV presentations, one featuring photographs of Sanders Park through the years, and the other featuring a more recent photo session at Primrose Hospice. Very different themes and each very enjoyable in its own way.
We had a few technical glitches on Michael Corfield’s presentation – apologies for that, I still don’t quite know why the video was so cantankerous – but it was worth waiting for. A beautiful set of photos documenting the changing seasons in a local woodland, complete with accompanying book!
Tony G followed in his inimitable style with an eclectic mix of photos from all around the world in a variety of styles and genres, complete with commentary describing his thought-process as he was taking (and processing) them.
Finally, Jan Harris took the opportunity to sign off her time as Program Secretary with a presentation covering her own personal journey of growth as a photographer during her time as a member of BPS.
A wide range of topics and presentation styles, but one thing many had in common was illustrating the power of a unifying theme or project for a set of photographs – the individual photographs become much stronger (and much more fun to take) as part of a larger project. Something to think about if you are struggling for inspiration.
On Wednesday night a few of us met up in Beacon Wood near Lydiate Ash for a photo walk among the bluebells (which are spectacular this year). Many thanks to David for organizing it. The bluebells are not quite yet at their peak, I think, so there’s still time to get out to your local woods (or hills – Clent is usually pretty good) and try to capture something different – or indeed just enjoy the sights and scent of the bluebells. While we were there we bumped into former BPS member Richard Pope, who asked me to say hi to anyone at BPS that might remember him…
Speaking of volunteers (as I was earlier)… with the AGM coming up now is a good time to repeat the call for volunteers to join the committee. If there’s anything about the way the club is run that you think could be done better – join the committee and help change it! Alternatively, if you think everything is absolutely perfect – join the committee and help make sure it stays that way! As I mentioned at the last meeting, we have vacancies coming up (either this year or next year) for several roles, including Treasurer, Secretary, Vice Chair and Chair, as well as spaces for committee members without a specific role. If you think you could help out, please talk to me or any other committee member and we can fill you in on how it works. Without an active and engaged committee, we would have no club – but many committee members have been in their roles for quite a long time and would like a break, and some new blood with new ideas would be a very good thing for the long-term future of the club.
Coming up this Tuesday we have the Annual Novice Competition, judged by Monica Doshi (her third visit to BPS this year!). It should be an excellent evening, with a chance to see the best of the photographs from the novice category this year. There will be no early session.
That’s it for now – see you all on Tuesday. If you want to talk to me about joining the committee, but the queue to do so seems too long, please be patient…
Richard