Weekly Reports by Steve Wells
(Older reports in Archive)
29th November 2021
I have often mentioned in these reports that it is a pleasure to see what Thornbury Camera Club’s own members are doing. In this case Peter Haworth (ARPS) presented his work. Peter photographs the natural world and our place in it with images which often have exposures of many tens of seconds. Water is smoothed out and cloudy skies take on new shapes.
Many of Peter’s photographs were taken in winter: his preferred season as there are fewer crowds. The simple shapes he is looking for combined with the long exposures are not compatible with people. Trees in winter are isolated against plain backgrounds on the flat landscape of Essex or combined with rocks in Yorkshire.
Long exposures made the Severn Bridge float on mist. The Tollesbury lightship on the Essex Marshes was refloated on cotton wool. Almost the only movement in Peter’s photographs was the movement of water in remote waterfalls.
Many of Peter’s images show the decay of man-made features in the land and sea. Wrecked boats seemed to be at peace. Ruined farmhouses on Dartmoor are quiet reflections of a past world while finding a new life as refuges for walkers.
I have often mentioned in these reports that it is a pleasure to see what Thornbury Camera Club’s own members are doing. In this case Peter Haworth (ARPS) presented his work. Peter photographs the natural world and our place in it with images which often have exposures of many tens of seconds. Water is smoothed out and cloudy skies take on new shapes.
Many of Peter’s photographs were taken in winter: his preferred season as there are fewer crowds. The simple shapes he is looking for combined with the long exposures are not compatible with people. Trees in winter are isolated against plain backgrounds on the flat landscape of Essex or combined with rocks in Yorkshire.
Long exposures made the Severn Bridge float on mist. The Tollesbury lightship on the Essex Marshes was refloated on cotton wool. Almost the only movement in Peter’s photographs was the movement of water in remote waterfalls.
Many of Peter’s images show the decay of man-made features in the land and sea. Wrecked boats seemed to be at peace. Ruined farmhouses on Dartmoor are quiet reflections of a past world while finding a new life as refuges for walkers.
22nd November 2021
Some competition subjects are designed to challenge the imagination of photographers. For the latest round of Thornbury Camera Club’s annual competition the subject was “In a Minimalist Style”. What, you may wonder is that supposed to mean? The response from the members took the form of images with a lot of open space with simple sparse lines. Water appeared a lot with almost empty seas and lakes. In other cases shapes were almost abstract set in a blank space. There were several surfers in empty seas and a number of sunsets. Lone trees featured in several images.
In the print section, George Collett came first and third with “The Lone Wasp” and “High as a Kite”. “Sunset Surfer” gave second place to Dean Packer. Other Commended and Highly Commended images were provided by Mike Ashfield and Simon Meeds.
In the projected image section, George Collett came first with “Cormorant in Flight”. “Alone on a Bench” from Andy Gillingham came second while Rodney Crabb came third with “Sandblasted Rope”. Other Commended and Highly Commended images came from Rodney Crabb, Rose kemp, Garry Holden, Andy Gillingham and Barbara Gibbons.
Some competition subjects are designed to challenge the imagination of photographers. For the latest round of Thornbury Camera Club’s annual competition the subject was “In a Minimalist Style”. What, you may wonder is that supposed to mean? The response from the members took the form of images with a lot of open space with simple sparse lines. Water appeared a lot with almost empty seas and lakes. In other cases shapes were almost abstract set in a blank space. There were several surfers in empty seas and a number of sunsets. Lone trees featured in several images.
In the print section, George Collett came first and third with “The Lone Wasp” and “High as a Kite”. “Sunset Surfer” gave second place to Dean Packer. Other Commended and Highly Commended images were provided by Mike Ashfield and Simon Meeds.
In the projected image section, George Collett came first with “Cormorant in Flight”. “Alone on a Bench” from Andy Gillingham came second while Rodney Crabb came third with “Sandblasted Rope”. Other Commended and Highly Commended images came from Rodney Crabb, Rose kemp, Garry Holden, Andy Gillingham and Barbara Gibbons.
15th November 2021
Thornbury Camera Club was joined over Zoom by Sue O’Connell (FIPF ARPS EFIAP/d3 DPAGP BPE5) and Peter Brisley (ARPS EFIAP DPAGB BPE2) to hear and see their joint presentation “More Travels Towards the Edge”.
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, is an ancient settlement rapidly being overtaken by modern high-rise buildings and pollution: both the consequence of the mining industry. Out in the Steppe, Sue met people living a nomadic lifestyle in round tents called “Ger”. The economy is constructed round animals: horses, camels and yaks. In the east of the country the Kazakh eagle hunters tame golden eagles to hunt and for status. These spectacular birds in the wild landscape have attracted photographers for many years.
Peter described the wildlife of the Pantanal in Brazil: the world's largest tropical wetland. While birds and reptiles provided much of the wildlife, the sleek Jaguar is the picture which most visiting photographers would like to take away with them.
Just as Mongolia is becoming the victim of pollution so, in Pantanal, Peter showed the consequences of modern farming practices polluting the water courses. A particularly tragic image showed the body of a poisoned Caiman alligator floating upside down in the river.
Thornbury Camera Club was joined over Zoom by Sue O’Connell (FIPF ARPS EFIAP/d3 DPAGP BPE5) and Peter Brisley (ARPS EFIAP DPAGB BPE2) to hear and see their joint presentation “More Travels Towards the Edge”.
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, is an ancient settlement rapidly being overtaken by modern high-rise buildings and pollution: both the consequence of the mining industry. Out in the Steppe, Sue met people living a nomadic lifestyle in round tents called “Ger”. The economy is constructed round animals: horses, camels and yaks. In the east of the country the Kazakh eagle hunters tame golden eagles to hunt and for status. These spectacular birds in the wild landscape have attracted photographers for many years.
Peter described the wildlife of the Pantanal in Brazil: the world's largest tropical wetland. While birds and reptiles provided much of the wildlife, the sleek Jaguar is the picture which most visiting photographers would like to take away with them.
Just as Mongolia is becoming the victim of pollution so, in Pantanal, Peter showed the consequences of modern farming practices polluting the water courses. A particularly tragic image showed the body of a poisoned Caiman alligator floating upside down in the river.
8th November 2021
Thornbury Camera Club held another in-house meeting where members share their images and describe their approach to photography.
Cheryl Miller (ARPS) described her recent unsuccessful attempt to become a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Fellowship requires the applicant to submit 20 or 21 images to be assessed as a panel as well as individually. Cheryl submitted images taken in Santorini: a popular tourist destination in the Aegean Sea. The principle town, Thira, consists of closely built white buildings, often with blue roofs matching the blue sea and sky. Cheryl showed the buildings and the landscape as well as people who live and work there: Santorini is popular as a destination for wedding photography.
Martin Nimmo showed very different images. Many were taken locally showing the Wye valley including Tintern Abbey and the Devil’s Pulpit which looks down on the scene. Further south, Martin showed seascapes from Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare. Travels further afield in the UK have taken Martin to Scotland to see the Falkirk wheel and, nearby, the Kelpies: giant sculptures of horses heads standing in a public park between Falkirk and Grangemouth. Travelling west, Martin showed the rugged mountains and seascapes of Skye: a far cry from gentle Clevedon.
Thornbury Camera Club held another in-house meeting where members share their images and describe their approach to photography.
Cheryl Miller (ARPS) described her recent unsuccessful attempt to become a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Fellowship requires the applicant to submit 20 or 21 images to be assessed as a panel as well as individually. Cheryl submitted images taken in Santorini: a popular tourist destination in the Aegean Sea. The principle town, Thira, consists of closely built white buildings, often with blue roofs matching the blue sea and sky. Cheryl showed the buildings and the landscape as well as people who live and work there: Santorini is popular as a destination for wedding photography.
Martin Nimmo showed very different images. Many were taken locally showing the Wye valley including Tintern Abbey and the Devil’s Pulpit which looks down on the scene. Further south, Martin showed seascapes from Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare. Travels further afield in the UK have taken Martin to Scotland to see the Falkirk wheel and, nearby, the Kelpies: giant sculptures of horses heads standing in a public park between Falkirk and Grangemouth. Travelling west, Martin showed the rugged mountains and seascapes of Skye: a far cry from gentle Clevedon.