Gainsborough Snappers met as usual in July, and after two months of concentrating on portraiture and flash technique, it was time to have a look at the results.
Everyone agreed that with such good lighting and a proper background, there had been very little to do to the shots after they came out of the camera. Some members had experimented with turning them to monochrome and Kerry Muscott explained in detail how she had changed the original shot to make it wider, cropped it square and highlighted the significant features.
Members were challenged earlier in the year to capture images of spring, and finally this was the opportunity to see what they had come up with. First up for scrutiny were prints brought by two members.
Peter Yeo had some lovely shots from China. He explained that one showed a Chinese wedding couple. He had witnessed them being photographed and had enquired the reason. He was told that they have their wedding photos taken before the event so that when it come to the ceremony, they are thinking only about what they are doing. They were happy to oblige him by posing for the shot shown.
Des Lloyd is one of Snappers’ specialist nature photographers and he had brought a collection of his wonderful bird photos. He used them to talk through the nesting season for diverse species such as tawny owls and whitethroats. He had captured some great shots and comical expressions.
There is always at least one member who takes a comical approach to the subject. Jenny Smith showed shots taken during spring at the Goth Weekend in Whitby. Russ Smith, who had provided all the kit and advice for the group’s portraits obviously did not have any shots to show. He took the comic line with spring onions and spring vegetables but stopped short of a metal spring!
Alan Burkwood had experimented with infra-red photography after getting an old camera adapted to allow him to do this with normal shooting. The results were very different and had an appeal of their own.
Several people, including Alan Pinder, had tried their hand at bluebells, but they are surprisingly difficult to photograph in a way which reproduces the effect of a carpet of blue, which is so striking to the eye. Nobody was surprised that the shot which drew most reaction was of a lamb on a tree root, which Alan had cleaned up using the new AI feature of the software most members use.
Snappers like to make use of the ‘better weather’ in summer – and they remain optimistic that we may get some! Excursions have been suggested for later in July to Abbeydale Industrial hamlet near Sheffield and the sculpture exhibition at Doddington Hall. The following meetings will be devoted to critique of members’ images from these trips.
Snappers are always pleased to welcome guests and visitors; if you can get to Beckingham Village Hall, you will find a warm welcome. They meet between 1.30pm and 3.30pm on the first Friday of each month unless otherwise advised at www.snappers.org.uk, which you can visit for more information.