Club Meeting, 'Instagram; Thinking Inside a... ' - Tuesday 15th February 2022.
On Tuesday 15th February, Morpeth Camera Club was very pleased to welcome back one of our former
members, John Willmore, with a talk entitled ‘Instagram, Thinking inside a Square Box.’ John downloads his
images to Instagram, an American photo and video sharing social networking service that is famous for its
square format that was inspired by a Holga toy camera that produced square images.
John loves to create panels of two or three images which at first have no obvious theme but which have
a tenuous link. His chosen style is to place his images into a deep white frame and with the addition of a
thin line border to accentuate the subject. He is a stickler for perfect symmetry and we enjoyed his images
of modern glass buildings, ceramic tiles and concrete block patterns. He demonstrated architectural links
between brick and glass, derelict spaces, distressed doors and windows, objects linked by colour or shape,
and silhouetted people at sunset. We enjoyed coastal images which included rock formations, sand and sky,
and a tree theme that included the bark, leaves and the complete tree.
In street photography where there is an interesting window display, graffitied walls, colourful shutters or
distressed paintwork, John likes to wait and to include passers-by in the scene. His preferred method is to
portray people with a sense of movement by using a slow shutter speed, creating a blurred effect, but at
the same time keeping the background in perfect focus. He will often take alternative shots of one subject
from different angles picking out detail and a shared tonal value. One method he uses is to step back and
photograph a whole scene then select the portion he wants to use, to reveal colours, shapes and symmetry.
Tenuous links to vertical objects, shared horizons, lines, curves and angles, external and internal shots of
the same building, and stations in the rain all illustrated John’s attention to detail. He pointed out that there
is an app that groups four images together within the square, which is particularly good for linking similar
colours and textures. John concluded by stating that even the most mundane things can be made interesting,
numbers, shop signage, yellow ‘no parking’ lines, and candid shots of people, can all make for amusing street
photography.
During the evening we saw that John produces interesting images that sometimes break the normal rules of
composition and Co-Chair Sue Dawson, when thanking John for his presentation, commented that he had an
eye for an unusual photograph and it was obvious that he had a great passion for the square format. A short
Q & A session followed where John shared his techniques, after which refreshments were served.
members, John Willmore, with a talk entitled ‘Instagram, Thinking inside a Square Box.’ John downloads his
images to Instagram, an American photo and video sharing social networking service that is famous for its
square format that was inspired by a Holga toy camera that produced square images.
John loves to create panels of two or three images which at first have no obvious theme but which have
a tenuous link. His chosen style is to place his images into a deep white frame and with the addition of a
thin line border to accentuate the subject. He is a stickler for perfect symmetry and we enjoyed his images
of modern glass buildings, ceramic tiles and concrete block patterns. He demonstrated architectural links
between brick and glass, derelict spaces, distressed doors and windows, objects linked by colour or shape,
and silhouetted people at sunset. We enjoyed coastal images which included rock formations, sand and sky,
and a tree theme that included the bark, leaves and the complete tree.
In street photography where there is an interesting window display, graffitied walls, colourful shutters or
distressed paintwork, John likes to wait and to include passers-by in the scene. His preferred method is to
portray people with a sense of movement by using a slow shutter speed, creating a blurred effect, but at
the same time keeping the background in perfect focus. He will often take alternative shots of one subject
from different angles picking out detail and a shared tonal value. One method he uses is to step back and
photograph a whole scene then select the portion he wants to use, to reveal colours, shapes and symmetry.
Tenuous links to vertical objects, shared horizons, lines, curves and angles, external and internal shots of
the same building, and stations in the rain all illustrated John’s attention to detail. He pointed out that there
is an app that groups four images together within the square, which is particularly good for linking similar
colours and textures. John concluded by stating that even the most mundane things can be made interesting,
numbers, shop signage, yellow ‘no parking’ lines, and candid shots of people, can all make for amusing street
photography.
During the evening we saw that John produces interesting images that sometimes break the normal rules of
composition and Co-Chair Sue Dawson, when thanking John for his presentation, commented that he had an
eye for an unusual photograph and it was obvious that he had a great passion for the square format. A short
Q & A session followed where John shared his techniques, after which refreshments were served.