Club Meeting, An Engaging Evening - Tuesday 18th February 2020.
On Tuesday 18th February Morpeth Camera Club were pleased to welcome John Devlin ARPS and Mike Berry
ARPS with a talk entitled ‘ An Engaging Evening ’. Accomplished photographers they described their talk as an
interactive and engaging presentation, adding that they prefer a cosy atmosphere where they can interact with
the crowd. John & Mike have completely different styles; John’s work is mainly landscape, whereas Mike prefers
hard, graphic, colourful and challenging street life. No two evenings are the same, they said, it depends on the
audience and where the conversation leads them.
After opening graphics the audience had a choice of projected colourful files to choose from, behind which were
a variety of images from either presenter. The first one chosen contained a lovely audio visual set of images from
John of the beautiful lochs, seascapes and mountains of Scotland whereas the next file picked by the audience
revealed, once again an Av but this time from Mike of striking colourful images taken in India of children within
their environment. The next file opened revealed a title of ‘Spoilt Landscape’ wherein we saw examples of areas
where man had spoiled the landscape with quarries, abandoned cars and dumped or burned rubbish.
The next file contained ‘The Commute’ showing scenes of masses of Vietnamese scooter riders, Mumbai’s main
station and commuters cramming onto buses. Then on to question time were the audience were asked to explain
their photographic workflow and whether they thought that photographic magazines were still relevant compared
with online versions which brought up a surprising array of opinions.
Many file numbers appeared on the screen and the audience were asked to choose a number, behind which various
themes were revealed such as ‘Straight Lines, not in Nature’ which was illustrated by John’s images of Loch Lomond’s
curved waterlines, Taliskir’s sweeping bays and tide lines. Another choice brought up ‘Don’t Throw it Away’, where
Mikes, graphic images taken in Asia of piles of gear boxes and break drums, told a story of how one man’s rubbish
can be fixed and sold on.
The subject of ‘Mood’ came next, asking the question, ‘What creates mood?’ John illustrated this with his view,
being light, conditions and location, with images of Saltwick Bay in high winds, Balcomie Bay, Fife, with tranquil,
milky waters and fishermen’s huts in the mist. ‘Its Art – is it?’ popped up next on the screen, which opened a
debate with the audience, resulting in the opinion that one can be inspired by painters to create a version of
one’s own. ‘Waiting Game’, came next with John showing striking examples of landscapes taken before and after
the right light had arrived.
'Same Place Different Angle’ brought up the question of whether one should take just one shot of a subject, with
John suggesting that several versions taken from different points of view must be better, illustrating his point with
several images of modern, glass exterior buildings which were all different and impactful. Finally, the big question,
‘Has the Development of Digital Photography Made You Better?’ which brought up a raft of opinions from the floor.
Does taking 1000’s of images make you better; the odds are that you will get one good one, Mike said. It was agreed
that the discipline of film photography plus the cost, made the photographer more careful with settings and therefore
more competent in the technical aspects of photography.
Mike and John concluded their evening with a video from National Geographic Magazine on the subject of what
photography can do. Interviewing a selection of accomplished photographers, they said it was a universal language,
hones the vision, enables one to see the world and its humanity and pulls in the public to ask questions and moves
people to action. It connects people to the world not only for its beauty but its poverty and destruction, concluding
that one should never underestimate the power of photography.
A two man show with contrasting attitudes, they opened the floor to discussion, overcame a technical hitch with
ease, included anecdotes of their travels and experiences, and provided a very different and interesting evening
of photography. Mike and John were thanked for their presentation, after which a selection of their prints were
admired during coffee.
Steph.
ARPS with a talk entitled ‘ An Engaging Evening ’. Accomplished photographers they described their talk as an
interactive and engaging presentation, adding that they prefer a cosy atmosphere where they can interact with
the crowd. John & Mike have completely different styles; John’s work is mainly landscape, whereas Mike prefers
hard, graphic, colourful and challenging street life. No two evenings are the same, they said, it depends on the
audience and where the conversation leads them.
After opening graphics the audience had a choice of projected colourful files to choose from, behind which were
a variety of images from either presenter. The first one chosen contained a lovely audio visual set of images from
John of the beautiful lochs, seascapes and mountains of Scotland whereas the next file picked by the audience
revealed, once again an Av but this time from Mike of striking colourful images taken in India of children within
their environment. The next file opened revealed a title of ‘Spoilt Landscape’ wherein we saw examples of areas
where man had spoiled the landscape with quarries, abandoned cars and dumped or burned rubbish.
The next file contained ‘The Commute’ showing scenes of masses of Vietnamese scooter riders, Mumbai’s main
station and commuters cramming onto buses. Then on to question time were the audience were asked to explain
their photographic workflow and whether they thought that photographic magazines were still relevant compared
with online versions which brought up a surprising array of opinions.
Many file numbers appeared on the screen and the audience were asked to choose a number, behind which various
themes were revealed such as ‘Straight Lines, not in Nature’ which was illustrated by John’s images of Loch Lomond’s
curved waterlines, Taliskir’s sweeping bays and tide lines. Another choice brought up ‘Don’t Throw it Away’, where
Mikes, graphic images taken in Asia of piles of gear boxes and break drums, told a story of how one man’s rubbish
can be fixed and sold on.
The subject of ‘Mood’ came next, asking the question, ‘What creates mood?’ John illustrated this with his view,
being light, conditions and location, with images of Saltwick Bay in high winds, Balcomie Bay, Fife, with tranquil,
milky waters and fishermen’s huts in the mist. ‘Its Art – is it?’ popped up next on the screen, which opened a
debate with the audience, resulting in the opinion that one can be inspired by painters to create a version of
one’s own. ‘Waiting Game’, came next with John showing striking examples of landscapes taken before and after
the right light had arrived.
'Same Place Different Angle’ brought up the question of whether one should take just one shot of a subject, with
John suggesting that several versions taken from different points of view must be better, illustrating his point with
several images of modern, glass exterior buildings which were all different and impactful. Finally, the big question,
‘Has the Development of Digital Photography Made You Better?’ which brought up a raft of opinions from the floor.
Does taking 1000’s of images make you better; the odds are that you will get one good one, Mike said. It was agreed
that the discipline of film photography plus the cost, made the photographer more careful with settings and therefore
more competent in the technical aspects of photography.
Mike and John concluded their evening with a video from National Geographic Magazine on the subject of what
photography can do. Interviewing a selection of accomplished photographers, they said it was a universal language,
hones the vision, enables one to see the world and its humanity and pulls in the public to ask questions and moves
people to action. It connects people to the world not only for its beauty but its poverty and destruction, concluding
that one should never underestimate the power of photography.
A two man show with contrasting attitudes, they opened the floor to discussion, overcame a technical hitch with
ease, included anecdotes of their travels and experiences, and provided a very different and interesting evening
of photography. Mike and John were thanked for their presentation, after which a selection of their prints were
admired during coffee.
Steph.