Club Meeting, 'Travel Photography My Way' - Tuesday 23rd April 2024.

                       

On Tuesday 23rd April, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed back Guest Speaker David Stout from Whickham Photographic Club,
with his presentation entitled ‘Travel Photography My Way’. David is an award winning landscape and travel photographer who
has visited numerous countries around the world since the 1960’s. He opened the evening by saying that he considers his trips
away to be photographic journeys rather than holidays. He presented his work in a series of headings beginning with ‘Research’
saying that he researches all elements of his trips via contacts and the internet. He wants to see exactly where they are going
and what time of day would be most beneficial to the quality of his photographs; even down to the best viewpoint.

Examples followed of Saltsburg’s Hohensalzburg Castle, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Grand Central Station in Manhattan, The
Lotus Art and Science Museum in Singapore, The Wat Rong Khun White Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand, The Austrian
National Library in Vienna and The Teatro Bellini in Sicily. Entitled ‘Ring in Red’ this section included their must-see areas to visit;
classic views with a difference of New York’s One World Trade Centre (Freedom Tower) and the Statue of Liberty, Dubai’s Burj
Khalifa, Egypt’s Sphinx, Orkney’s Italian Chapel, the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, Santorini’s blue domes, Sydney Opera House,
the Taj Mahal and the Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur.

Next up was ‘Push the Boat Out’ where David explained that ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get.’ The images that followed came
about due to his asking permission to get closer to normally restricted areas. We saw images of a Burmese boatman, portraits
of a flower girl at an Islamic wedding and a Moroccan Berber, a Jaipuran bandsman and a Thai monk, all of whom had to be
approached for their permission to photograph. This especially applied to Islamic women where he would approach them and
introduce them to his wife to assure them that he was genuine and acceptable and tries to greet people in their own language.

‘Look Up’ followed where he explained that he watches the sky and waits for a gap in the clouds and tries to judge when any
sunbeams are likely to appear. We saw examples of this in the sun shining on Isla Lighthouse during a storm, clouds drifting by
the Trump Tower, sunbeams shining on Angkor Wat and Burma’s Golden Rock, Castlerigg Stone Circle and York Minster under
storm clouds. ‘A Helping Hand’ came next where he often included his wife Ann in the shot to add scale, colour or interest. More
anecdotes followed where Ann, wearing the Niqab, the tradition dress for women, posed in shots taken in the Grand Mosque in
Abu Dhabi.

We enjoyed hearing stories and the history of the areas where his photographs were taken. He offered tips such as arriving
early to avoid crowds, arriving when it is cool and the clouds have not dissipated and his methods of spot metering and use
of a polariser to achieve detail and to prevent burn out. To conclude the evening we enjoyed fun shots for the family album.
A short Q & A session revealed that he rarely uses post processing. There are constraints in Travel photography; with strict
rules regarding manipulation and use of layers which are not allowed. Club Chairman Peter Downs thanked David for his very
interesting presentation which not only included the where and why but also the how, after which refreshments were served.

Steph.