Club Meeting, 'My View' with Ivor Robinson - Tuesday 12th October 2021.

  

On Tuesday 12th October, Ivor Robinson from Hartlepool was the guest speaker and presenter at Morpeth Camera
Club. Ivor is a prolific photographer and club members were looking forward to his Audiovisual presentations entitled
'My View'.

Ivor started his show with a short collection of people pictures, all of the images had been taken from the same
viewpoint and he had focused on just the face. As each image dissolved and merged into the next image, the facial
expressions changed and set to appropriate music, it was an interesting and different opening sequence.

The National Glass Centre at Sunderland featured in his nicely paced second A.v as we were taken on a tour around
the building on the north bank of the River Wear. His detailed images of well-lit glass objects, vibrant colours and
views of the glass and steel structure with its unique glass roof that visitors can walk across whilst looking down
into the centre below, was well observed.

Cloud Hill was the subject of his next presentation as we visited an isolated cottage near Wareham in Dorset, South
West England. It was the former home of T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and the cottage remains mostly as
it was at his death. Owned by the National Trust, it features an exhibition detailing Lawrence's life, with most of his
original furniture and possessions on display.

Following this, a change of subject matter saw us enjoying a short walk in the country as Ivor had recorded one of
his covid enforced walks from spring 2020. Close up images of buds, catkins, grasses, and colourful flowers reminded
us of natures beauty and a vertical dissolve giving the impression of a plant growing showed that a lot of thought
goes into each presentation.

Muddy Mayhem was a fast-paced A.v taken at an outdoor event set in the 18th Century parkland of Hardwick Park,
Sedgefield. Billed as the North East's ultimate obstacle course, hundreds of competitors enjoy getting as wet and
muddy as possible as they climb over tyres, swing from ropes and crawl through flooded pipes for fun.

Ivor stated that one of his favourite subjects to photograph was bridges and his next sequence was the stunning
Infinity Bridge, a 180m long footbridge across the River Tees at Stockton. This was a journey of imagination and
invention as Ivor captured the shapes and angles of the asymmetric double tied-arch and suspended deck of
stainless steel and reinforced concrete. The fleeting glimpse of the 'third image' that is created as pictures merge
and dissolve was beautiful and worthy of several viewings.

Leaving the local area, Ivor's next presentation took us to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.
This circular building was designed by the architect Frederick Gibberd, who was the winner of a worldwide design
competition. Set to a gregorian soundtrack, Ivor's images showed both the intricate details and the scale of this
beautiful building.

In a change of pace, the next sequence was called Boots, a fun mix of images that illustrated the famous hit song
from the 60'S 'These boots are made for Walkin' sung by Nancy Sinatra.

Scunthorpe Steelworks is not the first subject that would come to mind when making an A.v but Ivors next series
of images entitled The Works, (Into the Fire) took us on a railway journey around this working heavy industrial site.
Dirt, smoke, fire, steam, combined with huge torpedo wagons carrying molten iron from the blast furnaces around
the site made compelling viewing.

The variety of subject matter taken by the presenter continued with further short A.v's featuring Brass bands at
the Durham Miners Gala, glorious sunsets set against the transporter bridge on the river tees and a very wet day
in Edinburgh, all showed that he is a skilled photographer.

His penultimate sequence took us around Ushaw House and St Cuthberts Chapel, a former Catholic seminary near
the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham. Images of carved wooden pews, a huge stone altar, stained glass, ornate
ceilings and statutory, showed the fine architecture and craftsmanship of this location.

Clouds and Skies concluded Ivor's collection of Av's as he pointed his camera skywards to record billowing
cloud formations as he encouraged us to look up, pause for a moment and see what is around us.

  

Ivor stated at the beginning of the evening that the aim of his audiovisual presentations was to not only display his
huge collection of images but to convey the mood and feeling that he had when taking them. With good composition,
well-chosen music, and skilled editing he had certainly achieved his goals.

Davy Bolam.