Club Meeting, 'Four & Twenty' - Tuesday 26th September 2023.
On Tuesday 26th September, Morpeth Camera Club enjoyed an evening entitled ‘4 and 20’, where four club members
each gave twenty-minute presentations of their photography. Following a trip to Costa Rica, Paul Appleby opened the
proceedings with some exceptional images of its native birds and wildlife. Travelling 1800km in 20 days his trip took
him through jungle and backwaters to Potrero Beach, Palo Verde, Baru and Carara National Parks, Monteverde Cloud
Forest and Talamanca National Reserves. He gave a flowing commentary on the behaviour and habitat of a variety of
wading birds, sloths, dragonflies, monkeys, and reptiles. Paul managed to remember all of their exotic names, such
as the Coati, Mot Mot, Green Violet Eared Hummingbird, Limpkin, Great Tailed Grackle, Yellow-throated Euphonia and
Masked Tityra. His great photographs of so many exotic, vibrantly coloured birds and wildlife are a testament to his
photographic skills.
Helen Vaudrey followed and began by saying that as a trained artist she uses her camera as a sketch book. We saw
images of New Orleans, with flood-damaged doors left by Hurricane Katrina, Alnwick’s alleyways and passages, The
Reichstag, Berlin, The London Eye and textured stone steps in Edinburgh. Throughout her presentation she explained
why she had taken certain images; she looked for shapes, textures, proportions, light, verticals, reflections, diagonals
and wanted to evoke a sense of movement. She also loves atmospheric night time photography in suburbia depicting
street life. Images of tree shapes, frosty leaves, mossy textures, sheep silhouettes and roots from storm-damaged
trees followed. We saw desaturated, soft images of a ship approaching harbour and skyscrapers, which possessed an
ethereal quality. Minimalistic groynes,rocks, and abstract reflections, while making use of negative space, concluded
her eclectic choice of images.
Martin Goble came on next with a Chase Jarvis quotation; ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’, and in this
case, Martin showed shots taken with his mobile phone. His presentation was based on his daily commute; through
train and plane windows while travelling to different cities on the continent, at home and whilst walking from various
hotels to his place of work. We saw linea, glass-clad railway stations, Son Et Lumiere patterns of colour projected on
to the Grand-Place, Brussels, colourful night time images of a Christmas market and London cityscapes through glass
after rain. Office buildings in India, an escalator abstract, bright office interiors in Helsinki, modern architecture and
reflective glass of skyscrapers at La Defence in Paris followed. Martin went on to show Images taken in Milan, Haalem,
Amersfoort, Netherlands, the Duomo by day and night, and the architecture of King’s Cross Station. Throughout his
talk, Martin provided humorous anecdotes of his travels.
To conclude the evening Club Chairman Peter Downs gave a presentation entitled ‘Imagination Let Loose’. His mantra
is that rules stifle photography; and that there are no rules in his opinion. He continued with a Rami quotation ‘Why
do you stay in prison when the door is wide open?’. Blended computer-generated images followed; a Blyth abstract
and motion blur woodland scenes, firstly showing the original and then a series of minimalistic, desaturated versions
with added mist for atmosphere. Sand patterns, Lynemouth Beach, and a fishing boat that had been stylised to create
something different. He asked the audience a rhetorical question; ‘Are these photographs or digital art?’ Throughout
his presentation, Peter explained his methods using gradients, motion blur, and fading to create minimalism. Showing
how he removes all detail from an image until it is stripped back to create a hint of a picture, Peter believes that it
encourages the use of imagination and leaves it open to interpretation.
Steph.
each gave twenty-minute presentations of their photography. Following a trip to Costa Rica, Paul Appleby opened the
proceedings with some exceptional images of its native birds and wildlife. Travelling 1800km in 20 days his trip took
him through jungle and backwaters to Potrero Beach, Palo Verde, Baru and Carara National Parks, Monteverde Cloud
Forest and Talamanca National Reserves. He gave a flowing commentary on the behaviour and habitat of a variety of
wading birds, sloths, dragonflies, monkeys, and reptiles. Paul managed to remember all of their exotic names, such
as the Coati, Mot Mot, Green Violet Eared Hummingbird, Limpkin, Great Tailed Grackle, Yellow-throated Euphonia and
Masked Tityra. His great photographs of so many exotic, vibrantly coloured birds and wildlife are a testament to his
photographic skills.
Helen Vaudrey followed and began by saying that as a trained artist she uses her camera as a sketch book. We saw
images of New Orleans, with flood-damaged doors left by Hurricane Katrina, Alnwick’s alleyways and passages, The
Reichstag, Berlin, The London Eye and textured stone steps in Edinburgh. Throughout her presentation she explained
why she had taken certain images; she looked for shapes, textures, proportions, light, verticals, reflections, diagonals
and wanted to evoke a sense of movement. She also loves atmospheric night time photography in suburbia depicting
street life. Images of tree shapes, frosty leaves, mossy textures, sheep silhouettes and roots from storm-damaged
trees followed. We saw desaturated, soft images of a ship approaching harbour and skyscrapers, which possessed an
ethereal quality. Minimalistic groynes,rocks, and abstract reflections, while making use of negative space, concluded
her eclectic choice of images.
Martin Goble came on next with a Chase Jarvis quotation; ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’, and in this
case, Martin showed shots taken with his mobile phone. His presentation was based on his daily commute; through
train and plane windows while travelling to different cities on the continent, at home and whilst walking from various
hotels to his place of work. We saw linea, glass-clad railway stations, Son Et Lumiere patterns of colour projected on
to the Grand-Place, Brussels, colourful night time images of a Christmas market and London cityscapes through glass
after rain. Office buildings in India, an escalator abstract, bright office interiors in Helsinki, modern architecture and
reflective glass of skyscrapers at La Defence in Paris followed. Martin went on to show Images taken in Milan, Haalem,
Amersfoort, Netherlands, the Duomo by day and night, and the architecture of King’s Cross Station. Throughout his
talk, Martin provided humorous anecdotes of his travels.
To conclude the evening Club Chairman Peter Downs gave a presentation entitled ‘Imagination Let Loose’. His mantra
is that rules stifle photography; and that there are no rules in his opinion. He continued with a Rami quotation ‘Why
do you stay in prison when the door is wide open?’. Blended computer-generated images followed; a Blyth abstract
and motion blur woodland scenes, firstly showing the original and then a series of minimalistic, desaturated versions
with added mist for atmosphere. Sand patterns, Lynemouth Beach, and a fishing boat that had been stylised to create
something different. He asked the audience a rhetorical question; ‘Are these photographs or digital art?’ Throughout
his presentation, Peter explained his methods using gradients, motion blur, and fading to create minimalism. Showing
how he removes all detail from an image until it is stripped back to create a hint of a picture, Peter believes that it
encourages the use of imagination and leaves it open to interpretation.
Steph.