Club Meeting, My View of the World - Tuesday 3rd September 2019.

                              

Morpeth Camera Club opened their new season by welcoming guest speaker Phil Benton with his presentation entitled
My View of the World. Phil a locally based professional photographer and a member of South Shields Camera Club, has
developed a deep passion for photography over the past twelve years and thrives on the challenge of creating different
visual images that are sometimes outside convention.

Phil’s presentation opened with a gritty, heavy industrial scene of Redcar taken from the beach and shots of crashing
waves over Roker and Tynemouth Piers which contrasted with a serene evening shot of Steetley Pier receding to the
horizon. He explained that he likes to capture the light just before darkness and illustrated this with images of Holy
Island; a sea fret over the causeway, of Lindisfarne castle seconds after an eclipse, and an upturned boat in moonlight.
His night time scenes of the Milky Way over Sycamore Gap, and an amazing shot of the Herd Groyne lighthouse, with
starbursts from both lighthouses in the distance, for which he was awarded Landscape Photographer of the Year, was
testament to his expertise in low light photography.

An eclectic mix of photographs followed which included a detailed macro shot of ‘Tommy’, Ribblehead Viaduct carrying
the Flying Scotsman, sunset lit swans on Ullswater, and the Gormley statues on Crosby beach silhouetted at sunset.
He prefers, he said, to capture pastel sunsets taken after the sun has set which he feels is more pleasing to the eye.
We saw lovely examples of this taken from South Shields and Blyth, but we also saw a lovely example of vibrancy with
his photograph of the Pilgrims Way with poles receding to a glories red and gold sunset.

He is prepared to wait for a sunbeam to settle on a Glen Coe hillside, for a person to emerge into shot on a beach to
balance the scene or to add perspective. Equally at home with rural landscapes the audience enjoyed a snow dusted
Blencathra, a glorious poppy field near Aydon Castle, a delightful Highland cow with calf and a pastel sunset over
Alnwick Castle. Generously giving advice on shooting along the way, his presentation was interspersed with stories
relating to his visits, one of which was Iceland. Phil managed to bring this bleak landscape to life; images of a lone
chapel under low clouds, 200ft frozen waterfalls, the Witches Hat mountain, glaciers tinged with turquoise, Diamond
Beach with its stranded icebergs, and many stunning shots of the Aurora Borealis.

Phil certainly gave the audience pause for thought with his well considered images. Some were taken in locations
which had been photographed by many, but they had a variation to them which made them fresh and offered a
different dimension, an alternative view of the familiar. A short Q & A session followed after which the new Joint
Vice Chair Roseanne Robinson gave a vote of thanks, saying that Phil’s presentation had been a fantastic start to
our new season and that his alternative views were inspirational. Selections of Phil’s prints were then displayed for
club members to enjoy over coffee.

Steph.