Club Meeting, 'From Rubbish to Royalty' - Tuesday 3rd September 2024.
On Tuesday 3rd September 2024, Morpeth Camera Club met for their first meeting of the new season with guest
speaker Dr Heather Laurence PhD, an award-winning editor and photographer, whose presentation was entitled
‘From Rubbish to Royalty'.
Heather began by saying that she was involved with many projects such as Public Health and wellbeing but she
came tonight to talk about her photography. She is the editor of the Focus on the North East Magazine, a small
local publication that strives to put ordinary people and things that happen in the North East in the spotlight. She
has photographed since she was a child, joining the school’s camera club and capturing images when on school
outings with her Instamatic. At the age of 12, she was developing her pictures, both in monochrome and colour.
Forty-five years on her love of photography has not waned.
On shoots for the magazine, the images must be dynamic with a story-telling quality. She gave one example of
fly-tipping; it is no good just taking a picture of rubbish, she said, it has to be in context, taken in the countryside,
telling a story of spoiling the environment. Subtitled ‘The Need for Speed’, Heather explained that in the field of
photojournalism in major national papers, the photographer has to work at lightning speed to get his images to
the newsroom as soon as possible. She explained that she takes one good shot at sporting venues such as horse
racing and rugby matches, to include in her monthly magazine which is not time-critical. In her publication, she
does not focus on trending topics and is not interested in short-lived trends, like those found on social media.
‘Gaining Approval’ came next where she explained that when taking images at concerts she may take 400 shots
of the star which are then sent for approval to their management; maybe four shots will be approved as the rest
don’t suit the persons 'brand image'. There are strict rules laid down at concerts; some managers only allow
photographers to take shots during the first three songs, some just the first song. The bigger the star, the harder
it is to get approval. The images that one has taken cannot be used on social media which carries a threat of
being sued. Conversely, one is allowed to take images which are classed as News; and Heather showed us some
examples, such as Mo Farah winning the Great North Run and of dancers at the Newcastle Mela.
If local enterprises approach her to feature their businesses, she aims to capture interesting content including
stages of manufacture. Ensuring that photographs reflect the essence of a place is challenging. As an example,
images taken at a local mine should encompass both underground and above-ground landscapes, as well as their
impact on the environment and culture. At events where children are likely to be present photographers have to
rely on organisers to ensure that permissions have been acquired, which is not always easy in crowd scenes.
A short Q & A time followed where Heather explained that she decides where to go and chooses the features she
wants to cover. She keeps a pool of interesting stories to call upon when necessary. Her work consists of spending
two-weeks sourcing and two weeks writing up and she doesn’t use advertising for revenue but relies on donations.
Images drive the magazine she concluded, Imagery is the key. Club Chairman Peter Downs then thanked Heather
for her presentation after which refreshments were served.
Steph.
speaker Dr Heather Laurence PhD, an award-winning editor and photographer, whose presentation was entitled
‘From Rubbish to Royalty'.
Heather began by saying that she was involved with many projects such as Public Health and wellbeing but she
came tonight to talk about her photography. She is the editor of the Focus on the North East Magazine, a small
local publication that strives to put ordinary people and things that happen in the North East in the spotlight. She
has photographed since she was a child, joining the school’s camera club and capturing images when on school
outings with her Instamatic. At the age of 12, she was developing her pictures, both in monochrome and colour.
Forty-five years on her love of photography has not waned.
On shoots for the magazine, the images must be dynamic with a story-telling quality. She gave one example of
fly-tipping; it is no good just taking a picture of rubbish, she said, it has to be in context, taken in the countryside,
telling a story of spoiling the environment. Subtitled ‘The Need for Speed’, Heather explained that in the field of
photojournalism in major national papers, the photographer has to work at lightning speed to get his images to
the newsroom as soon as possible. She explained that she takes one good shot at sporting venues such as horse
racing and rugby matches, to include in her monthly magazine which is not time-critical. In her publication, she
does not focus on trending topics and is not interested in short-lived trends, like those found on social media.
‘Gaining Approval’ came next where she explained that when taking images at concerts she may take 400 shots
of the star which are then sent for approval to their management; maybe four shots will be approved as the rest
don’t suit the persons 'brand image'. There are strict rules laid down at concerts; some managers only allow
photographers to take shots during the first three songs, some just the first song. The bigger the star, the harder
it is to get approval. The images that one has taken cannot be used on social media which carries a threat of
being sued. Conversely, one is allowed to take images which are classed as News; and Heather showed us some
examples, such as Mo Farah winning the Great North Run and of dancers at the Newcastle Mela.
If local enterprises approach her to feature their businesses, she aims to capture interesting content including
stages of manufacture. Ensuring that photographs reflect the essence of a place is challenging. As an example,
images taken at a local mine should encompass both underground and above-ground landscapes, as well as their
impact on the environment and culture. At events where children are likely to be present photographers have to
rely on organisers to ensure that permissions have been acquired, which is not always easy in crowd scenes.
A short Q & A time followed where Heather explained that she decides where to go and chooses the features she
wants to cover. She keeps a pool of interesting stories to call upon when necessary. Her work consists of spending
two-weeks sourcing and two weeks writing up and she doesn’t use advertising for revenue but relies on donations.
Images drive the magazine she concluded, Imagery is the key. Club Chairman Peter Downs then thanked Heather
for her presentation after which refreshments were served.
Steph.