ACCRINGTON CAMERA CLUB
AT the latest meeting we were entertained by Sue Berry, of Bolton, who brought along images illustrating her view of the world in black and white. Stunning images accompanied with atmospheric and emotional music kept the audience entranced.
Sue introduced herself and her interests from her seat in the audience before any images were projected. This created an intimate atmosphere and then the music took over, accompanying a sequence of strong images on an architectural theme. Abstract shots of “sphericity”, Birmingham, immediately captured the attention of the audience and continued with scenes of industrial sites in and around Lancashire, before exploring details of buildings new and old in Manchester, Liverpool and London. Dramatic lighting and creative angles gave an insight into the appreciation Sue has of her surroundings.
The Yorkshire Dales, Anglesey and Scotland provided opportunities for Sue to explore the landscapes and present to the audience another aspect of her photographic skills. Many of the locations were close to home and featured Mary’s Shell at Cleveleys, Fleetwood marshes, the Wirral and Belmont, before extending her journeys to North Wales, the Lake District and the Scottish glens.
After a short break the audience was treated to hidden scenes as Sue embarked on an urban exploration of buildings abandoned, derelict and awaiting demolition. Victorian hospitals, power stations and country mansions were photographed and the stark contrasty images captured the present state of neglect and dereliction while hinting at the previous glory and life the buildings had.
The rather sombre mood was lifted by the next sequence of graffiti and street photography. Works by Banksy, Akse, Stewy and Doc illustrated the art freely painted and displayed for everyone to enjoy. Some of the artists in the process of painting new artwork were shown in rare moments.
In spite of the artwork generally being extremely bright and colourful, their projection as monochrome images enabled people to appreciate the strong lines of the designs and the strong composition of the photographs.
A series of nature shots brought the show to a close. Meerkats, kittens, otters and flamingos were presented in incredible definition, while waterfalls were depicted in a more sympathetic light with longer exposures producing lovely milky water indicating the movement of the water on a still photograph. Flower heads and leaves completed this collection of natural subjects and provided a calming conclusion.
It was all credit to Sue Berry’s mastery of her camera and her understanding of her subjects that the absence of colour made the images stronger. The music by Jean-Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield complemented the fabulous images and the audience was of one accord that Sue should make a return visit as soon as possible.
Sue’s visit followed another great talk, this time by Jeff Cowling, who visited us a couple of weeks earlier to give us his fascinating life story accompanied by pictures that while not ‘strong’ in a competitive sense aptly illustrated the moments and mood of his travels around the world.
An engineer for most of his life, Jeff was in Africa as a young man in the 1960s, staying in Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania. He told of his exploits during those times, including travelling to the Victoria Falls with a caravan and the day he went with friends to Kenya on its first day of independence from the UK.
He also spent time in other African countries - helping to construct the continent’s first motorway lighting in the process - but returned home to the UK because of a health scare.
Struggling to find a job he launched his own company and – his thirst for adventure and desire to see the world undimmed – his holidays seemed to be spent covering as much of the globe as possible.
The second of two world cruises saw him tour Central America, see the Argentinian fiords, travel up the Amazon and spend a total of 108 days at sea before returning home to Pendle. He also realised his dream of sailing through the Panama Canal.
Jeff had done and seen such a lot in his life that the audience could be forgiven for feeling their travels were tame in comparison.
Tonight’s meeting (Friday) is our monthly competition. This starts at 7.45pm at Hyndburn Academy, Stourton Street, Rishton. Visitors and new members most welcome. See www.accringtoncameraclub.org.uk for more information.