Photo lecture
MEMBERS and guests of Sileby Photographic Society were entertained by visiting photographer/lecturer, Helen Willis, at their Monday meeting held on October 2.
Her digital image presentation ‘ The Road to Mandalay’, accompanied by factual commentary, provided a fascinating insight into the people of Burma (Myanmar) and also the near-unique landscapes in some areas of that part of the world.
The year 2012 saw her embarking on her adventures which she began in the city of Yangon.
British colonial style buildings dominated the centre, along with colourful street markets with the locals selling their wares in this busy area.
The monasteries housed many monks, each head shaven, and all wearing the customary red ‘uniform’.
Most appeared to be quite young, certainly of school age, and had to rely on hand-outs from an already poor locality in order to provide for their very existence, but the ‘system’ appeared to work.
Many Buddhist temples were seen, with the most sacred boasting intricate ornate carvings and, despite the poor area, gold was to be seen everywhere within them.
Helen’s images at her next port of call offered almost more of the same but contained an impressively large collection of Buddhist temples as well as over 2,000 pagodas within a relatively small area.
The pagodas did not just dot the landscape but almost filled it as far as the eye could see, and many of the images were quite stunning.
An amazing sight, and all the more amazing when Helen’s images revealed many gold domes atop and decorative gold leaf within.
Images representing her visit to Mandalay revealed more monasteries where, again, the monks were pictured in line waiting for their daily food rations to be given to them by the locals. Bustling street scenes, even at 8am., were evident and pictures were shown of the locals going about their daily life.
Their existence was fairly basic, with heavy reliance on their own resourcefulness to secure their existence. Traditional crafts such as weaving from home-spun silk, growing fruit and vegetables, and employing their own quite unique fishing methods, ensured their way of life continued and whilst the pictures depicted happy people selling their wares on the busy street markets, their lifestyle was by no means a luxurious one.
Helen showed some great images representing her visit to Inla Lake. Houses, all built on stilts, had been erected on both sides of this very large lake, which formed their local community.
Whilst not appearing particularly robust, they seemed to be able to withstand the elements and were obviously fit for purpose.
Each contained its own ‘parking space’ for a boat, their only means of transport, and the locals happily went about their daily activities.
Helen took advantage of willing participants when pointing the camera in their direction, and some lovely images were projected revealing the Burmese characteristic faces, although a visit for some to the dentist seemed long overdue!
Helen was thanked by Alun Williams for sharing her pictures which had captured the essence of life in Burma whilst on holiday there; an excellent evening which had been enjoyed by all.
The society’s 63rd Annual Exhibition begins on Monday, October 16.
This year, the event takes place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings from 7pm to 9.30pm and, on Wednesday, the 18th October, the hours of opening will be 2pm to 9.30pm.
On Saturday, 21st October, visitors can pop into see the exhibition during the hours of 1pm to 6pm.
This is a popular and important milestone in the Society’s calendar of events and features the work of its members undertaken throughout the year. Mounted colour and monochrome prints, digital image presentations and this year’s audio visual theme show, ‘Charnwood Part 1’, will be on display.
As usual, the week-long Exhibition takes place at the Sileby Community Centre and refreshments will be available throughout.
Further information can be obtained from the Society’s website, www.silebyps.org.uk