Photo display
A PACKED meeting of Sileby Photographic Society took place on Monday, March 26, when our visitor Andrew Lings (who hails from Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, and D.H. Lawrence country) came to show his work entitled “The Edge of the World”.
Andrew explained that the title stems from the fact that the Outer Hebrides are the end of land until one reaches the Americas further west.
Andrew’s presentation was different in that it comprised of only prints of Harris, Lewis, Uist and St. Kilda and his atmospheric glossy prints aimed to portray that idea of the ‘edge of the world’.
Images of the large Lewis Chess Men were colourful and gave an interesting aspect to the Viking theme that also was part of Andrew’s presentation having explained his ancestral links through investigating his surname. There were Viking type houses and clack-mill still being lived in up until the 20th Century.
There were fiery colourful images of Viking re-enactors from Shetland at Tarbert, with the inevitable high-viz jackets and fire engine in tow proving that the Vikings were still not to be trusted! An unusual image of a large stack of peat was shown, stacked in ‘herring-bone’ fashion, and other unusual shots that could not have been taken anywhere else such as the ferrying of sheep for grazing to another island in a very small boat! And of course the weaving of Harris Tweed in tiny workshops by the locals.
Andrew was keen to tell the story of two old ladies who had lead extraordinary lives and yet had lived on Harris making the Tweed on a loom made out of old timbers from a sailing ship!
Andrew’s images of the variety of sheds to be found on the islands was very interesting, and again tells the story of the ingenuity of the islanders who don’t have that many natural resources! The variety of images from cottages to boats to beaches was enormous.
Another Harris local is the artist Willie Fulton who paints moonlit landscapes, and had been photographed by Andrew working in his studio along with the fantastic views he enjoys.
Andrew’s visit to St. Kilda was not without its problems, he managed to get there on his third attempt! Once there he had military buildings, a cruise ship, people and a sunny day to contend with, but did manage to capture the essence of the emptiness of the place with his images of the abandoned cottages and sheep pens. Andrew loves to capture the rough rainy landscapes of the Islands and so much variety was achieved in his images of seascapes, lone cottages and sweeping beaches.
The Callanish Stones of Lewis at sunset, and in full sunlight, and also in silhouette were stunning! Morning shots of the same place proved completely different as the morning mist and black and white images picked out the detail in the stones. Other sunrise images produced colours reminiscent of old sepia photographs.
A visit to Luskentyre beach, Harris gave Andrew the large sandy beaches and stormy skies that he so loves along with a series of seven stunning images of a gannet close to the beach gliding over the rough crashing waves, with looming storm clouds in the background.
Andrew used a sports technique to take impressionist type images of a very bright and colourful beach scene, which showed his flexibility to take images in all types of weather.
Andrew concluded his presentation with images of boats in the harbour at Leverburgh, Harris at sunset and later with the moon in view.
The society’s vice president Malcolm Coulton thanked Andrew for his impressive presentation which had included so much historical and geographical facts. This was a super evening enjoyed by everyone.
There will be no meeting on April 2, as it falls on Easter Monday, but the following Monday, April 9, will be our 2nd Quarterly Competition judged by David Gibbins.
As always, visitors and prospective members are always welcome to attend meetings which commence at 7.45pm for 8pm and are held at Sileby Community Centre.
Further information can be obtained from the Society’s website, the address of which is www.silebyps.org. uk