Variety of top images
SILEBY Photographic
Society celebrated its pre-Christmas Zoom meeting held on December 14, with short presentations of images given by members, whilst enjoying mince pies and liquid refreshment in the comfort of their own homes.
Alun Williams set the ball rolling with his selection of mainly landscape images which included the World Heritage Site of Machu Pichu, the Amazon at Santarem, the spectacular Iguassu Falls, a magnificent glacier between Argentina and Chile, and salt marshes in the Galapagos Islands. He concluded with images of the Cotopaxi Volcano as seen from their hotel in Quito.
Bob Andrews’ choice showed a selection of boats captured on camera during a visit to Suffolk, many having seen better days, but very photogenic nevertheless.
The capsized narrow-boat in flood water, a semisubmerged boat which was never again going to fulfil its normal function, the wreckage of another boat moored on a shingle beach at Woodbridge, contrasted well with a rowing boat calmly making its way across the estuary at Southwold.
Colin Machin presented wildlife images, a relatively new subject for him to perfect, but his images captured on camera whilst visiting Sri Lanka proved that he now has another string to his bow.
Deer, butterfly and a selection of birds in their usual settings were quite beautiful, but the rare sight of a black bear had really made his day and provided an excellent image.
Gianpiero Ferrari never fails with his natural history and wildlife images, many of which were captured on camera whilst on safari in Kenya.
Small deer, giraffe, hyena, wildebeest and a Serval cat featured, along with colourful birds and unusual flowers which had caught his eye and provided excellent images.
Malcolm Coulton presented his selection as ‘2020 - What a Year!’
As if shingles wasn’t enough, along came the Coronavirus which resulted in holidays and all group and social activities being cancelled.
He therefore used the time to delve into his archives, sorting out old photograph albums, converting old pictures to digital, and rediscovering old cameras and film much used in the past, recording the exercise as he did so on his presenttaken day camera..
Mandy Sherrington’s images featured a plan of an old railway line in Sri Lanka, a circular route, used by three or four trains a day.
The dishevelled appearance of the station platform and surrounding area through which the trains travelled were seen but the system appeared to work and the pictures proved the point.
Mike Ap Thomas’s spring holiday experiences in Marrakesh were well recorded on camera, admitting that all images had been taken on his I-phone.
Old, characteristic buildings, lovely gardens surrounding a mosque, the local courtyard, a peaceful place to relax and cool off, together with images of street life and the local markets were well received.
Pete Smith used the enforced ‘lockdown’ to perfect his moth photography. A moth trap set in his garden did its job and, whilst not harming the creatures in any way, Pete was able to project many beautiful images of moths caught on camera in his ‘own backyard’. Ruby Tiger, Elephant Hawk, Lime Hawk and Leopard moths as well as others had paid him a visit and the resulting images were stunning.
Richard Storier presented images of the derelict pier at Weston-Super-Mare. His accompanying dialogue provided interesting historical information about the feature, images of which were taken from various stances.
The pier, which goes to an island, features an inactive lifeboat station in the middle, and the various shots presented were beautifully rounded off with those captured at sunrise.
Tony Naylor has transport running through his veins. His images included those at the Mountsorrel model railway exhibition last year, a loco engine under repair and maintenance, including the underneath of a Class 37 diesel loco taken from the inspection pit.
Lorries and trucks of a bygone era at the National Transport Museum featured too and, as a proud dad, and something different, his final image showed his son recently collecting his degree award at Leicester University.
Excellent commentary supported all the images and the accompanying factual information ensured that the members learnt a thing or two.
John Hoogerwerf, President, agreed that everyone had had another very enjoyable evening which had also proved that at least some members had managed a holiday this year!
He also thanked Malcolm Coulton for arranging the weekly Zoom meetings and Colin Machin for his technical support where necessary.
This was the final meeting before the Christmas/New Year break and brought to a close a very successful ‘first term’ of Zoom meetings, a situation forced upon the Society members because of the current Coronavirus pandemic
The Society’s next Zoom meeting will be held on Monday 4th January when visiting judge, Steve Myall, EFIAP, BPE4*, will fulfil the task of ‘Annual Competition Critique’.
Anyone wishing to become a member of Sileby Photographic Society, enabling access to the weekly Monday evening Zoom meetings, should visit the contact page of the SPS website, when further details will be issued.
The programme for the current photographic year is also available to view.