Our first Zoom meeting of 2021 was a multi-faceted affair. (Recording can be heard via the Members Only page). We started with the annual Nature competition, for which most members had posted entries. The trophy for this is named "The Fiona Govan Cup", after a much missed member of the club. Fiona was a keen nature photographer , but not a particular fan of the way nature competitions are judged, or of judging in general. So the rules are rather less strict than formal SPF nature competitions, allowing landscapes and other aspects of nature- and the winner is chosen by the club members, not an external judge.
The winner, as last year, was Richard Wells, who seems to have a flock of trained Kingfishers at home, as well as several domesticated otters in a pond in his back garden. At least that's what I would need if I'm ever to get similar results. The difficulty of getting good images of wildlife is well known and the amount of work required may not be evident in the final shot and can be discounted by judging based solely on "photographic" criteria. Unlike a studio shot, much can't be controlled. Making it look easy ain't easy. The preponderance of Robins suggests that they are a good place to start.
Richard Llewellyn then gave us five of his favourite learning photographs, images taken over 20 years , each of which taught him something. Using a camcorder to photograph a sunrise certainly makes the point that the best camera is the one you have with you- and photographing LED catseyes in the dark is definitely a first.
Roni gave us another- and very different- five images, in which the sky was either the major element itself, or was important for the effect it imparted to the other subjects. It's always interesting when someone concentrates on one aspect of photography like this, because it makes you think about something you might otherwise overlook. The sky has been pretty grey here since Tuesday, but we do have a range of great skies in Scotland, even if they are rarely blue and the effect they have on mood and lighting is huge.
We had Some "famous photos" from Andy C, looking at the work of Pete Souza who was official photographer to two US presidents. The one I found most interesting was of Barack Obama talking down- in every sense- to Vladimir Putin. Compare & Contrast with the fawning of his successor. Quality shows, and a good photographer can underline it. Many photos of VIPs are just rather ordinary . If they were your family photos or mine, a judge would give them short shrift as "record shots", but the thought that went into Souza's shots raises them to a different level; The reflection in the wall mirror didn't happen by chance. The Secret Service men suddenly busy with their phones while Obama put his jacket on his wife in a chilly lift; the lone figure entering the back door of the White House with the shadow cast on the wall- none of that was chance.
Derek then gave us a talk on "Film Soup" and a "How to" demo on the digital version. As with OCM, I was struck by the fact that many of my photos look a lot like this already, but quite unintentionally. This may be due to innate creative genius.
Or not.
It is so easy to produce unusual effects digitally that it seems almost perverse to dunk actual film in nasty chemical solutions and fill the kitchen with the smell of boiling bleach, but it's not, after all, so long since all photography was a bit like that- and once you inhale enough of the fumes, the results may start to look normal anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if a digital soup challenge may result from this.