This week saw another meeting in the Poldrate Mill - we could get used to this post-zoom normality, I think. There was a Location presentation by Elaine, of Mid-Lothian - Dalkeith Country Park, and Penecuik House, a breadth of subjects showing Elaine's versatility and the capability too of the OM1 system. Penecuik Hiuse wasn't a location familiar to some in the club - sounds like an opportunity for a club visit.
Next up were images of dragonflies and a hare from Paul's back garden - some exotic and some more common species, showing again the richness of natural life in this area, and also that keeping your eyes (and camera) open to such opportunities can lead to some great images.
Lorraine showed us Instagram images from David Hamilton (see here ) and his macro world, a skill many of us would need to devote a lot of time to master; it's an inspiring genre.
Grace showed us some photo-manipulation images based on a Peace Doves (Les Columbes) exhibition by Michael Pendry from St Giles Cathedral last year - more of that to come, I think, when Jim can make it.
The final presentation was by Alastair, who helped us understand how autofocus works on various cameras, and how and when to use the various auto focus options. Autofocus is amazing technology embedded into most of our cameras, a world away from Manual focus, but comes with a need to understand how to use it best in different scenarios. I was glad I'd brought my camera, both for practicing what Alastair showed us, and also because it was an opportunity to remember what some buttons on my camera do, something I'd forgotten over the past couple of years of reduced photo outings.
Talking of photo outings, a few of the club were invited to the Bird Gardens Scotland to photo some exotic birds out of hours - some of the images will feature on postcards, giftcards, etc, to support the centre, next year. The featured image on this post was taken by Elaine, showing again her bird-photography skills.