sherborne bradford abbas camera club

Archive for the ‘Meetings’ Category

On Tuesday evening we were entertained by Caz Rowland and our treasurer, Norman Crabb, who showed us their work on documenting the WW1 war memorials in the Blackmore Vale.

Caz is a local historian and she has been undertaking this research in preparation for a book she is writing. Norman has been taking the photographs to illustrate the book.

Caz’s aim is to document the whereabouts of all the war memorials in all the towns and villages of the Blackmore Vale and to record the names of the men and women inscribed upon them. Wherever possible she has been researching the background and military history of the names on the memorials and to set them in the context of their home communities.

Much of Caz’s work is primary research as no-one has attempted this before. In the course of her work she has consulted many original sources  including Census information, Parish Registers, Electoral Rolls, Newspapers, Diaries, Parish Council Minutes and Church magazines as well as local people.

Norman has been taking the photographs, not only of the war memorials, but also of the landscapes around them.

He showed us an evocative presentation of the memorials where his photography often conveyed the pathos of the sacrifice and tragedy of the first world war.

In the discussion following the presentation the members all agreed that Caz and Norman were undertaking a vital task to preserve the memories of the men and women of the Blackmore Vale whose lives were lost in the conflict.

Caz’s book, with Norman’s photography, will be a fitting tribute to the fallen.

Compton Abbas Poppies by Norman Crabb

We had a real treat on Tuesday evening when we had a presentation of photography by Dr Mary Slingo.

Mary refers to herself as an enthusiastic amateur photographer who, in her spare time, is a doctor. The photography she showed us certainly demonstrated her skills!

She is an accomplished camerawoman with an artist’s eye and she showed us a range of stunning photographs from around the world.

Most of the photographs were landscapes and seascapes taken on her travels: some from family holidays, some taken on an expedition by the British Schools Exploring Society to the Himalayas and some in her local area. She also showed us some excellent close-ups which she said she tries to compose as abstract shapes which make it ‘almost apparent what it is’.

Here are some examples of the stimulating images which she included in her talk.These images link to Mary’s website which is well worth a visit:

Mary’s presentation illustrated her seven rules of photography:

1. Plan ahead
2. Know your local area
3. Wait for the right light
4. Move in close
5. Move in closer
6. Tell a story
7. Break all the rules and hope for the best!

This was a truly inspirational, revelatory evening and we thank Mary most sincerely for her brilliant presentation and enlightening talk. Unforgetable!

(all images © copyright Mary Slingo)

On Tuesday we welcomed John Tilsley back to our club.

John is a highly respected local photographer and judge and we were looking forward to seeing some of his latest work. We were not disappointed!

The photographs John showed us were black and white prints produced in his darkroom during the last six years. He explained some of the techniques he used to produce the effects he wanted but he stressed to us that the process of production was not as important as the image it produced.

He showed us a range of subjects including deserted post boxes in England, churchyard scenes,  landscapes in New Zealand and architectural shots in Paris.

John seems to have a unique vision in his photography – he told us that it was important to give your own impression of a place and of seeing something simple and making a picture out of it.

Perhaps the most exciting photos he showed us were taken with a Hassleblad Xpan camera which enabled him to take panoramic shots.  We saw some stunning landscapes in this format where he illustrated his point that we should look for something different and don’t take what everyone else takes.  John’s vertical landscape shots were a superb example of this, best exemplified by the images of monumental buildings in Paris. His seemingly simple images were often deceptively complex compositions where the people in the images were used to illustrate the scale of the buildings and their often indifferent attitude to their built environment.

After the meeting several members of the club claimed they were going to throw away their cameras because they couldn’t possibly attain John’s high standard!

Thanks, John, for a very inspiring and revelatory evening. And come back again soon…