Forest of Galtres Camera Club

Monday 2nd March 2015

John Webster ARPS MPAGB introduced his show Light and Inspiration with his thoughts on photography today. He apparently was slow to embrace digital photography but having done so, still maintains the approach to photography he has always held: get up early to maximise morning light, always use a tripod, use filters where skies are included and always take care when composing a photograph. John used to show images through slides and would incorporate 280 in a presentation. Now there will be twice that number per show in digital format. He also shared some interesting photographic facts. Photography has a 175 year old history; 1930 saw the billionth photograph taken worldwide and now a billion photographs are taken every six hours!

Light and Inspiration would take us to six different countries and be accompanied by a wonderful mix of music, song and verse. The first was Over the Sea to Skye that included the Hebrides, Portree, South Oist, Harris and Lewis. There were magical shoreline reflections of skies, impressive panoramas and wildlife that included red kite, winged plover and corncrakes. Iceland followed with dramatic images of the northern lights casting eerie green light onto the landscape. There were beautiful blue hues across water and ice sculptures stripped from a glacier spread across a shoreline of a quite ethereal kind. Part of this section was accompanied by Never Saw Blue Like That sung by Shawn Colvin – one of the poignant pieces of accompaniment that John had chosen.

A Colorado Fall provided the perfect contrast with its autumnal colours provided by golden aspen. John has become absorbed by wildlife photography in recent years. In his introduction he mentioned that few, if any, international competitions are won by landscapes so he himself has turned more to wildlife photography. Wild About Britain demonstrated what a patient photographer John must be and how effectively he captures creatures through the lens of his camera. More than thirty different birds were seen including the elusive cuckoo. But there were also dragonflies, Red Deer, several different butterflies and foxes.

The fifth destination was Plitvice National Park, a mountainous karst area of Croatia, added to the UNESCO World Heritage register in 1979. The beauty of the park lies in its woodland, its sixteen lakes and series of waterfalls. The sequence was entitled Water, Water Everywhere. There was more wildlife brilliantly photographed including Greta Egrets, a Blue Stork, a lynx, wolf and a wild boar! Next was a visit to the Rockies for A Canadian Dawn. Again, there was a selection of great music to suit the impact of the images as well as the words of Leisure by W.H. Auden with that famous first line: What is life, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. In a striking landscape, that is just what is needed.

Finally, a reminder that there are some striking areas of England, especially in the north from around Stokesley to the moors, from Wensleydale to the bridges of Gateshead and as last week, the industrial drama created by Tyneside. The quality of John’s photographs had many members feeling inspired. As he said at the beginning, cameras take photographs and (modern cameras can make that almost fool proof) but people make the photograph through their choice of composition.

Next week, Mike Barnard ABPA LRPS will judge club competition entries for Hands at Work and Still Life.