On Wednesday 10th September, society members were treated to a wonderful presentation given by award winning photographer and member of Keswick Photographic Society, Bob Given MPAGB EFIAP EPSA FBPE. Bob is a prolific and renowned photographer whose specialism is Sport photography. And in that respect we’re not talking about a particular sport, but very many different sports.
Bob set the scene by explaining how his vast experience in photography had taught him not only how to choose wisely and therefore limit the amount of camera gear that he had to carry around, but how to get into a strategic position to maximise the chances of getting a good result. As an official photographer with a Press Pass for some sports he recognised that he had opportunities to get advantageous positions. However, he went on to explain that for many sports, the enthusiastic amateur can often get equally good positions, especially if they remember to stay low avoiding the normal standing position used by so many amateur photographers.
His prolific activity and range of interests became obvious very quickly when he revealed that all the images to be shown during the evening had been taken within the previous 12 months! Bob started with individual events like tennis, water skiing and field sports. These included Javelin, shot put, long jump, high jump, hurdles and track races by able and Paralympic athletes. Some of these images were shown in both colour and monochrome to demonstrate how each could emphasise particular elements that the photographer wished.
The second half of Bob’s presentation centred upon team sports and particularly his love of rugby which he is heavily involved in photographing almost every week. However, he threw in examples of other team sports including American football, sailing, hockey, cricket and football for good measure. Some of Bob’s rugby photographs have won national and international awards, so it was no surprise to be shown many really excellent examples.
This was a master class in Sport photography and a fascinating and most enjoyable evening.
David Woodthorpe