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The first meeting of the new season included a presentation by David Carine ARPS (www.carine.photos), who has been a former member of the Society. David’s talk was on Underwater Photography and he started by outlining the considerable amount of specialist equipment required in addition to the obvious need for a camera! Fundamental is a need to breathe and his preferred approach was to scuba dive with oxygen tanks to prolong the time that can be spent underwater. However, it seems that the bubbles of expired air of the divers can actually be an attractant for certain aquatic species, particularly manta rays. It is likely that they use the pressure of the air bubbles to dislodge parasites from their underbodies.

For most underwater photography a source of light is required since the light from above the surface is rarely sufficient to illuminate creatures at depth. David mostly uses two strobe lights attached on either side of the camera on adjustable arms. The photo of a clown fish (Amphiprion Ocellaris) could only be captured in this way as they dwell enclosed by the giant green anemone with which they have a symbiotic relationship. The stinging cells on the tentacles of this carnivore apparently have no effect on the clown fish, whereas they are effectively deadly to their prey, such as other small fish, crabs and mussels. This is because of a specialised protective layer of mucus on the clown fish skin.

David has had numerous encounters with sharks, all of which have fortunately been non-threatening! In fact, they can often be quite skittish. The hammerhead shark can execute a u-turn in a second when surprised by human encounter and it requires some skill to capture a decent image other than its retreating tail. Sharks in general are encountered in warmer waters and David said that the Maldives were his favourite location, having very clear water coupled with salubrious Ocean temperatures. His pleasure was as much in the scuba diving as the wildlife encounters.

Although our members are unlikely to be investing in the outlay required for underwater photography, they were nevertheless impressed by the wonderful images that David showed us.

Keith Snell

There was good news last week for members of Keswick Photographic Society who had entered photographs in a competition for selection into the prestigious Edinburgh International Print exhibition. This is the oldest photographic print exhibition in the UK, having held an annual exhibition almost every year since 1861. Its prestige lies not only in the high standard of excellence of the prints selected, typically from photographers entering from around 30 different countries in the world. But there is an exclusivity in that the limitations of hanging space in the historic King Street premises of the Edinburgh Photographic Society which hosts the exhibition, means that only a little over ten per cent of entries (around 150 prints) can be accepted. So, acceptance really is a recognition of the cream of photographic excellence. There is also added kudos in that the exhibition is recognised as a fringe event in the annual Edinburgh Festival during August.

There is considerable pride in the Society having four members gaining acceptances in this year’s exhibition. Ken Rennie was outstanding with four acceptances: Scale Force:

Blue Hour Bassenthwaite:

Pistyll Rhaeadr (a Welsh waterfall!):

and Limelight:

Keith Snell had two acceptances: Plunging Penguins:

and Impressionist Sunset, which was awarded a Gold Medal:

Pete Whieldon also had two acceptances: Dancing Feathers:

and On The Move:

and, Alan Walker had Bobcat Hunting Prey Under The Snow accepted:

Out of these accepted prints, three were taken locally: Bassenthwaite and Scale Force in Buttermere and the Solway Firth for the Impressionist Sunset.

Our season restarts after the summer break on 3^rd September with a presentation by David Carine ARPS on Underwater Photography. Full details of the season’s programme can be found at www.keswickphotographicsociety.co.uk. Prospective members and other visitors are welcome to join us at our Wednesday evening meetings at 7.30pm in the Quaker Meeting House, opposite Booths supermarket in Elliot Park, Keswick.

 

This year’s PDI Portfolio of the Year competition was judged by Margaret Salisbury ( “The Welsh Dragon”).  She is a well recognised judge of long standing and her nickname refers the signature she uses rather than to a fiery judging reputation! Margaret commented on the high quality of images submitted, the subsequent high level of marks awarded and the difficulty she had had choosing between them.

In the end the competition proved a tour de force for Bob Given who only dropped 1 mark out of a possible 80. His three top scoring images with 20 points were

“Brutalist” which was the best in the Hand of Man category:

“Six for Artistic Impression”, best in the Sport Category:

and “Stripes”, best in in the People Category:

The other images scoring 20 were

“Hovering Kingfisher” by Simon Roberts, which was best the Creative category and also was awarded the best overall image of the competition:

“The Wreck” by David Woodthorpe:

“Stormy Skies over Liskentyre Beach” by Julie Walker which was equal best in the Landscape category:

“Iceberg Aurora” by Simon Roberts which was also equal best in the Landscape category:

“Focussed in the Snow” by Alan Walker which was best in the Nature category:

and “Winter Round Up” by Alan Walker which best in the People Other category:

All the entered images entered can be viewed in this year’s Gallery Page:

2024-2025 Competitions Gallery

The latest meeting of Keswick Photographic Society was a presentation by Ann and Steve Toon who have led photographic African safaris for over 25 years (toonphotosafaris.com). They focus on South Africa, Botswana and Kenya on wildlife reserves that they have come to know intimately. Being award-winning photographers enables the Toons to ensure that clients will benefit from their knowledge of the precise angles and environmental conditions to achieve spectacular photographic results. Their journalistic backgrounds also mean that they strive to tell stories with their photographs rather than simply recording animal portraits. This is also significant for their campaigns on important conservation issues, such as rhino poaching. Ann and Steve gave an informative and lively presentation with both of them coordinating as speakers to convey the narrative of the images which they were showing.

As they explained, they are not interested in merely reproducing photographic shots that have become clichéd representations of African animals. Instead, they strive to stretch the boundaries of photographic techniques to create unique interpretations of animal behaviour and to reveal aesthetic aspects of the wildlife using artistic approaches. For example, the use of a slow shutter speed creates the blurring of animals on the move to emphasise their motion. Such a photograph of meerkats on the move in the Kalahari Desert won Ann an award in a recent European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

The artistic approach engages the emotions of the viewer in a rhino portrait photographed using intentional camera movement and in a herd of elephants emerging out of the dust.

The creative use of in-camera multiple exposure shows an African spoonbill literally immersed in its environment.

Our members were impressed and appreciative of these approaches by the Toons to lift their images out of the ordinary and repetitive, which is so often seen in safari photographs.

The latest meeting of Keswick Photographic Society was a critique evening of members’ monochrome photographs, mostly projected electronic images although one member did produce prints.

Boo by Fred Bell

The aim was to encourage members to explore the monochrome genre which tends to be otherwise underrepresented in the work which is produced in the club.

Coffee with Milk by Jo Knight

The critique was led by club member Dr Keith Snell EFIAP MPSA LRPS, an experienced photography judge. As Keith explained this was not a competition in which images were to be ranked against each other, but rather it was a critical appraisal of each individual image. Nevertheless, as a broad indication of the photographic success of each image he awarded it with gold, silver or bronze stars.

Charging by Bob Given

 

The work that was assessed showed a broad range of subject matter from the more abstract through to landscape, portraiture and nature subjects. Out of the 56 images entered, 19 were awarded with a gold star and 20 with a silver star, testifying to the high quality of the submissions.

Mouse on Hogweed by David Woodthorpe

The informal approach of the judge and his detailed analysis of each image were very much appreciated by the audience in the meeting room as well as those attending by zoom at home.

All the entered images can be seen in this year’s gallery pages:

Gallery Images

This week Keswick Photographic Society was treated to a fascinating presentation by Mick Watson, an amateur photographer from Durham, who in 2021 was one of the winners in the very prestigious international Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Initially, a keen motor sport photographer, Mick began to experiment with other genres of photography and though he became quite accomplished as a landscape photographer he realised that he was becoming drawn more and more to wildlife.

Although birds weren’t his preferred subjects, he nevertheless showed members some excellent images of a very broad range of birds taken in the UK and wider Europe. Notable images were of Pelicans in Greece, Puffins and Osprey in Scotland and an English Heron which was managing to swallow a fish so large that it was thereafter unable to fly away due to its weight!

The presentation moved to Mick’s mammal photographs and he showed some amazing images of Snow Hares in the Grampians, Brown Hares, foxes and squirrels from near his Durham home and rutting Red Deer.

He explained in detail the very challenging experience of photographing Musk Ox in Norway.  He camped out and climbed in temperatures no-one should be tempted to go out in! He still thinks it was worth the effort to get the stunning images with which he returned home.

In recent years he has become fascinated and very proficient at photographing Seals. In deed his award winning image in the Wildlife Photographer of The Year was of a seal struggling in discarded fishing net, which of course had a strong photo-journalism and environment message. Donna Nook in Lincolnshire is one of his favoured places for photographing seals in early Winter.

David Woodthorpe

Our 4th open competition of the 2024/25 season was held on February 26th.
Simon Allen MPAGB APAGB EFIAP (from Dumfries camera club ) was our judge for the evening. He commented on the high quality, particularly, of the nature images submitted.
5 images were awarded the maximum 20 points.
Ken Rennie  for “Winter Storm ” which was also awarded Best print and Best Landscape:

Julie Walker for ” Bob cat in Snow ” which was also awarded Best Pdi and Best Nature:

Robert Given  for ” Still Smiling ” which was also awarded Best Sport:

Tony Melling for ” Incoming Tide ” which was also awarded Best creative:

Carol Minx for ” Tree Creeper “:

and Simon Roberts for ” A Mother’s Load ” :

All the submitted images can be viewed on our gallery pages:

2024-2025 Competition entries

 

The latest meeting of Keswick Photographic Society was to host an interclub competition with Carlisle and Penrith & District  Camera Clubs. Members from all the clubs attended, as well as a number unable to do so who joined from their homes on Zoom. The judge for the evening was Gerald Chamberlin , a member of Dalston Photographic Society and currently President of the Northern Counties Photographic Federation.

Gerald provided penetrating and stimulating critiques of all 45 digital images on display; 15 from 15 different members of each of the participating clubs. The images were scored out of 20 and three images, all from the Keswick club, were awarded the top mark of 20 points. These were: Male Polar Bears Sparring by Julie Walker;

White Tail Eagle with Catch by Jeremy Malley-Smith;

and My Sweet Rose by Alan Walker;

Marks of 19 points were awarded to Patricia Rayment for Gannett with Nesting Material;

Keith Snell for Turneresque Sunset;

and Ronnie Gilbert for White Tail Eagle Landing;

again all Keswick members.

Three images from the Penrith club were awarded 18 points: Bat Top Hat by Nicky Robley; Grab and Go by Mark Hetherington; and All in Blue by Stuart Edgar. A mark of 18 was also awarded to June Perry of Carlisle for Frost in Glencoe and to Keswick members Bob Given for Breaking Through, Tony Marsh for Little Owl on the Run and David Woodthorpe for Rajasthani Village Boy.

The final points tally for all the images made Keswick Photographic Society the overall winner with 266 points, followed by Penrith & District Camera Club with 243 points and Carlisle Camera Club with 233 points. The Penrith club offered congratulations to Keswick for their success and a vote of thanks for organising the competition, with particular praise for the interval cakes provided by Marilyn Woodthorpe and Gráinne Jakobson.

Keith Snell

Congratulations to our members Julie Walker and Keith Snell for the selection of their prints in the PAGB Master of Print competition.

This is open to members of all PAGB clubs but only 60 prints are accepted and then displayed in the exhibition which opened this weekend in St Martin’s Church in central Birmingham.

The exhibition then moves to various locations around the country and will be in Wilkinson Cameras store  in English Street, Carlisle, in May-June. Julie’s  image was “American Fox with Mouse”:

and Keith’s image was “Turneresque Sunset”:

On 5^th February Keswick Photographic Society members enjoyed a talk given by Colin Trow-Poole via Zoom. Colin dedicated the first half of his talk to some of his panels of prints. He commenced with a panel of infra-red images put together for his successful application for an Associateship with the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS.) in 2006. To achieve his ARPS Colin was required to produce a panel of 15 themed images. His chosen subject was the sailing barges of the rivers Severn and Wye, known as Trows, which had been beached many years ago to reinforce the banks of the River Severn. As it was important to show variety in his panel Colin explained how he had taken the images from both low and high angles.

When it came to applying for his RPS Fellowship in 2022 Colin chose to document the lives of a Romany Gypsy family who regularly spent the winter months living in their two wagons and a yurt close to his home. He befriended the family, earning their trust, and was thus able to produce a fascinating panel in monochrome showing intimate aspects of their lives both out in the open, especially around the camp fire on which they cooked their meals, and inside their accommodation.

Colin has a wide range of photographic interests and he presented several other panels produced purely for personal pleasure. These included one of colour images of rusty old cars taken at Pendine Sands in Wales, another infrared panel of images taken of the Porth Wen brickworks on Anglesey and another of abstract images of ceilings in colour. He also showed a monochrome panel taken in Kerala, India, of people in their environment.

The second half of Colin’s talk was dedicated to his street photography during which he showed a selection of images from various locations including London, Birmingham and New York emphasising the use of light in them.

Throughout the evening Colin entertained his audience with stories about how he had achieved his photographs as well as providing useful tips on photographic techniques and how to put a panel of images together to achieve a cohesive whole. It was yet another very enjoyable and absorbing evening.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 19th February when Alistair How will give a talk on Urban Night Photography.

Julie Walker