Members were invited to bring along some prints and also send in dpis that could be critiqued on the night. In preparation, some guidelines and headings had been circulated which were revisited at the start of the meeting to ensure a structured and consistent approach was taken.

For prints, we set up tables and shared out the images, which were critiqued in turn, and key comments noted on a critique sheet, The original plan had been to swop images between tables but the process took longer than expected so we were not able to compare critiques on the same image from each table. However, the critiques from each table were shared and discussed with the conclusion that it seemed easier to revert to the more technical aspects of an image as opposed to the emotional significance and feelings that it invoked.

Dpi critiques were provided collectively and the author also had the opportunity to share some insight into why and how the particular image had been taken and what they had set out to achieve.

The evening was quite a tiring one but infornative, with the importance of self- critiquing ones images and the difficulties that judges face in critiquing open subject competitions, being key take aways.

In order to help prepare members for a landscape competition later in the season, some training/tutorial materials were viewed. These included an online presentation on “Light in the Landsacpe” which was followed by information on various apps that can be effectively used in planning and preparing a landscape shoot and help maximise the likelihood of achieving the desired results. The evening concluded with a number of landscape images being viewed, including those from the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2023 competition.

Our first Members Evening of the new season was devoted to Smartphone Photography and members had been requested to submit some phone camera images and then explan how and why they were taken and what processing has been undertaken.

There was good particioation and, as expected, we viewed a wide range of images with each having their own unique background story. It quickly became clear that we had a spectrum of smartphone user experience and knowledge in the club. One member had only recently started to use his phone camera, whilst others were taking images more prolifically and had attended training sessions run by one leading phone manufacturer.

We concluded the evening exploring some tips and techniques to improve our results, as well as sources of information on the best apps to use and ancillary equipment.

We kicked-off the new season with a Season Opener meeting which provided some feedback on our recent Prints Exhibition in the local library and then ran through the programme for the year ahead, with further details of speakers and their presentations being provided. Attention then turmed to sources of information which could provide assistance and inspiration. In particular, a series of free snap cards (otherwise known as ‘cheat sheets’) were explained and these will be made available for members to download.

The summer competition, comprising a series of five related images representing the subject of “Beauty in Decay” were projected and members voted on their first and second choices. The winning series was submitted by Nigel Wwalkley entitled “Acer Delights”.

After a break, Jim Bullock shared a variety of his photographic work which spanned several topics. Firstly he showd his erudite interpretation of the three letters that he had picked in our Alphabet competition. This was followed by images taken during both the blue hour and the golden hour, when the light can be at its most attractive to capture landscape images.

Our final photoshoot during the summer recess was a visit to the historic market town of Marlborough, which is situated on the A4 road, the old road from Bath to London. Boasting a wide array of impressive buildings, and coaching inns as well as Marlborough College, there were planty of architectural photo-opportunites, despite the inevitable traffic and parked cars that lined the widest High Street in England.

Once again the weather gods had been kind to us, although the sky rapidly clouded over in early evening rendering some flat light to contend with and increasingly high ISO settings, as the evening progressed. Several buildings were being renovated, including the Town Hall, which limited some images.

After touring the High Street, we followed the River Kennet for some of its path from the town centre towards the Colllege, where we were allowed to enter part of the grounds to photograph the impressive chapel. We also were also able to photograph the Marlborough Mound, a 62-foot-high prehistoric tumulus in the grounds of the college. It is of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill about 5 miles west of the town, and legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin.