The season of weekly meetings of the IOM Photographic Society has now finished and it is appropriate to conclude my reports with something of a round-up. It has not, of course, been a normal season it was one heavily disrupted with the Covid19 situation and the need to be very cautious in terms of physical meetings. The experiment with Zoom sessions was tried, but alas there appeared to be only a handful or so of our members willing to participate on this basis the social aspect of club meetings clearly being preferred. And perhaps that is the longer-term consideration that photography for most of us is a shared activity. Our enjoyment comes from meeting together, of seeing and discussing an image, the how / why / where / when it was taken, how pleasing the final image proved to be, and perhaps wishing that you personally had taken it or how good the image would look on your wall. And often perhaps the learning aspect too absorbing from ones colleagues the skills required to develop and improve ones own photography.
One of my enduring thoughts is that the equipment being used by the photographer is often pretty irrelevant, it is the imagination and artistry of the photographer which makes a successful image, not the number of pixels nor the expense of the camera. Modern cameras even mobile phones are incredibly sophisticated, packed with technology and almost all of them very capable of taking images which are sharp, loaded with detail, accurate in their colours, able to be printed to a large size or projected in the digital format. Indeed one of the questions facing all camera clubs is whether to move completely to the digital format and to cease print competitions and many clubs already have in a move to keep costs down for their members. So being a member of a club such as the IOMPS neednt be a matter of major expense in cameras, lenses and other associated kit any camera that takes an image is the start point and all that is required for a deeply satisfying activity, the images taken then a record of ones life, travel, holidays, family and friends.
Whilst competitions are a part of most club programmes, they are by no means essential for member participation. Many members just come along for the sheer enjoyment of seeing the images on display - often presentations of travels to faraway places, specific projects or subjects of particular interest to the presenter. I have attached to this article three images by IOMPS members each of which is typical of their authors and which I have enjoyed. The Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is by Martin Sanderson and demonstrates my earlier theme that artistic imagination is a key ingredient to an image with great impact. The Autumn Collection is by Ron Shimmin, a Life Member of the Society who always produces top quality images, his still life work in particular with a meticulous attention to detail as seen here. My third image is Downhill Descent by Steve Johnstone, the bounding hare caught at just the right moment, a delightful image with lots of detail, again typical of Steves natural history shots. All different, but all showing the skill of their authors.
I hope you too have enjoyed these articles and the images on display. The programme of weekly meetings of the IOM Photographic Society will re-commence in late September but meantime, please check our website www.iomps.com and our Facebook page for details of our summer social events and programme updates. All will be given a very warm welcome to any of our events.
The Isle of Man Photographic Society is supported by the Arts Council
Chris Blyth
CAPTIONS:
IMAGE 01: 'LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS' by Martin Sanderson
IMAGE 02: 'AUTUMN COLLECTION' by Ron Shimmin
IMAGE 03: 'DOWNHILL DESCENT' by Steve Johnstone
