Four recent members spoke to us about their reasons for joining the Society, how and why they became interested in photography and their current projects and plans. It is always a most enjoyable evening, getting to know one another and being inspired by one another’s stories and aspirations.
Terry Andrews has been taking photographs for a long time, starting with black & white film that he developed himself. He feels he has developed from taking “snaps” to looking for photographs and trying to improve. He’s keen to show his photographs and to get constructive feedback, which led him to joining the Society. He really enjoyed the first walkabout he attended, has entered his first competition, and has learned a lot from our guest (and home-grown) speakers. He takes a lot of wildlife shots and amused us with his images of rats, pigeons and lizards. There is a lot of scope for street photography around his home in Islington. And he takes lovely portraits of his many children, recently using flash. He has been using Photo Viewer to edit images but intends to learn Lightroom and has ambitions to improve his storytelling ability.
Lance Bennett was a member of the Society about 10 years ago but could not devote enough time to photography then. He has 40 years’ worth of photographs recording events, hobbies, travels, adventure sports and music. His experience of adventure sports photography taught him the importance of kit, planning and preparation. He has played the saxophone since he was 8 years old and can see the parallels between music and photography in terms of the importance of practice, an understanding of theory, and the ability to learn from other people. Lance brings a rigorous and structured approach to all his interests. Recent health problems means that he has more time for his photography and he is keen to move from making photographic records to creating more artistic compositions. He has ambitious plans to shoot with film, venture into black & white photography, use a webcam and trigger to make a photostory of his blue tits fledging, explore macro and science photography, and shoot for one whole season using just one lens.
Lisa Christie chose the Society because it is mid-way between her job in the City and her home in Bethnal Green, but so far has only attended Zoom events! She is looking forward to actually meeting us all. She has always been interested in photography, having been given a Box Brownie as a child by her Dad. In 2005 she got her first Nikon film camera and did a City & Guilds Photography Course which she would highly recommend. She now has a digital Nikon, a Sony RX100 and her mobile phone, all of which she uses for her street photography and projects which include the canals of east London and London street sculpture. She has recently started to learn Photoshop and Lightroom and feels like a “kid in a sweet shop” and needs to learn not to over-process images! After Paul Shelley mentioned blipfoto she joined it. She does not post a photograph every day but it is a constant reminder to look for images and an opportunity to learn from others. Her plans are to improve her portraiture, using her 10 year old nephew as her “muse”, continue her “View from the bridge” canal series, and to build a project on the re-use of old buildings. She is also digitising and documenting her family photographic archive which is a major task.
Two years ago, Chris Jerrey decided to “shake up” his photography by doing an online Masters degree in Photography at Falmouth (through which he met fellow member Ilya Fisher). The key question was “What is your practice?”. He decided he did not want to continue with the photography he had been doing but instead to use photography to express his concern about politics and ecology. This meant a move from how photographs look to what they say. He has been taking photographs at demonstrations such as those of Extinction Rebellion, and has become interested in the use of words, both in the images, such as on banners, or superimposed on images to draw out the meaning. As in classic photojournalism, he tries to get as close as possible to the centre of the action with faces, slogans, and recognisable scenes. He has designed and built a website where he can put the images and words together. His current project is to represent the climate crisis, to show how we interact with land and to inspire others who could change the world.
