The Quays At Night by Mike Halstead

The walk took place on Saturday afternoon 15^th January. A clear blue sky and bright sunshine greeted us as we arrived at Salford Quays, however there was a distinct chill in the air. We quickly set about the task of seeking out interesting images. There was little breeze, so we were able to capture some nice reflections in the water. Sunset, unfortunately, did not provide the glow in the sky we hoped for and so we took the opportunity to take a break.

After a quick visit to the Lowry Outlet Centre, to have a cup of tea and get warm, we resumed our walk as darkness, and the lights of the buildings and bridges, transformed the landscape. The challenge for the remainder of the evening was to select the appropriate exposure settings to produce pleasing images of the Quays at night.

At about 6pm we retraced our steps to the car park and made our way home. By now we’ll have viewed the images on our computers and evaluated with the results.

On a cold afternoon / evening in January it was a pleasure to get together and enjoy photography.

A selection of images from the day are shown below.

Mike Halstead

Carol Watson – Photographer Of The Year

Awards Certificates from the 2020/21 Season and Photowshow 2021 were handed out by president Daryl Giles over a series of evenings. Well done to all awarded members, but in particular to Carol Watson who won both the Print and Digital Photographer of the Year.

There were two additional awards, presented to Peter Cotton who received a Commended Award in the Novice Cup for his print Waiting His Turn, and to Gordon Watson, who had achieved a Gold Medal in the Bebington 2020 salon for his image Tree And Barn. Due to Covid, this had not been presented until Bob Dennis visited LSAPS with the Bebington Salon images.

Rivington Group Photo by Mike Halstead

The Photo Walk to Rivington Terraced Gardens took place on Sunday 21^st November. Winter certainly felt to be in air as we set about walking to the terraced gardens in bright sunshine under clear skies.

We gathered for a group photo under the seven-arch bridge before crossing the bridge and climbing the steps to the Italian Lake. To my surprise the lake was virtually empty. I had hoped we’d be able to use reflection in the water to add impact to our photographs.

Undaunted we ascended yet another set of stairs to the Pigeon Tower. From here we had views over the surrounding countryside to the coast. Blackpool Tower was easy to make out with Heysham Power Station and the Lakeland Fells beyond. Lunch was taken sitting on the remains of the walls where the Bungalow used to be. Even after 3 ½ hours exploring the Terraced Gardens, 3 members stayed on and walked to Rivington Pike Tower.

Amongst the group of 14 it was good to see 4 members who joined LSAPS this season plus a guest on the walk. We had an enjoyable day in the fresh (cold) air exploring the gardens taking photos and chatting as we went. Having seen some of what Rivington has to offer I hope people will want to go back and explore the area again and incorporate the lower slopes around the reservoirs.