LSAPS Photographers On Lytham Front By Marilyn Mulroy

The first photo walk of the summer break took place in Lytham on Thursday evening, 9^th June, however due to Photoshow priorities there’s been a bit of a delay in creating this post. 12 members met at Lytham jetty to capture images of the area. The rain held off, but the wind was blowing strongly, the platinum jubilee union jack flag was almost being torn off the flagpole. We took our time walking, talking and taking images of the jetty, foreshore and the windmill. Instead of walking around Lowther Gardens we decided to head for the Taps on Henry Street for some liquid refreshment. I’m hoping for warmer weather on the next photo walk.

The Stork Pub In The Rain

A very warm sunny day on Thursday 23^rd June gave little warning of the change in the weather which coincided with our Photo Walk. When we set off to Glasson it was fine, but soon the odd drop of rain landed on the windscreen and gradually the rain got heavier. Through the rain and spray on the motorway there was no turning back, just the hope conditions would improve on our arrival at Glasson. Unfortunately, the rain was persistent. For shelter we headed to the pub at Conder Green. After a drink and chat it was still raining and the light deteriorating, so we made our way home. What more can I say – it was a long way to go for a drink!

Mike Halstead

A Well Earned Rest by Mike Halstead

On Saturday 28^th May 7 members met up in the National Trust car park at Tarn Hows. We were greeted by a dawn chorus, although somewhat late at 9.00am, with the birds breaking the silence on a sunny, still, yet cool morning. The slow-moving clouds provided an ever changing pattern of light and dark on the landscape so we climbed to a high vantage point to take images of the distant mountains using the tarn as foreground interest. Passing Rose Castle cottage, we walked down to the edge of the tarn for views across the water. The bank of the tarn, together with the trunks of fallen trees, provide the opportunity to sit, enjoy the scenery, capture images, eat our sandwiches and take a well earned drink. Continuing the walk, we passed trees uprooted by the storms which blew through during the winter months.

Whilst the walk around the tarn is only about 2 miles we took 3 ½ hours making frequent stops on the way.

Mike Halstead

Setting The Exposure By Stuart Cahill

LSAPS owns a number of items of studio equipment which are sadly under-used. Therefore over a couple of weekends in May, some of the council members have been dusting off the equipment and trying to learn how it all works. The idea is that if we set up some studio portrait events, it would be better if a few people actually knew what they were doing. You can judge for yourselves from some of the results shown below. Thanks to Sheila who volunteered to model for the first session and to Ian Mulroy for sharing his knowledge of studio work.

Note that the club’s studio equipment is available to hire free of charge to all LSAPS members, just contact our Equipment Officer Dave Foreman. A full list of club equipment is available on the Equipment Page.

Ready To Preach by Carol Watson

The 2022 L&CPU Individual Competition was judged on the 7th and 8th May, with 3 judges each awarding up to 5 marks for each image. Under normal Exhibition rules, a score of 12pts would be considered an Acceptance. 17 LSAPS Photographers entered a total of 232 images into the Print and PDI competitions, and of these, 7 achieved a score of 12 and above with at least 1 image – Gordon Watson (12), Carol Watson (8), Chris Round (3), Kuli Virdee (3), Anthony Hull (2), Brian Clark (2), Sheila Giles (1). In addition, Carol and Gordon each received a Commended Award for Ready To Preach and Eye Of The Storm. Congratulations to all who achieved an acceptance score.

LSAPS Group Living Dangerously

We started out on the squirrel walk, in bright sunshine, hoping that one of us would spot a Red Squirrel but, unfortunately, we had no luck. Still the forestry at Formby Point is interesting and we toured the National Trust Reserve taking images of the sand dunes and tall pine trees as we went. Some of the trees, exposed to the strong winds off the Irish sea, have taken on windblown shapes. After a pleasant walk and talk we packed our camera gear away and made our way home to review the images.

Mike

Oulton Park Photo Walk

Oulton Park provided an ideal backdrop to hone our skills capturing images of racing cars on a test day preceding the Easter race meeting. With very few spectators, other than a few fellow photographers, we explored the circuit looking for the best locations to capture a sense of motion in the speeding cars. The paddock was open which providing the opportunity to wander amongst the cars as they were prepared for the practice sessions. For some members it was the first time taking images of sports cars on a race track, for others it was an opportunity to apply lessons learnt from previous visits. The almost constant stream of cars on circuit gave plenty of opportunity to fill our memory cards. The occasional red flags, to recover cars from the circuit, gave an opportunity to view images on the back of our cameras. Now all we have to do is review the hundreds of images taken and process the chosen few. Happy days.

Mike Halstead