Author Archives: Wallace Gilbraith

This week we’re having a Members’/ Workshop night, where we share our expertise and practical skills. John Boyd will show us how we can mount our prints, for competitions and for display; Dave Moran will talk us through making a photographic calendar. And in the tea break, Wol Gilbraith will show us how to assemble the bamboo stands we’ll use for displaying entries in print competitions, starting with the 4-Way Battle.

We’re also hoping to be joined by Scott Russell from Culture Perth & Kinross to talk about their Maker_Spaces, which “have an extensive range of creative technology available and free to use for … individuals” – including some printers that could be useful, and a photography studio, and more. 

http://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2022/06/programme-2022-23/#09-november-2022

New faces are still welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis, to see if you’d like to join us for the season. For those who are ready to join, the online Membership Form for the season is open. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form.

We got something of the unexpected with Stewart Dodd, from nearby Dundee. A tale of exploration of epic proportions, to the ends of the earth known as South Georgia, at the eponymous 54 Degrees South. Stewart’s trip – nay, two trips – in search of wildlife photography opportunities took him by air to Chile and the Falkland Islands, and then by sailing boat to South Georgia, with its isolated settlements, icebergs large and small, and all manner of sub-polar creatures. We saw his images of albatross, petrel, penguin, Weddell seal, elephant seal, and marvelled.

The scenes of rusting metal at the derelict whaling stations, persistent remnants of the pursuit of riches, were in stark contrast to the pristine but unforgiving landscapes beyond. (As far as Great Britain was concerned, much of this pursuit originated in Dundee. Ernest Shackleton, of the fabled Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914, even stood for the Dundee seat in parliament in the 1906 election, before returning south along with the pioneering photographer Frank Hurley.) Nowadays, the greater pursuit is of knowledge, and includes, as shown, the tagging of seals in order to track their journeys through the Southern Ocean.

Not many of us will get the chance to go where Stewart has gone, and as the evenings in Perth start to get cooler – but not as cool as there – it was a night to sit back and gaze in wonder.

This week’s speaker, Stewart Dodd, is a long-standing member of our neighbouring Dundee Photographic Society. It’s 5 years since he was last with us, and this time he’ll be showing us images from an adventure into the sub-Antarctic Region, specifically South Georgia. It’s a remarkable environment, with a striking combination of wildlife, landscape and light. For we photographers, such conditions can make for great images, but they bring their own challenges in simply handling the camera. Expect some transferable skills that can be applied equally successfully in Scotland!

http://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2022/06/programme-2022-23/#02-november-2022

New faces are still welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis, to see if you’d like to join us for the season. For those who are ready to join, the online Membership Form for the season is open. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form. 

Simon introduced himself as Comrie-born local who left, and came home again. He was the beneficiary of a lucky break that saw him going to oil-rich Venezuela for the 1980’s, where he learned his photography craft in the world of corporate advertising. He told tales from his professional life, of researching locations for a calendar shoot near a sensitive oil refinery and getting arrested for his troubles, and of pre-Photoshop layering techniques involving enlargers, masks, large format film, and lots of patience.

He also spoke of some of the basic considerations he employs on shoots of any scale, whether it’s product images for advertising in Caracas or London, or more recent work back in Scotland shooting architecture and interiors for magazines and private clients. Considerations such as composition – arranging the important elements in the frame, including the right choice of lens to preserve shapes and proportions. Such as light – for it is, after all, the light, and how it interacts with its subjects, that the camera records. Such as learning to see – seeing the potential in a scene, and seeing where might be the best spot to stand to capture the feeling that inspired the taking of the photograph in the first place.

These simple considerations can help make our photography more efficient, with more of our images reflecting what we saw, and fewer disappointments.

This week’s speaker, Simon Jauncey, is a seasoned professional from the world of advertising, shooting campaigns for major global-brand clients such as Johnnie Walker and Ford, in studios and on location in Venezuela, London, and Scotland. We can look forward to hearing about his career, his techniques and his experiences. 

After nearly 20 years in South America and the south of England, the pull of his native Scotland proved too much, and he moved back in the mid-90s, since when he has specialised in architecture, interiors, food, and portraiture – with a passion for landscape work when time permits. He is also an active musician, writing and recording his own jazz-based music.

https://www.simonjauncey.com/

http://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2022/06/programme-2022-23/#26-october-2022  

New faces are still welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis, to see if you’d like to join us for the season. For those who are ready to join, the online Membership Form for the season is open. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form.

For our third week, our first visiting speaker of the season – Richard Fox. RIchard has been photographing initially Devon and more recently Stirlingshire with both a sense of the grand and an intimate eye. He showed us how it’s really not essential to go far from home to find striking compositions or spectacular light. As befitting one with images in the Royal Meteorological Society’s book ‘Weather Photographer of the Year’, he took us round the calendar in his local area, with a look at the Trossachs and nearby in sunshine, rain, fog, mist, snow, and rainbows, lots of rainbows. He also shared tips on how to study weather apps ro predict where these conditions are likely to form, to best photographic effect.

During summer, when conditions arguably aren’t so conducive to landscaping (sunrise and sunset being either very early or very late), he likes to spend time with butterflies, too, and spoke of his tips for photographing them naturally in their surroundings with shallow depth of field.

His images, and his gentle thoughtful aproach, were greatly enjoyed.

This week’s speaker, Richard Fox, is Winner of ‘Wex Photographer of the Year 2022’, which is a significant recognition of consistency from one of the UK’s major photographic retailers. He’s also got images in the Royal Meteorological Society’s book ‘Weather Photographer of the Year’. 

He says “I am passionate about photography. Capturing nature in its rawness is what I am trying to attempt. The majority of my work has been captured on Dartmoor, where I lived for 15 years, and being an avid trail runner and walker, I have experienced a lot of its beauty. I have since moved to Stirlingshire and am now getting to know this spectacular country and its wildlife.”

https://www.richardfoxphotography.com/

New faces are still welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis, to see if you’d like to join us for the season. For those who are ready to join, the online Membership Form for the season is open. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form. 

For our second week we had a chance to share – images, thoughts, experience, ambitions. We were all invited to bring some of our own images, as prints or on electronic devices, to share and discuss in small groups. And we did – old hands and first-timers.

The aim was partly to get our eye in for the characteristics of different images, and partly to give us all a chance to get to know each other a wee bit better. We planned an experienced member or two in each group to help promote discussion, but we didn’t really need it. Conversation flowed, and we had to get out sharpish when we realised the building manager had a home to go to.

This Wednesday, 12 Oct, we’ll have a chance to share – images, thoughts, experience, ambitions. Plan to bring some of your own images, as prints or on electronic devices, to share and discuss in small groups. The aim is partly to get our eye in for the characteristics of different images, and partly to give us all a chance to get to know each other a wee bit better. We’ll have an experienced member or two in each group to help promote discussion. Prints can be shared anonymously, we’re not looking to put anyone on the spot. 

New faces are still welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis, to see if you’d like to join us for the season. For those who are ready to join, the online Membership Form for the season is open. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form.