Prism Photographic Club

Despite the rather serene subject matter this month, members were in a lively mood obviously happy to experience the recent periods of sunshine after the long grey flat lighting conditions in February. Carol greeted two new members and announced the club’s excellent results from the photographic section at the Eisteddfod. Prism members are in full swing preparing a rather off –the- wall exhibition for the forthcoming Festival of Photography here in Guernsey in June. They have been asked to collect 100 6x4 “snaps” of our island to show what is typical and unique to its shores. An element of fun and competition will be incorporated so, watch this space.
It was with pleasure that members welcomed back Glen Irven who gave us a helpful and inspiring talk on using flash lighting in photography. Glen bought some of his portable kit along and convinced listeners that excellent results didn’t necessarily mean spending hundreds of pounds on expensive studio equipment. This was music to those who often find photography can be an expensive hobby and that with a bit of know how and clever purchasing, costs can be dramatically cut.
Two members tied for fifth place in this month’s competition. Rachel Lee’s “Dusk Reflections” was a mellow study of a river bank taken in France and capturing beautifully the atmosphere and reflected poplars. Rachel’s artistic eye made sure that the close cropping and letterbox presentation added to the excellent image.
It was great to welcome back Rebecca Cotterill to her winning ways with her “Lily”. This was a classic still life executed with skill and precision. It was perfectly framed and lit and a well deserved points winner.
 Carol Paes continued her recent run of success by sharing third place with Wendy Meade. Carol’s well seen shot entitled “Mazda Trees” of a wind swept tree reflected in a car bonnet was unusual and gained votes because of its originality and excellent presentation. We all agreed that to find such a shiny car in Guernsey was a rarity and it did help to make Carol’s shot crystal sharp.
Wendy’s “Reflective Mood” chose to combine the emotion of feeling reflective with the physical effect of reflective surfaces. This was a carefully constructed shot, carefully cropped and portraying a deep sense of contemplation. The model was in sharp focus with her reflection appearing rather ghostlike. The touching of the glass helped to make a connection between the subject and her reflection.
Roger Whitehead was thrilled to come a worthy second with his excellent “Mill Street”. Only a modest amount of editing to improve the flat grey sky made this simple shot, highly attractive and as ever beautifully executed. Roger is certainly a hard guy to beat these days! However, Karen Millard managed to do this for this month’s session with her winning “Donkey’s Reflection”. A professionally seen and taken shot with excellent treatment to display the image at it’s best. This was a popular winner and added more points to Karen’s score on the club’s league table.