John Gaffney presents: ‘Pictures Near and Far’
On 22nd January, members of the Photographic Group were treated to a most wonderful presentation of photographs taken by John Gaffney, taken over a period of time, and illustrating his wide and diverse experiences in international locations as well as his own re-wilding fields near to Stratford.
His travels with his camera took him to both polar ends of the globe, the continents of South America, the sub-continent of India and Nepal and southern Africa. His landscapes were evocative and timeless, capturing a range of wildlife from predators, scavengers and prey to majestic raptors and ephemeral insects. A softly spoken man, his modesty belied a passion for photography and precision with the camera; and with his presentation he revealed a determination to capture the best, whatever the weather or time. An excellent start to the year.
Profile: Bob Bracher - The Constant Photographer
Each month I shall be profiling a prominent member of the club, discovering their history of photography - their influences and early motivations, their preferences and passions.
The first profile is of Bob Bracher, one of the club's most talented and successful members. I shall begin by saying that Bob is a huge asset to the Photography Group: he is generous with his time and advice, never patronising and is always cheerful. Bob has won the Group’s ‘Photographer of the Year’ for the past 2 years but remains modest and self-deprecating.
Bob’s love of photography is evident from the number of camera clubs he is associated with, enjoying the variety of activities and challenges each one presents. His particular penchant is for black and white prints, of which he is supremely masterful. Over the years he has amassed awards and inclusion in exhibitions; he achieved his LRPS (Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society) many years ago (when slides stayed slides and digital was a dream) and then his ARPS (Associate) distinction more recently. His submissions to the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) earned him 2 gold medals; this was a convoluted culmination of several entries in several global locations which seemed to require a working knowledge of Excel spreadsheets to keep tracks on progress!
These days Bob is more selective in the competitions he enters, admitting his motivation has dwindled over the years; he has little to prove and increasingly enjoys the craft for the pleasure it brings, devoid of pressure and expectation.
Coming from an artistic family – his father was a commercial artist working in cinema and his aunt gained a certificate of artistic merit from Prince Charles – Bob found he had a natural ‘eye’ for composition, colour and creativity from an early age, and developed his skills through an accession of cameras, from an early Kodak Brownie 127, through to DSLRs and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless. His pride is a Leica, bought in memory of a dear and deceased friend. Bob is a proponent of prime lenses, which he says focuses attention to location and composition, though admits that he increasingly uses his phone camera, aided by some useful software for speed and expediency.
But Bob remains a ‘print worker’ – he loves the luxury and leisure of studying all aspects of the printed form and feels strongly that digitally projected images are ephemeral and somehow expendable. The walls in his house display some of his favourite prints, but over the decades he has amassed over 90 albums of prints, mostly family-based, all carefully catalogued and stored, not to mention a loft-full of prints which Bob is gradually converting to books, following specific themes.
My thanks to Bob for giving his time for this interview and for sharing his passion so candidly.
Profile: Pam Martin - Inspired by a sense of historical continuity.
Pam is the treasurer of the Balsall Common U3A photography group and is on the committee where she is clearly a driving force for action and progress.
Photography for Pam is enmeshed in her family, past and present. Family history has always been important to her as well as to her mother, both of whom valued a personal, pictorial record. From her first Kodak Brownie 127, she progressed through Kodaks and Polaroids to SLRs in the 1990s and to the DSLRs of today. From the birth of her first child, Pam loved photographing every aspect of her family and for her the printed image was equally important. She regarded it as imperative that a pictorial history was to be created and kept for future reference for her family’s future generations.
Whilst Pam loves modern technology and all it can do, she wants to remind the younger generation if phone images aren’t printed, they could be lost forever: they remain vulnerable in the cloud. She much prefers the printed image, collated and kept in albums which represent an historical record with clear time referencing points.
Pam recalls the early ‘hit and miss’ adventures of film developing, where whole reels were subject to errors, mixed-up images and the random appearance of strange black lines. She smiles as she recalls her first forays with the SLR and later a ‘bridge’ camera, then her Ricoh DSLR, wading through manuals, and employing the well-trodden path of trial and error.
Interestingly, it wasn’t until many years later that Pam joined her first camera club in Burton Green under the auspices of Trevor Doyle. Under his tutelage, Pam learnt to channel her innate creative eye through the lens, increasing her knowledge and application through Arden club, Solihull club and latterly, the U3A group in Balsall Common. Latterly, Pam increasingly relies on her small Panasonic Lumix for ease and convenience, finding the less prominent camera useful for street photography, as well as capturing images on holidays abroad.
She particularly likes the progression of the entire photographic process: from the image capture, the post-processing (though she keeps this to a minimum), the printing and mounting. She especially likes photographing flowers, including dead flowers for their unique texture, structure and colour, but her fondness for family portraiture remains uppermost, with her spacious garden room doubling as a studio. The portrait image displayed her is of her grandson, Joseph, which was a winner in the Portraits competition early in 2025.
In short, Pam brings a wealth of experience to the club, not only in her knowledge of photography but also in her friendly and supportive approach to all members and is paramount in keeping the group positive and forward moving.
My thanks to Pam for giving her time generously for this interview.
Nick Martin presents: Wildlife Photography
On Thursday 23rd April, members of the group were treated to an absorbing and entertaining talk by Nick Martin, a wildlife photographer and founder of the ‘All Things Wildlife’ group whose mission it is to encourage people to better understand and appreciate our natural environment.
Backed up by some wonderful photos of (mostly) our national landscape and its vast myriad of inhabitants, Nick took us through the range of techniques, tips and tricks he uses to capture images of birds, insects and mammals: not just the equipment he uses, but the whole approach he employs to achieving success.
Much of this is about understanding the life/time cycle of the creatures and modifying preparation best suited to the task. This involves ‘homework’ – referencing relevant resources, asking pertinent questions and doing the necessary preparation to minimalize failures. It also requires passion, patience and perseverance, not to mention imagination and creativity.
His narrative underpinning his presentation was superb – amusing, revealing and self-effacing. He showed some of his ‘near-misses’ and explained why they were so; he illustrated how a good shot could be improved through simple adjustments in camera setting, in position and inventiveness. He was erudite, eloquent and engaging – a truly passionate and inspirational naturalist and a champion of the environment.
Balsall Common members taste success at Solihull
Yesterday evening was the final competition of the season at Solihull Photographic Society.
A number of members had success including :
1 Anne Watkinson: a highly commended and a commended
2 Bob Bracher: a highly commended, and 2 commended
3 John Hayes: with a highly commended.
However the star of the evening was Pam Martin with her chrysanthemum in mono.
For those members aspiring to produce good photos, here are some key points :
1. Pam has a passion and great knowledge of flowers.
2. She tried different aspects such as high key, low key, intense and sepia.
3. She took 20 different images before deciding on the best one, and then converted it into mono.
4. Pam took it on her small Panasonic Lumix camera.
In addition, it broke some of the key "rules" of photography:
1. Not showing the whole of the flower.
2. Printing a flower in mono.
The result is this stunning photo
Profile: Anne Watkinson. Life is for living. Or “Mister, I met a man ….”
Anne is a traveller/photographer extraordinaire. Over the past 2 decades she has visited some of the most fascinating places around the globe, initially supporting small groups of scientists associated with the National Geographic Society, then later, more independently, with groups of like-minded photographers. She has curiosity, stamina and determination that puts many of us mere mortals to shame.
Her photographic journey began in 2008 when she was a tourist aboard a scientific research ship in Antarctica, quickly realising that her camera was inadequate to capture the amazing colours of the landscape. On her return she upgraded to her first serious camera, a Canon 5D. She met a man at a travel show who was recruiting for trips abroad with the NGS; Anne, having been a nurse practitioner with the NHS, applied as a medic. She was accepted, did the training and signed on for an 8-week trek to K2, traveling from the Base Camp with small scientific groups undertaking local expeditions.
Anne is a traveller/photographer extraordinaire. Over the past 2 decades she has visited some of the most fascinating places around the globe, initially supporting small groups of scientists associated with the National Geographic Society, then later, more independently, with groups of like-minded photographers. She has curiosity, stamina and determination that puts many of us mere mortals to shame.
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Anne was born in South Africa and lived there for 23 years. She moved to the UK in 1974 where she completed a post-grad course at St Thomas’s hospital. She has lived in the Midlands for many years. Over time, she has belonged to several clubs; the first one was in Burton Green, run by Trevor Doyle, linking up with Pam Martin. Next was Arden, run by Bob Moore. Here the requirement was to show as many as 6 prints at a time but after a while felt the fleeting perusal of prints was too ephemeral; that any photograph should be awarded more than 2 minutes’ scrutiny, given the time and effort in production. In her time, she has had membership at Smethwick, Corley and Solihull. Latterly she has added Balsall Common u3a to her list.
Over the years Anne has had several successes, recently coming 2nd in a Landscape competition organised by Gallery Photiq in Leamington: the photo is pictured here:
Anne’s love of travelling has never diminished: she seldom takes photos in this country, partly because she enjoys meeting new people, discovering unusual locations and learning about different cultures. Never one to miss an opening or an opportunity, she cultivates contacts, supports new ventures, develops new ideas, and her resulting projects evolve and grow: Afghanistan and neighbouring countries of Central and Southern Asia, many regions in the Far East and in Africa and Australasia; various locations in Europe including Chernobyl in Ukraine; Rio for the carnival and the favelas; Papua New Guinea ….
There is an energy to her which fosters enthusiasm and defies conventional expectation. Time to sit back and reflect? Not a bit of it! She is planning to travel to Japan with the winner of the Photoq competition, Murray Livingstone, early next year. As she clearly states, “Life is for living! Do you want to join me?”
Incidentally, Anne is pictured here alongside one of the fabulous quilts she’s made. Oh, did I not mention her skill at quilting
