October’s session of the Contemporary Photography Group opened yet another box of delights and of ways of seeing.

Locations close to home offered a wealth of subject matter for several members.  When eye medication caused Jenny Mann to be ‘confined to barracks’ for several days; undaunted, Jenny used her camera for us to visualise the world as she experienced it.  Keeping Jenny company during those blurry days, Paul Mann showed how a perceptive eye can reveal how changes in the angle of light can allow us to see familiar objects in a fresh way.  Remaining within the county, Stewart Bourne’s 11 image photo-essay, illustrated the pitiful end which has overtaken a handful of jet fighter-planes.  Their flying-days but a distant memory, they gradually rust and fall apart amongst the brambles and undergrowth of a Worcestershire field.

Crossing the border to Herefordshire, Clive Haynes used a series montages and small details to evoke elements of the history and spirit of the ancient home which is Hellens Manor.  In contrast, Nigel Reader’s eloquent series on small details of plants, particularly their leaves, all expressed in rich, velvety, monochrome, informed us about the fantastic variety of shape and form to be discovered within gardens open to the public. It’s all about ‘seeing’.

Stepping further afield, Norway was the scene for Dr. Charles Ashton, in particular the impressive power of waterfalls, the deep fjords and the insatiable appetite Norwegian’s possess for hiking. Venturing to warmer climes, Gaveesha Hettiarachchi engaged everyone with her debut set of elegant monochrome studies.  All taken in Kenya, each illustrated a small section of the entire creature, from which she invited us to deduce the whole. Remaining somewhere warm, Mauritius was the platform for Tessa Mills to illustrate how pairs of images can offer strength and relationship to one another.

Returning (geographically) to the British Isles, Alex Isaacs’ eye for interactions of shape, light and the casual happenstance of people, whilst taking a tour of a Guinness facility in Dublin, resulted in a fascinating set of imagery.  Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s buildings in Glasgow and their interiors fascinated Geoff Hicks who shared his delight in their form and exquisite detail with us.   Remaining in Scotland, Bob Oakley demonstrated his mastery of ‘the seeing eye’ and close attention to detail as, when in Broadhaven, Isle of Sky, he strayed but a few a yards from his hotel to find images everywhere.

Our two outside sources this month were

Adam Docker, ‘Documentary’.   The mundane title significantly undersells the wealth and richness of his ‘documentary photography’  As Spock may have put it when upon another Star Trek adventure, “this isn’t documentary as we know it Jim – this is documentary photography with artist’s vision!

Link: Adam Docker

Landry Major’s 21^st century depiction of the fast-fading way of life of the old American West with cowboys, herds of cattle and of wild horses, expressed as monochrome studies, is both evocative and a soon-to-become piece of history.

Link: Keepers of the West

All members’ work from our session can be seen in our Viewpoint e-book for this month.  Click on the image below or this link: Viewpoint and choose the October 2024 edition.  The same link provides access to many previous issues of ‘Viewpoint’ - a fascinating treasure-trove waiting for you to explore!

The next CPG meeting will be on Thursday, 7^th November.