Rich in diversity and interest, our May session…..
was curiously low on participants. Sunny weather and holidays took their toll. Nevertheless, with good weather, the ability to get out and about should result in greater participation in the sessions to come.
With lower than average attendance and therefore with some time to spare, the opportunity presented itself for a discussion about what we should do if contributions were on the low side (say less than eight) for a meeting. Should we cancel and trust that the next session would gain a better response? The answer was ‘no, don’t cancel’. The session will continue, even if the input is sparse. It’s better to maintain the regular rhythm of meetings rather than become intermittent.
Whilst on the subject of participation, though for perfectly understandable reasons, we have less regularly-active participants than usual. Some people have moved away, and others have suffered poor health. In this respect, to keep our meetings full of input and interest, we would welcome sets of images from members who have yet to join in, as well as those whose input tends to be spasmodic.
CPG needs you.
OK, so much for the general appeal. The meeting provided plenty of interest and with lower numbers, we had rather more time to discuss the work. Quite independently and with different approaches, two members chose to feature bridges in Worcester. Anne Burrows' theme featured the collapse of a historic and very ancient structure, which contrasted with Nigel Reader’s viewpoint on a newly-opened span.
Two contributions took us thousands of miles overseas. Dr. Charles Ashton continued his photo-essay about the people of Bangladesh, this time concentrating upon the making of batik fabric designs. In contrast, street photography was the approach adopted by Alex Isaac during his time in St. Lucia.
Tessa Mills was fascinated by the interplay of interlacing lenticular images upon the cover of a book about David Bowie. Taking a sideways approach, Clive Haynes sought a quirky connection between ‘Henry and the Church’.
It’s always gratifying when one form of photography inspires a colleague to take the idea and do it their way. In this respect, Darren Leeson was inspired by the work of an ‘outside source’ featured in April and made his version very much his own.
Our two ‘outside sources’ provided further stimulus and fascination. Here are the links:
Jason Gardner – ‘Quiet Resonance’
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 May 2025 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, 5th June 2025.
We look forward to your input and company
Best wishes,
Tessa and Clive