Fort William Photographic Society
Programme of Events
Sept 2023 Apr 2024
5th Sept: Learning Programme
Colin will open the season with a session entitled : Learning from the best in the business – landscape, portrait, street and macro.
19th Sept: Guest Speaker
Keith Thorburn, who lives in The Highlands, will give an illustrated talk – “What it Takes to get the Shot”. Keith is an exceptional wildlife photographer and will share with us not only how he takes his images of elusive local wildlife but also how he painstakingly set about learning about their habits and habitats, tracking them and ultimately building his hides. His book “A Few Seconds of Scotland” is available on Amazon and his website is KWT Images (smugmug.com)
3rd October: Entering External Competitions.
This evening we will view awarded Scottish Photographic Federation (SPF), PAGB and RPS images with a discussion about FWPS entering SPF competitions and how members can work towards gaining distinctions.
17th October: Post Processing
Members are invited to bring RAW images to be processed live on screen by two people to show how the same image can be interpreted differently.
(We will try and arrange a daytime shoot before this with the intention of showing how one scene shot at the same time and place can look very different according to how photographers approach a subject and then process it.)
7th November: Speaker
Claire Carter will present an illustrated talk called “Altered Realities” Claire says the most frequently asked question she gets is…”do you manipulate your images?” She explains why this is hard to answer truthfully because a camera changes reality or shows us things our eyes don’t see before our images get anywhere near Photoshop. This talk illustrates her thoughts and shows what a creative tool a camera can be.
Claire’s website can be found here www.carterart.co.uk
21st November – Audio Visual Presentations
Audio visual presentation night. AV productions combine projected photographs, and possibly video, with a soundtrack giving you the opportunity to combine projected photographs with sound and narration. It is an interesting way of presenting your work and ideas.
Members to showcase AVs they have made, followed by a session on how to construct one using software.
5Th December – Guest Speaker
Part 1. Guest Speaker Tom Swallow CAGB from Walsall Camera Club will give an interactive talk. Other members from West Midland clubs will also join us for the evening.
Part 2. TBC
19th December “10 Minutes of Fame” and mince pies.
Members are invited to showcase their work. Presentations, of 10 minute maximum, should have a themed approach or cohesion such as one place, one genre, one technique etc. Presentations can be digital, print or AV.
2nd January NO MEETING DUE TO BANK HOLIDAY
16th January: Workshop
Close-up and macro photography workshop with a botanical theme but skills learnt can be applied to many different subjects.
Claire and Andy invite you to join them in their studio near Spean Bridge for a practical workshop to discover different photographic techniques.
Times TBC but there may be several sessions during the day and evening to keep numbers in each session low. Examples of Claire’s botanical work can be found here Botanical | CARTerART Claire Carter Photography | Fort William Scotland
6th February AGM and discussion about organising an exhibition.
20th February: Speaker
Colin Ross – Zoom Presentation Title TBC
5Th March: Processing image’s part 2.
19th March: Exploring Abstract Photography.
2nd April: Speaker
Presentation by Andy Askey CPAGB. Title TBC.
16th April The Printed Image.
Preparing an image for printing is a skill plus there are so many decisions about paper, whether to print at home or outsource. Tonight, we will try and unpick some of your questions and we ask members to bring examples of their printed images to share. This may be prints, mounted prints or photobooks.
END of formal programme. During the summer there will be an informal programme of events that will be advertised on a week-by-week basis based on membership requests.
TBC date for a summer BBQ
