Tough photographic challenge gets manifold responses

In addition to formal competitions, Leighton Buzzard Photographic Club sets exacting challenges to encourage members to produce new pictures, try new techniques, and explore their creativity.

Wednesday October 21 was another interesting evening as we reviewed the multifarious results of our latest assignment.  The challenge was simply “Motion” and the Programme Notes added “Capturing motion, could involve blurred movement, panning and other techniques”.

As ever, the club members rose to the challenge.  We saw a wide variety of subjects (including trains, planes and automobile, plus an assortment of people, toys, wildlife, fairground rides, scapes, and even a kitchen plughole).

And numerous techniques were deployed to capture motion (including long exposures, panning, “zooming”, intentional camera movement, “rear sync” flash, and Photoshop blur).  But sometimes nothing works so well as a dramatic subject like condensation streaming off the wings of a jet fighter!

After running through all the images, authors were asked to talk about their images and the techniques used.  And then we voted for our “top picks”.

The most popular images were produced by Val Bolam (a lovely Lake District waterfall), Martin Wood (a vinyl record revolving on a turntable), Patrick Linford (a toy train engine), Bob Farrer (beetroot juice going down a plughole), Wendy Taylor LRPS (a diving pied kingfisher), Dale Rockell (a fairground ride), and Terry Godber ARPS (a Tornado jet in attack mode).

All very different images.  Clearly, there is no single perfect technique and there is enormous scope for experimentation and creativity in photography.

We are always keen to share our passion for photography and we provide a warm welcome for new members at our weekly meetings at Greenleas School on Derwent Road.  We run a varied programme of activities for photographers of all levels.  See our website at lbpc.org.uk for details and join us soon to unleash your own creativity.