The Isle of aAn Photographic Society was delighted to have the opportunity for presentations from two very skilled photographers, both with an extremely good eye and the ability to produce images with impact to captivate our audience.

First up - and a welcome return after a number of years - was Suddhajit Sen, an orthopaedic surgeon from Noble’s Hospital with a selection of his landscape images under the title of Light and Symmetry.

Suddhajit has a classical approach to landscape work - careful preparation, the correct tools including tripod, polarising and neutral density filters to balance the light in brighter and darker areas of his images, and a willingness to get his shots at the best time - be it day or night, morning or evening.

The resulting images were stunning - whether tarns in the Lake District, Durdle Door in Dorset, Table Mountain in South Africa, or beaches in the Seychelles - fabulous compositions, good lead-in lines, lots to interest throughout the images, and beautifully-controlled light.

Dare one say it but a surgical, almost intellectual approach to the task, with a very clear idea of the intended image - all accompanied by a clear commentary and explanation of technique.

Serendipitously, Suddhajit had requested the accompaniment of Dr Phil Metcalfe, currently working in A&E, to support our evening with a presentation of images from a recent back-packing tour of South East Asia.

Despite an alleged lack of experience, Phil then presented us with another superb series of images.....starting in Cochin and the beaches of Southern India via the Taj Mahal, Delhi and Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and ending in Indonesia, again accompanied by a well-paced commentary.

The photographic approach was radically different but equally inspiring - little apparent planning or use of tripod or filters, but images showing great awareness of the people, the hustle and bustle of their lives, their locality and scenery.

The atmosphere and emotion of the trip was beautifully shown with an almost instinctive knowledge of composition and colour, taken "in the moment" for images with real impact.

Our president, Chris Blyth, gave the vote of thanks for presentations which had very obviously been greatly enjoyed by our members.

The society meets at the Art Society Building (Thie Ellyn) in Withington Road, Douglas, with all meetings starting at 7.30pm.

Our next meeting on Wednesday, February 20, will be a presentation on New Zealand by Doug Allan, followed by a talk on using flash presented by Andrew Barton LBIPP LMPA.

Meetings are open to the public, with a modest charge for non-members, and all will be given a very warm welcome.

Full details of our programme can be found on our website at www.iomps.com