A run of excellent meetings for the Isle of Man Photographic Society continued last week when we were pleased to welcome Andrew Haddock as our guest speaker.

Andrew has recently retired from the police where he was a scene of crimes officer with a particular specialisation in photographing and documenting reported incidents.

His recruitment into the police force and his activities there provided us with the material for the first half of our evening.

It very quickly became apparent just how meticulous a SOCO (scene of crimes officer) photographer needs to be in recording the scenes of incidents, be it a traffic accident or criminal activities - particularly in light of possible court action thereafter and cross-examination as to the evidence being presented, everything needing to be carefully measured and recorded, nothing to be discarded which might prejudice a possible verdict.

A particular feature of Andrew’s presentation was just how much his job had changed over his 25 years’ experience.

At the start of his career he used film cameras, which were very heavy and bulky and had specialist equipment for recording fingerprints for example.

They required darkrooms and wet tank processing.

Later he used modern-day lightweight digital cameras or even a mobile phone, which can provide an equivalent performance and is instantly capable of being checked to accuracy and exposure.

The second half was much more relaxed - a presentation of a large quantity of Andrew’s personal work - shots taken almost exclusively here on the island, mostly when walking the dog or just walking our hills.

And what a pleasure - images that proved one doesn’t need to travel to far-off places to get some fantastic scenic shots, nor highly expensive equipment - just a very good eye and the imagination, artistry and creativity to ’see the shot’.

Oh - and a willingness to put on the walking boots and climb up into those hills! Club president Jeremy Broome-Smith gave the vote of thanks.

The society is now to take a short break for the Christmas holidays, with our next meeting planned for Wednesday, January 8, when Jeremy will be giving a presentation of some of his work.

Given the acknowledged excellence of his images, this will be a meeting not to be missed.

The society meets at the Arts Society Building (Thie Ellyn) in Worthington Road, Douglas, on Wednesday evenings, all meetings starting at 7.30pm, and all open to the public (with a modest fee for non-members).

Further details of our programme can be found on the website www.iomps.com.