The latest meeting of the Isle of Man Photographic Society came in two halves - the first comprised a session of members images taken either on society outings during our summer break or on two non-competitive assignments set by Barry Murphy to encourage the use of a camera during idle moments....

This proved very successful with a wide range of excellent images from the membership - the outings included visits to Tynwald, the Gaiety, Kentraugh Mill, the Ayres Nature Reserve, and a day trip to Liverpool - and resulted in some almost iconic shots.

The two challenges - ’summer activities’ and ’images taken within 100 yards of your house - required members to submit two images on each assignment and provided a wide range of interpretations, some taken inside the house, some outside - some lovely images of leaves in bird baths or plastered against a wet window for example were particularly noteworthy, whilst Richard Shafto’s image of derelict properties in Spain (the result of their financial crash since 2009) was quite dispiriting but an excellent example of ’reportage’ current affairs style.

The second half was the showing of a folio of 60 images from the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union, which for the first time was shown as digitally projected images rather than as prints.

This gave the immediate benefit that all members had a good view of the image and were able to appreciate the skills exhibited in the various images - and led to a good discussion of the strengths (and sometimes weaknesses) of each image, important for members in developing their awareness of image quality and of being able to critique an image to identify possible improvements.

Our next meeting on Wednesday, 14th November will be the Island Three-Way Digital Battle between the IOM Photographic Society (current holders of the title) and our rivals at the Western and Southern Clubs. This will be held at the South Douglas Old Friends Association in Finch Road, Douglas.

Meetings are open to the public with an entry fee for this special event of £4, and all will be given a very warm welcome. Full details of our programme can be found on our website at www.iomps.com.

Chris Blyth