The annual general meeting marks this week marks the end of the official season of regular weekly meetings of the Isle of Man Photographic Society, which has included an excellent programme of competitions, presentations and practical demonstrations.

External speakers are always given a very warm welcome, and this year have included Phil Kneen, a local professional with a dedication to the use of film rather than digital for his work.

Dr Jeremy Paul proved an ever-popular speaker with a superb presentation on several of his latest expeditions - firstly to Costa Rica and then to Yellowstone National Park.

Other speakers included John Keelan, showing his skills with images from local musical productions at the Gaiety, whilst Charles Guard gave an amusing and eloquent presentation of his work filming documentaries, largely about the Isle of Man.

Club members have also proved willing to demonstrate their prowess, with presentations by Chris Nicholls (Italy), Ruth Nicholls (Croatia), Bob Servante (birds of the Farne Islands), Richard Leach (lightroom), Tony Curtis (studio portrait lighting), and John Phipp (Bali) - each in its own way giving ideas and inspiration to help other members improve their own skills.

Competition in our various sections has been fierce, in particular in our intermediate and advanced groups, and the club trophies are being shared widely at the year-end presentation.

Our gratitude goes as ever to our various judges during the year - who are given the task of commenting on the entries and hopefully giving helpful encouragement for the future.

A special mention goes to Christine Widdall MPAGB EFIAP FBPE, who judged our annual competition - a mammoth task over two days, given nearly 200 prints and over 200 digital images, and then having to finish each evening with a presentation of her own work - and both with an emphasis on the fun and enjoyment which our shared enthusiasm can provide. Our thanks also go the Arts Council for their continued support of this event and of the club.

The season finished with several ’firsts’ - our two competitions with clubs on the ’other island’ are always watched closely as they are the only opportunities to measure ourselves against comparable off-island photographers - and for the past six or so years, we have always been bested in the final results.

However, this year, we have won both, in a massive boost for club members and a clear demonstration of our improving skills.

But the AGM is not the end of our activities.

With the better light and longer days, our cameras come out of their cases and the action is renewed â?¦.. and what better time for anyone looking for advice and guidance on how to get the best from their equipment than to join one of our summer outings where our friendly members will be on hand to help?

Full details of our programme and contact details will be found on our website www.iomps.com.

Chris Blyth