Guest Lecture ‘India’ by David Steel.
What a revelation! There are speakers out there who will entertain
and inform, as most do, and still mix in useful photographic, and
club competition knowledge at the same time. Until David Steel
came along the overwhealming message from the club had been “You
are an oik, you are here to worship at the feet of those who have
acheived recognition, you cannot expect to get explanations, or
instruction outside of comments made during judging.” Actually
chaps, as one paying for a proportion of the visitor’s time, it is
one’s absolute privelage to endevour to maximise the benefit of
that visit. Equally as a club member, it is one’s duty to share
any small understanding one may have with anyone who wants it to
the best of one’s ability — that’s what clubs are about.
Anyway returning to David Steel’s show, for show it was, with
individual slides, commentary and AVs to summarise each half, we
had an exciting glimpse of a trip to India with special access.
David and his wife were travelling by car with their personal driver
and guide, rather than in a huge coach party, and consequently could
stop, look, interact and photograph where the coach would have
hurtled on by. David dismissed some of his carefully set up shots
as “holiday snaps” then went on to show how misdirection enabled
him to capture candid moments, and how cropping and merging converted
an aide-memoir into an image that captured and gracefully conveyed
a spirit of the place, converting an honest workaday shot into a
ranking competitor.
This was a show one left well satisfied, without that usual
irritation or frustration at strange remarks unchallenged, detail
missed. David Steel had done his job for the evening, and done it
well.
But we need to get a presenter’s radio mouse.
What a revelation! There are speakers out there who will entertain and inform, as most do, and still mix in useful photographic, and club competition knowledge at the same time. Until David Steel came along the overwhealming message from the club had been “You are an oik, you are here to worship at the feet of those who have achieved recognition, you cannot expect to get explanations, or instruction outside of comments made during judging.” Actually chaps, as one paying for a proportion of the visitor’s time, it is one’s absolute privelage to endevour to maximise the benefit of that visit. Equally as a club member, it is one’s duty to share any small understanding one may have with anyone who wants it to the best of one’s ability — that’s what clubs are about.
Anyway returning to David Steel’s show, for show it was, with individual slides, commentary and AVs to summarise each half, we had an exciting glimpse of a trip to India with special access. David and his wife were travelling by car with their personal driver and guide, rather than in a huge coach party, and consequently could stop, look, interact and photograph where the coach would have hurtled on by. David dismissed some of his carefully set up shots as “holiday snaps” then went on to show how misdirection enabled him to capture candid moments, and how cropping and merging converted an aide-memoir into an image that captured and gracefully conveyed a spirit of the place, converting an honest workaday shot into a ranking competitor.
This was a show one left well satisfied, without that usual irritation or frustration at strange remarks unchallenged, detail missed. David Steel had done his job for the evening, and done it well.
But the club needs to get a presenter’s radio mouse.
