The inclement weather that often greets the start of a new year caused another disruption to the Isle of Man Photographic Society’s winter programme.
The previously planned evening, which was moved from its original starting point, was finally able to be held last week in mid-January.
“Reflections of the table” was the society’s theme at a long-delayed “hands-on” workshop held at St John Ambulance headquarters in Glencrutchery Road, Douglas.
Who would have imagined that such a seemingly simple concept would lead to such a wide variety of subjects being depicted in so many different, experimental ways?
Reflections in landscape photography are always very pleasing to the eye, but static subjects on a table are a completely different phenomenon that requires ingenuity and variations in lighting.
“Reflection” by Nigel Owen. (Nigel Owen)
Of course, we all know that if the surface is smooth and shiny, such as glass, water, or polished metal, light will be reflected at the same angle as it bounces off the surface. This is usually called specular reflection. This works on all polished surfaces, not just mirrors.
Armed with this knowledge and utilizing various arrangements, those present managed to obtain a kaleidoscope of pleasing images, in some cases of possibly the most unexpected subject matter.
As is often the case with “practical” nights, there were fewer attendees than usual for a club night, but the attendance numbers were overlooked with high levels of enthusiasm.
The members placed themselves between two free rooms, individually positioning their subjects to photograph in their own imaginative way.
Several mirrors were clearly visible, and quite a few members used new technology such as “smart” tablets to display a colorful image for the platform and then use a light bulb or other glass object to capture the reflection, which had a mostly black background.
As always with such ‘hands-on’ evenings, more experienced members were on hand to provide any gentle guidance that might be needed as part of the learning process.
The next meeting of the club is the “Three-Way Battle”, which will be held on Wednesday, February 5.
Meanwhile, the committee has announced that the theme for the latest non-competitive ‘challenge’ in January will be ‘winter’.
The idea behind this is to encourage members to explore their personal photography style and take up to six photos on any device on or before February 2nd.
“Ignition” by Nigel Owen (Nigel Owen)