Well, it’s November already and the first frosts have hit us. For most areas these have been fairly restricted to early mornings only and the reward for having had to dig out the warm winter jackets, the woolly hats and the gloves is that the rest of the day has given us plenty of sunshine and the evenings have featured some gorgeous starry skies.
The crispness of the season has of course yielded some rather nice images, a selection of which are featured this week. At this time of year we see the sky lit up with stars and the moon, as well as that marvellous vision – the Milky Way. We are also seeing the dying embers of the fireshow that is autumn, and many areas are still aglow with oranges and reds.If we cast our eyes downwards we can also see the patterns in the frost on grass and on plants. We are also able to see the last of the autumn fungi before the frosts get to them. The coming months will throw up many more highly photographic sights, and I for one find myself being grateful that we live in an area that boasts something of interest the whole year through.
A Bonni-ngton event
Also boasting something of interest the whole year through is our Monday evening lecture programme. Last week we were delighted to host Stephen Cosh who gave us an eye-opening talk on street photography.
Next Monday (November 12th) is shaping up to be equally noteworthy as we will be welcoming Chris Bonnington to Kilmaurs Photographic Club. Chris is a well-kent figure in Scottish photographic circles and beyond. I caught up with Chris online and asked him about his “passion for photography.”
Chris has been interested in photography for many years, going back to the film and darkroom days. Of this era he says: “The magic of watching an image appear on the paper in the darkroom fascinated me and I had to give it a go.” He continues:” I started with an Olympus OM30 and it didn’t take long before I converted my walk-in wardrobe into a B&W dark room. After a number of years away from photography I moved to Scotland and started to explore our fantastic mountain scenery. The advancement of digital SLR cameras enticed me back and it didn’t take long to embrace the digital work flow process. This was approximately 13 years ago and I have now well and truly got the bug photographing most genres, or at least having had a go at them. “
Chris’s output is certainly versatile, but he is quite emphatic that his main passion these days is for landscapes – both from the ground and from the air. As a result of dabbling himself in several genres, he is quite clear in his advice to newbie photographers, which is to: “just have a go at everything you can. It is a great way of learning how to use your equipment whilst having a lot of fun and finding out what subjects you most enjoy.”
This is certainly something I myself can relate to. Having upgraded my camera equipment a year ago, my own intention had been to continue the bird and wildlife photography and the occasional landscapes that had been the mainstay of my previous attempts. Yet now I find myself engrossed in sports work, including ones I didn’t even know about such as harness racing) and a burgeoning love for street photogrpahy. Chris’s advice is most certainly true for me and I suspect for many others too. An active member of Carluke Camera Club and member of The Scottish Photographic Circle, since 2014 Chris has, in his own words: “been entering the odd photographic salon exhibition gaining many acceptances together with a number of awards.” This modest almost throw-away line hides the level of achievement Chris has reached and a quick google search reveals that he has won, amongst other awards, a silver medal in the mono portrait section of the 2014 Guernsey (British) Photographic Exhibition, a bronze medal in the landscape section of the 2015 Frome Wessex (British) Salon, a gold medal for best colour landscape print in the 2015 Scottish International Photographic Exhibition, and a silver medal in the 2016 landscape section of the Dingwall (British) exhibition. During 2017 he attained his BPE3 Crown award. This is an accolade awarded by British Photographic Exhibitions – an umbrella organisation which fosters cooperation between a group of exhibitions across the UK. Every photo that you have accepted in a qualifying exhibition accrues you one point. To get a BPEG 3 Crown award like Chris has, you need to have accrued 100 points. With only 18 highly selective qualifying exhibitions, this means Chris has certainly impressed with his entries.
And if that wasn’t enough he then channelled his time and effort into his submission for the DPAGB awards assessment in November of the same year. DPAGB is an accolade awarded by the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain –a membership organisation that co-ordinates activities for photographic clubs across the UK through 15 geographical federations, including the Scottish Photographic Federation. The D stands for Distinction and is the middle level of three awards – Credit, Distinction and then Master.
As you can imagine, the awards are not given lightly and there are strict qualifying criteria. Chris’s efforts were well rewarded. As he puts it: “It was down in Colchester which was a long drive and I was very relieved to achieve the required score.” The images that Chris used to gain his DPAGB can be seen on his website in the gallery entitled DPAGB. Kilmaurs members will also be able to see his successful panel of 15 prints during his evening with us on the 12th.
Chris then told me of his latest endeavours: “2018 has been a little different as I have been enjoying aerial photography using a drone and learning all the safety requirements that go with that. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my prints was voted joint overall best print in The Scottish Photographic Circle’s annual exhibition voted for by the members.” So it appears that a supposed “rest” has also yielded an accolade and that I think stands witness to Chris’s talent.
All in all, I think we are in for an evening of delights, and if the DPAGB images are anything to go by, a display of superb photographs.
If you would like to see examples of Chris’s work, please visit his website galleries at: https://www.chrisbonningtonphotography.co.uk/
Come and join us
Chris will be with us on Monday November 12th. If you would like to come along to this or any other Kilmaurs Photographic Club meeting, these are held on Monday evenings in the Masonic Halls, Kilmaurs. Visitors and prospective new members are most welcome. The evenings start at 7.30pm and end around 9.45pm. Members are reminded that November 12th is also the hand in evening for the Rose Urie competition.