7th September 2021
Wow – I hope you all enjoyed the President’s Evening as much as I did!
Pam put together an excellent overview of aspects of photography which we don’t often see in our Society. It was a very personal exploration of the emotional impact of various photographic genres from photo-journalism and the ethics of documentary photography, though landscape and meditation, slow photography, diversity and minority groups as well as events including weddings where generations are linked together for the future. Of particular interest is the work of Marvel Harris whose work is full of powerful self-photographs - https://www.lensculture.com/marvel-harris-3?modal=project-1078770
With some of her own past work taken as the Iron Curtain fell Pam showed powerful images with resonance not only for her as witness, but for those of us who saw these events unfolding through newspapers and TV.
Club judges say they look for ‘impact’ in our work, but it is rare them to focus on emotional impact and this is where Pam showed us that all photography can be viewed in this way.
In our world where photos are taken with ease on smart-phones, what does the future hold for young people? Not only are photos integral to social media, there are many courses where aspects of photography can be studied in further education.
Pam introduced us to Dr Stella Chan of the University of Edinburgh who originated and developed Project Soothe which invites members of the public to submit photographs that make them feel soothed. She reported that the most common images which are considered to be most soothing fall into the categories of landscape, water, trees, animals and sky. Stella was awarded the British Psychological Society Public Engagement and Media Award for 2017 for her work. Recently Stella’s group has worked with St Mary’s School, Bathwick to produce the film Boys in Mind, Girls Mind Too - https://boysinmind.co.uk/film-project-soothe/
An aspect of this work that interested me is what people choose as soothing images from the many submitted for the project from around the world - http://www.projectsoothe.com/gallery/459376965.
Putting an evening together as a speaker is never straightforward and all the more so when presenting photography from a distinct viewpoint. Pam excelled with this year’s President’s evening and left us all with much to think about – well done!
Geoff
Wow – I hope you all enjoyed the President’s Evening as much as I did!
Pam put together an excellent overview of aspects of photography which we don’t often see in our Society. It was a very personal exploration of the emotional impact of various photographic genres from photo-journalism and the ethics of documentary photography, though landscape and meditation, slow photography, diversity and minority groups as well as events including weddings where generations are linked together for the future. Of particular interest is the work of Marvel Harris whose work is full of powerful self-photographs - https://www.lensculture.com/marvel-harris-3?modal=project-1078770
With some of her own past work taken as the Iron Curtain fell Pam showed powerful images with resonance not only for her as witness, but for those of us who saw these events unfolding through newspapers and TV.
Club judges say they look for ‘impact’ in our work, but it is rare them to focus on emotional impact and this is where Pam showed us that all photography can be viewed in this way.
In our world where photos are taken with ease on smart-phones, what does the future hold for young people? Not only are photos integral to social media, there are many courses where aspects of photography can be studied in further education.
Pam introduced us to Dr Stella Chan of the University of Edinburgh who originated and developed Project Soothe which invites members of the public to submit photographs that make them feel soothed. She reported that the most common images which are considered to be most soothing fall into the categories of landscape, water, trees, animals and sky. Stella was awarded the British Psychological Society Public Engagement and Media Award for 2017 for her work. Recently Stella’s group has worked with St Mary’s School, Bathwick to produce the film Boys in Mind, Girls Mind Too - https://boysinmind.co.uk/film-project-soothe/
An aspect of this work that interested me is what people choose as soothing images from the many submitted for the project from around the world - http://www.projectsoothe.com/gallery/459376965.
Putting an evening together as a speaker is never straightforward and all the more so when presenting photography from a distinct viewpoint. Pam excelled with this year’s President’s evening and left us all with much to think about – well done!
Geoff