Published on February 13th, 2018 | by Content Admin

Photographic Society: February 2018 Report

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Our monthly club meeting at The Cartwright Arms Hotel, Aynho, was a presentation by one of our own members Jim Muller. He presented a brilliant series of photographs titled “America; from Cowboy Country to Indian Reservation”. It highlighted the contrast between the green fertile plains occupied by cattle ranchers in Idaho and Wyoming and the arid hot desert lands of Utah and Arizona allocated to tribal reservations. The early pictures showed the areas around Salt Lake City then moving on to the dramatic location of Yellowstone National Park. Jim gave us his personal view of this well known scenery and it wildlife, and pictures ranged from bison and elk to magnificent geysers and colourful hot mineral pools. Particularly unique were the Travertine Falls, created by mineral deposits from hot springs and forming a wide series of terraces down the valley.

A particular highlight of this journey was to be present in the right place when the total eclipse of the sun occurred. A series of perfectly exposed pictures showing progressive stages of the total eclipse were shown. (As Jim said – you only get one chance at this.).

Moving further south to the more arid regions took us to the Arches National Park. An area of naturally formed huge arches of sandstone. These weathered formations offer endless potential for creative photographers, particularly the Window Arch at sunrise. The “Balancing Rock” also gave them a unique photo opportunity. This large boulder sits precariously on a sandstone pedestal looking very unbalanced. Monument Valley’s widely recognised geological formations are the magnet for travel photographers, and the low angle of the late afternoon sun threw columns and butes into relief. The clear night skies of Utah also provided the ideal opportunity for good pictures of stars and the Milky Way. The amazingly photogenic Antelope Canyon also provides almost endless creative pictures, and Jim gave us excellent examples of the formations in this slot canyon. The Canyonlands National Park holds The Green Canyon, the Colorado Canyon and The Grand Canyon within its boundaries: and we were treated to superb shots of all these canyons. Some were stitched panoramic shots. The range of rock colours and strata formations were thrown into relief by the angle of the sun which illustrated the uniqueness of these canyons. This excellent presentation finished with deserved loud applause.

Our next club meeting is on 7th March at The Cartwright Hotel, Aynho, and will be a presentation by Mary MacIntire, titled Astrophotography. All are welcome to attend, come along and meet us.

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