Click here to see the whole photograph – Antelope Canyon by Jim Muller
In June, Birmingham-based and award-winning Verity Milligan gave a presentation entitled ‘Light On The Landscape’. Peppered with amusing anecdotes, she spoke of how she got into photography and her techniques. Picking up a camera when 25, she has since worked as a commercial photographer and taught digital storytelling to undergraduates. For the last 6 years or so, she vamped up her approach and concentrated on the urban landscapes of Birmingham which brought her national recognition due to her showcasing the beauty of the city. As she evolves, she tends to prefer the golden hour sunrises, illustrated by some beautiful shots. Verity also showed us stunning images of a variety of her favourite places to photograph, such as Birmingham, Lake District, Outer Hebrides, Isle of Harris, Peak District. She likes to use telephoto and wide angle lens and relies on her intuition to compose her photographs – ‘Is it the composition or the light that makes a photo?’ Often her first shots work best, and often from the car. Verity said she always falls back on her trusty Canon for reliability and keeps all her photos, so as to look back to earlier ones to see how to improve them. Her screened shots included the dawn blue hour in Buttermere, misty autumn golden colours on Derwentwater, the moodiness of Devoke Water using wide angle/telephoto lens, canal shots using a circular polariser, telephoto shots of Birmingham at night, and urban landscapes of Birmingham and Edinburgh. Verity continues to evolve her love of photography and travels widely to photograph whatever interests her, whether it be city architecture, landscapes or seascapes. She’s had several competition successes and her clients include BMW, Visit England/Visit Britain and Yorkshire Tea/Brewtopia. She uses social media, Twitter in particular, because it ‘allows you to connect as creatives’. Verity’s presentation was most interesting and informative, not to mention inspirational, and was much enjoyed by all, who showed their appreciation by a round of applause.
The Monthly Photo Topic was ‘Stairs & Inclines’ whereby an enthusiastic variety of images was submitted, from classic staircases in historic buildings, to steps in gardens, villages and towns. There was no doubt that the photographers enjoyed this subject!
The next Club Night will bring us Bob Brind-Surch whose presentation will be ‘My Digital Workflow’ – Wednesday, 3 July at 7.30pm at the Adderbury Institute, The Green, Adderbury OX17 3NE. Everyone is welcome! Please note the change of venue.
Wendy Meagher