Click here to see the above photograph. ‘Paeony’ by Bob Mahoney
For the July Club Night, member John Cavana gave a presentation on ‘My travels in Africa through the camera: Kili, Kruger and The Cape’. John’s other home is in Cape Town, South Africa, so understandably he showed an array of interesting images depicting different aspects of life there. He captured diverse subjects – more recently with his Canon EOS 70D – to include one of its biggest tourist attractions, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, with its colourful mélee of boats, restaurants and musicians making wonderful music on old instruments. In the townships, John photographed children of different ages playing together. One of their favourite haunts was a row of loos which they liked to clamber on and run merrily along the roof tops. There were colourful photos of the Cape Town carnival; star-trails from the Taal Monument in Paarl; the beautiful blue Hout Bay; and views of the majestic Table Mountain.
Using a Panasonic FZ28 superzoom camera, John’s visits to Kruger National Park brought a wonderful selection of images of impala, elephants, lions, hornbills, weaverbirds, and water buffalo, sending a frisson of excitement around the room on seeing these powerful and beautiful animals.
But perhaps the highlight of John’s presentation was the photographic record of his climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Inspired by an 84 year-old friend who had climbed Kili at the age of 68, he – John – at 65, and two of his friends, at 70 and 71, decided to make the climb. As one is not permitted to ‘go it alone’, they hired an outfitter from Tanzania to organise the trip and carry all their equipment, including the all-important portable loo. In all, 18 people went on this expedition – the porters and the three climbers. It was a feat of endurance, taking the men five days to climb up and two to come down! The air got considerably colder and thinner the higher they went up – about 20,000 ft asml. The first camp was at 10,000 ft, and they, of course, celebrated when they reached the summit. Greeting successful climbers is the message, ‘Congratulations, you are now at Uhuru Peak, Tanzania – 5,895 m amsl’. Ironically, throughout this trip, John used only a disposable Boots camera, not being able to carry any heavy equipment on the journey. John’s amusing stories accompanying his presentation and the images shown were a fascinating window on life in Kili, Kruger and The Cape, and was much enjoyed by his audience.
The next Society Club Night is on 4th August when member Paul Brewerton will give a presentation on, ‘A photographic journey: How love of the countryside influenced my photographic style over the years’. All events are at 7.30pm in the Cartwright Hotel, Aynho, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Wendy Meagher
01869 336216
www.addphoto.co.uk