Irvine Camera Club kicked off our summer photo walk season last week with a wee jaunt down to the rocky coast at Troon’s Ballast Bank shore. This has become a regular venue for the club as it is reasonably local for most members and it offers some varied and interesting photographic opportunities all within easy walking distance of the car park.
The weather always plays a big part in how our photographs turn out when we go on our trips. I am glad to say that Ayrshire Rivera didn’t let us down this time. Although we had a good turnout on the Wednesday evening, a few folk couldn’t make it on the night. Fortunately, the weather held good for the rest of the week and those that missed out were able to get down later in the week to make some photos.
There is always the risk that everyone (I am the worst culprit!) goes gaga for the gorgeous sunsets we get on the west coast. To avoid sunset overload, we asked our members to work on three different themes. Boats or Harbour, Shore detail and a technique called “long exposure” where the camera’s shutter is left open for several seconds causing motion to be smoothed out. An excellent example of that is Alan Kempster’s shot of the “Troon Aye” where he has made it look like it is spinning out of control.
The combination of pictorial images and more documentary style photography has led to what I think is a fascinating snapshot of this small area of Troon over a couple of days. From the details of the fishing nets left out to dry beautifully captured by Fiona Wallace to Debbie and Alan’s more prosaic records of litter casually discarded. I always enjoy seeing how different photographers capture the same environment on our photo walks. Photography can often tell you as much about the photographer as it does about the subject.
I hope you enjoy looking through our little seaside rendezvous collection and that the photos inspire you to get out with your camera so you can see what the world looks like when you photograph it. Our programme of photo walks continues through the summer and the details are all on our website www.irvinecc.co.uk – you are very welcome come along to any of the events, we would love to see you there. Until next week, enjoy the light!
