On October 4th, our guest speaker in front of a capacity audience was Timoleague based landscape and nature photographer Mike Brown.
Mike’s opening image was a common-or-garden photo of a horse, the kind of shot that anyone with even a cursory knowledge of photography would take. But then, to illustrate how the proper use of technique and equipment could make a world of difference, the next image was of three horses and riders racing towards the viewer at full gallop. One could almost hear the thunder of hooves from the screen such was the power of the photo.
Image after stupendous image followed illustrating Mike’s key theme of”involvement” where animal photography is concerned. For instance, a shot of dolphins taken taken at almost eye-level as Mike was leaning precariously from a boat while the animals broke the surface of the water. Another shot was of a herd of cows such as can be seen in any field but taken with a wide-angle lens at ground level as the curious bovines gathered around to examine what the photographer was doing.
There were some amazing photographs of owls taken at night in their natural habitat using multiple flashes and infra-red triggers. Likewise,there was a fascinating series of images of badgers emerging from their setts, something that few of us have ever seen and yet they are a native species and are not rare; it just requires the knowledge and determination of a Mike Brown to capture them.
Mike ended his presentation with a series of slow-shutter-speed shots of birds in flight. The slow speeds resulted in an artistic, impressionistic-like series of images which were things of beauty.
It was a wonderful presentation and there was nobody in the audience who could have failed to be inspired and motivated by it.
Please check out Mike’s website to see some of his amazing photography and note too that he holds regular workshops to share his expertise with others: http://www.mikebrownphotography.com/