With our scheduled presenter on Architectural Photography off on an overseas assignment at short notice our August meeting was given over to another evening of challenges in still life photography. Monica brought along some props and craft materials and about a dozen members brought along their cameras and tripods to test their skills.

The first exercise involved learning about bokeh – which is the way lens render out of focus points of light. To start with it was necessary to experiment with manual combinations of shutter and f-stop to get the right exposure of the usual type of bokeh effect. After that we found that with a cut out shape of the appropriate size held over the lens, the normally circular points of light could be recorded as, for example, a heart shape or the letter T.

Just outside the meeting room the other assignment involved experimenting with glasses filled with coloured water, creased aluminium foil and a light source. With this simple collection of props it was possible to produce a fascinating mix of colours and textures by re-arranging the glasses and the position of the foil and by shooting from different angles.

Of course in the process of all the experimenting there was a lot discussion amongst the members present – and our two guests Michael and Peter – as new techniques were tried and tested, and technical tips passed around. Our thanks to Monica for coming up with such an interesting alternative at short notice.