SARUM U3A
Nov 2009
St Francis Hall was packed and buzzing for the November Coffee Morning. Chairman Neil Russell welcomed new members who had been able to join following the committee’s recent decision to increase membership numbers from 300 to 350. Ticket sales were announced for the New Year party on 20th January which will comprise an enticing mix of food, drink and entertainments.
Ena Baldock introduced our speaker from Dorset, international award winning natural history photographer Colin Varndell, accompanied by his wife Susy. Colin first started to take an interest in wildlife as a teenager. Thirty years ago he took up photography as a full time occupation and today boasts a photo stock of 250,000 pictures. He has exhibited in fifty countries and won many awards. As his hour-long slideshow unfolded, he enthralled his audience with illustrations of the beauty and fragility of nature, his commentary demonstrating the dedication and tenacity required to achieve such outstanding results. It is not untypical for him to carry and set up a weighty camera, tripod and camouflage hide and sit motionless for eight hours a day for seven days before achieving his required photograph. He compared watching paint dry as ten times more exciting as sitting in his hide.
We also learned that January is the best month for observing and photographing wildlife. The best weather condition for photography is fog, a massive diffuser producing an ethereal quality of light; and is ideal for wedding photographs. More information on Colin’s work can be found at www.colinvarndell.co.uk
