World Image issue 17 February 2015

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The Societies’ 2015 Convention at the Hilton Metropole, London Visit Report by Gordon Longmead The date was the 16th January 2015. The destination, The Hilton Metropole Hotel, Edgware Road, London. The purpose, the Societies 2015 Convention Show. The day started well, the alarm clock failed, then the car did not want to start (well it was a chilly morning), so is was a rush to get to the railway station in time to catch the 8.20 into Kings Cross, but I made it. On a nice day there is plenty to see and photograph, the streets are not paved in gold, but when the sun shines they are bright and bustling. On a wet day I just do not go to London, it is as drab and uninviting as any other big city. Being the rush hour it was standing room only all the way. The fare was £24.90 return from Welwyn to Edgware Road. Another shock as I normally travelled off peak at £12.50 return. I should have realised that there would be a problem since that line is one of the deepest in London and even the journey down was a long one. I love the span of the new bit to Kings Cross with the additional interest created by the changing colours in the roof space. At Kings Cross I transferred to the London Underground, my chosen route was the circle line to Bakers Street then the Bakerloo Line to the Edgware Road. My reason for this route was that the station was directly across from the Hotel. Undaunted, I ventured into the underground for the first time in 35 years. It is not that I do not like the underground, it is just that I have gotten into the habit of walking down to the river to see what is on offer for the camera. Once at Edgware Road you are confronted with a choice, take the 125 stairs or the lift. I decided that I needed the exercise and took the stairs, in future I will use the Circle Line. Once at the main door of the Hilton London Metropole Hotel, you enter a world of opulence, but there is still more walking to do through the hotel corridors to the west wing. As with most hotels they had the heating on and that may be good for relaxing in comfort, it was not so good when wearing a thermal coat even if it was sleeveless. But I was lucky, I found the baggage check and having put my coat in a bag, deposited it there for the day, even better it was free of charge. It appeared that I was the only show visitor to use the facility. Website = photosociety.net Page 24 email = magazine@photosociety.net
The first point of interest was the display of their Society competition pictures, they displayed the finalists and each received a silver rosette, the winners also received a gold rosette. The pictures were stunning, but, although I do not know the judging criteria, I would happily stack some of the images produced by our society members against those on display and they would certainly not have looked out of place. This display did give me an idea for our competitions and the exhibition which I will be looking into shortly. My first encounter was with the Societies book store with the offer of books at £5 each or three for £10. It enticed me in, but failed to keep me interested. There were many ‘tutorial’ books on Studio, wildlife and other aspects of lighting and photography, but they all appeared to be books showing the photographers work, but no real tutorial content. I could go through all of the companies I spoke to on the day, but that would be boring so suffice to say that I took 80 leaflets about the exhibition / society and all were given to relevant companies and I also handed out another 30 business cards. All who had these items showed great interest, but if past experience is anything to go by we will hear nothing further except countless advertising emails. There were some exceptions, ten of these companies saw a good opportunity in being associated with us. All being well, I should be in a better position to tell you all about these opportunities in the next issues of the magazine. I had a chat with our friends at the Photo Academy who have confirmed that they will continue to sponsor our competitions for the foreseeable future. I stopped by the Creativity Backgrounds stand for their pricelist, ouch, but then they are 11 meter paper rolls and they do have 51 colours plus a few specials. These are worth looking at if you have a studio or are thinking of setting one up. www.creativitybackgrounds.co.uk Upstairs from the lobby was the first of the two main halls, the Monarch Suite where I met with Daniel Smith the sales executive of Towergate Camerasure. If anyone wants to discuss liability or equipment insurance then Daniel is the man to see. www.towergatecamerasure.co.uk The next in line was Panasonic which, after some discussion relating to a previous encounter, proved to be a very good meeting. I did get to look at the new Lumix camera that produces good stills from video, and I will be talking to them again in the near future about aspects of support for the society. The prizes of free membership at pro level is worth having. It is one of those prizes where the more you use the facility the greater the intrinsic value and the more you can learn. I also managed to speak to our contact at the Photography Show in Birmingham. I am advised that the Society is at the top of his list to fill up any empty spaces at the show. I just want an empty wall where we can promote the Society and Magazine. There are a few companies that members may be interested in at a personal / business level, so here are a few of them. Website = photosociety.net Page 25 email = magazine@photosociety.net
Page 1 and 2: The Magazine of the Peoples Photogr
Page 3 and 4: Chairmans Bit So here we are once a
Page 5 and 6: Others do guided tours of the mount
Page 7 and 8: Of course, it's very loud, especial
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Page 11 and 12: You will need to get there early or
Page 13 and 14: Competition April 2015 - Closing da
Page 15 and 16: The angle between the lights vinyl
Page 17 and 18: Sometimes the only way to view the
Page 19 and 20: I did get some cocoa seeds, that I
Page 21 and 22: Website = photosociety.net Page 21
Page 23: The Monkey by Gordon Website = phot
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Page 35 and 36: Morning tides showing lots more rag
Page 37 and 38: I pictured descending over masses o
Page 39 and 40: Mind you, it is great to have the t
Page 41 and 42: I hear the next easel will be comin
Page 43 and 44: I am amazed how, even after a night
Page 45 and 46: Wildlife - Garden Birds - Part 1 Pi
Page 47 and 48: Jay Garrulus glandarius Heron Ardea
Page 49 and 50: Tour Operators Members who operate,

World Image issue 17 February 2015

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