Very many thanks to Mark Buckley-Sharp, Pradeep Luther and Avril Candler for their excellent presentations on three very different subjects.

Mark took us back to the fifteenth century and the conquest of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, by the Ottomans  led by King Mehmed II.  A fascinating historical lecture about the ingenuity, logistical difficulties and sophisticated (for the time) munitions.  Mark’s photographs illustrated the pressure points, the topography of the time, the strategic decisions made, paintings recording the aftermath and how traces of the conquest are still visible today.  The plaque below shows the date King Mehmed entered the city and Istanbul rose.

The 570th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest is to be celebrated in the Turkish metropolis on Monday May 29.  Amazing to think Mehmed was only 21 years old!

Fall of Constantinople by Mark Buckley-Sharp

Pradeep took us to his garden and his Trace camera tethered in a strategic place to his fence to capture sensor-triggered shots of garden fauna.  He described the camera in detail and showed a series of stills and videos of the fox who likes to jump the fence into the neighbour’s garden…….and back, sometimes with a hapless pigeon gripped between those ‘big teeth’! It’s certainly a fun way of producing great pictures and a very cost-effective hobby.

Trace Camera Talk by Pradeep Luther

Our third talk by Avril was a trip down memory lane (a personal history!) in pictures  from her first foray with a digital camera,  joining the camera club  and being immersed in everything it’s programme had to offer.  Using photos of bees, butterflies, hoverflies and flies to illustrate the beauty and challenge of shooting fluttery, buzzy creatures (almost all taken in the garden) before moving on to show some creative images,  including a couple of pictures with poems.

Small Creatures by Avril L Candler

Once again, many thanks to Mark, Pradeep and Avril for their hard work and time putting together three informative and enjoyable talks, much appreciated by everyone.

Next meeting:  28th April at Century for our Panel of Prints and Open Print competitions which will be judged by Amanda Wright.

In the meantime, have a good Easter, enjoy the break……….and chocolate!