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Wendy started with her “My Life with a Camera”.  This was not, she promised, “the whole 70 years”!  But there was a picture of her at just two years old with a camera in her hands.

In fact, while she started in the film era, her real photographic journey appears to have started in about 2010 with a visit to the Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe).  There were pictures of crocodiles, lions, elephants, and more.  And a picture of the famous statue of David Livingstone – which a feature on her camera told her had blinked (alarming some superstitious Africans nearby).

In 2013 she visited Kenya and there were again pictures of the wildlife, including a hippo which was not about to let the boat she was in disturb its direction of travel.

A significant development in Wendy’s photographic journey was a beginners DSLR course with photographer James Brown.  Other courses and workshops and photographer-led trips followed.  And, of course, as she got more excited about photography she upgraded her kit.

In 2016 Wendy went to South Africa for the first time, visiting Kruger National Park, Knysna, Rorke’s Drift, Isandlwana, and Cape Town.  Again, there were plenty of wildlife images – rhinos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, leopards – but also shots of the Anglo/Zulu war battlefields.

Then in 2017 Wendy retired.  In 2018 she joined LBPB and in 2019 joined the RPS.  Although not initially active with the RPS she later got involved with residentials and workshops at Media City (Salford), Brighton, Bristol, and Newcastle.

There were also more foreign photographic trips.

In 2022 Wendy went back to South Africa visiting game parks, whale watching and exploring Cape Town and the surrounding area.  In 2023 it was Kenya again.  And this year there have been trips to Italy, Poland (including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Krakow), Finland (including overnighting in a hide to photograph bears), and Kenya again (for the Great Migration of wildebeest).

As Wendy narrated the stories behind the many pictures she showed us, including some from her LRPS panel, it was easy to see her growing enthusiasm for photography and her development as a photographer.

She finished with “some fancy stuff” – Hairdressing Salon and Flamingo – and concluded “that’s my progress”.  And it was clear that there had been plenty of progress on her photographic journey.  As ever, the more pictures you take – especially with expert tuition – the better you get.  And, as Wendy so vividly demonstrated, the more you put into your photography, the more you get out of it.

After Wendy came new member (since April) Dale with “A Creative Journey with Fibromyalgia”.

Dale is a photographer and Fibromyalgia Advocate who has been living with “fibro” since some existing issues suddenly got significantly worse in 2019 and he was diagnosed with the fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a form of nerve pain which is ever present, 24/7.  It manifests as widespread complex chronic pain, fatigue, “brain fog”, sleep and digestive issues, and more.  There is no known cure and it of course extremely debilitating.  Unfortunately, Dale has had to give up his management career in the logistics industry (he has a master’s degree in management).

For him, photography has been a lifeline.  It is a creative activity and it has become his therapy.  He also uses yoga, meditation, exercise, along with dietary and other lifestyle changes, and recently hypobaric oxygen therapy ) to help cope with fibro.

The one benefit of fibro is that he has now fully embraced his creativity.

Dale considers himself very lucky to live here as there are lots on things on the doorstep – woods, the canal, the railway, and Rushmere all bring creative opportunities and inspiration.

He likes to experiment with his photography and his pictures showed this.  He plays with the settings (such as white balance and the monochrome) in his camera.  He has enjoyed exploring the capabilities of a fish-eye lens (eg, for woodland, landscape, and architecture shots).  He has tried long exposures (for light trails and fireworks).  And he likes street/candid photography (especially events such as Chinese new Year in London).

For the future, Dale intends to carry on shooting and carry on learning about living with fibro.  Photography and fibro is now his thing and he contributes to a number of fibro-related organisations.  He was a driven person in the corporate world and remains driven to “do stuff”.  It tires him out (and worse) just to go out walking.  But he needs to as he feels worse if he doesn’t get out.

And of course Dale needs to create some sort of income.  He hopes to do that through his photography.  But he has to do things at his own pace.

Dale’s images suggest he has plenty of talent as a photographer.  And he is a powerful advocate for fibro issues.  This presentation was educational, inspriring, and photographically delightful.

The Taylor & Rockell Double Header gave us two entertaining, engaging, and generously illustrated talks with plenty of great images.  Both presenters revealed – in their different ways – their passion for photography, its importance in their lives, and their photographic talents.  This was a most enjoyable and instructive evening.