TENBY Camera Club’s own exceptionally talented Gillian Mackay, has been shortlisted for an award by the British Photographic Awards body in the category of Street Photography, and will be attending the prestigious event at a London hotel in November. 

The winning photographer will be chosen by a panel of judges, but the public can vote for their favourite image in each of the 20 categories, and club urges readers to vote for her via britishphotographyawards.org/2024-shortlist/gallery and wishes her the very best, Gill’s brilliant image is titled ‘Ice Cream Please’ and portrays an amusing scene of a pony waiting to be served an ice cream outside an ice cream van. 

Tenby and District Camera Club welcomed new and returning members on September 12, when the first presentation of the season was held by Toby Pickard, titled “how to improve your wildlife photography”. 

Toby has been doing photography for 13 years, half his lifetime; he’s a talented young man who is much travelled and has gained much experience for his love of photography. His photographs have been recognised in competitions, both in the UK and internationally. At the pinnacle of his career he appeared on Alan Titchmarsh’s TV programme.“Love your weekend”. 

During his thought-provoking and inspirational talk, Toby showed club members a YouTube video of his presentation on that show, featuring Camera Trap methods and results. 

Toby has spent the past three years working in the TV industry in Bristol for the BBC, National Geographic and Netflix. His travels have taken him to Africa, Canada and India as UK locations such as Skomer and Bristol. His photography captures both rural and urban wildlife, from puffins, lions, leopards, hyena and foxes. There was an excellent section on technique on how to approach wildlife photography; tactics and skills to apply to keep the wildlife safe. His journey through many brands of camera gear and their advantages was interesting. 

On September 19, the club had the privilege to welcome an avid member of Burry Port Camera Club, Nigel Thomas, as presenter.

Nigel shared his journey through his many battles with mental illness and how his passion for photography helped, giving him a reason to live and smile again. This was an inspiration to many of his listeners who have travelled a similar road. 

Nigel outlined the fundamental aspects of photography, advising on long exposures, use of graduated filters and 10 stop neutral density filters. He covered panoramas, depth of field and photo stacking; he explained that planning was important, using apps for weather and tides.

His passion for landscape and seascape photography shone through with brilliant and breathtaking images. His talk was an inspiration to members. 

As always, this vibrant and proactive club welcomes guests and new joiners. See the website for details.