On Friday the 8th of October, Bangor camera club had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Roger Hance, who gave a fantastic presentation on Nature in Macro,.
Roger is a multi-award-winning photographer living in Colchester Essex. He has gained 4 Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Fellowships, three of which were awarded in the same year, which is quite outstanding. He has also received numerous other awards in both national and international exhibitions. Roger has an AFIAP distinction for awards and exhibitions he also has a Photographic Alliance of Great Britain's DPAGB as well as the BPE5* award for over 300 acceptances in exhibitions throughout the UK.
Roger started his talk by showing us approximately 10 images whilst introducing himself and explaining what his talk was going to be about. His presentation was based around nature such as fungi, insects, amphibians and wildflowers to name but a few. He explained how macrophotography wasn't easy but if you go about it in the right way you can achieve good results. The correct photography equipment is key to be able to get good macro shots.
The first tip Roger shared with us was that you have to have a good sturdy tripod that could go as low as possible to the ground. He also explained that he uses extension tubes between the camera body and the lens so he can get close enough to photograph it without losing any focus. Another tip that he shared was when using a flash gun, keep the flash to one side. so that the light doesn't bounce over the subject and hit the background.
We then saw series of photographs which were of different types of fungi. Roger explained that he spends more time looking for good specimens of fungi than he does photographing them. However, he joked that because of his age he finds it harder to get down close to photograph fungi.
Next came a collection of photographs which were a mixture of amphibians, moths, and butterflies We were given an insight of the best way to photograph them, using all manners of ingenious techniques. Roger also shared tips on how to capture photographs of butterflies and the like, in flight.
Roger then showed a group of photographs of wildflowers. He disclosed to us a little trick that he uses to photograph a group of flowers, for example, aren't on the same focus level. He told us he uses a bit of old twig to push the stem forward slightly to bring the flowers all into line, which in turn, brings them all into focus.
Roger then ended his presentation talk with a link to his YouTube channel where he has made a selection of informative videos which are certainly worth looking up.
You can also see his stunning photographs on his own website which is https://rogerhancefrps.com
Bangor Camera Club wish to thank Roger for his very informative and inspiring talk which I'm sure will be invaluable to other members. Thank you also for sharing such an amazing collection of photographs also. The wide range of tips and techniques, which he so kindly shared with us, are extremely handy to know. Without a doubt what we have learnt from Roger's talk will more than likely be put into practice with a number of members in the club.