Lacock Positive

Lacock Positive Meeting, 19th March 2026

For the first half of this meeting one of our members, Philip Male, shared some of his photographs of the kestrels that he sees from his house. The female kestrel has successfully raised a family of chicks from a nesting box behind Philip's house, for several years and Philip has taken the opportunity to record their lives with his beautiful photos.

The following pictures show an insight into the lives of these beautiful birds, captured with Philip's inimitable style, particularly in some by using a shallow depth of field to introduce a blur of colour.

One intriguing fact about kestrels is the Alula - this is a small group of feathers on the leading edge of the wing, which acts like the birds "thumb" assisting in flight manoeuvres. This is clearly shown in the first of these pictures.

(all the following pictures are copyright Philip Male)

Following our coffee break, we reviewed two members challenges. Continuing our journey through the year, we reviewed the February pictures, and here are some of these - a recurring theme for February is spring flowers, so snowdrops made an appearance along with hellebores. There were also abstract pictures, and brave people taking a plunge in cold water!

Continuing our trek through the alphabet we have reached "U", so here are some of these pictures. I think we are already wondering what we can use for "X".

Uninhabited © Julia Lloyd-Parks

Umbrella © Pam Bamford

Ungulate © Ruth Baldwin

Up © Tony Bamford

Umbellifer © Amanda Gregory

Under the Arches © Caroline Howe

Lacock Positive Meeting, 5th March 2026

Presentation by Julie Skelton, Professional Garden Photographer

We were very lucky to be joined by Julie Skelton, who talked to us about her approach to garden photography. Julie specialises in garden photography and her work has featured in many publications. One major achievement is her contribution to the book "A Year of Colour" by the garden designer Ann Marie Powell, for which she worked with Ann Marie extensively to capture a garden throughout the year.

Julie talked about her approach and one of the key take away messages was the importance of light. Light at either end of the day allows you to pick out the texture and form of plants, in preference to light in the middle of the day, which is often too harsh to show the fine detail of the petals or leaves. This of course does require some planning, especially if you can only access gardens during public opening times. Julie suggested that there are ways to access gardens by contacting the owners, particularly those in the National Gardens Scheme. Consideration of light may also lead you to visiting gardens in winter, when the opening times are more likely to coincide with morning and evening light.

Another drawback of accessing public gardens is the presence of other people - this requires patience to wait for people to pass, once you have set up your shot!

Here are some photos from Julie's portfolio

(all pictures are Copyright: Julie Skelton)

Julie's photographs include a wide range of approaches, from macro, and close up to the wider shots. She emphasised the importance of composition, using leading lines, S-shaped paths, and the golden spiral, for example, to draw the viewer's eye into the picture.

Following our coffee break Julie very kindly offered some critique to members' garden pictures. As always from our members there was a wide variety of approaches to the prompt of garden photography. There were macro photographs that emphasised the detail of the flowers, to wider views of garden, evoking feelings of peace. Here are just a few examples of those that we looked at.

ⓒCraig Purvis

ⓒCaroline Howe

ⓒAmanda Gregory

ⓒTony Bamford

ⓒRob Macklin

ⓒPhiliip Male

ⓒJulia Lloyd-Parks

ⓒAnn Horne

ⓒDanny Wootton

Lacock Positive Meeting, 19th February 2026

The Highlight of the club's year is the annual exhibition of member's photographs. this is held in the Lacock Village Hall and the dates for this year are 3rd and 4th May. To make the exhibition run smoothly takes a lot of preparation, and so for at the start of the meeting on 19th February we spend some time discussing the logistics for the event. we have to start early and it requires the input of all club members. If you are reading this, maybe you will be able to visit - more information will be available nearer the time.

Review of photos from Savernake Forest

A group of intrepid members went, in the pouring rain, to Savernake Forest last autumn to photograph fungi, and here are a sample of the photos taken and then shared at our meeting:

One Month, One Photograph

The locations for our January photos ranged from the Caribbean and Oman to Wales, through Dorset and of course Wiltshire. The weather also featured in the picture, with rain drops and frost both making an appearance.

Review of Macro Photographs

Macro photography is endlessly fascinating, and our members showed this with the wide variety of pictures in this category. Those shown here are just a small selection.