Melbourne Photographic Society were treated to a very interesting and entertaining evening with award-winning actor and photographer Bill Ward last night.
Bill gave plenty of insight in to his background and how this influences his photography. His family history in ship building and connection with Northumberland have left Bill with a fascination for water, which is evident in his love of photographing Britain's coast, rivers and waterfalls.
Self-taught and not a lover of rules when it comes to photography, Bill put it best by saying, "I like a script when it comes to acting but with photography I like to improvise". His various acting roles take him all over the country for extended periods and he's keen to capitalise on this by planning photography projects he can do when he's left the set or stage. So of course we saw some great images of Yorkshire (Emmerdale) and Manchester (Coronation Street)!
From conventional landscapes Bill moved on to his ICM (intentional camera movement) and multiple exposure images. These photos captured the essence of the scene and made us all see the Clifton Suspension Bridge in a whole new light. Creating stunning effects in camera is great news for anyone like Bill who doesn't want to spend hours sat in front of a computer doing it in Photoshop.
Bill's talk left us inspired and eager to experiment with new techniques and I don't think any of us thought mud could be so interesting!
www.billwardphotography.co.uk
ICMPhotoMag: www.icmphotomag.com
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