Lectures
Bromsgrove PS are hosting one of my underwater talks on Tuesday 3rd May, 7.30pm at the Avoncroft Arts Centre, Bromsgrove B60 4JS.
It’s a different format to my normal lectures because it’s a two hour presentation and combines the best bits of my three underwater lectures. Tickets (£8) can be bought here;
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-sharks-to-sea-lions-tickets-234237991137
Reef sharks patrol the surface layer, Cuba.
In this talk we’ll focus more on how I get the shot. For each section I’ll show you my favourite images and then use video and stories to tell you how I went about capturing them. Sharks, sea lions, cavern diving, wild trout, swimming pool shoots and more.
You can check my availability here & if you’d like to book the lecture just email me
Short taster video here
I lecture at least twice per week and whilst it’s true to say in-person lectures are beginning to come back, now they are always hybrid.
Last week I lectured in person at Smethwick; we had 32 people in the room and a further 25 tuning in via Zoom.
Last night I was talking to Newark and they Zoomed me into the clubroom where circa 20 people attended, a further 10 tuning in from home.
I think this model is here to stay because it offers so many advantages. As a club you can use speakers from anywhere in the world & Zoom them into the clubroom, plus you can invite new members to join your club from any location too… and still maintain the all important face-to-face meetings for those that want to attend.
What’s not to like?
My Smethwick lecture on 15.10.21
As we tentatively move out of the Covid era I know many clubs are wrestling with when and how to restart face-to-face club room meetings. I’ve delivered two lectures to hybrid meetings in the last week, the latest one being the President’s Evening at Southport PS, and both went really well.
At Southport there were 35 people in the room and a further 6 joined in via Zoom. The set up was very simple (see photo below); a free standing microphone about 3m away from me, a standard camera (Nikon Z6 with 24-70 lens) used in video mode connected to a laptop. The laptop then streamed the feed via Zoom to those at home. Southport used a 4G router (just like using a mobile phone) - but I know for sure Malvern didn’t last week. They linked a member’s phone to the laptop and used the 4G signal from that to stream.
Southport had implemented good Covid protocols too; masks worn when not sitting down, good ventilation, cleaning wipes given to everyone to clean chairs etc. All very well done and not at all obtrusive. If you want more details you can email Sue Critchlow at Southport and she’ll be happy to advise - critchlow517@btinternet.com
As more folk become confident enough to attend meetings maybe we’ll end up dropping the Zoom element all together. But then again, I know lots of clubs have picked up distant members in lockdown, so who knows, maybe it’s here to stay.
For my part I’m just glad to be back on the road again. There’s nothing like the buzz of a real audience.
President’s Evening, Southport PS, 20th September 2021
I did my first in-person lecture for 18 months last night to Beacon Camera Club (Malvern, Worcestershire). They ran it as a hybrid meeting with circa 25 people in the room and a further 20+ tuned in by Zoom. The Zoom feed was delivered by a small camera set up on a tripod and they used a mobile phone tethered to the club laptop for 4G internet connection. It all worked really well.
I know other clubs are considering this hybrid approach to ease back in to business as normal. If you’d like help setting it up I can put you in contact with Tony at Beacon, I’m sure he’d be happy to help.
For my part it was so good to be back on my feet & made me realise just how much I had missed it. I’m hoping more clubs return to over the next few months, we’ve all been locked away far too long :-(
I did my first Facebook Live presentation last night. It was for London Camera Exchange and part of the Canon Wildlife Week. It all went really well, if a little nerve-racking because I was using new software (OBS) to stream the presentation.
OBS Studio is a free and open-source cross-platform streaming and recording program, with versions available for Microsoft Windows & macOS. I thoroughly recommend it - intuitive, easy to use & best of all it’s free!
If you want to see the presentation it will be available on the LCE Facebook page for the next seven days.
