"Exploring the art of Photography"
"Our South African Adventure-Image by Brenda Driscoll"
by Brenda Driscoll, MNEC & Skip Hoyt, HonNEC-MA
Monday, December 9, 7:30 PMThis presentation is a wonderful travelogue and teaching experience on the wildlife and landscapes of South Africa as seen through the eyes and cameras of two GLPA members, Brenda Driscoll,MNEC and Skip Hoyt, HonNEC. This was their second trip to this amazing country. They had spent five weeks there in 2012 and they wanted to see more of the country.
After much research they decided to travel to all four corners of the country from the Cape Peninsula up to the NW corner of the Namibian border, the NE corner bordering Botswana and Mozambique, Kruger National Park, and the SE corner visiting St Lucia, Isamangoliso Wetlands. Their lodging ranged from five star accommodations in private reserves down to safari tents in Kruger, and guest houses and B & B's in the smaller towns. Traveling for the most part in a rented 4x4 vehicle they were their own safari guides, except for the private reserves, where they were guided by guides and rangers including a walking safari where they came across two lions in the bush. Camera gear included a 16-300mm lens on one camera and a 150-600mm on the other.
Brenda’s words on the trip follow-
We met so many amazing people as we traveled about the country, and made many new friends. It was nice to be able to ‘help’ our fellow travelers who were on their first safari and had just purchased or rented camera equipment they did not know how to use. We had time to help them with their settings and give a them a few pointers before we rode out of camp and into the wild, spotting an animal they were seeing for the first time. Even though we had personally already seen many elephants or impalas, their infectious joy with a first viewing was contagious. It was also a great feeling to share our knowledge of photography, which helped them enjoy the safari experience even more with good pictures to remember it by. The eight weeks went by very fast and we look forward to returning to South Africa-hopefully someday SOON
.NEVER LET YOUR MEMORIES BE BIGGER THAN YOUR DREAMS- LIVE LIFEOur presenters are both active members of Greater Lynn. Brenda Driscoll, MNEC became interested in photography at the age of 12 when she received her first camera and has been photographing ever since. She loves nature and the natural world which allows her to express through her images the beauty and wonder of this world. She has traveled throughout 49 states including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Europe and South Africa. She is interested in wildlife and landscape photography but she is also an extraordinary portrait photographer. She has exhibited her prints at the Beebe Estate in MA and teaches photography through mentoring other Greater Lynn members. She competes in the Masters Class at GLPA and judges at local camera clubs throughout the area. For her outstanding service to the New England Camera Club Council-NECCC as a member of the Model Committee for several years and for her contributions to photography in the New England area as a presenter and judge she was awarded her Master Member-MNEC in 2018.
Skip Hoyt, HonNEC has been involved in photography for over 50 years and is a recipient of the GLPA Frank Bond Service Award-Lifetime Membership for his service to Greater Lynn. He was past chair of the print competition for 13 years and co-chairs for the past 20 years the model committee which holds 3 model sessions each year at GLPA. A presenter, judge and Masters Class Print and Digital competitor, he has won several interclub, national and International Exhibition awards and medals. He was honored by NECCC with his MNEC-Master some years ago and in July 2019 he was honored by the Council receiving his Honorary- HonNEC for his many years as a NECCC- BOD and Vice President and as chairman of the Conference Model Committee. Skip also owns and operates Northlight Studios in Reading where he specializes in portraiture, weddings and portfolios