THE FACES OF SHERBORNE
In our monthly series of “The Faces of Sherborne” we introduce you to the people behind the faces. This month (June 2012)
MEET GILLIAN GUNNER
CHAIRMAN, SHERBORNE BRADFORD ABBAS CAMERA CLUB
There were many photos taken of HM The Queen during her visit to Sherborne in early May but there were only a few places reserved for the professional cameramen and women; such were the credentials presented by the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club that one of those places was reserved for them, the only non-professional presence allowed. Every town needs a record-keeper, someone to capture the town’s important events and in many respects, the SBA Camera Club has achieved this, albeit unofficially, but they have been present and recorded many of Sherborne’s highlights over the past few years. Gillian Gunner has been the Club’s Chairman for the past three years and she and her committee have been tasked with bringing the Club up-to-date with modern technology, something which has brought with it a lot of interesting innovations.
Read the full interview below:
Q: When was the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club founded?
GG: There were actually two camera clubs, one for Sherborne and one for Bradford Abbas, and both went back to the 1950s. During the 1990s the two clubs merged to become one club. Currently there are about 25 – 30 members and we meet twice a month from September to May inclusive with a break for the summer.
Q: What sort of programme do you run?
GG: Everything you could imagine to do with photography. We have visiting speakers; we get involved with competitions with other clubs; we have critique evenings when members dissect their own work or that of other members in the club, we look at style, composition, effects, colour and the methods used to achieve these. We like to learn so we have informal ‘how to…’ evenings. For example, one of our members is a doctor and he arranged for us to use an X-ray machine to study everyday objects. The insides of a computer or phone with all of its electrical workings can be very artistic and the inner layers of a simple sea-shell can be exquisite. The Grove Medical Centre in Sherborne asked us for some photographs and they now have some pictures on their walls showing x-rays of everyday objects – they are quite fascinating. Essentially SBACC is a club led by the interest of its members.
Q: You mentioned competitions. Tell me something about those.
GG: We sometimes have competitions within the club which could be based on a technique or an effect but most often is based on a particular theme. The person who wins then chooses the theme for the next competition and so on. Sometimes we judge it ourselves and on other occasions we use a judge from the Western Counties Photographic Association of which we are a member. We also mount occasional exhibitions such as the Sherborne in Bloom photo collections that we have shown, capturing and illustrating all of those lovely gardens and public spaces that have been created and won Sherborne so many accolades. We sometimes help with fund-raising activities such as the exhibition we mounted for Leigh Village Hall and our work is sometimes for sale such as at the Somerton Art Exhibition. At the moment we are involved in a competition called “Image for the Village” in Bradford Abbas whereby each member takes 36 images and of these the best five are selected. A display of these will then be voted on in the village to find the one that best epitomises the character of the village.
Q: How did you get started on photography?
GG: I felt drawn to it ever since I was a child with my Box Brownie – I was known as the ‘Kid with the Camera’. As an adult, I lost sight of it for many years and then took it up again just as digital technology was coming in so I embraced digital from the beginning. I did a lot of research and bought a Leica. The lens is exquisite and this is the most important thing in any camera. I still have it and it serves me very well.
Q: There is often a debate about the pros and cons of film and digital – what is your view?
GG: Human intervention or control over the finished result is still very much possible at the high end of digital. It is not just a question of ‘point and press’, there are all of the controls and nuances with digital if you want them. The more relevant question now is whether you need a camera at all. The new i-Pads produce beautiful photography. Some photographers may want to feel that only they can produce something beautiful but nowadays the technology has made photography more accessible to all and it can be smarter than the individual. The latest technology is perfect some styles or types of photography, not all, but we are almost at the point when the only influence the photographer has is the composition.
Q: Do you think the technological aspects appeal more to men than women?
GG: Without reverting to stereotypes it is true that, broaching the subject of photography, most men will ask “What sort of camera do you have?” whilst most women will ask “What sort of photographs do you take?” I feel that both are important: digital technology has opened up photography to many more people but essentially it is what you see that is important.
Q: What about showing off what you take? Print or digital?
GG: Well the i-pad was more or less made for showing images, the technology was invented for this and the results are clear, crisp and distinct. Digital is more flexible; there are even electronic photo frames now which allow you to see more of your photographs than you would have with traditional methods. Printing your photos is still possible but you need a professional to print it out to best effect and the result depends on the inks and type of paper used. Both have their place but digital is fast replacing the traditional.
Q: What brought you to Sherborne and what do you like about the town?
GG: My husband and I were involved in market research and opinion polling. We had devised a new methodology that became very successful and so we needed t be on the railway line. That’s when we decided to move from Wincanton to Sherborne about twenty years ago. Our business was eventually bought but I was always interested n technology so I became a web master. I still work on local websites and you can see some examples, such as Sherborne in Bloom and the Quarr Local Nature Reserve on www.gilliangunner.name
Q: How do you describe Sherborne to potential visitors?
GG: I tell them it is a self-contained West Country market town. I can still say thatDorsetdoesn’t have an inch of motorway but Sherborne is well connected so it is the best of both worlds. It has a beautiful shopping centre, an abbey and not one but two castles – not bad!
To become a member of the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Club – or to see if you might be interested – just turn up at one of the meetings held on the second and fourth Tuesday every month between September and May. Meetings are held at the Bradford Abbas Village Hall. Or make contact through the club website http://www.
THE FACES OF SHERBORNE
In our monthly series of “The Faces of Sherborne” we introduce you to the people behind the faces. This month (June 2012)
MEET GILLIAN GUNNER
CHAIRMAN, SHERBORNE BRADFORD ABBAS CAMERA CLUB
There were many photos taken of HM The Queen during her visit to Sherborne in early May but there were only a few places reserved for the professional cameramen and women; such were the credentials presented by the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club that one of those places was reserved for them, the only non-professional presence allowed. Every town needs a record-keeper, someone to capture the town’s important events and in many respects, the SBA Camera Club has achieved this, albeit unofficially, but they have been present and recorded many of Sherborne’s highlights over the past few years. Gillian Gunner has been the Club’s Chairman for the past three years and she and her committee have been tasked with bringing the Club up-to-date with modern technology, something which has brought with it a lot of interesting innovations.
Read the full interview below:
Q: When was the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club founded?
GG: There were actually two camera clubs, one for Sherborne and one for Bradford Abbas, and both went back to the 1950s. During the 1990s the two clubs merged to become one club. Currently there are about 25 – 30 members and we meet twice a month from September to May inclusive with a break for the summer.
Q: What sort of programme do you run?
GG: Everything you could imagine to do with photography. We have visiting speakers; we get involved with competitions with other clubs; we have critique evenings when members dissect their own work or that of other members in the club, we look at style, composition, effects, colour and the methods used to achieve these. We like to learn so we have informal ‘how to…’ evenings. For example, one of our members is a doctor and he arranged for us to use an X-ray machine to study everyday objects. The insides of a computer or phone with all of its electrical workings can be very artistic and the inner layers of a simple sea-shell can be exquisite. The Grove Medical Centre in Sherborne asked us for some photographs and they now have some pictures on their walls showing x-rays of everyday objects – they are quite fascinating. Essentially SBACC is a club led by the interest of its members.
Q: You mentioned competitions. Tell me something about those.
GG: We sometimes have competitions within the club which could be based on a technique or an effect but most often is based on a particular theme. The person who wins then chooses the theme for the next competition and so on. Sometimes we judge it ourselves and on other occasions we use a judge from the Western Counties Photographic Association of which we are a member. We also mount occasional exhibitions such as the Sherborne in Bloom photo collections that we have shown, capturing and illustrating all of those lovely gardens and public spaces that have been created and won Sherborne so many accolades. We sometimes help with fund-raising activities such as the exhibition we mounted for Leigh Village Hall and our work is sometimes for sale such as at the Somerton Art Exhibition. At the moment we are involved in a competition called “Image for the Village” in Bradford Abbas whereby each member takes 36 images and of these the best five are selected. A display of these will then be voted on in the village to find the one that best epitomises the character of the village.
Q: How did you get started on photography?
GG: I felt drawn to it ever since I was a child with my Box Brownie – I was known as the ‘Kid with the Camera’. As an adult, I lost sight of it for many years and then took it up again just as digital technology was coming in so I embraced digital from the beginning. I did a lot of research and bought a Leica. The lens is exquisite and this is the most important thing in any camera. I still have it and it serves me very well.
Q: There is often a debate about the pros and cons of film and digital – what is your view?
GG: Human intervention or control over the finished result is still very much possible at the high end of digital. It is not just a question of ‘point and press’, there are all of the controls and nuances with digital if you want them. The more relevant question now is whether you need a camera at all. The new i-Pads produce beautiful photography. Some photographers may want to feel that only they can produce something beautiful but nowadays the technology has made photography more accessible to all and it can be smarter than the individual. The latest technology is perfect some styles or types of photography, not all, but we are almost at the point when the only influence the photographer has is the composition.
Q: Do you think the technological aspects appeal more to men than women?
GG: Without reverting to stereotypes it is true that, broaching the subject of photography, most men will ask “What sort of camera do you have?” whilst most women will ask “What sort of photographs do you take?” I feel that both are important: digital technology has opened up photography to many more people but essentially it is what you see that is important.
Q: What about showing off what you take? Print or digital?
GG: Well the i-pad was more or less made for showing images, the technology was invented for this and the results are clear, crisp and distinct. Digital is more flexible; there are even electronic photo frames now which allow you to see more of your photographs than you would have with traditional methods. Printing your photos is still possible but you need a professional to print it out to best effect and the result depends on the inks and type of paper used. Both have their place but digital is fast replacing the traditional.
Q: What brought you to Sherborne and what do you like about the town?
GG: My husband and I were involved in market research and opinion polling. We had devised a new methodology that became very successful and so we needed t be on the railway line. That’s when we decided to move from Wincanton to Sherborne about twenty years ago. Our business was eventually bought but I was always interested n technology so I became a web master. I still work on local websites and you can see some examples, such as Sherborne in Bloom and the Quarr Local Nature Reserve on www.gilliangunner.name
Q: How do you describe Sherborne to potential visitors?
GG: I tell them it is a self-contained West Country market town. I can still say thatDorsetdoesn’t have an inch of motorway but Sherborne is well connected so it is the best of both worlds. It has a beautiful shopping centre, an abbey and not one but two castles – not bad!
To become a member of the Sherborne Bradford Abbas Club – or to see if you might be interested – just turn up at one of the meetings held on the second and fourth Tuesday every month between September and May. Meetings are held at the Bradford Abbas Village Hall. Or make contact through the club website http://www.