This week Eddie Telford returned to Musselburgh Camera Club to give us another custom talk. When he last spoke to us back in April 2024 the custom themes were “Remember Photography is Fun” and “Around the World in 80 Images”. This time he resumed the “Remember Photography is Fun” theme and added some advice on the theme of “From Beginner to Advanced”. Eddie began by telling us not to worry about competitions and scores. The main reason to take up photography is to have fun. Eddie showed us some examples of the joke photographs he had made: for example a photograph of someone slumped over a chair mimicking a yoga āsana, or showing the mischief at home that children got up to during the Covid pandemic. The “Nessie” toy (who likes whisky and now has his own passport) features in many of Eddie’s fun travel photographs.

Eddie described his recent experience photographing the Women’s Open Golf Championship at Dundonald Links. He sets his camera to silent mode and takes his photos from a distance with a long lens (to avoid disturbing the players) and tries to take one shot just at the moment the ball is struck. If he is lucky, the ball will still be in the shot. Eddie also likes bunker shots because the sand can fly into some dramatic shapes. Besides the action shots, Eddie also captures portraits of the players, first when they are concentrating on their shot or posing with their trophy, and then a few minutes later when they have relaxed. The relaxed portraits looks more natural. Eddie also showed us some images he captured at a youth competition organised by Bowls Scotland. The story begins with drone images showing the initial setup, followed by some action shots, this time captured at the moment when the player releases the ball.

Eddie is a member of Ayr Photographic Society and often supplies images to Ayrshire Magazine. Eddie was keen to point out that Ayr Photographic Society won the SPF Digital Championship this year for the first time in 35 years! He described two fashion photoshoots he made for the magazine: one was with the 2024 Miss Scotland, shot on the Ayrshire sea front, and the other was a shoot with the winner of Miss Great Britain at Turnberry. There was also a photoshoot covering the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Institute. Eddie was surprised at the images chosen by the magazine, but they wanted images that emphasised the characteristics (such as the jewellery or a particular look) featured in their articles. Eddie prefers natural-looking shots where the model looks relaxed. Magazines also like images that have a lot of empty space where they can add titles. Eddie also showed us how photographers and artists can help each other. He has collaborated with local artist, Rona Mcseveny, who converted Eddie’s photograph of Ayr Town Hall into an artwork which became the Lord Provost’s official Christmas Card.

Eddie showed us an audio-visual he made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day in Ayr, including the “Field of Heroes” art exhibition. Eddie finished with an audio-visual advertising the spectacular scenery of Dunure, which was used to raise money for Dynamic Dunure, a local charity. We finished the night with a chat with Eddie over tea and biscuits. Thank you Eddie for a another great presentation. We look forward to your next visit.

Next week we have our Christmas night out at the Lido restaurant in Musselburgh. Our table is booked from 7pm on Thursday, 19th December 2025. See you there.