Clacton Arts & Literary Society

The Arts and Literary Society spent a very interesting evening with Chris Packham, the photographer, traveller and wildlife expert.  His aim was to show us 100 photographs and explain things about them.  This he did brilliantly.   We saw the most wonderful pictures of leopards, lions, cheetahs and elephants.  Lots and lots of elephants in all sorts of places, gorgeous baby ones as well as other members of the herd.   We were fascinated and amused at the antics Chris had to perform to get these incredible shots, although he told us that in every picture there was something not quite right.   Chris Packman is a perfectionist and that condition is hard to obtain.   We saw marvellous pictures of foxes, wolves, otters and many other species.   We learned of the hours he spent lying in mud or water just waiting for the right moment to press the shutter and get the picture.   There were the most impressive shots of birds in flight – albatross, penguins and others from the southern Atlantic around South Georgia together with icebergs.   We also learned some of the tricks used to present the perfect picture with imposed backgrounds.

It was one of the most interesting and exciting evenings and very much appreciated by the members and the sponsors Mark Mobility Centre of Holland on Sea.
                                                            Audrey Owens

                                                                Press Officer