The UWI Camera Club Exhibition - Aug. 30 - Sept. 26, 2010

The UWI Camera Club hosted its annual black and white exhibition, which launched last night at the Phillip Sherlock Centre (UWI), and will continue for the month of September. 10 members of the club exhibited, with two new members included. I was one of these new members.

The layout this year is a minimalist approach, allowing more focus to be placed on the images being exhibited.

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to exhibit my work (13 pieces total)....
Each member had a picture and Bio put up at the beginning of their work, giving the visitors a glimpse into their creative minds and experience. My bio is stated below:

Krystal Moodie is fairly new to the world of photography. In Sept. '09, Krystal made the decision to pursue photography as a hobby and joined the UWI Camera Club.

Since then Krystal has gone on several outings to capture images across the island with a small group of fellow photographers, headed by her fiance, professional photographer Julian Dadag.

In May of this year, Krystal entered the JCDC National Visual Arts Competition for the first time, winning a silver medal for her piece entitled 'An Island Awakens', also featured in this exhibition. The piece also earned Ms. Moodie the award for 'Most Outstanding Newcomer' as well as an award for 'Most Outstanding Emerging Artist'.

Ms. Moodie will be featured in Panache Magazine later this September as one of the Caribbean's outstanding young photographers.

The first series: "It's a bugs life"
The typical human response towards bugs and insects is to squash them on sight. However, these tiny creatures are fascinating to watch and they all have a purpose on this earth.

Reborn

She had just emerged from her cocoon, showing simple perfection. She stayed there for quite some time, drying her wings in the early morning sun. I used a 75-300mm lens with an extension tube to capture her beauty and grace, without getting too close to disturb her.

Trust in hand

While this image is different from the rest in that it contains the human element, I could not help but marvel in the level of trust this butterfly had. Found up in the hills past hollywell, this little guy probably welcomed the warmth from human hands, which helped him to fly.

Let's get it on

This image was taken on the grounds of UWI, at the site of their cotton tree. As you can see, these two were not at all shy about their public displays of affection (to put it mildly). These bugs are the Giant Metallic Ceiba Borer Beetle. The scientific name is Euchroma Gigantea. This bug is the largest jewel beetle in the western hemisphere.

Pollen Thief

Taken also in the hollywell area, this bee seemed very much to be a worker bee...travelling from one flower to the next, gathering pollen to take back to his hive.

96° degrees in the shade

I found this fellow somewhere in Port Antonio. He was just hanging around on the stem of a plant, with the leaves over him sheltering him from the sun, the wind swaying his branch back and forth. It was a bit hot that day, so maybe, just like us humans, he relished in the cool breeze that blew by.




The second series: A Misty Morning
We left kingston very early one morning, with one mission in mind...capture the beauty of the morning as the sun rose over the hills. This series was captured in Lluidas Vale, in St. Catherine. Around 6am, the mist started to really roll in over the hills, while the sun slowly rose. Rays of light peaked through the clouds and the mist, making it a magical experience

Third Series: Life in the skies
This body of work was taken very early one morning at the fishing village in Old Harbour Bay. Pelicans were out in hordes as the local fishermen left the shore and returned with their catch...hanging out on boats and in the shallow waters, they enjoyed the scraps that were thrown their way. This fellow was coming in from a distance, and he was magnificent. This series features him in varied stages of flight.

I hope you have the opportunity to visit the UWI CC exhibition at the Phillip Sherlock Centre before its gone, and i sincerely hope you have enjoyed the work displayed above.

Portland Bight

This had to be, in my opinion, the best weekend shoot i have experienced thus far in my first year as a photographer.

The trip was made to Portland Bight...for those of you who dont know the history behind Portland Bight, here's a short and sweet history lesson...


Portland Bight is an island located about three miles south of Old Harbour. In 1940, an agreement was made between the US Govt and the British that, in exchange for 50 '1914-18' vintage destroyers, the British Govt would lease for 99 years to the US various tracts of land which would enable them to to create a series of military bases throughout the British Crown territories in the Caribbean and North Atlantic. These bases were to be established in Antigua, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Guyana, Jamaica, Newfoundland, St. Lucia and Trinidad.


This agreement was signed in 1941, after the fall of France in 1940, when the Spanish Regime was becoming increasingly hostile, and the French Vichy and West African authorities refusing to co-operate with the British Government. As a result, the American Govt became increasingly worried about the possibility of a seaborne invasion into the Caribbean, and a threat to their communication through the Panama Canal.


We started out the trip from the shore of the fisherman's village in Old Harbour...the sun rising, casting a glow in the sky, and clouds...

ISO 400 | 1/800 | f/11

ISO 400 | 1/2500 |f/11

We decided to travel in an anti-clockwise direction, going with the light. Making our way around the bay, we came around a bend to see a station, where it seems they used to either cut or store sugar cane (I can't remember)...

ISO 400 | 1/2500 |f/11

ISO 400 | 1/320 | f/11

In making our way back from this location...would you believe it? Two rainbows emerged in the sky... :)

ISO 400 | 1/1000 | f/11

ISO 400 | 1/1000 | f/11

After the initial craze we all had for capturing these beauties, there was a definite moment of silence as we took in nature's beauty....God's beauty.

ISO 400 | 1/640 | f/11

ISO 400 | 1/1000 | f/11

On our way to one of the islands in the bay...our trusted guide shuts off the motor...and it took maybe a minute for us all to ask....uhm, why are we stopping? He pointed in the distance and said: because there's a squall coming, and we need to watch it....

ISO 400 | 1/1600 | f/11

 So there we were...waiting to see where the squall would go. I had already placed the all weather cover over my camera bag...when i felt it. One drop, then two, then three...suddenly there was a mad rush - get the ponchos! cover the gear! lol! And then it really came down....
It was great fun...sitting in a fisherman's boat, in the middle of the open sea, hunkered over our camera gear, in the pouring rain...surrounded by friends...life doesnt get any better than that :)


Soon after the squall cleared...and left the brightest bluest skies i had seen in some time...i mean...such clear skies...such beautiful clouds, you had to just take the time and wonder in its awe and beauty...

ISO 400 | 1/500 | f/11

ISO 400 | 1/800 | f/11

ISO 400 | 1/1600 | f11

The three images above show where the naval base used to be. If you were to walk a little further in you would find remnants of the base still there.
Now, while there are no more US soldiers present on the grounds of the Island, there were instead a large number of soldier crabs, who made their home on the base :)

ISO 800 | 1/20 | f/6.3

ISO 800 | 1/20 | f/6.3

ISO 800 | 1/50 | f/5.6

ISO 800 | 1/800 | f/5.6

The beach itself was full of shells, stones, pieces of coral, and the shells of sea urchins...you could almost imagine the number of years that have passed, the number of storms it has braved, and survived. The last two images are of a very interesting shell that i found on the beach...and as i sit here writing this im cursing myself for not picking it up and taking it home to shoot!!!

ISO 400 | 1/1250 | f/10

ISO 400 | 1/1250 | f/10

These are just a sample of the images i captured during the almost 5 hours we were touring the Bight, i plan to post a sequel to this entry, so look out for it!!


Till then...

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Award Ceremony & Exhibition

In September of 2009, I made the decision to enter into the world of photography to see what I could learn, and where it could take me. I purchased a Canon SLR Camera, and joined the UWI Camera Club.
Fast forward to May 2010...I submitted three pieces of work-entirely unrelated to each other to the 2010 JCDC Visual Arts Competition...see below...

Misty Morning - ISO 400 | 1/800 | f/9

Matter of Perspective

An Island Awakens - ISO 400 | 1/200 | f/14

Of the three images submitted, two were accepted into the competition, and the third: "Misty Morning" was returned to me. "Matter of Perspective" earned me a Certificate of Merit, while the third image shown above: "An Island Awakens" earned me a silver medal, a trophy for Most Outstanding NewComer, as well as a trophy for Most Outstanding Emerging Artist 30 yrs and under.

I am proud to say that in my very first year of photography, and my very first year entering the JCDC festival, I earned all those awards :)

I would be remiss if I did not mention my future husband (in a little over a month :]) Julian Dadag, a professional photographer. Julian entered three pieces as well into the JCDC visual arts competition. One was returned, and he earned a silver medal and a bronze medal for his work, and shared Top Photographer with a fellow entrant. He helped foster my interest in photography, and my drive to produce amazing images. I have quite a way to go...and alot more to learn, but at this point I am sure that I made the right decision to do photography :)

**Please come and see my work at the UWI Camera Club Annual Exhibition at the Phillip Sherlock Centre at UWI...opening night August 31, 2010, and continuing for the month of September

A fellow photographer friend Kirk Martin was present to help with the PR (thanks Kirk :])...see pics below :)

Accepting my Trophy for Most Outstanding NewComer

Accepting my 2nd Trophy for Most Outstanding Emerging Artist

Mingling with the crowd after the award ceremony

Julian and I with our images (Julian's 2 images, and one of mine)

Its a happy day for both of us :)

Posing with one of my images (Top left) and my trophies

Posing with my second entry, and my trophies

I have to also thank my friends and family, who are very supportive :)
Congratulations to other members of the UWI Camera Club: Diallo Dixon, and Julian Cresser who walked away with awards as well.