written by Janice Reid
Recently, Raw Photographic visited the Ulster Folk Museum to tackle, amongst other shots, some portrait photography.
As we set off from the car park, the weather was in our favour - dry but not too sunny. Whilst James arrived incredibly well prepared with lenses for every variety of shot, I was saved by Reggie who provided a memory card for my camera, and Eleish who provided me with a ‘nifty fifty’ lens to try.
COVID regulations meant that we had to follow a one-way system around the folk museum. A short stroll along the beautifully cobbled ‘tea lane’ took us to the corner shop where sweets were purchased, and shots were taken of the shopkeeper.
Around the corner, the hearth and scullery inside the labourer’s cottages provided images also worth capturing. The group progressed round to the diamond and dispersed in different directions following their individual photographic interests. The bank house and print shop were popular stops, as was the National School.
Our dander continued around the rural area of the museum, providing us with the opportunity to get up close and personal with the donkeys, chickens, and the sow! Eleish and I also nipped over the fence to photograph fungi. As no one else in the group seemed to get excited about the fungi, it was down to Eleish to capture the critical shot using a macro lens and tripod.
The most popular stop off point for everyone in the group was the forge. Here we saw metal being heated and beaten to make pokers and good luck horseshoe mementos for couples who chose to get married at the Manor House. Space inside the forge was tight and this provoked some ‘jockeying’ for position to get a good shot of the smith at his work. Even the chairman was seen hanging through the window with his camera. All was good in the end as we were each given an opportunity to take some nice shots. At one point the cameras were clicking simultaneously as a lovely shaft of light fell directly onto the hammer and anvil.
This was another enjoyable club outing and a chance to chat and learn from each other. During the group photo we all learned how to stand sideways to present our best side to the camera and Eleish taught us the updated version of saying ‘cheese’!
