In the Herald - 26th August - "We had the perfect light, to take pictures of the old and new alike"

On a sultry summer evening last week Irvine Camera Club headed into Irvine town centre to capture the juxtaposition of the old and new architecture.  We also asked the photographers to take images of local people in and around the streets.  This kind of social photography is so important as it forms an historical record that will allow future generations to look back and see how things were in 2020.

A good number of us gathered in the cark park behind the library and from there we broke up into small groups and headed out to explore the town.   An amazing sky with crepuscular sun rays bursting out from behind billowing cumulonimbus clouds provided an immediately photogenic backdrop to the High Street as a few of us made our way up the Kirk Vennel.  The Old Parish Church with its ancient tomb stones was lit up with warm golden hour light making for some very atmospheric images.   Following Hill Street took us down towards Bridgegate where we were able to take photos of the Trinity Church and the Trinity Mirror installation.  All the time curious members of the public were generally happy to stop and chat and have their photograph taken too.   The Portal attracted a lot of attention with its angular architecture and incandescent lighting in perfect balance with the fading evening twilight.  It wasn’t a surprise to see it was perhaps the most popular subject on the night!

As the light was being to fade fast now some of us took a walk down Seagate to get images of the castle ruins and the tight street with its pretty terraced cottages, before we moved back up to the high street to capture some shots of the glow of the town centre with the pubs and take-away food shops now becoming busy.  I think everyone enjoyed our first club trip into Irvine centre and I hope you agree that they got some cracking photographs of the town.

This week is the club’s AGM which will be held at Dreghorn Bowling Club where we will review the past year and look forward to beginning our new season in just a couple of weeks’ time.    If you are looking for a friendly and active photographic club you will find all our details on social media or at our web site www.irvinecc.co.uk.