AV News 187 - February 2012
17th Great Northern
Jenny Gee & Malcolm Gee LRPS
December 2010 was to have been our first
experience of the Great Northern AV Weekend.
However, due to heavy snowfall and temperatures
well below zero, we weren't able to make the journey
from Norfolk to Wilmslow. This year was a different
story and travelling conditions were much better.
The opening event, on the Friday evening, 2nd
December, was actually three rolled into one, a
Wilmslow Guild AV meeting, a Friday Night
Miscellany and the start of the Great Northern
Festival. On behalf of the Wilmslow Guild AV Group,
the Chairman Howard Gregory welcomed the audience of 120 (well above
average) and introduced Lee and Bernadette Kitchingham, who entertained
us with their splendid presentation 'Polar Bears to Penguins'. Both are wildlife
photographers and have visited the Arctic and Antarctic oceans on a number of
occasions. Lee concentrates on taking video and Bernadette on stills.
Part one covered their visits to Svalbard, with superb images of Barnacle
geese, snow buntings and the arctic flora, alongside calving glaciers and
spectacular landscapes. Some of the historic background to the region was also
included in this part of their presentation and a short film that followed, entitled
'One Ship - Two Poles', formed a bridge between the northern and southern
locations. It transpired from this that Roald Amundsen might have actually been
the first man to reach both the North and South poles!
After the interval, they showed 'Journey to the Southern Ocean'. In contrast
to previous occasions, the weather for their most recent visit to South Georgia
was excellent and we were treated to some stunning footage of penguins, sea
birds and battling fur and elephant seals.
Day two was divided into four sessions, during which 43 sequences were
shown. The judges were Martin Fry FRPS APAGB (Chairman), Henk Tulp and
Jill K. Bunting CPAGB. Martin won the Great Northern in 2010 and has been
making AV's for 25 years, gaining his FRPS with a 4-projector sequence, in the
days before digital took over! Henk, a professional photographer from The
Netherlands, produces AV sequences as a hobby and won the Great Northern
in 2004. Jill, as well as being co-editor of AV News, has been involved in AV for
about 25 years. In addition to being the first person to gain a CPAGB distinction
for AV, she has recently gained gold and silver medals in international
competitions.
The diverse subject matter chosen by authors for their sequences made for
an interesting and stimulating day. In addition to documentary/travelogues there
were historical sequences, incorporating varied amounts of archive material and
others with humorous or thought-provoking messages. Titles often kept the
audience guessing!!
At the end of the day, following the judge's deliberations, Martin Fry gave the
jury's general comments and said that, in coming to their conclusions, they had
carefully reviewed each entry.
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