Photography My Way by Geoff Trinder

At the very start of his presentation, Geoff made the point that he takes photographs for himself not for anyone else but if others like them too, so much the better. An art teacher by profession, photography is obviously an extension of his artistic ability and something he has always been interested in however, he is clearly also very technically competent and uses the rule of thirds in his compositions for example, and no end of different lenses to capture his breath-taking images.
In his quest to pursue his hobby, he has travelled around the world to photograph some of its most fascinating, beautiful and stunning wildlife, countryside and indigenous people. Capturing the perfect shot has often required him to be in a specific location at some ridiculous hour of the morning, or lying on his stomach or deliberately positioning himself next to some of the planet’s most exotic and little known toxic organisms. He is also not averse to putting his life in his hands in order to get up close and very personal to some of our most dangerous and terrifying creatures and endangered species.
Geoff’s ardour for photography motivated him to select some of his favourite images for inclusion in a very successful coffee table book which was sold in aid of The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, also another of his passions and today, we too were privileged to see just a small selection of his portfolio. His attention to detail is outstanding and he truly understands how to coax the best images out of a variety of environments and conditions including snow, desert, forest, wasteland and wilderness. Although he does not profess to be a professional, his amateur work is undeniably of an equal standard and it would be extremely hard to differentiate between the two.
An hour of looking at his photographs whizzed by as we contemplated his raw vision and talent. He openly admits to not being afraid to ruthlessly edit his work and strongly believes less is more; this results in images of surreal landscapes, stunning light effects, abstract shapes and incredible colours. It was an absolute delight to listen to him explain the whys and wherefores of every photograph and marvel at his virtuosity.