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THE END OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC YEAR There was an impressive turn out for the annual December Party. It was a pleasure to see so many wives and husbands of our regular members. I would like to repeat that they are welcome at all our meetings not just at the year end event. I hope we will see some of them more regularly. Janet Maree, Thea Erasmus and Joletta Frahm went to a great deal of trouble planning and organising the party. In the hour before the meeting the room was transformed from a bare hall to a festive and welcoming venue. This doesn't happen by accident, it requires time, effort, preparation and planning. On behalf of all our members I would like to thank our organisers. We appreciate the trouble they took to make the evening a great success. David and Felicity Johnson kindly donated some of their excellent Newton Johnson wines which went down very quickly and with a lot of lip smacking. We were very pleased that they were able to join us on this occasion and give us the opportunity to thank them in person. Our other visitor was Wicus Leewener who reviewed the Wheatfields triptychs. As always his commentary is valuable and well thought out covering not only photographic advice and suggestions but offering some insights into the farming processes that surround us. We appreciate the time that he devoted to preparing for the evaluation session. His main message was to underscore the importance of capturing more than just the surface appearance of the fields but also dig below the surface and display a more complete picture of what the wheatland areas are all about. The triptychs displayed a consistently high standard of individual images but gave those who participated an insight into the additional challenge involved when trying to tell a story with a number of related images. Next year's Photographic Essay project will further test participant's journalistic skills. I look forward to seeing the results. Mike Sander |