Page 10 - Cape-Camera-February-2024

February 2024 Cape Camera Cape Camera February 2024

Clive Rathband FPSSA FRPS EFIAP DPAGB and Joan Ryder
Rathband FPSSA FRPS AFIAP DPAGB. Photo supplied.

Our AV makers get top results

CTPS members earned five of the seven acceptances and awards in the PSSA
National AV Salon 2024 — including the winner's medal and one of two Cer-
tificates of Merit awarded to our swallow members Clive and Joan Rathband.

It was wonderful to welcome our swallow members dissolve, a technique we particularly like to exploit. It is
Joan and Clive Rathband at our February E&D evening also an opportunity move the focal point of the images
and social, before they returned to their other home in around the screen.
the UK. "We nowadays mainly make AVs," Joan remarked "Timing is so important to get the flow of the images
casually ... and don't they just! synchronised with the music and a great deal of time
In the recent PSSA AV Salon team Rathband not only was spent on this aspect," says Joan, who is skilled in
won the PSSA Silver medal with the hauntingly beautiful achieving this and worked her magic so well that thi se-
Ukuthula, but also earned a Certificate of Merit (COM) for quence was awarded the winner's medal in the salon!
the touching documentary Heartbreak. The making of Heartbreak
Two other CTPS members earned acceptances for their
AVs: our AV convenor Ken Woods received two for Sossus Another joint presentation by Clive and Joan, Heart-
Dead Vlei and Fields of Yellow, while The Ghosts of Sossus- break, has won several awards, in addition to the COM
vlei by John Arseniou was also accepted. in the PSSA salon.
Why Ukuthula? "We have been regular visitors to the Kruger National
Park for many, many years and happened to be there in
"We first heard a performance of Ukuthula, a Xhosa Hymn 2016 and 2017," explains Joan. "This was the period of
for Peace, a couple of years ago," recounts Joan. "It was the severe drought and we witnessed untold suffering
on YouTube and sung by the Cape Town Youth Choir. We and death — not a comfortable experience.
found it very moving and played it often." "However, as wildlife photographers, we try and record
They love tak- all aspects of wild-
ing pictures in life behaviour and
churches, cathe- documented what
drals and of other was before us."
religious images,
and they were An AV Challenge
inspired to use at the Wilmslow
these pictures in AV Group in the UK
a Photo Harmony prompted Clive to
AV with Ukuthula put some of these
as soundtrack. images to music.
"The type of im- "Following this,
ages we had al- we thought this
lowed us to create was a story worth
third images in the To p11

10 Cape Town Photographic Society