April and May brought the first two sessions of Snap and Social our new monthly photography get-together! The sessions are hosted by Lauren Quayle one of our resident photographers. Snap and Social offers the chance to spend time with like-minded people, whilst exploring new and familiar, places nearby. Lauren is passionate about sharing her love of photography with people - and is keen for photographers of all types and skill levels to join in. At Snap and Social, it’s truly not about the gear you have, it’s all about having fun taking photos!
April Session
The first session in April was a fantastic turnout! The group met at Hazlehurst before heading along the Bridgewater Canal towpath to explore Wigg Island. Amongst the group, we had a blend of film, digital, phone and Polaroid cameras on the go. As the group meandered their way across the Manchester Ship Canal they made plenty of stops to take in the views along the waterways. Wigg Island was bursting to life. In the full throws of spring bluebells, forget-me-nots and birdlife in abundance. A particularly tame squirrel posed up a storm for everybody, as though he’d been listening in on talk of the importance of making time to connect with nature. Just as everybody made it to the far end of the island…the heavens opened! Even the British weather couldn’t dampen spirits, with cameras safely stowed out of the downpour, the group wandered back to the studios for a well-earned brew and cake. The perfect way to round off the first session with everybody sharing their images from the day.
May Session
May’s session was delightful! We had a lovely group - old friends reunited and new friendships were formed. This time we had a few artists and associates from the studios join us, everybody eager to spend a lovely day immersed in nature taking photos! We headed to Runcorn Hills, and what a time we had! It was a roasting hot morning and the perfect day for exploring another beautiful slice of nature in Runcorn. Expect images of playful spaniels, wildflowers and adults ferreting about in the undergrowth!It was such a bright, sunny day - lighting conditions that can, surprisingly, present quite a challenge for photographers. But everybody took full advantage of the beautiful speckled, sunlight through the forest canopy, and there were great discussions on how best to tackle tricky exposure in changeable lighting conditions. Lovely stuff!After an hour and a half of delightful nature, our photographers had wracked up quite the appetite for ice cream in the heat. So we all headed for snacks and drinks at Esposito’s. Which was a lovely opportunity for us all to chat and get to know each other a bit.
Admittedly we all had quite the leisurely break, before heading out to Frog’s Mouth to take in the panoramic views for a few tasty landscape shots. All in all - a great way to spend a Saturday morning socialising and getting creative! A theme of conversations from both sessions so far is that many people find it difficult to walk either alone or without a purpose…and were grateful for Snap and Social appearing after winter! It’s already proving invaluable to attendees to carve out some time dedicated to getting out and about with people and sharing a hobby.
If you think Snap and Social photography walks are your thing - we’d love to welcome you. We’re running them every second Saturday of the month. The next walk is on on Saturday 8th June (10:00 am - 12:30 pm) - the route will be along Runcorn Promenade before heading over the Silver Jubilee bridge to Spike Island. For more information and to book your place head to the booking link here - Link to book
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