WHEN Graham Nicholls leads a member evening, we never know quite what to expect- apart from good humour, a wealth of images and a range of subject matter. Thus it was on Thursday last; a chatty ramble through Graham’s year, a talk that began with an unavoidable delay and ended with a few technical IT glitches, but we can forgive him that, writes Jenny Short, Norton Radstock Photographic Society.

Graham narrated his images of everything in 2025 that had either occurred within that time span or had reminded him of an event from his considerable past, and made him chuckle. Images of himself as a child at a street party to celebrate the Coronation, and as a parent of an avid sailor racing dinghies on England’s lakes and waterways preceded the ones of the nonagenarian that celebrated his special birthday year in style with extended family at his home in Timsbury.

As always, his presentation featured competent and colourful photos of the array of unusual flowers in his beautiful garden, adorned by insects and invaded by birds throughout the seasons. There was evidence of his long-standing passion for community events, organising and judging local flower shows, inspiring the next generation and reminding the adults that he really knows his stuff where plants are concerned.

Graham is renowned for his extensive botanical expertise that has taken him to far distant places in the past on lecture tours and promoting books that he has written and illustrated. At the camera club he is equally renowned for trying new photographic techniques whenever they are suggested to him. On Thursday Graham ably explained and illustrated his exploration into Photoelasticity, the Pep Ventosa multiple exposure effect, smoke trails from incense sticks and the ever popular oil on water – all these techniques were explored in abundance and all with varying success noted by Graham himself.