insight into the character and nature of four individual sitters

Produce a series of 12 portraits that give insight into the character and nature of four individual sitters chosen from a particular group. Choose an organisation or group that has a broad membership in terms of age and appearance, e.g. a pilates or Zumba group, a ramblers’ association, a local political party, charity or pressure group. 

My thought was to approach members of the local Heritage Coast U3A (University of the 3rd Age) but I don't really know many of the main group and again, they tend to be 50+ years old.  Most of the groups of people I know in Lyme are those who are of retirement age or above.  I don't tend to mix with the younger social scene.  There is a dearth of people between the ages of 25-45 as there is little work for this age group and they tend to have to move away to find full time work.

I think an alternative is to approach members of my local photographic society as it has quite a wider age group, that of 40+ so perhaps I can find more of a choice there.  They all have the same hobby of taking pictures but many also enjoy other pursuits around the town.  On reflection I think my chosen subjects will be Chris Sellers club chairman, Pat Chambers social secretary and Dougie Young and Sylvia Adams who are both members who joined the society within the past 12 months but who seem to live interesting and varied lives.

Pat Chambers

Pat has already featured in assignment 2 when she posed as a Red Hat club member in image number 7 sitting at a bus stop using a laptop.  She is a very busy, enthusiastic person and never does anything slowly.  I took some practice pictures of her when she was organising drinks and snacks at the main U3A meeting today.  It was hard to catch her still so firstly I used a fast shutter speed then a slow one to show her speedy movements whilst she was organising everything.

Pat has various interests where she volunteers her time and efforts as well as belonging to the photographic society.  Her main interests are the Red Hats (a female social group) the U3A and linked through them she is also keen on pottery. 

Christopher Sellers (Chris)

Chris took over the chairmanship of the Photographic Society at the last AGM and has brought new life to the club with his enthusiasm.  He lives a little way out of Lyme and looks the gentleman farmer in his corduroy trousers and green wellington boots. He also has a new baby (approximately 3-4 months old) and absolutely dotes on her. She might well provide some images that show his softer side.

Jane Pennington

Jane is in her early 70s and has been a photographer for many years using both film and digital cameras.  She achieved her Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society approximately 6/7 years ago and mostly enjoys taking landscapes and still life being very meticulous in her planning.  She has been a member of the local camera club for about 5 years and took over the responsibility for PR 2-3 years ago, sending in reports on the club’s activities to the local press to encourage new members to join.

Over the past two years Jane has spent increasing amounts of time at her local museum which was, after receiving a large lottery grant, moving to a more conducive building, the old museum not having any disabled access or facilities.  She has helped in packing up the many photographic items including photographs, postcards and related items.  Now she has the job along with two or three other volunteers of unpacking it all and putting it all on display or archiving it in the large storage facilities the museum has inherited.

Once everything has been unpacked it will be Jane’s responsibility to photograph and register all the items so there is a comprehensive list of every item.  Jane has done this type of work before when she and some other volunteers did the same thing at the Lyme Regis museum. 

Dougie Young

Dougie has only been a member of the society for approximately 9 months but is keen to join in with competitions and workshops and even organised his own creative art workshop using the Cobb harbour recently. 

Dougie was in the air force for many years and is now a maintenance engineer at a local old people's home.  There could be some good pictures there as he would have to interact with the residents on a daily basis. 

I've approached Pat Chambers and Chris Sellers already and they are keen to help me in my project.  I just need to contact Dougie and Janeto get their permission to go complete this assignment.