Recently opened at the Shetland Museum and Archives, Seen Furt is a collection of images celebrating Shetland’s outdoors, diverse wildlife and their striking natural colours. Accompanying it is Past and Present, an engaging display that sets archival photographs alongside contemporary ones. There’s also a video presentation, as some club members are active in that medium.
Dramatic landscapes, beguiling seascapes, impressive wildlife and infinite variations in weather and light: Shetland has all the ingredients for wonderful photography. Locals and visitors alike keep a camera handy and – for those who want to take their photography to the next level – the Islesburgh Photographic Club provides an enjoyable platform for sharing experience and refining technique. Its members' creativity can now be admired in two varied and absorbing exhibitions curated by the club.
Stuart Hubbard of Islesburgh Photographic Club explained:
“Seen Furt (furt meaning outside the house; out of doors) is a tribute to Shetland’s beauty, as seen through the eyes of 12 passionate members of our club. As a group of enthusiastic amateur photographers, we meet monthly at Islesburgh Community Centre to share knowledge, mount exhibitions, enter competitions, and enjoy photo walks throughout Shetland. This exhibition is the culmination of our shared interest in photography and a love of Shetland.”
Seen Furt includes 42 framed photographs, the products of many patient hours spent waiting for the perfect shot. The photographs celebrate the play of light on Shetland’s land and seas, as in Austin Taylor’s view of Fitful Head from East Burra, above. Others capture the industrial life of Shetland that’s less often portrayed, as in Remains of Ninian Northern oil platform, brought in for dismantling at Dales Voe, north of Lerwick, or Colin Smith’s shot of a welder at work, below.
In Past and Present, visitors can see 11 archival photographs from the Shetland Museum’s collection, alongside members’ images of the same scenes today. It’s a playful and thoughtful homage to Shetland photographers of yesteryear, including J D Rattar, J Leisk and C Williamson. The views below show part of Lerwick’s ‘new town’, a planned expansion undertaken in the late 19th century, built on the prosperity arising from fishing at that time.
However, the photographs aren’t all that visitors can admire. Displays feature many vintage cameras that tell the story of photographic technology from 1903 to 1998. The cameras are on loan from Chris Smith Photography and illustrate almost a century of analogue photography. The materials used in the earliest examples include cardboard and wood, whereas today’s are constructed from metal and plastic.
Four of these older cameras are available for visitors to handle, including a Box Brownie from 1930 and a Kodak Duaflex from 1947. There are also books and materials to browse and a pinhole photography handout from The Royal Institution is available.
To complement all this, a series of workshops with Chris Smith will offer hands-on experiences with pinhole photography and cyanotype, enabling young and old to explore different photographic techniques.
Karen Clubb, exhibitions officer at Shetland Museum, expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We are excited to see Islesburgh Photographic Club return to the Gadderie space. It’s encouraging to see a group of amateur photographers pull together this contemporary exhibition of their latest work, with Shetland outdoors at its core. The club’s evolution over the years, adapting and experimenting with digital advancements, is remarkable.
“Working together with Chris Smith Photography – and the inclusion of his amazing private collection of vintage cameras – brings an additional, hands-on dimension. We’re looking forward to sharing our workshop plans for Easter shortly.”
Opening the exhibition, the Shetland Amenity Trust’s Jacquie Birnie thanked the club for putting the show together and Chris Smith for allowing us to see part of his outstanding camera collection.
On behalf of the club, Stuart Hubbard observed that of perhaps – he guessed – four or five billion cameras in the world, Shetland is probably home to 20,000 – 30,000 of these, and although club members had quite a few between them, “Chris Smith has more cameras himself than the rest of us combined!”
He recalled that people often ask photographers which is the best camera to use. “The answer”, he continued, “is the one that you have in your hands. When you’re walking around, you see something and you can take a picture of it – and you can’t, if you don’t have the camera.” Thanking all present, Stuart concluded with the hope that, having seen the exhibition, “one or two of you will join the photographic club.”
One event which always has people reaching for their cameras or their phones is, of course, Up Helly Aa, either in Lerwick or at one of the others held all over Shetland between January and March. One set of photos captures that spirit.
It’s a really enjoyable exhibition, partly because the photographs on display are excellent and partly because the collection of cameras and other memorabilia provide such a fascinating insight into the development of photography. One thing that struck me as I selected my views of the exhibition for this feature was that I found it impossible to tell which of my shots had been taken on a large, heavy Nikon DSLR and which had been snapped with an iPhone. It was also good to be reminded that old-school analogue photography survives, and as a reminder of that there’s a darkroom complete with the tools of the trade.
Framed photographs and prints are available for sale as well as a range of merchandise. The exhibition is open until Sunday 27th April.
If you’d like to find out more about the club and its work, and maybe take up Stuart’s invitation to join, you can scan the QR code below to go straight to its website.
Alastair Hamilton
Alastair Hamilton moved to Shetland in 1976. Until he retired, he worked for Shetland Islands Council, latterly as Head of Planning, and was also involved in economic development.