LYAL GRAY APAGB (Published Sep 1998)
Lyal has had an interest in photography since his youth when he was introduced to it by a friend. This augmented his interest in birds (the feathered kind!) and gave him the means to record Natural History and to take the proverbial "Bird in the Hand". As a member of the British Trust for Ornithology Ringing Scheme, with a permit to catch and ring British birds, he had the opportunity to photograph the birds at close quarters. The interest in photography grew as time went by.
When showing slides for Stocksfield Ringing Group at a friend's house, one of the guests asked if he had ever thought of joining a Camera Club?. "A what?". He didn't know of their existence, but decided to give it a go. The guest was Ken Dixon, the then President of Hexham & District Photographic Society. Lyal joined the Hexham club in 1975 and is still with them. Virtually straightaway he found himself on the Committee, becoming Vice President in 1977 and then President from 1977 to 1981. Programme Secretary and member of the Selection Committee are other positions held in the club. He was also the instigator and Co-Editor (with his wife Sylvia) of the club magazine.
Lyal and Sylvia often work together as a team within the organisational side of photography and have often shared jobs or done complimentary jobs. As Lyal's photographic "career" developed he was elected to the Council of the NCPF and appointed Competition Secretary (Slides) from 1987 to 1992. He became the NCPF Vice President in 1996 and was elected President in 1998. The NCPF Annual Club Championship is one of Lyal's interests and he is always to be seen hard at work when this event is held, having been a member of the organising committee for several years.
In 1982 he was appointed as an NCPF Judge and Lecturer. That same year he, jointly with Sylvia, took over the Recorded Lecture Service for the PAGB. They continued handling the service for seven years. Lyal became PAGB Minute Secretary at the same time as Sylvia became General Secretary. They were both awarded APAGB's for their extensive work for the PAGB. They were in fact the first husband and wife to gain this award simultaneously.
Lyal is equally interested in both slides and prints. He lists his main photographic interests as Natural History, Landscape and Portraits, but will try anything when the opportunity arises. A long term objective is to master digital photography. He regards competitions as being important. In club photography he feels that they are a good outlet for member's work. They help people to assess their capabilities and see other work which allows a progression to national and international levels. The competitions that have been the most personally satisfying for him are Interclubs where he is part of a team. Lyal lists the photographic moments, other than competitions, that have given him the most satisfaction as; being "there" when that odd five seconds of light illuminates the landscape, being honoured (jointly with Sylvia) by the PAGB as mentioned above and being presented with a beautiful crystal rose bowl by the PAGB for "services rendered".
Projects that Lyal is involved with include organising "location" shoots in full costume for the local amateur stage society for publicity purposes, wedding photography and Audio Visual. He says that he has lots of ideas for A-V and some have been fulfilled. No doubt like many of us he finds too little time available to do all the things he would like to achieve. As well as being a hobby in itself he also uses photography in conjunction with his other main interests. These include not only the amateur stage and Natural History as already mentioned but also DIY and Gardening where he finds photography useful for "before" and "after" records of projects. His involvement with the stage goes beyond the publicity photographic job. He is a committee member and a member of the stage staff of Hexham Amateur Stage Society.
As you can see Lyal is a busy man, with many interests and with a deep involvement in several of his hobbies. He has already given much time and effort to the photographic movement and is still working hard for us as our new President. He has already been faced with a bit of a crisis when the Federation Secretary announced his instant retirement just a few weeks after re-election, but Lyal coped calmly and efficiently with the situation. Those of us present at the time saw why he has been so successful in the past with his work for the PAGB. Hopefully the remainder of his Presidency will be smoother and more pleasurable for him. Lyal has enjoyed the lighter side of photography and has several humorous anecdotes which will form a separate item.
Pat Porrett LRPS