Awarded students Sean Canning (left) and Gavin McCabe (right) had taken their pictures during a class field trip at Kelvingrove Park where they went on a ‘photo hunt’ for wildlife. Sean’s winning picture is a stunning shot of the Park’s luxurious greenery overlooked by the impressive Kelvingrove Museum. Gavin’s highly commended picture captures a beautiful male blackbird perched on a tree.
Organised by Open Air Laboratories (OPAL Scotland) and the Glasgow Regional Outdoor and Woodland Learning Group (GROWL), this competition gives a chance for all to get out, explore and celebrate the green spaces and wildlife of Glasgow. Our students participated in it as part of their Photography Enterprise course, with their lecturer Mary McKeachan, their support assistant Margaret McMenemie, and OPAL Community scientist Matt Keyes.
All the students of our Learner Development Photography Enterprise class were thrilled but very nervous to take part in the competition. Most of all, they thoroughly enjoyed the field trip, as Gavin says: “The best part is to be out there and take the pictures. It’s challenging to take a nice shot of a moving animal but it’s fun at the same time.”
Each year, the class gets the opportunity to participate in competitions and to practise, in the classroom as well as during field trips, various photography skills from wildlife to still life to portrait shots. During the course, the students select their most stunning pictures to produce items they can sell, such as a calendar, jute photo-bags, fridge magnets and note-cards. This enables students to gain enterprise skills and proceeds from sales allow them to buy further photographic equipment.
Mary McKeachan, Learner Development Lecturer at our Greenock Campus, says: “We are really pleased that two of our students won prizes in this competition, and had their pictures displayed at Glasgow Botanic Gardens during the summer. Everyone in the class worked hard to submit entries of a high standard.”
To learn more about our Learner Development courses visit: /courses/course-directory/courses/learner-development