NRPS members this week enjoyed a very accomplished presentation of recent images given by Pip Rabbitts, ably supported by John Cooper, who had accompanied her on most of the many excursions she described.

These included a number of tutored courses as well as personal visits and club outings. Pip always looks for, and records, small details in a scene, in order to give context to her work. She is also an enthusiast of historic details pertaining to the subject matter, and there was no lack of these to keep the audience on their toes.

Images taken at Holdenbury Hall came to life with tales of James I. We were treated to insights into the iconic statue of Romulus and Remus at Iford Manor, and can all now confidently explain the eerie, atmospheric origins of Wistman’s Wood, on Dartmoor.

Pip’s images are of high quality, and she constantly explores different lenses and techniques. The mists and rain of Dartmoor’s Temperate Rainforest did not deter her any more than the heat encountered when climbing Glastonbury Tor.

She clearly enjoys the natural world, and enjoyed, as we all did, the visits to the Hawk Conservancy in Hampshire where hawks, owls and vultures took to the skies over summer meadows. Living, as she does so close to Longleat, photos of lions, rhino and wild dogs often featured, often amongst the English bluebells.

We were reminded of the cultural delights of Frome with its markets, music and street food, as well as the arts at John Leach Pottery on the Somerset Levels, and in the pouring rain at Sculptures By The Lakes in Dorset. However, it is Pip and John’s love of Norfolk with its endless saltmarshes and tidal estuaries that shone through their evening, and afforded both with opportunities to relax and make images that suited each of their styles.

Jenny Short