RAW Photographic Club outing

28 March 2025

A couple of years ago – maybe three or even four – I first heard about the photographic club in Lisburn. Robert Macaskill had actually mentioned it much earlier during our urban exploration trips, but eventually, he invited me to one of their meetings. I went along, met a few people, and quickly realised this could be the right place for me. The group seemed genuinely interesting.

Despite having well over 20 years of experience in photography, running a studio in Belfast for nearly a decade, studying the subject, and even teaching photography courses, I decided to join. After all, a photographer never stops learning, and sharing knowledge with others is just as rewarding. There’s nothing better than spending time with like-minded people – especially (as you’ll see in the video) when everyone has a smile on their face.

RAW Photographic Camera Club meets once a month at the Bridge Community Centre in Lisburn, with additional outings for photography trips. This time, we visited Kinnegar in Belfast, a spot where you can often see a variety of birds, including the occasional kingfisher. The weather – unsurprisingly for Northern Ireland—was less than ideal. It was cold and quite windy, so the meetup lasted just under 90 minutes before we retreated to a café.

In the end, it’s not always about the photos but about the conversations, mostly centred around photography. I invite you to watch the short video and take a look at some of the shots I captured using a Canon R50 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens – a combination that isn’t exactly suited for low light, and it showed. But what truly mattered was the shared Sunday outing, which turned out to be a great one.