One of the most interesting and engaging club nights of the season came on 10th January with a look back at 2023 through the eyes of Dave Kneale, chief photographer of Media Isle of Man.
Dave’s presentation of images and stories was a great reminder of what happened last year and some of the fun quirks of living here. The variety of Dave’s work meant there was something for everyone, including top-quality sporting images, stunning weather scenes, a variety of local events and ceremonies, and the people, animals and places involved.
He explained that his task is to give a flavour of events as there is rarely time and space to document in great detail, and his notebook is vital to record names and other details from each assignment.
One of the highlights was a set of beautiful images of racing yachts at sunrise at Chicken Rock, which caused a collective “oooh!” as the first image popped up! Dave explained how it took military planning to achieve, beginning in the very early hours before he and his father sailed from Port St Mary to intercept the racing yachts in darkness, but the final images were well worth it.
He also delivered a fascinating peek into North Bradda mines and the working conditions for the men who mined there. It was a costly assignment as he lost a pair of glasses that disappeared down a mine shaft and also drowned a camera body and lenses. Again, the images were fantastic.
Dave’s personal favourite of the year was of the Manxman as she arrived in Douglas for the first time, looming over Dave as he shot from the harbour pilot’s boat. The scale of the new boat was amusingly underlined by the following images of Castletown’s annual tin bath race, showing the contrasting requirements of Dave’s role.
Among images of the TT races and riders, Coronation events, Manxman, the 50th anniversary of the Summerland disaster, the 150th anniversary of the steam and electric railways, GSCE results, we also saw “extreme cellists” on a rooftop, the annual Bonnag Championship, the Laxey duck race and a wheelie bin race. Some of the most discussed images were drone shots of various island locations, making places look very different when viewed from a height.
It was a fascinating and entertaining evening and we look forward to welcoming Dave back again.