Last week (Thursday 23rd Feb) I was invited to speak at Bletchingley Horticultural Society's regular meeting, to gave a talk on garden photography. It was quite nerve racking as I'm not very experienced at giving talks to large groups of people.
To go with the talk I also brought along a small exhibition of my work so people could see what I'm about. This also helped emphasize some of the points I brought up in the talk and allowed everyone to see (I hope) that I do know the subject I was talking about. Above all, it was a fantastic opportunity to pass on a bit of knowledge to encourage more people to enjoy photography! I certainly learnt a lot from the experience and it has definitely made me consider doing more talks in the future.
When putting the talk together the aspect I enjoyed most was creating the PowerPoint presentation. Having done the presentation well in advance made a big difference, which in the past I've not always been very good at! This allowed me to feel less nervous, more in control and to know what was coming next. Anyway I hope everyone who was there enjoyed what I had to say and hopefully I will be able to do more talks in the near future.
Here's a little more information about the society. Bletchingley Horticultural Society has been in existence for many years. They meet in Bletchingley Village Hall on the last Thursday of each month (except August and December) usually to hear a speaker, but sometimes for a local garden visit or a social evening. They are a small friendly group who all enjoy plants and gardening. They welcome beginner gardeners, experienced gardeners and everyone in between including those who can no longer garden actively.