Myanmar, formally called Burma, is a country in southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh and India to the west, by China to the north, and by Laos and Thailand to the east. The country has been under military control since a coup in 1962, but is starting to implement democratic changes and emerge from isolation. It was visited by President Obama in November of 2012 in recognition of the changes that have taken place. Because it was cut off from the rest of the world for many decades the country has been able to preserve its culture better than many other countries.
During this trip Bill visited Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Mandalay, Began, and the region around Inle Lake. The program is divided into three sections: an introduction; a presentation on Buddhism, practiced by an estimated 89% of the population; and a section on the people of Myanmar who were friendly and very accepting of tourists. This multimedia, storytelling program contains about 250 still images and video clips. These are blended with music, live narration, and locally recorded sounds to bring a visit to this wonderful country to life.
Bill is well qualified to present lectures and programs on photography. He is a retired PhD analytical chemist and spectroscopist who worked for 34 years helping to design spectroscopic instrumentation for the chemical laboratory. His work included the design of the software user interfaces for a number of products. At the same time he pursued photography as a serious hobby. This combination of experience in science, spectroscopy, computers, and photography allows Bill to understand the technical aspects of photographic equipment plus the associated computer software, and relate them to the needs of the photographer.
Bill’s interest in photography began in high school, but really started to develop after he finished graduate school, moved to Connecticut, and joined his first camera club in 1969. He first joined PSA in 1970 and began entering exhibitions soon after. He now has 5 stars in four divisions of PSA (Projected Image, Photo Travel, Photojournalism, and Nature). He also has ten galaxies in the Color Class of the Projected Image Division and three galaxies in the Photo Travel Division. He has also earned numerous awards in local competitions. He has received the distinction of Master from PSA (MPSA); the distinction of Artiste from the Federation Internationale de L’art Photographique (AFIAP); and has been awarded the honor of Master Member by the New England Camera Club Council (MNEC). He has also received four Bronze Stars for contributions to the PSA Journal.
Bill is a member of the Photographic Society of America, the New Haven Camera Club, and the Connecticut Association of Photographers. He is on the Executive Board of the New England Camera Club Council. He is a frequent lecturer for camera clubs and other organizations on travel and photography, and is a frequent judge.
Bill shifted his picture taking from film to digital following a trip to Kenya in 2000 where he shot his last photographs on film. In the last few years he has been pursuing a hybrid approach to his photography where stills, video clips, and sound files are combined to create essays and travel presentations with more production values than is possible using only still photographs. Bill likes to combine photography with travel to interesting places.
Arranged by Andre Gilbert