After the recent success of this year’s IWPOY (Isle of Wight Photographer of the Year) and its successes over the past three and half years the IWDIG will be launching itself into 2008. Moving the group’s venue to Dimbola Lodge, the former home of Julia Margaret Cameron and the Island’s center of photographic excellence is a bold step but will realise many benefits as 2008 progresses.

With many new projects in the pipeline and a very strong membership base 2008 will be a very exciting time. Working closely alongside Dimbola the group will further be promoting photography on the Isle of Wight where there is already a recognised wealth of photographic talent. The change of venue and new ideas will further establish IWDIG as a major player in photography and digital imaging on the Island which in turn will attract many new members.

The Isle of Wight Digital Imaging Group would like to take this opportunity to thank all of its members and associates for their past support and welcome everyone to an exciting and rewarding new year.

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Celebrating Christmas, the last meeting of the year and to mark the change of venue for 2008 the Isle of Wight Digital Imaging Group held their Christmas party at Dimbola Lodge on December 18th.  Many of the group’s members, their wives and partners attended to enjoy the festive spirit and look forward to the New Year.

During the drinks reception there was a brief review of the IWDIG’s achievements throughout the year and a few hints of the new things to come for 2008. Then it was time for a special presentation to be made to one of the group’s members. As the photographer, although fairly new to photography, who always submits her images for the group’s tasks, is keen to learn new skills and put them into practice, is always supportive of new ideas put forward by the group and has had the most images published in the Isle of Wight County Press for the Hose Rhodes Dickson monthly feature Lorraine Skipper was presented with a large A0+ poster size portrait. 

 It was then time for the Christmas buffet to be served and the evening’s festivities began. After the superb meal the members and their guests were given access to the museum where they enjoyed the photographic exhibitions and a guided tour of the facilities. The studio proved of special interest to many members along with the ghost talk provided by Dimbola’s manager John Holsburt. As you will see from the pictures a couple of our ‘ghost hunting’ photographers really got into the spirit of the hunt by dressing up in period costume much to the amusement of the ghosts no doubt! 

All commented on the welcoming and warm atmosphere at Dimbola and what a great evening it was. Special thanks are due to the staff and our members for making the night such a success. The IWDIG is looking forward to holding their meetings at Dimbola in 2008 and just a reminder to everyone that the first meeting will be on Wednesday January 9th. A Happy and Successful New Year to everyone and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Our second featured photographer is Peter Watts whose work features both local Island scenery and the more exotic images from Peter’s travels in Thailand along with his personal portraiture.

The wealth of Peter’s experience and expertise shows through his images and we hope you enjoy this presentation.

The IWDIG now has such a variety of skills and talent that we felt it necessary to showcase our photographers here. We are introducing a ‘featured photographer’ item and we hope you enjoy their images.

The first featured photographer is Lucy Johnson who is the group’s youngest member. Lucy is 16 and at school studying media and photography for A level along with languages. She intends to continue her studies at university and eventually work in some area of media or journalism. As you can see from her work Lucy enjoys a broad range of subjects and she hopes that you enjoy her slideshow.