'SNOWDONIA' – on the face of it an interesting enough title for a talk to begin the new year. However, it turned out not only to be as good as expected but with an unbelievable twist in the final part of the evening.

Graham Currey was the guest speaker. He is a professional photographer, printer, president of South Manchester Camera Club and a mountain guide. Graham combines a long career in both photography and printing with his passion for mountains. He delighted the members with his stories about explorations in Snowdonia, illustrating exactly where each took place with superb images.

Stories include being roped together with his companions to explore in horizontal rain and howling winds by crawling to his goal at the summit and meeting other hardy explorers crawling the other way. Only really dedicated photographers can be distracted by a crackling sound to find out that it is the legs of frozen jeans rubbing together.

In the second half of the evening, the photographer took over from the mountain guide and Graham demonstrated how he achieves the quality and detail that permeates his work – intriguing but not for the technically faint-hearted.

What you may ask has this to do with the sudden change of direction into the heady ringside atmosphere of extreme wrestling – no holds barred? The answer is Graham’s passion for photography and the challenge of doing something different.

Up close and personal with some of the toughest sportsmen and women around, this was the most surprising of finales to our club evening for many awhile. While the sport may not be everyone’s cup of tea there is certainly no denying the challenge and quality of the photography – especially when having to keep an eye out in case a hulking wrestler comes flying in your direction.

Find out more about Northwich Photographic Society and see a gallery of photographs at northwichphotographicsociety.co.uk The site also includes contact details and the programme of meetings.

The society’s meetings are held on Thursdays at the Castle Community Church, Beeston Street, Castle, from 8pm until 10pm.