Roger Shearer, president of the Motherwell Photographic Society, made one of his occasional visits to Hamilton at the start of October to share his love and enthusiasm for travel and photography.

The evening covered two journeys. First up was Ascension - a volcanic island of approximately 34 square miles which rises from the South Atlantic Ocean. The island has around 800 permanent residents and serves as a base for the RAF and the US Space Force. Roger was lucky to be able to visit this remote British Overseas Territory through his daughter, Laura, a seabird scientist based on the island.

There are no indigenous people in Ascension and many of the species of plants and animals are introduced. Often seen in the images which Roger captured were Mexican thorns, originally introduced for their ability to survive on and stabilise the loose volcanic soil are now considered an invasive species. At the summit of Green Mountain another surprising introduced plant species thrives - bamboo. Deliberately introduced mammals are the donkeys and sheep, which seem to get on well on the island and are only a minor nuisance. Inevitably, there were also accidentally introduced rats and mice, which constitute a threat to the sea birds which nest there. Another notable land animal is the land crab, large numbers of which trek down from Green Mountain to the sea each spring to spawn. The prominent native birds are boobies and the iconic Ascension frigatebird, both of which Roger managed to capture in close-up.

Roger took time to explore the seemingly scattered buildings of the capital, Georgetown, such as the Government House, Conservation Centre and Post Office with its Edward VII postbox. Surprisingly there is a sizable museum. Although the island has few visitors, the museum doubles as a library and coffee shop, enjoyed by the locals. There is even a golf course although, as Rogers photographs showed, the greens are mostly black. This was a striking feature of the images: other than the verdant Green Mountain, the landscape is dominated by earthy colours, from ash blacks and greys to sulphurous yellows and browns.

For the second part of the evening Roger took us to Sri Lanka which he had visited with regular club speaker Paul McDougall. Off the South East coast of India, the lush landscape and wildlife of the island are in stark contrast to Ascension. Roger was proud to have captured images of the endangered Sri Lankan sloth bear, of which fewer than 1,000 individuals are thought to remain. The large ‘ponds’ on the island are home to crocodiles, storks and black neck cranes, whilst kingfishers ‘the size of a duck’ were also featured in Rogers shots. Sambar and Muntjac deer captured in the images were very pleasing on the eye, but also a vital source of food for the island's apex predator - the Sri Lankan leopard. Roger showed several images of these majestic animals, which apparently are rarely a danger to humans unless threatened.

Perhaps most endearing were images of a Toque Macaque with her distinctive whorl of golden yellow hare on her crown, and her young baby, which drew gasps and ‘awws’ from the audience. Contrasting with these were larger predators including jackals and wild boar. The largest animals, though, were water buffalo - some with attached frogs - and most impressive of all, Asian elephants, which Roger recounted with respect and affection as he presented images of these wonderful animals.

Ascension and Sri Lanka - Roger Shearer

Documentary Photography - Cameron Scott