It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Hornsby Heights Camera Club founding and life member Alan Torrens on Tuesday 17th May, 2022. The following tribute by long time friend and fellow founding club member, Doug, sums up all of our feelings. We offer our deepest sympathies to his wife Jenny and his family.
A Tribute to Alan Torrens
Alan joined Hornsby Heights Camera Club at the first meeting of the club on 15 February 1983. In those days we met in the private home of the first President David Hewitt in Somerville Road Hornsby Heights.
Alan was a very competent Black and White worker as well as taking beautiful colour slides. Alan had a good eye for patterns and shapes. I remember some of his early prints of city buildings and especially panoramas of the city taken from the harbor bridge pylon lookout. He made a number of these over the years showing the development of the City.
Alan had a strong commitment to the club and was a regular participant in all its activities. He was elected Vice President a few years after he joined the club and continued in that role until last year. He was always ready to lead when needed. He entered the black and white section and the colour slide section throughout the film era. In recent times he unfailingly entered the colour print and digital projected image section as well. He regularly came early to help set up for meetings and did this consistently over the years.
Alan was involved in a number of photography related activities. He also was a member of Pennant Hills Photographic Club and was equally committed to that club. He was a regular attender at the FCC Annual Yarramundi Weekend Camp and always encouraged others to attend. He taught a photography course at Hornsby for a number of years. Along with Alan Logan he organised the photographic exhibition at the St Ives Show for about 15 years. He was a volunteer to help organise the Sydney International Exhibition of Photography for a few years until it went completely digital. He was the club’s FCC delegate for many years.
Alan was also involved in a group that built a chalet at Charlotte Pass and he encouraged members of our club to join with Pennant Hills Club for a week there in the summer walking and taking photos. This occurred annually for about five years.
Alan loved nature and the Australian landscape. He enjoyed photographing frogs, fungi and bark patterns a well as the great Outback. He also enjoyed going on bus camping tours especially photographic ones. We went on tours to Tasmania, Outback Queensland and the Northern Territory. He also went on Camping Tours organised by the FCC and also many commercially operated tours. Always taking photos.
When the club had an Exhibition in Hornsby Library Alan was always there to help prepare and arrange the prints on the walls. When the club entered the Audio Visual Challenge Alan was the one who learnt the program and made the images come together in an outstanding way that enabled the club to win.
Alan Torrens was a quiet person but was always ready with a reasoned answer based on his knowledge as a science teacher and as an experienced photographer. He was always ready to help and worked quietly behind the scenes. His commitment to his hobby of photography and to our club was unwavering. I could always count on Alan. He will be greatly missed.
Doug Carley
Alan’s funeral will be held on Monday 30th May at 11.15am at Northern Suburbs Cremitorium, North Ryde in the North Chapel.
Tom
