Portraits, People and Photojournalism - Roger Hance FRPS AFIAP DPAGB BPE5*

Roger is a highly experienced photographer, perhaps best known for his nature photography.  However, in this talk, he gave us some great hints and tips about tracking something else - people!  He was not only generous in sharing his methods to get a great portrait, or candid image, but he also took us to the places and situations that he finds are a a very good source of images.  In his words:

"In this talk I show a range of 'People Pictures'. The images will cover candid's, photojournalism, as well as studio and available light portraits. I explain, as well as giving examples, why some subjects can work in colour, while others can be considerably improved by converting to monochrome.  I show some of the best places in the UK to go for 'people pictures': Speakers Corner, Brick Lane, Tate Modern, Blist Hill Victorian Village, The Black Country Museum, The Beamish Museum, 1940's weekends, Tough Guy event, and the Victory Show. I also cover working in a studio with flash and show how to take pictures at Live Rock events and explain how to take candid pictures without people noticing you."

Thanks Roger for another very inspiring evening.  See Roger's website for much more.
 

15-30 Minutes of Fame

Another very popular evening at the club when four members give around 30 minutes on a topic of their choice.  This year, we were delighted to welcome these members Philip Miles (top left) : Finding art in Refuse; Nick Bowman (top right) "Water Sports"; Jim Bennett (bottom left) "My Creative Process"; Jane Moore (bottom right) "African Wildlife".   Each put a fantastic talk together, with funny anecdotes, useful processing insights and some serious safety tips!!  Thank you one and all.  

Rediscovering our Forgotten Heritage - Matt Emmett

Matt treated us to a spellbinding talk and took us to and through so many buildings, long forgotten and left to rot.  Yet still showing some beautiful features despite their state of dereliction.  In his words:

There is a thrill in exploring an environment that allows you to step into a previously unknown world and discover something first-hand, taking your time and noting the details as you go. Having a camera with me allows me to prolong that thrill long after the building is gone. Capturing their character and stillness comes across well in the photos and is something people tell me they love about the images.
It has been put to me that photographing ruins and abandonment is beautifying something actually quite negative that impacts real people and society in general. Photographers didn’t cause the site to fail and fall into a derelict state and with my own work I don’t feel there’s a parallel with photographers who shoot among the ruins of a town like Detroit and the human tragedy unfolding there. I am interested purely in capturing the aesthetics, character and history of the building, showing the passage of time and the effects of nature on a structure that is no longer being maintained.

Thank you to Matt for a really fascinating talk.  See Matt's website for much more.

Cambridge Inter-Club Digital Competition 2025 results

The annual Inter-Club Digital Competition was held at Whittlesford with 29 clubs from the EAF taking part.  Cherry Larcombe EFIAP ARPS DPAGB BPE5* was the judge. There was a tie between Bishop’s Stortford Camera Club and Photo Imaging Cooperative, both on 98 points (out of a possible 100) and the winning club was decided by their reserve, tie-breaker image.  First place was awarded to Bishop's Stortford.  

The Roy Pitman Trophy for the best image was won by Les Cornwell from Loughton Camera Club for his image 'The Thrill of Skateboarding'.

The competition was attended by around a hundred spectators from the participating clubs.  This year the lead sponsor was Wex Photo Video, represented by Matthew de Salles, which gave vouchers for the winning club and best image.

Results can be seen here.

Close-up Photography - Dr Peter Warne

Monday, 19th November, Peter Warn delighted the members with his detailed talk on close-up photography.  Peter is a biologist by training and from an early age had an interest in wildlife and its appearance under the microscope.  His macro photography therefore, is mainly concerned with capturing pictures of things to be found in the garden, forest and his second home, the restoration project of Copped Hall just below Epping.  The start of his talk described the challenges of close-up/macro photography and the tools to help overcome them.  He generously gave us the benefit of all his experience and research, and provided extensive notes on the tools he described.  All this was interleaved with some cracking macro photography with all the details of his approach and settings, plus equipment used on the day.   The second half addressed  specific techniques and compositional ideas by which the subjects may be converted from a record into a photograph.  Thoroughly enjoyable.

The Art of Sports Photography - Marc Aspland FRPS

Monday 11th November, Mark gave a spell-binding talk, to a packed room.  As chief sports photographer of The Times, Canon Ambassador Marc Aspland has shot some of the most memorable sporting moments of the past 30 years. He is widely regarded as one of the best British sports photographers working today.  The younger Marc's first taste of sports photography was fittingly inspiring. "I was 13 or 14 when my brother and I went on a coach journey to a famous automobile endurance race in France," he explains. "A couple of the guys were very keen amateur photographers, and I was given this tool that would let me take pictures.

"In those days, it was pretty obvious and basic stuff, but it was the spark of something. It quickly became far more than a hobby; more than skateboarding or surfing. It became the real focus of what I wanted to do."

Since that moment, Marc has gone on to photograph some of the sporting greats, including Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson, Pele, Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Roger Federer. He also lists many sports stars as friends, the closest being former England rugby player and 2003 World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson – who was, according to Marc, "a nightmare to photograph"

While Marc has been privileged to photograph many of the iconic players and decisive moments in recent sporting history, he admits there have been times when he would have liked to put the camera down and simply marvel at the drama unfolding in front of him.

One of these occasions was the 100m sprint final at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where Usain Bolt bounded across the finish line in a record-breaking 9.69 seconds to win the gold medal. Of course Marc, ever the professional, kept the camera to his eye.

Marc is as highly regarded for his unique perspectives as for his ability to capture the defining moments and emotion of sporting events. He famously gave a 'miniature' spin to the England versus Kazakhstan 2008 clash in London by taking to a television gantry and recording the match through a Canon tilt-shift lens. He continues to explore unusual angles and create distinctive pictures by using a wide range of EF lenses, from an older Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye through to the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x.

In 2014, Marc's achievements were recognised by the Royal Photographic Society, which awarded him an Honorary Fellowship. In the same year, Marc published his first book, The Art of Sports Photography, something he was encouraged to do by a colleague, Keith Blackmore, former deputy editor of The Times. The retrospective features more than 100 vivid images spanning Marc's incredible career and includes a foreword by Jonny Wilkinson.

Along the Stour and ... Liz Cutting ARPS DPAGB BPE5*

White-legged Damsel

Liz Cutting gave not one by two talks to our members on Monday 28th October.  "Along the Stour" and "Wildlife Photography During the Pandemic"

Liz claims not be be a wildlife 'expert', and yet she not only identified her subjects, she gave information on their habitat and behaviours.  Her delivery was effortless as you would expect from someone who has in depth knowlede and a passion for her subjects.  One anecdote stood out - a barn owl settled on a fence post close by.  She took her images but did not want to scare the owl by moving and so she stood still for 25 minutes, until the owl left of it's own volition.  So her passion for photography is only surpassed for her respect for wildlife.  If you visit Liz Cutting's website, you will be treated to some lovely images and may also be assisted in identifying your own subjects.  

From Ordinary Photography to Fine Art Print - Chrissie Hart ARPS DPAGB

Week beginning 14th October, members were treated to an insight into what inspired Chrissie Hart, as she pursued her ARPS distinction.  The lesson she illustrated so well, was that you don't need to go very far from home to find interesting subjects.  Her ARPS panel was photographed entirely in her garden.  Chrissie modestly described herself as a 'failed watercolourist'.  When she had gone as far as she could with painting, she discovered that she could go so much further with photography and many years on, finds that she is still learning all the time.  Her images, whilst based in the natural world, are developed using layers, textures and blending modes in Photoshop, into abstracted and painterly images of a fantasy world.   A very good talk and many beautiful images (projected and in print) plus step by step through the processing of a single image.  An excellent evening.

Annual Exhibition 2024 - NOW ONLINE

Whoops! Too Much Pressure  —  Nick Bowman  —  Commended

Shifting Sands  —  Sally Freeman  —  Highly Commended

Seaweed and Sand  —  Ken Bingham  —  Commended

Reflections of Reality  —  Mark Randall  —  Highly Commended

Kestrel Hunting  —  Kevin Pigney  —  Highly Commended

Venice: The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore  —  Ken Bingham  —  Highly Commended

Dunlin  —  Lachlan French  —  Highly Commended

Evening Patrol, Malta Spitfire Mk Vc  —  John Hunting  —  Winner (Colour Pictorial)

Humbug  —  Martin Goddard  —  Commended

Across the Field  —  Gabrielle Barnard  —  Commended

The Middle of Nowhere  —  Jim Bennett  —  Highly Commended

Concentration  —  Tony Blaney  —  Commended

Bearded Reedling  —  Nick Bowman  —  Winner (Nature)

Swirl and Sway  —  Sally Freeman  —  Commended

Dunstanburgh Castle  —  Andrew Colgan  —  Commended & Sponsor's Award (Campkins Cameras)

London Icon  —  Gabrielle Barnard  —  Highly Commended

Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata)  —  Jane Moore  —  Highly Commended

Moonrise over Wind Farm  —  Ian Wilson  —  Highly Commended

Opening the Doors to the World  —  Jose Richart Peris  —  Commended

Abstract View  —  Barry Badcock  —  Selector's Award (Jonathan Vaines)

Warrior Queen  —  Peter Baker  —  Highly Commended & Winner (PAGB President's Choice)

Emmaus Monastery  —  Andrew Colgan  —  Winner (Monochrome Pictorial)

Interleaved  —  Sue Vaines  —  Commended

When Push Becomes Shove  —  Ann Miles  —  Sponsor's Award (AcuCert Electrical)

Leaning into the Bend  —  Nick Bowman  —  Commended

Grande Latte to Go  —  Ken Bingham  —  Commended

Happisburgh Lighthouse  —  Shelagh Wooster  —  Highly Commended

The Aviator  —  Nick Murrall  —  Commended

The Lettercutter  —  Faruk Kara  —  Commended

Blue  —  Jenny Collier  —  Print of the Year & Winner (Creative)

Red Deer Rut  —  John Harvey  —  Sponsor's Award (WEX Photo Video)

Hold That Pose  —  Peter Baker  —  Highly Commended

John  —  Gyles Glover  —  Highly Commended

Brahminy Starling Calling  —  Sally Freeman  —  Commended

Tag Rugby  —  Chris Fell  —  Commended

Kingfisher Emerging  —  Kevin Pigney  —  Winner (People's Choice)

Doc  —  Clive Downes  —  Winner (Colour People)

Giraffe Under Lone Tree  —  Yvette Smith  —  Selector's Award (Allan Hale)

Concentration in the Temple - Saigon  —  Hugh Markus  —  Highly Commended

Beneath the Bridge  —  Richard Bircham  —  Highly Commended

Light Bulb Staircase  —  Andrew Colgan  —  Commended

Short Eared Owl  —  Kevin Pigney  —  Commended

Alliums, Wisley  —  Lachlan French  —  Commended

Dung Flies Mating  —  Bob Coote  —  Commended

Ponies  —  Martin Goddard  —  Selector's Award (Debra Bennett)

Hidden  —  Clive Downes  —  Highly Commended

Linear Windows  —  Jenny Collier  —  Highly Commended

Alfama, Lisbon  —  Mark Farrington  —  Winner (Travel)

The Shocked Fairy  —  Yvette Smith  —  Sponsor's Award (Cambridge Independent) & Winner (Monochrome People)

Gower Peninsular and Pony  —  Lachlan French  —  Commended

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The 2024 Annual Exhibition might be over, but the images are still available for viewing online.  It is the gift that keeps on giving!  If you were unlucky and missed the Exhibition, there is a huge amount of inspiration that you can take from viewing the whole Exhibition online.  Click on the carousel above to explore further.

"In Search of ...."

Bill Ward - Actor and award-winning photorapher, comes from Newcastle and was given an Instamatic camera at the age of 7 years and loved it.  Looking back, he was clearly drawn to water as a subject, and it continues to this day.  He went into advertising for 6.5 years, but something was missing for him and he took a break, travelling, with a new Pentax and reconnected with his love for photography.  He returned and decided to retrain as a stage actor.  His profile sky-rocketed when he was cast in Coronation Street,  where 13.9million people watched his last episode.  Having become so well known and recognised,  he turned to photography, often in remote places, again, often around water to ground himself and restore some calm to his life.  His first project was 'Winter on the Coast of England'.  He says that you need to take time, to get under the skin of a place, to really see what is happening around you and it is the time he so enjoys in between his acting roles.  He now loves to use  ICM and a little infrared.  "Use your camera like a brush."  He goes out in all weather, connecting and working with what Mother Nature provides on the day.  His acting career continues successfully, alongside his award-winning photography and his galleries provide a great deal of inspiration.