Annual Exhibition 2024 - NOW ONLINE

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

Swirl and Sway  —  Sally Freeman  —  Commended

Alfama, Lisbon  —  Mark Farrington  —  Winner (Travel)

The Lettercutter  —  Faruk Kara  —  Commended

Across the Field  —  Gabrielle Barnard  —  Commended

Seaweed and Sand  —  Ken Bingham  —  Commended

Humbug  —  Martin Goddard  —  Commended

Brahminy Starling Calling  —  Sally Freeman  —  Commended

Dunlin  —  Lachlan French  —  Highly Commended

Shifting Sands  —  Sally Freeman  —  Highly Commended

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

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

Beneath the Bridge  —  Richard Bircham  —  Highly Commended

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

Moonrise over Wind Farm  —  Ian Wilson  —  Highly Commended

Grande Latte to Go  —  Ken Bingham  —  Commended

Tag Rugby  —  Chris Fell  —  Commended

Leaning into the Bend  —  Nick Bowman  —  Commended

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

Hold That Pose  —  Peter Baker  —  Highly Commended

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

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

The Middle of Nowhere  —  Jim Bennett  —  Highly Commended

Kestrel Hunting  —  Kevin Pigney  —  Highly Commended

Alliums, Wisley  —  Lachlan French  —  Commended

John  —  Gyles Glover  —  Highly Commended

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

Happisburgh Lighthouse  —  Shelagh Wooster  —  Highly Commended

Emmaus Monastery  —  Andrew Colgan  —  Winner (Monochrome Pictorial)

Dung Flies Mating  —  Bob Coote  —  Commended

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

Bearded Reedling  —  Nick Bowman  —  Winner (Nature)

Reflections of Reality  —  Mark Randall  —  Highly Commended

Whoops! Too Much Pressure  —  Nick Bowman  —  Commended

London Icon  —  Gabrielle Barnard  —  Highly Commended

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

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

Interleaved  —  Sue Vaines  —  Commended

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

Light Bulb Staircase  —  Andrew Colgan  —  Commended

Concentration  —  Tony Blaney  —  Commended

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

The Aviator  —  Nick Murrall  —  Commended

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

Gower Peninsular and Pony  —  Lachlan French  —  Commended

Hidden  —  Clive Downes  —  Highly Commended

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

Linear Windows  —  Jenny Collier  —  Highly Commended

Short Eared Owl  —  Kevin Pigney  —  Commended

Doc  —  Clive Downes  —  Winner (Colour People)

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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.

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.

"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.

Infrared Photography - Debra Bennett

Our new season was kicked off by our President with her current passion for infrared photography.  Debra has long enjoyed creative photography, often using textures in post-processing.  However, a few years ago, she decided to try infrared and purchased her first infrared camera, secondhand, and it has really fired her imagination.  "You never quite know what you're going to get, which makes it very interesting and exciting."  Having experimented with her first camera for some time, she took the decision to convert another camera to 'Full Spectrum' which gives her the most flexibility, as she can now apply filters to remove either the red, green or blue light.  Some of her beautiful images were very ethereal and 'other-worldly'; some she had converted to pure monochrome.  She took us through all the infrared options,  showing us the result of restricting the different light channels.  All in all, a very entertaining evening and at least 2 members have decided to covert their old cameras and explore the world of infrared.  

A Sample of Club Meetings from the 2023/24 Season

The articles below are brief summaries of just some of the interesting talks members enjoyed over the 23-24 season.

Street Photography: Light and Life on the Streets - Damien Demolder

A former editor of Amateur Photographer and a regular contributor to photography reviews and journals, Damien runs street photography workshops in London.  He gave a very entertaining talk on his take on street photography.  He started by explaining what his approach was when on the street - looking for that decisive moment, looking for the light, giving the sense of 'being there', capturing something 'different' - something that others will not have seen.  He demonstrated this focus with a set of sillouettes - high contrast shots with the subject sillouetted against a bright, colourful background, and not just there, but there at the moment that the subject is cleverly framed as well - the decisive moment!  Then he moved onto shadows - again, a different take on street photography, where the shadows are the subject, when the subject is not actually even in the shot.  Damien certainly got us all thinking and seeing street photography a little differently.  A very enjoyable talk.  You can see more of Damien's excellent work on his website.

Macrophotography - Ann Miles FRPS EFIAP FBPE

70-80 members filled our hall to listen to our very own Ann Miles, one of our longest-serving members and very much an inspiration to the whole club.  She shared her considerable knowledge of equipment, settings, fieldcraft and the subjects. It was a masterclass.  Ann's website is  well worth visiting, whatever type of photographer you are.  You cannot fail to be inspired by something there.   From her profile:  I trained as a biologist and spent my working life in scientific publishing; this enabled me to keep abreast with all the changes from traditional to digital photography and printing. I have been an active photographer all my life and, for about 10 years, taught general and nature photography at university degree level. I am a Member of The London Salon which keeps me in touch with the best of pictorial photography around the world. I gained an Associateship in Nature and a Fellowship in Visual Arts and served as Deputy Chair of the Fine Arts Panel for 8 years. I now sit on the Natural History Distinction Panel. This reflects a wide spectrum of photographic interest. In my photography, I enjoy images that depict the interactions of people, architecture, nature and landscape. I have lectured all round Britain and give workshops and individual tuition.