OPS Weekly Newsletter 20 October 2024
- Don’t forget to bring your prints for our first print competition of this season – two colour, two mono-chrome
- And don’t miss the RPS Documentary Photography Awards exhibition at Kendrew Barn, St John’s College, St Giles which ends 27 October
- Last week’s meeting Tues 15 October: Table-top photography
We had a very busy evening shooting various subjects on numerous tables and a light box set-up for photography.
There was a non-paying guest which Dave S brought along called Cedric the Stick Insect (see a portrait of Cedric in a menacing mood that Dave took). There were lots of shots taken of her/him as s/he paused for the portraits.
Folded colour paper, vases, flowers, leaves, a transparent part of bird’s anatomy, cutlery, pinecone and many other objects were lit in many ways, soft light, hard light, coloured light, and photographed. A few of the of the results are attached.
Tabletop photography is easy to do, and it is always on your doorstep. There are no rules and the most important thing is your creativity.
If you want to explore there are two YouTube videos that represent two very different approaches: Tony McMaster, who came to give us a presentation last year, has a YouTube called Camera Club Live and he is the master of controlling light, he represents the more ‘controlled’ approach. At the other end is Andrew Banner whose approach is more ‘emergent’. See links here and here. Both approaches are worth cultivating.
Many thanks to all who took part and made the evening very enjoyable.
- Next Tuesday’s meeting 15 October at 19.30: Print Competition No. 1
Judge will be Peter Cox.
- Upcoming meetings this month
Tues 22 October 19.30: Print Competition No. 1
Judge will be Peter Cox.
Tues 29 October 19.30: Inter-Club Competition, Bicester and Oxford
Competition consists of 40 images from each club. OPS members to judge Bicester images, and Bicester club members to judge OPS images.
- Programme Secretary vacancy
We have a full and varied programme for you this season thanks to the hard work and excellent choices by Les. Unfortunately, due to unexpected changes in Les’s work commitments he cannot continue in the role and we need someone to step forward to start the planning and booking of speakers for next season’s programme. Please do contact me or any other committee member if you are interested in taking on the role.
- Events photographic in Oxford
Documentary Photography Awards – Royal Photographic Society
A diverse range of superb pictures from nine photographers covering war, memory, childhood and aging
10 October 2024 to 27 October 2024
Kendrew Barn
St John’s College,
St Giles,
Oxford OX1 3JP
Ashmolean NOW: Bettina Von Zwehl
The Flood
18 Oct 2024 – 11 May 2025
Gallery 8
Admission is FREE
The third in the Ashmolean NOW exhibition series, where contemporary artists are invited to create new work inspired by the Ashmolean’s historical collections.
This exhibition will feature photographs by London-based artist, Bettina von Zwehl (b. 1971). Von Zwehl’s aim is to rekindle wonder and curiosity as critical tools for exploring new ideas and practices.
During a residency in Oxford from 2022–23, von Zwehl spent time researching the Ashmolean’s founding collections – the wonderfully diverse objects and works of art which were displayed when the Museum first opened in the 17th century.
The artist’s time at the Ashmolean served as inspiration for a unique photographic ‘Wunderkammer’ installation that moves between portraiture, silhouetted fragments, still-life, monumental and miniature elements, as well as non-art objects and specimens from natural history collections.
https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/ashmolean-now-bettina-von-zwehl
- General photographic interest
Adobe Max Roundup: Demoing the latest Lightroom and Photoshop features
This year we attended Adobe Max in person, where we got to demo several of the new features in Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe Camera Raw. If you missed the announcement, you can read our coverage of it here, though we’ll be covering the hits here.
https://www.dpreview.com/videos/5780576958/adobe-max-conference-2024-demo-roundup
The big picture: André Kertész’s window on New York city life
From his 12th-floor apartment, the Hungarian photographer captured many of his defining pictures for more than 30 years
Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily review – the bloody reality of life under the mafia
The Photographers’ Gallery, London
Working for Palermo’s daily newspaper, the photographer chronicled some of the city’s deadliest violence, but there are moments of love and levity among the chaos
My father Frank Habicht, the photographer who captured the ‘heart and restlessness’ of 1960s London
Habicht’s images, of stars such as the Rolling Stones and Jane Birkin and of the everyday, defined the spirit of an era
A surreal weekender at West Dean College! Our experience on a photography short course
Jessica Miller joins Tracy Calder for a weekend macro photography course at West Dean College in Sussex. She shares her experience…
Workshops from the Royal Photographic Society
Whether you’re diving into photography for the first time or honing your skills, there is a range of online and in-person workshops run by the RPS.
