OPS Weekly Newsletter 1 March 2026
- Please start putting together your panel entries for the Best Use of Light competition which takes place on 17 March
- Last meeting held on Tues 24 February: Michal Lewek on Short Term Project, Long Term Lessons Photographing Life of Moroccan Nomads + Philip Joyce: Panels – A Practical Guide
Michal started his talk with some history of the photographs he had taken when he was 15. He was into macro photography and showed an excellent shot of an insects inside a flower. However, he never pursued this hobby and it wasn’t until 2020 that he picked up a camera and restarted his interest in photography, first of all with travel photography. His shots of Namibia were all very good indeed. He then took an interest in ‘people photography’ – street and studio-based portrait photography.
He wanted to pursue his interest in ‘people photography’ and contacted Mustafa who was someone who guided him on a three-day trip in the Moroccan desert. He told Mustafa he wanted to do a project in Morocco and could he put Michal in contact with people, which Mustafa was delighted to do.
Michal showed his thinking processing working out what he would want to do – a ‘mind map’ – which put down thoughts and his options and he came up with a project photographing nomads in the Moroccan desert. He also set himself some parameters. Namely:
- Film only
- Single prime lens (50mm)
- Avoid ‘tourist’ photos
- Focus on portraits
- Establish connections with his host
He took two cameras with him: a 35mm Nikon F3 and a medium format Mamiya 645. Using film will slow him down and make his photography more ‘deliberative’, it would avoid ‘instant gratification’ and replace it with ‘delayed disappointment’.
He then showed the shots he got and talked through what the lessons the project taught him.
Lesson 1 – always have your camera loaded with film
He was taken to desert by Hassan and there was a lot going on – glorious sunset, young camel being born – unfortunately there was no time to load the film, unlike digital it takes time. He did get a shot of the newborn camel with mother but this was taken on his phone.
Lesson 2 – never trust your light meter
This was a day with the goats, and he was unaware of overexposure, +2 and +7-9. He did though have some great photos, which included one of his favourites. Even though he wanted to focus on people, the goat herd looked beautiful. He did get a great shot of one of the goat-herders making tea in the desert.
Lesson 3 – The camera can (and probably will) fail
His medium format camera wouldn’t work so he shot all his images on the Nikon F3 (always take a back-up option). Michal started taking photographs of camels but didn’t take many photos of camels as it difficult to focus manually. Then he had people posing which was the issue that I wanted to avoid. He got around this focussing the other aspects of their life: tools, motorcycles and phones, trying different angles to get something different. The phone was used also for entertainment and remarkably in the desert there was a good signal. Some 97 percent of the country has signal coverage. Michal had a very relaxed shot of a man lying on the ground with his phone as if he was caressing it.
Lesson 4 – Be open, tell people what you are doing
He stayed with family and felt much more comfortable. The images of where he stayed had a very intimate feel about them. He had started taking pictures that he wanted and he wanted to take photos about the change, quite significant as the people are in transition from nomads to settlers/semi-nomads. He felt comfortable enough to photograph children.
In one of the homes he visited he wanted to take a wide angle shot, but with only a 50mm this was a challenge. However he managed it by taking a shot looking left and took another looking right. The result was excellent with the tell-tale black vertical line on the negative splitting the two image.
Lessons learnt
Michal summed up what he gained from the experience:
You can read as much as you want, but you can’t replace learning from experience.
- Shooting film, I shot on average 10 times fewer pictures compared to digital.
- One lens is enough…
- …but consider a different scenario (ex. shooting at night).
- Try to minimise your dependence on people.
- Take your time.
- Be open and curious.
- It’s not about photos.
A fascinating tale of how a project develops as time moves it forwards and Michal will be revisiting the place soon.
In the second half Phil gave us excellent advice about how panels work and how best to think about how we curate panels. Key things are:
- Be aesthetically pleasing to the eye
- The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
To help understand this there are six elements that you need to consider
- Scaling – the same, bigger, smaller
- Colour or Black and White
- Contrast and Tonal range
- Harmony or Discord
- Lighting
- Picture flow
Basically, it is about considering all these things and come to a body of work that is ‘cohesive’ and therefore greater than the sum of its parts.
We will see on Tuesday how well we took on board Phil’s well-presented explanation.
- Next meeting Tues 3 March: Panel Competition – Projected Digital Image and Prints
Phil Joyce will be our judge
- Upcoming meetings/events
- 10 March: The Perimeter with Quintin Lake documenting an 11,000km walk around the coast of Britain
- 17 March: Best Use of Light – our judge will be Peter Cox
- 24 March: Imagine with Rob Ferrands
- 31 March: The Cameraman’s Cut with Colin Clarke ARPS
You can see the programme up to the end of the year and beyond here and download it:
https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/programme-download/
- Photographic events in and around Oxford
High Resolution Satellite Imagery for Monitoring Vulnerable Communities, in Changing Environments
Satellite imagery provides an amazing window into the diverse landforms, flora and fauna, and natural processes of the world around us, not only beautiful but useful too. Humanity has left a significant ‘footprint’ on our environment: from forest clearance, war impact, and pollution of the earth, sea, air, and even space. Dr Chris Lavers’ exhibition reflects on mankind’s impact on the earth, and on the most vulnerable elements of humanity, and emphasises the risks and suffering experienced daily by indigenous communities.
Pembroke College Art Gallery,
5, Brewer Street,
Oxford
OX1 1QN,
Fri 23 January – Fri 13 March 2026
https://www.pembrokejcrart.org/current-exhibitions
The Wild Encounter
Wildlife photography by Robert Edwards
10 January to 28 February 2026
Oxford-based journalist and photographer Robert Edwards is channeling his passion for the natural world into a positive local effort, bringing wildlife photos captured during his travels to patients and staff at the Churchill Hospital.
All proceeds from print sales will go to Oxford Hospitals Charity.
Follow Robert on Instagram @robertpedwards
https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/artlink/exhibitions/south-street-gallery/?ref=oxfordclarion.uk
Camera Club: Spring Exhibition
Camera Club is part of The North Wall’s YouthLab programme, which supports young people aged 12-17 in developing their creative skills alongside professional artists. Every year a group of 6-8 aspiring photographers works with artist Elina Medley to create images using digital SLR cameras and then to curate an exhibition of photography.
Sat 28 March to Thur 2 April.
This exhibition takes place at Magdalen Road Studios
https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/camera-club-exhibition-2026/
Dylan Brennan THE BIG SHOT with Greg Brennan
Blackwell’s, Broad Street Oxford
Wednesday, 27 May from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Dylan Brennan will discuss his new photographic book, The Big Shot with Britain’s most celebrated press photographer, Greg Brennan.
The Big Shot: Photographs by Greg Brennan showcases the work of one of Britain’s longest standing and most celebrated press photographers, offering an intimate look at three decades of celebrity, entertainment and major events.
From Hollywood and music legends to sporting greats, fashion visionaries and members of the British royal family, Greg Brennan has spent a lifetime chasing every opportunity to provide the public with rare behind-the-scenes insights, capturing encounters with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lady Gaga, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth II.
- Exhibitions further a field
Best photography exhibitions to see in 2026
- Astronomy Photographer of the Year, National Maritime Museum
- Bird Photographer of the Year, touring
- RPS Landscape Group Members’ Outdoor Exhibition, touring
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year 61, Natural History Museum
- Boris Mikhailov: Ukrainian Diary, The Photographers’ Gallery
- Lee Miller, Tate Britain
- Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2025, National Portrait Gallery
- Richard Avedon: Facing West, Gagosian Grosvenor Hill
- The Last Resort, Martin Parr Foundation
- Catherine Opie: To Be Seen, National Portrait Gallery
- Sony World Photography Awards 2026, Somerset House
- Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, National Portrait Gallery
- Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends, National Portrait Gallery
- Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2026, National Portrait Gallery
More detail here:
https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/articles/best-photography-exhibitions-to-see/
- General photographic interest
RPS Workshop Newsletter
Here you will find a listing of our upcoming workshops, delivered online,
in-person and on demand. We like to keep the participant numbers low to ensure you can get individual attention.
Veteran photographer puts bleak beauty of Suffolk village into the frame
The “forgotten and slightly ordinary” village of Ramsholt in Suffolk has what Johnnie Shand Kydd describes as a “bleak beauty”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm8xx292gvo
Seals, shipwrecks and a screaming swallower: Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026 – in pictures
The annual competition draws thousands of entries from across the world and brings together images from below the water’s surface that show the diversity and challenges of subaquatic life
From sacred sisters to hyper-sexualised models: PhotoVogue festival – in pictures
India’s female bodybuilders, unnatural Italian models, Asian cyborgs and erased Afghan women … here are the highlights of the many-stranded PhotoVogue festival, in Milan for fashion week
These amazing London street pictures just won UK Film Photographer of the Year
Launched by Amateur Photographer in 2024, the UK Film Photographer of the Year competition returned this year in partnership with Analogue Wonderland, Kodak Alaris and Ricoh Imaging. UK-based film photographers were invited to share their portfolio of 5-8 film photographs taken during 2025, showcasing their creativity, expertise, personal vision, and ability to shoot fantastic film images across a range of different situations and styles.