OPS Weekly Newsletter 15 September 2026
- Take 5 is in two weeks so please start collecting those five images that zing. Recent ones preferred.
- We have a ‘Talks Portal’ – fancy name for a spreadsheet – where members can add the names and contact details of speakers that they would like to be included in the programme. If you have any recommendations please add them here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vygkbg7dUF2e0dqF8PfPyfT1caZrnWJB5EEG9bBrTjs/edit?tab=t.0
- We have a gorgeous framed print of Carmine Bee Eaters taken by Ivor which we are giving away to a member. Please email me at i.bray@ntlworld.com if you would like to have the framed print. We will randomly pick the winner out of a hat, or any other appropriate receptacle that is available.
- Last meeting held Tuesday 8 September: Bhutan – Land of the Thunder Dragon with Dave MacKay + Show & Tell
Using the internationally recognised size comparison measure of a country, Bhutan is twice the size of Wales and is home to one million people. Early inhabitants of the country believed that thunder and lighting was caused by fighting dragons, which is where the name ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’ comes from.
Dave started his visit to Bhutan in Paro which is the only international airport of the four airports in the country. From there his trip took him eastwards to the Ura valley, a high-altitude alpine valley located in the Bumthang District of central Bhutan.
His first visit on the trip was a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site, located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley, called the Tiger Nest monastery – a spectacular and much photographed scene. Getting there was via trekking and ‘horse taxi’, passing many prayer flags and sites of ‘offerings’ left by pilgrims. Though the monastery is a photographer’s delight it does not allow any cameras when entering.
Bhutan has many ‘dzongs’, which are massive, historic fortress-monasteries unique to Bhutan, they combine district government offices and monastic quarters under one roof. They are beautifully decorated both on the outside and inside the dzong.
The Panakha dzong is located near a river and Dave had a wonderful night time shot of it with the river in the foreground. He also had a fantastic portrait of a monk in a red robe with a golden prayer wheel behind him (the monk not Dave). Prayer wheels come in many sizes and there was a very good shot of an elderly woman with a small prayer wheel in her hand as she was walking through the street.
The monasteries act as schools of learning for the young novice monks. Not all the novice monks will go on to be adult monks, as they leave the monastery to find work. It is not all prayers and learning for the novice monks. There is sweeping the floors and games of football while dressed in their robes, which Dave captured.
Dave had a brief time in the capital Thimphu. There are no traffic lights and there is only one roundabout, which had a policeman theatrically waving his arms as he conducts the cars.
The capital has a gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha statue which celebrates the 60th anniversary of fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The statue houses over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues, each of which are made of bronze and gilded in gold. The Great Buddha Dordenma is sited amidst the ruins of a palace overlooking the southern approach to Thimphu. It is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, at 169 feet (52 m).
Dave then showed images of the countryside, rice terraces in the valleys, and the people working the fields – women bent double walking through the fields as they cut and harvested the rice with hand sickles. The men were standing around a machine that processes the rice – is it ever thus?
He had nice shots of people from one of the tribes who live at the higher altitudes with their yaks which they had brought down to lower grassed places to graze. Theirs is a barter economy and the yak will provide meat, milk and wool. The men play an outdoor darts game, Khuru, which is a bit of a mix between darts and javelin throwing. The darts are hefty and the dart board is about 20-30 meters away and on the ground. You can see here. Warning: do not do this at home…
Eventually he reached the end of his journey at the Ura valley which was celebrating an annual festival. There were great shots capturing the folklore dances, the re-enactment of legends, battles between good and evil, and lots of children running around.
Dave has produced a very impressive photobook about his trip to Bhutan which you can see here.
Show and Tell
We had a feast of impressive images from Tim S, Phil W, Phil J, Pete W, Mark T and John Boteler.
- Next meeting Tuesday 15 September: Digital Projected Image Competition
Our judge will be Micki Aston
- Upcoming meetings
22 Sept: Finding the Frame: Developing a Photographic Style with Fliss van Steenbergen
We’re delighted to welcome Oxford-based photographer and former OPS member, Fliss van Steenbergen for an evening exploring how a photographic style develops — and how we learn to see and make images with greater intention.
29 September: Take 5 Competition
6 October: Exploring the Ethics of Photography
Mick Yates
‘Exploring the Ethics of Photography’ will examine how photography has always shaped truth, memory, and power – asking not just how we create and see images, but how images shape the way we see the world. The talk blends philosophy, technology, and decades of photographic practice. Trigger warning – some images are challenging.
- Photographic events in and around Oxford
FOTO WALK OXFORD: Oxford’s leading photo walk for photographers of all skill levels…
1:30pm Saturday 19th September
Meet at Oxford Railway Station.
Organised by Imagex Studio, Bicester, OX26 6FA
https://www.ticketsource.com/imagex/t-jxreeg
Colonial Views of India: Photographs by Eugene Clutterbuck Impey
This free photographic exhibition in G29 offers a rare glimpse of late 19th century India
Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH
Jacques Henri Lartigue: Life in Colour
20 June – 4 October 2026
This is the first UK public exhibition of Lartigue’s work for over 10 years. It focuses on an exceptional and little-known aspect of his work: until recently, the majority of his colour photographs had never been seen. The exhibition features more than 150 items including early stereoscopic images producing three-dimensional effects, vintage prints, unique works on paper, archival documents, lightboxes and projections. It also showcases Lartigue’s career from drawings made as a child in the 1900s to the fashion world of the 1960s and late abstractions of the 1980s.
MK Gallery
900 Midsummer Blvd
Milton Keynes, MK9 3QA
- Photographic events further afield
Portrait of a City: A Century of American Photography
Dulwich Picture Gallery
28 July – 4 October 2026
Dulwich Picture Gallery, College Road, London SE21 7AD
Tickets: £16
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am—5pm
See full list of exhibitions here: https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/articles/best-photography-exhibitions-to-see/
- General photographic interest
Top 20 New Features in 20 Mins: Photoshop & Camera Raw
In this fast-paced 20-minute guide, we’ll walk through practical tools that will instantly elevate your workflow, from checking precise focus using Autofocus Points and exploring the new AI Assisted Editor to adding real optical atmosphere with the new Glow effects like Bloom, Diffusion, and Halation. You’ll learn how to harness the non-destructive Light Adjustment Layer, dial in skin tones effortlessly using the Vectorscope, apply Color Grading inside individual masks, auto-fit text with Dynamic Fit, and perform Generative Expand directly on RAW files while keeping your metadata and white balance intact. Whether you want to clean up blemishes, simplify your save menus, or turn off generative AI features completely for specific client projects, this breakdown gives you a complete, honest tour of what’s changing so you can spend less time searching menus and more time creating. I hope this video helps you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXumkzBQg80
Send us your best portraits and photos of people for a chance to win from our huge prize pot worth $32,000/£24,000!
Have you got some great photos of people to share? Non-professional photographers around the world are invited to enter the International Amateur Photographer of the Year award (APOY). Amateur Photographer Magazine champions the best in image-making with this annual competition, which takes place over ten themed rounds and offers the chance to win some fantastic prizes throughout the year. The competition is now open, with the sixth category, PEOPLE & PORTRAITS, is open for entries until 12th October 2026.
Through the looking glass: female stereotypes examined – in pictures
Taking the women of the 1950s as her role models, Jo Ann Chaus shoots compelling self-portraits that exhibit both strength and vulnerability
We Are Family: photography from Images Vevey 2026 – picture essay
We visited the idyllic Swiss lakeside town of Vevey for its 10th Biennale of photography. Global head of photography Fiona Shields picks out some of her favourite projects on display
Visa pour l’image: Perpignan festival of photojournalism 2026 – in pictures
A selection of the powerful photojournalism being shown at this year’s Visa pour l’image exhibition in France