Last meeting held on Tues 31 March: The Cameraman’s Cut with Colin Clarke ARPS Colin has spent decades working in the documentary ‘moving image’ industry and has worked on approximately 180 documentaries during his career. His book came about during Covid when he was doing a zoom presentation to a RPs event. He was asked if he would ever be writing a book about his experience, his immediate and emphatic answer was NO! He ended up writing his work story in The Cameraman’s Cut. It all started in 1966 when he was 17 years old and he got a job at a ‘go-for’ working in London’s West End studios. He had an eye for photography and showed a stunning photo he took of his friend playing guitar next to a mirror. It was shot in black and white on Kodak Tri-X.

Last meeting held on Tues 24 March: Phil Joyce: Themes and Projects, Dave MacKay Three Weeks in Vietnam and a members’ show and tell     Phil started his talk with his entertaining and poignant images of Elvis who has found a new place to dwell, and it is in Porthcawl. Tens of thousands go to the Elvis festival to dress up as the king of rock and roll and generally have a good time. Phil showed great photos and peppered them with very humorous commentary fitting to the nature and enthusiasm of the event. It was one big soundtrack of Elvis clothes, regalia, look-a-likes and look-nothing-likes and a guy in the Fish Shop who swears his Elvis. Wonderfully eclectic and thoroughly British.

Last meeting held on Tues 17 March: Best Use of Light competition The results were: First: Steve Field – Sun and Snow Scorched Second: Keith Worthington – Cheetahs at Dawn Third: Steve Field – Brightwell Barrow Highly Commended Mathew Lodge – Starlight Sunlight Lamplight Maurici Brunet – Dancing Under Fire Pete Warrington – Backwater Swan Commended Alan Lewis – Flamingo Ian Bray – Night Vision Jill Bain – Light on the Trees Sandra Newton – Mycena covered in Pin Mould

Last meeting held on Tues 10 March: The Perimeter with Quintin Lake documenting an 11,000km walk around the coast of Britain    Quintin started his talk with a little bit of his photographic history and a few images. One astounding one was of four mountains in Greenland lit by the midnight sun which was part of his winning entry of ‘Portfolio – Amazing Places’ category of the Travel Photographer of the Year 2010 – see here. He was though here to talk about his remarkable story – with remarkable image – of photographing an 11,000km walk around the coast of Britain, undertaken in sections from April 2015 to September 2020. The distance he walk was the same as a flight from London to Manila the capital of the Philippines which is the equivalent a quarter of the globe.

Last meeting held on Tues 3 March: Panel Competition – Projected Digital Image and Prints       Projected images First Fork Pete Warrington Second Westgate Moment Mathew Lodge Third Nash Point Phil Warrington Fourth Pattern Growth Mathew Lodge Prints First (joint) Demolition site Didcot Pete Warrington First (joint) Flowers that Grow in the Dark Ian Bray Third Fish trap Manufacture Dave MacKay Fourth Gloomy day at Birling Gap Pete Warrington Congratulations to all who took part and many thanks to Phil J for his insightful and entertaining assessments of the panels. Phil also generously offered to help those who want to build their panels into an application towards a Royal Photographic Society distinction.

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

Last meeting held on Tues 17 February: Rose Bowl Competition      The result was: 1st: 267 score – Oxford PS 2nd: 254 score – St Albans CC 3rd: 253 score – Ealing and Hampshire House

Last meeting held on Tues 10 February: Print Competition No. 2     Our judge, Peter Cox, explained what he would basing his assessments on: Impression Composition Technical Print quality, mount, use of paper After making his short list he said his final assessment would be based on the images the ‘glow’ out to him.

Last meeting held on Tues 3 February: Breathless in Nepal – Julian Elliott, an award-winning landscape and travel photographer, writer and modern-day nomad       Julian showed an excellent set of images of the remote region of Upper Mustang in Nepal which borders on China. It is one of the last truly remote and culturally preserved corners of the Himalayas and a place that few travellers, and fewer photographers, ever see. There is one road in and one road out and tourists need to buy a permit to visit. The culture is rooted in Tibetan Buddhism, but is some parts there are traces of the Bon religion, an even older spiritual practice that predates Buddhism in Tibet. The coexistence of these two belief systems is reflected in the monasteries, rituals, and festivals of the region. Ancient sky caves carved into sheer cliffs hold secrets of both religious traditions, some adorned with centuries-old murals that tell stories of deities, spirits, and cosmic order.

Last meeting held on Tues 27 January: Member Showcase – Double Feature with Pete Warrington and Habip Koçak    My Year in Pictures by Pete Warrington: Pete began his presentation with a series of ‘street’ photographs taken during a visit to Bharat’s exhibition at the Westgate shopping centre. A walk around a small area of Oxford close to the Westgate was done as a challenge to get a good collection of street shots. Pete showed several series of shots and talked through his way of operating and his thought process as he looked for something happening to capture that elusive ‘decisive moment’: a woman very animated in Bonn Square as she spoke on her mobile phone, another woman contorted at the entrance of Westgate trying to sort out something in her shopping bag, catching shoppers as they walked through pools of light.