OPS Weekly Newsletter 11 January 2026
• Our winter exhibition is now ready to be viewed, and admired, at the Westgate Library. Please do visit and encourage others to visit and enjoy the range of images on show.
• The CACC committee has moved the Championship Day forward to Sunday 15 February to give a longer time between it and Rosebowl Day which remains in April. As a result, you have much less time to organise and make your entries to Championship Day. Everything needs to be planned and entered during January as the closing date is Sunday 1 February. Entries are open for:
o Chilterns Hundred. Individual entry collated by Club. Clubs must not impose any selection on the member’s choice.
o Championship – Prints. Club entry
o Championship – Projected. Club entry
Please contact Pete or Phil Warrington if you wish to enter the competition. See here for full details https://thecacc.org.uk/events/championship-day/
1. Last meeting held on Tues 6 January: The Eccentrics with Danny Jackson aka @Barksey
Danny started his talk with a number of his favourite street photographs and talked about why he took them and why he liked them. He said that Brick Lane in London was a mecca for budding street photographers. He had numerous photos – a poster and a girl hairdresser which he liked due to it being a ‘what the f*@k!’ photo. He had another shot which he called ‘Live life to the fullest – you don’t know what’s around the corner’ and a stunner of a shot of his daughter pushing her skateboard on a sea wall, which looked as though she had the distant container ship on the stakeboard. Having humour in his images worked very well.
During Covid-19 he began to expand his street photography into more of a ‘project’ approach and came up with the idea of seeking out and photographing ‘eccentrics’. He had met most of them on what is called ‘Colour Walk’ which occurs every third Thursday of the month. His subjects aged from 18-84 years old. He decided that for this project he would photograph his subjects in their homes.
He had large prints of some of his subjects: Chris a ‘white witch’ banging an ancient gong, Mark and Emma who are obsessed with antiques, Sue, a New Yorker in Bow, who lives and breathes her art, Derek and Kathleen – a British version of an American Gothic, and many more.
His photograph of Florent, who organises the monthly ‘Colour Walk’, was a winner in the 2021 British Journal of Photography Portrait of Britain.
He had an exhibition of his Eccentric photographs in Brick Lane and also produced a photographic ‘zine’. Being about eccentrics meant that he had to find away that the ‘zine’ would be somewhat different. He came up with the idea of using playing cards as a theme which you can see here.
From photos of people who dress up to photos of people who don’t dress and attended the London Naked Bike Ride – a prior warning was given.
Danny has also been photographing the Hasidic orthodox Jewish community for 6 years. He says that: “as someone that’s not Jewish to get this access to this very religious community I am very lucky. This community is isolated, in a way we are looking at a community from the past, they don’t use smart phones, don’t have TVs, internet access is limited. The children play on the streets. Religious study is just a part of life. We can learn a lot from how they live.”
He had some excellent shots of the children whose mothers make elaborate and creative costumes for the Purim festival. He also got access to a Bar-Mitzvah event – a coming-of-age event for boys. He had greats shots of the ceremony and a knock shot of the coming-of-age boy standing stiffly with his father in very formal dress in front of a curtain while a young girl pokes her head round the curtain looking to see what is happening.
He managed to secure a bursary from the Martin Parr Foundation for his Hasidic orthodox Jewish community project, which he will continue with.
Danny is not someone who stands still and he is beginning a project photographing twins. He will explore the lives of 50 twins in a period of two years.
A fascinating evening with an array of superb portraits and moments in time.
2. Next meeting Tues 13 January: Hidden Romania and images of Croatia and Macedonia + Members Show & Tell
Tonight we welcome one of our own. Willie is a regular member of the Oxford Photographic Society with a lifelong interest in photography – he will be presenting images from his March 2025 tour of Romania, focusing on old and decaying buildings. This presentation marks a shift in subject matter for Willie, who until recently concentrated mainly on wildlife photography. If time permits, he will also share a few images from a more recent tour of Croatia and Montenegro.
The second half will be a ‘show and tell’ for members.
3. Upcoming meetings/events
• 20 Jan 26: The Night Climbers of Oxford with Austin Bradley
• 27 Jan 26: Member Showcase – Double Feature with Pete Warrington & Habip Kocak
• 3 Feb 26: Breathless in Nepal – Julian Elliott, an award-winning landscape and travel photographer, writer and modern-day nomad
• 10 Feb 26: Print Competition No. 2 – our judge is Peter Cox
You can see the programme up to the end of the year and beyond here and download it:
https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/programme-download/
4. Photographic events in and around Oxford
Jon Dunn – Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum, Winter Lecture Series
Natural history writer and photographer Jon Dunn addresses the OBGA Winter Lecture Series.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
7.00-8.30 Thursday 19 February
https://www.obga.ox.ac.uk/event/jon–dunn-winter-lecture-series
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, May 27 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm GMT+1
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.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dylan-brennan-the-big-shot-with-greg-brennan-tickets-1978776793657?aff=oddtdtcreator
5. General photographic interest
Women behind the lens: six of our most striking images from 2025
A few of our favourite photographs taken by women from the global south and capturing moments of everyday life and art
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2026/jan/07/women-behind-lens-six-of-our-most-striking-images-from-2025
‘A front row seat to witness history’: Ed Kashi’s astonishing global images – in pictures
From a thriving miniature city inside a Cairo cemetery to a goat sacrifice in Nigeria, the photojournalist’s eye-opening images are celebrated in a new book
Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/jan/06/ed-kashi-astonishing-global-images-in-pictures
Best of 2025: Thirty-Five Striking Black and White Photos That Won Top Photography Awards
In a world flooded with color, black and white photography still hits different. In best of 2025, photographers from every corner of the globe proved that stripping an image down to light, shadow, and emotion can be more powerful than any saturated palette. These 35 award-winning black and white photos didn’t just win trophies—they stopped time, pulled at heartstrings, and told stories that words couldn’t touch.
https://121clicks.com/inspirations/best-of-2025-black-and-white-photos-awards/
Twenty-Five Exceptional Wildlife Photos from the 2025 Chromatic Awards That Turn Nature into Art
Wildlife photography usually shows us what nature looks like. The 2025 Chromatic Awards take it a step further—they show us how nature feels. In this year’s Amateur Wildlife category, the winning images go way beyond documentation. They blur the line between observation and art, turning raw encounters into visual poetry. These 25 exceptional photos prove that wildlife photography isn’t just about being in the right place—it’s about seeing with intention.
https://121clicks.com/inspirations/2025-chromatic-awards-amateur-wildlife-winners/