OPS Weekly Newsletter 12 April 2025
Please do start selecting and printing your entries to our annual exhibition. Contact Dave Belcher if you have any questions about your entries and the exhibition.
- Last week’s meeting Tues 8 April: Projected Digital Image No. 3
Our judge was Peter Cox and the results were
| First Place | White Tailed Eagle in Snowstorm | Dave McKay |
| Second Place | Dulce et Decorum est Pro Partia Mori | Ian Bray |
| Third Place | Lynx Hunting | Alan Lewis |
| H. Commended | Come Back Here | Les Gordon |
| H. Commended | Cheetah in Early Morning Light | Dave Belcher |
| H. Commended | Petulant Young Elephant | Keith Worthington |
| Commended | Lynx 3 | Alan Lewis |
| Commended | Hornbill and the Rising Sun | Dave Atkinson |
| Commended | Shortie | Dave Atkinson |
| Commended | Mating Crown Cranes 3 | Keith Worthington |
Congratulations to all who took part.
- Next meeting Tues 15 April 19.30: A Passage To India with Sandra Devaney and Linda Wride
Sandra and Linda will delight us with their images of a recent visit to India.
- Upcoming meetings in April
22 April: Unnatural Histories followed by members’ project reviews
Paul Kilsby, PhD RCA
Paul Kilsby is Senior Lecturer in Fine Art Theory, Oxford Brookes University. He will be showing his series of twelve images called Unnatural Histories which he exhibited recently as part of the Oxford Science+Ideas festival. This sequence of images explores the ways in which nature is represented in popular television series such as Blue Planet II and seeks to ask searching questions about authenticity and the ways we perceive the natural world. There will be time to discuss and share your thoughts as well as reflect on how the issues that arise relate to your photography.
In the second half of the evening Paul will lead three project review sessions of members’ work, offering insights and possible suggestions to consider in relation to bringing projects to successful conclusions. Sandra D, Pete W, Rob F will be showing their project ideas, and Adrian C and Willie are in reserve positions in case any of the others drop out.
29 April: The Little Print Show with Jonathan Vaines
This talk comes with artistic approach to photography, stepping out of the club mainstream. Along with individual images we see motivational benefits of working with Projects, Sets and Groups of images. Most of Jonathan’s images are created using “in camera” techniques and the focus of the evening is about “Thinking Inside The Box”. The talk is primarily a print talk but presented via PowerPoint with 60 prints to display in the evening.
- Events photographic in and around Oxford
Microsculpture Exhibition: The insect photography of Levon Biss
The stunning high magnification insect portraits by British photographer Levon Biss were first shown in the Microsculpture exhibition in this Museum in 2016. Since then, the show has toured to 44 cities in 22 countries around the world.
Free – no booking required
Oxford University Museum of Natural History,
Parks Road,
Oxford, OX1 3PW
3 April 2025 – 4 January 2026
https://www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/microsculpture?page-5255386=1
Travel Photographer of The Year Exhibition
Banbury Museum and Gallery
Spiceball Park Road
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 2PQ
29th March 2025 – 6th July 2025
Price: Adult: £5.00
Child: £2.50 (Ages 5-18. Under 5’s are free)
Concession: £3.00 (Over 65’s, students, Mill Member and unwaged)
Art Fund Member: £2.50
Photo Oxford Workshops
Join us for an exciting series of alternative photography workshops in March and April to explore the art of cyanotypes, anthotypes, phytograms, botanicograms, chemigrams, caffenol film development, pinhole cameras, photography as performance, and psychogeography.
https://www.photooxford.org/workshops
Bettina von Zwehl: The Flood
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.
18 Oct 2024 – 11 May 2025
https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/ashmolean-now-bettina-von-zwehl
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Ultimate Picture Palace
Jeune Street
Cowley Road
Oxford
OX4 1BN
Directed by Raoul Peck | USA | 2024 | 1h 46m
South African photographer Ernest Cole was the first to reveal the brutal realities of apartheid to the world. His groundbreaking book, House of Bondage, published in 1967 when he was just 27, forced him into exile in New York and Europe for the rest of his life. From director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), this powerful documentary serves as a poignant homecoming, reclaiming Cole’s legacy and shedding light on a vital chapter in the ongoing fight for justice and human rights.
7.45pm Sunday 13 April
6.00pm Thursday 17 April
https://uppcinema.com/show/ernest-cole-lost-and-found/
- General photographic interest
Royal Photographic Society’s Workshops
List of RPS workshops being run in April and May
Fifty-two Assignments: The night photography book you need from Josh Dury
While it’s always good to celebrate well-established photographers who’ve already made a big name for themselves, there is something particularly rewarding about recognising and helping disseminate the work of younger, up-and-coming creatives. Josh Dury, aka The Starman, is a fine example, as he is fast establishing himself as one of the UK’s hottest young astrophotographers.
https://amateurphotographer.com/technique/52-assignments-the-night-photography-book-you-need/
Martin Parr catches the cherry blossom season in Kyoto – in pictures
Martin Parr has been photographing tourists and the cherry blossom in Kyoto this week, before exhibiting his work Small World at Kyotographie, an international photography festival held over four weeks each year
‘Too original for just one medium’: Agnès Varda’s Paris photographs go on show
The esteemed film director began as a photographer, capturing the postwar freedom of Paris – where a new exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet now presents her as a vital part of the city’s creative history
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/11/agnes-vardas-paris-photographs
Vroom with a view: images from behind the wheel – in pictures
Clark Winter’s car photographs, taken during his travels around the globe, revel in nostalgia and reveal our strangely intimate relationships with our vehicles
How personal work became the foundation of this photographer’s success
This film Friday, we’re sharing a video profile of Australian photographer Trent Mitchell. Mitchell has been a photographer for more than 20 years, working in both digital and film. He won the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize in 2015, has been featured in the International Photography Awards, Sony World Photography Awards and more, and his work has been acquired by the National Library of Australia.
