OPS Weekly Newsletter 2 November 2025
- Please bring your camera and tripod for our next meeting on Tuesday 4 November for some ‘painting with light’
- Last week’s meeting Tues 28 October: On These Magic Shores – Tamsyn Warde
Tamsyn started her talk saying that it was something of a journey, and a very personal journey.
As an A-level student she visited the Haywood Gallery in London to see an exhibition which featured the work of Chris Killip’s In Flagrante. She was blown away by it and began taking black and white photos with her Olympus camera. She also used the family bathroom as a darkroom.
Then at the age of 18 her mother died suddenly. The shock of this stopped her from taking photographs and she did not know what to do with her life. She went onto study at university and became a mental health nurse. Then things came to ahead in her life while she was in her forties. She was diagnosed with cancer, but she recovered from this, and she also recovered from alcoholism.
Tamsyn realised she needed to do something with her life and so she picked her camera. She began snapping people in the street, observing local scenes, everyday life, the light, the shapes, the compositions, just following her eye as the light constantly changed. The Ivy café became a good haunt to observe people.
She eventually plucked up courage to ask people if she could take their portrait, and many were more than delighted to let her. Tamsyn showed several excellent portraits. She grew in confidence she spent more time composing the portrait and directing her subject, catching them off guard usually made for a better and ‘natural’ portrait.
Then she went on to do a two-year master’s degree in photography. She said that such a degree helps you define your photography and teaches you a lot about collaboration.
Her first project was photographing a local centre that helps homeless people. The idea was not to portray the people in a stereotypical way. She hung out at the centre taking photos of people and what was happening, and eventually she became invisible and part of the fabric of the centre.
One of the users of the centre, Adam, a drug addict, asked if Tamsyn could connect him, photographically, to his late father – quite a challenge. Adam had a photo of his father when he was much younger. Tamsyn had this enlarged and took a portrait of Adam looking down at photo of his father. It was very well executed and showed Adam looking down at his father’s image in a pose that captured a sense of loss. Sadly, Adam died of a drug overdose.
The centre wanted an photo exhibition and Tamsyn took portraits of the centre’s clients in front of a wall outside the centre. The portraits were superb, showing the client’s as joyous people enjoying posing for the camera, a far cry from the typical homeless shots.
Her current project is documenting children at play, children’s play, not play organised by adults. This project started during Covid when the children next door were restricted to where they could go. She photographed the next door’s children from over the fence. She then extended the project to include local children. This was fairly easy to do as Tamsyn knew the parents.
This would not the case further afield as the project grew. Tamsyn would talk to children at play and give the children a leaflet explaining the project etc to give to their parents so that the parents could give consent.
Tamsyn has enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check which helps allay parents’ fears. However obtaining consent prior to photographing children can make the shoot less spontaneous and ‘natural’. Tamsyn said that she will do several shoots to enable a more spontaneous capture of children’s play.
She has also begun a project called Itchen Tales which came out of her frustration with the consent challenge. It is centred on Southampton and how its marine inheritance has shaped. She loves the old buildings and she is incorporating landscape to support her portraiture work.
A fascinating, and very honest and personal presentation, which was illustrated by an array of stand out images.
- Next meeting 19.30, Tues 4 November: WORKSHOP – Painting with Light with Kieran Hunt
We’re pleased to welcome Kieran Hunt, an accomplished photographer and educator, to lead this practical evening workshop. Kieran holds a First-Class BA in Photography (Editorial and Advertising) and a Distinction at Master’s level in Visual Communication. His work spans editorial, commercial and fine art photography; he’s been shortlisted for the Nikon Discovery Awards and exhibited his work across the UK.
Kieran’s approach blends technical skill with creative exploration—making him a fantastic guide for this hands-on session on painting with light.
Held the evening before Bonfire Night, this workshop is a great chance to experiment with long exposures, handheld lights, and movement to create dynamic, eye-catching images. Whether you’re a beginner or more experienced, you’ll leave with practical techniques and ideas to use during firework season and beyond.
You’ll learn:
How to shoot effective long-exposure images
Techniques for using torches, LEDs, and other light sources
How to balance ambient and artificial light
Creative ways to bring energy and originality to your night photography
Don’t forget to bring your camera and tripod, if you have one.
- Upcoming meetings/events in November
- 6 Nov at 17.00: Shuttles, Steam and Soot – Daniel Meadows at the Westgate Library. £5.00 https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/opsevent/special-shuttles-steam-and-soot-at-oxford-library-2/
- 9 Nov: MEET UP – Remembrance Day in Oxford
- 11 Nov: After MAX: The Hidden Gems in Adobe’s Latest Release with Glyn Dewis
https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/opsevent/after-max-the-hidden-gems-in-adobes-latest-release/
- 18 Nov: Wildlife from -15°C to +40°C + SHOW & TELL Painting with Light with Dave McKay https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/opsevent/wildlife-from-15c-to-40c/
- 25 Nov: Canon Partner Event + Take a Moment with Eddie Keogh https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/opsevent/canon-partner-event/
You can see the programme up to the end of the year here and download it: https://oxfordphotosociety.co.uk/programme-download/
- Photographic events in and around Oxford
Uwe has excelled himself and had three exhibitions during 2025 Photo Oxford. They are:
- Online solo exhibition:
part of the 2025 Photo Oxford Festival of Photography:
https://photooxford.org/exhibitions/photo-oxford-online-exhibitions
- SACRED SPACES
Opening: Sunday 26 Oct 2.30 – 4.30pm
Thursdays – Sundays 12-4pm
337 Banbury Road OX2 7PL
The focus is on the personal, how our emotions and experience give particular significance to certain places – different for everyone yet a universal process. The “specialness” of particular places has long been widely known; in our own lives, our own “special” is something we can share through photographs.
This show looks at our “special” places that embody important moments, feelings, memories, an idea that was important to Paddy Summerfield, whose house is the venue for this exhibition. Nine Oxford photographers are showing their work here, a place where they met many times, to share work and to discuss photography.
Uwe Ackermann; Wendy Aldiss; Paul Freeston; Rob Judges; Paul Medley; Caroline Seymour; Martin Stott; David Stumpp; Angus Taverner
12-4pm Thursdays- Sundays 30th Oct – 15th November
- EYES LEFT! — WALKING THE BOTLEY TUNNEL OF INCONVENIENCE
The images shown here are from a series showing eye contact avoidance techniques adopted by commuters passing through the Botley Tunnel of Inconvenience and ask the question, Why are we so loath to acknowledge the presence of another?
This exhibition is located in the Botley Library, https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-libraries/find-library/botley-library
Open from 9:30 AM Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri and Sat. Closed Wed and Sun
Bikes, Boats and Bridges; photographs by Wendy Stone at the Paper Boat Café
This series of darkroom photographs was created for the Paper Boat Café, on Folly Bridge in Oxford. The images celebrate nearby places as well as other boats, bridges and crossings that carry us over and along the River Thames.
The Thames is as important to Oxford as the iconic stone facades, walls and arches that attract visitors. The river predates our many generations of history. It shapes the city and, despite our best efforts, occasionally reasserts its ancient course.
The Paper Boat Café is located at a key point in the city’s history. It was the toll-house when Folly Bridge was built, replacing the wide shallow fording point and wooden bridges that carried people, goods and animals across the Thames until 1827.
The photographs will be on display until 11 November.
https://stoneandco.bigcartel.com/
Photo Oxford
Photo Oxford is open and we are delighted to announce the full programme for the Opening Day, 25 October.
See details below:
https://mailchi.mp/photooxford/zsu8u7h122-12867158?e=591e9fec01
- General photographic interest
‘It’s been a cesspit, really, my life’: war photographer Don McCullin on 19 of his greatest pictures
At 90, McCullin has spent seven decades recording conflict and tragedy – while escaping snipers, mortar fire and capture. He reflects on pain, pride and regret
‘Was I fully grasping these events?’ Everyday life for Afghans – in pictures
Between 2019 and 2023, as the Taliban returned to power, Lorenzo Tugnoli took photos of families and fighters in Afghanistan, hoping to show a side to the country not seen in the news
In recent exposures: picks from PhotoMonth festival – in pictures
PhotoMonth collaborates with major London institutions and independent venues to display a variety of modern analogue and digital photography
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2025/oct/27/photomonth-festival-in-pictures
Our third Festival of Photography is coming – save money with early bird ticket discounts
Following the success of Amateur Photographer’s Festivals of Photography on outdoor and documentary photography, we are pleased to announce that the next festival will take place at the University of Greenwich in London on January 31st.
The allure of historic photo processes: finding connection through analog portraits
While many choose to focus on the fast-moving world of modern photography, Markus Hofstätter, an award-winning photographer, builds his art on patience, tradition and tangible connection. Using large-format analog cameras and labor-intensive wet plate processes, he creates portraits that are as much about human interaction as they are about photographic technique. I had the opportunity to (virtually) sit down with Hofstätter, learning more about his background, technique and mindset.
