OPS Weekly Newsletter 4 May 2025
- Next week’s meeting is not at the Band Hall. Meet at Carfax at 18.30 and we will walk down to Merton Street for 19.00 or go straight to corner of Merton Street near the Eastgate Hotel or What3Words location is ///asleep.usual.honest
- Our final print competition is in two weeks (13 May) so please select and print your entries: two colour, two monochrome.
- Ten Best of the Year: Please start selecting your Ten Best of the Year (2024-25 season) that we will show on 20 May.
- Last week’s meeting Tues 29 April: Jonathan Vaines – Little Print Show
Jonathan had over 50 prints – highly original and totally different to what we see at camera clubs – on display. The vast majority were processed in-camera at the point of taking rather than in Photoshop or Lightroom. Hence his advice to ‘think inside the box’.
He takes photos of anything that catches his eye and usually very local to his home. He will focus on a particular detail of the subject he is photographing and take 25 similar shots of the detail, moving his camera slightly and/or turning it 90 degrees.
He will do this in what would be considered as ‘poor light’. Many times he will shoot before sunrise.
His photo shoot will be a ‘project’ and he will always have a ‘Plan B’ in case things don’t work out. His back up plan could be using an infra-red camera
He then ‘blends’ double or triple or more images together in-camera using one of his camera’s four blend modes. The results are astonishing. He prefers his prints to have the images be in ‘panels’ rather than singular.
Jonathan had visited the Henry Moore Institute in Hertfordshire and took photos of one on Moore’s outdoor sculptures in his typical style – 25 images, blended etc. They came out vivid red and completely abstract. He had four long and thin images which the local church was keen to have on their walls opposite a window so at some time in the day the sunlight would shine on them. They had them printed on acetate and called the panels: Faith Hope Love Peace.
He showed us his images of Salford Quays. He had gone with the idea of reflections but the water was very choppy so he did a lot of shots of the buildings and the result was not Manchester city but more like Gotham City.
There was a series of image of rowing boats. These were boats leaned up against a wall and he shot close up and from a far using his technique that takes about 90 minutes to get all his images. This was what he called his Ying and Yang project where there were two boats together, one facing up the other facing down.
Many of his prints are in pastel colours, such as his series of the Mar Menor, a lagoon in Spain, where he shot before sunrise shooting at high iso.
His prints were astonishing in their creativity and their beauty. You can see many of them on his website here.
It was a thoroughly inspiring talk with mind blowing images.
- Next meeting 19.00, Tues 6 May: Brian Worsley – outdoor portraits
Meeting point is the corner of Merton Street in Oxford, What3Words location is ///asleep.usual.honest
Buses usually stop on the High Street by Queens College, or you can go to Carfax and then walk back down the High Street turning right in to King Edward Street then follow this route to Orlel Square and then along Merton Street.
Parking in Westgate shopping centre is also a possibility and there’s a single charge for evening parking of £6.20 per car between 5pm and 6am.
Model for the evening is Mati – https://www.instagram.com/matild_mati_model/
- Upcoming meetings
13 May: Print Competition No. 3
Maximum of two colour and two monochrome. Our judge will be Kathy Chandler
20 May: Ten Best of the Year
Slide show of all our ten best of the year. Each member upload their ten best of the season and together with everyone else’s are shown in a slide show
27 May: Annual General Meeting
- Events photographic in and around Oxford
Artweeks Oxfordshire
Lots of photographic exhibitions. See here: https://www.artweeks.org/festival/search?keys=&field_medium_value=photography&field_region_2025_value=All&field_dates_2025_value_1=All
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
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.
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
- General photographic interest
‘A form of meditation’: a photographic haiku to Japan – in pictures
A poetic new exhibition of dreamlike black and white images captures the country’s contemplative beauty, from lonely Torii gates to sprawling temple trees
‘Love letters to the women of Lebanon’ – in pictures
After years of civil war and precarious peace, Covid-19 and the Beirut explosions of 2020 once again plunged Lebanon into crisis. But photographer Rania Matar has found inspiration for her project Where Do I Go? in the country’s women. ‘Instead of focusing on destruction, I chose to focus on their majestic presence, their creativity, strength, dignity, and resilience,’ she says
Sing for your snapper: a life-affirming view of New York – in pictures
Known as the ‘singing photographer’, Arlene Gottfried traversed her home city with a camera, capturing vibrant communities that no longer exist
Raise your street photo skills at the Festival of Outdoor Photography
Every week we are taking a more in-depth look at some of the headline speakers at our forthcoming Festival of Outdoor Photography, who reveal why their talks are a must-see for anyone passionate about landscape, wildlife, travel and street photography.
Showcase your skills: 8 photography contests to enter in May
The month of May brings new opportunities to get your work seen by a large, international audience. While they sometimes get flak, photography competitions, when judged fairly and conducted with integrity, offer exposure to industry decision-makers, an opportunity to get your work published or exhibited and recognition that can elevate your career.