OPS Weekly Newsletter 6 April 2025
- Last week’s meeting Tues 1 April: The Soul of the Creator – Paul Sanders
Paul began his talk sharing a quote from the art critic John Berger’s seminal work ‘Ways of Seeing’: “Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.” Paul added that photography is the only language that needs no translation.
He then did a short history of how he got into photography. At 18 years old he got his dream job, being a fashion photographer in Spain. On return he worked in more mundane surroundings at the Daventry Express, then he moved onto regional agency work before working at the Manchester Evening News. It was there that he took a photograph of an IRA bomb blast in Manchester in 1996. He thought it would win him Press Photographer of the Year and he had already in his head written his acceptance speech. He wasn’t dominated for the award. His colleague, back at the newspaper office, though took photos of people running through the street in sheer terror of what had happened. This colleague won an award.
Paul always remembers the photo he took on the bomb blast to remind him that he allowed his ego to take over what he was doing.
He moved on to become Picture Editor of The Times, dealing with 17-20,000 photos a day, sifting out any gems. It was a high-pressure job and took over his life until in 2011 he left a broken man.
Paul then shared a quote from Ansel Adams: “A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety” and followed this by showing a word in Japanese script – which, unlike a photograph, did need some translating. The word, katachi, means: ‘the direct connection between the beauty in the creator’s soul and the object of their craft’. And it is this sentiment/approach that guides his photography today.
Paul said that the more he connected with his subject the more he learnt about himself. He showed us a series of his black and white flower photographs which were starkly beautiful in their simplicity. The way he photographed them gave them a sense of a personality, a sense of being.
He said the problem for many photographers is that ‘the kit’ gets in the way. When we focus on ‘the kit’ we lose our focus on our subject.
He added that even when we start to focus on the ‘subject’ we just use our eyes – which would seem fairly obvious – but this is using only 20 per cent of our senses and limits our ability to connect with our subject. He is keen that we use all our senses. He showed a photograph of a drop of water hanging on the end of a long drooping leaf. He said he would never have noticed it if he had not stopped and listened to the sound of the rainwater dripping. He was also keen that as photographers, where possible, we pick up, touch and feel our subject – caution here: he was talking about inanimate objects not people or large predators!
Paul described how he approaches his subject. He sits down and closes his eyes and after a while will write down what he felt, he is not interested in the image but in the experience. He has a journal with notes of the experience of the moment, many moments. He calls it ‘visual poetry’. He finds peace in his photography, away from the noise, and communing with the grace and simplicity of the world around him. He has left behind the need to please others.
He added that ‘photography is the art of seeing’ and we need to practice our seeing. He photographs ‘stuff’ everyday, ‘stuff’ that catches his eye. It helps him practice seeing. He plays games with himself. He asks himself ‘how do you feel?’ and he gives that feeling a colour, then goes out to photograph everything of that colour.
His tip was to give yourself time to pay attention to your subject, the intimate details, shoot around your subject, turn off the noise and clutter, see it for the first time without preconceiving, don’t be afraid of ‘negative space’, and don’t let your ego get in the way of your creativity.
All this was accompanied by a reel of his superb calming photography, predominately black and white, square framing, and with no people present. Harold Evans, the great editor of his former employer The Times, famously summed up the news with this pithy quote: “News is people”- that is probably why there are no people in Paul’s images, he has purged his photography of any semblance of his newspaper days.
A fascinating and inspiring evening.
- Next meeting Tues 8 April 19.30: Digital Projected Image Competition No. 3 – Judged by Peter Cox
- Upcoming meetings in April
15 April: A Passage To India with Sandra Devaney and Linda Wride
Sandra and Linda will show images of their recent visits to India.
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.
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.
- Programme Secretary vacancy update
Delighted to announce that Sandra D has generously come forward to be Programme Secretary.
- Events photographic in and around Oxford
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
This photo contest highlights…concrete? The results are actually stunning
GCCA Concrete in Life 2024/25 photography competition winners
Photo contests typically have some sort of central theme or guiding topic, but that isn’t often centered around a building material. The Concrete in Life contest, however, does just that. Run by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), the contest aims to highlight concrete’s beauty and essentiality worldwide. The winners of the sixth annual running of the contest have been announced, having been selected from more than 20,000 entries.
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/8689714578/2024-2025-concrete-in-life-contest-winners
Now you see it: Eric Kogan’s everyday urban illusions – in pictures
New York-based photographer Eric Kogan uses shadows, reflections and fortuitous timing in order to create optical illusions in his work. “It’s more of a life’s journey than a project,” he says, “but if I had to describe it, it’s all about spotting unusual moments in everyday places.” In his daily walks around the city, he keeps an eye out for interesting juxtapositions or humorous framings: a pigeon balancing on a ghostly tree; a cloud caught in a net; statues miraculously coming to life. “At the root it’s about seeing, but maintaining the right state of mind is also everything. I’m hoping the photos will connect with others, and, with each individual, take on personal narratives.”
Suspended in time: ethereal photos that look like landscape paintings
Inspired by the landscapes of the French masters, Elger Esser captures the brooding seascapes and bucolic country scenes of his beloved countryside – with timeless results
Matadors and madness: the poses of a visionary – in pictures
She dressed up as a bullfighter, sat in a window with two magpies and flew colossal flags of warning. We go inside a fascinating new exhibition of photographs by multimedia artist Rose Finn-Kelcey
Festival of Outdoor Photography: Charlie Waite confirmed, save on tickets!
Whatever your choice of camera, landscape photography remains a hugely popular genre, especially now spring is here. And you don’t get a bigger name in British landscape photography than Charlie Waite.
Charlie is now confirmed as a speaker at our forthcoming Festival of Outdoor Photography, a unique three-day event which takes place at the historic Royal Geographical Society in London from May 30th to June 1st.
