OPS Weekly Newsletter 9 March 2025
Please start thinking about pulling together your entries for the Best Use of Light competition in two weeks’ time.
- Last week’s meeting Tues 4 March: Panel competition
There were some extremely effective and creative panels as members shook off the shackles of the single image and played around with panels. Phil talked through each panel, discussing how they worked and how successful they were.
The winners were:
Print: Helen Stewart with her black and white portraits of model and shadows.
Digital: Jill Bain with her sea sickness panel of a ferry journey on a choppy water.
A very enjoyable evening and congratulations to all who took part.
- Next meeting Tues 11 March 19.30: Janteloven – ‘No one is better than the other’ with Michele Peters
Janteloven is an unofficial Danish Law that has a key role in Danish culture and mentality. Everyone is accepted and equal. In the first half of the evening, Michele will talk about trips to Denmark, including the Faroe Islands. In the second half, she will re-visit her project on diversity, with pictures from across her travels.
- Upcoming meetings
18 March: Best Use of Light competition
Best Use of Light competition was set up to commemorate Peter Upton who, back in the day, was a leading member of the club and had a very distinctive style, powerful use of colour and light. Phil Joyce will be our judge and asking:
Is it a good photograph?
Does it use light appropriate to the subject?
Has the light been exploited to make the image standout?
25 March: Images of Zimanga plus ‘show and tell’ Dave Belcher and Dave Atkinson
The two Daves will show their images from a trip to Zimanga, South Africa. The second half will be a ‘show and tell’ by club members
1 April: Still – Mindful Photography with Paul Sanders
Former Picture Editor of The Times Paul Sanders left the toxic pressure of Fleet Street and stumbled upon a secret path: landscape photography. In the silent embrace of nature, he learned to breathe again, to find solace in the sunrise symphony and strength in the stoic gaze of mountains.
As he slowly learnt the value in solitude, and the magic that unfolds when he uses my camera as a tool for self-expression, he traded noise and materialism for something far more precious: peace.
“Still” is a bridge, built from my own journey of discovery, to guide you on yours. Here, you’ll find more than just photographs. You’ll find a portal to self-expression, a lens through which to rediscover the wonder of simply being. Let go of the clamour. Step into stillness, and paint your own story with light and wonder.
8 April: Digital Projected Image Competition No. 3 – Judged by Peter Cox
15 April: A Passage To India with Sandra Devaney and Linda Wride
Sandra and Linda will show images of their recent visits to India.
- Programme Secretary vacancy
We have a full and varied programme for you this season thanks to the hard work and excellent choices by Les. Unfortunately, due to unexpected changes in Les’s work commitments he cannot continue in the role and we need someone to step forward to start the planning and booking of speakers for next season’s programme. Please do contact me or any other committee member if you are interested in taking on the role.
- Events photographic in and around Oxford
Lions and Tigers and Bears with Gordon Buchanan
Live at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Wed 19 Mar 2025
Award winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan will hit the road in 2025 with his biggest ever live tour – Lions and Tigers and Bears.
Join Gordon as he recounts thrilling encounters with pandas, grizzlies, tigers, jaguars and more. Learn about the heart-stopping moments, the mud, sweat, and tears, and the tender interactions that have shaped his extraordinary career.
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
Don McCullin talks to Richard Ovenden
The Bodley Lecture and Award of the Bodley Medal: Life and Work
Thursday, 3 April 2025
6:00pm-7.00pm Sheldonian Theatre
£8 – £20
- General photographic interest
Royal Photographic Society Update
Welcome to the March RPS Update, we hope you are enjoying the first signs of spring. In this edition we open the nominations for the RPS Awards and our Bursaries and announce the opening of our new exhibition “we Feed The UK: Complete Collection of Photography and Poetry.
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found review – the man who turned his camera on apartheid
Raoul Peck offers a lyrical documentary portrait of the late South African photographer who dared to show his country’s racist regime to the world
This land is your land: leaf portraits of Ecuador’s female farmers – in pictures
In the Zuleta community in Ecuador, farming is about more than just sustenance: it is about cultivating a deep relationship with the land based on ancestral knowledge. In her travels in the region, Colombo-Ecuadorian photographer Yinna Higuera collaborates with rural women, who in exchange share their understanding of medicinal plants and give her leaves from their gardens. In her Traces series, which has been shortlisted for a Sony world photography award, Higuera uses chlorophyll printing to superimpose the women’s portraits on banana leaves, vegetables and herbs. “Each of these women has a unique story,” she says, “yet they all share a profound bond with the land. Through these portraits, my goal is to make their strength and wisdom visible, honouring their role as stewards of the earth.”
Nature Photography Contest 2024 winners and finalists – in pictures
The winners from the second annual Nature Photography Contest feature breathtaking images showcasing life on our planet. This year’s competition showcases the power of photography to capture landscapes, wildlife, and the delicate balance that sustains life on Earth
New Festival of Outdoor Photography announced! Get your early bird tickets and save money
Amateur Photographer is delighted to announce a new festival of photography dedicated to the great outdoors! Festival of Outdoor Photography brings together experts from Nature and Wildlife, Landscape, Travel and Street genres, who will be sharing their knowledge in a range of talks and interactive activities. Festival of Outdoor Photography will be taking place 30th May – 1st June at The Royal Geographical Society.
https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/photo-news/new-festival-of-outdoor-photography-announced/