The first night of the season is traditionally titled President’s Night. It’s a chance for our president, Graham, to welcome us back, or welcome us for the first time if we’re new.
In the first half of the evening, there was an opportunity to let other members of the club’s committee introduce themselves, and to outline the programme for the year, before some informal chat over a hot drink.
After the break, we were treated to the vastly-improved quality of the projector in the Soutar Theatre, while Graham showed us a bit of what he’s been working on. This included an audacious combination of portraits of local personalities, Caterham 7 sports cars up Glenshee, and photographing Motherwell womens football team.
There’s now less than a week to go before we’ll be back together again!
It’s been two years, but we’ll be meeting in person, in the warm, in the library, with real speakers, and real prints – still careful, just all a bit more real. There is also the option of an informal friendly something together in the New County Hotel afterwards, for those that want.
The Membership Form for the new season is open, in good time for our first night on Wednesday 05 Oct. The membership subscription of £55 can be paid by BACS or by cheque – details are in the membership form. Of course, new faces are welcome to attend two weeks on a trial basis – to see if you’d like to join us for the season.
We’ve got a varied mixture of speakers and workshops for the first few weeks, as shown on our Programme page. As a heads-up, it’s only 4 weeks until the hand-in on 26 Oct for the Main Cup – this one’s for digital images. And 7 weeks until the hand-in on 16 Nov for the PKM Trophy – that’s for mono prints. Now’s a good time to check your printer!
We look forward to seeing familiar – and new – faces in the Library at 7:30pm on Wednesday 05 October.
Meetings this coming season will be held on Wednesdays at 7.30pm, at the AK Bell Library, unless noted otherwise – see Quick Calendar.
If you’re new, details on how to join are on our membership page.
Richard Fox
Landscape & Macro Photography
19 Oct 22 Richard is Winner of ‘Wex Photographer of the Year 2022’, which is a significant recognition of consistency from one of the UK’s major photographic retailers. He’s also got images in the Royal Meteorological Society’s book ‘Weather Photographer of the Year’. He says “I am passionate about photography. Capturing nature in its rawness is what I am trying to attempt. The majority of my work has been captured on Dartmoor, where I lived for 15 years, and being an avid trail runner and walker, I have experienced a lot of its beauty. I have since moved to Stirlingshire and am now getting to know this spectacular country and its wildlife.”
Simon Jauncey
From Venezuela to Harrietfield
26 Oct 22 Simon’s career in photography began in the early 1980s in Venezuela, where after a lucky break he set up a studio doing advertising work. He has shot campaigns for many different clients, from Johnnie Walker to Ford. After 10 years he returned to the UK and spent 3 years in London based in one of the big studio complexes. The pull of his native Scotland proved too much & he moved back in the mid 90s and has specialised in architecture & interiors, food & portraiture – with a passion for landscape work when time permits. He is also an active musician, writing & recording his own jazz based music. During the talk he will give a snapshot of his career, techniques and experiences.
Stewart Dodd LRPS
54 Degrees South
02 Nov 22 It’s 5 years since Stewart was with us. This time he’ll be showing us images from an adventure into the sub-Antarctic Region, specifically South Georgia. It’s a remarkable environment, with a striking combination of wildlife, landscape and light. Expect some transferrable skills that can be applied equally in Scotland!
Des O’Neill
Books of photography
25 Jan 23 Local photographer Des has a huge and varied collection of books on photography that he’s compiled over many years. He’ll tell us about some of them, including, perhaps, the one about Sebastião Salgado’s ‘Gold’, about the gold-rush mine in the Brazillian jungle in the 1980’s, and the one about Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879, pictured here, who is credited with producing the first close-up portraits in the history of the medium.
Roy Robertson
New visions of New Zealand
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01 Mar 23 Roy has been President and Vice President of the Royal Photographic Society, and is well known to us as a judge for his keen eye and insightful comments. Tonight he’s going to give us a presentation on a recent trip to New Zealand, and we can expect something special.
Further information about speakers and topics will be posted here as details become known.
PPS President Graham Robb will welcome new and returning members as an introduction to the forthcoming season.
12 October 2022
Member’s talk/ Workshop Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
Bring and Share – Bring some of your own images, as prints or on electronic devices, to share and discuss in small groups.
19 October 2022
Speaker’s Night
Richard Fox – Landscape & Macro Photography
Richard is Winner of ‘Wex Photographer of the Year 2022’, which is a significant recognition of consistency from one of the UK’s major photographic retailers. He’s also got images in the Royal Meteorological Society’s book ‘Weather Photographer of the Year’. He says “I am passionate about photography. Capturing nature in its rawness is what I am trying to attempt. The majority of my work has been captured on Dartmoor, where I lived for 15 years, and being an avid trail runner and walker, I have experienced a lot of its beauty. I have since moved to Stirlingshire and am now getting to know this spectacular country and its wildlife.”
26 October 2022
Speaker’s Night
Simon Jauncey – From Venezuela to Harrietfield
Simon’s career in photography began in the early 1980s in Venezuela, where after a lucky break he set up a studio doing advertising work. He has shot campaigns for many different clients, from Johnnie Walker to Ford. After 10 years he returned to the UK and spent 3 years in London based in one of the big studio complexes. The pull of his native Scotland proved too much & he moved back in the mid 90s and has specialised in architecture & interiors, food & portraiture – with a passion for landscape work when time permits. He is also an active musician, writing & recording his own jazz based music. During the talk he will give a snapshot of his career, techniques and experiences.
It’s 5 years since Stewart was with us. This time he’ll be showing us images from an adventure into the sub-Antarctic Region, specifically South Georgia. It’s a remarkable environment, with a striking combination of wildlife, landscape and light. Expect some transferrable skills that can be applied equally in Scotland!
09 November 2022
Member’s talk/ Workshop Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
John Boyd – Mounting Prints – How we can create mounts to attractively display and protect our prints David Moran – Calendars – How to make a photo calendar Wol Gilbraith – Display Prints – A workshop session looking at how to best we can display our prints withour breaking the bank Scott Russell – Culture Perth & Kinross Maker_Spaces – We’ll hear about “an extensive range of creative technology available and free to use for … individuals” – including some printers that could be useful, and a photography studio, and more
David Hay – Autumn into Winter – Seasonal images taken during lockdown John Boyd – Home Training Ground – photo techniques to ensure correct exposure settings and the use of manul settings Tom Ryan – Photographing Birds in Flight David Moran – producing an audiovisual presentation
Member’s talk/ Workshop Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
Levels of digital processing: We’ll be looking at what can be done when processing digital images with several different software packages. The aim is to help us members think about what what’s possible, about what we’re using right now, and about how we might want to move forward. We may manage to explain some terminology along the way. We’ll be looking at a wide range of apps, from free software you can use on a phone or tablet, through to industry-standard desktop tools favoured by enthusiasts and professionals. It promises to be a lively evening, with a panel of ‘test drivers’ putting the apps through their paces, 10 minutes at a time, editing a selection of digital images, and with plenty of time for questions and discussion.
25 January 2023
Speaker’s Night Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
Des O’Neill – Books of photography
Local photographer Des has a huge and varied collection of books on photography that he’s compiled over many years. He’ll tell us about some of them, including, perhaps, the one about Sebastião Salgado’s ‘Gold’, about the gold-rush mine in the Brazillian jungle in the 1980’s, and the one about Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879, pictured here, who is credited with producing the first close-up portraits in the history of the medium
We’ll take a look at the high-scoring images as entered, by clubs around Scotland, to last year’s Portfolio competition. Images will be provided on DVD by the Scottish Photographic Federation; commentary will be by one of our most experienced members.
15 February 2023
Member’s talk/ Workshop Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
David Allan – 50 years, but not counting Bob Bain – The Wildlife around us David Hay – Winter photography Tom Ryan – Street Photography – What are the legal and ethical issues around taking pictures of people in public places?
Roy has been President and Vice President of the Royal Photographic Society, and is well known to us as a judge for his keen eye and insightful comments. Tonight he’s going to give us a presentation on a recent trip to New Zealand, and we can expect something special.
Member’s talk/ Workshop Upstairs, in Sandeman Room
John Boyd, Lizzie Rawlings, Paul Trodden – Home Training Ground revisited – following our Members’ Night on 07 Dec, we’ll hear from those who have been involved in some home training, and who have improved their confidence with camera and processing.
22 March 2023
AGM for 2022-23. Plus a Member’s talk.
29March 2023
End of season, Prizes, etc – usually in a private room at a fine local restaurant.
We are all familiar with Tom’s night photography. He has been asked to give a lecture on “The Art of Digital Photography” to a the Tayside Art Society. Wednesday will be the first public outing of his new talk
27 October 2021
Speaker’s Night
Graham Dargie – Kenya and Scotland
Graham is a professional photographer, photography teacher and podcast host from Aberdeen, has been a professional photographer since 2005, teaching photography since 2009 with safari tours in Kenya since 2018.
Spend a short session in each of four groups, with Ian Mackay, Mike Bell, Tom Ryan, Wol Gilbraith. Groups will look at: global/whole image adjustments; local/ selected parts adjustments; processing images of cities at night; organising your work so you can find things again
Paula and Guy Davies – Landscapes, cities, people, monochrome
‘Double Act 2′ includes some street work, architecture inside as well as outside, landscapes, night-time street work, close-ups, still-lifes, and some creative work. Mono is included as well as colour.
“I believe great photographs come from a good relationship with your photographer. Someone who helps you feel at ease, make you giggle, and most importantly make you look amazing and happy in your photographs”
This is your chance to show us your photos! This evening we welcome Hillary Sillitto, Sandy Swanton, Graham Robb and Omar Shamma. Topics include gannets, sailing, Italy, football and London street photography. These evenings are always relaxed, entertaining and informative. Don’t miss this one!
Here’s another chance for you to share your photos with us! This evening we look forward to hearing from Tom Ryan, Alastair MacIntosh, Martin Samson and John Boyd. Topics include, ‘The Story Behind One Picture’, ‘Ice and Fire’, ‘The Most Beautiful Cruise in the World’ and a visit to China. Intrigued? To find out more, come and join us!
02 March2022
Speaker’s Night
Alison Taylor ARPS – “Not just the Lakes”
“I specialise in seascapes and coastal photography using different techniques to capture the many moods of the sea. However, I also have presentations based on my visits to the Lake District and Yorkshire”
This evening, we will have presentations from Alan Edwards, Sandy Swanton, Wol Gilbraith and Ian Mackay. They will cover a range of topics aimed at improving our photography. These will include looking at basic design principles and how these can be applied to your photography. We will discuss competitions, with an emphasis on external competitions. This will include photo selection and how each competition is judged. To conclude the evening, there will be a demonstration of how one raw file was converted into an award-winning image.This should set you up nicely for your summer photography!
