Our new 2024-25 season is under way, for anyone with an interest in Photography, and living within Perth, Perthshire, Perth and Kinross, and surrounding areas in Scotland.
For our second week, we’re having a Bring and Share – bring some of your own images, as prints or on electronic devices, to share and discuss in small groups. Finished work, work in progress, rejects from the cutting room floor, howlers from the blooper reel, whatever. https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/2024/08/programme-2024-25/#week02
Newcomers are very welcome to register online, and come along to meet us for a couple of weeks, with no commitment. That gives you the chance to decide if you like what you see. Or you can jump straight in with new or renewed membership. Either way, go to the online form at How do I join? to register.
The first night of each PPS season is traditionally President’s Night, and incumbent Ian Mackay welcomed more than fifty of us, of whom maybe a quarter were along for their first visit. Welcome indeed!
The lengthy tea break spilled out of the foyer and back into the theatre, and provided an opportunity for making newcomers feel welcome, and for old friends to catch up.
In the second half of the evening, Ian introduced some themes in his own interests, both in photography and in life, and talked us through some of his landscape images, explaining how a sometimes-plain scene can be brought alive as a striking image.
To round off the evening, a handful of dedicated researchers investigated the possibilities of the bar at the Grampian Hotel, just over the road. Their lounge looks big enough to hold most of us, and stays open until 22:30, so not dangerously late. Let’s see if that can become a regular thing.
One exciting feature of the upcoming PPS season is our novice development programme. Now in its third year, we’re offering a more structured support to members who identify as novice photographers. Check out our Novices page and see some more Before and After images from our recent ‘novices’. How will your photography have changed, this time next year? https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/membership/novices/
Here at Perthshire Photographic Society we start back for our weekly meetings at the beginning of October, and our membership form for the coming season is now open.
If you’ve been part of us in previous years, now’s a good time to get this year’s membership in place.
If you’re new and would like to get to know us, you’re welcome to have two trial weeks before you commit; or you can jump straight in with membership – either way, see our Membership page for details ….
Are you interested in photography, and living in and around Perthshire? Come and join with Perthshire Photographic Society – we meet at 7:30pm, on Wednesday evenings between October and March, in the Soutar Lecture Theatre at the AK Bell Library in Perth.
We’re on the up! Perthshire Photographic Society enjoyed success over the summer, with our best-ever results in the Scottish Photographic Federation’s annual Portfolio competition. This one’s very egalitarian, in that, if any club member puts in images for the club entry, they go in to the competition, with no selection by the club.
The Portfolio attracted over 1,700 entries from some 34 clubs around Scotland, some of whom are among the strongest in the UK. In this illustrious company, PPS came 8th= in colour prints, 8th= in mono prints, and 11th= in digital images. It’s something we can be proud of.
Of particular note is John Boyd’s winter landscape, Morning Calm, shown here, which won an SPF Bronze Medal in the Colour Print, as John Tillotson’s Judge’s Choice
Here we publish details of all our visiting speakers, plus a Quick Calendar, linking to a fuller look at each evening of the season.
Meetings will be held on Wednesdays at 7.30pm, at the AK Bell Library, unless noted otherwise. Bring your own mug for a hot drink in the break.
If you’re new, details on how to join are on our membership page.
Visiting speakers:
David Gilliver
Miniature Photography
16 Oct 24 David graduated from the Fine Art Photography course at the Glasgow School of Art in 2001 and has been working as a professional photographer and artist ever since. He specialises in long-exposure photography (the art of ‘Light Painting’) and macro photography (‘Little People’) and has become one of the internet’s best known names in those fields. He will tell us about his approach to Miniatures photography
Espen Helland
Black Grouse Leks
23 Oct 24 Espen is a Norwegian ecologist working in Scotland. With a background in wildlife biology and conservation, he has a passion for the natural world, and believes it is our duty to keep as much wildlife and ecosystems alive for ourselves, for future generations, and for nature’s own sake. He is an expert on Black Grouse and leads photography workshops to leks in Perthshire. Espen is an OM System (Olympus) Ambassador.
Peter Wilkinson
Wildlife on our doorstep
30 Oct 24 Peter is a local Perth photographer who documents the amazing wildlife to be found on our doorstep – from Ospreys and Otters in the Tay to the Quarrymill Kingfishers
Richard Smith
Urban Documentary
20 Nov 24 Richard (a.k.a. Rich Fotografi) is an urban photographer from Glasgow. He says, “I have an unexplained and possibly disturbing interest in photographing cinematic alleyways, street art, abandoned buildings and the Duke of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art especially if he has a new cone on his head.”
Not only that, “For more than three years I have been a volunteer photographer for Homeless Project Scotland and have made them more than 1,000 photos to use in their press releases, website, social media accounts and leaflets.”
Debbie Wallace
Portraits of Childhood
22 Jan 25 Debbie has created a beautiful photographic record of her three girls, from babies to teenagers. Her pictures capture the dreamy, ethereal aesthetic of a perfect childhood
Chas Sievewright
Minimalism to Street
22 Jan 25 Chas is well known to many member of PPS. He will talk about how his photographic interests have evolved from B&W minimalism to gritty urban Street Photography.
Noel Clegg
Fine Art and Long Exposure Photography
26 Feb 25 Noel is one of the UK’s most accomplished Fine Art photographers. He has won numerous international competitions and has exhibited in London, Hong Kong and New York. Noel will show some of his best known pictures then demonstrate his processing technique.
Further information about speakers and topics will be posted here as details become known.
PPS President Ian Mackay will welcome new and returning members as an introduction to the Society and to the forthcoming season.
09October 2024
Member’s talk/ Workshop In the former cafe; turn left as you enter from outside
Bring and Share
Bring some of your own images, as prints or on electronic devices, to share and discuss in small groups
16October 2024
Speaker’s Night
David Gilliver: Miniature Photography
David graduated from the Fine Art Photography course at the Glasgow School of Art in 2001 and has been working as a professional photographer and artist ever since. He specialises in long-exposure photography (the art of ‘Light Painting’) and macro photography (‘Little People’) and has become one of the internet’s best known names in those fields. He will tell us about his approach to Miniatures photography
Espen is a Norwegian ecologist working in Scotland. He is an expert on Black Grouse and leads photography workshops to leks in Perthshire. Espen is an Olympus Ambassador.
Peter is a local Perth photographer who documents the amazing wildlife to be found on our doorstep – from Ospreys and Otters in the Tay to the Quarrymill Kingfishers
Workshop In the former cafe; turn left as you enter from outside.
The first part of the evening is aimed at helping you to understand what is required for each competition when entering our external competitions (optional background reading linked from here https://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/competitions):
Alan Edwards – how all of our external competitions are judged and ranked.
David Hay – a long-time SPF judge’s comments on our PPS entry to the 4-Way Battle which will be held this year on Wed 20 Nov in St Andrews.
John Boyd – talking through the SPF’s advice, published on their website, on what their accredited judges should be looking for when judging club competitions.
After the break, Ian Mackay will talk about the techniques and equipment that he uses for his photography, in his presentation, ‘My Guide to Landscape Photography.’
Richard (a.k.a. Rich Fotografi) is an urban photographer from Glasgow. He works with a charitable group supporting homeless people.
27 November 2024
Members’ Talks Night In the former cafe; turn left as you enter the library from the west car park door and the room is along the corridor on your left.
For this evening, we have 4 presentations and a brief demonstration:
David Hay with ‘Soap Bubble images’ – adapting older lenses to modern cameras to create images with more ‘character.’
Mike Gloistein with ‘Photography at 12mph’ – perhaps 12 knots would be more accurate! Mike is one of our new members and he will tell us about photos taken while on board a moving ship.
Sam Dearlove has volunteered to help us with our photography by telling us a bit about various ‘Apps and Software.’
Raymond Leinster with ‘The Best Place for Photography in Perth – Probably!’
Finally, Wol Gilbraith will show us our new Print Stands – next week we’ll host the PKM Trophy monochrome print competition; the prints will be displayed on our new-look easy-build print stands. You will be helping to assemble them!
Workshop In the former cafe; turn left as you enter from outside.
We have three presentations this evening:
• Tom Ryan – “Wet Windows. Learning from Saul Leiter.” Saul Leiter was a fashion photographer and painter in New York in the 40’s and 50’s. With his street photography, he often shot through glass with multiple layers of reflection or streaming with rain. His work is abstract and impressionistic and breaks all the conventional rules. Tom finds his work beautiful and inspirational and will talk about how he has been trying to incorporate some of Saul’s thinking into his own photography.
• Graham Robb – Portrait Photography. Graham will demonstrate how he sets up his equipment and produces his beautiful portraits. He has introduced some new ideas since his demonstration last year.
• John Boyd – How to Cut and Fit Your Own Photo Mounts. John will show us how he cuts mounts for his photos and how he attaches them.
22 January 2025
Speaker’s Night
Debbie Wallace: Portraits of Childhood
Debbie has created a beautiful photographic record of her three girls, from babies to teenagers. Her pictures capture the dreamy, ethereal aesthetic of a perfect childhood.
PLUS Chas Sievewright: Minimalism to Street
Chas is well known to many member of PPS. He will talk about how his photographic interests have evolved from B&W minimalism to gritty urban Street Photography.
We’ll take a look at the high-scoring images entered by clubs around Scotland in last year’s Portfolio competition. The images have been provided by the Scottish Photographic Federation. David Hay has kindly agreed to provide a commentary to accompany the photos. Hopefully, this evening will give you a good idea of the types of photos that we will be looking for when we submit our entry for this year’s Portfolio competition.
12 February 2025
Members’ Talks Night In the former cafe; turn left as you enter from outside
Noel Clegg: Fine Art and Long Exposure Photography
Noel is one of the UK’s most accomplished Fine Art photographers. He has won numerous international competitions and has exhibited in London, Hong Kong and New York. Noel will show some of his best known pictures then demonstrate his processing technique.
Competition: Dall Cup; click for – Scoring Slip – Online Voting Form – will be available on 05 Mar 25 – Test voting form – practise your online voting here
Competition: Simpson Cup; click for – Scoring Slip – Online Voting Form – will be available on 05 Mar 25 – Test voting form – practise your online voting here
12 March 2025
Members’ Talks Night In the former cafe; turn left as you enter from outside
Description
19 March 2025
AGM for 2024-25.
An agenda for the AGM will be sent to all members. After the AGM is complete, we plan on holding a ‘Bring and Share’ session. Please bring in some prints or digital images and we will split into small groups and talk about your images. There will be an experienced member in each group to lead the discusssions.
26 March 2025
End of season dinner and prize-giving. 7pm for 7.30pm. Details will be sent out via a newsletter.
Perthshire Photographic Society’s exhibition as part of Perth Festival of the Arts opens in less than two days time. Over the weekend, a small number of PPS volunteers gathered all the framed prints in their homes. On Monday and Tuesday, a slightly larger team will take care of the hanging, to show each print at its best. And on Wednesday we’ll open our doors, in the middle of the St John’s Centre, and hope to welcome you there.
Over thirty of us gathered for the annual end-of-season dinner, this time at the Royal George hotel in George Street, where we enjoyed a three-course meal in a comfortable private room with sociable round tables. The projector and screen allowed us to run the Birnam Exhibition slideshow during the meal, and show the winning images during the prizegiving. And the bright and spacious room made the event photography that wee bit easier.
President Ian Mackay awarded forty certificates and eight trophies for our internal competitions, plus the Millennium Quaich for distinguished achievement. Congratulations to all the winners, the highly placed, the less-highly-placed, and everyone who supported all our activities through the season in all sorts of ways. This includes a great number of Significant Others, some of whom joined us for the evening – lovely to see you all.
Big thanks, too, to Lizzie and Vicky for looking after the tea table every week through our season.
We’ll meet back again in October. In the meantime, our Facebook Group at Perth Photo Forum will continue over the summer as ‘an online place to learn from discussion of photography, by and for the people of Perth, Perthshire, Perth and Kinross, and surroundings’. So, not just for PPS members. And not just online – we also arrange a series of sociable photo walks. We’ll hope to see you out with your camera over the summer. Bon Vacances!
The season draws to a close already, and we meet at the library for the last time until October. It’s also the last chance for the News Team’s photographers to look for new compositions, new images, in the familiar environment of the Soutar Theatre.
AGM first, with a number of office-bearers summarising the season (minor issues with powerpoint notwithstanding), the appointment of the new committee, and an outline of next years programme of speakers (looks great – details will be on our Programme page before long).
To follow – a critique night, for which several members brought in images to discuss, and we gathered in small groups to do just that. Some prints, some digitals; on laptops, tablets and phones. For some groups, it was a chance for the photographer author to talk about their image and what it means to them; for others, it’s chance to put the image up and let the viewers talk about what it means to them. Either way, there’s lots of good learning to be had.
Next week we’ll be dining out and doing prizegiving, so we’ll take a break from accepting new members, and will re-open our membership form in time for the start of next season.
In the meantime, our Facebook Group at Perth Photo Forum will continue over the summer as ‘an online place to learn from discussion of photography, by and for the people of Perth, Perthshire, Perth and Kinross, and surroundings’. So, not just for PPS members. And not just online – we also arrange a series of sociable photo walks. We’ll hope to see you out with your camera over the summer. Bon Voyages!
