HELLO FROM THE TWO NEW RPS LONDON REGIONAL ORGANISERS
TAMSIN GREEN ARPS TWO BATHERS AT THE RPS INTERNATIONAL PRINT EXHIBITION
ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
LONDON
CAPITAL INTEREST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 / VOLUME 2 / NUMBER 9 / WW.RPS.ORG
Winning calendar image: Banksy’s Dalmatian © Saffron Sadi
MYLONDON CALENDAR Neil Cordell reports on this year’s launch of the RPS supported charitable initiative
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016
IN THIS ISSUE Page 2
New London Team, Joe McNally FRPS talk, Greenwich Meetings
Page 4
Hello from the new London Regional Organisers
Page 6
Neil Cordell introduces the new Café Art MyLondon calendar
Page 10
Tamsin Green ARPS takes part in the The RPS International Print Exhibition, Neil Cordell was at the opening
Page 13
Adrian McCarthy visited Tom Teasdale’s exhibition – a review
Page 14
Four views of Cuba by four RPS London members
Page 18
The artist Clare Newton talked about photo manipulation at the Bookworm Club
Page 20
Breathing London halfway point update by Jen Pedler
Page 22
Dave’s Diary: Dave experimented with flash photography
Page 24
Useful links
RPS LONDON NEWS IN BRIEF
WELCOME!
IMAGE © Britta Giersche
In the last few months RPS London has seen some changes: We said good-bye to Del Barrett ARPS as London Regional Organiser and welcomed not one but two new Regional Organisers instead: Judy Hicks and Neil Cordell. They are introducing their vision for RPS London on page 4. Part of this vision is to bring out Capital Interest bi-monthly. We are always keen to publish London RPS members’ pictures. Have you recently been on a night shoot? Why don’t you send us your best photo by 23rd November for a members’ gallery feature in our next issue which is going live on 15th December? But before you do, enjoy this issue first! Britta Giersche Capital Interest Editor
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There is still time to book …
Joe McNally FRPS - Talk On the 1st December between18:30 - 21:00, Joe McNally, award-winning, internationally acclaimed photographer who has been a 25 year contributor to the National Geographic, a staff member at Life Magazine, a contract photographer with Sports Illustrated, will be giving a lecture to talk about his professional photographer’s life over the span of a 30+ year career. Ever the generalist, he has photographed a wide range of subjects, from news and sports to celebrities, science and cultural trends. Known for his expertise with light, he has done large productions, studio work and simple street assignments. McNally is very honest and open about the rewards as well as the trials and tribulations of being a photographer. Join us for this captivating lecture. To book your ticket go HERE
LEFT Rick McNair, Alex Rousseau, Chris Humbert, Chris Duplanty, the 1996 U.S. men’s water polo team, display their top form. LIFE 1996; and ABOVE Portrait © Joe McNally
Changing the Greenwich Meetings The Greenwich meetings have been reorganised around an interest group for South East London and its neighbouring areas and, commencing October 2016, have been moved to the last Tuesday of each month between 7-9pm. They are held at the same location, the Greenwich Gallery. The RPS London Team is keen to alter the content of these meeting and is now inviting responses from all prospective SE London attendees to contribute ideas on the format and content of those meetings. Please write with your interests, requests, offers of assistance etc., to londoncave@rps.org.
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CAPITAL INTEREST NEWS
Hello from the new
Regional Organisers ABOVE Arundel with Castle in Background Š Judy Hicks LRPS
The background: In September 2016, Judy Hicks LRPS and Neil Cordell became CoRegional Organisers for the London Region when Del Barrett ARPS decided to step down so that she can focus on her work as a member of the RPS Council. We are very grateful for all the hard work that Del has done in the London Region to make it one of the most active regions with the RPS and especially by building a strong the team of volunteers. On one hand following Del will be a tough act, but on the other hand we have a great base to build on to make RPS London something that all photographers want to participate in. We are very proud that we currently have events and projects that cover a very broad genre of photography from street and urban, through to nature and wildlife. In addition to the events organised by us in London, we are very keen to collaborate with the other Regions, especially those that border London, and the Special Interest Groups (SIGs). We believe that by working together and supporting each other, we can collectively provide a wider variety and better events which will benefit all RPS members. Our goal is to provide a wide range of events for all photographers at all stages of their journey so that they can learn, grow and improve their own photography in a friendly and enjoyable environment. To help us provide the types of events that you are interested in, we need your feedback so please feel free to let us know what you would like at londonro@rps.org. We are also very keen to hear from any members who would like to get more involved by volunteering some of their time, as the Regions and SIGs are run completely by volunteers.
Judy Hicks LRPS and Neil Cordell 4
Visiting WWT Arundel As part of their desire to work closely with the other regions which border London, the new Co-Regional Organisers (with some other London members) attended an excellent joint South East and Southern event at the Wetlands Wildlife Trust in Arundel, West Sussex. Neil Cordell reports. For the first Sunday in October, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day which approximately 50 participants spent the afternoon wondering around the reserve and sitting in the hides trying to photograph the bird and other wildlife. Neither Judy nor I feel that we are proficient in this genre but it was good fun trying to improve our past efforts … the big challenge is that the birds are small and just move so quickly. In the evening, there were two lectures. The first was given by Paul Stevens, WWT Arundel Ground Manager, who provided a history of the reserve and who they maintain and develop it. This was followed by a very entertaining talk by the renowned wildlife photographer George McCarthy who cover the history of bird photography and equipment used in its beginnings up to today. Many thanks to Terry McGhie ARPS (South East Regional Organiser) and Paul Gilmour LRPS (Southern Regional Organiser) for their warm hospitality and for organising such a good event. ABOVE Images © Jennette Russell LRPS; BELOW LEFT Image © Judy Hicks LRPS; BELOW RIGHT Image © Neil Cordell
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CAPITAL INTEREST EVENT
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MYLONDON CALENDAR
For the fourth year, the RPS has supported Café Art’s MYLONDON calendar which was launched on World Homeless Day, 10th October. By Neil Cordell Back in July, 105 single-use cameras were handed out to people who have been affected by homelessness. Some of our members assisted with the handout which included some basic training and ideas of images they could create. Then they had 5 days to takes photos of London and return the cameras to Café Art. All of the images were printed in colour and black & white – this gave the judges approximately 500 images to look at in order to pick the Top 20 photos for the public to vote on. The judges included Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS (CEO of The RPS) and Ken Lennox Hon. FRPS. The standard of the photos just gets better each year especially considering that the cameras are basic film cameras so it is all down to the photographer’s eye. Congratulations go to the following photographers:
The Judges Choice 1. Christopher McTavish for St Paul’s in Reflection 2. Saffron Sadi for Banksy’s Dalmatian 3. Beatrice for Out of the Blue Alex Davies Portrait Prize for the best portfolio: Leo Sahel for The Coffee Seller
People’s Choice 1. Saffron Sadi for Banksy’s Dalmatian 2. Hugh Gary for London Calling 3. Christopher McTavish for St Paul’s in Reflection ABOVE The Coffee Seller © Leo Sahel
Whilst it is great to support such an amazing project, we felt that we could help Café Art. Spafter last year’s calendar competition we created a mentoring group. All of the Top 20 photographers selected for the public vote are invited to join the group which meets every two weeks. Our objective is to teach the participant photographers more about photography covering technical and creative skills.
OPPOSITE PAGE 1st Place People's Choice Award Saffron Sadi © Judy Hicks
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ABOVE St Paul’s in Reflection © Christopher McTavish BELOW Out of the Blue © Beatrice
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Fujifilm have very generously supported the mentoring group by donating 6 interchangeable lens digital cameras to Café Art. This has been invaluable in teaching the practical aspects of digital photography and getting out to shoot pictures with the Café Art photographers. Each session consists of a short presentation to teach an aspect of photography, getting out to take photos and then a final critique of the images taken during that session. It has been very rewarding to see the members of the mentoring group developing both their photographic skills and general confidence. Special thanks goes to Mo Greig who has helped me running the mentoring group. If any other members are interested in learning more about the mentoring group or would like to help then please contact me at cafeart@rps.org.
The calendars are on sale at Spitalfields Market at the weekends up until Christmas or online where you can also purchase prints of any of the top 20 images.
BELOW London Calling © Hugh Gary
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CAPITAL INTEREST TOPICAL
Two Bathers by
Tamsin Green ARPS
ABOVE Two Bathers © Tamsin Green ARPS
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Tamsin Green’s photograph Two Bathers from the series Sleeper was selected for the The Royal Photographic Society International Print Exhibition 159 and it is currently exhibited in the 2016/17 UK tour. Here, she shares the photograph’s story with Capital Interest. On the following page Neil Cordell, London Co-Regional Organiser, reports from the exhibition’s opening.
I travelled 3,105km to reach Astana, 59 hours on board the Belgorod 72 from Moscow. A stuffy cabin with condensated windows, through which I watched as vast expanses of snow saturated steppe passed by. Astana was the ninth stop on a long journey that I embarked on in 2012. Travelling by sleeper train, carpooling with locals where the train lines ended, I never quite knew what I would find when I disembarked and walked the city. Heading South from Astana station it was not long before reaching the Ishim River. The water freezes from late November to March becoming an icy thoroughfare. Following the bends in the river, I passed skaters, hockey players and fisherman before coming across a small pool in the ice. Backing up I watched as two women walked down the road, they must have come from some way away, dressed only in their swimwear and trainers. It was bitterly cold that day, but it did not deter the two bathers. ‘Tamsin Green’s Two Bathers from the series Sleeper stood out for me as being strong. I had just been to Brighton the week before swimming in the sea in July, so cold Northern European seascapes were in my head. This photograph uses the vantage point really well. Defining the content and organization of the picture, framing, focus and pressing the shutter at the right time. These decisions resonate with the clarity of the photographer's attention and mental organization.’ Dougie Wallace, selector of the The Royal Photographic Society International Print Exhibition 159
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ABOVE LEFT Carolyn Mendelsohn (UK) after being presented with the Gold medal for her image titled "Alice”; RIGHT Anna Shustikova (Russia) being presented with the Gold medal for under 30s for her image titled "School Bus"; Images © Neil Cordell
Female Photographers took the honours at the RPS International Print Exhibition 159 The opening of the RPS International Print Exhibition 159 was well attended at the Old Truman Brewery in East London. Robert Albright FRPS, Vice President presented the awards to the four female winners. • Carolyn Mendelsohn, from the UK, won the Gold Award for her portrait titled “Alice” which is one of a pair of portraits in the exhibition. • Anna Shustikova, from Russia, won the Under 30s Gold Award for her image titled “School Bus” which depicts the pupils returning from a school excursion to the Dubna wetlands nature reserve in the northeast Moscow province. • Polly Braden, from the UK, was presented with the Silver Award for her image titled “Lucie”, from the project 'Great Interactions. Life with Learning Disabilities and Autism. • Poem Baker, from the UK, was presented with the Bronze Award for her image titled “The Jungola Klownz of Deptford” which shows two clowns in a café. Congratulations to these award winners and all the other photographers featured in the exhibition, which will be touring the country over the coming months. BELOW Images © Neil Cordell
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THE REVIEW: EXHIBITION
by Adrian McCarthy
Tom Teasdale
Sunny Intervals see www.tomteasdale.com
ABOVE Tom Teasdale at the opening of his exhibition at Europe House © Adrian McCarthy
Back in 2015 Tom Teasdale, an up and coming young photographer, packed his tent, stove and film camera and set off to photograph Scotland North of the Highland divide. He also visited Orkney and Shetland which are also represented in the exhibition. In his Statement of Intent Tom states: “The Scottish Government classifies it as ‘Rural and Remote’ rather than it bases this assessment on how far the nearest settlement of 10,000 people is. The Ordinance Survey defines ‘remote’ as how close the nearest road is. The English dictionary defines ‘remote’ as ‘out of the way’.” He worked in Monochrome and his negatives were subsequently scanned digitally for printing. Mainly landscapes with a few shots of local crofters and peat cutters, the photographs as a set certainly capture the timelessness, bleakness and remoteness of the area and also the weather which was frequently but not exclusively inclement with thick cloud cover and mist lending atmosphere to some landscapes. Little has changed in this part of Scotland for hundreds of years apart from tarmac on the
roads, a few electricity poles and wires and probably most noticeable the wire sheep fences on round wooden poles shown in a few of the photographs. In other pictures there is nothing that wouldn’t have been there 200 years ago and the landscape shots capture the atmosphere of the location and the shots with people show activity that has also not changed in hundreds of years As a set the exhibition does a good job of depicting the bleak countryside and the lonely life of the crofters with their sheep and peat cutters. My favourite picture is of two peat cutters, one actively cutting the peat from a lower step, the other with his back turned on a higher step in the peat leaning on his peat spade taking a rest. The picture has a strong diagonal with the two figures and shows how hard the work is cutting the winter fuel from the peat bed.
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CAPITAL INTEREST EXPERIENCE
Visions of Cuba Four RPS London members visited Cuba recently and shared their views of the country at a meeting in the Greenwich Gallery in October. Here are highlights from that meeting.
ABOVE Images © Neil Cordell “Cuba
is a fascinating country which has been changing rapidly since Raúl Castro took over from his brother, Fidel. However, the essential Cuba which is predominantly rural and farming based still exists and can be found if you stray away from the main stream. In these images, I have tried to show that side of Cuba and how the locals live.”
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ABOVE and LEFT Images © Norman Smith LRPS “My
trip to Cuba in March was as part of an organised tour, not necessarily ideal for a photographic expedition, but still extremely worthwhile. We didn’t tour the whole island, however this is over 750 miles in length! We visited the main attractions of Havana, Hemingway’s House and fishing village, the Vinales Valley for tobacco and coffee farming, Santa Clara, scene of Guevara’s exploits and mausoleum, Trinidad, and Cinfuegos. The overriding impressions I am left with is of a country in irrevocable change as it struggles with the transition from a firm Communist rule to embrace a layer of Capitalism, and the happy outlook of its people despite the shortages and difficulties of the recent past. We watch with interest to see if the hoped for changes in the relationship with the USA will be followed through, as promised by President Obama, whose visit coincided with our departure. “
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LEFT and BELOW Images © Jim McGabe LRPS “I
visited Cuba with my wife on a planned trip, which took in most of the island over a 3 week period. We stayed in hotels, of course, but we were also put up in many Casas Particulares which are the Cuban equivalent of bed and breakfast, this a peculiarity of the Cuban existence which has sprung up in the last few years. Under the more hard-line Government regime private enterprise was illegal, but, things have softened and the populace is allowed to earn a small amount. Tourist taxis are mostly American cars from the 1950’s, before the embargo on imports, when Cuba was under the influence of the USA and, in particular, the Mafia. Once the blockade had started car parts were no longer available and so the Cubans have become incredibly adept at keeping the old cars running, with parts from several completely different cars sometimes ending up on the same vehicle. The better cars are handed down through families since they have such great earning power and have become the icon of Cuba that we all know. Most people, especially in the professions, work for the state and receive a state wage. However, one taxi driver, a friend of our guide in Havana, who was a trained doctor, could earn $25/hour driving a tourist taxi when this was as much as he could earn in a month as an endocrinologist. Cuba has been voted one of the happiest places in the World as they contend with so much (or so little) that they press on regardless. To some extent we feel that we experienced the real Cuba, not one totally insulated from us by the tourist trade. To say that we won’t be back is not to be critical but to feel that we have seen everything that we could of Cuba in its current form, however, we watch developments with great interest.”
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“Cuba, what do we think of when Cuba is mentioned? Vintage American Cars and big fat cigars that cost the earth here in the UK, Rum mixed with music and dancing. I travelled to various places but most of the photographs come from Havana, Vinales (one of the tobacco regions) and Trinidad. Yes I did see lots of cars, those that looked beyond repair and those that had been lovingly restored. The engines of the cars have been changed to smaller engines as they are unable to get the spare parts plus the very high cost of fuel. The other form of transport seemed to be the four legged type and they were used mainly for work or Cubans getting to work. In the area of Vinales you will find the Tobacco Plantations, here you can visit the plantations and watch the cigars being rolled. They are relatively cheap to buy and you are mostly given at least one that you have watched being rolled. The State stake a claim on a very large portion of the tobacco crop and what’s left is used to generate a living for the farmers. After wandering the streets for many hours I think it safe to say sitting around watching the world go by is a big pastime and stopping to have a gossip with friends they meet along the way. The young people search out the nearest place to buy a card so they can get on the internet which usually only works in a small area outside the telephone shop. My feeling is the younger generation are ready to embrace changes but there is also a lot of their culture they want to keep. It will be interesting to see how things progress over the next 10 years. There is of course one very big money spinner and that is to provide back-up cameras for those of us who are never seen without one whilst there.”
BELOW Images © Lorraine Grey LRPS
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LONDON GROUPS
Photo manipulation an artist’s talk at the Bookworm Club
ABOVE and BOTTOM RIGHT Clare showing examples of manipulated photographs to members of the Bookworm Club © Britta Giersche
In September, the RPS London reading group had a special guest: Clare Newton, a Hackney artist, who uses photography to create her artwork. Clare came to The Crusting Pipe to talk about manipulation in photography and her art practice. 18
LEFT Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson – part of Clare’s series Spirit of Legends © Clare Newton
Clare is best known as the Guinness World Record holder for the Longest Photo. Her photograph, Jump4London, comprises 81,663 photos and is over a kilometre long. It’s a composite artwork and as such exemplifies ‘The photograph manipulated’ well, which was
She showed many examples – from Gigapixel’s panoramic shots to Tim Walker’s photos for Vogue and Nick Brandt images of life-size animal prints in their destroyed habitats to the impossible photographs by Erik Johansson and the Cottingley Fairies photos from 1917.
the theme of the evening. Jenny Hurstfield, the event organiser, gave a brief summary of the chapter with that name in Graham Clarke’s The Photograph before Clare expanded on the ideas introduced.
Finally, Clare gave us insight into her own art practice and explained the processes that went into the making of Spirit of Legends, a series of portraits of Paralympians. After collating ideas, creating sketches in watercolour and shooting the subject, each image took nine weeks of digital editing to finish. Spirit of Legends can be described as a fantasy artwork that incorporates art photography. It is a great example of ‘The photograph manipulated’ and the introduction to Clare’s own work brought the evening to a perfect close.
She began her talk by discussing the controversy surrounding Photoshop. Ever since its arrival in 1990 and its use in photojournalism, it has caused heated debates, but for artists such as Clare, who use photography and Photoshop to express their ideas, it has opened up many new possibilities. Jump4London is an example of such an artwork: the combination of thousands of images of people, each frozen in mid-jump, to create one enormous image is only possible through digital manipulation. For the purpose of giving an overview, Clare then made the distinction between the manipulation of the photograph before picturetaking by, for example, creating elaborate sets or devising set-ups for an unusual angle on the subject; during picture-taking by shooting with, for instance, infrared film; and after picturetaking by working with the negative in the darkroom or the digital file in Photoshop.
Clare’s large-scale panels can be seen at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Spinal Injuries Unit until January. For more Bookworm Club events search the RPS events page.
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BREATHING LONDON UPDATE As we move into autumn, Breathing London, the RPS London Region’s project to capture the diversity of London’s green and open spaces over a year, is about half way through. Time for some stock taking by Jen Pedler. So far we have almost 4000 photos uploaded to the archive from just over 90 photographers participating in the project. We have photos from all the London boroughs but some are represented better than others. Not surprisingly, the most photographed borough, with over 300 pictures submitted, is the City of Westminster with its plethora of Royal Parks. To encourage Breathing Londoners to get out and photograph some of the outer boroughs, Judy Hicks has been organising regular Wednesday walks. Details of these are on the Breathing London website if you’d like to join us. We’ve recently had 60 of our photos, from 18 of our contributors featured in a rolling digital display as part of the ‘Make London a National Park’ event at the Royal Festival Hall. It was great to see our pictures on the big screen and
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good publicity for the project. We followed this up with a pop-up event at the Magic Gallery (on its closing day) where we showed the presentation and held a pin-up competition. Our next workshop with acclaimed wildlife photographer Robert Canis – Capturing autumn colour in Waterlow Park – is fully booked but look out for the next one in the spring. And if you are inspired by autumn, why not join the project (if you haven’t already) and enter our October competition – Autumn colours and patterns. The photos accompanying this article are a selection of recent uploads by some of our participants. We hope they inspire you to join us. To find out more and sign up see the project website.
ABOVE Image © John Kelly LRPS
ABOVE Image © Susi
Luard LRPS
OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT Image © Charlotte Weddell, RIGHT Image © Debbie Jaye THIS PAGE BELOW LEFT Image © Beverley Poynter, BELOW RIGHT Image © Judy Hicks LRPS
ABOVE Image © Neil Rayment
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DAVE’S DIARY
HISTORY Photographer of old; child of the darkroom; reborn to digital FAVOURITE GENRE Street; people; life around me PHILOSOPHY Always looking; snapper; grab the moment CAMERA Nikon D750 14-120mm; Olympus Stylus 1 A regular column about a photographer’s CAMERA CLUB South London Photographic Society life in London by Dave Harris LRPS LRPS April 2015
Beware this report may contain flash photography! Recently, Dave tried his hands on flash photography at his local photography club. Did it all come together or fall apart? My local club, South London Photographic Society, arranged a portrait evening recently. We have a number of keen 'lightmen', who brought tons of equipment to our big hall for us to play with. "It's really simple..." You know it won't be. Firstly, the old Canon/Nikon/Other nut had to be cracked. Jim, a Canon man, had everything set up for Canon. "If you're a Canon user, you don't have to do anything, it's all set up for you." But I'm a Nikon user. And my friends were Pentax, Olympus and Sony users. Nothing was set up. It all had to be done manually. "It's really simple..." Needless to say, it was anything but. We set our cameras to work in 'Commander Mode'. Except that's what Nikon calls it. Everyone else has a different name. And it's hidden away in the bowels of the menu system. "Just set flash compensation to minus 3." Set what? 22
Yes, yes. I know I should know my camera better. I read the manual. And the Dummy's guide. And got very familiar with my camera when I bought it. But unless you use these functions regularly, you forget. Eventually. Slowly. Patiently (at least for Jim). It came together. But it was all falling apart for our model. Poor Margaret was fed up. We didn't even have a teabreak. The process wasn't made easier by everyone's flash going off at once. The flash units were being triggered by our cameras, and by each other (we had three separate groups). And, it seemed, by someone turning on their kitchen light 100 metres up the road! I won't say we took good photos. We didn't. But we came away with an understanding of the basics (just basic 'basics', of course). It's a complicated subject and needs time, knowledge and practice. And time. "Beware this report may contains flash photography." And how.
All Images Š Dave Harris LRPS
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USEFUL LINKS
RPS LONDON GROUPS RPS LONDON BLEEDING LONDON BREATHING LONDON LONDON, CINE LONDON, NATURALLY LONDON, STREET LONDON, URBAN FIRST TUESDAY
Have you got a story to tell? Or pictures to show? Have you been on a trip, at a workshop or to a fair? Are you working on a project or preparing an exhibition? Have you met a photographer who your fellow RPS London members should know of or visited an exhibition they should see? We love to hear from you. Get in touch with Capital Interest to share your experience. Click here.
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INFORMATION & ADVICE LONDON, EVENTS LONDON, DISTINCTIONS LONDON, WEB NEWSLETTER