A month by month summary of the Society activities.
December 2025: Bob Bracer – Self Indulgence
This December, we welcomed local photography expert and fellow member, Bob Bracher.
Bob shared fascinating insights into his photography journey and his concept of being ‘self-indulgent’—which, for him, means cataloguing a lifetime of photos into beautiful photobooks for future generations to enjoy.
Bob began with portrait photography before moving into street photography, and he has a passion for capturing spur-of-the-moment, candid shots that are often humorous or deeply evocative. His portfolio also includes stunning holiday images, with his wife playing an important role by offering feedback and ideas on his creative work.
Interestingly, Bob noted that his greatest success in competitions often comes from images that evoke emotion rather than those that are technically perfect. He enjoys editing with Adobe Elements and has recently discovered Snapseed for quick edits on the go.
Coming Up Next Month:
Our members will showcase their top three photos of 2025—a perfect chance to see creativity at its best!
Make it your 2026 resolution to join us!
Come along and enjoy inspiring talks from our wonderful guest speakers.
All welcome.
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
November 2025: Diane Berridge – Titanic and Photo Restoration
This month, we welcomed local photography restoration expert Diane Berridge, who shared insights into her fascinating Titanic project and the incredible work she does restoring historic photographs.
Diane’s journey into photo restoration began years ago after attending a talk by Tony Grice, whose passion inspired her to pursue this craft. Over time, her expertise grew, and eventually, Channel 4 approached her for a documentary exploring new evidence about how the Titanic sank. They asked Diane to bring old black-and-white images to life by re-colouring them for television viewers. To her astonishment, she was given 26 photographs to restore—within just seven days!
One of Diane’s proudest contributions was the colourisation of a photograph from the Titanic’s launch day on 31 May 1911, which was later transformed into a moving image for the documentary. Another memorable challenge was a beautiful group photo of the ship’s workers. Diane painstakingly researched and recoloured each individual to reflect the authentic clothing of the era.
The documentary also featured experts examining the Titanic’s design and revealed blemishes near the boiler room that may have contributed to structural flaws. Diane’s work added vivid detail to these historical discoveries, allowing viewers to experience the story in a whole new way.
Dianes other business is restoring vintage & damaged photos and brings them back to life and recolors them to be nearly as good as the day they were taken.
Next Month, we have fellow member Bob Bracher talking about all things Self-indulgent.
All welcome.
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
October 2025: Huw Alban – That’s not a Landscape Photograph
This month, we welcomed photographer Huw Alban from Shaftesbury, near the iconic Stonehenge. Huw shared how his creative journey has been shaped by the late Sir Ken Robinson, renowned for his work in arts education and his influential TED Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Drawing from personal experiences in camera club competitions, Huw discussed the challenges of conforming to genre expectations and the importance of staying true to one’s artistic vision. He emphasized that creativity thrives when we stop trying to please others and instead focus on what resonates with us personally.
Huw offers one-on-one photography mentoring and shared a recent example of helping a client refocus their work to reflect their own preferences rather than external approval. He also spoke about his passion for Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), a technique not always embraced by traditionalists, and how spontaneous moments—like photographing raindrops from a café window—often lead to the most creative outcomes.
Beyond landscape photography, Huw enjoys exploring the Lake District, the Cornish and Devon coasts, and has recently ventured into street photography. He concluded with a reminder that mindset is key: take time to observe your surroundings and photograph with intention. He left us with a powerful quote—“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Next Month, we have Dianne Berridge talking about Photo restoration & the part she played in the Channel 4 documentary on the Titanic.
All welcome.
Picture Credit: Huw Alban
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
September 2025: Alistair Howe – Sports Photography
In September, we had the pleasure of connecting—thanks to the wonders of modern internet technology—with Alastair Howe, a seasoned sports photographer based in the charming town of Harrogate.
Alastair spends much of his time travelling across Yorkshire, capturing dynamic images of local sports personalities and clubs. Through years of experience behind the lens, he’s discovered that the most compelling photographs are those bursting with colour and vibrancy.
During our conversation, Alastair shared insights into the fast-paced world of media photography. As he explained, when shooting for publication, there’s no luxury of post-editing—images must be visually accurate and ready to send straight to the editor for immediate online release.
To keep up with the action, Alastair typically shoots at 12–20 frames per second (fps), using continuous autofocus and a monopod to minimise vibration. His preferred setting is Aperture Priority (AP), which allows him to maintain control over depth of field while adapting to changing light conditions.
Alastair’s Top Tips for a Successful Sports Photography Session:
- Know your gear inside out
- Understand the rules of the sport you’re photographing
- Identify standout players early
- Begin with amateur sports, ideally in summer for better lighting
- Aim to separate players for cleaner compositions
- Eliminate background clutter
- Leave space in the frame for players to move into
He also offered a practical tip: many athletes and teams appreciate receiving photos, so don’t hesitate to reach out via Instagram or Facebook. It’s a great way to build connections and share your work with those who value it most.
Next Month, we have Huw Alban talking about Landscape Photography.
All welcome.
Picture Credit: Courtney Killpack
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
August 2025: Monica Doshi – Monica on Tour
Last Wednesday, wildlife photographer Monica Doshi visited our club to talk about her wildlife travels. She took us on a photographic journey to the Isle of Lewis & Harris, located off the coast of Scotland, where she showed us photos of deserted beaches and stormy clouds. Monica does most of her trips in her trusty, cozy motorhome, which has also taken her to Orkney & beyond.
Monica’s travels began in 2020, during which she worked for the NHS. She was given the opportunity to become a GP in Orkney and managed to combine her love of photography with helping the local islanders.
Her photos also featured the numerous shipwrecks around the islands, from attempts by other countries to reach mainland Britain through the Churchill Barriers. Monica loves photographing the local otter community, along with seals, Mergansers, Black Guillemots, and she was fortunate to photograph the Northern Lights against an Italian chapel built on the island in 1939 for Italian Army prisoners, made from two Nissen huts.
Artic Terns are very popular on Orkney’s Atlantic side, along with Shags with iridescent plumage, Pied Wagtails, and others. After the pandemic, Monica packed up her campervan and traveled to Westray Island, then took a plane to Shetland to photograph Gannets and the rare Red-Throated Divers, a large waterbirds bigger than the great crested grebe but smaller than the cormorant.
Monica also loved photographing the red-necked phalaropes, known for spinning on the water to bring up food. They were hunted back in the Victorian era for their feathers, which caused their numbers to dwindle. Fortunately, thanks to a successful breeding program, their numbers are slowly increasing.
Back on mainland Scotland, Monica often visits Chanonry Point to dolphin watch as they follow mackerel and salmon fishermen. She has also visited the Cairngorms to photograph snow buntings and mountain hares and ventured up to Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland to capture stunning landscape and water photos.
Over the last few years, Monica has traveled internationally and achieved various successes in competitions. She’s been a finalist twice in BWPA (2023 and 2025), participated in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards (2024), with her photos soon to be published in a book. She is also a finalist in the International Bird Photographer of the Year (2025) and was 7th in the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year (2021).
Monica has had over 300 acceptances to international photography exhibitions and has won more than 50 awards, including several medals. She has been recognized as excellent in photography by the Federation Internationale d’art de Photographie and holds a Distinction with the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.
Next Month we have Alastair Howe talking about his journey in Sports Photography.
All welcome.
Picture Credit: Monica Doshi
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
July 2025: Jet Black Squares – Smartphone Photography
In July, we were fortunate to welcome Jet Lendon from Jet Black Squares Photography as she traveled all the way from St. Albans to teach our members how to use their smartphones for photography, regardless of the brand or model.
Jet knew how to optimize them for the best photos. Jet’s career began as a primary school teacher, and she turned her passion for photography into a professional career, expanding into wedding and corporate photography. It wasn’t until she gave a career talk at a local secondary school that she explained to students that you don’t need fancy cameras and lenses to take really good, professional-quality photos with your phone. She did note that there are limitations to what some smartphones can currently do, such as night photography, wildlife, sports, and portraiture. Five years later, Jet now runs a thriving business with 16 employees, conducting workshops and giving talks at local clubs, charities, and schools.
Jet mentioned that by 2028, 6.23 billion people will own a smartphone, which is incredible for those wanting to take photos ‘on the go’. She remarked that this is a major turning point—while you plan to take photos with a DSLR, with a smartphone it’s often a spontaneous decision, making it ideal for street photography. Jet then asked all our members to take out their phones and led us on an educational journey to set up phones for optimized photography.
Our monthly topic was ‘in the air’ where members submitted photos of everything from local air shows to birds of prey & jumping dogs.
Next month, we look forward to hosting the esteemed Monica Doshi, who was shortlisted for British Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Scottish Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
June 2025: Jem Wilton – Wet Plate Photography
Our guest speaker for June was the ever-enthusiastic Jem Wilton, who started his illustrious career at the Banbury Guardian and then was lucky enough to move on to the Daily Star, the Sun, and some of the other top London tabloids. These roles gave him the opportunity to photograph the likes of Liam Gallagher and Naomi Campbell.
His claim to fame is a very famous photo of the Heathrow IRA bombing — the van where the explosives were stored, taken from a local dog walker’s backyard shortly before the police caught him!
With his wife, Kate, he moved back to Banbury to raise his family and took up wet plate photography almost as a tribute to the original press photography era.
Jem prints onto glass or tin.
All our members were intrigued by Jem’s interactive talk and had plenty of questions for him, especially about his Thornton Pickard camera, which dates back to the 1880s, and his smaller MPP camera.
Our members went outside on a mild spring evening, where Jem took a portrait-style photo of one of our members, which he then processed in chemicals and handed to the subject, who was very pleased with the picture!
June’s monthly topic was ‘Documentary’.
In July, we are so excited to have Jet Lendon from Let Black Squares talking about ‘Smart Phone Photography’. Everyone is welcome.
Picture Credit: Jem Wilton
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
May 2025: Kate Barry – From Photojournalism to Landscape Photography
Our inspiring guest speaker for May, Kate Barry, shared her fascinating journey from photojournalism to landscape photography, rooted in her upbringing in Deddington. She began her career with a brief stint at the Banbury Guardian, later joining the Evesham Advertiser as a staff photographer. There, she captured scenes of village life, local events, kids’ clubs, and even visits from royal family members. Working entirely in manual film photography, she described the satisfaction of producing a good image in the darkroom for publication.
A turning point came when she was asked to photograph the local weather, sparking a deep interest in landscape and seascape photography.
Although Kate still appreciates the precision and aesthetic of black-and-white printed images, she admits she doesn’t miss the chemical smells of the darkroom. Her career later shifted toward teaching at an art college, which gave her the freedom to travel during school holidays.
Her journeys took her to Israel and Namibia, where she captured stunning scenes of sand dunes, petrified trees, waterfalls, and tribal life. Welcomed by a local tribe known to her guide, she learned about hair design techniques and tribal hierarchy, all while photographing the experience. She was also fortunate to observe wildlife including giraffes, leopards, zebras, and elephants, often choosing to admire them without a lens, soaking in the moment. A highlight was photographing the Milky Way over the Namibian desert, thanks to the remarkably clear skies.
Kate’s travels also led her to Glencoe in Scotland, where she captured Glencoe Castle and Rannoch Moor, followed the next year by a trip to Wales, photographing the Penmon Lighthouse in Anglesey and Dinorwic Quarry.
She concluded her talk with wise advice:
- Try to get the photo right in the camera.
- Lighting is key.
- Join something that motivates you.
- Don’t compare yourself to others.
- Learn from those you admire.
- And most importantly, measure your success by how pleased you are with your own photo.
This tied beautifully into May’s theme: ‘Closer to Home’, reminding us that inspiration often begins right where we are.
Picture Credit: Andrew Dayer
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
March 2025: Kim Benson – 2024 – Travels and Techniques.
Fellow society member Kim Benson chronologically documented her photography in 2024, taking her audience to different parts of Britain and overseas to the U.S.
Being keen on photographing many different subjects, she showed us, the audience, images of birds, flowers, insects, buildings, balloons and illuminations that she enjoyed throughout the year, giving hints and tips and techniques she used to take the most stunning photographs.
Her first tip was to be organised, storing images in named folders with dates and places. One platform that she successfully uses for photo storage is Flickr. (https://www.flickr.com)
Her style of taking long exposure images to create movement in her pictures spilled over into the different genres she enjoys- in Street photography, Sport, air shows, Balloon festivals, Architecture and Landscapes. Using techniques such as panning, zoom bursts, and ICM, she created movement alongside altering camera exposure and shutter speed. And for clear, sharp images, particularly flora and fauna, Kim used the technique of Photo stacking in the camera.
Kim enjoys going on planned, organised ’Flickr walks’, joining fellow photographers in London and Oxford to photograph these destinations. Some of her images are edited in Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom to create abstracted images.
She also uses editing techniques to layer images to add movement into the final images. An example of this was a dramatic image that she created by layering of six shots of a stuntman falling from high following his fall to the floor.
Wherever Kim takes her camera, she finds something to shoot. Thank you Kim.
The club slideshow at the end of the evening was titled ‘Circles, Ellipses and Curves’. Members produced some amazing images, from a light pendulum art piece to outdoor shots of architecture and nature. Well done all- very creative.
Next month is our AGM and the start of our 2025-2026 year. We welcome new members as we venture into another exciting year.
Picture Credit: Kim Benson
Miggy Wild, ADDPS
February 2025: Tina Hadley – A Lifetime of Photography.
Tina Hadley, our February guest speaker, shared her inspiring journey in photography.
Her passion ignited when her parents moved to Germany, leading her to a transformative three-year apprenticeship with a wedding photographer.
There, she mastered the art of cleanliness, essential for capturing the perfect shot, and learned to mix darkroom chemicals and understand camera lenses, ultimately receiving her first camera—a Zenith—2.5 years in.
Despite the challenges of growing up as a foreigner in Germany and the constraints of the photographers’ union, Tina persevered and found her path.
Working at an eye hospital, she developed a deep sense of empathy, approaching vulnerable patients with kindness. Her adventure as a ski representative not only introduced her to her husband but also opened doors to a new chapter.
In the Middle East, she thrived, capturing the essence of wealthy dignitaries and processing photos in her tiny bathroom for same-day delivery. Upon returning to the UK, she created a beautiful home business, collaborating with her husband who crafted frames for her art.
Tina embraced the principles of CLEPS: Composition, Light, Exposure, Pose, and Shoot. In her digital era, she found joy using her Hasselblad camera and gracefully wound down her business last year after an unforgettable Bar Mitzvah. The highlight of her career was photographing the Queen at a parade, where a moment of eye contact filled her with pride and inspiration.
Februarys monthly topic was ‘Blurred / Out of focus’.
In March we have one of our members Kim Benson coming to talk about ‘Travel & Techniques’. Everyone welcome.
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS
January 2025: Favourite/Best 3 images of 2024
Happy New year!
We got 2025 off with a bang with a ‘Best 3 photos of 2024’ display from our members which was well attended.
With nearly 60 images, ranging from Portraiture to Reflections, Snow bound holidays, Flowers and pin sharp macro photography, our photos reflected the broad interest we have at the club.
Break time, once our members were treated with sumptuous home baked cakes & biscuits , we chatted about Xmas holidays, reflected on those no longer with us and discussed plans for 2025.
In February we have Tina Hadley coming to talk about her ‘Photographic Journey’. Everyone welcome.
Picture Credit: Nicky Westwood (Kid goats on the northern tip of Sark)
Courtney Killpack, ADDPS