Our President and Committee extend a warm welcome to all members to start the 104th season of Harrogate Photographic Society. The programme for the year will be shared with members and the prize and certificate winners will be awarded and celebrated at the session and after in a social setting.

Christine Widdal (FBPE, MPAGB, EFIAP, APAGB, Hon LCPU) is an award winning photographer with a keen interest in AI.

This evening she will talk about the hot topic of AI. What is it and how it is becoming more integrated into editing software. Can it be policed, who owns the image and how it has become part of a genre of AI art. Finally what next for AI? Anticipated to be an interesting and possibly controversial evening?

christinewiddall.co.uk

Sean Chandler is a London-raised, Leeds-based photojournalist working across football in the Premier League, EFL and women’s game. His work focuses on capturing the emotional edge of sport — the moments beyond the ball, where reaction, tension and human behaviour tell the real story.

Working independently and with Sports Press Photo, he now covers matches across the top tiers of English football. Alongside editorial work, he produces player-focused imagery and longer-form storytelling, built around anticipation, awareness and an understanding of how moments unfold in real time.Sean is accredited with the

Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) and AIPS.

seanchandler.info

Members who were trophy winners in 2025/26 will share the background to the winning shot. What inspired them to take the shot, how and where.? A chance to see some of the best images in the club and hear first hand from our best photographers.

I took my first photograph in 2012, joined my local club to work out what to do and soon moved on.  I have had many roles away from the camera in my short photographic life.  

This talk follows on from The Little Print Show (TLPS).  M.E, Myself and Eye is M.E - Multiple Exposure, MYSELF - I will tell you a little about myself and you will see the world through my seeing EYE.  In the talk I show many individual images from my projects and explain the meaning behind them.  I cover the concept of photographing an artistic image, shooting and then the production of the final print.  As in TLPS, the evening takes you out of the niche of Camera Club and into my world of Visual Art. 

Yorkshire Based Photographer Oliver Wright Specialises In Wildlife, Macro And Adventure Photography

He has developed his own style of photography by using focus stacking in many genres and specialises in handheld stacking, creating a unique style and set of images.

Some of the wildlife subjects he photographs are very small and very active, a particular favourite being jumping spiders. This makes use of tripods very difficult even though the photography may need to be taken at five times magnification.

In 2026/27 we are revising the competition criteria to include the popular diptychs and triptychs. This allows members to enter this multiple image challenge. In the first session Alistair will share some of the past winners, the process to create, and some ideas and examples that members might want to use.

The follow up session on January 4th will be led by Michelle and will involve a focus group style evening. Ahead of the session members will be invited to put their work in progress into photo entry for constructive critique, suggestions and help with creating panels, triptychs and diptychs. We hope that this encourages members to refine their work and enter the competition which will be judged on March 8th.

Our first print competition

Photo Entry Closing Date Midnight 29th September 2026

Physical Hand In Date 29th September 2026

Charlotte Gale is an award winning, Sunday Times published, professional photographer with 17 years commercial experience. She is based in Knaresborough, but works with businesses and organisations throughout Yorkshire and beyond.

Charlotte also has a passion for travel and has been lucky enough to explore nearly 50 countries across six continents, often journeying off the beaten track and encountering unique cultural experiences and environments.

Tonight she will take us on a colourful visual journey, as we explore diverse cultures, nature and communities around the world through the eyes of her lens.

charlottegalephotography.com

Ever popular Bill Ward returns to share with us his latest project/book. Award winning actor Bill is also a keen photographer. When he last visited HPS he was just starting the project:

“IMMERSIVE” is my pioneering Ocean ICM project, my 4 year investigation into water, energy and movement, and what happens when you physically get into the sea with a wetsuit, waterproof housing and a moving camera, and become literally immersed within, and surrounded by, the very thing you’re photographing.

A surfer for over 30 years, I’ve long been interested in the energy of the ocean, and what happens when that energy transfers itself to the land. A few years ago I started to wonder what might happen if I put my two very favourite things together, and put a moving camera into the path of a breaking wave.

All the photographs in this collection were taken with long exposures and a moving camera out amongst the breaking waves in, on, or underneath the ocean with Pentax DSLRs, C-Skin wetsuits and EWA-Marine Waterproof Housing.

Our second print competition

Photo Entry Closing Date Midnight 29th September 2026

Physical Hand In Date 29th September 2026

Our third print competition

Photo Entry Closing Date Midnight 29th September 2026

Physical Hand In Date 29th September 2026

Helen has been a professional photographer since starting out as a photo-journalist straight from university in 1998. In the early 2000s she spent eight years as ITV’s in-house photographer, working daily and providing publicity stills for the TV series they produced.

In November 2007, Helen went freelance, still carrying on working as a successful stills photographer for the likes of BBC/CH5/SKY/ITV.

In this evening’s presentation Helen hopes to give a fascinating, behind the scenes insight into how a TV set works and where and how photography fits in.

Note that all proceeds from tonight’s presentation will be donated to the charity Dementia Forward.

Georgia says that wildlife isn’t just something you see on documentaries, it’s right outside, living its own life.

Georgia began her photography journey in 2024 with a camera, a lot of curiosity, and a particular interest in birds. Since then, she has been exploring and documenting wildlife with a focus on natural behaviour and everyday moments in nature. Her aim is to share the stories of creatures big and small, and hopefully spark the same sense of excitement she feels whenever something wild crosses her path.

The talk will be a personal look at how spending repeated time in a single area can reveal the quieter, often overlooked side of British wildlife. Rather than chasing rare or distant subjects, Georgia focuses on observing familiar birds over time, paying attention to behaviour, seasonal change, and small moments that are easy to miss.

Laurence Winram is a fine art and commercial photographer based in Edinburgh. He has been working across both disciplines since the early 1990s. His award-winning work has been exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery and The Royal Scottish Academy.

Laurence divides his time between commercial commissions and personal projects, with his fine art prints available through his online Winram Gallery. He also produces imagery for book covers for Trevillion Images library.

His style is influenced by a longstanding interest in art and magic. With both his father and grandfather being magicians, this early exposure led to an interest in illusion and more esoteric themes, evident in projects such as MythosLogos and Conemen.

In his talk, Laurence will outline the trajectory of his career, including the changes required to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving industry. He will present a selection of individual images - both commissioned and personal - walking through the full process from initial concept and visualisation to shoot and final retouching.

commercial.lwinram.com

Our second evening led by Michelle. Using the focus group format the evening will allow members to present ideas and work in progress for their diptych, triptych and panel projects ahead of entry into the new competition.

James is a British photographer based in Istanbul, dedicated to uncovering overlooked architectural treasures in urban environments. His work focuses on abandoned buildings, hidden interiors, and forgotten spaces that still carry a strong sense of history, craftsmanship, and atmosphere.

Travel is central to James’s work. It is both his compass and his canvas, leading him to overlooked places around the world, from Beirut's fading modernist landmarks to the Soviet-era relics of Tbilisi. Each journey is driven by the search for architecture that tells a story beyond the obvious. James is drawn to buildings that reflect a lost era of design and craftsmanship.

James’s work has received recognition in international competitions, including the ND Awards and Chromatic Colour Awards. James is also the author of two books, Fabrica – A Journey Into Decay and Abandoned Lebanon. Alongside his photography, James leads international photography workshops and tours, and since 2018 he has delivered more than 400 photography talks for camera clubs, both in person and online.

jameskerwin.uk

An exploration of Courtney’s photographic journey through the Forest of Dean, tracing her shift from capturing sweeping woodland landscapes to revealing the intricate, often overlooked world of macro. This talk offers insight into Courtney’s evolving way of seeing, rooted in intention, patience and curiosity, and invites others to slow down, look closer and discover the remarkable details hidden in plain sight.

Courtney is a Gloucestershire based landscape and macro photographer with a knack for finding wonder in the quietest corners of nature. Her process reaches beyond technical skill, embracing the unpredictability of fieldwork and the small thrill of discovering something unexpected in the undergrowth.

Alongside her personal projects, Courtney has spent the past few years leading local woodland photography workshops and helping others tune into the finer details of the natural world.

Our first PDI competition

Photo Entry Closes 1st January 2027

Sean Jones is a wildlife photographer based in North Yorkshire, and is an avid fan of the diversity that the natural world offers us.

Sean’s grandparents bought Sean’s first camera, an Olympus 35mm SLR, when he went off to the USA as an 18 year old. Sean now shoots exclusively with Canon Mirrorless bodies and RF mount lenses. He has taken this equipment with him on trips to Iceland, Norway, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, to name but a few.

In 2024 the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust asked Sean if he would like to run some group workshops at a local nature reserve not far from where he lives.

This evening’s presentation is likely to include a mixture of UK and worldwide wildlife, including Sean’s experiences on a recent trip to Botswana.

Website:    https://www.seanjonesphotography.co.uk/

For one night only we will enjoy the stories and photography of President Steve Preston

Our second PDI competition

Our third PDI competition

Andy Gray is a published award-winning Landscape photographer based in the Peak District.

Before taking up photography in 2004, he studied painting and the history of art before embarking on a career in manufacturing. This early background influence has often led to the question “Is this a painting or a photograph?” By harnessing light in the landscape to evoke mood and atmosphere Andy aims to transport the audience to the places he visits and relive his own experiences.

A prize winner in the Landscape Photographer of The Year 2021 competition, success soon followed in the British Photography Awards, Natural Landscape Photography Awards 2024 and Runner-Up in the Royal Meteorological Society’s annual international Weather Photographer of The Year 2024 competition.

In the first part of his presentation Andy will guide you through his approach to photographing woodland. In the second half of the evening Andy will show a selection of other photographs from his portfolio.

andygrayphotography.com

Entry deadline 31 January 2027

Our new competition for Diptych and Triptych, plus the traditional Panel Competition

Amy says that the best advice she has ever received was from Ricky Gervais, “No-one else knows what they’re doing either!”…

Over the years Amy has established a formidable reputation as an automotive photographer and instructive videographer with a particular style of image-making, concentrating mainly on car and motorbike related subjects.

Amy has worked and continues to work for some major clients such as Goodwood, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, MINI, Octane magazine, Evo magazine, Revolution magazine, Ramp magazine, Lexus, Renault Alpine, Triumph, Classic Driver, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and many more.

In this evening’s presentation Amy will give an insight into her approach to photographing cars.

  https://amyshorephotography.com/

David Jenner is a creative landscape photographer. David will present his unique Night & Day panoramas which take anything up to 100 hours to complete!

David will also focus on many of his other award winning images from his portfolio with plenty of amusement and heartbreak along the way - not to mention an unhealthy obsession with John Craven! This is a talk like no other and promises to be a fantastic evening of entertainment you will never forget.

davidjenner.co.uk

A social ending to the year with a chance to celebrate and socialise with members. A short AGM will be followed by coffee and cake with a light hearted trivia quiz. Members will display some of their favourite prints in the hall.

To commemorate the centenary of the 1922 founding of Harrogate Photographic Society - one of the oldest photographic societies in the country in continuous existence - the Committee instituted the HPS Centenary Medal Competition.

This competition, to be held annually, brings together the winners of every competition held at the Society over the previous three seasons with the intention of finding the supreme champion photographer.