The committee welcome all members and visitors to view the programme for 2025/26
2025 - 2026 Season
MONTHLY PROJECTED DIGITAL IMAGE THEMES
September - Taken In The Last Month
October - Intentional Camera Movement
November - Orange
December - City At Night
January - Out Of Context
February - Bokeh Technique
2025 – 2026 PROGRAMME
Meetings are held in The Friends’ Hall and also broadcast live on Zoom. Non-members are welcome to join us either in person on on zoom for a charge of £5
Monday, September 8, 2025
WELCOME SESSION, PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION OF AWARDS
Our President and Committee extend a warm welcome to all members to start the 103rd 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.
Members who have entered the YPU print competition should collect their prints. All members who entered the YPU - print and or DPI can also collect a catalogue.
We look forward to meeting and welcoming existing HPS members, some new members and visitors at the opening evening of the Season Programme. Doors open at 7.15pm and evening starts at 7.30pm. There is no entry fee for this session - all are welcome
Monday, September 15, 2025
LEIGH PRESTON
Is This It?
Leigh has been involved in photography for well over 40 years. He works mainly in monochrome and in a thematic way. He's a Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society, also EFIAP and MPAGB. He is involved in lecturing, teaching at college and running workshops for Permajet, but also in writing and publishing his work and in gallery exhibitions. Leigh belongs to the Arena and Focus photography groups and is a member of The London Salon.
Leigh’s ‘Is This It?’ presentation comprises photographs from all walks of life, and a general look at the absurd. It’s aimed at liberal extremists, taken by a disillusioned middle-aged grump standing at a slight angle to the universe!
“As the years dull my senses and I try to hang on to the world that I knew I struggle to cross generational fences and find the beauty that remains…”
This presentation by Leigh illustrates the character of towns and characters found in the UK in recent years – the unfamiliar seen in familiar situations.
Leigh will talk with anecdotes, try and relate some detail on observation, occurrences and his reaction to inoffensive fleeting moments that appear in the locations that he chose. There are elements of serendipity, stupidity, plenty of humour, the bizarre and some sadness too. Leigh will mention patience and photographer’s luck, in a sardonic and at times irreverent commentary.
Monday, September 22, 2025
NICK GREGAN
The Power of the Headshot
Nick has been a professional photographer for nearly three decades, specialising in headshots for actors, performers, authors, politicians and high-profile names you’ll definitely recognise. With over 20,000 people in front of his lens, he knows better than most how to coax out the story behind the stare, using his unique Rapid Rapport™ technique.
His talk The Power of the Headshot™ isn’t your usual tech-heavy photography talk. It’s fast-paced, funny, and packed with practical tips, useful advice and anecdotes from someone who’s spent years photographing everyone from Miriam Margolyes to Graham Norton and just about everyone in between. Whether you're an experienced portrait photographer or just taking photos for fun, Nick’s going to change how you think about photographing people.
He’ll show you how to spot the difference between a good enough-photo and a headshot that really works. He’ll explain what The Headshot Conversation™ really means. And yes – he’ll probably rope in a volunteer or two for a live shoot, walking you through exactly what he’s doing and why.
Monday, September 29, 2025
CLUB EVENING - What we did last summer
Members have been active over the summer (June to September 2025) on both club outings and their own activities. This is one of two sessions where members will share a small number of images in the hall. It is always interesting to see how different members choose to shoot and process images from the same location or event
Monday, October 6, 2025
THOMAS PECK
Photographing Architecture
Thomas has been taking photographs for many years now; he originally focused mostly on macro photography of flowers, and then expanded to include landscape, architecture and portraits.
Thomas shoots with Sony & Leica cameras, and also his phone. There is a lot of enjoyment wrapped up with the kit – it’s that blokey, geeky equipment thing. But the real pleasure of photography is that it forces us to slow down and really look. That’s never easy in our rushed world, so a chance to stop, look and see is truly valuable. Thomas hopes his pictures convey that in some small way.
This evening’s presentation is about architectural photography; images of buildings, particularly black & white, long exposure, ‘fine art’ photographs of modern architecture have become very popular recently.
The talk will take us through image making techniques and processing tips to create spectacular photographs of buildings, with examples from London, Paris, Venice, Valencia & York, whether using a high end DSLR or just a mobile phone.
Thomas runs workshops Quest Photography, and he will reveal more about his workshops during the evening.
Monday, October 13, 2025
SARAH HOWARD
Capture and Creation of Mood and Atmosphere in Landscape Photography
Sarah is a professional UK landscape photographer based in the Cotswolds; her interest in photography was initiated by her father, himself an accomplished amateur photographer. Initially inspired and subsequently mentored by renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite, she was encouraged to develop her photography further and to him she owes much gratitude.
Sarah’s other passion is travel and she is happiest whilst exploring the great outdoors, seeking to capture the immense diversity and beauty of our world through the camera; she is known for her authentic and faithful style of photography.
In 2009 her first book ‘A Year in the Life Of Westonbirt’ was published; she is currently working on her second – ‘Photographing the Cotswolds’ for the fotoVUE series.
Also in 2009 Sarah founded Image Seen, now a small collaborative of landscape photographers (including James Rushforth who visited HPS last season), which offers landscape photography workshops, holidays and tuition, set in some of the UK and Europe’s most breath-taking scenery, giving opportunities for small groups to improve their photography and create inspiring images.
In tonight’s presentation Sarah discusses what we mean by ‘mood and atmosphere’ in our photographs. What sort of conditions we can look for to help us create atmospheric images and how can we work with them, plus telling a story in our photographs.
Monday, October 20 2025
CLUB EVENING - What we did last summer
Members have been active over the summer (June to September 2025) on both club outings and their own activities. This is one of two sessions where members will share a small number of images in the hall. It is always interesting to see how different members choose to shoot and process images from the same location or event
Monday, October 27, 2025
PRINT COMPETITION 1
Photo entry closing date midnight 23rd September
Physical hand in date 30th September
Judge - Sally Sallett
Monday, November 3, 2025
THURSTAN REDDING
Cosplay: Finding Authenticity Through Costume
Thurstan Redding is a Hong Kong-born, French-raised British photographer and director based in London. He has contributed to i-D, M: Le Magazine du Monde, British Vogue, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Arena Homme +, Document Journal, Love, The Wall Street Journal, Re-Edition, and Replica. His commercial clients include Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Miu Miu, Paco Rabanne, Marc Jacobs, Chloé, and Burberry.
Years ago, Thurstan was longing for images that were layered with sociological meaning; the sort of images that he had not seen before. He had been searching
for a subject matter that still had space for exploration. When he came across a cosplay convention in 2017 he was transfixed…
Cosplay (noun): The activity or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction (such as a comic book, video game, or television show).
It took three years to properly gain the trust of around 50 cosplayers from 50 different locations, and capture the beauty of their craftsmanship; this often comes alive in the most unassuming of places: a suburban home as they create ingenious costumes; a local bus stop as they head out in full regalia; a teenage bedroom before connecting with their wide community.
Thurstan’s project aimed to provide a never-before-seen insight into the cosplay community, which is notoriously esoteric, difficult to photograph and rarely documented outside the confines of cosplay conventions. Sometime, all it takes is to scratch the surface of our realities to reveal the fantasy beneath…
Monday, November 10, 2025
RICHARD EGAN - FRPS AMPA ABIPP DGAPB BPEIII
Let There Be Light: The Fine Art Nude
The creation of strong fine art nude photographs is often the combination of skill, foresight and ortune.
Richard’s images capture the beauty of the female form in both natural and manmade environments.
Working with sensational models and beautiful locations I create unique images.
Richard has his personal style and the ability to use light to the maximum to produce amazing images of the female form.
Richard is the youngest photographer to have achieved a Fellowship from The Royal Photographic Society in portraiture and art nude photography, and is one of only forty six photographers in the world to hold this prestigious distinction within this genre.
To understand how a camera works is one thing, to understand how light works is everything.
This latest presentation by Richard is a journey of chasing natural light and capturing the beauty of the female form, exploring the interplay between light, the female form and architectural structures. Discover the transformative power of fine art nude photography and witness the ethereal beauty that Richard captures through his lens.
Monday, November 17, 2025
PRINT COMPETITION 2
Photo entry closing date midnight 23rd September
Physical hand in date 30th September
Judge – Robert Helliwell
Monday, November 24, 2025
PRINT COMPETITION 3
Photo entry closing date midnight 23rd September
Physical hand in date 30th September
Judge – Stephanie Cook
Monday, December 1, 2025
MALCOLM HUPMAN
Where I Photograph Great Britain
Malcolm first became interested in Photography in 1976 while working in Zambia. Being interested in wildlife he planned a trip to Luangwa Valley Game Park on his way back to the UK and wanted to buy a camera. All he could find was a second-hand Zenith B with a 50mm f/3.5 lens. It was totally manual with no exposure meter, no auto focus and not the best equipment to take on Safari. His results were disappointing, but it did awaken a passion for photography that he still has today almost 50 years later.
On returning to the UK Malcolm purchased a Nikkormat FT2; very soon he joined a Camera Club which encouraged him to build a darkroom; most of his work was monochrome for club print competitions. Malcolm later acquired a second Nikkormat FT2 which he used for Colour Slides and experimented with Cibachrome Prints.
In 1999 Malcolm was given a Sony Mavica that recorded images on a floppy disc and he was not that impressed with digital Photograph. 10 years later technology had moved on, and he bought a Nikon D60 DSLR. He loved it and immediately realised its potential for wildlife photography. Since then, Malcolm has progressed through 6 different Nikon Cameras and 12 different lenses, 5 of them Prime. Most of his photography between 2010 and 2020 was of wildlife, but he never stopped taking pictorial images and in the last 3 years it has accounted for most of his photography.
Malcolm is a member of Corby Photographic Club and has been on the committee for over 15 years holding the positions of Programme Secretary, Competition Secretary, Vice Chairman and he has been Chairman for the past 4 years. He started giving talks when he was asked to give a presentation to his own club in 2018 and felt that the talk would be of use to other clubs. Since then, he has produced 6 talks mostly for Photographic Societies but also for Wildlife Groups, Birding Clubs, U3A and other groups.
‘Where I Photograph Great Britain’ is Malcolm’s most recent talk and is a divergence from his earlier talks that all mostly concentrated on Wildlife. Having taken photographs of many places in Great Britain he thought it would be good to share some of them. The images he has used are not all of competition standard and have been taken using a wide range of equipment, some with a mobile phone. Malcolm is sure if many photographers visited the same places, they would come away with better photographs and he hopes they do.
The images in Malcolm’s talks all include the camera settings and equipment used and he has been told many people find this useful. The talk starts with places in his home County of Northamptonshire before moving on to a tour of England by County in alphabetical order, then highlighting some places of interest in Wales and Scotland.
Monday, December 8, 2025
DARREN HARBAR
Specialist Aviation / Air-to-Air Photography
Darren Harbar is a professional aviation photographer based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, specialising in capturing images of classic aircraft both from the ground and in the air.
Darren has been involved in the world of photography for over 20 years and started out by selling cameras over the counter with Tecno cameras, before progressing to the role of an international camera buyer for the Dixons retail business. From there, he took a change of direction and moved into photographic publishing, initially as the editor of Which Digital Camera? magazine and then as the test and technique editor on Practical Photography.
Aircraft photography was always ‘in the background’ and, in 2011, Darren decided to go it alone, and has since built up a worldwide reputation for his aviation images. His work frequently appears on the pages of the national press, magazines such as Flypast and a wide variety of products including calendars, tins of biscuits and even alcoholic beverages!
One of his clients once said that every camera club should have a Darren Harbar to teach them how to get the most out of their cameras. Darren also runs several photography events and training days with an aviation theme.
Be prepared for an evening of stunning aviation photography of some of the world’s most iconic aircraft!
Monday, December 15, 2025
KEVIN PIGNEY
How I Process My Wildlife Images
Kevin’s presentation is aimed at getting the very best from your precious raw files. Using a workflow in Lightroom to do all the essential work and then fine tuning with some additional techniques in Photoshop.
Kevin will supply a comprehensive pdf file to accompany this talk.
Monday, December 22, 2025
CHRISTMAS - no meeting
Monday, December 29, 2025
NEW YEAR - no meeting
Monday, January 5, 2026
CLUB EVENING - Past Presidents Presentations
A number of past presidents will present to the club
Monday, January 12, 2026
ROGER HANCE
Working In Themed Panels
In this presentation Roger explains the thinking and construction when producing a set of images into a cohesive panel.
Most camera club members can produce individual images successfully, however working in ‘themed panels’ requires a different approach. This talk explains the ‘thinking’ behind constructing panels and where this method of working is most suitable. An example would be someone contemplating going for an RPS distinction, which is a totally different genre of working compared to someone contemplating the PAGB distinction.
Images produced on a theme may not individually win awards, but when viewed as part of a panel can look quite striking. By constructing them into themed projects, you can convey a different way of presenting your photography.
There are over 20 different panels in the talk. Subjects covered are Red Squirrels, White Water Canoeing, Rugby, Boxing, Infra-Red Landscapes, Candid Portraits, Table Tennis, Birds in Flight, Fungi and much more.
Monday, January 19, 2026
LIZZIE SHEPHERD
Whatever The Weather – Why Seasons Matter
Lizzie is a professional photographer from the UK, specialising in landscape, nature and travel photography. She loves sharing her thoughts and experiences of photography through small group workshops, writing and presentations.
Photography has been part of Lizzie’s life for many years and she particularly values the way it has helped her really to see and appreciate the natural world. She loves spending time in the landscape, trying to find ways of capturing both the grander scenes as well as the smaller, more hidden details.
Lizzie is increasingly drawn to more complex scenes and believes that one of the absolute joys of photography is that it helps you really to open your eyes, to develop your vision and to keep searching for ways in which to express that vision.
Landscape photographers often have seasonal preferences for the places and subjects they like to photograph; but what are the differentiators that make us appreciate what each season has to offer? This presentation by Lizzie is an exploration of how aspects such as weather, colour, light and form shape our appreciation of the landscape.
Monday, January 26, 2026
PDI COMPETITION 1
Photo entry closes 1st January 2025
Judge – Jonathan Neale
Subjects – TBA
Monday, February 2, 2026
MIKE CURRY
Fleeting - Observations
Mike Curry has been a full-time professional photographer for forty years. He grew up in Harrogate and Yorkshire, moving to London in 1982, initially working for several years in the Selfridges’ photography studio.
In the last ten years, Mike has been concentrating on commercial projects commissioned by clients such as Canary Wharf Group, Caprice Holdings and the National Maritime Museum. Mike’s work has won awards in international photography competitions and has been featured in the Sunday Times Magazine. He has written articles for Outdoor Photography and Amateur Photography magazines.
Mike teaches photography at all levels and gives talks to camera clubs, sixth form colleges, The Master Photographers Association etc. He is a Fellow of the British Institute of Professional Photography.
Mike last visited HPS in 2019: a very memorable and rewarding evening, when he presented the first part of his abstract project work ‘Fleeting Reflections’ - embodied in his book of the same name - published by Triplekite. He astonished his audience with stunning, highly creative imagery.
Mike’s Presentation
Mike is the first guest photographer to agree to prepare a new presentation for HPS to suit our recently acquired ultra-high definition projector. The first half of the evening will be devoted to further ‘fleeting reflections’ following on from his original talk; the second half will feature Mike’s thoughts and imagery based on observations.
Monday, February 9, 2026
CLUB EVENING - ‘Speed Dating’
There will be 5 stations around the hall where members can visit and get some more bespoke and detailed advice. Subjects include: macro, pano techniques, flash, what’s in my bag.
Monday, February 16, 2026
PDI COMPETITION 2
Photo entry closes 1st January 2025
Judge – Hayden Bartlett
Subjects – TBA
Monday, February 23, 2026
PDI COMPETITION 3
Photo entry closes 1st January 2025
Judge – Max Massimiano
Subjects – TBA
Wednesday , February 26, 2026
20-20 fun event with Carnoustie Photo Group - via Zoom
We will be taking on Carnoustie Photo Group with a fun event where we provide and edit 20 images each. Our images need to be ready to go to CPG at the start of December and we receive theirs at the start of February. Anything goes - edits can be serious or fun. No prizes just the fun of combining with another camera club.
Monday, March 2, 2026
JONATHAN VAINES
The Little Print Show
Jonathan purchased his first camera in 2011 and joined a camera club in 2012. His newfound hobby soon turned into a significant part of his life, a part he believes helps to maintain a healthy wellbeing and provides a creative release.
Jonathan has had many successful image acknowledgements and is a member of The London Salon of Photography. He holds committee roles within the PAGB East Anglian Federation and within his club. He has previously been Regional Organiser for the RPS in East Anglia. He is a Photographic Educator teaching Photoshop in both groups and one to one session via video conferencing along with face-to-face camera craft sessions. He mentors many individual photographers developing their creative styles. He is a tutor for the Royal Photographic Society and runs processing workshops for them as well as other international clubs that span North America and beyond. He is an A panel national judge, a member of both Beyond Group and Cambridge Camera Club.
Jonathan is a sponsored lecturer of Permajet, and a brand affiliate to WEX Photo Video, Jessops, Q-Image and Cartridge Monkey. He tutors for DxO leading NIK Collection workshops and is Partnered with The Travelling Lens running creative residential workshops throughout Europe.
Jonathan says:
'The coast is my passion, but I am happy wandering through a city centre too. The majority of my photographic time is spent thinking about it. Time planning the outcome and visualising the print before pressing the shutter release is time well spent. Recording what the eye sees is not an option in my work. I use the camera to create, paint and even manipulate an image using a number of in-camera techniques. I describe my eye as Visual Art and my product Wall Art, often abstracts or a twist on real life. I frequently work with images in groups, sets or panels. With every image produced, my aim is to convey the feeling I experienced at the time of taking and offer an opportunity for the viewer to see the subject in a different way. It’s not a quick process and I am far from prolific. Every image is important, and it is my belief that an image only exists when in print, so holding the paper fresh off the printer is a key part of an enjoyable journey I call My Photography.”
Jonathan’s presentation this evening comes with artistic approach to photography, stepping out of the club mainstream. Along with individual images we see motivational benefits of working with Projects, Sets and Groups of images. Most of his work is created using "in camera" techniques, such as Multiple Exposure, and the focus of the evening is about "Thinking Inside The Box". The presentation is primarily a print talk but presented via PowerPoint with 50 prints to display in the evening. Jonathan looks forward to welcoming you to his world of Visual Art.
Monday, March 9, 2026
PANEL COMPETITION
Entry deadline 31 January
Judge - Harry Kingman
Monday, March 16, 2026
CLUB EVENING
TBA
Monday, March 23, 2026
PHOTOGRAPHER TBA
Title of talk TBA
Details soon.
Monday, March 30, 2026
PHOTOGRAPHER TBA
Title of talk TBA
Details soon.
Monday, April 6, 2026
EASTER – no meeting
Monday, April 13, 2026
HPS Centenary Medal Competition
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 photograph.
Judge - Massimiliano Malisan
Monday, April 20, 2026
Simon Hill - Hon FRPS - President, Royal Photographic Society
The North Revisited
Marking the 60th anniversary of The Sunday Times Magazine 1965 Special Issue on ‘The North’, Arts Council England has provided the major funding for this year-long documentary project which builds on the work of John Bulmer FRPS, whose evocative images of the north of England, featured in the ‘65 Special Edition, became a cornerstone of British documentary photography.
Once synonymous with heavy industry, northern towns and cities are now leveraging a greater diversity of employment and are striving to become vibrant cultural hubs. They are embracing their rich industrial heritage and creating new communities and identities. Commercial innovation, the emergence of hi-tech industry, new retail, leisure, and visitor attractions, are leveraging economic growth.
This commission to produce ‘The North Revisited’ - awarded to a single photographer ... HPS Member and RPS President, Simon Hill HonFRPS – is the largest ever ACE-funded photography project documenting the north of England. More a ‘documentary’ than an ‘arts’ project, the ambition is to capture the evolving and contemporary identity of ‘The North’ through the unique vision of a single photographer.
The project will create a national archive of over 4000 photographs and, as a homage to Bulmer’s pioneering colour work, it will be shot on Phoenix 200, an experimental 35mm colour film designed and manufactured in the north of England by Harman Technology. This ‘quirky’, grainy, high contrast, colour-saturated film provides an analogue aesthetic that simultaneously harmonises with Bulmer’s 1960 colour photographs while affording a unique character to this modern interpretation of what has become an iconic photographic legacy.
‘The North Revisited’ revisits the towns and cities photographed by Bulmer, plus over 20 other events and locations, to document this redefining of the North; recording and celebrating the diverse communities for which the northern counties are now home. But the project does not turn a ‘blind eye’ to the problems and challenges that still exist and with which so many former industrial communities continue to struggle.
For more information on the project visit: simonhillphotos.com/north
Monday, April 27, 2026
Annual General Meeting - Pop up Exhibition - Cake, Coffee and Quiz
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.