All meetings are at 7.30pm in the A K Bell Library, York Pl, Perth PH2 8EP.
The Soutar Lecture Theatre is the venue on all nights except those marked ‘Sandeman’ when we will meet in the Sandeman Room upstairs (same entrance) but may then split up into other areas of the Library First floor. See the ‘Finding us’ page for full venue information. Meetings conclude around 9.30 – 9.45pm
Oct 10 President’s Night and Welcome. Soutar Theatre (downstairs). President Mike Bell will welcome you all to a new season at Perthshire Photographic Society. He will introduce himself, tell you a bit about the Society and will talk about his photographic interests. During the evening, various committee members will give you an overview of this year’s programme. They will cover several topics, including visiting speakers, workshops and competitions. Registration will also take place during these first few meetings and membership cards will be issued. Please bring a cheque or some cash with you! (Membership costs £45 for adults, and £25 if aged 18-25. The cost is £10 for students in full time education. Please see our Information Page
Oct 17 Workshop evening – Sandeman Room (upstairs). Photo Clinic. Malcolm Lind will coordinate the evening. We will divide into small groups and discuss a number of prints (provided by committee members), with particular emphasis on composition. The aim of the evening is to give us all a chance to meet each other and to learn about photography by discussing the merits (or otherwise!) of the photos provided. This is intended to be a relaxed and fun evening!
Oct 24 – Jo Cound. ‘Tenacious Trees and Silver Alchemy.’ We are delighted to welcome local artist Jo Cound this evening. Jo lives in Crieff and specialises in photographs of the natural world, in particular, photographs of flowers, trees, moss, fungi and insects. Her images are captured on film and digitally. Many of her images are hand printed in her darkroom. Jo’s talk this evening celebrates the magic of the silver print and the process involved in producing images traditionally (referred to as ‘analogue’ images these days.) Jo will show us the large format and pinhole cameras used to produce her images, and will tell us how they work. She will also talk about film and processing, and how she achieves the print quality that she desires. For Jo, the print is paramount, and she hopes to show us its versatility and magic. She will be bringing with her some hand printed images that she printed in her own darkroom. This promises to be a very entertaining evening! Jo has exhibited at many local exhibitions and craft fairs, and also in London, Edinburgh and at Kew Gardens. You can see some of her images here: http://www.jocound.co.uk/
Oct 31 – Dave Hunt. ‘Mobile Device Photography and Alternative Printing Methods.’ It’s a pleasure to welcome another local artist this week, Dave Hunt. Dave works from his studio near Killin and is a fine art photographer. He employs various techniques to produce fine art prints with subjects ranging from landscapes to portraiture and figures. This evening, Dave will use the first part of his presentation to share with us his methods for capture and editing using mobile phones and tablet devices. He will show us how he uses Snapseed and Procreate software to create images for high-end printing, and how this is integrated into a workflow incorporating Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. After the break, Dave will present an overview of his current work that he has prepared for exhibitions and for sale. He uses Victorian and vintage processes, including the Wet Plate Collodion capture, and alternative printing methods such as Cyanotype, Vandyke Brown and Platinum/Palladium. What a fascinating range of subjects! If you use a mobile phone or tablet for photography, you will find this presentation very interesting and useful! You can read more about Dave here: https://davehunt.eu/about/
• HAND IN for MAIN CUP (See details on Competitions Page)
Nov 7 – Helen Sloan. ‘Behind the Scenes on the Set of Game of Thrones.’ We are really excited to have Helen Sloan, principal stills photographer for the TV series Game of Thrones as our guest this evening. During her presentation, she will lift the lid on what it’s like to photograph one of the biggest TV productions in the world. Expect observations and anecdotes about her place in the crew, plus insight and advice. Helen will be talking about her job, the kit and techniques that she uses, and will share an exclusive slide show with us. That will include some fascinating behind the scenes photos. She has been involved with Game of Thrones since the first day of filming on the pilot episode. This will be a well attended evening, so make sure you arrive early if you want a front row seat! This is a ticketed event to allow non PPS members to attend (for a small charge of £5). There will be no charge for PPS members but they must get their free ticket in advance to guarantee their seat. One ticket will be given to you when you join or renew. Non-member tickets are also available on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/helen-sloan-behind-the-scenes-on-the-set-of-game-of-thrones-tickets-50209704578 (please note there is a booking fee). If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, here’s one event that you can’t afford to miss! Here’s a recent blog giving lots more information about Helen: https://nikoninframe.co.uk/behind-the-lens/helen-sloan-game-of-thrones-principal-stills-photographer?cookie=1
Nov 14 Workshop evening – Sandeman. Print workshop. The aim of this workshop is to show you how some committee members go about their printing and to give you a chance to learn how to submit photos for our print competitions. The workshop will cover the following: Mike Bell will look at some aspects of processing and printing from Lightroom; Ian Mackay will start the evening by talking about colour space, calibration, the use of Lightroom and Photoshop, soft proofing, and printing in PhotoShop. However, please note that it is the final product i.e. the print, that is important, not what software is used. We hope that you will learn a lot about printing during the evening, regardless of how experienced you are. You may find it useful to have a pen and notepaper if you wish to note down some of the recommended settings and workflow sequences used during this workshop but we are looking at the possibility of making this information available by other means.
Nov 21 Main Cup Competition – 3 digital files. Your choice of subject. (See Competitions Page)
• HAND IN for PKM TROPHY (See details on Competitions Page)
Nov 28 – Ian Cameron. Landscape Photographer. ‘Transient Light.’ (Soutar Theatre, Perth) Making a welcome return to the Society this evening, is landscape photographer Ian Cameron. Ian is based up north, in Forres, Moray, and he believes that composition, timing and light are what make a good landscape photo. He runs landscape photography workshops in Norway, and in Central and Northern Scotland. This evening, the overall theme of Ian’s talk is the preparation and planning required for successful landscape photography. His presentation will be interspersed with short videos of the landscapes that he visits and will include a variety of landscape related themes. He will bring copies of his book ‘Transient Light’ with him and these will be available for sale during the evening. You can see some of Ian’s photos here: http://www.transientlight.co.uk/gallery/
• Nov 28 – Four-Way Battle – (at St Andrews Photographic Society) A competition between Perth, Glenrothes, St Andrews and Dundee, held in St Andrews. Contact external competitions secretary Graham Robb for details.
Dec 5 Workshop evening – Sandeman. Portrait workshop. Bring your camera! This meeting is a workshop on the use of flash and studio lighting for taking photographic portraits. Mike Bell will start the evening by demonstrating how to use translucent or reflective umbrellas to turn flash units into studio lights triggered wirelessly by your camera. He will demonstrate tethered shooting using Lightroom so that you can see the results immediately. Roben Antoniewicz and Jimmy Herd will have stations with studio lighting set up in the main upstairs library area. At each station you will be shown how to use your camera to trigger the lights. It would help if you know how to set your camera to manual exposure, or bring your camera manual with you, so that you can get involved. Please feel free to move between the three stations that will be set up. Bring some props e.g. hats, costumes etc if you wish. Hopefully, several of you will volunteer to act as models!
Dec 12 PKM Competition – Up to 3 monochrome prints. Your choice of subject. (For definition of ‘monochrome’ see Competitions Page)
• HAND IN for GRANT CUP (See details on Competitions Page)
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR BREAK
Jan 9 Grant Cup Competition – Up to 3 digital files. Theme is ‘Simplicity’ this year. (See details on Competitions Page). We will be judging this competition ourselves and so you might find it useful to have a pen and paper with you to make notes as we show the images.
• HAND IN for NAN BORTHWICK SALVER and PETER ROURKE SALVER (See details on Competitions Page)
Jan 16 Workshop evening – Sandeman. Member talk evening. Rather than have a workshop this evening, we are giving you the chance to show us some of your photos! This was a really successful evening last year and so we have decided to run two of them this year. We will be looking for 4 or 5 members to talk for 10 to 15 minutes each. The Sandeman Room provides a really informal setting for presentations. It’s meant to be an informal and enjoyable evening and no formal talk or script is required. Just put up some photos (preferably digital projected images, but prints are welcome if you prefer) and say as much, or as little, as you wish, about them. Carolyn Bell, Raymond Leinster, David Moran and Graham Robb will show us some of their photos before the tea break. After the break, Duncan McNab will give us a presentation about St Kilda, with an emphasis on photography, following his visit there during the summer. The programme for this evening is now complete. Please contact programme secretary Ian Mackay at ian@ianfindlay.me.uk for any further information.
Jan 23 – Des Ong. Wildlife Photographer. ‘Captivating Nature – Wildlife of Britain and Beyond.’ We are really fortunate to have world-class wildlife photographer Des Ong visiting us this evening. Des, who is based in England, just happens to be in the Perth area running a workshop, and he has very kindly agreed to come and talk to us. Des carries out a lot of his photography in Indonesia, Madagascar, Uganda and Costa Rica. The result is that he captures beautiful photos of some unusual animals and birds and we very much look forward to seeing some of those. This evening, Des will showcase some of the projects that he typically tackles over a 12 months period, providing a glimpse into his life as a wildlife photographer. He will take us from the high mountains of Norway to the rainforests of tropical South-east Asia. He will share his ideas, approach and techniques with us. As well as still photos, Des will include short video clips to help bring the journeys to life. This is definitely an evening that you won’t want to miss! You can see some of his images here: http://www.desong.co.uk/
Jan 30 Nan Borthwick and Peter Rourke Competitions Judge: Jamie Grant. These are print competitions. (See details on Competitions Page)
• HAND IN for COLOUR ROSE BOWL (See details on Competitions Page)
Feb 6 – Neil Barr. Landscape Photographer. ‘From There to Here.’ A number of us in the Society having been following Neil Barr on Facebook for some time. He has posted many beautiful photos of Scotland during the past couple of years. Quite incredibly, Neil only started taking photos 4 years ago, and now he is a professional photgrapher. This evening, he tells us how, and why, he turned to landscape photography. It’s a very interesting story and so we look forward to an entertaining evening. You can see some of Neil’s photos online: https://www.neilbarr.co.uk/
Feb 8 (Friday) PSNS. Soutar Theatre. 7.30pm. – PPS will be making a photographic presentation to PSNS to replace the cancelled Paul Gallagher talk. The idea is for us to showcase a range of photographic genres, primarily themed around Perthshire, but with some content from further afield. Full details have been sent to all members by email. The evening will include the following photos/presentations: landscapes, wild flowers, history of the old mills around Blairgowrie, urban photos, wildlife photos and a presentation about St Kilda. There is no charge for attending this evening and you are all welcome!
Feb 13 Workshop evening – Sandeman. Member talk evening. This is the second of our member talk evenings. You are encouraged to participate! Once again, we will be looking for 4 or 5 members to talk for 10 to 15 minutes each. It is aimed at being a relaxed and informal evening, with no script or formal talk required. Tim Haynes has agreed to demonstrate how you can make a video using an iPad and Annette Forsyth will tell us about her visit to Nepal last year. After the tea break, Tom Ryan will show us some of his ‘puddle’ photos and urban night photos. The programme for this evening is now complete. Please contact programme secretary Ian Mackay at ian@ianfindlay.me.uk for any further information.
Feb 20 Colour Rosebowl Competition – Up to 3 colour prints. Your choice of subject. (See details on Competitions Page)
Feb 27 Scottish Photographic Federation Portfolio 2018 evening. The SPF Annual Portfolios is a competition featuring Monochrome Prints, Colour Prints and Digital Images. The competition is open to clubs and individuals and takes place in May each year. The event is judged by three judges and the highest scoring entries form the ‘Annual Portfolio of Accepted Prints and Projected Images’ for the year. Portfolio shows of the accepted entries are then made up on a disc for clubs to show on a club night. So, this evening we will be showing you those projected images and prints that came top in the competition in 2018. Along with the images you will see the scores that they were awarded, the title of the photo, the name of the photographer and the name of the club that they represented. The photos will be accompanied by an authoritative and entertaining commentary from David Hay. If you want to see some great photos, and if you are looking to improve your own photography, then you need to be here this evening!
Mar 6 – Al Buntin. ‘The End Result.’ Once again, it is a pleasure to welcome a local photographer this evening, Al Buntin. Al is a member of the Dundee Photographic Society and has visited us in Perth in previous years. Al worked as an artist in the UK and in the USA, mostly in the Greeting Card Industry. He has also had several childrens books published. Currently, he paints in acrylics and watercolour. His main photographic interest is in photographing people. He also explores digital imagery and manipulation, and this leads to some quite unique and unusual photos. This evening, Al will be using prints for his talk, rather than digital projected images, and he will be handing out his prints to audience members so that you can see them close up. You may want to sit in the front rows for a better view. The majority of prints will be of people and will be composite images manipulated in Photoshop. Look forward to being entertained! You can see some of Al’s photography here: http://www.albuntin.com/gallery.html
– HAND IN For DALL CUP (SELFIE COMPETITION) (For rules, see details on http://www.perthshirephotographicsociety.org.uk/competitions/ page)
Mar 13 Workshop evening – Sandeman. Selfie Competition (Dall Cup) and Audiovisual Showcase. This evening will be split into two different activities. We start with a Selfie Competition! This is a new and light-hearted competition. A ‘selfie’ is a picture of yourself taken by yourself using a handheld camera/phone camera. Selfie sticks are allowed, but tripods and remote controls are not allowed. You can enter up to 3 photos, for digital projection, but please rate them in order of importance e.g. A, B, C etc, in case we have to restrict the number of photos that we show. More information is available here: Competitions Page. We hope to see some humorous and original selfies! The audience will be the judges and will vote for 1st, 2nd, 3rd places, Highly Commended and Commended. The Dall Cup will be awarded to the winner of this competiton. The second part of the evening will be an Audiovisual Showcase. We encourage you to make a video of up to a maximum of 6 minutes in length and to show it on the evening. The video can consist of still photos, video clips or a mixture of the two. Hopefully, it might tell a story and be accompanied by music and/or text. So far, 5 of us have volunteered to show AV presentations – Duncan, Tim, Wilma, Wol and Ian. For next season, we have booked Bernard Longley ARPS and Keith Fisher ARPS DPAGB to visit us in October 2019 to provide us with an evening on how to put together a successful AV presentation. They are recognised experts in this field.
Mar 20 AGM / Member talk. The first part of the evening will be devoted to our Annual General Meeting. After the break newly elected president Malcolm Lind will give an illustrated talk entitled “Wolf Tails – wolves in the landscape and history of Perthshire”.
Mar 27 End of Season Dinner with prize-giving. All PPS members and partners are welcome.
You can download a printable one page summary of the 2018-19 programme: PPS_Prog_2018_onepage