Tuesday 6th June Presentation Free Mines Coal Face by Nick Hodgson.

This evening we welcomed Nick Hodgson to gives us a talk about his project/research on Free Mines Coal Face Mining in the Forest of Dean. 

The first half of the evening was all about the history of free mining.  The work and the struggles of the miners from the 14th century onwards. Nick has a strong connection through his grandfather to the mining community of the Forest of Dean. During his research he was introduce to a distant relative who was able to present him with the original map that his grandfather made of his mine.

The second half was all about the images and his relationship with the community.  Nick describes himself as a landscape photographer. The images were all in black and white but were originally all taken in colour. Every image told a story about the people and the condition of the mines. Some mines were very small and cramped, and images show how the miners had to positioned themselves to get into the mines.  The comradeship between the community was obvious, whether this was sharing a cup of tea or helping each other.  The end result of the project was the publication of a book, which has won Nick a number of awards.

Tuesday 1st June - Presentation chasing The Light by Giles Thurston

 This evening we welcomed Giles to give a talk about chasing the light. Giles is a semi professional photographer.  He describe himself as a human landscape photographer focusing on both the urban and rural environment.  Giles has been taking photos from childhood.  One of the first images that he showed was of his sister on a family holiday that he took as a young boy.

Giles is also a long distance endurance runner and he combines this along with his photography. When he is out and about Giles will stop and take photos of things that caught his eye; it could be a road sign  an abandoned building or a rusty farm engine. These might seem mundane but its all about the texture, shadows, strong lines, shape and the way the light falls on the image.

There is more than one type of light for Giles. It's also when photography helps release stress, makes you slowdown and think about the things that are important in life.  It is about taking photos for yourself, about the things that interest you and not to worrying about what others think.

As a camera club we sometimes forget why we like photography and sometimes focus on what might please the judge. Giles talk remind us that it's important to do the things that brings us satisfaction, peace of mind and joy.

Tuesday 25th May - Presentation My Top 30 by Kevin Pigney

 On Tuesday evening we welcomed Kevin to talked about his top 30 images. Kevin is renowned for his wildlife photography, but the evening was all about stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new.

On display was a variety of amazing images to backup the slide show.  The genres ranged from seascapes, pet portrait, still life, wildlife and many more. With each image Kevin explained the settings and the techniques that he used.  Kevin explained that he gets inspiration from other photographers work.

Kevin has been trying out new skills such portraits both animals and people, and also still life following a visits to the National Portrait Gallery using the style of th old masters.

Kevin talked about the importance of trying new things and not getting stuck in a rut. Techniques from one genre can be transferred to another, thus improving the photographer skills.

The evening presented members with many ideas about developing new skills.

Tuesday 12th May – presentation by Tesni Ward: British Wildlife

 Tesnie has been a professional wildlife photographer for over 10 years. Her presentation showed some amazing and wonderful images. What was so special was that she did not just show her fantastic images but gave aback story, included how she had captured some of them.  No need to jet set as all of her images were taken within the UK.

Also what was much appreciated by all members was that the presentation was very interactive, with us trying to guess which animals had left various telltale signs etc.

All in all a great evening.

Please check out Tesni's web site: to see some of her images. https://www.tesniward.co.uk/

Sunday 10th May – Outing to Snetterton

Sunday the10th May and we were all set for a club outing to Snetterton for a day of racing.

Andrew, Emma and Rachael were the only takers and we all met up at 9am in the car park.

The day was dry but slightly chilly, but it didn't stop us having a great day, watching some good racing and even a few spectacular crashes, which luckily didn't result in any injuries.

Emma came in her campervan which we made full use of, breaking for tea, and cake kindly baked by Emma and Rachael.

We practised our panning technique and had all improved by the end of the day, 

all in all an enjoyable day out.

Andrew Stringer

Andrew Stringer

Andrew Stringer

Andrew Stringer

Rachael Trivett

Rachael Trivett

Rachael Trivett

Rachael Trivett

Rachael Trivett

Rachael Trivett

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Emma Moore

Tuesday 5th May 2026 Digital Competition: Theme "Street"

 We welcomed David Jordan to judge our penultimate competition of the season. The theme was Street,

Entires were somewhat less than normal but David still had a hard job in awarding marks. His comments were helpful and much appreciated. The top scoring images from both Members and Members Advanced are shown below.

Cigarette Break by Carol Martin  19

Dancing in the street by Diana Graham 19

Lost in the melody by Sue Baldwin 19

Photos by Ian Speller 20

Ready for the revellers by Pat Weir 18

Smokers by Diana Graham 20

Stepping through the shadows by Sue Baldwin 18

Young lady enjoying her snack by Jan Murphy 20

Tuesday 28 April In House Demonstration

 On Tuesday evening we has a practical session on contact sheets for the summer challenge and how to do a triptych using a variety of software. All demonstrations were carried out by club members.

Jack focused on Lightroom, Jan on Photoshop, Rachael on On1 and Pat on Affinity.

For some members this was a refresher and for others it was the first time. Members watched the demonstrations which were repeated several times. They were also able to asked questions, make suggestions and tryout the task for themselves.

At the end of the evening some members said that if they only took one thing away with them, then the session was a success.