November began with something totally different for the Retford and District Photographic Society: John Bolloten’s talk entitled ‘Margins’. John is self-taught, specialising in recording the lives of people who live on the margins of society. Introduced his talk, he said that he neither condoned nor took part in any of the activities he portrayed in his photos. 90% of them are in black and white to emphasise the ‘gritty’ side of life. He only uses natural light for his subjects of drug use, rough sleepers, fights and nazi groups. He spent literally years getting to know the people around Bradford until they trusted him and allowed him to work with them. The photos were very thought provoking and conveyed a strong message. They were extremely well observed – albeit, not easy to view.
The subject matter was lighter the following week when members took the stage, talking about their smartphone photography.
Later in the month, Club members were also able to view the 213 prints accepted for the North and East Midlands Photographic Federation (N&EMPF) 2024 exhibition. This was a change of schedule due to the snowy weather, but it was a good opportunity a wide variety of subjects and styles, covering every genre of photography. It was an evening of excellent photographs which could not fail to inspire.
Finally, it was the Club’s third competition, which had the theme of ‘Shadows’, judged by Phil Newman. There was a wide range of entries and each class was well supported. Three colour prints made the final judging. Andy Stephenson scored 19 for ‘Low Light in November’ and was joined by Simon Carr with ‘Village Idiot’. Lee Dalgliesh emerged the winner with ‘Seeing the Light’.
Phil quickly reduced the monochrome class to just three for his final comments. He awarded Tom Coulson 18 for ‘Stepping out of the Shadows’. As in the first class, Lee Dalgliesh and Andy Stephenson competed for the top spot, and this time Lee scored 19 while Andy achieved 20 for ‘Evening Light’
There were 37 digital entries this time around. Kerry Muscott, Ami Hauton and Andy Stephenson scored 19. Ami, the older of two new junior members, equalled her brother’s score from last month, showing what a talented pair they are. ‘Fishing the Margins’ gave Lee Dalgleish his second win of the night.
The Society welcomes new members at any time. They meet at St Joseph’s Hall, Babworth Road, Retford at 7.30pm every Monday throughout the season until the end of April 2025. See www.retford-photographic.co.uk for information about the club.
Image: Jenny Smith