On Thursday 21st August Smethwick Photographic Society will host Lynda Haney. The talk will highlight the journey taken along the highway of creativity. This week’s lecture is to be delivered in person at the clubhouse.

Starts at 8pm in the club room and on stream

 

 

On Thursday 14th August Smethwick PS members and guests will get the opportunity to experience this annual exhibtion in the clubhouse. A large selection of high quality prints together with a selection of PDI shows (Colour, Mono, Nature and Awards).

The 76th Midland Salon of International Photography exhibition will be held from 9th August to 16th August 2025 at Smethwick Photographic Society’s dedicated exhibition space.

Here visitors will get the opportunity to view high quality prints under state of art lighting and display spaces.

The exhibition will feature projected images and prints in various categories including open colour, open monochrome, scapes, and nature.

The event is organized by the Midland Counties Photographic Federation in partnership with Smethwick Photographic Society.

Selection of images from the same exhibition in 2024:

 

Starts at 8pm in the club room and on stream

 

On Thursday 7th August Smethwick PS will welcome our good friend Mr Leigh Preston for a photography journey unlike any other. This week’s lecture is a change to the one originally advertised (that will come later in the year). This time Leigh will talk about genres of photography he’s not normally known for. Leigh will be presenting live in the clubroom.

Much of Leigh’s work is about the urban environment, depicting a changing industrial landscape or portfolio work in far-flung locations. 

Over the past 40 years he has travelled in the USA to the empty Prairies or in deserts, to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the Baltic, the mountainous areas of the UK to find winter landscapes or the exact opposite in Australia. Trips  to Cuba, India and Georgia, gave opportunities for reportage style of portraiture. 

To avoid being forever known as ‘Mills & Gloom’,  recent work has been about street characters, humour or aspects of absurdity, making images at rock concerts and tackling architectural abstracts. Leigh prefers to work alone, influenced by the environment he grew up with, and the photography of Bill Brandt, John Gray, Michael Kenna and the artists L.S.Lowry and Atkinson Grimshaw. Lyricism and narrative have become increasingly important in the documentary work he is now producing, linking influences such as J.B. Priestly, Jonathan Raban, Beryl Bainbridge alongside songwriters like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters, and the composer Vaughan Williams and Sibelius.

Leigh has also produced and published four books of his pictures – ‘Shadows of Change’, ‘Five Essays’, ‘Editions’ and very recently ‘Liverpool, a Place Apart’ which depict the various aspects of his photography as outlined above. He is a double Fellow of the RPS, and holds FIAP and PAGB distinctions, has taught photography for Gloucester and Cheltenham colleges, for Jessops, Permajet and on landscape workshops, both in the UK and abroad.

 

 

Starts at 8pm in the club room and on stream

 

Thursday 31st July 2025;  We have our second members Mono Print competition of the year,  a competition judged by Leigh Preston.

Entry is open now  and will close on Monday 28th July (this hase been extended fron Sunday 27th).

To watch by live streaming you must be registered and logged in and purchase a ticket. For information go to our Streaming page HERE

Programme begins at 8.00pm.

These images are from the same competition in 2024.

 

On Thursday 24th July SPS will welcome Michael Pilkington for a masterclass on landscape photography. His inspirations, techniques and how his intuitions serve him currently. Michael will be presenting remotely via Zoom but SPS members and guests are encouraged to come to the clubhouse.

Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS), co-founder of the landscape photography workshop company aspect2i, and an educator, author, and brand ambassador for Benro, Kase Filters, and Shimoda Designs. His work focuses on quiet, atmospheric landscapes, and his approach emphasises patience, observation, and emotional connection with the natural world. Rather than chasing dramatic scenes, Michael encourages a slower, more contemplative way of seeing – one rooted in presence, mood, and memory.

In his photography, Michael is drawn to subtle transitions: mist folding over trees, the hush of snowfall across open ground, or the rhythm of waves retreating from a shore. These fleeting moments are easily missed, but they hold emotional depth. His images are shaped not just by light and form, but by how a place feels — often favouring softness, silence, and stillness over bold colour or grand spectacle. For Michael, landscape photography is not simply about what we see, but about how we respond to the world around us.

Throughout his work as a photographer and educator, Michael shares the belief that technique is important, but not enough on its own. A thoughtful composition, careful exposure, or choice of filter only begins to matter once the photographer is truly paying attention. Whether in the field or the classroom, his message is consistent: photography begins with how we show up in the landscape – with quiet awareness, curiosity, and respect for the stories that lie in light, weather, and place.

Starts at 8pm in the club room and on stream