Multi award-winning photographer Annie Healey will be presenting her talk to Smethwick Photographic Society members and guests alike on Thursday 2nd April 2026. 

Annie’s talk is entitled, “The Wildlife of Costa Rica”.

Annie has spent the last 12 years gaining her distinctions and accreditations, to achieve photographic excellence. She had two images shortlisted in the 2021 Close-up Photographer of the Year and in 2022, was shortlisted in the British Wildlife Photography Awards. She is also one of a select 60 photographers to have a print accepted in the prestigious Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) Masters of Print in 2020, 2021 and 2024, winning a Silver Medal for a Judge’s Choice in 2021 and 2024. 

In addition Annie is also an assessor on the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Natural History Associate & Fellowship Panel. Annie is an Honorary Member of Richmond & Twickenham Photographic Society, having held many Committee posts over the years, and is also a member of Molesey Photographic Club, where she is part of the External Competitions Selection Group. A former President of the Surrey Photographic Association (SPA), Annie is now the Chair of the SPA Exhibitions & Events Sub-Committee, organising the Biennial Exhibition and all Inter-Club Competitions and events. Annie is renowned for her nature photography and audience members (live and virtual) will be treated to a plethora of photographs, showing many different species, showcasing the diverse and extensive range of amazing wildlife to be found in the various ecosystems of Costa Rica. 

Both Annie’s RPS Natural History Associateship and Fellowship distinctions were achieved with images of Costa Rican wildlife.

Here’s a selection of what we can expect from Annie:

For information go to our Streaming page HERE

We are hosting the Midphot 2026 Exhibition in our Clubrooms, We are showing all the accepted and awarded prints in our exhibition rooms and we will be showing AV’s of the accepted and awarded PDI’s as follows.

Wednesday 25th March doors exhibition open 7pm and 8pm presentation of awards

Thursday 26th March doors open 7pm, presentation of accepted PDIs at 8pm

Saturday & Sunday 28th & 29th March doors open 10am, presentations at 11.30am & 2pm

 

All live in clubroom and on Thursday via the club’s stream.

On Thursday  19th March Smethwick Photographic Society’s very own long time member and Audio Video specialist Ray Dowding will be presenting a history of his AV shows. Members and guests will get a tour de force of visual experiences complete with excellent choices of music.

The presentation is entitled:-

‘A Visual Experience’

Ray Dowding formed Fentham Photographic Society from a night school class in the early 1960s. His interest in Audio Visual presentations (AV) was formulated following a visit to a Kodak production. 

Ray’s first venture into AV was with second hand manual projectors and a home made dissolve system. He subsequently gained his ARPS certification in London followed two years later with an FRPS in Coventry. Later Ray sat on the RPS AV distinctions panel for LRPS and judged the RPS AV International in Bath. With extensive travel across the country giving AV shows and talks helped to prepare him for the extensive work Ray has done for SPS. From Inverness in the north of Scotland to London in the south east and Cardiff to the west up until recently Ray was the club ‘go to guy’ for all things AV. 

This presentation to SPS members and guests will be his swansong as ill health and age has forced retirement from the AV circuit.

Here’s a selection of what we can expect from Ray:

For information go to our Streaming page HERE

On Thursday  12th March Smethwick Photographic Society members and guests will get a tour around Greenland, Svalbard, Japan and Scotland. A very personal view of the world’s most drammatic landscapes all from Mark’s perspective.

The presentation is entitled:-

‘Greenland, Svalbard, Japan & More’

Mark is a landscape, travel and wildlife photographer based in Scotland.

Mark’s background is in the medical profession, with well over 30 years experience as an NHS hospital Doctor. Photography has been a passion since he was a boy, and has been a wonderful distraction during his medical career. Mark considers himself lucky to live in Scotland, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and It is perhaps not surprising that many of his images have been captured within a few hours of home. 

Mark has had a number of joint and solo exhibitions over the years, including prints at the Oxo and Mall galleries in London. His work has been published in various newspapers including The London Times, and in a variety of magazines such as Outdoor Photography, Amateur Photographer, Practical Photography, as well as appearing in various exhibition brochures and books. He has also written articles for magazines such as Outdoor Photography and Amateur Photographer, and his images have been used commercially for uses as diverse as book covers to wallpaper. 

Mark gained a distinction award from the photographic alliance of Great Britain (DPAGB) for prints in 2009 and was a regular contributor to international photography exhibitions for many years. He has been fortunate to have won a number of international awards as well as having achieved success with images in various international salons and competitions. He now concentrates on creating personal images, as well as running photography workshops, through his company Mark McColl Photography Ltd

Marks talk will include images from Japan, Greenland, Svalbard, and of course Scotland!

Here’s a selection of what we can expect from Mark:

For information go to our Streaming page HERE

On Thursday  5th March Smethwick Photographic Society members and guests will get a unique insight into the style of John Miskelly. John’s scapes are a wonder to behold.

The presentation is entitled:-

‘Greenland and Svalbard’

Since John was a child, he’s always taken photographs. It’s how he expresses himself creatively and it was this that led to an early career in the BBC. Many years later and he now spends his time as a professional landscape photographer, particularly loving to teach and share his passion with others.

As for his photographic influences? Well, he’s long had a passion for the great outdoors, having taken part in adventure sports since his teens, and he’s also heavily influenced by the Japanese garden aesthetic. Putting them together results in the type of images you will see in his presentation, where he uses long exposure as a key compositional element. John believes that most photographers understand how to make the best use of the light, but many struggle with composition, which can be the difference between an average image and one which has impact and emotion.

He will discuss this in detail in the presentation, along with examples of images and how he created them.  John is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, an RPS Assessor for Associate and Fellowship, a Fellow of the British Institute of Professional Photography, a Canson Infinity International Ambassador and a LEE Filters ambassador.

In this talk, John will show his long exposure landscape techniques, in particular the compositional decisions he makes and the emotion he aims to capture in his images. He will show how the image is built up, beginning from what he sees at the location, the effect created by the addition of various filters, the actual RAW file he captures through to the processing to give him the final result he aims for. While he will talk briefly about the essential equipment for long exposure photography, this talk will feature more around the creativity and fine art aspects of this type of photography.

Here’s a selection of what we can expect from John:

For information go to our Streaming page HERE