In this issue we feature South Wales-based photographer Roger Tiley who discusses his career from being a student of David Hurn to his recent road trip in the USA. We talk to Richard Plummer ARPS about his recent successful A panel distinctions submission. We also feature Mike Longhurst FRPS who has followed the creation from start to finish of a new statue to honour the life of Aphra Benn; and we have our regular 'On the Bookshelf' column, where Mark Phillips FRPS reviews Crossroads by Debsuddha.
In this edition we have an In Focus on the work of Roger Tiley who studied at Newport and worked extensively on the Miners’ Strike. We also have a successful Distinctions Associateship panel from Richard Plummer. Mike Longhurst’s work follows the creation of a new public sculpture. There is a review of Debsuddha’s book, Crossroads, plus our usual updates of events and news.
The final exhibition of RPS Documentary Photgraphy Awards (DPA) at RPS Bristol has now closed. Harry Hall and I spent a day in Bristol taking it down and packaging everything up so that the boxes and frames can be refurbished and reused. The next edition of DPA will start a little later than planned with submissions in June 2025, as we look to move the submission platform to save money. The intent is to keep the Award format similar with free entry for Members and Students and a paid Open category.
It is pleasing to see Debsuddha’s book published. He was an Awardee as part of our 2021 edition and was provided with some one-to-one support and coaching from Martin Parr. That has now resulted in his work being published (with Martin as editor). He is one of several photographers who have had success in our Awards and then gone on to further success. This is not only pleasing, but helps increase the perceived relevance of our work, which in turn may attract more sponsorship and potential membership.
Our members may be interested in a new exhibition opening in Northumberland. It has been two years since the passing of Mik Critchlow. Mik was one of the first speakers in our Engagement Talks series and we ran a Decisive Moment interview with him. The new exhibition at Woodhorn Museum will celebrate the legacy of Critchlow and his work, and the hugely important role he played in documenting the end of Northumberland’s mining history.
The Coal Town Collection will showcase more than 100 photographs chronicling the town and people of Ashington over four decades. Details of the exhibition, which will open in May 2025, are in this edition’s Events and News section.
If you are in London, I’d also commend the new exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery – Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever, which is a retrospective of his work. Through his work Peter has been described as ‘a narrator of who we were, a chaser of a disappearing world’. I guess that pretty much sums up what a lot of documentary is.
The first of our Engagement Talks this year was Tom Booth Woodger who provided insights from the world of publishing in his role at Bluecoat and what it takes to make a good photobook. Our next talk is with Murray Ballard (27 March) and is immediately after our AGM. If you have not booked, please follow the links provided in the recent group newsletter and notice of AGM.
We also recently visited the Reform Club in London to see the work of their members including four Magnum photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, Burt Glinn, Erich Lessing, plus Platon and other notable photographers.
To close, one thing that is worrying me is that numbers to this visit and some of our recent talks are much lower than expected. That begs the question why? Should we be putting other talks or events on? Or is there some other reason? Please let us know. Feel free to email me directly at: doc@rps.org
Mark A Phillips FRPS
Chair, Documentary Group