In this issue: Dan Watts' feature on Nick Hedges; projects submitted by Documentary Group members Andrew Albert Flannigan ARPS, John Harrison, Maria Tomas-Rodriguez, Ted Richards ARPS and Harry Hall FRPS. We speak with Colin McPherson of Document Scotland about their journey as a collective and the challenges of working in long-form documentary and interview Kyle McDougall, who discusses how projects evolve, the challenges of sustaining momentum, and the value of pursuing work driven by passion.
This edition is the first put together by our new editor Wayne Richards, with help from Lyn and Rachael and published by Dave. A great start.
We open with the transcript and images from the film by Dan Watts on the renowned British Documentary Photographer, Nick Hedges, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Nick was interviewed by Val Mather, as part of our Engagement Talk series in 2022.
Nick’s images from the 1960s and 1970s portray some of the deprivation and resilience from that era. Those who attended our recent Engagement Talk by Jim Mortram will have seen that some things have not changed that much, for some.
This edition has work by five Documentary Group members Andrew Albert Flannigan ARPS, John Harrison, Maria Tomas-Rodriguez, Ted Richards ARPS and Fenton Medal award winner Harry Hall FRPS. Once again, the work published shows the diversity and storytelling opportunities. There is also a discussion with Colin McPherson of Document Scotland about their journey as a collective and the challenges of working in long-form documentary. We finish with an interview with Kyle McDougall and his long-term project Slate City, exploring North Wales.
Around the time of going to press, on 18 November, we will be announcing the nine selected projects for our Documentary Awards 2025 (DPA 2025). The shortlist has already been posted on the Documentary webpages (rps.org/groups/documentary/dpa). The next edition in early 2026, will feature the Documentary Awardees and their projects. We will also provide more information on the UK Touring Exhibition in the near future.
The work shown in this edition and from the shortlisted and selected projects in our DPA 2025 yet again show the diversity of photography and storytelling, much of it in local communities and illustrates the many opportunities we have to tell new stories and raise awareness.
For those looking for guidance of starting and working on a project, we have some new courses on our Events page.
On a personal note, I informed the Documentary committee that I do not intend to stand for re-election at the next AGM (March 2026), so we will need to identify candidates for Chair. I will continue to do some voluntary work, mainly teaching and mentoring, but after eight years as Chair, I think you deserve a change.
Nick Brewer has now taken over the web and social media roles, but we still have some volunteer roles we would like to fill, spreading the load makes it much easier for everyone. We are still looking to recruit for roles to help us put more activities on. We currently have a need for people with: Event organisation (i.e. putting on talks), and Publicity and fundraising to support our next touring exhibition.
If you can help with any of these please contact me (doc@rps.org)
Mark A Phillips FRPS
Chair, Documentary Group