Welcome to London Region, one of the RPS's most active Regions with approximately 1,100 Members and more than 100 events and activities each year
For a list of events organised by London Region click here
We are now running three of our regular monthly meetings as "hybrid" i.e. some people on line, some in the room. See details on the Events page here: rps.org/londonevents
Our photo-walks programme is now back to normal. We generally restrict the number on each walk to 16 (plus two volunteer leaders) to give each photographer space to take pictures without including a walk participant! Look out for dates and details! (details here)
Overview. The London Region of the RPS aims to provide opportunities for photographers of all levels to learn and develop their skills in positive, supportive and enjoyable environments, whether at group events, on group walks or by taking part in projects.
London Micro-Groups. We currently have six micro-groups which meet monthly:-
- London, Street (photowalks - 2nd Saturdays) – link here
- London, Bookworm Club (book discussion, hybrid in Canonbury - 4th Wednesdays) – link here
- London, Urban (usually a monthly Field Trip) – link here
- London, Midweek Explorers (photowalks- 3rd Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday) – link here
- London, Landscape (usually a monthly Field Trip in or nearby to London)
- London, Wildlife & Nature (usually a monthly Field Trip in or nearby to London)
Each group is led by a Volunteer with a particular interest in the area.
All the groups are open to Members and Non-members, but, by their nature, numbers attending any one event are limited so booking is essential. Follow the links above for details of events and for booking your place.
London Local Meetup Groups. We currently have three local groups plus one online only which meet monthly. The format for these meetings is typically a short (circa 30 minute presentation by a participant in the group of a photographic topic of their choice; followed by picture sharing - each person can upload max. five images to Dropbox to show and discuss; and finally general discussion of region and other activities.
Booking for all these groups is essential, whether you are attending in-person or online, in order for us to successfully manage numbers.
- South East London (in-person only), meeting 1st Mondays, Daylight Inn, Petts Wood – link here
- South West London (in-person only), meeting 2nd Tuesdays at the Prince of Wales, Putney and online – link here
- North London (hybrid - in-person and Zoom), meeting 2nd Mondays at the Canonbury Tavern (Highbury & Islington) and online – link here
- London-wide Zoom (zoom only), meeting 1st Wednesdays and 1st Thursdays alternating online only – link here
None of these local groups is aimed specifically at people living in SE, SW or N London: the locations are chosen because they have good public transport links.
They are open to anyone (Members and Non-members) in London and nearby areas. Click on the links above for further information and locations and dates for meetings. Come along to the one which has easiest traveling for you to discuss 'all things photographic' and show some of your pictures.
Meetings are open to all and you must book to get the Dropbox and zoom link details emailed to you - so come along! For more information contact Judy : londonro2@rps.org or David london@rps.org
Distinctions Support. We have our own Distinctions Support Team. Working closely with RPS HQ, we run a number of Advisory Days for both Licentiate and Associate levels each year, usually at least one per quarter. Again, details can be found on the London Events page here.
We now run a monthly Study Group session for those wanting to do their Licentiate-ship or Association but are not sure where to start. Details of these are posted on the website too or enquiries can be made by e-mail to Mike : LondonDist2@rps.org
London Region Members Exhibition. Our Annual London Region Members' Print Exhibitions have gone from strength to strength.
2017/2018 - 44 Members submitted : the Exhibition was in the Gallery at the Croatian Embassy
The Selection was changes to democratic selection by Members
2018/2019 - 49 Members submitted images : the Exhibition was in Lauderdale House, Highgate
2019/2020 - 55 Members submitted images : the Exhibition was in Lauderdale House, Highgate
2020/2021 - 61 Members submitted images : the Exhibition was outdoors on the railings behind St Mary's Church Putney
2021/2022 - 108 Members submitted images : Part 1 - Lauderdale House Gallery; Part 2 - The Camera Club Gallery; and the whole show at The Espacio Gallery in East London in April 2022. 74 of the images were shown in the Fotoklub Split Gallery in Split Croatia in August and September 2022.
2022/2023 - 98 Members submitting images : the Exhibition will be at The Espacio Gallery in East London in April 2022.
Keynote Talks In 2017 the Region offered Keynote talks from Guardian Sports Reporter, Tom Jenkins and Fine Art and Advertising Photographer, Peter Dazeley FRPS.
At our January 2018 AGM, Chris Steele-Perkins FRPS presented some of his pictures and gave us hints and tips about photographing festivals and events.
On 15th January 2019 Steve Smith FRPS gave the Keynote Talk following our AGM and in January 2020, Photo Journalist Rick Findler talked about his recent reporting from Hong Kong.
The pandemic caused us to move online and in January 2021, Linda Weevil FRPS shared her Landscapes with us and in January 2022, Guy Noble, arts curator at University College London Hospitals talked about the history of the arts in hospitals in their widest sense and the importance of creating an uplifting environment in healthcare settings.
For the January 2022 AGM, the easing of Covid restrictions would have allowed us to have a hybrid (in-person and zoom) meeting with a keynote speaker, but difficulties with finding a venue with tehy necessary technology made this impractical. So, the AGM will be online only followed by a celebration of distinctions and we are working to have the keynote talk by Fine Art and Advertising Photographer, Peter Dazeley FRPS in-person only in April / May.
London Major Projects. The London Region has been unique in running major projects - usually one each year. Our 2016/17 project "Breathing London" was completed in terms of photography in April 2017 with an Exhibition in July that year. Here is the website.
Our 2018 project "Celebrating London" closed for photography on 1st January 2019: an Exhibition was held at the Hanbury Hall Cafe Gallery in June here and we held a Special Summer Event on 10th August when pictures from our new Street Exhibition and panels from the Celebrating London Exhibition were displayed. The Celebrating London website can be viewed here.
In September 2019, we held a short "one month" project to document the 2019 Thames and The Totally Thames Festival. An outdoor Exhibition of a small number of the photographs were displayed outdoors on Putney Wharf.
In early 2021, several members joined forces and prepared a project "Putney Then and Now", taking a number of late 19th Century Photographs based around St Mary's Church, Putney and photographing the environment as it is now. An Exhibition was held at the Putney Library in the Summer of 2021, but unfortunately this had a low footfall for reasons of the pandemic.
London Region Workshops. From time to time we offer 'special' Workshops. We ran a series of three with Zoe Wishaw in 2017 and you can read about Zoe here. We ran a successful workshop in July 2019 relating to Colour printing and are always happy to put on special workshops as requested. Bristol HQ are also now offering Workshops in the Region too. These are available to book through HQ here. Special Interest Groups too hold workshops in and around the Region and you can read about these and the Special Interest Groups activities by following this link.
London Region's Community Support Activities As part of the RPS's Community activities (here), we extend a helping hand to Cafe Art, an organisation which, through art and photography, helps people who are, or have been, affected by homelessness. We participate in two Cafe Art programmes, one is their Annual Calendar 'competition' and the other is a mentoring programme. More information about Cafe Art can be found here.
We also support a small independent charity called KICK-IT-OUT, by providing volunteer photographers at their events.
For more information about our Community/Charitable work, please e-mail LondonCommunity@rps. or one of the Regional Organiser: london@rps.org or londonro2@rps.org
Getting involved - Volunteering. The RPS is run by a small staff at Bristol HQ and by a huge number of volunteers - and London is no exception. The London Region Volunteer Team is built on a self-selecting basis, with people volunteering to run a programme which is of particular interest to them, for example the London Street Group, or have special skills which they bring to bear, such as Exhibition Design, or they offer to help out at our bigger events or Distinctions Days, for example. If you would like to help out by running a micro-group or just for an hour or two now and then, please contact the Regional Organisers: london@rps.org or londonro2@rps.org
Keeping in Touch. We keep in touch with our members through our events, through e-mails, our Facebook pages, our Flickr sties, Instagram and Twitter.
On 1st of every month (at 8am), we send out, by e-mail, an update called Capital Letter, which reminds members of key events happening during the next two months. This is our most important regular communication and we invite you all to sign up.
To join our Regional Mailing List, click here
Here's the link to the most-used social media platforms
Here's the link to the list of volunteers in each area, with e-mail addresses.