We are thrilled to bring you this month’s newsletter, again packed with exciting updates, news and even some special announcements! We hope you find it useful.
Arena Seminar 2025
Arrangements are well underway for the 2025 Arena Seminar, which will be held from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th March at its usual venue at the Riviera Hotel in Bournemouth.
It won’t be long before we can let you know booking arrangements but if you are debating whether to keep the weekend free please read on. As always, it’s going to be an amazing few days where you can forget the world around you and immerse yourself in everything photographic. Don’t forget that you can bring some of your own work for display too.
We have some amazing speakers to entertain you. Sadly Mark Power has had to defer his visit to Bournemouth and is now a firm booking for the 2026 Seminar so we have what will be an incredible talk to look forward but we just have to wait a little longer.
Details of our next two guest speakers are…
Simon is one of the leading documentary landscape photographers of our time. Much of his work focuses on conflict zones and battlefields and he has photographed in some of the world’s most hostile war-zones and refugee crises.
His work is regularly featured in National Geographic, the New York Times and the Guardian. He is also a prolific exhibitor around the world and his work was one of the first solo photographic shows to be hung at Tate Modern..
Born in New York but based in London since 1970, Janine is an internationally important documentary photographer. She was tutored by, among others, Ansel Adams, and has mainly been engaged in long-term projects covering issues of social concern. These largely concentrate on groups struggling to survive on the edges of mainstream society, including the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, Irish Travellers and most notably the industry of the West Midlands in the late 1970s.
The latter was exhibited at the Photographers’ Gallery and is now the subject of a beautiful 250-page monograph called Vulcan’s Forge.
Details of our other speakers will be announced over the coming months so please ensure you mark the dates in your calendar.
Talks and Lectures
Vanda Ralevska: Interview with Fotospeed
I am sure many of you will already follow Fotospeed on their YouTube Channel. In which case you may have already caught this interview.
If not then follow this link to watch/listen to their conversation with Vanda.
“This week Tim sits down for an unforgettable conversation with the incredibly talented and inspiring Vanda Ralevska. Brace yourselves for a captivating glimpse into her world of photography and artistic vision.”
Exhibitions to visit
Jan Beesley with Alison Buchanan and Susi Petherick: ‘Looking Beyond’
(UNO Gallery, Seaford: 28th September to 6th October)
‘Alison, Jan and Susi are three women photographers who have united for this exhibition, eager to share their unique perspectives of Looking Beyond the obvious through their photography.
Inspired by photographers and artists past and present, they enjoy pushing the boundaries of their cameras, experimenting with techniques, and blending various media to create unique art pieces.
Their work often blurs the line between photography and painting, exploring new possibilities by challenging traditional boundaries.’
They invite you to visit the exhibition, share your thoughts, and ask questions about their approach and work.
For more information about this exhibition please follow this link.
John Bradshaw: ‘The People, Places and Literary Connections of the Isle of Wight’
(Oxmarket Contemporary Gallery in Chichester from 15th to 26th October 2024)
For the last four years, John has been working on a photographic project about the Isle of Wight.
This is now complete and concentrates on the People, Places and Literary works connected with the island.
Dimbola Lodge and the works of Julia Margaret Cameron are featured, together with Farringford, Appuldurcombe, Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle, and relevant quotations from Tennyson, Keats, W H Auden and others. PLUTO and its WWII connections are also covered together with some Infra-Red Landscape subjects.
John presents 21 images, each with associated cards with brief explanatory text and some relevant quotations.
For more information please click here.
Publications
Vanda Ralevska: “Wish You Were Here”
“This companion book set explores the nostalgia of the English seaside throughout the seasons, from the somber beauty of winter months to its restored splendour in the glorious days of summer.
There is a melancholy about the English seaside in winter. No matter what Mother Nature throws at it, there is a resilience that enables it to resurrect its full magnificence in summer months.
It goes into hibernation, it falls into slumber and sleeps dormant like a perennial plant, just to flourish when the sun and warmth come back. Like trees that are bare and stark in winter. But in the summer they become beautiful, vibrant and everything we love about them.
What started as a pure fascination and attraction turned into a lifelong passion. There isn’t any other place I would rather be than a beach. Though I enjoy the peaceful and quiet winter time most, I find the bright and sunny weather as captivating as the bleak and gloomy days. Therefore, I felt I needed to capture both sides of the English seaside and separate them into two books that complement each other.”
Please follow this link to find out more about this beautiful collection of books.