Hhhmnn – it’s a tad embarrassing to be posting a blog a mere 18 months after a trip….but here we are! Back in May 2024, I had a great trip over to Valencia, Spain with Jo B and Jo H (yes it did occasionally get confusing!) from Sidmouth Photographic Club, to photograph the delights of the city. Although we did spend some time wandering the streets of the old town, our attention was mainly focused on the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències), a collection of amazing futuristic buildings that looked as if aliens had left their craft littered around pools of water!
We managed visits both at sunrise and sunset, as well as during the day, and it’s fair to say that the light definitely changed the mood and appearance of the structures significantly. Although the buildings lent themselves perfectly to photography, it was extremely difficult to take a shot that hadn’t already been taken…and we noticed when putting images into subsequent club competitions (making sure we didn’t all enter our images at the same time!!) that several of the judges had seen similar images in the past.
I did find it tricky trying to do justice to the magnificent buildings, as architectural photography isn’t my genre, but enjoyed playing my usual game of hunt the silhouette…and managed to find a few of course!
Of course we sampled the foodie delights of the city, enjoying paella, tapas and churros with hot chocolate, along with a couple of the local drinks; Horchata (a sweet drink made from tiger nuts – definitely an acquired taste!) and Agua de Valencia (a cocktail of cava, vodka, gin and fresh orange juice – rather moorish!)
We packed a lot into our 3 night stay and came away with some memorable photos – even if it did take me til 2025 to start processing them! I would definitely recommend the city for its relaxed vibes, great food, good transport links and interesting architectural photography.
It must be a sign of age, ‘cos I can’t believe that yet another year has flown by and we’re already in 2025! Normally my Foraging friends and I have always posted our favourite 10 pics from each year, once we reach December/January time and I thought this would be a good practice for my blog, as it gives me time to review what I’ve taken over the year, relive some of the memories behind the shots and then try and work out why I am drawn to certain images. I was lucky to travel an awful lot for photography in 2024 – from local seaside locations, to UK cities and then abroad into Europe. So here are my 2024 top 10 images – as usual fairly eclectic – and in no particular order.
Wonkey Donkey
Oh boy, this image not only has a long (and seemingly hilarious to those who were there) backstory to it, but has practically created a cult within Sidmouth Photographic Club!! So….I was on a Club trip to Weston-Super-Mare in the summer, standing in front of this interestingly named shop waiting for someone “appropriate” to walk past….and of course no one did. To stave off the boredom (and to at least get some sort of shot) Carol called out to a guy pulled up in his car asking him to pose. At which point a bunch of photographers papped him. Hilariously to the others, I had totally managed to miss the guy posing and ended up with a photo of his roof and the sky. So in revenge, I decided to create the above image, showing that I’d managed to capture a shot that everyone else had missed. And ever since I have been plagued with the Wonky Donkey moniker – yes, I’ve been given the book – yes, I’ve been made to read it out loud and yes, I’ve been made to memorise the rhyme!!! Therefore, this has to win the most memorable image of the year, not only for me, but for several of the Club members too!!
The Cyclist
This image was taken in Valencia in May on a photography trip with 2 Club friends; Jo B and Jo H (yes, it was a tad confusing at the start, so I added the surname initials!!). It’s a fabulous city for photography, especially the City of Arts & Sciences. The buildings are like alien spaceships and the water surrounding them add great reflections. We got up very early one morning to catch the sunrise and thanks to Jo H scouting ahead, managed to find the area where the best reflections/shadows were to be had with the rising sun. A very happy hour or so was spent clicking away at cyclists, runners, wagons, men with wheelbarrows etc. and I still have hundreds of images that I haven’t finished looking through yet. I have to confess that the camera was on burst mode to ensure that there would be at least 1 photo per person going past that could work – hence the hundreds to wade through. Would thoroughly recommend a photography trip there – although don’t be surprised if a Club Judge has seen hundreds of these images!
Wash Day
This image was taken on the island of Burano, during my visit to Venice with Debbie in January (arrgh – already a year ago!). I was drawn by the white washing against the blue wall through the red doorway and was lining up the shot when this woman walked through. At first I cursed, but afterwards I realised that actually, she made the shot and I loved the fact that her face was hidden – added a hint of mystery. It ended up being my favourite shot of the trip!
Into the Light
This shot was taken on a trip to the Barbican Centre in London with my Northern Foraging friends in June. Oh what an amazing location for street photography….but the best opportunities come when the sun is out, streaming through the openings, creating interesting shadows. I just loved the curves and light in this composition, even though technically the guy is in the “wrong” position (not on a third) – but I don’t care…it works for me, as I do like a bit of negative space in an image and I darkened it to add a tad more atmosphere.
Just Chillin’
Our Club runs bi-weekly photo trips during the Sumer shutdown and Rosemary and I volunteered to lead one in Teignmouth at the end of August. It’s a great place for photography with boats, beaches, a pier and long seafront. I have to admit that this guy sunbathing caught my eye and I took several of him from different angles. He was clearly enjoying parading himself in public and this angle just worked for me, giving enough information about him, without the need to see his face. A tad disrespectful perhaps…but photographers just can’t help themselves I’m afraid!
juptr
This composite image started life in Birmingham on a Club trip in February. Those of you who read the blog will remember that I came across a couple of lads filming a music video and I couldn’t help myself from hijacking their artistic endeavours. They were happy for me to take pictures and when it came to processing them afterwards, I felt I wanted to do something a little different – like an album cover. I used Generative AI to create the wall with the Union Jack, as I didn’t have any images of that (i.e. the software created it) and then added my photo of juptr, with some old school lens blur and scratches to add a bit of character. I really enjoyed trying to make the image a little different to a straight portrait.
Beach Botany
Rosemary and I went on several recces to Teignmouth to prepare for the Club summer trip and always managed to come away with something. On this day, we had very strong sunlight, so not ideal photographic conditions, but as we were wandering around Back Beach area, I spotted these legs sticking out between the beach huts and was immediately captivated. As with many of my photos, it’s not about the whole person – here, the flowers on her leg contrasted against the yellow and blue of the beach huts and created an interesting juxtaposition (we photographers love a good juxta!!). And yes, I did a beach clean in Photoshop to remove stones, burnt wood and half a paving slab – I’m such a neat freak!!
3-2-1
I had a wonderful trip to Sorrento in October with my friend Cyn, which was for relaxation rather than photography and I took many phone shots of the beautiful scenery. This was the only “serious” shot that I took – as we were looking down on one of the beaches, the composition just struck me and I waited for a bird to fly through the shot, making sure I was on burst mode to get it in the right place. The placing of all of the elements appealed to me and is slightly quirky (what a surprise!!). And no, I didn’t add the bird and/or shadow in post production (although of course I wouldn’t hesitate to do so if necessary!!).
Leake Street
In October, 3 of us from the Club had a fun-filled day trip to London and spent our time round Waterloo station and along the South Bank. This image was taken in Leake Street, an area underneath Waterloo station where street artists come to showcase their work. It’s totally safe – usually more tourists than street artists – and is an interesting backdrop for photography…although I struggled to find many shots. I do have a bit of an obsession with silhouettes, so was pleased when the above composition came together.
Caught in the Light
What was I saying about silhouettes and shadows?!! I spotted this opportunity in Berlin, when I was visiting a friend in September. The sun was so bright overhead that I was hunting for shadow locations and spotted this ideal position from a bridge looking down on the walkway. I find that these sort of shots work best when you find a suitable location and then just wait for the right people to walk through. You need some patience (so it helps if you are on your own) and again, burst mode increases your “decisive moment” success rate.
And so what do my favourite images from last year tell me? That I had some great trips both home and abroad, with something pretty much every month. That I still have a pile of images to process – and post on my blog…New Year’s resolution should be to keep up with my posting in 2025. That I’m still drawn to shadows/silhouettes, strong shapes/colours, legs(?!), quirky, sense of absurd. That I enjoy street and travel photography. And that you never know what you’re going to capture next – the joy of the random moments, where everything aligns and a wonderful scene unfolds in front of you just as you press the shutter or frustration when nothing motivates you (or even worse, you weren’t quick enough to capture the moment). Already looking forward to my adventures in 2025……
All cities have their own atmosphere, personality and flavour, and Napoli is no exception. Paul Hollywood felt that it “certainly has a lived-in look…a little bit dirty, but I love it”. And so do I. I got a real feel for the city as I wandered around its narrow cobbled streets and engaged with the locals.
Life is lived at a slower pace here, no doubt due to the hot climate, where friends have time to stop and chat, and residents often while away the hours gazing out over their neighbourhood. With most apartments having their doors and shuttered windows to just one side of the property, these openings are in regular use, as they provide valuable light and a way to interact with passers-by.
My panel aims to celebrate the character of the Neapolitan people as they go about their everyday lives, the beating heart of this remarkable city.
(Click on the arrows to view all of the images)
Back in 2022 when I was awarded my Licentiate Distinction from the Royal Photographic Society, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would start thinking about working towards an Associate Level. It was upon my return from Naples in April 2023, that I began to wonder if there may be enough material for a panel in the Travel genre.
At Associate (the middle) and Fellowship (the highest) Level, the submissions are split into different genres, such as Travel, Documentary, Landscape, Natural History, Contemporary etc. A panel of 15 images needs to be produced, along with a 150 word Statement of Intent (SOI) – 300 for contemporary. It’s critical that the SOI clearly describes what the images are showing you, and weirdly this is almost more difficult than putting the images together. The assessors go through the SOI with a fine tooth comb and pull it apart if they read anything that isn’t demonstrated visually….no pressure then!!
I joined the Sidmouth Photographic Society (SPC) Distinctions Special Interest Group (SIG) again in October 2023, to give me the support on the road ahead. At the first meeting I showed a suggested Layout to see what people thought….
SOI: The objective of my portfolio is to capture the character of the city of Naples, where life unfolds in and around its narrow cobbled streets. Young and old alike spend their time contemplating, gossiping and celebrating in these streets, amid the ubiquitous speeding mopeds. It is a city full of colour, warmth and emotion.
It was well received as a concept, but there was a lot of feedback on both the SOI and images selected. It’s funny looking back at the origins of the panel now with hindsight, as it shows I really didn’t have a clue what would work in this genre! The SOI talked about capturing the character of the city, but it was felt I should be focusing on the character of the people instead. Speeding mopeds were mentioned in the SOI – but not shown in the images…a rookie error! And as for the images themselves; many did not really convey a sense of place and could have been taken anywhere. And if I’m mentioning colour in the SOI, maybe I need some more vibrant images…and all of the images should include people. Thankfully I was booked on another trip to Naples later that month, so I could keep all these inputs in mind when shooting more material. I took it so seriously that I even learned Italian for a month in the run up to the trip, in order to ask to take people’s pictures!!
I had 4 full days in Naples to take photos and spent my time wandering about the oldest areas of the city, up and down the narrow streets looking for inspiration – and finding it! I even walked past the same old guy leaning out of his green shuttered window – no movement in 6 months!! I started to get braver by day 3 and approached people “Posso fare una photo?”…and no-one refused, although many were rather bemused. I was asked a couple of times if I was a photo journalist, and in reply learnt “Non, è la mia passione” – it’s my passion, as being Italian, they understood this more than it’s my hobby!
Back in the UK I began looking through my hundreds of images to construct a new panel….as a side project I put together a short black & white eZine about the men of Naples, which made me wonder if I should perhaps do this as a panel in black and white. I’d also spent some time taking pictures around Garibaldi station and wondered if they might make an interesting panel. So I decided to put together 3 different panels to see which one had the most possibilities, before committing to just one direction. Back to the Distinctions SIG for feedback!
At this stage, I must admit that I couldn’t see the wood for the trees – too many ideas / directions / possibilities! After talking through my ideas with the group, I realised that I kept being drawn back to the colour images and that should be the way forward, which meant that I could concentrate now on forming the best combination of images and fine-tuning my SOI. Even dragged my Dad into the process and he helped me wordsmith the first part of the SOI and even found the Paul Hollywood quote! At the beginning of January 2024, when the RPS released the Assessment dates, there were only 2 per year per category…so I panicked and booked the one in September, as I couldn’t face waiting until 2025 to complete it! Now I had a fixed deadline to work towards…
I can’t possibly show all the various panel layouts I’ve gone through since – needless to say there were many (poor Distinctions SIG critiquing all of these different options!). The next milestone was to attend an Advisory Day in Bristol, to show my prospective panel + SOI and receive feedback. On 20th May 2024 I headed up there to attend the Advisory Day in person and to learn what it is the assessors are looking for, what a successful panel looks like, listen to advice on other panels and have feedback on my own. It was a very enjoyable day – I learnt an awful lot, and in fact berated myself for not having attended one before going on my second Naples visit.
SOI: All cities have their own atmosphere, personality and flavour, and Napoli is certainly no exception. Paul Hollywood saw it as “curiously chaotic, it certainly has a lived-in look, it’s alive, vibrant, a little bit dirty, but I love it.” And so do I. I got a real feel for the city as I wandered around its narrow cobbled streets and engaged with the locals. My panel aims to celebrate the character of the Neapolitan people as they go about their everyday lives; the beating heart of this remarkable city.
It was felt that the SOI needed tightening up slightly, but was generally on the right track. However, if the focus was on everyday lives, then image 2 didn’t really fit. The addition of static portraits didn’t provide a sense of place (no environmental details) and there were rather too many mopeds in the panel. But they appreciated the style of photography and careful placement of images.
I went back and completely reworked the panel again, focusing on the inputs received. But I just had to keep the man with the green shutters and it seemed fitting he should be the focal point in the middle of the panel – somehow his image was the beginning of my decision to use Naples for my A panel. It was at this stage I realised just how few images I had with the correct people to environment ratio – I either had close/staged portraits or environmental shots without people! So it was becoming harder to fill the spaces! I booked a 1-2-1 session with the RPS and was lucky enough to be matched with Hazel Frost FRPS, Chair of the Travel category.
SOI: All cities have their own atmosphere, personality and flavour, and Napoli is certainly no exception. Paul Hollywood felt that it “certainly has a lived-in look…a little bit dirty, but I love it.” And so do I. I got a real feel for the city as I wandered around its narrow cobbledstreets and engaged with the locals. For many, life is lived at a slower pace here, no doubt due to the hot climate, where friends have time to stop and chat, and residents often while away the hours gazing out over their neighbourhood. My panel aims to celebrate the character of the Neapolitan people as they go about their everyday lives, the beating heart of this remarkable city.
The 1-2-1 went well and Hazel could see that I was now moving in the right direction. Image 8 had to be removed due to borderline quality issues – and 7 was also potentially dodgy. Image 11 was too static and 5 not interesting enough. Hazel also suggested I mentioned the shutters in the SOI, seeing as I felt they were a key part of Neapolitan life.
Back to work again, because removing 5, 7, 8 and 11 had opened up 4 gaps to fill – being mindful of the dimensions of the images to ensure balance across the panel, as well as the colours used. Submitted 4 versions back to Hazel, with 3 out of the 4 being acceptable…and my gut chose the final version!
The Assessment Day itself on 11th September 2024 was nerve wracking, but it was so much better to be there in person. I asked Mike from SPC Distinctions SIG to join me on the day, as he had waded through literally hundreds of my images for quality control and given feedback on all of my panel versions (the majority of which I haven’t shown!) and was as invested in my success as me! There were 3 assessors and 1 Chair – at the start of each person’s assessment a vote was taken. Then each assessor would provide feedback on the panel and a second vote was taken. Then the announcement was made if the person had passed or not. The first 2 print submissions were beautiful and no surprise that they both passed. Then it was on to digitals and mine was first up. The first assessor’s comments were all positive. Then came a couple of criticisms – the whites in image 4 were far too bright (and to be fair they did look terrible – maybe the projector was running a bit too bright?) and one area in image 13 looked as if it may have been amended…so I really wasn’t sure which way it was going to go. But thankfully it went my way and I passed…oh the relief!! Out of 7 submissions that day only 3 passed – the other 4 clearly hadn’t attended a 1-2-1 session, otherwise the issues would have been identified at an earlier stage. I managed to embarrass myself (and probably Mike) on the way out, by walking up to the assessors to thank them and because I was a tad giddy, dancing about and gushing my appreciation…oh well, just couldn’t help myself! And what a great finish to the day as it was an SPC evening, so it was a joy to share my success with all of my club friends, who had supported me along the way. A fabulous end to an 18 month project…now, what shall I do for my FRPS???!!!
Back in June I had a lovely few days in Alicante with my friend Hilary and although it wasn’t a photography trip per se, any photographer knows that you just can’t help yourself once that camera’s slung round your neck! It was a surprisingly interesting city – still some old buildings and a castle to enjoy, so not all high rise buildings (and thankfully very few English tourists!). What a joy it was to eat outside in the evenings (no jacket!!), to swim in a warm sea….and to find Pina Coladas at every turn (not considered a 90s throwback here!). Any attempt to eat healthily by having grilled fish and vegetables in the evening, was definitely countered by the amounts of ice cream, chocolate croissants (morning staple), cakes, patisseries etc. that were consumed the rest of the time!
The town of Villajoyosa, about an hour up the coast by tram, was wonderfully quaint, filled with old coloured buildings and a perfect backdrop for photography – definitely recommend it if you are out that way. It was good to see that even in this highly touristic part of Spain, there were still pockets of history to be found.
“Venice is incredible. Although you may have seen it in pictures, you can’t grasp how beautiful it is until you visit.” – Gino D’Acampo
As I landed at Marco Polo airport, looking out over Venice with the sun setting, I knew it was going to be a special city. Debbie and I were very lucky with the weather and although it was REALLY cold, it was sunny every day. Staying just a couple of minutes away from Piazza San Marco, we got up at 6am FOUR mornings on the trot (yes, you read that right) to watch the sunrise there…I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before (and I have a witness)!! The early morning light was beautiful and of course I had to take the obligatory sunrise shot – but stopped short of the long exposure blurred boats. One morning we had a run-in with a group of (male) German photographers who were determined to stand in the exact spot we were already standing in – only to meet their match…needless to say we weren’t budging! We were lucky enough to have aqua alte each morning, where the water covers the main Piazza and several other low lying areas – special walkways are erected to avoid wet feet, but the water gave some great reflections.
We spent two and a half days wandering around the little alleyways, soaking up the atmosphere. Even in January there were plenty of tourists around the usual hotspots, but it was easy to lose the crowds. I must admit I found it difficult to take my usual ‘street’ photos, especially as we didn’t really come across many Venetians going about their business, apart from early mornings in Pasticceria drinking a quick coffee on the way to work. Very much enjoyed my breakfast croissant and hot chocolate (best ever tasted)! Everywhere was so scenic, that I couldn’t always see past the postcard views and it took me a while to get into my stride. You felt like you were on a film set and it must be amazing during Carnevale, with all of the costumes.
Being tight wads we didn’t pay the €110 for a Gondola trip, but at least other tourists did, so we could get a few pictures of them in action. It was so cold, that the gondoliers were wearing their straw boaters on top of woolly hats – did wonder if North Face had a contract with them, seeing all of the padded black jackets they were wearing!
On the last full day we spent a very enjoyable morning/afternoon sitting in the sunshine watching the world go by, moving from morning coffee, to aperitivo (Aperol Spritz of course) to lunch (spaghetti with cuttlefish ink) then gelato…even warm enough to take off my coat!!
And of course we had the obligatory hysterics multiple times, due to consuming too much sugar and getting up too early – was often a struggle managing the 5 flights of stairs to our attic apartment in the throws of an hysterical moment!! Thoroughly recommend Venice for a long weekend out of season and I have a funny feeling we’ll be returning….
P.S. I managed to contain my excitement over the washing and not post any!
I spent a wonderful few days at the beginning of January with my friend Debbie in and around Venice, and on one of the days we took a boat out to the island of Burano, famed for its coloured houses. Despite the bitterly cold wind, we thoroughly enjoyed wandering the little streets looking for photo opportunities. As we arrived mid morning, the island was busy with residents going about their daily lives and we got a feel for the true nature of the place, before the inevitable hoards started to arrive. With so much colour and prettiness at every turn, it was difficult to avoid cliched shots. At one point we were practically chasing a woman in a red coat down the street, to be able to photograph her in front of a green building – sadly, she decided to escape into one of the shops before we got our shot! There were plenty of young Chinese tourists around and I managed to hijack one of their photoshoots, as the guy stood posing! It did make me wonder how it must feel to see endless people using your house as an Insta backdrop – it must be hellish in summer.
It was fascinating to see how house proud the women were (certainly saw no men cleaning), with mops and brushes hanging outside most of the houses…probably to clear the debris deposited by the high tides that covered many of the walkways outside the front doors. By this stage, we were starting to get used to the fact that houses had boats, rather than cars, “parked” outside and it was wonderful to walk around without fear of being mown down by a car or moped. But it did mean that everything had to come in by boat, and there were men everywhere wheeling essentials round on trolleys.
And I found a new obsession to photograph – washing!! Be warned, there will be plenty more washing shots coming up in the Venice blog!!
Karen Brindley Photography 