Tynemouth Photographic Society
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TPS URBAN GROUP GALLERY EXHIBITION
Members of the Urban Group are having an exhibition of their work at High Bridge Works, Newcastle NE1 1EW from 14th July until 30th July.
The exhibition is open weekdays from 9am until 5.30pm.
The exhibition shows 48 images contained in 12 panels, produced by twelve authors.
The images were produced over the course of the last season and are based on the Japanese philosophy of Iche-Go Iche-E.
This philosophy contends that every meeting or encounter, however familiar, is always different in some way, and is therefore a once in a lifetime event to be appreciated as such.
Members of the Urban Group selected a building or urban space in Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Tynemouth, or North Shields, and photographed it over the course of last season.
Each photographer has presented four of their images as a panel of unique encounters with the same building or space.
Please make a note of the dates and come along to enjoy the work!
Thank you, Alan Forster
The exhibition is open weekdays from 9am until 5.30pm.
The exhibition shows 48 images contained in 12 panels, produced by twelve authors.
The images were produced over the course of the last season and are based on the Japanese philosophy of Iche-Go Iche-E.
This philosophy contends that every meeting or encounter, however familiar, is always different in some way, and is therefore a once in a lifetime event to be appreciated as such.
Members of the Urban Group selected a building or urban space in Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Tynemouth, or North Shields, and photographed it over the course of last season.
Each photographer has presented four of their images as a panel of unique encounters with the same building or space.
Please make a note of the dates and come along to enjoy the work!
Thank you, Alan Forster
NORTH TYNE AREA PDI COMPETITION - 31ST MARCH 2026
Winning Image - Subway Ghosts - Chris Parker
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Chris receiving the NTA PDI Trophy
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A well attended night at King Street Club for this competition which was hosted by North Shields PS.
The judge for the event was David Ord of Ryton & District CC and six Clubs from our North Tyne Area had eight entries each and it turned out to be a close scoring competition with a high standard of images throughout.
The final scores were;
North Shields PS 210 - joint 1st
Gosforth CC 210 - joint 1st
Tynemouth PS 202 - joint 3rd
Whitley Bay PS 202 - joint 3rd
Ponteland PS 199
Cramlington PS 189
Our congratulations go to North Shields PS and Gosforth CC, who will share the Trophy for six months each.
Our own Chris Parker achieved 30 points with the winning image 'Subway Ghosts', well done Chris.
A wonderful buffet was provided by our hosts and there was a huge selection of prizes for the lucky raffle winners.
The judge for the event was David Ord of Ryton & District CC and six Clubs from our North Tyne Area had eight entries each and it turned out to be a close scoring competition with a high standard of images throughout.
The final scores were;
North Shields PS 210 - joint 1st
Gosforth CC 210 - joint 1st
Tynemouth PS 202 - joint 3rd
Whitley Bay PS 202 - joint 3rd
Ponteland PS 199
Cramlington PS 189
Our congratulations go to North Shields PS and Gosforth CC, who will share the Trophy for six months each.
Our own Chris Parker achieved 30 points with the winning image 'Subway Ghosts', well done Chris.
A wonderful buffet was provided by our hosts and there was a huge selection of prizes for the lucky raffle winners.
AN EVENING WITH OUR OWN ARTHUR SMITH DPAGB - 22ND JANUARY 2026
After the Christmas break, the Society resumed its series of lectures with the packed house of over 30 members and guests enjoying a wonderful evening featuring Society member Arthur Smith. Arthur joined the Society in 1989 noting that he was interested in photography from a young age and he was especially interested in darkroom work and the numerous ways photographs could be produced using a multitude of techniques.
He began his talk with a short history noting that photographs were first seen as a replacement for painting and drawing capturing scenes and images which had previously been the domain of traditional artists. Indeed, during the Victorian period it was a common practice for wealthier society to create ‘cameos’ such as tragic ‘deathbed’ scenes where the young daughter suffering illness is being comforted by her mother and sister whilst the father figure stoically peers into the distance out of a window; such images of pathos were widely popular in middle-class society at this time. Arthur demonstrated the methods used to produce photographs at this time highlighting the use tintype plates with his own examples noting that this process can be used to produce photos very quickly and that there was a strong trade in producing such images for sale at fairs, carnivals etc.
Arthur’s demonstration of the production of ‘tintypes’ led to wider demonstrations of his expertise in the darkroom using numerous techniques to produce superb eye-catching photographs. The examples he showed to the audience drew numerous gasps of admiration from the appreciative audience and his prints were of the highest quality. Arthur did note that he had ‘discussions’ with a number of competition judges on occasion as to the validity of some of his work in terms of criteria for competitions although there could be no doubt whatsoever that the images were stunning and very much enjoyed by the audience.
Arthur is clearly a ‘larger than life’ personality and some of the anecdotes he shared caused much hilarity; he noted that his picture had appeared in a national newspaper, not to praise his photographic skills but rather whilst lying in a hospital bed. The ‘Sunday Sun’ printed a photo showing him being treated after coming to grief with a moped whilst holidaying in Greece. He said that he thought he had ‘got away with it’ when he returned to work as no-one had seen the photo only the be ‘rumbled’ when a colleague who had been off work for a couple of days challenged him and his secret was greeted with much hilarity by his workmates!
He began his talk with a short history noting that photographs were first seen as a replacement for painting and drawing capturing scenes and images which had previously been the domain of traditional artists. Indeed, during the Victorian period it was a common practice for wealthier society to create ‘cameos’ such as tragic ‘deathbed’ scenes where the young daughter suffering illness is being comforted by her mother and sister whilst the father figure stoically peers into the distance out of a window; such images of pathos were widely popular in middle-class society at this time. Arthur demonstrated the methods used to produce photographs at this time highlighting the use tintype plates with his own examples noting that this process can be used to produce photos very quickly and that there was a strong trade in producing such images for sale at fairs, carnivals etc.
Arthur’s demonstration of the production of ‘tintypes’ led to wider demonstrations of his expertise in the darkroom using numerous techniques to produce superb eye-catching photographs. The examples he showed to the audience drew numerous gasps of admiration from the appreciative audience and his prints were of the highest quality. Arthur did note that he had ‘discussions’ with a number of competition judges on occasion as to the validity of some of his work in terms of criteria for competitions although there could be no doubt whatsoever that the images were stunning and very much enjoyed by the audience.
Arthur is clearly a ‘larger than life’ personality and some of the anecdotes he shared caused much hilarity; he noted that his picture had appeared in a national newspaper, not to praise his photographic skills but rather whilst lying in a hospital bed. The ‘Sunday Sun’ printed a photo showing him being treated after coming to grief with a moped whilst holidaying in Greece. He said that he thought he had ‘got away with it’ when he returned to work as no-one had seen the photo only the be ‘rumbled’ when a colleague who had been off work for a couple of days challenged him and his secret was greeted with much hilarity by his workmates!
Back to the photography and Arthur showed numerous eye-catching and technically brilliant prints including cyanotypes, pin-hole camera images, multiple images printed on a single photograph and an intriguing set of photographs of the night sky which, when combined actually showed the Plough constellation through a series of pinholes.
Over recent times, he has embraced the use of Lightroom and Photoshop and explained how he uses post-processing to produce vibrant, unique and attention- grabbing prints of a vast range of subjects including: landscapes, wildlife; (flora and fauna), urban, street and documentary prints. He noted that he feels that he is not a great portrait photographer preferring to show people to enhance the scene rather than make them the main subject.
He noted that he uses what might be termed ‘modest’ equipment rather than technically advanced and expensive kit and now, due his deteriorating eyesight uses his mobile ‘phone to produce high quality images enhanced by using simple software as he sees fit.
Once again, Arthur regaled us with his photographic ‘adventures’ with his ‘muse’ Betty….! He described how he obtained the display mannikin from Fenwick’s and charmed us with some wonderful stories superbly illustrated with ‘Betty’ modelling at some iconic locations such as Roughting Ling, Blyth South Beach bandstand and also at the Society’s former meeting room in Tynemouth. Although the use of the ‘model’ was somewhat quirky, there was no doubt whatsoever as to the high quality of the prints she starred in.
The next set of prints Arthur displayed were of flowers which he froze in the ‘freezer. He explained that he created pleasing arrangements of fresh flowers on a shallow tray and then gently added water ensuring the arrangement was undisturbed before carrying to the freezer and chilling down. The flowers were then photographed and produced some spectacular results with the petals having ice crystal ‘highlights’ which glistened in the light. However, this is not a straightforward exercise and Arthur noted that it often takes quite a number of attempts to get the flowers frozen in a photogenic arrangement. Again, his dedication and perseverance was manifest in the exceptional prints he showed us.
Arthur has been asked to show some of his prints at exhibitions and his prints have graced the front cover of a number of photography magazines; he was very proud to have shown a set of beautiful prints of Holy Island at Lindisfarne. This exhibition was very well received indeed. Also, a large number of his prints have won awards and prizes, and it was easy to see why given their quality.
He pondered the thought that photographers may well exhibit the tendency to be ‘show-offs’ as we all like to have our work seen by a wider audience and it is always nice to have positive feedback and appreciation of our efforts.
Everyone concluded that it had been a wonderful evening and that Arthur really brought his work to life with his explanations, insights, humour and wonderful stories about his photographic journey. We were also treated to a superb buffet at Arthur’s request and provided by Tina Ormerod, Margaret Warren and Dorothy Wilson.
This included wonderful cake decorated with one of Arthurs favourite photographic subjects; mushrooms and enjoyed looking at some of his work up close as we marvelled at his dedication to photography.
Thanks Arthur!
Andy Louch
23 January 2026
Over recent times, he has embraced the use of Lightroom and Photoshop and explained how he uses post-processing to produce vibrant, unique and attention- grabbing prints of a vast range of subjects including: landscapes, wildlife; (flora and fauna), urban, street and documentary prints. He noted that he feels that he is not a great portrait photographer preferring to show people to enhance the scene rather than make them the main subject.
He noted that he uses what might be termed ‘modest’ equipment rather than technically advanced and expensive kit and now, due his deteriorating eyesight uses his mobile ‘phone to produce high quality images enhanced by using simple software as he sees fit.
Once again, Arthur regaled us with his photographic ‘adventures’ with his ‘muse’ Betty….! He described how he obtained the display mannikin from Fenwick’s and charmed us with some wonderful stories superbly illustrated with ‘Betty’ modelling at some iconic locations such as Roughting Ling, Blyth South Beach bandstand and also at the Society’s former meeting room in Tynemouth. Although the use of the ‘model’ was somewhat quirky, there was no doubt whatsoever as to the high quality of the prints she starred in.
The next set of prints Arthur displayed were of flowers which he froze in the ‘freezer. He explained that he created pleasing arrangements of fresh flowers on a shallow tray and then gently added water ensuring the arrangement was undisturbed before carrying to the freezer and chilling down. The flowers were then photographed and produced some spectacular results with the petals having ice crystal ‘highlights’ which glistened in the light. However, this is not a straightforward exercise and Arthur noted that it often takes quite a number of attempts to get the flowers frozen in a photogenic arrangement. Again, his dedication and perseverance was manifest in the exceptional prints he showed us.
Arthur has been asked to show some of his prints at exhibitions and his prints have graced the front cover of a number of photography magazines; he was very proud to have shown a set of beautiful prints of Holy Island at Lindisfarne. This exhibition was very well received indeed. Also, a large number of his prints have won awards and prizes, and it was easy to see why given their quality.
He pondered the thought that photographers may well exhibit the tendency to be ‘show-offs’ as we all like to have our work seen by a wider audience and it is always nice to have positive feedback and appreciation of our efforts.
Everyone concluded that it had been a wonderful evening and that Arthur really brought his work to life with his explanations, insights, humour and wonderful stories about his photographic journey. We were also treated to a superb buffet at Arthur’s request and provided by Tina Ormerod, Margaret Warren and Dorothy Wilson.
This included wonderful cake decorated with one of Arthurs favourite photographic subjects; mushrooms and enjoyed looking at some of his work up close as we marvelled at his dedication to photography.
Thanks Arthur!
Andy Louch
23 January 2026
ROY ELWOOD EXHIBITION AT TPS 17TH JANUARY 2026
Roy Elwood. FRPS, MPAGB, APAGB, EFIAP
Let’s start by saying that you do not get all those letters easily!
Starting at the end, it was when I saw the magnificent display of Roy’s work and memorabilia at his funeral afters, that I thought this and the room full of his prints at Whickham’s celebration of his 100th birthday MUST be somehow displayed to the wider photographic community and general public.
So the seed was sown and with us having our own rooms here, I mentioned the idea to Carolyn and Whickham members. She and David Stout were very keen, and the germ grew into the full exhibition we see now. Can you show your appreciation to them both?
I first met Roy when he joined Tynemouth PS in the mid 1970s. According to a foolscap duplicated record I hold, he lived in Moorfield, Jesmond at the time. A big man with a huge laugh – you knew when he was in the room.
Already an accomplished photographer, his monochrome prints were something to behold (all darkroom then of course).
Roy quickly became a member of the committee and I remember him sometimes having, what might be called forward looking comments which took some of us by surprise, but on consideration were wise.
His reputation for tasteful nude pictures became widespread, causing consternation from some of our female members. I was a huge fan of these. Roy produced some very clever prints, the main one I remember being a circle, cut like a cake with a picture in each segment – remember, long before digital was dreamt of - many of us were gobsmacked, so Roy gave us a printing demonstration in the darkroom. He made it look so easy.
He also won the mono print section of our Annual Exhibition one year, with a print of rooks on the branches of a tree – even though it had mistakenly been hung upside down so the rooks were sort of hanging off the branches.
In 1989 Roy became President of Tynemouth, but when, in committee he was proposed as President, the first thing he said was that he would not wear a tie – eh? I nearly fell off my chair. But we still elected him. Very sadly, before then Rosalind had passed away and it was only very near the end that Roy actually told us how ill she was. I was privileged to be given a copy of her book Botter Living, by Roy, at her funeral.
I think that for a time Roy was a member of both Tynemouth and Whickham clubs, but eventually left us when he lived in Burnhopefield.
Who could blame him!
Howard Wilson
17th January 2026
Starting at the end, it was when I saw the magnificent display of Roy’s work and memorabilia at his funeral afters, that I thought this and the room full of his prints at Whickham’s celebration of his 100th birthday MUST be somehow displayed to the wider photographic community and general public.
So the seed was sown and with us having our own rooms here, I mentioned the idea to Carolyn and Whickham members. She and David Stout were very keen, and the germ grew into the full exhibition we see now. Can you show your appreciation to them both?
I first met Roy when he joined Tynemouth PS in the mid 1970s. According to a foolscap duplicated record I hold, he lived in Moorfield, Jesmond at the time. A big man with a huge laugh – you knew when he was in the room.
Already an accomplished photographer, his monochrome prints were something to behold (all darkroom then of course).
Roy quickly became a member of the committee and I remember him sometimes having, what might be called forward looking comments which took some of us by surprise, but on consideration were wise.
His reputation for tasteful nude pictures became widespread, causing consternation from some of our female members. I was a huge fan of these. Roy produced some very clever prints, the main one I remember being a circle, cut like a cake with a picture in each segment – remember, long before digital was dreamt of - many of us were gobsmacked, so Roy gave us a printing demonstration in the darkroom. He made it look so easy.
He also won the mono print section of our Annual Exhibition one year, with a print of rooks on the branches of a tree – even though it had mistakenly been hung upside down so the rooks were sort of hanging off the branches.
In 1989 Roy became President of Tynemouth, but when, in committee he was proposed as President, the first thing he said was that he would not wear a tie – eh? I nearly fell off my chair. But we still elected him. Very sadly, before then Rosalind had passed away and it was only very near the end that Roy actually told us how ill she was. I was privileged to be given a copy of her book Botter Living, by Roy, at her funeral.
I think that for a time Roy was a member of both Tynemouth and Whickham clubs, but eventually left us when he lived in Burnhopefield.
Who could blame him!
Howard Wilson
17th January 2026