Tynemouth Photographic Society
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Main Group - Record of Speakers 25/26 Season
6th November 2025
David Brown DPAGB ARPS EFIAPb BPE2
A large audience of members and guests were treated to an excellent talk by David Brown of Gosforth CC on his ‘adventures’ during a project which involved walking the Northumberland Coastal path from Newcastle city centre to Berwick upon Tweed. David’s presentation was enlivened with some wonderful anecdotes of his adventures during the walk; for example, his introduction explained that the path is actually made up of 3 sections; Hadrian’s Wall Path, North Tyneside Coastal Path and the Northumberland Coastal Path. The starting point for the latter is actually a rather contentious issue since the path actually officially starts at Creswell much to the displeasure of the inhabitants of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea who feel that their town should be part of the Northumberland Coastal Path rather than be designated as a section of the North Tyneside Path!
His presentation was superbly illustrated not only with wonderful landscape images of the route take but also with some stunning images of local birds, particularly waders which formed part of a panel of photographs he submitted when applying for his ARPS accreditation; he noted his ambition to have more ‘letters’ after his name than letter actually in his name and as he now has; DPAGB, ARPS, EFIAP/b, BPE2* he is well on the way to achieving this goal!
David noted that his present kit whilst walking is made up of a relatively lightweight Nikon outfit with a 24-70mm zoom, however, he uses a ‘less portable’ 400mm plus tripod for wildlife photography which, at over 7Kg is not so portable for long distance walks!
David explained that for this ’project’ which he completed during the summer and autumn of 2019 he broke the walks into 10 ‘legs’ with the aim of using public transport as far as possible. Given that his pensioners bus pass is only valid from 0930 the further he went away from Gosforth, the later walk start times became and hence as the days got shorter he had to resort to using his car for the most northerly legs; indeed, a couple of the walks ended in darkness due to the onset of shorter days.
The terrain during the walks varied widely from the wind sandy expanses of tidal beach at locations such as Cresswell and Bamburgh, rocky clifftops at Dunstanburgh and Beadnell, muddy flats at Boulmer and inland detours at Fenwick as the coastal path disappears due to dangerous sinking sands across Goswick Sands. David noted that walking the coastal path requires good planning in order to maximise tidal conditions (walking on hard sandy beaches is much easier than struggling over sand dunes!), light and avoiding dog walkers who inadvertently cause any wading birds to take flight!
David detailed that the technique he uses to capture some of his stunning images of shorebirds involves waiting in a good location, remaining as motionless as possible for the tide to expose feeding areas and let the birds move towards his position until within photographic range. See above ref. dog walkers!
So, another really enjoyable talk taking in several locations well known by Club members with the added ‘twist’ of combining long distance walking with photography.
Thank you, David.
Andy Louch
7 November 2025
David Brown DPAGB ARPS EFIAPb BPE2
A large audience of members and guests were treated to an excellent talk by David Brown of Gosforth CC on his ‘adventures’ during a project which involved walking the Northumberland Coastal path from Newcastle city centre to Berwick upon Tweed. David’s presentation was enlivened with some wonderful anecdotes of his adventures during the walk; for example, his introduction explained that the path is actually made up of 3 sections; Hadrian’s Wall Path, North Tyneside Coastal Path and the Northumberland Coastal Path. The starting point for the latter is actually a rather contentious issue since the path actually officially starts at Creswell much to the displeasure of the inhabitants of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea who feel that their town should be part of the Northumberland Coastal Path rather than be designated as a section of the North Tyneside Path!
His presentation was superbly illustrated not only with wonderful landscape images of the route take but also with some stunning images of local birds, particularly waders which formed part of a panel of photographs he submitted when applying for his ARPS accreditation; he noted his ambition to have more ‘letters’ after his name than letter actually in his name and as he now has; DPAGB, ARPS, EFIAP/b, BPE2* he is well on the way to achieving this goal!
David noted that his present kit whilst walking is made up of a relatively lightweight Nikon outfit with a 24-70mm zoom, however, he uses a ‘less portable’ 400mm plus tripod for wildlife photography which, at over 7Kg is not so portable for long distance walks!
David explained that for this ’project’ which he completed during the summer and autumn of 2019 he broke the walks into 10 ‘legs’ with the aim of using public transport as far as possible. Given that his pensioners bus pass is only valid from 0930 the further he went away from Gosforth, the later walk start times became and hence as the days got shorter he had to resort to using his car for the most northerly legs; indeed, a couple of the walks ended in darkness due to the onset of shorter days.
The terrain during the walks varied widely from the wind sandy expanses of tidal beach at locations such as Cresswell and Bamburgh, rocky clifftops at Dunstanburgh and Beadnell, muddy flats at Boulmer and inland detours at Fenwick as the coastal path disappears due to dangerous sinking sands across Goswick Sands. David noted that walking the coastal path requires good planning in order to maximise tidal conditions (walking on hard sandy beaches is much easier than struggling over sand dunes!), light and avoiding dog walkers who inadvertently cause any wading birds to take flight!
David detailed that the technique he uses to capture some of his stunning images of shorebirds involves waiting in a good location, remaining as motionless as possible for the tide to expose feeding areas and let the birds move towards his position until within photographic range. See above ref. dog walkers!
So, another really enjoyable talk taking in several locations well known by Club members with the added ‘twist’ of combining long distance walking with photography.
Thank you, David.
Andy Louch
7 November 2025
23rd October 2025
Our own Joan Pearson and Brian Pearson ARPS, AFIAP, DPAGB, BPE1*, PSA.
An extra-special evening last night was enjoyed by an excellent turn out of Club members when we were entertained by long-standing members of Whitley Bay PS and now Tynemouth PS, Joan and Brian Pearson as they presented a wonderful collection of their prints taken over recent years.
Joan took to the floor first noting that she had started taking images in about 2008 using a small, basic digital camera after she decided that she might as well get involved in photography rather than hanging about whilst Brian was doing his thing!
The quality of Joan's mostly local photographs proved that high quality images can be produced using more affordable equipment and we saw over 30 prints, including locations in North Shields and Newcastle with occasional trips further afield such as Whitby and York and on holidays to Europe. Joan certainly has a wonderful eye for seeing images and is able to capture them to provide superb photographs, especially her portraits of Goths and Punks in Whitby which were really stunning and were enjoyed by everyone.
Brian then entertained us with a superbly eclectic set of prints of subjects ranging from superb portraits of local characters in Ireland, to triptychs of Household Cavalry soldiers, portraits and wonderful landscapes via stunning images of lightbulbs exploding after being shot with a .22 air rifle! (Joan noted that she had to tidy up the glass in the lounge after Brian had taken this fantastic set of images!).
Brian demonstrated his amazing creativity with a number of composite prints proving that he has brilliant printing and processing skills as well as a wonderful eye for a photograph. Some of Brian's prints were almost surreal and throughout his presentation there were a lot of gasps and ‘wow’s from the audience as he presented each image to us. It is little wonder that Brian has found success in being presented with numerous awards including one from the USA!
An exceptional evening enjoyed by us all and the vote of thanks led by Alan Forster were roundly echoed by the audience.
Andy Louch
24 October 2025
Our own Joan Pearson and Brian Pearson ARPS, AFIAP, DPAGB, BPE1*, PSA.
An extra-special evening last night was enjoyed by an excellent turn out of Club members when we were entertained by long-standing members of Whitley Bay PS and now Tynemouth PS, Joan and Brian Pearson as they presented a wonderful collection of their prints taken over recent years.
Joan took to the floor first noting that she had started taking images in about 2008 using a small, basic digital camera after she decided that she might as well get involved in photography rather than hanging about whilst Brian was doing his thing!
The quality of Joan's mostly local photographs proved that high quality images can be produced using more affordable equipment and we saw over 30 prints, including locations in North Shields and Newcastle with occasional trips further afield such as Whitby and York and on holidays to Europe. Joan certainly has a wonderful eye for seeing images and is able to capture them to provide superb photographs, especially her portraits of Goths and Punks in Whitby which were really stunning and were enjoyed by everyone.
Brian then entertained us with a superbly eclectic set of prints of subjects ranging from superb portraits of local characters in Ireland, to triptychs of Household Cavalry soldiers, portraits and wonderful landscapes via stunning images of lightbulbs exploding after being shot with a .22 air rifle! (Joan noted that she had to tidy up the glass in the lounge after Brian had taken this fantastic set of images!).
Brian demonstrated his amazing creativity with a number of composite prints proving that he has brilliant printing and processing skills as well as a wonderful eye for a photograph. Some of Brian's prints were almost surreal and throughout his presentation there were a lot of gasps and ‘wow’s from the audience as he presented each image to us. It is little wonder that Brian has found success in being presented with numerous awards including one from the USA!
An exceptional evening enjoyed by us all and the vote of thanks led by Alan Forster were roundly echoed by the audience.
Andy Louch
24 October 2025
9th October 2025 Pete Wilkinson, The Wynd Photographic
Our second visitor to the Society this season saw us royally entertained by Pete Wilkinson from Hexham. An excellent turnout of members and guests were thoroughly entertained by Pete who took us on a journey to his photography and gallery ownership via; acting, writing, filmmaking (Blind Crow Pictures), college lecturing, wedding photography and most recently gallery ownership and landscape
photography.
The talk was illustrated with some of Pete’s wonderfully atmospheric work which, he noted, had developed following a period of trying to capture images primarily for display on social media to score maximum ‘likes’ on the various platforms which has become rather a ‘rat-race’. The period of lockdowns during the pandemic forced him to slow down and shoot ‘local’ which he really enjoyed, taking pictures of areas within walking distance of his home in Hexham. He experimented with re-visiting the same locations multiple times across the various seasons and this approach resulted in a portfolio which HE enjoys and is pleased to display in his gallery.
He still does take photographic commissions to retain an income stream, but his passion is to take images which please him and if others like his work then it is a bonus; …”commerce versus contentment”…!
He noted that he either shoots; “very slow or very quick” and almost always use a tripod for his landscape work as he finds it really helpful to slow down and construct a composition. Of course, there are times when a much faster approach is needed, and both of these methods were illustrated with fabulous images. Pete noted that; ‘light is everything’ and he noted that he ‘sees’ the ‘quality’ of the light before he even considers taking an image. Again, this was illustrated with some superbly atmospheric images which led on to his views on a sense of belonging to a place or ‘heft’ as it may be referred to in Cumbria and rural Northumbria.
His final points noted that his photography is very personal to him and if others like his work or find a connection with it then that is very pleasing.
A really interesting talk illustrated with some very special images.
Thanks are due to Henry Tennant who visited Pete at his gallery in Hexham and made the initial contact for Pete’s visit to the Society.
Andy Louch
10 October 2025
Our second visitor to the Society this season saw us royally entertained by Pete Wilkinson from Hexham. An excellent turnout of members and guests were thoroughly entertained by Pete who took us on a journey to his photography and gallery ownership via; acting, writing, filmmaking (Blind Crow Pictures), college lecturing, wedding photography and most recently gallery ownership and landscape
photography.
The talk was illustrated with some of Pete’s wonderfully atmospheric work which, he noted, had developed following a period of trying to capture images primarily for display on social media to score maximum ‘likes’ on the various platforms which has become rather a ‘rat-race’. The period of lockdowns during the pandemic forced him to slow down and shoot ‘local’ which he really enjoyed, taking pictures of areas within walking distance of his home in Hexham. He experimented with re-visiting the same locations multiple times across the various seasons and this approach resulted in a portfolio which HE enjoys and is pleased to display in his gallery.
He still does take photographic commissions to retain an income stream, but his passion is to take images which please him and if others like his work then it is a bonus; …”commerce versus contentment”…!
He noted that he either shoots; “very slow or very quick” and almost always use a tripod for his landscape work as he finds it really helpful to slow down and construct a composition. Of course, there are times when a much faster approach is needed, and both of these methods were illustrated with fabulous images. Pete noted that; ‘light is everything’ and he noted that he ‘sees’ the ‘quality’ of the light before he even considers taking an image. Again, this was illustrated with some superbly atmospheric images which led on to his views on a sense of belonging to a place or ‘heft’ as it may be referred to in Cumbria and rural Northumbria.
His final points noted that his photography is very personal to him and if others like his work or find a connection with it then that is very pleasing.
A really interesting talk illustrated with some very special images.
Thanks are due to Henry Tennant who visited Pete at his gallery in Hexham and made the initial contact for Pete’s visit to the Society.
Andy Louch
10 October 2025
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25th September 2025 Presidential Evening by Linda McGregor with Adam Lang, Lang Shot Photography |
Last night at the Society we enjoyed the second evening of the new season and, for her Presidents Evening, Linda had invited Adam Lang, a photographer based in Gateshead.
An excellent turnout of members were treated to a really interesting talk illustrated with some wonderful images taken by Adam who introduced us to his distinctive style of photography capturing street and travel scenes which kept the audience entranced throughout.
Adam noted that he had only really got serious about image taking some 10 years ago when he obtained his first ‘serious camera which gave him the ability to shoot in conditions when most of us would stay inside! He took us on a journey from Newcastle city centre to Portugal and the Czech Republic taking stunning photographs of the street scene and in particular getting brilliant shots in fog, heavy rain and snow as well in more benign conditions proving that poor conditions do not need result in us staying indoors; indeed, as Adam stressed and demonstrated, heavy rain, snow and in particular fog can provide the most atmospheric of conditions for photography.
His street scenes after dark were some of his best images and his use of medium telephotos were especially stunning noting that most street scenes tend to be taken with 35mm or 50mm lenses.
His ability to capture the vibrant colours of buildings in Lisbon and Porto complemented by the iconic trams in these cities were especially noteworthy and he noted that he rarely uses a tripod instead relying on using the high ISO capabilities of modern equipment.
He noted that he is keen to create photography ‘projects’; a current idea is to capture images of barbers whilst on his travels. Food for thought there!
His final section saw us return to Newcastle with a number of spectacular images of the streets around the Tyne Bridge and Quayside and I’m sure there will be a number of members, myself included, who will be looking out for damp, misty evenings to head up to ‘The Toon’ this autumn!
Huge thanks to both Adam and Linda for a brilliant evening ending with a splendid buffet provided by our President over which we could enjoy and admire some of Adams prints and discuss our next ideas about where to point our cameras!
Andy Louch
26 September 2025
An excellent turnout of members were treated to a really interesting talk illustrated with some wonderful images taken by Adam who introduced us to his distinctive style of photography capturing street and travel scenes which kept the audience entranced throughout.
Adam noted that he had only really got serious about image taking some 10 years ago when he obtained his first ‘serious camera which gave him the ability to shoot in conditions when most of us would stay inside! He took us on a journey from Newcastle city centre to Portugal and the Czech Republic taking stunning photographs of the street scene and in particular getting brilliant shots in fog, heavy rain and snow as well in more benign conditions proving that poor conditions do not need result in us staying indoors; indeed, as Adam stressed and demonstrated, heavy rain, snow and in particular fog can provide the most atmospheric of conditions for photography.
His street scenes after dark were some of his best images and his use of medium telephotos were especially stunning noting that most street scenes tend to be taken with 35mm or 50mm lenses.
His ability to capture the vibrant colours of buildings in Lisbon and Porto complemented by the iconic trams in these cities were especially noteworthy and he noted that he rarely uses a tripod instead relying on using the high ISO capabilities of modern equipment.
He noted that he is keen to create photography ‘projects’; a current idea is to capture images of barbers whilst on his travels. Food for thought there!
His final section saw us return to Newcastle with a number of spectacular images of the streets around the Tyne Bridge and Quayside and I’m sure there will be a number of members, myself included, who will be looking out for damp, misty evenings to head up to ‘The Toon’ this autumn!
Huge thanks to both Adam and Linda for a brilliant evening ending with a splendid buffet provided by our President over which we could enjoy and admire some of Adams prints and discuss our next ideas about where to point our cameras!
Andy Louch
26 September 2025