South West Region news - March 2026
From the RO
Hello fellow photographers. For those of you who have not yet heard, I have recently been elected as the new RPS SW Regional Organiser at the Regions AGM, where it was great to meet so many of you. I will be working hard, with the new and enthusiastic Committee, to bring as much photographic inspiration and opportunity to Devon and Cornwall (and parts of Somerset!) as we possibly can. We have started by putting together a programme for 2026 which I hope will provide both. The centrepiece of the programme is 'A Sense of Place’ and it would be great to have as many of you as possible involved. The details and timetable of events associated with this are elsewhere in this newsletter.
We are also offering, during May and June, at least 6 (at the time of writing) opportunities locally as part of the national Talk Walk Talk (TWT) programme themed as ’Sites of Religious Significance’. These have historically been well supported in the South West Region and I hope this will continue to be the case. There will be another set of TWT opportunities available in the Autumn which will be added to the programme as they become known. Check out the Regional website! https://rps.org/regions/south-west/
We are also going to attempt to:
1. Highlight opportunities to see photographic exhibitions in the SW as we hear about them (please let a Committee member know if you are aware of anything that you think should be brought to the attention of others across the Region)
2. Make you aware of events happening within the SW Region being organised by RPS Special Interest Groups (SIGs) during the year. In particular, the Landscape Group often run events in the Region.
3. Make you aware of when events are happening locally organised by the Regional representatives of RPS SIGs, in particular the Visual Art, Contemporary and Audio Visual Groups which have significant representation in the Region.
I hope you enjoy, and get great value from, this Newsletter. Please get in touch if there are other things you would like to see, or if you have any offers that photographers in the South West might find interesting.
Best wishes
Steve
A Sense of Place
A project designed for every SW Region member to be able to participate
Wherever we live we all have a ‘sense’ of what our home area (or one that we frequently visit) is like. We know what it feels like to live where we do whether it is in a city, town, village or even on an isolated farm. We have a ‘Sense of Place' about it.
But can we express that ‘Sense of Place’ and pass it to others through our photography? Can we produce a small body of work that will allow others to feel that ‘Sense of Place’ in the way we do? What is it that contributes to that ‘Sense of Place’? Is it the buildings? Is it the plant life, or the wider landscape? Is it the local industry and commercial activities? Is it about the details of what is common to us? Perhaps it is the people? Or perhaps it is something again entirely, or a combination of some or all of these that makes your ‘Place’ what it is.
This Project will give all participants a chance to explore their local area (or somewhere else that they know well) in whatever photographic style they feel is most appropriate. The choices, as we all know, are endless. Does your chosen area have its ‘Sense’ best expressed in mono, or colour? Using ICM, or perhaps long exposures? Using multiple exposures, or more creative approaches? Using a ‘street’ style, or perhaps more formal environmental portraiture or documentary approaches. The choice is yours.
The project will kick off with a presentation and Workshop of ideas by Joe Houghton on 28 April, and will involve regular ‘check-ins’ to discuss and share progress with your peers on the project. All the dates are in the Regional Programme. We intend to pull the work together into a book and celebrate the outcomes at the Regional AGM in early 2027. Of course, you may also wish to do something (book? local exhibition? etc.) with your own work in addition to this.
We hope you find this idea inspiring as a way of bringing together diverse photographers who are very geographically spread across a large Region with a single objective.
Book your place on the project HERE
2026-27 South West Programme Dates
19.30 Contact Contemporary or Documentary SIGs
11 April Saturday WCPF (Western Counties Photographic Federation) Judging Seminar Woodbury Hall, Nr Topsham Via WCPF
11 April Saturday Digital Imaging SIG – What are we going to do about AI? Christine Widdall 16.00-17.30
Zoom contact DI SIG
15 April Wednesday RPS SW Committee Mtg 19.00 Zoom
18 April (Ends) Harry Penhaul – Life in West Cornwall in the 1950s Penlee Gallery, Penzance
18 April Saturday Landscape SIG walk 10.00-16.00 Topsham and the Exe estauary Contact Landscape SIG
18th April Saturday AV SIG Western Counties PF AV Competition Woodbury contact AV SIG
28 April Tuesday Sense of Place Launch with Joe Houghton 10.00-12.00 Zoom TWT Bookings - Sites of Religious Significance
6 May Wed-11May Mon Open for on-line bookings Website talkwalktalk@rps.org 18 May Monday TWT – Talk – Julian Elliott 19.30 Zoom
19 May Tuesday - 30 June Tuesday for walks
1 – Buckfast Abbey - Thursday 1 – Anne Whitley 18th June
2 – St. Pancras Church, Widecombe in the Moor 2 – Janet Haines 4th June 3 – Loughwood meeting House & Wolford Chapel, 3 – Lois Wakeman 4 – Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter 4 – Nigel Dutt
5 – St.Just-in-Roseland Parish Church, St. Mawes,
– Gwennap Pit, Bosveal, Redruth, Cornwall
Zoom contact DI SIG
23-24 May Sat/Sunday AV SIG Jurassic Coast AV Salon UK Zoom Contact AV SIG
June Wednesday Landscape SIG TWT Bath Railway Station
June Saturday AV SIG Jurassic Coast AV Salon International
Landscape SIG
contact AV SIG 16 June Tuesday Sense of Place session 19.30
8 July Wednesday RPS SW Committee Mtg 19.00
22 July Wednesday TWT – Talk (final) and selection of images– 10 30 Isambard House Saltash Rlwy Stn 11 August Tuesday Sense of Place session 14.00-16.00
19 Aug Wednesday World Photography Day Details TBA 26 Sept Saturday Deadline for CPA (Cornwall Photographic Alliance) Nature & Wildlife competition On-line entry via CPA 7 Oct Wednesday Sense of Place Joe Houghton talk 10.00-12.00
10 Oct Saturday Landscape SIG Teign Gorge Drewsteignton 09.00/13.00 contact :Landscape SIG 14 October Wed RPS SW Committee Mtg 19.00
10 November Tuesday Sense of Place session 19.30-21.30
2 Dec Wednesday Sense of Place choosing images and completion –10 30 Whole day – central location TBA
13 Jan Wednesday RPS SW Committee Mtg 19.00 Zoom 17 Feb Wednesday RPS SW AGM 10 30 Isambard House Saltash Rlwy Stn
SW Region Walks
St Pancras Church & Graveyard, Widecombe in the Moor
Loughwood Meeting house & Wolford Chapel, Axminster
Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh
Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter
St. Just-in-Roseland Parish Church, St Mawes
Gwennap Pit, Busveal, Redruth
When bookings open on 6 April go online to book your place. talkwalktalk.org You may attend more than one WALK if you wish. The booking site will provide the information you need about your chosen WALK and the name of the walk leader
The walk leader will email you a few days prior to the WALK. If for any reason you are unable to attend please let us know so others can take your place. Each walk has a limited number of places.
You watch the TALK on line on 18 May. You will be emailed the Zoom link nearer the time - it is recorded if you cannot make the time or date.
We hold final face to face TALK meetings to view each others images and decide one image from each WALK to go forward to the national Zine.
Meeting places
In an attempt to give better access to our meetings for members in both Devon and Cornwall your new committee are exploring different venues. We thank those of you who suggested locations in the recent survey.
We will also endeavour to organise some workshops during the year, as members expressed this desire in the survey. More information will become available as and when these can be arranged.
Our web pages are now undergoing a major update and should become your ‘first stop’ when you wish to engage with that which the Region has to offer. Do book mark this page to be able to return to it in the future. https://rps.org/regions/southwest/
SW Region committee
Regional Officer Steve Fairman southwest@rps.org
Hon Secretary Michael Harris southwestsecretary@rps.org
HonTreasurer Dennis Knowles dennisknowles123@outlook.com
Web content Nigel Dutt southwestweb@rps.org
Sheila Haycox,Kane Clements,Sue Bishop,David Rayner,Tony Berry,Janet Haines
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