Winter Programme 2025-2026
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Tue06Jan20268:00 pmSt Ives Free ChurchWhat are the Chances? - the Pros and Cons of Nature Travel PhotographyIn this presentation Gary will discuss the kit and general settings he uses for his nature photography. His go to workflow from capture to final print. He will tell us how he goes about planning a trip, managing expectations and what he calls his ‘wish list pyramid’. The talk will be illustrated with photos from his trip in February 2025 to Uganda and will also include some multimedia audio visual presentations. Gary's prints of African Wildlife will be available to view and discuss with him on the night.
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Tue13Jan20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
20George Dellar Trophy
1. Held annually.
2. Image to be taken within Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough).
3. Images should feature one, or a combination of, a Landscape, Building or Landmark, People or
Events within the county.
4. The features must be easily identifiable.
5. DPI images only, not previously entered in any internal competition.
6. Maximum of 2 entries.
7. The location of capture must be entered in the “Entry Reference” box of PhotoEntry.
8. Only the highest scoring image from each member is counted toward the final scores.
9. Only one image is to be awarded the maximum of 10 points, to ensure that there is a clear winner.President’s Challenge Trophy
1. Held annually - this year the President's theme is "Shadows"
2. Digital images only, not previously entered in any internal competition.
3. Maximum of 2 entries.
4. Only the highest scoring image from each member is counted toward the final scores.
5. Only one image is to be awarded the maximum of 10 points, to ensure that there is a clear winner. -
Tue20Jan20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
A practical session which will allow you to try out techniques that you may not have tried before. Please bring your camera and a tripod.
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Tue27Jan20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
The fourth of our 6 Open- Themed Competitions. Entries close one week before the competition. We have two sections - a Print section and a Digital section. All entries to be submitted using PhotoEntry.
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Tue03Feb20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
An evening of two parts. We will firstly see the results of the work by the Buddies, who have been working on their joint project since the beginning of the winter season.
Then we will have a chance for other members to show work and talk us through their thought processes. Tony Cole will also give a presentation on "The Joy of shooting with an old camera".
On this night, the committee will be on hand to give any advice to members who would like any information about entering the annual competition in print or DPI.
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Tue10Feb20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church

Pont au Change, bridge over the Seine, Paris. Blue skies graced our late September visit nearly every day, and the crisp autumn breeze seemed to make the the river shine. The @conciergerie.paris and Tribunal de Commerce #tribunaldecommerce are both just visible in the skyline.
20Abstract geophotographs with an ephemeral, intimate, painterly aesthetic, often incorporating geological subjects and made with intentional camera movement.
This promises to be an amazing and inspirational evening.
Sara Rawlinson is a contemporary photographer specialising in both abstract fine art and heritage architecture. She has had a camera in her hands most days since she was six years old.
Rawlinson spent a decade in academia, teaching seismology and natural hazards, before returning to her childhood love of photography in 2013. Her academic years still heavily influence her photography – often showcasing textures, landscapes, geological features, and geological current events such as sea level rise and volcanic eruptions.
Current work with abstract geophotography addresses the inherent noir dishevelment of tectonic forces and sea level rise / climate change around the world. The photos themselves have an ephemeral, intimate, painterly aesthetic: subtly luscious and dangerously timely. Water, sun and rock all mingle together — eroding cliffs, mingling with lava, interrupting horizons. Intense texture and colour are layered with seeming tranquility throughout series, thus leading the viewer to further explore the hidden complexities of dishevelment and humanity’s inherent piercing yet calming reactions.
Rawlinson’s work has won and been shortlisted for several international awards and she is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.

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Tue17Feb20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Our tongue in cheek "speed dating" night is one of the fun and very popular evenings on our programme. Members bring their own work on a laptop or in prints, and show this to another person who will give feedback on the image for three minutes. After feedback is given both ways, one person moves on to chat to someone else.
This gives everyone a chance to talk to people in the club that they might not normally chat to, and also gives plenty of opportunity for feedback without any judging.
A fun night
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Tue24Feb20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
The fifth of our 6 Open- Themed Competitions. Entries close one week before the competition. We have two sections - a Print section and a Digital section. All entries to be submitted using PhotoEntry.
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Sat28Feb202610:00 amSt Ives Free Church
Our annual Inter-club print competition and exhibition.
Please see our dedicated page here: Interprint 2026
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Tue03Mar20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church

Robin Erithacus rubecula adult bird carrying nesting material in its beak on a garden fork handle
Introduction to garden photography - Split into two halves with one a seasonal journey around the garden and then some tips / tricks and technical details about how to capture garden images.
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Tue10Mar20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
We were incredibly lucky that Jonathan was able to fit St Ives into his very busy schedule to deliver this talk.
A member of the London Salon of Photography, Jonathan is a multiple exposure (M.E.) specialist. Most of his work involves in-camera techniques along with final image adjustments in Photoshop. Based in Bedford, he works as a photographic educator for many organisations including the RPS. He is known for teaching Photoshop from the basics to advanced techniques. He works with individuals and professional photographers at all levels as well as assisting them to discover and develop their creativity. He also leads residential workshops throughout Europe in conjunction with Travelling Lens Photo Tours. He is a Permajet Envoy, affiliated to Q-Image, Jessops, Cartridge Monkey, WEX Photo and Video and DxO Labs, teaching the NIK collection on their behalf. He is an A panel National Judge and a member of Beyond Group
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Tue17Mar2026
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Tue24Mar20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
A talk by one of our Members Stuart who specialises in studio photography. We look forward to hearing more about his methods and to seeing his images.
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Tue31Mar20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
The last of our 6 Open- Themed Competitions. Entries close one week before the competition. We have two sections - a Print section and a Digital section. All entries to be submitted using PhotoEntry.
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Tue07Apr20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Louisa is well known for her textured images which are artworks taken from various elements of her photography. In this session she will talk us through how to work with textures in order to create effects to elevate your photography.
Please bring a camera!
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Tue14Apr20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
DPI Images should be entered in 4 out of 6 categories of the entrant’s choice.
The 2025-2026 season categories are:
Creative – defined as Altered Reality. There must be a change to an original image, although the main content should still be identifiable. Artwork or computer graphics generated by the entrant may be included as part of the image. The image cannot have been constructed by computer.
Landscape - Images of inland, coastal or maritime scenes.
Natural History – Images conforming to the definition of Nature, which is as follows:
▪ May depict landscape, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant
organisms as the main subject matter.
▪ This includes subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical
gardens, aquariums or enclosures.
▪ Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.
▪ Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour
correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and
sharpening, is allowed.
▪ Cloning of image defects and minor distractions, including overlapping elements, are
permitted.
▪ Photographs of anthropology or archaeology, human created hybrid plants, cultivated
plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is
any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.Architecture - An Architectural image must have the primary emphasis on either the interior or exterior of a building or architectural structure.
Macro - A macro image must portray either a small subject (such as an insect) or a small part of a larger object (such as a leaf on a tree) in great detail. The subject is not limited to the natural world.
Street - Informal, candid portraits of people and incidents in public places.
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Tue21Apr20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Prints should be entered in 4 out of 6 categories of the entrant’s choice.
The 2025-2026 season categories are:
Creative – defined as Altered Reality. There must be a change to an original image, although the main content should still be identifiable. Artwork or computer graphics generated by the entrant may be included as part of the image. The image cannot have been constructed by computer.
Landscape - Images of inland, coastal or maritime scenes.
Natural History – Images conforming to the definition of Nature, which is as follows:
▪ May depict landscape, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant
organisms as the main subject matter.
▪ This includes subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical
gardens, aquariums or enclosures.
▪ Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.
▪ Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour
correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and
sharpening, is allowed.
▪ Cloning of image defects and minor distractions, including overlapping elements, are
permitted.
▪ Photographs of anthropology or archaeology, human created hybrid plants, cultivated
plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is
any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.Architecture - An Architectural image must have the primary emphasis on either the interior or exterior of a building or architectural structure.
Macro - A macro image must portray either a small subject (such as an insect) or a small part of a larger object (such as a leaf on a tree) in great detail. The subject is not limited to the natural world.
Street - Informal, candid portraits of people and incidents in public places.
Monochrome Competition
Any monochrome image entered in either class of the monthly competitions or in either class of the annual competitions, scoring 9 or over, shall also be eligible for the monochrome trophy.
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Tue28Apr2026
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Fri01May2026
Summer Events 2026
Provisional Winter Programme 2026-2027
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Tue01Sep20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
We will be looking at the images taken by our members for the Millennium. It will be interesting to see how much change there has been in the last 26 years!
We will also be introducing the Edit Challenge. Members will be given an image, which we will all go away and edit it with our own ideas. We will look at the results on 10th November. To help with this, on 15th September there will be a post processing night - stations around the room will help with Photoshop, Lightroom and BeFunky editing - and possibly Affinity (tuition will depend on the specific expertise of members who are willing to share their knowledge).
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Tue08Sep20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Instead of our normal "Speaker", we are delighted to welcome Bob Dockrell to the club to show us how to capture perfect water droplet shots.
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Tue15Sep20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Stations around the room will help with Photoshop, Lightroom and BeFunky editing - and possibly Affinity (tuition will depend on the specific expertise of members who are willing to share their knowledge).
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Tue22Sep20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
A long-term member of the club, Mark will be showing us some of his old slides and prints. It is a while since we saw Mark's work, and this will be an interesting evening.
On this evening we will also introduce the Buddy's Scheme. Members will be paired with a buddy (or maybe two) to work on a project together for showing on 9th February.
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Tue29Sep2026
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Tue06Oct20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Our competition with Swavesey has recently become more of a fun competition, adopting a Mix and Match theme. We will be running our own internal version of this with Girls v Boys. Each team has a pool of photos to choose from. One team puts up an image and the second team has to match it in some way. A point is awarded for the best image, and an additional point if the judge deems it to be a match. Great fun!
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Tue13Oct20267:00 pmCambridge
As we are unable to get into the church due to the Michaelmass Fair, we have decided that instead of the usual wander around the fair with a camera, we will take our cameras to Cambridge for some night time shots. Exact meet up point and timings tbc
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Tue20Oct20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Following on from his last talk to the club in the 2025-6 winter programme, we are delighted to welcome Kevin back to talk to the club about his passion for wildlife. This promises to be an interesting and engaging evening.
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Tue27Oct2026
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Tue03Nov20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
We are delighted to welcome Tom Peck to the club to talk about architectural photography
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Tue10Nov20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Members will have been given an image to process, and this evening we will look at their edits and see what different ideas are presented
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Tue17Nov20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
We are very pleased to welcome Duncan to the club to talk to us about his sports photography
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Tue24Nov2026
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Tue08Dec20268:00 pmSt Ives Free Church
Full rules on Members' Section of the website
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Tue15Dec2026
