By email 16 02 2026
Hello MPC Members and Friends,
I hope all is well. Our next meeting will feature a presentation from Bradford - based photographer Stuart Allen whose focus will be on “Minimalism”.
While minimalism is one of Stuart’s key interests in photography, he is also passionate about abstract photography and walking about to capture “urbanscapes” and “minimalscapes”.
The following excerpt is taken from Stuart’s “About`` section on his informative website:
“I am an avid photographer from Bradford, UK, who by day travels the world for work. I was raised on film SLR’s, but fully embraced the digital world in the early 2000’s. I am not scholared in photography or art, but seem to see things that most would simply pass by. I spend a considerable (some would say unhealthy) amount of time wandering city streets and industrial areas in search of my images.”
Please take a few minutes to visit Stuart’s website to learn a bit more about him and explore his excellent photographic work, especially the photos in his minimalism section.
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MPC Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, February 17th 2026
Masham Town Hall / Small Hall
7:00 PM for 7:30 PM
7:00 Setup, Raffle Ticket Sales, Barbecue Preferences / Feedback
7:30 Introduction of Stuart Allen - “Minimalism”
8:45 Refreshments, Raffle Draw
9:00 Competition Results: “Decayed, Desiccated and Distressed - Ruin and Decay in the Built Environment”.
9:20 Announcements: Red Dot Competition Questions, Outings, Next Workshop On March 10th
9:30 Close
*Times are approximate
I hope to see you on Tuesday.
Best wishes,
Tom
What A Great Few Weeks!
Recently at short notice John was able organise a presentation by Tom Marsh for our February 3rd meeting. Many members felt that it would be important and timely to learn more about analysing and assessing our photographs since we are aiming to involve members in judging our competitions a bit more often. Critiquing photographs is an area of great interest to Tom. His well - received presentation provided us with skills and understanding to critique our own photos to help us improve our photography.
One week after Tom’s presentation we enjoyed a terrific workshop entitled “Getting Off Auto”, organised and presented by Andy, Bill, and Victor. A record turnout of fourteen members and friends attended this workshop! Tom’s presentation helped us to more objectively identify the things in a photo that we could improve. Our workshop helped develop our understanding of the fundamental variables that we can control to improve our photography: ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and focus.
Taken together, our presentation from Tom and our workshop gave us a very valuable, joined - up learning experience! And in both cases the experience was a lot of fun! Special thanks to all who attended these two events and contributed great questions, ideas and experiences which benefitted all of us.
Annual Celebration In July:
Please email Tom with your top three choices for our end - of - year celebration in July. Or, you can let him know at our next meeting on Tuesday.
Friends / guests are welcome -estimated costs per person are indicated alongside each option. We are in the early stages of planning for this event. Many thanks for your help.
PLEASE NOTE THE DETAILS OF PROPOSED OFFERINGS ARE IN TOM"S EMAIL CIRCULAR
Red Dot Evening March 17th:
The following information is provided by David and Margaret. Please read through it. We will try to address any questions during the set-up period from 7-7:30 on Tuesday, or following the competition results at 9:00. If you are unable to attend the meeting and have a question please email Margaret, David or Tom and we’ll try to help.
The deadline for this competition is March 17th - the evening of the competition.
Red Spot Evening is an occasional evening held as part of the MPC programme and is an informal print competition. Those attending are invited to bring with them a maximum of three unmounted prints (maximum size A4) of images they have taken within the previous 18 months of any subject.
None of these images should have been entered in any previous competitions (print or digital) and none of the images can be used in any subsequent competitions (print or digital).
The image title only must be written, in pencil, on the back of the print.
On arrival, each member hands in their images. Each print will be registered and given a two - digit ID number along with a post-it note with a matching ID number.
The prints will be placed on tables around the Hall with the post-it note attached to the bottom edge of the print, showing the print’s unique ID number but not the title or the name of the photographer.
Members will be issued with seven sticky red dots(*), a pen, and a voting slip that has space for up you to record up to seven print ID numbers.
(*)=We may decide to replace the red dots and simply ask that you jot down your choices. Don’t worry.
Members will have the opportunity to view all of the prints on display.
Each member will write down the ID number of each print that they wish to vote for, and add one or more red dots (or check marks if we use a pen only) alongside the print number. For example, you may place all seven dots (or check marks) by one print ID number on your voting form, or distribute your seven dots (or check mark votes) any way that you wish.
Voting slips will be collected and tabulated during the refreshment break.
Please remember…..
Each member is expected NOT to identify their images to other members.
Each member is expected NOT to vote/apply red spots to their own images.
The Red Dot Guidelines are:
* Your photos should be taken within the past eighteen months*
*Up to three prints may be entered into the competition*
*The maximum size allowed for each print is A4 (edge to edge)*
*The prints should not be mounted*
*Write the title of each print on the back*
PLEASE DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE PRINT
The Red Dot competition procedure on the night of the meeting is:
* When you arrive you’ll be asked to hand over your print entries at the door*
*You’ll receive a voting form, a pen, and seven sticky red dots – to be used for voting*
*All the prints will be randomly arranged on tables around the perimeter of the room*
*Each member will be invited to view all of the images and identify their favourites*
*Each member will distribute their red dots /votes on each of their voting form
The Red Dot Club Competition Award of Points:
The top seven images will be awarded points as with our other competitions. One key difference, however, is that it will be possible for a member to be awarded points for more than one of the top seven places. This is because the voting only takes into account the image. In other club competitions we have a rule that a member is only permitted to be awarded one place in the points competition (the highest place a photo has earned).
By email 04/02/2026 - From Tom L
Hello MPC Members and Friends,
Twenty-one members and guests attended our meeting last night and enjoyed a terrific presentation from photographer Tom Marsh. When introducing Tom, Programme Coordinator John C reminded us of the many rewarding learning experiences Tom has given us through previous presentations, workshops and his very popular “Yorkshire Photo Walks” programme enjoyed by many members.
Tom’s presentation, entitled “How To Constructively Critique Photographs”, provided a succinct, clear understanding of how to analyse and assess a photograph with the intention of providing a constructive, positive critique. The primary aim of this model is to contribute to a photographer’s efforts to improve their photography and self - expression.
Following an excellent introduction to the understandings and skills needed, Tom asked us to “put into practice” his model for analysing and critiquing a photograph. Many club members became quite involved in this activity, signifying not only our interest in this way of improving our photography but also providing clear evidence of Tom’s engaging, effective approach to learning.
On behalf of the MPC, Val G thanked Tom for his excellent presentation. Val summed up our evening perfectly by citing the many, many good ideas Tom shared. She also mentioned the importance of his constructive model for analysing and critiquing our photographs. His presentation will motivate us to adopt a slower, more thoughtful, and more collegial approach for critiquing our work and improving our photography.
Special thanks to Janice for providing excellent and timely refreshments, Len for a terrific raffle prize (desktop tripod) won by Kate, to Bill for encouraging raffle participation, and everyone for helping with setup and cleanup. What a great evening!
MPC Monthly Competition Deadline Is Friday, February 6th:
This competition is entitled “Decayed, Desiccated and Distressed - Ruin and Decay in the Built Environment”.
Please email up to three entries to:
End - Of - Year Celebration Evening / Barbecue Planning (July):
Jayne F has been busy collecting information about our July celebration evening. A brief questionnaire / survey will be sent to you in due course to share information and options for food, cost, and venue. We’ll ask you to rank your preferences. Many thanks in advance for your help.
Help Needed: Masham Community Office Postcard Project
The Masham Community Office (MCO) sells a few postcards that feature iconic Masham scenes. Their current stock needs updating. The MCO have asked for our help in photographing interesting, attractive subjects associated with Masham’s identity.
A club member is needed to volunteer to coordinate this project. As the project coordinator you would liaise with Community Office staff to organise the photography work with other member volunteers.
Briefly, the coordinator for this will need to:
- clarify with CO staff the kinds of photos needed - what kind of photo would reflect an iconic, recognisable image of Masham?
- organise club member volunteers to identify appropriate subjects and take photos
- collect the photos and work with CO staff to select some for postcards
If you’d like to help out with this please let me know. There’s lots of help and support available to you and it could be a lot of fun! It will certainly be of great value to the Community Office.
“Getting Off Auto” - The Next MPC Workshop, February 10th:
Back by popular demand, our next workshop is entitled “Getting Off Auto” and will be presented by Andy B, Victor P and Bill T.
As the title suggests the key elements involved in taking a photograph will be reviewed including aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings. In this “back-to-basics” workshop we will also look at editing an image and explore ratios and image size.
The workshop will take place in the Town Hall - Committee Room at 7:00 for 7:30 PM on the 10th. All members and guests are welcome. A modest fee of £3 pp is charged to all participants for refreshments and room use. If possible please let Andy or me know if you are planning to come along, for planning purposes. Thank you.
Vintage Postcard Exhibition at Tennants:
A collection of vintage photographic postcards of Masham and Swinton has been loaned by local collector Clive Torrens. Predominantly dating from 1900 to 1925 they are a fascinating insight into life in Masham more than a century ago. The postcards have been reproduced on a larger scale and framed for this exhibition, which opened on January 27th and finished on February 15th. It is well worth a visit.