As the days were shortening, the theme for our October meeting looked at the darker side of life with the theme Haunted/Dystopia/Destruction. It was a very well-attended meeting. As usual, a few LIP members came for the first time, and it is always interesting to see new faces and their work. It is perhaps not surprising that this theme triggered more black-and-white images than usual. The photographs were very atmospheric, but subject matter ranged from what looks unnervingly like a ghost in one of Simon’s 1300+ “bench” photographs to the quiet eeriness of Anna’s single images of places where she has lived.
There is no space here to list everybody’s work here, so this is a selection. First-time attendee Barbara had turned a colour photograph of a ruin in a wood into a beautiful but spooky black and white negative. Marsha showed a few haunting shots of the wreck of a hospital war ship at Fraser Island. Edith had been haunting cemeteries in London, focussing on the textures of stone, text and ivy. Krystina had selected work from her archive: a disused steel factory that is now a UNESCO heritage site. The ghostliness of blurred human figures can be a cliché but Antonia’s was a great image. Peter showed a series of stills from Alphaville, which looked even more dystopian without the narrative of the film. Brendan showed a series of fashion shots in a very cold urban environment, and a few of the portraits that he makes at an annual Gothic festival.

Krystina Stimakovits

Edith Templeton

Walkway by Steve Jones

Simon Butcher

Anna Lerner

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 16th November 2016 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Art Workers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. The theme will be Night Photography – the nights are drawing in so take the opportunity to go out with your camera and show us your world after dark! Please bring along any work you wish to share on a memory stick or in print or book form.
Advance notice for December: Single Image

2016 Meeting Dates for your Diary
Wednesday 14th December