The Camera Club - Latest News #Exhibitions

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: John McKenzie

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:21:12 +0000

Icons & Bygones: Music Legends

Gallery 1885

13th April - 8th May

Open View: 16th April @ 7:00PM

An Introduction to John McKenzie

Up to the age of twelve I lived in Lambeth Walk, SE11, less than a mile from the Camera Club. We lived above the shop and darkroom of my late father, showbusiness photographer Doug McKenzie. There I earnt my pocket money by mixing the print developers etc. in stainless steel buckets. And growing up surrounded by all things photographic meant that by around age ten, I was able to load film into a Rolleiflex and shoot, process and more-or-less print my own work.

After a brief spell working in the darkrooms of the Press Association, I joined Doug as soon as he could afford an assistant, and was soon shooting on my own. I quickly established my own clients, particularly in the music industry, working for the major record companies, the related management and PR companies, and the music press of the day. Every image in this exhibition was originally shot as part of a directly commissioned, fee-paying assignment.

I must have spent hundreds of hours printing in the darkrooms of our expanding print lab, now based in three high street shops in Forest Hill, SE23. Gradually we became one of the largest - and fastest - labs in London. Subsequently based in a large industrial unit just off the Old Kent Road, I took on the role of Production Director - just as we embraced the impact of scanning and digital printing.

Retiring in 2011, I went back to assisting my father, enabling Doug to continue his obsession with photography. Gradually I took over the reins as he became more and more an ‘old friend and honoured guest’ at the events he was expecting to photograph. I have maintained my own love of photography by continuing to shoot for three charities, particularly the Grand Order of Water Rats, a showbusiness charity, founded in 1889. I was invited to become a member in 2014, and now hold the office of ‘Photographer Rat’!

Four of my favourite images by Doug are included nearby as a tiny sample of his own extensive archive, and of his undoubted expertise. And I hope you enjoy this look at my time as a music industry photographer - it was, as you can probably imagine, great fun.

Thank you for your interest.

John McKenzie

www.johnmckenziegallery.uk

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: From the TCC Archives

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 15:20:51 +0000

What We Chose to Show
The Camera Club Journal Covers 1940s–2010s

What We Chose to Show is an exhibition exploring seven decades of photographic history through the covers of the Camera Club Journal, from the 1940s to the 2010s. Drawn from the Club’s own archive, the exhibition examines how photographers have used this platform to reflect changing social realities, artistic priorities, and technological developments

Rather than presenting a comprehensive survey, the exhibition focuses on a carefully selected group of covers: the images we chose to show. These covers reveal what the Camera Club valued at different moments in time: from post-war industry and street photography to fashion, wildlife, sport, portraiture, still life, and studio work among other styles. Together, they trace shifting ideas about what photography could be, who it was for, and how it should look.
At the heart of the exhibition is the act of selection itself. One of the most striking moments in the Journal’s history is the infamous “X” cover of April 1958, produced when no suitable photographs were submitted by members. In the Journal, the editors explained that the blank cover was intended to highlight the need for members to document club life and contribute images for publication. What began as an absence became a call to action; and today stands as a powerful reminder that photographic history is shaped as much by participation and circumstance as by artistic ambition.

Founded in 1885, The Camera Club has long been a meeting place for professional and amateur photographers. Its Journal functions as a living archive, recording not only photographic trends but also the values, debates, humour, and working practices of its members. Across the decades represented here, visitors will encounter images shaped by post-war optimism, mid-century glamour, emerging youth culture, technological change, and later digital and conceptual experimentation.

This exhibition forms part of the Club’s ongoing commitment to presenting one exhibition each year drawn from its own photographic collection. By returning to the archive and re-presenting it in a contemporary context, What We Chose to Show invites visitors to reflect on how photographic taste evolves and how a community constructs its own visual history.

The exhibition is curated by Gabe Simon and Dr Monica A. Walker.

Special thanks are due to Rod Tidnam, Felix Hall-Close, and Steve Wilbur, who worked behind the scenes to photograph and print the final selection of images for display.

Please, join us for the Open View on 19 February at 7 PM.

The Exhibition Catalogue

We are delighted to make the catalogue for What We Chose to Show: The Camera Club Journal Covers 1940s–2010s freely available to read here. As the exhibition reflects on the Journal as a historic space of connection through print, it feels fitting to offer this digital version to our members and visitors, accessible in the Club and beyond. A limited printed run has also been produced as a small-format zine for those who would like a physical copy to take home. The digital edition ensures the research and reflections remain widely available, while the printed version honours the tactile, material traditions that shaped the Journal for over a century.

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: Stefon Grant\Mino

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 10:01:53 +0000

Greys in Between

Gallery 1885

19 January -13 February

Open View: Tuesday, 20 January @ 7:00PM

Greys in Between is a return to the darkroom and a refusal of easy answers. In black and white analogue photography, black and white are only the limits of the image. What gives it form, depth, and meaning is the careful control of everything in between.

Built through light, time, chemistry, and choice, each photograph emerges from a spectrum of greys. As in life, meaning does not live in absolutes. Yet contemporary culture urges simplification, antagonism, and polarisation.

As photographers, we reject the false comfort of dichotomy. We choose the in-between, where every shade is deliberate, and where meaning resists simplification.

About the photographers

Stefon Grant is a London-based artist who uses photography as a tool to create visual poems drawn from everyday life. Working primarily in black and white analog photography, his ongoing practice preserves moments from friends, family, and Black British life through a natural, observational lens. With a focus on silver gelatin printing, his work is guided by curiosity and an interest in how beauty and reality render on film. His work has been featured by the British Journal of Photography in Portrait of Britain, Volume 6 and Volume 8.

Mino is a London-based artist working across analogue photography, installation, and participatory performance. Rooted in darkroom practice, his work treats photography as a material language shaped by time and choice.

He has been a member of The Camera Club since 2014. He also runs Nalusaca, an experimental artist residency in Sardinia, and explores how images circulate through bodies, spaces, and the public.

TCC Members' Winter Exhibition: It is Time to Vote

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 23:03:19 +0000

Cast your vote before 15 December!

Let's get ready to celebrate the incredible talent of our photography community by casting our members' votes on our Annual Members' Winter Exhibition 2025.

Although the exhibition is not yet on the walls, the images are ready for your review online—and it is time to vote!

With so many stunning entries, choosing your top three will not be easy... but your votes will help decide which images will be specially recognised at the Open View.

These are the prizes:

First prize 50 points
Second prize 40 points
Third prize 30 points

How to Vote

1. Visit the Online Gallery

Click through the carousel below to explore the full set of submissions. Look for the arrows in the middle section of each image to move forward or backward. Each image is labelled with a number displayed at the bottom—no names or titles are shown, to ensure fairness.

2. Select Your Favourites

Once you have viewed all the images, choose your top three and write them down somewhere.

3. Submit Your Votes

Enter your three selected numbers and your name using this FORM. Your name will only be used to verify eligibility and will remain confidential throughout the process. Only Camera Club Members can vote!

Get ready to celebrate creativity and cast your vote!

Winners will be announced during the Open View on 17 December from 7:00 pm to 9:00pm. Nibbles and drinks will be served!

The exhibition will be running from 15 December 2025to 16 January 2026. Come and enjoy some Summer cheer at Gallery 1885 at the Camera Club!

VOTING CLOSES MIDNIGHT 15 DECEMBER

Entries for the 2025 Annual Members' Winter Exhibition

ANNUAL MEMBERS' WINTER EXHIBITION OPEN CALL

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:36:26 +0000

SUMBIT TODAY!

Attention Camera Club Members!

It is time once again to celebrate the incredible talent within our community! The Annual Members’ Winter Exhibition invites all members—both seasoned professionals and passionate amateurs—to submit their best photographic work for display on the walls of Gallery 1885. This inclusive exhibition showcases the remarkable diversity, creativity, and vision that make our club so special. Each member may submit up to two works, with a total of 50 pieces to be selected for exhibition. Whether your photography captures the quiet poetry of everyday life or the bold drama of imagined worlds, we look forward to seeing the images that define your artistic voice.

Important Deadlines:

Deadline for digital submissions: Midnight, 28 November 2025

Deadline for printed submissions: 12 December 2025 (Prints must be physically at the Club by this date.)

Important Note:
There is a cap of 50 photographs for display on the walls. Once we reach 50 confirmed entries, wall submissions will close. Any entries received after that will still be included in the exhibition but will be placed on the display racks instead. Submit early to guarantee your place on the wall!

Submission Process and Guidelines

All participating members must submit both a digital file and a printed version of their selected photograph.

The digital submissions are required first. This allows us to review the entries to ensure they meet exhibition standards and to prepare for the Members' Choice Voting Contest, where fellow members will vote for their favourite work. There are, in fact, prizes to be awarded during our Open View on WEDNESDAY 17 December at 7pm.

The printed versions must match the digital submissions and will be used for the physical display at the exhibition.

Digital Submission:

Submit two low-resolution digital file of your chosen photograph.

Name your file: Name_ImageTitle.jpg

Email your submission to gallery1885@thecameraclub.co.uk with your name and email address.
Please, include the title, date, a type of print for each photograph.

Deadline for digital submissions: 28 November 2025, midnight.

Print Submission:

Submit prints of the two photographs you submitted digitally.

The printed image must either:
- Be printed on an A3 sheet with a white border to fit into a 40x50cm frame, or
- Be printed full A3 size to fit into one of our standard club mounts.

Prints can be mounted or unmounted as long as the final size of the image is close to an A3.

For affordable, high-quality printing, we recommend Simlab (or any preferred provider).

Deliver your print directly to the Stewards at the Club.

Deadline for print arrival at the Club: 12 December 2025.
(Important: Do not leave prints unattended or in the cupboard.)

Quick Reminder:

This is one submission process (digital + print).

The digital file helps us curate the exhibition and prepares the entry for the Members' Choice Contest.

Only the printed version will be displayed physically at the Club.

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: Monica A. Walker Vadillo

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:49:55 +0000

Beyond the Bloom: Portraits of Unconventional Beauty

Beyond the Bloom: Portraits of Unconventional Beauty

Monica A. Walker Vadillo

17th of November -13th December 2025

Open View: 20th of November, 7 pm

This exhibition marks the culmination of a three-year journey—my first real step into studio portraiture beyond the solitary terrain of self-portraiture and street photography. Beyond the Bloom is both a personal exploration and a tribute to the individuals who stood before my lens and trusted me with a fragment of their story.

The seed for this project was planted after encountering the ethereal floral portraits of photographer Sayaka Maruyama—delicate, dreamlike images of young, beautiful women surrounded by flowers. But I kept asking: What happens when the face is older? Or different? Or simply doesn’t fit the expected mould? Around that same time, I had written about the 16th century artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo for National Geographic: Historia, marvelling at how he composed entire identities from plants, fruit, and objects—an early artistic reminder that the surface is never just surface.

I began to wonder: What do we conceal behind our cultural blooms-behind ageism, impossible beauty standards, sexual orientation, ethnicity, trauma, transformation? This series became my attempt to look beyond. Each portrait is a quiet search for the soul behind the mask, behind the petals—sometimes brittle, sometimes artificial, sometimes defiant.

The flowers I used—dry, plastic, or textile—act as barriers, as veils, as metaphors. They frame, obscure, or challenge the gaze. Yet through this muted palette and soft light, what emerges is something unexpectedly luminous. Not technical perfection, but presence. A moment of vulnerability. A trace of self.

This is not a perfect body of work. It was never meant to be. This exhibition is not about mastery—it is about connection. Each of these sitters offered me their time, their gaze, and something of their spirit. This work is for them. It exists because of them. And I hope you will take a moment to truly see them.

To every person who stepped into that studio, thank you—for your kindness, your friendship, your light. This exhibition is for you.

Come and meet them.

Monica

About the Photographer

I’m a London-based photographer, and I’ve been taking photographs since I was 13 years old. Over the years, photography has become my constant companion—a way to connect with others, make sense of the world, and explore identity, memory, and emotion.

My work spans self-portraiture, street photography, and collaborative studio portraiture, often using muted tones, symbolic props, and quiet light to bring out the subtleties of character and presence.

Beyond the Bloom: Portraits of Unconventional Beauty is my fourth solo exhibition, following Dancer in the Street (2021), Resilient Portraits 2020 (2022), and 2020 Pandemic: Visions of London After People (2023). I also self-publish small zines of my projects, and my photos have appeared in museum guides, exhibitions, and the media.

Alongside my personal work, I run the Urban Portrait Pod at The Camera Club and lead a Street Photography for Wellbeing workshop for Team London Bridge. I also co-curated The Art of Seeing: 140 Years of Photography at the Camera Club with Gabe Simon earlier this year, and have curated the members’ exhibitions at the club for the past two years.

Instagram: @MonicaAnnWalker

Website: MAWalker Photography

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: Simon J. Webb

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 17:42:48 +0000

COMING OUT
25 Portraits - 25 Personal Stories

COMING OUT: 25 Portraits - 25 Personal Stories

Simon J. Webb

13th October - 14th of November 2025

Open View: 16th of October 7 pm

Photographed over a ten year period, Coming Out is a collection of portraits taken by photographer Simon J. Webb from his sessions for British queer arts quarterly Jack The Lad. Despite depicting a collection of uniquely talented queer people from the creative arts sector, 21st Century society has still deemed it necessary for each and every one of them to face the dilemma of having to come out in order to live their personal and professional life both openly and authentically. It’s a decision that is seldom taken lightly by anyone in the queer community, the potential for rejection from loved ones, bullying at school or discrimination in the workplace still being a very real fear for many, and whilst these portraits show it definitely does get better, it is hoped that the addition of audio recordings recounting the personal coming out stories that accompany these portraits will serve as a reminder that this unavoidable trauma is still a process that seems cruelly reserved exclusively for members of the queer community.

About the photographer:

Simon J. Webb has been a photographer for over thirty-five years. Progressing from a photographers assistant and darkroom technician to studio photographer back in the analogue days of the late eighties, he took a hiatus from photography to carve out a second career in the booming video post production industry of the nineties. This culminated in opening his own post production facility in Soho for 10 years. Having worked on projects for the likes of Bryan Ferry, Phil Collins and countless nineties electronic acts, he eventually rediscovered a passion for photography, digital camera’s having almost caught up in quality with their analogue counterparts. In this capacity Simon not only found himself frequently working with members of the queer community, but realised that most of the people he photographed also came to his studio also armed with an endless stream of fascinating and relatable stories. This would eventually lead to him publishing his own queer culture magazine, Jack The Lad which, after 43 Issues and over 120 interviews, remains an ongoing venture that is currently enjoying its 10th incredible year.

Gallery 1885 Exhibition: Ashok Viswanathan

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 19:54:23 +0000

A Journey Through India

A Journey through India

08 September – 08 October 2025

Open View 17th September at 7:00 PM

Gallery 1885, The Camera Club, 16 Bowden Street, London SE11 4DS

Theyam: Kerala’s Living God Dance

In the northern villages of Kerala, Theyyam transforms temple courtyards into sacred stages where myth, theatre, and devotion converge. Performers, adorned with striking body paint and towering headdresses, embody deities in all-night rituals accompanied by haunting music. With more than 400 unique forms, Theyyam is both a living archive of tradition and a fragile practice facing an uncertain future.

Durga Puja: A Spectacle of Faith & Art

Every October, West Bengal comes alive with Durga Puja, a festival that unites faith, artistry, and community. Centuries-old traditions of crafting clay idols culminate in vibrant prayers, feasts, and processions, before the idols are immersed in water. Today, artisans even bring this heritage to Chennai, recreating the grandeur for diaspora communities and underscoring how devotion and craftsmanship transcend geography.

This exhibition is generously supported by Felix Schoeller India, whose sponsorship of fine art archival media has enabled the production of these high-quality prints.

About the Photographer

Ashok Viswanathan, FFIP, EFIAP, EPSA

Ashok Viswanathan is an award-winning photographer and retired corporate executive whose lens is guided by a deep love for culture, travel, and portraiture. A prolific Salon exhibitor, his work has been featured internationally in the RPS Journal, PSA Journal, Fuji X Passion, French Foto, Lens Magazine, and more.

Blending digital and analogue practice, Ashok works with a Fujifilm X-E3 alongside his cherished Rolleiflex and Hasselblad film systems. Based in Chennai, he is Director of the Photographic Society of Madras (established 1857), one of the world’s oldest camera clubs. He also hosts monthly webinars connecting photographers across the globe and is passionate about alternative processes such as cyanotype, gum bichromate, and bromoil.

The Four Project: August 2025

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 19:33:59 +0000

Dancer in the Streets by Monica A. Walker Vadillo

The music is silent. The colours are muted. The dancer is caught in mid-motion for an eternity; but the potential of movement is right there...in the next second that will never come because it has already happened. But the dancer, caught in mid-motion, reminds us of the beauty that the human body can enact with all the physicality that the motion entails. There are moments of flight, of magical contortions and bodily expressions that touch the soul.

If dancing is poetry in motion, a photograph steals the stanza and keeps a person hanging in the moment. And when the dancer is placed around the ordinary lives of ordinary people around a city that is anything but ordinary, then there is just everlasting beauty. A blend of dance and street photography, this series was done using a Fuji X-100T with a fixed lens (23mm, f2) in 2021. The dancer is Jenn Vogtle (Instagram @Jenn_the_human), a London-based dancer and citizen of Planet Earth. Now, four photos of the series have been printed for the first time and they now hang in the Stairwell Gallery at The Camera Cllub. For those interested in the full sereis, click HERE to see the capture of the virtual exhibition on YouTube, or you can click HERE to see the full collection on my website.

Seires Title: Dancer in the Street.

mawalkerphotography.co.uk

@MonicaAnnWalker

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GALLERY 1885 EXHIBITION: THE LONDON SALON OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 12:22:39 +0000

111TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION

In 1893 a group of Photographers met to discuss their concern that the Royal Photographic Society were more concerned with “Technique” than the content of the images. Acceptances in the Annual Exhibition were those images displaying technical expertise but no credit or appreciation was given to the “Art of photography” . This meeting of photographers, who specialised in Pictorial images formed a Society calling themselves “The Linked Ring”, their aim being to promote Photography as an Art.

The group ran for nearly 20 years when in 1910 it was “unlinked”, but a small group of the Members decided to form a London based society to meet regularly and once a year, to hold an Annual Exhibition, to which photographers from all over the world were invited to submit images for consideration to be included in the exhibition. The Invitation to enter images stated that:-

“The aim of the London Salon is to exhibit only that class of work in Pictorial Photography in which there is distinct evidence of personal artistic feeling and execution”. This is still is the aim of the London Salon today.

The Salon was, and is, an International Exhibition entered by photographers worldwide which is selected by the Members who are all entitled to take part in choosing the images and awarding up to ten Salon Medals to be shown in the Exhibition. The London Salon has been shown almost every year including right through the 1st and 2nd War years since its formation over a hundred years ago.

Members including some very famous names from history have been Members including, Yousuf Karsh of Ottawa, Lord Caernarfon, M.O. Dell, Horace Murch, Chambre Hardman of Liverpool to name but a few Members are elected by invitation and hold their Membership for life pledge they will work for the good of the London Salon and uphold many of the traditions and beliefs which has ensured the success of the London Salon into the 21st Century.

To discover more about the London Salon of Photography, please, visit their website: www.thelondonsalon.org.

The 111th Annual Members exhibition will take place at Gallery 1885 at The Camera Club in Kennington, London.

The exhibition goes from the 11th of August to the 5th of September, 2025.

Everybody is welcome to the open view on the 14th of August at 7:00 pm.