Untouched Review 23 Jan
Overall, this small set forms a coherent and introspective mini-sequence, unified by a strong sense of enclosure, weight, and obstruction. The images rely on form, texture, and tonal restraint rather than overt subject matter, inviting the viewer to read them symbolically rather than literally. Doors, windows, and architectural details become metaphors rather than descriptions, with darkness used as an active compositional element rather than empty space. The work feels deliberate and confident, prioritising mood, ambiguity, and graphic strength over narrative clarity, and sits comfortably within a minimalist, contemplative black-and-white aesthetic.
The Right Way!
This article reflects on a year of creative study in monochrome photography under Simon Ellingworth and questions the dominance of rigid, rules-based critique within contemporary photographic culture. It argues that while technical conventions have value, an over-reliance on them can suppress experimentation and originality, particularly for developing photographers. Drawing on recent minimalist black-and-white work that deliberately embraces over-exposure and abstraction, the piece advocates risk-taking, creative failure, and personal vision as essential components of photographic growth. Ultimately, it suggests that a photograph’s success lies not in universal approval, but in its ability to provoke thought, challenge expectations, and resonate with at least one viewer.
Untouched - 18 Jan 26
A quiet, winter-appropriate set with a strong bias toward atmosphere, restraint, and observation rather than spectacle. There’s a clear thread of mist, water, and low-contrast tonality, punctuated by a small cluster of colour sunset images that act as visual outliers.
Featured Photographer: Jeffrey Conley
Read: Conley’s work centres on abstraction and reduction, often removing scale and context so the subject becomes ambiguous.
Meaning: The images ask questions rather than provide answers, encouraging slow looking and personal interpretation.
Summary: I admire the discipline and intent behind his minimalism, but some images lose me when abstraction introduces too much visual distraction—provocative, thoughtful work that doesn’t always resolve comfortably.
Untouched Weekly Review 11 Jan 2026
A quiet but coherent week, with winter light and night skies providing a shared theme. The strongest images lean into atmosphere and restraint; where brightness or effects become dominant, pulling back slightly would help maintain balance. Even with fewer submissions, there’s a clear sense of seasonal observation and mood.
Untouched Weekly Review we 1 Jan 2026
The latest set shows a strong and consistent engagement with form, structure and abstraction, particularly through the use of symmetry, repetition and texture in monochrome. The abstract images by Tim Ravenscroft demonstrate confident control of composition and tonal balance, with recurring themes of geometry and surface detail handled thoughtfully. Vic Steadman’s winter landscape provides a quieter counterpoint, using natural framing and atmosphere to create depth and a clear sense of place. Across the batch, compositions are generally well considered, with only minor refinements suggested around edge control, tonal emphasis and balance.
Untouched Weekly Review – 28 December 2025,
This week’s set feels like a quiet walk through observation, closeness, and endings. There’s a strong sense of encounter—whether with animals, flowers at different stages of life, or a solitary tree set against a dramatic sky. Across the panel, photographers are clearly responding to what is in front of them, rather than imposing heavy technique, which suits the “untouched” brief well.
Key Learning Themes
Proximity changes meaning – moving closer (physically or emotionally) often reveals the strongest images.
Mood comes from light and timing, not processing – especially evident in the monochrome studies and the final landscape.
Untouched 22 Dec 2025
This week’s submissions show a strong collective response to winter light, particularly at sunrise and sunset. Across the set there is a clear appreciation of atmosphere — mist, silhouetted trees, glowing skies and low-angle sunlight are all used to convey season and mood. Whether in open landscapes or within the built environment, photographers have been alert to fleeting light and colour, producing images that feel timely, calm and observational rather than overworked.
Excusado (Toilet), 1925, Edward Weston
Edward Weston’s work reminds us that photography is not about subject matter, but about how we see. By photographing the human body, an organic shell, and even a toilet with the same discipline and seriousness, Weston collapses traditional hierarchies of what is considered worthy of attention. Each image becomes an exploration of form—curve, mass, surface and light—rather than meaning or function. Seen together, they challenge us to look beyond what an object is and instead attend to how clearly, and honestly, it can be seen.
Sunrise with a Mobile Phone – Working at the Edge of Dynamic Range
Sunrise photography pushes mobile phone cameras to their limits. By comparing images taken with different iPhone apps, this article explores how dynamic range, processing choices and composition affect the final result — and why embracing shadows and simplicity often leads to stronger sunrise images.
Just When You Were Getting Used To It
Just when you were getting used to it… Apple has changed the iPhone Camera app again.
The latest update doesn’t affect image quality, but it does change how you access familiar features like Portrait and Night mode. Some controls are now hidden behind taps and long-presses, making the app look simpler while actually becoming more complex. This article explains what’s moved, what still works as before, and why it may push some photographers towards alternative camera apps.
Getting Low Without Getting Down: Safer Ways to Capture Low-Angle Perspectives
This month’s challenge is all about perspective — especially exploring low viewpoints. But not many of us want to lie on the ground to get the shot! In this article we look at simple, practical ways to achieve dramatic low-angle photos using just a phone or small accessories, without bending or kneeling. A light-hearted reminder that great perspectives don’t require great gymnastics… click through to see how easy it can be.
A Different Style of Editing
I took this self portrait a few weeks ago as part of my course assignment, discovering self but I was too casually dressed for the photo to be more widely used. Unless I could change the clothes I was wearing in post production. See the results.
Perspective Brainstorm
Our December challenge is Perspective, encouraging both creative camera angles and your own personal viewpoint. Explore perspective through position, leading lines, forced perspective, depth, scale, seasonal scenes, abstraction, storytelling, or reflections. Show not just what you saw, but how you saw it.
Untouched 27 Nov 2025
Our usual weekly AI critique from the upload folder. Not many this week, nearly all by Vic.
Untouched 20 Nov 2025
A smaller set of images this week, but full of variety and thoughtful seeing: Tim captured a dramatic seascape with beautifully timed shafts of light breaking through heavy cloud; Vic contributed an intriguing diptych exploring two very different monochrome interpretations of a winter oak, alongside a delicate study of woodland fungi and a richly textured fallen trunk; and Diana offered a cheerful seasonal view of the sculptural “W” on the green under a glowing winter sky. Together they show how even familiar subjects can reward patience, experimentation, and close observation.
How WGPC Members Can Share Photos with All Wadswick Green Residents
WGPC members often photograph village events and want to share their images with the wider community. The simplest method is to create a Google Photos album, make it shareable, and send the album link (and optional description) to the Residents’ Website editor, who embeds it on the site. This keeps full image quality, works on all devices, and doesn’t require non-WGPC residents to join Google or the club. iPhone users should turn off Live Photos and switch HEIC to JPEG for compatibility. Members only need to provide the album link — the editor handles embedding.
The Value of a Print in a Digital World
Studying mono photography with Simon Ellingworth has made me look more closely at how fine-art prints are made and priced. Photographers like Michael Kenna still hand-craft each darkroom print, dodging and burning individually so that no two copies are identical. This uniqueness—and the limited print run—adds significantly to their value.
Digital prints, by contrast, are identical once the editing is done, so their value comes from different things: the artistic vision, the editing craft, the quality of the printmaking, and the use of limited editions to maintain rarity. Many successful digital photographers now sell signed, numbered editions printed on archival papers, proving that digital work can be collected and valued just as highly.