West End Camera Club

10/05/2026

01/04/2026

Should be a great night, make certain to reserve a spot...

30/03/2026

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Jack Davison - Portraits: London 13th-15th November. Text: A. K. Blakemore. Helions, 2026. (Signed)

20/03/2026

Editor’s Note #105

35mm: Autofocus Is Not Enough

In note #40 I wrote that the 35mm is not an easy choice. That it demands presence, responsibility, the ability to stay inside the scene without simplifying it. That position has not changed. But cameras have. And it is worth returning to this.

Today's cameras have autofocus systems that recognize the subject, track it, keep it sharp while it moves. Artificial eyes that react faster than yours. In technical terms, it is a real leap forward. But there is one thing these systems do not do and cannot do: be inside the scene in your place.

The 35mm demands physical presence, not metaphorical. You have to be close, you have to be inside, you have to accept being seen. It meant moving, stepping closer, deciding where to put your feet before even raising the camera. This is the condition that makes certain photographs possible and others impossible. Autofocus can track a subject through a crowd. It cannot decide how close you are, why you are there, what you have chosen to exclude from the frame. It cannot feel the exact moment when something is about to happen. It cannot move with you the way you move when you already know where you want to be.

Technology solves technical problems. It does not solve problems of position. And in street photography, the main problem has never been technical: it has always been where you put your body, when you decide to stay and when you decide to leave, what you are willing to risk to get that photograph. No subject-recognition system answers these questions. Only the person who is there can.

This is why the 35mm continues to be a difficult choice. Not because the camera does not help — it does, and considerably. But because the most important part remains entirely yours. The algorithm can do a great deal. It cannot be present in your place. And presence, with the 35mm, is everything.

Marco Savarese
Photo Patrick Zachmann
Reposted from

19/03/2026

Stella work from the combined use of Ricoh GRIII & Leica M6. Thanks so much for the tag and share SIHO 🙏⁠
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📷 .by.me⁠
👄 ⁠
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Ricoh GRIII and Leica M6 ⁠
with Kodak Portra400 and Tri-X⁠
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Remember to tag your images with if you want a chance to be featured on the Ricoh GR Australia feed!⁠
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( 📷 .by.me )
Reposted from

08/03/2026

Last November I went to Paris Photo and saw, oh, a few thousand pictures. Tons of great work. But the images that thrilled me most—the ones I returned to again & again—were made by . The walls of the booth highlighted 48 of Jack’s small, gemlike portraits, and the vibe I caught was of a modern August Sander surveying what I presumed to be London.

But unlike Sander who usually gave us a hint of where his pictures were made or how his subjects dressed (and thus their station in life), Jack’s more democratic images focus almost entirely on faces—faces that reveal none of Sander’s setting and all of the subject’s very human emotions, expressions, and those unique “flaws” that make each of us memorable and beautiful. The photopolymer gravure printing lends the portraits a timeless gravity that I just love.

Now, the Cob Gallery in London is staging a sweeping exhibit of 90 (!) of these riveting and remarkable images. The show opens March 5; if you’re anywhere nearby, I suggest you drop in.

Jack and I spoke last week and he gave me a bit of backstory: He and his ace casting director, who combed the streets of London, cast and shot all 90 portraits over the course of three short days. When I asked Jack what led him to make these pictures he mentioned his love of portraiture—“trying to find that emotion, that pause, that moment in time where the person is kind of revealing themselves, but maybe not meaning to”— while also wanting to create something timeless, tactile, and minimalist. The subjects’ clothes are simplified and deemphasized (“a kind of ecclesiastical uniform,” as Jack put it) that heightens the individuality of each face while bringing a bewitching mug-shot harmony to the series and, to me, a unity-through-our-uniqueness sense of hope.

If you can’t make the exhibit, check out Jack’s brilliant new, 118-page book, “13-15 November Portraits: London” —the title refers to the dates & location of the shoot—from . I’ve put a link in my Story.

.this.photographer .co
Reposted from

04/03/2026

ANNE&STIIL MOESEERIA

“Nagu jalutuskäik kevadises linnaruumis, kus üks samm on sihipärane ja järgmine täiesti muretu. Hetk, mil kohtuvad linlik elegants ja argine mugavus.”

klient:
tekst ja stiil: .ryytel
fotod:
meik ja soeng:
modell:
lokatsioon:
Reposted from

18/01/2026

@ cheers for the great tip

18/01/2026

Love the camera, hate the price. GR Monochrome proves point-and-shoot still matters… if you can afford the privilege.

The new Ricoh GR Monochrome has landed and honestly… what a moment. A dedicated monochrome street shooter in 2026 feels like a small act of rebellion — compact, discreet, and made for the kind of photography that actually matters when the hype dies down. The GR line has always been the quiet king of point-and-shoot, and this one feels like it’s carrying the torch.

But wow… that price. As much as I love seeing companies take risks and make niche tools for real photographers, the jump feels bloated and a bit gouge-y. Street culture shouldn’t need a finance plan to participate.

Still — a pure monochrome sensor in your pocket? Kind of awesome. Kind of important.

06/01/2026

Happy New Year's...it has been a long hiatus All those are able, next Wednesday 6pm onwards for an hour or two at on Vulture street West End for a drink , chat and happy feelings. All welcome