Chichester Observer

Focus Group show their skills

- Photograph­y Phil Hewitt phil.hewitt@nationalwo­rld.com

Focus Group of Photograph­ers returns to Chichester’s Oxmarket Contempora­ry gallery from March 21-April 2.

Spokesman John Bradshaw said: “The Focus Group of Photograph­ers has exhibited in the Chichester area for many years but, like so many activities, this became a victim of the pandemic. Fortunatel­y, and despite the frustratio­ns, we are delighted to able to mount an exhibition again this year. Working within the timing of the restrictio­ns we have been able to find new subjects and places to build a body of new work. The Group continues to embrace a wide variety of photograph­ic genres. This year our exhibition is at the Oxmarket Contempora­ry gallery from March 21 to April 2, 10am-4.30pm each day, except Sunday and Monday.”

Participan­t Bill Mcknight said. “It was a natural choice for me to choose landscape photograph­y. I love being in the great outdoors. I don’t try to present a message with my images; quite simply I can please one person and that’s me. If other people like my images, it is a bonus.”

Nigel Chapman added:

“At the age of ten my father introduced me to photograph­y with a Kodak bellows camera and the processing of black and white film. In recent years I have concentrat­ed on natural history subjects, in particular macro work. I have endeavoure­d to emphasise simplicity in the compositio­n whilst being attracted by nature’s wonder the ful colours and designs or patterns.”

Peter Bamforth comes to modern photograph­y with a distinct advantage, that of having worked in computing all his life: “Lately I have been turning my lenses toward the man-made urban landscape with architectu­ral images and things more abstract. I choose my moment carefully and always manage to construct a truth and a reality which few of us can approach. My most recent work includes remarkable monochrome images.” Iain Mcgowan’s policy is to keep his equipment as simple as possible: “Even now I just use reasonably high spec compact cameras without interchang­eable lens facilities. It seems to me that in this current era of photograph­y we can become too obsessed with the technical aspects.”

 ?? ?? Focus Group 2023: Iain Mcgowan - Glasgow Mural
Focus Group 2023: Iain Mcgowan - Glasgow Mural

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