The Executive Committee are pleased to invite members of all YPU clubs to our Annual Keighley Day event, to be held at Carleton Community Centre, Carleton Rd, Pontefract, WF8 3RJ. The event is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Keighley, a founder member of the YPU.
Leigh Preston FRPS EFIAP MPAGB will be one of two excellent guest speakers with a photographic career spanning over 40 years. Our second speaker is Anne Miles FRPS MPAGB FBPE AFIAP, a well-respected lifelong photographer and biologist.
Refreshments, including a buffet lunch, will be provided and onsite parking is free. Permajet will also be in attendance offering papers and inks at discounted prices and giving advice on printing.
The ticket price is £25; payment information and booking forms have been sent to club secretaries and YPU representatives.
For convenience, the booking form can now be viewed and downloaded below.
Remember, this event is open to all YPU club members.
The programme is:
10:15 Session One: Leigh Preston FRPS EFIAP, MPAGB – Colour to Monochrome
11:15 Refreshments
11:30 Leigh Preston – continued
12:15 Buffet Lunch
13:30 Session Two: Ann Miles FRPS MPAGB FBPE AFIAP – Inspiration and Motivation in Photography
14:45 Refreshments
15:00 Anne Miles – A Passion for Nature
15:45 Raffle draw
16:00 Closing Remarks by Richard Littlefair, President of the YPU
Thank you all for your support and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s Keighley Day 15th November 2025 😁
Leigh Preston FRPS, EFIAP, MPAGB
I have been taking pictures for over forty years. My work has been mainly thematic, making images as a series. I have a relatively specific approach to what I choose to make pictures of, and I rely heavily on atmospherics, dramatic lighting and strong storylines to convey an individual style. A lot of my personal work is taken either in isolated places or of buildings and landscapes that are well past their ‘sell-by’ date. A lot of my work is monochrome, using both digital and darkroom processes, depending on the ‘feel’ I want from the finished print.
I hold two RPS Fellowships, one for pictorial images taken of the mill towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire and the other for Darkroom printing. I belong to the ARENA group of photographers and am a member of The London Salon. There have been two books of my images published: “Shadows of Change” and “Five Essays”. My work has been exhibited in London, Dublin, Birmingham, Reading, Manchester, Gloucester and Belfast.
Now semi-professional, much of my work involves teaching photography and running workshops in the UK. I worked as a tutor for Jessops until 2010 and now work as a tutor and lecturer for PermaJet.
Morning Sessions: Aspects of Monochrome and Subject Selection
Leigh will cover all aspects of converting colour images to black and white. He will take us from his initial image concept, possible interpretations, his aims and his production of the final picture as a PDI or print.
Throughout the morning sessions, Leigh will discuss:
- what he looks for when selecting a subject
- how he builds a picture and what his aims are
- what he wants the picture to say
- what he looks for when considering converting a subject to monochrome
- how tones, textures and structures influence subject selection
- how shapes are related to each other and spaces are filled
- the use of perspective, proportion, drama and atmosphere
- how the borders of an image, nearly always a rectangle, influence the picture
- would conversion to monochrome add to the ‘story’
- the influence of shade, light quality and timing
- choice of camera settings: shutter speed, aperture and focus
- lens selection
- the role of planning, experience, dry shooting and anticipation
- how he tries to avoid the ‘Average’
Ann Miles FRPS MPAGB FBPE AFIAP
I trained as a biologist and spent my working life in scientific publishing; this enabled me to keep abreast with all the changes from traditional to digital photography and printing. I have been an active photographer all my life and, for about 10 years, taught general and nature photography at university degree level. I am a Member of The London Salon which keeps me in touch with the best of pictorial photography around the world. I gained an Associateship in Nature and a Fellowship in Visual Arts and served as Deputy Chair of the Fine Arts Panel for 8 years. I now sit on the Natural History Distinction Panel. This reflects a wide spectrum of photographic interest. In my photography, I enjoy images that depict the interactions of people, architecture, nature and landscape. I have lectured all around Britain and give workshops and individual tuition.
Afternoon Session One: Inspiration and Motivation in Photography
A wide-ranging talk, touching on where inspiration can be found and ways of maintaining motivation after the initial enthusiasm may have waned. Although I am happy to use creative techniques for image making, my main interests are nature, landscape and architectural photography, especially where people interact with the budlings. There will be a mix of all these genres in my talk.
Afternoon Session Two: A Passion for Nature
This talk shows the natural world from a pictorial photographer’s angle. There will be lots of closeup and sharp images of birds, insects, mammals and flowers. I will also include more atmospheric and abstract shots. See how the choice of background, aperture and lighting conditions can make all the difference when photographing Nature.