‘Feel the Land Photography and Emotion’ Astrid is a freelance photographer
and book author based in Surrey. She started to seriously engage in
photography a few years ago, when struggling to juggle the demands of
family life, motherhood and a stressful job. Spending time outdoors and
photographing became her way of balancing life.

Initially, Astrid photographed almost exclusively landscapes, drawing her inspiration from scenes in the natural world that evoke a sense of tranquillity and harmony. Often, she’d be drawn towards the less obvious details in the landscape – such as shapes, patterns or a particular colour – making them the primary subject of her images. In the last few years, Astrid has become fascinated by street life and architecture and has photographed extensively in cities in the UK and abroad.

Astrid uses a variety of techniques to capture her response to a scene and recreate it for the viewer through her photographs, such as long exposure, camera movement and deliberate defocusing. She loves exploring new cultures and feels equally compelled to capture the beautiful evening light by a lakeside, the strong graphic lines and reflections of city architecture or the essence of life and countryside of new locations abroad.In 2014, Astrid published her first book The Elmbridge Hundred – A Visual
Journey, which was a companion piece to a community project about the

history and heritage of her local Borough of Elmbridge. Astrid, who holds a
distinction by the Royal Photographic Society, has curated several art
exhibitions and judged photographic competitions. She also teaches and
lectures on photography and works on commissions for individuals and
organisations. In 2018, Astrid joined Light & Land, the UK’s premier
photographic tour company, as a tour leader. Her images have been
published and widely exhibited in the UK and Europe, including the Mall
Galleries and OXO Gallery in London, and the Horizons Photo Festival in
Zingst, Germany, and are held in private collections in Europe and the US.

Judge: Darren Pullman AFIAP CPAGB

This will be judged online and members will be able to view the competition judging in real-time.

We will be hearing from Tim Clarke about achieving his LRPS, Collette Patto showing her CPAGB, Mike Rowe who will talk about his DPAGB, David Hughes who will talk about BPE entries and Matt Blair who will speak about his LRPS.

Judge: Marcus Scott-Taggart

We will be sending the entries to Marcus electronically. He has agreed to mark and provide a short critique but will not be judging online. The results will be presented online from 8pm.

Ross McKelvey MPAGB MFIAP is president and founder of Catchlight Camera Club, Belfast. He regularly competes in national and international photographic salons – mostly in print sections. His most successful genre is portraiture, but he enjoys everything from landscape, sport, nature, still life to digital composites.

Ross will be speaking about his use of Photoshop and the use of layers, masking, textures, changing a background and the tools, tips and tricks involved.