Little People, big ideas
This week we welcomed David Gilliver back to the club for a Zoom presentation on his wonderfully imaginative ‘Little People’ photography.
David showed us an eclectic collection of images - often humorous, occasionally thought-provoking, and always very carefully constructed. He has a knack for making the whole genre look deceptively easy, but his presentation made it clear just how much thought, patience and attention to detail goes into creating successful images. A good sense of humour clearly helps too!
Along the way, David also shared some fascinating stories from his professional work and commissions, giving us a glimpse behind the scenes of some rather unusual photographic assignments.
David has joined us online before, when he presented his Light Painting work a year or two ago, and once again he left plenty of us feeling inspired.
A few comments from members after the evening summed it up nicely:
“Excellent presentation.”
“One of the more interesting presentations I’ve seen.”
“A very creative mind.”
“I enjoyed his stories and general outlook on life.”
“I enjoyed the clean compositions, the strong colour schemes and the interesting lighting.”
And there will be a chance to put some of that inspiration into practice very soon. On 29 September we’ll be having a go at the Little People genre ourselves — have a look at the programme here for details.
Members who would like to watch David’s presentation again can find the recording through the Recent Zooms page here.
Thanks to Grace for sharing her Little People image. And thank you to David Gilliver for the images below. Good luck in the competition.
Next week: a members’ night at t’mill
Next week we’re back at the mill for one of our members’ nights, with a nice mixture of subjects lined up.
Philip will share his 5 Photos, Rudolf has a ten-minute presentation on otters, Grace will show us an app she has discovered, and Fran will introduce us to one of her favourite locations.
It should be an interesting and sociable evening.
Season Starter competition
A reminder from our Competition Secretary that entries for the Season Starter competition need to be submitted by midnight on Tuesday 29 September.
You can enter up to three images, although no more than two images may be entered in any one category.
The four categories this year are:
- Composite / Conceptual / Abstract / Artistic / Texture / Still Life
- Seascape / Landscape
- Portrait / People / Animal Portrait
- Architecture / Industrial / Structure
Images should be submitted as JPEG files, with a maximum width of 1600 pixels and a maximum height of 1200 pixels, whether the image is landscape, portrait or square.
Please name your files using:
Season starter_Cat No_Title of image_Member number
New members should remember to add N to their membership number.
Members will find general information about entering club competitions here, and the full competition programme here.
This year’s Season Starter will be judged by David Kissman.
One final thought – it’s ‘Doors Open’ next weekend (26/27th Sept) and the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune will have free entry on those days. Might be worth a visit for photos.
Support David Gilliver in the British Photography Awards
David Gilliver has four images shortlisted in the 2026 British Photography Awards. If you enjoyed his presentation and would like to support him, you can vote for his work using the links below:
A mountain of tea — Macro
https://britishphotographyawards.org/2026-shortlist/shortlist/macro/a-mountain-of-tea/f0b12832-f2c2-45bf-b0a9-7146ebd70f49
Wine EMERGENCY! — Food & Drink
https://www.britishphotographyawards.org/2026-shortlist/shortlist/food-drink/wine-emergency/1957b2fe-31cb-42a0-816d-b5634dd42c0d
What goes on inside your head?! — Self Portrait
https://www.britishphotographyawards.org/2026-shortlist/shortlist/self-portrait/what-goes-on-inside-your-head/713e89dc-06ce-4323-bfbf-86c3e926ace6
Christmas with Honda — Commercial Product
https://britishphotographyawards.org/2026-shortlist/shortlist/commercial-product/christmas-with-honda/a7e12569-cd19-4124-b7ce-94d05f89083b