Book Swap Shop

An outing to another 'Naice' village today, this time, Whatton in the Vale in Nottinghamshire for a meeting of the East Midlands branch of the Royal Photographic Society.

The morning's presentation was by Andre Duplessis, who showed us the work that he contributed to his FRPS distinction. He goes to coloured townships in his home area west of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and asks to take photos of the residents in their homes. His portfolio has therefore become a social documentary as well as being a series of spectacular portraits.

He publishes his photos in black and white and takes great pains to achieve the results that he wants, working in ACR in Photoshop, with many masks and layers. His most commonly used tool is Curves, which he uses to burn, dodge and increase contrast.

Dr Duplessis is an anaesthetist by training. He currently works in private practice in London as well as maintaining a home on the southern coast of South Africa.

In the afternoon, Robert Herringshaw showed us prints of his recent visit to Israel and the West Bank. He is the first to say that these were not 'photographs' in the sense that the RPS might understand them, but they were certainly documentary. It's an awful place. How can people maintain hope in a situation where the invaders are stealing their land, garden by garden. Dividing walls appear overnight. And nobody says anything about this theft.

One Palestinian village had one water source. The nearby Israeli settlement took this source over in order to flush away their wastewater, leaving the Palestinians without a clean, drinking water supply.

A network of two lane highways radiates from Jerusalem to connect to settlements in prime positions on the hilltops. The Palestinians have to make do with dirt tracks. Some Israeli settlements are claimed to be missile silos disguised by housing frontages.

I cannot bring myself to support the Israelis.

At lunchtime, I went outside for a short walk. I'd seen the red phonebox on my way in. As I passed it, I saw that it was crammed full of books. Presumably it has become a village swap store for second hand books. No sign of a telephone.