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Cover photo
Jan Ros ARPS
Views from the Benelux Chapter Organiser – eJournal Issue 7 Spring 2025
Again, we have a wonderful edition of our eJournal for you. Full of interesting articles and photos, please take some time to read and enjoy it! Thank you so much to Katherine our Editor and to Sue our Proofreader!
You will notice that we have announced our Spring Challenge – Human Vulnerability. This is for our Members’ Print Exposition which we will have on our ‘Wall’ in Pelt at the International Fotofestival. We are delighted to be Supporters of this event, now for the third time.
Please read carefully the requirements for this Spring Challenge and submit your three photos by the 24th of March. Your photos need to have people in them that show something about humankind and the fragility of life.
The opening of “Lens op de Mens” International Fotofestival Pelt is on the 8th of June. Winners will be announced and all the photos will be on display on the streets and inside various locations. Pelt is full of photos for the whole summer, until the 28th of September, so it is really worth the visit. We are planning our workshop weekend for September, details to follow, but consider joining it, as we always have fun!
I am again contributing my time as one of the eight jury members, a big task awaits and I’m quite excited to see what has been submitted.
Our AGM is coming up with a Zoom on the 4th March. We are looking for a new Treasurer as Jeroen Dorrestein will be stepping down. So please consider joining our committee!
For our speaker after the event, I will give a talk on Street Photography. It’s one of my favourite genres and I really do have a lot of street photography photos to show and talk about, with tips and tricks on the way, which I will be happy to share with you!
I am looking forward to the rest of the year, to all our meetings both online and in person, maybe we meet in Pelt in September!
• For our jury/selection committee - the first stage sizing of each image: 20 cm longest edge = 1890 pixels at 180 dpi
• The photos shall be of a high standard so send us your best work
• After selection, your images for printing: must be 50cm on the longest side = 5906 pixels at 300dpi (If this is not delivered you will be excluded from the exposition)
• Pelt will arrange printing for us (each of us pay €20 per photo) including RPS logo and any distinction
• Our photos will be outside on ‘our’ wall in Pelt, part of the greater exposition
• We are also planning a workshop!
• The Photo Festival official opening is on 8 June and the last day will be 28 September 2025
• Deadline date for our members print selection will be 24 March 2025
• Submit your three photos to: beneluxnl@rps.org For more information https://fotofestivalpelt.be/en/ www.rps.org
Chefchaouen
Kim Bybjerg LRPS
On a recent holiday to Morocco (in October 2024), I had the chance to visit the city of Chefchaouen.
Chefchaouen was one of the top attractions recommended when I googled “what to see or do close by me” after I arrived at our hotel. I saw some photos of the beautiful, coloured houses and immediately decided that this was a place to see.
Chefchaouen is a city in northwest Morocco, situated 600m above sealevel in the mountainous region between Tetuán and Ouazzane. It is the main city in the province of the same name. It is known for its buildings in shades of blue which gives it its nickname the “Blue City”.
The tradition with colouring the houses Indigo blue began with the Jewish refugees who came to the city in the 1930s, as the colour is supposed to shield the house against evil; other houses are painted in turquoise and blue green.
It was founded in 1471 by Muslims who fled from Spain. Many Muslims and Jews settled in the city after the Reconquista in 1492 when Spanish Christians conquered what remained ofAl-Andalus (the Muslim controlled part of Iberia). The city was founded as a small Kasbah (fortress) to defend against Portuguese invasions.
The city is heavily influenced by Andalusian architecture, such as the curved brick archways that strengthen the houses and decorate the narrow blue alleyways, the traditional water network, and the landscaping and care of plants inside houses and mosques.
After having visited the mountains around the city and looking at the city from the outside, it was time to get into the Medina, the old city centre, which attracts many tourists every year.
There I met my guide, and I can highly recommend booking a guide to showyou around. You can, of course, walk around the Medina on your own but with a guide you get to see the hidden gems and you get a good insight into the history of the city. You can also say “no thank you” to the
normal visits to the carpet stores etc. A “no” is fully respected, which I highly appreciate.
Walking around the Medina you get to see the small shops and workshops and of course the blue houses and the beautiful alleys.
We visited one of the three city bakers still baking bread in a traditional oven. As you can see in the photo, the baker is standing in a “hole” and is using a very long spade to place the bread into the oven and to move the bread around the various heating zones. The oven is traditionally wooden fire heated.
We alsovisited a traditionalAndalusian style house that the familyhas now opened for visitors. The house was built in the 1930s and has been in the same family for four generations. But since none of them are living in Chefchaouen now, they have decided to open the house forvisitors so one can experience a traditional house. For the many years we had been travelling regularly to Andalusia in Spain, we always thought that the inspiration for the building style had Arabic and Moroccan origins. Therefore, it surprised me to learn that it is the other way around: the houses in Morrocco are inspired by Andalusian architecture.
The guide mentioned that the city became famous with the growth of Instagram as one of the most photographed places which has led to even more houses now being painted in Indigo blue. The people living in the city have realised the positive effect of visitors; so more than in the past, they paint more houses blue. This was not noticeable by us as this was our first visit, but the guide mentioned that the increased number of tourists has had a significant positive impact of the economy in the city, allowing it to build a university.
I highly recommend this place as it is by no means overcrowded or has lost its soul despite more tourists now visiting. I would, however, visit in spring or autumn to avoid the busiest tourist season. Personally, I want to come back in winter when there will be snow in the mountains surrounding the city, I expect the photos will be so much better during the winter season.
All photographs are copyright of Kim Bybjerg LRPS.
Capturing the unseen INTIMATE
LANDSCAPE
Gerry Phillipson ARPS
Gerry’s article has been previously published in RPS German Chapter eMagazine Q3 2024.
A wetland water course
An intimate landscape is a photograph of a small part of the broader scene that people would only sometimes notice or pause to look at. It demands its own composition of the more minor details of colour, textures, patterns, lines, and shapes that create its character, mood, and atmosphere. While a group of photographers taking images of the same landscape will produce variations of the same scene, an intimate landscape is unique to the photographer taking it; it’s unlikely that anyone else would even see it, let alone photograph the same intimate landscape.
Poplars with cliffs
The term “intimate landscape” has been attributed to the American photographer Eliot Porter, who first exhibited fifty-five colour photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979 titled Intimate Landscapes. Tim Parkin said, “Eliot Porter developed a vision of the landscape that looked closer, caught the natural chaos of the wild but in a way that showed the hidden structures.” John Berger wrote, “When we ‘see’ a landscape, we situate ourselves in it.” While considering an intimate landscape, our situation may feel enclosed by the limitations we set while composing the photograph. The selected intimacy of the subject is the opposite of the grand view in which we are miniscule.
Brimham rocks
The RPS Landscape SIG does not define “intimate landscape.” Still, I’m grateful for having had exciting exchanges with Joe Cornish, Tony Worobiec, and Carol Olerud with members of the Benelux Chapter.
Joe Cornish suggested that the intimacy was a matter of geography, that a close-up of a spider’s web with a fly might fit a nature brief, but if the web was shown on a bush with some background, it might be an intimate landscape.
Wetland and woodland
reflection
Judging at what point “intimate” becomes extensive is a matter of judging. Studying Eliot Porter’s photographs makes it apparent that to achieve good, intimate landscapes, the image should concentrate on detailed aspects of the scene, its lines, shapes and colours.
I try to manage this by focusing on the structures and textures of, for example, trees and plants, the movement and reflections of water and, most importantly, the way the scene is lit.
Dordogne
“Intimate photography captures the quiet, unspoken moments that reveal the deepest truths of
the human experience.”
Tree and cliff face
River view
“Intimate landscape photography is like poetry in nature. It’s about noticing the quiet stories told by rocks, leaves, and light.”
- Guy Tal
Ice
When a photographer chooses to work within the disciplines of specific genres, it tends to make the photographic process slower and more mindful.
I have found this to be true when working on intimate landscapes. The subject needs careful selection, reflection, the usual process of deciding which lens to choose, the best exposure for shooting manually and managing good composition.
Corner of lake in mist
The slower deliberation of the process enables the photographer to concentrate on and appreciate the details. To interpret these best, the photographer needs to ask what has drawn his attention to the scene.
The answer draws on a personal connection to the landscape established by visiting the exact location several times: the forest path, the riverbank, the lakeside or the urban area.
Rock
Pine Forest Winter bracken
Moss-Covered Tree
Lavoir
“Rather
than the sweeping views of the world, the intimate landscape invites you to pause and appreciate the quiet elegance of nature’s smaller, overlooked moments.”
- John Sexton
Flowered meadow
Shannon Kalahan wrote, “Intimate landscapes are a wonderful opportunity to practice your photography or flex your creative muscles during almost any light and weather. More importantly, because of its inherent flexibility, you can walk away from those sessions feeling like you’ve accomplished something - which is not always the case for grand landscapes. In that way, the skill of intimate landscape photography is a wonderful tool to have in your photographer’s toolbox. Photographing small, overlooked scenes allows you to be productive and feel accomplished no matter how crappy a sunset is, and what unexpected weather you stumble across.”
All photographs are copyright of Gerry Phillipson ARPS.
Old Tree
Alblasserwaard
Jan Ros ARPS
Alblasserdam
Several times a week I cycle through the Alblasserwaard, a region where I have lived all my life. Since December 2014 I take pictures with my i-Phone during my bicycle trips. Since then, I have photographed the Alblasserwaard in all seasons.
Alblasserdam Hof Souburgh
Giessen-Oudekerk
Overwaard Wittebrug
Streefkerk Spring
I am always anxious to photograph thewindmills area ofthe Kinderdijk. Often the weather conditions are different, and this invites me to take pictures.
Wijngaarden
At the 8th mill of the Overwaard I usually stop for a moment. This is where my mother was born. My grandfather and grandmother lived there for manyyears and as a child I spent manyhours at the mill, fishing and cutting reeds together with grandpa. In the school vacations I always went to stay for a week and slept in the box bed.
Winter Nieuw-Lekkerland.
World Heritage Windmills Kinderdijk
River de Lek Nieuw-Lekkerland
This was more than 70 years ago now, but the memories remain.
All photographs are copyright of Jan Ros ARPS.
Where giants sleep
Anne Oehlen
The outside
A military base is a forbidden area for everyone not working in the military. Its presence can be obvious though to the outside world. When I was a child, each day F15 fighter jets came over with deafening noise. Tea trembled in the teacups and conversations stopped for a while.
We knew a US-army squadron was stationed nearby and obviously a number of F15 fighter jets, but that was about all we knew.
After the Cold Warwas over part of the base lost its military purpose. The US army part of the base was decommissioned in 2008 and handed over to the local authorities. However strange it might sound, military terrains often seem to harbour many rare and even endangered plants and animals as there is little human interference apart from military drills. So, the local authorities decided it would be best to leave the area as it was (mostly) and turn it into a nature reserve. Some of the military infrastructure and buildings were removed, but many of them are still there, which adds a strange atmosphere to the place. So, when the place opened to the
public I finally could go there and see for myself what it looked like. The huge shelters that once housed the F15’s now look like giant sleeping bodies dotted over the place. It has a “Sleeping Beauty” feel to it with the difference that I hope these giants will never have to be kissed to life again. Many structures and buildings that are still there were built during the Cold War and meant to withstand heavy bombing and even a nuclear attack.
There is a sense of mystery to those sleeping military structures surrounded by nature that found its way into the series of photographs too.
I took no overview images, but mostly fragments and close-ups, like photographing only parts of a body to leave it to the viewer to imagine the whole picture. No humans appeared in the images, but of course the signs and traces of their presence are everywhere. Some are still fresh, others old and broken. Those traces add to the mystery and are food for imagination. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what fascinates me so much about this place, for mostly the first response is on a subconscious level. Looking back at the photographs I took over the last year, a pattern surfaces. Many images are about the interaction between nature and humans or what they left behind. If the remnants of a fence or part of a man-made structure are still visible in an otherwise pristine looking patch of nature, I’m tempted to include those elements. Perhaps that is what makes this former military base so intriguing. The interaction between nature and man-made is inescapable.
It would have been logical perhaps to focus also on the rare plants and animals that can be found there, but that would be a new project altogether.
The inside
Right from the start I was curious about the inside of those mysterious buildings. On National Monument Day some of them happened to open to the public. As strangely dreamy as the outside appeared to me, so bleak and spartan was the interior of these buildings. Inside the Cold War could still be felt and I tried to imagine what it would have been to be in there for
Where giants sleep
several days or even weeks, counting the days and only hoping to find a still habitable world outside. In reality these shelters and bunkers never were put to the test in real war conditions and were mostly used for training purposes.
All photographs are copyright of Anne Oehlen.
Texel
Ton van der Laan LRPS
During my membership of the special interest group Camera Natura “nature and landscape” of the Dutch Fotobond, I organised a few winter weekend trips for the group to the Wadden island of Texel in the Northwest of the Netherlands. Each time we rented a 12-person holiday house for 3 or 4 nights.
We ventured out depending upon our varying photographic interests – wildlife, dunes, beach and tides. Winter is the perfect time: there are fewer people and more importantly, sunrise is about 8:30 and sunset about 5:00, giving us plenty of low angle sun light for warmth and depth in our images.
Weather is the big variable – we had some luck there.
Our favourite location was “De Hors”, about 2 kilometres west from where the ferry between Den Helder and Texel docks. From a parking place, it is a walk of 1 km between two small pools just before you arrive on “De Hors”, a broad beach populated with small dunes and lakelets before the sand meets the sea.
In lowtide at sunrise, the sun playswith thewateryripples ofsand, creating colourful and abstract patterns to photograph. I also enjoy exploring the shifting low dunes and their swaying grasses to compose additional images. When the wind is gone, sun and clouds play their game in sky and the sea, sometimes creating dramatic reflections. A 30 second exposure late in the afternoon looking west calms down the sea and reflects layers of light on the water and sand. An interesting sky does wonders on this island.
Another interesting place to look for photos is “De Slufter”, far north of “De Hors” along the North Seaside of the island. This area may be is more suitable for sunset pictures and its waterways bending land-inward. A little bit of frost creates a special atmosphere. And if the weather and nature aren’t cooperating, some of the old villages on the island make for inspiring subjects.
All photographs are copyright of Ton van der Laan LRPS.
The Dark Rooms of... Tom Meerman
An interview series
By Marcel Borgstijn
“The Dark Rooms of... is an interview series in which a photographer talks about his or her darkrooms, the digital and the mental, or technical and inspirational. What makes you click?”
Marcel Borgstijn
This interview has been previously published on Marcel’s site Darkrooms and is with Dutch photographer Tom Meerman.
See the original interview on Darkrooms
Marcel has given his permission for it to be republished in the RPS Benelux eJournal
By the way, if you haven’t read the previous interviews in the Darkrooms series, you can find them here
Who are you?
II am Tom Meerman, born in Amsterdam in 1959. I have been photographing since I was seventeen. After graduating from the Art Academy in Arnhem (1988), I started working as a visual artist and photographer. In addition, I have always been active organisationally
and administratively. For instance, I was head of a photography department at a course institute in Arnhem, gave courses myself at Canon Image Centre in Amsterdam, worked as national advisor for amateur photography and managed the Photography schools in Amsterdam and Apeldoorn. I was president of the professional association for photographers GKf for seven years and of the copyright organisation PhotoAnonymous (FotoAnoniem) for as many as 17 years.
Now I mainly work as an independent designer for exhibitions and photo books and write about photography in a weekly column in De Gelderlander (Dutch regionalnewspaper) and on request with the work of others. As a coach, I help photographers set clear lines in their work. I wrote the book Analysing and Discussing Photographs based on my experiences and the insights I gained while talking about photos with colleagues and audiences. Of course, I photograph. A lot.
Technical
Do you think technique is important?
II shoot with the camera I have at hand. Sometimes that is my full-frame Canon, sometimes my compact and often my iPhone. A photo never leaves the studio without post-processing. Reality is the starting point rather than the goal.
What equipment do you use?
IAll kinds of cameras and lenses. A slingshot for travelling. Very occasionally my flash and even more occasionally a lightbox. I especially like to use wide-angle.
And what software?
ILightroom, Nik and Snapseed. For the project My Amsterdam (2010present), I work with Camera+.
How do you edit your photos?
IAlways with the light turned on extra, preferably with some drama. Deep blacks are allowed. Artefacts are not shunned!
Inspirational
Where lies your heart?
Reality can be deepened, enriched, explained, diffused, differentiated, connected through my attention, interventions and communication.
My heart is currently mainly with the human-made environment, especially in a historical perspective.
Do you have your own style?
I mainlywork in longer series, with a visual language fitting each series. For example, nostalgic Black and White for My Amsterdam; dramatic skies for Reaching for heaven (churches in Riverslands, specific area in middle of the Netherlands); romantic colours for Eye on Culemborg;
Irestored perspective for Typical Istanbul and Edinburgh, Athens of the North; old school sepia for Decouvertes d'Egypte; Bleach Bypass and cross development for Glass all over; glamour for Crowns on the Head and Views from...; image and series rhyme for The Culemborgers and With the Americans.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
ILight.
Light is everything. And stories about meanings of life in dead things.
Does your project start with an idea or with a loose image?
ILight, form, narrative, context and impulse form starting points that, over time, force themselves into manifestation.
When is your project finished?
INever. Thankfully. In the meantime, a photograph has an exhibitable form, as a print, book or digital medium. With a title, signature, frame, medium, context. It is about filling public space.
During your project, do you already know how it ends?
IThe end? I am going to die. Someday. Then it stops.
What is your favourite photo and why?
IIn this picture, every story about the meaning of life is captured. The mystery of here and there, then and now, always and everywhere is captured and passed on here.
Future
What do you want to achieve?
II would like everyone to get to know the joy of the open mind. Through my photos and my way of looking, for example. And that I may work as an inspiration for everyone who wants to develop.
What would you like to know from others? You may ask one photographer one question. What would that be?
IAll my questions to photographers are always about the why. And then I am curious whether the answer involves the subject, the photo, the approach or the objective. And then we enter each other's minds very quickly.
Where can we see more?
IThrough my website: www.tommeerman.nl
In my book Analysing and Discussing Photographs (in Dutch), I incorporated many photographs from my own hand. Photos from 1977 to 2021.
In my book The Light Quadrant (in Dutch), I made photos black and white to make light insightful. The photos are all from my own hand.
After 40 years of photography, I made an overview of my work and projects. It can be viewed at Blurb.
New photography: Humans & Machines
A trilogy on the future of image-making.
Marcel Borgstijn
This article has been previously published in 3 parts on Marcel’s site Darkrooms.
See the originals on Darkrooms:
Part 1: The new reality of photography
Part 2: AI as partner - Friend or foe?
Part 3: The human touch remains crucial
Marcel has given his permission for it to be republished in the RPS Benelux eJournal.
Part 1: The new reality of photography
During the quiet days of the Christmas holiday, while putting the finishing touches to a new edition of Darkrooms Magazine, I finally had space to reflect on the major changes in our craft. Between selecting portfolios and editing articles, I was struck by how rapidly the world of photography is changing around us.
In this three-part series, I share the insights that emerged during this reflective period. Not as absolute truths, but as observations from someone who stands with one foot in traditional photography and the other exploring new possibilities. It was during those quiet December days, free from daily deadlines and projects, that it became clear we are at a fascinating turning point.
Photography is at a turning point. As a photographer, I experience how rapidly our craft is changing. Not just through new cameras or lenses, but through a fundamental shift in how we create images and what they mean. In this three-part series, I share my observations about this fascinating development, starting with the new realitywe find ourselves in. This is the first part.
The New Reality of Photography
Recently, I stood in a museum before a photograph of a sunset. Beautiful image, but the question occupying my mind wasn't about its beauty, but how 'real' it was. Was this a single shot or a blend of multiple images? Had AI helped with the post-processing? And more importantly: did it matter?
These questions have been haunting me since the skyrocketing rise of computational photography. Where we used to capture one moment on one sensor, my phone now takes dozens of shots per second and merges them into what it thinks I want to see. The interesting part is: it's usually right.
The boundary between 'real' and 'edited' is blurring at an incredible pace. But is that a problem? History teaches us that photography was never purely objective. Even in the darkroom, images were manipulated, though this was reserved for experts with years of experience. Now everyone has these capabilities literally in their pocket.
New Photography: Humans & Machines
This democratization of photographic techniques forces us to look at photography differently. It's no longer about technical perfection - which is increasingly accessible - but about the story we want to tell. The new reality doesn't call for better cameras, but for sharper visions.
The new reality doesn't call for better cameras, but for sharper visions.
The beauty is that this technology actually helps us get closer to reality as we experience it. A sunset where we can see both the sky and the landscape simultaneously. A portrait capturing both the emotion in the eyes and the texture of the skin. The technology enables us to create images that correspond to howwe see theworld, not howa sensor records it in a fraction of a second.
This new reality isn't a threat to photography, but a liberation. It allows us to concentrate on what truly matters: telling stories through images. Because while technology grows more powerful, the most crucial instrument remains unchanged: the photographer's eye and heart.
I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
(Leave a comment on Darkrooms site)
Part 2: AI as partner - Friend or foe?
Photography is at a turning point. As a photographer, I experience how rapidly our craft is changing. Not just through new cameras or lenses, but through a fundamental shift in howwe create images and what they mean. In this three-part series, I share my observations about this fascinating development, started with the new reality (part1) we find ourselves in. This is the second part:
AI as partner - Friend or foe?
Last week, I discussed how the technical reality of photography is changing. Today, I'm diving into a development that's equally intriguing: artificial intelligence as a creative partner.
Recently, I sat at my computer, staring at hundreds of photos from a recent shoot. In the past, this meant hours of selecting and editing. Now, AI suggests which images are technically strongest. It feels like having an assistant who understands me, who knows what I'm looking for. But sometimes I can't help wondering: am I still truly photographing myself?
It's a question that occupies many photographers' minds. We see AI's growing capabilities: from removing distracting elements to adjusting exposure. Tasks that once took hours in Photoshop now happen with a single click. It feels almost like magic, but magic that we can control.
That's the interesting part: AI isn't developing as a replacement, but as an intelligent assistant that thinks alongside us. It's like having an experienced studio assistant who understands and supports your work but always leaves you in final control. It learns from your preferences, understands your style, but doesn't blindly copy it.
The real value of AI lies in removing the technical barriers that sometimes keep us from what really matters: telling stories through images.
The real value of AI lies in removing the technical barriers that sometimes keep us from what really matters: telling stories through images. It gives us the space to focus on that one decisive moment, knowing we can finetune what's needed later.
Yet it remains important to stay critical. Like a good assistant, you should be able to trust AI but also dare to correct it. Because while it's brilliant at optimizing images, it can't determine which moment is truly worth capturing. That remains the domain of the photographer, who uses experience, intuition, and creativity to decide when to press the shutter.
AI is therefore not a threat to photography but a liberation from technical constraints. It enables us to spend more time on what really counts: developing our vision and telling our stories. Because ultimately, it's not the algorithms that make a photo memorable, but the human touchwe put into it.
I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
(Leave a comment on Darkrooms site)
Part 3: The human touch remains crucial
Photography is at a turning point. As a photographer, I experience how rapidly our craft is changing. Not just through new cameras or lenses, but through a fundamental shift in howwe create images and what they mean. In this three-part series, I share my observations about this fascinating development, starting with the new reality we find ourselves in. This is the third (and last) part:
The human touch remains crucial
In the previous parts, we explored how new technology and AI are changing photography. Today, we return to what remains constant: the human touch. Because precisely as technology grows more powerful, the human aspect becomes increasingly valuable.
This became clear to me recently during a photoshoot for a personal project. The camera was perfectly set up, AI was ready to assist (in post), but the real difference was made by something no technology can match: the connection with my subject.
It reminded me of old family photos I recently found. Technically far from perfect - blurry, grainy, poorly lit - but full of emotion and meaning. These are images that move you, not because they're technically perfect, but because they tell a story, capturing a moment that will never return.
That's what makes the human touch so unique: the ability to look beyond technical perfection and recognise the decisive moment. It's that splitsecond decision, guided by experience, feeling, and a deep understanding of your subject, that makes the difference between a technically perfect photo and an image that touches you.
New Photography: Humans & Machines
“It's no longeraboutwho can take the sharpest photo, butwho can tell the most authentic story.”
Paradoxically, this human factor becomes even more important as technology improves. Now that technical perfection is increasingly accessible, it's the personal vision that makes the difference. It's no longer about who can take the sharpest photo, but who can tell the most authentic story.
What no technology can replace is the ability to make genuine contact with your subject. A portrait photographer who eases tension with good conversation. A documentary photographerwho gains their subject's trust. Astreet photographerwho senseswhen that perfect moment approaches. These human qualities lead to images that go beyond technical perfection.
The future of photography therefore doesn't lie in replacing the human touch, but in enhancing it. Technology and AI are excellent tools that free us from technical limitations, allowing us to focus on what truly matters: telling stories that touch people, capturing moments that matter.
Because ultimately, it's not the pixels that make a photo memorable, but the soul that the photographer manages to put into it. That human touchthat mix of intuition, experience, emotion, and timing - that's what makes photography magical. And that will never change, even in a world full of technology.
I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
(Leave a comment on Darkrooms site)
Members’
Photos
In this section, you can see photos from our members,
Here you can find the break down of chapter membership, the number of distinctions obtained, the special interest groups joined and the various countries the members are located in.
• 2024/5 Year Report and Programme - Carol Olerud FRPS
• Web Presence and eJournal - Katherine Maguire APRS Webmaster and Editor
• Committee Members & Vote (appoint new Treasurer)
• AOB
• 10 min comfort break
• Presentation by Carol Olerud FRPS “Street Photography” will start at 20:30. There will be space for questions after the 45 min presentation.
For further details please see our events page.
Time: 19:30 until 22:00
Location: Online Zoom Meeting
15 April 2025
Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers. It costs €5 per evening, which includes a drink and biscuit. For further details please see our events page.
Please note change of date.
Time: 19:30 until 22:00
Location: Het Palet, Duikerstraat 29,Rotterdam.
6 May 2025
Online Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers, this is a free online event. Zoom link will be sent out before the event. For further details please see our events page.
Time: 20:00 until 22:00
Location: Online Zoom Meeting
3 June 2025
Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers. It costs €5 per evening, which includes a drink and biscuit. For further details please see our events page.
Time: 19:30 until 22:00
Location: Het Palet, Duikerstraat 29,Rotterdam.
1 July 2025
Online Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers, this is a free online event. Zoom link will be sent out before the event. For further details please see ourevents page.
Time: 20:00 until 22:00
Location: Online Zoom Meeting
2 September 2025 Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers. It costs €5 per evening, which includes a drink and biscuit. For further details please see our events page.
Time: 19:30 until 22:00
Location: Het Palet, Duikerstraat 29,Rotterdam.
September 2025
Pelt Weekend
To be arranged.
Location: Pelt Belgium
7 October 2025
Online Study Group Meeting
An opportunity to share your work and get feedback from a friendly group of people. Everyone is welcome - members and nonmembers, this is a free online event. Zoom link will be sent out before the event. For further details please see our events page.
Time: 20:00 until 22:00
Location: Online Zoom Meeting
About the eJournal
We plan to produce an eJournal on a regular basis.
The current release dates 2024 and 2025 are:
16 May for Summer 2025
15 August for Autumn 2025
15 November for Winter 2025
13 February for Spring 2026
Deadline for contributions Is last day of the month before the release date.
Contributions from the members and friends of the Benelux chapter are welcome, whether that be an article or details of the current photo project that they are working on.
Member photos’
We also wish to encourage members and friends to submit photos for the Members’ photos section.
New Members
The eJournal can also be a place that gives our new members an opportunity to introduce themselves to the chapter.
Cover Photos
Individual photos are also welcome for the cover page,. Photo Submission Requirements
Please send images with the following specifications:
• 3000pixlongside
• Imagequality8
• nowatermarkortextintheimage
• nobordersaroundtheimage.
When naming your photos please use the following convention, FirstName_LastName_For_eJournal_Title.JPG
The submitter of the article(s) or photo(s) is responsible for compliance with Data Protection and Copyright Acts.
Please send your photos via WeTransfer.com to the following email address beneluxweb@rps.org
For articles, please send an email to beneluxweb@rps.org
Remember to include “for eJournal” in the subject line.
