Photography Show 2022 17th-20th September at the NEC

tijuana taxi said:
I always enjoy going to the Societies of Photographers Trade Show in London
It's in a Hammersmith Hotel now, I preferred the previous Bayswater Road hotel venue.
A lot smaller than Birmingham obviously, but more than enough to spend a few hours looking round.
It used to be in January, but just seen its in March next year, I haven't been in the intervening Covid years
The main brands are there along with the usual big dealers and usually some excellent bargains to be had.
Plus you get to see all the Societies members photos that are entered in the various competitions.
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It was less than half the size this year compared with pre-Covid times, in and out in 20 minutes but we did a deal on an RF100-500 for SWMBO (same afternoon we rented one from Fixation,,,,prebooked). I hate the venue, on so many levels, difficult to find the entrance to the Novotel and I preferred the other venue on Edgeware Road (more food options).

I may have been guilty of taking my D3 +70-200 to one of the shows. Reason? Not willy-waving for sure but to size up a small bag to use that accomodated that combination snugly, yet still have room for flash and a spare lens. Same bag is still being used and abused.

Haven't been to TPS for a few years now, thought it was a shadow of Focus - weren't there always other events on at NEC (cosplay/comiccon etc..?) that would appeal to some Focus/TPS attendees? I just wanted to get in and out in the shortest time, I hate crowds*. I always used to have a fondness of the good old times when you could roll up to a Kodak or Fuji stand and walk away with a few free rolls of film, not just any old film - stuffy like MS100/1000 and Provia 400X..

Societies in Hammersmith is close to me so it's a long lunch without having to take time off, but I might just be tempted to go to TPS next year for the hell of it.

* not a people person to tell you the truth,,,,
 
welshwizard645 said:
It was less than half the size this year compared with pre-Covid times, in and out in 20 minutes but we did a deal on an RF100-500 for SWMBO (same afternoon we rented one from Fixation,,,,prebooked). I hate the venue, on so many levels, difficult to find the entrance to the Novotel and I preferred the other venue on Edgeware Road (more food options).
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Of course it was Edgware Rd, why did I say Bayswater Rd and yes it was better for the tube and food outlets. No matter what I do at Hammersmith I always come out at the Odeon, must be because of the many gigs I attended there.
Shame its lost some exhibitors, might give it a go again next year, see how things are going in March
welshwizard645 said:
I may have been guilty of taking my D3 +70-200 to one of the shows. Reason? Not willy-waving for sure but to size up a small bag to use that accomodated that combination snugly, yet still have room for flash and a spare lens. Same bag is still being used and abused.

Haven't been to TPS for a few years now, thought it was a shadow of Focus - weren't there always other events on at NEC (cosplay/comiccon etc..?) that would appeal to some Focus/TPS attendees? I just wanted to get in and out in the shortest time, I hate crowds*. I always used to have a fondness of the good old times when you could roll up to a Kodak or Fuji stand and walk away with a few free rolls of film, not just any old film - stuffy like MS100/1000 and Provia 400X..

Societies in Hammersmith is close to me so it's a long lunch without having to take time off, but I might just be tempted to go to TPS next year for the hell of it.

* not a people person to tell you the truth,,,,
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I didn't go this year, but in terms of it being a Festival of GAS... you can easily go there and fill your day with the talks/masterclasses, etc. , and some communities might have a meet up too.
Or, you could spend your day shopping and looking at equipment.
A show that size can be whatever you want it to be..
 
StephenM said:
For me, the big draws are:

the Disabled Photographer's stand. Not only for equipment (I've got a few hard to find items there in the past) but also the out of print books
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I think I spent more time there than anywhere. They keep it real. :cool:
 
wibbly said:
Wandered around this morning for a couple of hours as I’m local. Busy with too many old blokes dragging cameras around with bloody great lenses on them and huge back packs on. :ROFLMAO:
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And pointing them at every female model available like they are in hunt mode and bumping each other shoulders to get the best spot to shoot from . The photography show is the only place I go that makes me a little embarrassed to be a man . But putting that to the side I thought the show was great .
 
Kris said:
I run a school photography company and every school portrait taken since covid has been head and shoulders on a lastolite green background (either hi-lite bottletop or pop ups), giving parents choice of background for their child's pictures. Always shot secondary on lastolite green anyway, but covid stopped full body early years and primary hi-key white on a hi-lite in its tracks.

I get a perfect transparent key from the lastolite shade of 'parrot' green, even from frizzbomb little girls and through spectacles, which I never got from any other manufacturers shade of green background, inc all the Chinese made pop ups as they are too dark 'bottle' green to give a good key.

I know BBC studios paint their green screen sets with ICI parrot green paint.
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Ah.....that's really useful to know....thanks for the heads up ill give it a try......
 
stumac said:
And pointing them at every female model available
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When I were a lad going with my father, they used to have topless models which, for an impressionable adolescent, was quite eye opening.

Anybody remember the adverts in the rags of the time that had a model getting slowly undressed in the weeks leading up to the show until she just had a camera strap covering her essentials?

It was so overt in the photo community in those days. Glad we live in more enlightened times.
 
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Back then, camera clubs' model nights could see some members shooting hundreds of shots without changing film...
 
Definitely bad old days. Remember when AP was called Amateur Pornographer?
 
lindsay said:
Definitely bad old days. Remember when AP was called Amateur Pornographer?
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It's slightly funny, because now 'everyone' is cool about porn and it's freely available in every form you could possibly want and many you would not on your friendly local internet. Yet we would look down on the guys who would go along in the hope of seeing and possibly photographing naked breasts.

While I don't see that era as admirable, there seemed less of a dicotomy than the present, where it's both totally fine and absolutely not fine.
 
Good points Toni, I agree
 
ancient_mariner said:
It's slightly funny, because now 'everyone' is cool about porn and it's freely available in every form you could possibly want and many you would not on your friendly local internet. Yet we would look down on the guys who would go along in the hope of seeing and possibly photographing naked breasts.

While I don't see that era as admirable, there seemed less of a dicotomy than the present, where it's both totally fine and absolutely not fine.
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Plenty of it on Flickr - you can post any old muck (within legal limitations) if you have a Pro account. NOT THAT I DO,.... when Flickr instituted their recent changes it would have been better to apply better controls on content and access..
 
stumac said:
And pointing them at every female model available like they are in hunt mode and bumping each other shoulders to get the best spot to shoot from . The photography show is the only place I go that makes me a little embarrassed to be a man . But putting that to the side I thought the show was great .
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You forgot the dribbling, there were at least two that needed their chins wiping :ROFLMAO:
 
ancient_mariner said:
While I don't see that era as admirable, there seemed less of a dicotomy than the present, where it's both totally fine and absolutely not fine.
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Since the show is over and the thread is probably heading off the rails anyway, I can't resist chipping in ...

CONSENT & COERCION

It's a bit more nuanced now and focused on the subject rather than the desires of the audience. It's totally fine if done in an supportive environment where everyone, particularly the model is fully informed and consents. It is absolutely not fine if someone is promised fame and fortune to "get her tits out" then thrown to the wolves without any control.
 
It's fine in situations such as The Photography Show. The problems arise when naive wannabe models are exploited in private (not public) places by dodgy characters (usually but not exclusively) amateur photographers who are far more concerned about their own perverted interests than about photography.

And, in my own experience, there's a large dirty mac brigade at every photography show. A few years ago we demonstrated IGBT flash (very new at the time) by photographing a bikini-clad model being splashed with water, shooting at 14 fps. All very entertaining, but it was impossible to get anywhere near our stand because of the vast numbers of "photographers" taking their own shots, without flash!
LongLensPhotography said:
It appears next one will be 16-19 March 2024
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A sensible choice, but too little too late. The show has, IMO, run its course and won't run for much longer.
 
Well, I hope not. I know from at least one UK distributor that they were really pleased that the show was coming back and helping the industry through Covid. Was it is as good as pre-Covid, not yet but better than last year. I acquired some new kit. on. good deals with. LCE as I complete the move to mirrorless. I enjoyed a couple of speakers on Tuesday. Hopefully, bigger in 2024.
 
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