On the 17th January 2026 I attended what I initially thought was a trade show (as advertised on Eventbrite) but was actually a yearly gathering of the society of London photographers and a trade show on top.
before I get started on the show I would like to express my views are my own and the show is free you can’t really go wrong with free but if you attended on the day they charged £10 so if I was to base my views on that alone I would be benchmarking this event with the photography and videography convention that happens in Birmingham in March.
The photography competition.
I want to be frank and honest, when I go to photography conventions there is still a seediness to how things are run. Often there are young female models posing for photographers and after spending many years watching the objectification of women in the gaming sector I’m not particularly keen to see this still exists within the world of photography. If you look at any of my photos you will a common trend, I don’t post images of naked women doing different poses. The trend I saw at the London Convention was a majority of the competition photos consisted of women posing naked. A lot of winning photos ended up going down this trend and me and my wife just looked at each other.
To counter balance things I thought surely there will be a naked male model and yes there was but guess where the photos had been placed? In eyeshot like the naked women or at the bottom? If you guessed at the bottom you’re absolutely right.
now without trashing the competition there was some truly spectacular art on offer with amazing wildlife images and pet images too but often we would see merits and only the highest ranks went to portrait photography in many instances. It just felt like the judges had a particular type (naked adult female blonde models) and for me personally it made me think “would I even submit photos to this competition?” And the answer is a resounding no.
The Trade Fair
The trade part of the fair was actually really good! I got to meet some great companies and vendors and I got try out some really nice cameras. I did notice Nikon and Fuji demoing products with SmallRig attachments for the additional grip. For example I tried the ZF and Nikon had bolted on a SmallRig so it felt better ergonomically. I also got to try the Z8 which was amazing, I do feel like I will never get this camera body as it’s out of my price range but it was very nice to get a glimpse across the pond to see how the other half live.
My favourite vendor to chat to was Cannon. I’m not switching to Cannon anytime soon, I’ve invested heavily into the Nikon Ecosystem and have even visited Nikon’s R&D HQ museum in Japan but Cannon has a very cornered niche in the photography printer market. I got to have some time to test their photography grade printers and what can I say? I am in love with them. Can I buy one right now? No. Would I have room for one right now? Absolutely not. Would my wife potentially scream at me if I bought one? Yes and No.
I really enjoyed my time at the event for the trade side of things and I would like to return again. The exhibition side of things was a bit of a disappointment but hey I might pluck up the courage to enter just so more artists can push the narrative that it’s okay and acceptable to have art that isn’t just women getting naked for grubby old men.
In June 2025 I entered a photo into a competition with a photo club. The venue was selected by the society in question and was not picked by me personally.
Unfortauntely over the last couple of days allegations have surfaced about the celebrity that the venue was named after. They have been asked to comment but so far there has been no comment.
The exhibition was on display from 5th November 2025 – 30th November 2025. I was only made aware of the allegations on 19th December 2025.
Upon reflection I have made the decision to remove the individual’s name from my site and exhibition materials and removed the trailer that promoted the photo being on display. Any materials left over with venue information that included the individual’s name will be linked over to this post so that people can understand why I removed the person’s name from the posts.
My art does not allign with the principles of what could of allegedlyoccured.
I did not know the individual in question in any way shape or form and I’m taking these steps as a precautionary measure to protect my art.
Since the post went live it has come to my attention that the venue my art was displayed in was funded by an individual currently named in alligations I’m unable to directly verify, As such I have taken the precautionary meassure to remove their name from resources I own and operate however third parties may still opt to include their name. For further information on my stance see this post.
In 2015 I went to University, In 2025 CCCU have written about my experiences on their blog “Oliver Bryant – Combining Cyber Security and Creative Vision” check it out.
I was able to buy a Kodak Charmera that went in stock (it’s now sold out again!) But what can this tiny little camera do?
The Specs
Image Output: 1.6 Megapixels (1440 x 1080)
Lens: 35mm F2.4
Size: 58(W) x 24.5(H) x 20(D) mm
Price: £30.00 (as of November 2025)
Gallery (no image processing)
Who is this camera really for?
I remember the first time I got a Kodak Digital Camera, It was a Kodak EasyShare C300 3 Megapixels! As you can see in this blog post the image is washed out, very blurry and lacking depth or colour I am normally used to in a digital camera. Yes it’s nice you can keep a pocket camera on a key chain but it’s a matter of convinence. When I’m going out to take photos for me the logical sense is to bring my camera along, having one on a key chain is great for random moments but unfortauntely the camera falls flat on the image quality. It’s something I just can’t recommend as you can buy a film camera at the same price range and get better results or even pick up a cheap digital camera on Ebay and get a better result.
Liked
Portable Camera, Super cute, Great conversational item.
Affordablity (but again cheaper cameras with better quality are on the market)
Project Flower went live on the 21st November 2025, After a year of development travelling around the world to find the best flowers this project has been so much fun to put together and I can’t wait for people to go and explore Project Flower
Inspiration
The idea of the gallery initally kicked off in May 2025 when visiting castle gardens in the UK but during the trip to Japan in June 2025 Oliver visited Borderless Tokyo by the artist collective “TeamLabs” which combines art with human interaction so Oliver thought “How can I replicate at the very basic level art that people can interact with?” and this was the result:
The flower becomes a canvas that a visitor can interact with to create new art and the particles move around the cursor so that the visitor is guided to make their own decisions and given the freewill to change and alter the page to their configuration.
Leveraging great partners
I have been using Kunstmatrix for nearly 4 years now, Kunstmatrix is a virtual gallery platform. For this exhibition the main show is hosted using the virtual gallery platform.
Acompanying Playlist
When developing this exhibition for the first time in the development of my exhibitons I decided to share a Spotify playlist containing music that compliments the gallery.
Thank You
I would like to thank everyone who visits the gallery and those who interact with me on the social platforms, Without your input this project would not of got off the ground. I dedicate Project Flower to my late nan, Joy whom loved flowers and spent many years planting beautiful flowers in her Garden, without her kindness and love I would never of discovered how amazing flowers are.
Flowers not your thing? No Problem, Check out my other exhibitions.
The Disabled Photographer’s Society held a private viewing on the 4th November 2025 showcasing photos created by members of the society. My photo entitled “Bear-Musement” won Preliminary Nature Print for 2025. As stated in my previous post the exhibition is on from the 5th November 2025 – 30th November 2025 at the name witheld in Dartford, Kent.
I would like to thank the judge and the committe for putting on a wonderful event showcasing the creativity of individuals within the DPS Society there are some absolutely remarkable photos on display so please come and visit. You don’t have too long to see “Bear-Musement” up close in person!
Pointing to “Bear-Musement”
Handed a medal and certificate by the Paul Hinchliffe
Up close image of the medal awarded by the DPS.
What’s next?
I am currently trying to figure out what my next physical gallery appearence is going to be, I am currently in talks with a gallery about a potential exhibition in late 2026-2027. I am also applying to other photographic competitions too so watch this space and you may see a photo of mine near you soon! If you think that you might have a suitable venue please contact me
On the 23rd November 2025 my Nan, Joyce Davies joined my Grandad in the Heavens. She was a kind, wonderful and gentle soul who was loved by everyone who met her including her wonderful care team. She will be missed beyond words.
In 2024 – 2025 I took some portrait photos of my Nan.
From 5th November 2025 – 30th November 2025 – the Disabled Photographer’s Society will be hosting it’s annual photography exhibition at name withheald. I am delighted to announce BearMusement has won first prize in the preliminary nature print category and therefore will be featured for the first time in a physical exhibition.
The exhibition was judged by Amanda Akokhia, An award winning photographer and educator who has previously worked with Disney UK, Forbes and Warner Bros.
The Disabled Photographer’s Society (DPS) is a national chairty (Registered Charity 262866) that started in 1968 to help make photography accessible to those with disabilities. It helps make photography accessible to people with disabilities.
About Oliver
Oliver is a neurodiverse photographer (Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxica, Dyslexica), He has been taking photos since 2022 documenting travels in Iceland, Norway, Greece, Germany, UK and Japan. Oliver specializes in travel, wildife and landscape photography and experiments with digital exhibitions. The Annual DPS Exhibition 2025 is Oliver’s first physical exhibition.
Oliver Bryant Photography is proud to present 3 new Iceland galleries for 2025.
Snaefellsnes Peninsula come on a tour of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Amazing Volcanos, Adorable Seals and Breathtaking churches on a trip of a lifetime.
Iceland Vol 4. a mixture of photography from Reyjavik to Hvammsvík, this gallery is a mixture of photos taken during the short break.
Iceland 35mm Experimenting with 35mm Kodak Ultramax 400 film and a Kodak M38 point and shoot camera.
This concludes this year’s Icelandic photography gallery for a fourth year in a row here’s some additional iceland galleries from previous years.
As a Photographer Iceland ignites a special place in my heart and a place I have contiuned to visit over time. I encourage others to visit, explore and enjoy Iceland, I hope it captures your heart just as it has with mine.
It’s 2025, we have fantastic digital cameras with instant responses and yet for some of us in the photography community there is a calling back to a much more simple time of Analog photography in fact companies like Fujifilm have tried to captilize on the surge of interest by introducing the X Half.
I got my hands on the X Half during the 2025 Fujikina to see what it is capable of. As I said to the sales person there are some draw backs to the Half X for example it doesn’t have RAW functionality and your not able to edit film recipies like you can with the Ricoh . Yes the camera isn’t aimed at professional photographers and the unique selling point is the ability to lock down film mode filters but without being able to modify or make them your own from a photography perspective splashing out an extra £200-300 on a Ricoh might be the better option.
Anyway let’s get back on track, Analog Photography.
The Camera that arrived after the trip… oops!
Before going on the trip to Iceland I made a concious decision to grab my first Analog camera, I went with a company that had been advertising analog cameras on facebook (I won’t mention their name as I don’t wish to give them publicity for their abysal customer support) and sadly the camera arrived after I went to Iceland, The camera I had purchased contained packaging contained an image of the church I had planned to take an image of with the Analog camera which was a bit of a smack to the face when returning home.
So I ended up visiting Reykjavík Foto picking up a Kodak UltraMax film and Kodak M38. I have sent them in for processing at a local camera shop and once they are ready I’ll be posting them up to my gallery, I had only 24 compositions to work with and of those I know a few won’t be particularly fantastic but I enjoyed experimenting with a new camera that I only had a limited ability to work with so thinking about shots was super important, I couldn’t just take an image of everything I had to make sure whatever I was going to take would be perfect the first time round. These freedoms are now taken for granted with digital photography and ofcourse with Analog comes the cost of the film and the processing too but there is something special or even magical about picking up a roll of film, loading it into your own camera and then taking the photos and winding the film back at the end not knowing if it’s okay or you hit a snag. I’m now hooked on Analog 35mm photography and I can’t wait to see how it turns out on future journeys.
