About Douglas Thompson
I would like to share some of my images working in a variety of photographic mediums.
I have worked extensively with both film and digital processes. I also work in a variety of alternative processes, some of which have their origins in the 19th and early 20th century photography.
My interest spans from work with pinhole and toy cameras through a range of 35mm, digital, 120mm, 5×4 and 10×8 large format cameras. Each brings something different to the images they produce, however it is only the image that is ultimately important.
I am particularly passionate about the platinum/palladium printing process and the unique image which can be crafted.
My introduction to photography came through my father and his passion for photography and my introduction to the darkroom came through my experience as a teenager working with my grandmother as she revealed the alchemy of the darkroom and that eternally satisfying moment when an image emerges from the developer tray. My grandmother was an extraordinary woman; in the 1920’s she worked for Eastman Kodak as a development assistant as they perfected the use of x-rays. She went on to work as a radiographer and it was something of her darkroom experience she shared while well into her eighties.
Over the years my photography has been influenced by countless photography books read, exhibitions visited, and of course by a number of people who have shared their own enthusiasm and experience.
I attained a fellowship distinction with the Royal Photographic Society in 2021 and currently lead an RPS group in Lanarkshire to support fellow photographers.
I also run the Scottish Photographers Glasgow Group. This is an eclectic group of enthusiastic amateur photographers, students and professional photographers who meet to share current projects and portfolios. We meet at Street Level Photoworks at Trongate in Glasgow city centre and on ZOOM. We also contribute to ‘Contact Sheet’, an on-line monthly magazine of photography events and exhibitions across Scotland.
I have also worked with students at Glasgow School of Art, and at Napier University, Edinburgh.
EXHIBITIONS
- Chatelherault Country Park, RPS annual exhibitions
- Scottish Photographers exhibition, Fotospace, Fife
- Monochrome exhibition, Institut Francais, Edinburgh
- ‘Back to the Present’ exhibition, Stirling Castle for Historic Scotland
- Platinum/Palladium image selected for the RPS International Photography Exhibition 165, an exhibition of 111 works by 50 contemporary photographers from around the world.
TALKS
- RPS Forum, Scotland
- David Gillanders’ ‘Gatherings’ – World War 1 project
- Camera clubs – RPS distinctions
- Glasgow School of Art – Collodion guest lecture and workshop
- Edinburgh Photographic Society – ‘Printing platinum and palladium prints, technique and projects’
COLLABORATIVE WORKING
- Carl Radford and Morven G. Stewart – Stirling Castle project
- Innes Rychlik, Edinburgh based film maker – alternative process advice and prints for her period film, ‘The Dark Box’
“ Step into a captivating display of incredible imagery and immerse yourself in an exploration of powerful human themes including identity, belonging, nature, environment and sustainability. The way that these artists have composed their shots plays with what reality really means when subjects are placed in front of the lens.
The International Photography Exhibition is the world’s longest-running photography exhibition, and now in its 165th edition, and seeks to show that photography is a universal language. Through a worldwide annual open-call, the RPS encourages everyone to participate in the art form, including new, emerging, and established photographers. The images have been selected by an expert panel including Siqi Li, Louise Fedotov, Raquel Viallar-Pérez, Àsìkò and the RPS Director of Programming, Dr. Michael Pritchard.”
Museum of Gloucester
