Following the success of Amateur Photographer’s Festivals of Photography on outdoor and documentary photography, we are pleased to announce that the next festival will take place at the University of Greenwich in London on January 31st.
This latest festival brings together leading photographers and creatives for a series of talks, panels, and live demonstrations exploring the latest in portrait, fashion and content creation.
Set against the backdrop of one of London’s most iconic riverside campuses, this third Amateur Photographer Festival of Photography is your chance to learn from, and be inspired by, leading photographers as they share their experiences.
See below for more on the inspiring speaker line-up, and how to save money on ticket prices with our time-limited early bird offer!
Key speakers confirmed so far
Fred and Harry Borden
Top portrait photographer Harry Borden has photographed hundreds of faces famous during his long career, for the likes of Time Magazine, Vogue and the New Yorker. He is a double World Press photo winner, and the National Portrait Gallery has over 100 of his prints in their permanent collection.
In 2023 he teamed up with his son Fred to set up a hugely successful YouTube channel where he shares the stories behind his portraits of everyone from Hilary Clinton and Keir Starmer to Daniel Radcliffe and The Spice Girls. In this talk Harry reflects on his work and, with Fred, discusses their YouTube journey and what they have learned along the way.
Dean Chalkley
Since picking up a camera for the iconic Dazed & Confused magazine in the mid 90s, Dean Chalkley has become one of the UK’s leading documentarians of British subculture, as well as an acclaimed music photographer whose plaudits include winning NME’s Outstanding Contribution to Music Photography Award, He has worked with a raft of fashion brands as well as the likes of Virgin, Sony Music and Universal Pictures.
Dean’s portraits range from underground pioneers to pop stars and have appeared in the The Observer, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times and other top publications. His love of sartorial style has inspired some of his most notable projects, including Return of the Rudeboy, an immersive exhibition at Somerset House. As a filmmaker, Dean explores individuals and communities on the fringes of British culture.
Dean’s recent book Back in Ibiza 1998–2003 brings together a carefully curated selection from his extensive archive documenting Ibiza’s club culture at the turn of the century.
Amanda Akokhia
Young British Nigerian fashion and beauty photographer Amanda turned her back on a career in law to pursue her passion for photography, opening her first studio at the age of just 24. Since then she has forged a highly successful career, with an award-winning portfolio that spans fashion editorials, beauty shoots, brand campaigns, and personal branding projects.
Beyond photography Amanda is passionate about using her platform to amplify underrepresented voices and champion inclusivity and diversity. Her work embodies collaboration, acceptance, and growth, making her a role model for emerging creatives.
Drew Gardner
For over 20 years Drew has been recreating famous paintings of historical figures using their real-life descendants, but for his most recent project recreating portraits of Black American Civil War soldiers he used an authentic Victorian technology of the period.
The Civil War Descendants project took four years to complete, and Drew will share the incredible story behind it – from working with the WikiTree US Black Heritage geneology project to find archive photos of named black soldiers, to tracing their descendants, recreating the costumes using authentic materials, and the challenge of working with a vintage photographic process.
Ron Timehin
Award-winning photographer and director Ron will give a behind-the-scenes look at his approach to telling compelling stories centred on identity, community, and culture. His work includes the documentary film Fortitude, which examines what it means to be Black and British, and Dove’s Reclaiming School Picture Day campaign that contributed to changing UK law on race-based hair discrimination.
In this talk Ron, a Sony Ambassador, will share insights from his projects across the UK, Ghana, Brazil, Morocco, and India. These include his photographic coverage of the Holi Festival and community life, as well as impactful images from the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. He will also share a personal photography project, which looks to explore the intersection of being Gay, Black and British – and what it means to be a double-minority.
Denise Maxwell
Dr. Denise Maxwell is a multi-genre photographer covering subjects as diverse as sports, fashion, events, portraits and photojournalism. She has photographed some of the most well-known people in the world including Barak Obama and Usain Bolt, and covered events such as the BAFTAs, Brit Awards and Commonwealth Games. Clients include Uber, Google, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the BBC.
Denise travels extensively around the UK teaching photographers how to set up multiple streams of income, and is a passionate advocate of offering mentoring and shadowing experiences for young, emerging photographers on real life commissions.
Miles Myerscough-Harris
Analogue enthusiast Miles started the Expired Film Club during the pandemic and then started documenting his film photography journey on social media as he began experimenting with ever-more weird and wonderful cameras and film. He now has over 3 million followers across his social media channels, where he posts the results from his film shoots, particularly specialising in sport and music.
In this talk he will be sharing his story and his adventures with analogue cameras and films, including some of the interesting and unusual ones that he has enjoyed using. He will also discuss his astronomical rise on social media, and what it takes to succeed in the ‘attention economy.’
Don’t miss these engaging panel discussions, too
- Working in video
Visual creator Jon Devo chairs a panel discussion of young professionals working in various areas of the film and video industry, from social media to TV production. They will be talking about their journeys into the business, the day to day realities of what they do, and sharing advice for anyone wishing to build a career in this rapidly growing industry. - A career in news and reportage photography
Award-winning writer and photojournalist Peter Dench talks to two young photographers making waves in the competitive world of press photography, to discover their journeys and share their insights. James Manning is a staff photographer at the Press Association whose images have appeared widely in the national press, while Ethan Parker has won awards and plaudits for his compelling social documentary work, including AP’s own Emerging Photographer of the Year Award.
Book your discounted early bird tickets today!
From now until November 23rd, you can get a full access ticket for the discounted price of £22.99 – a saving of £17. Hurry though, as we expect early bird tickets to sell out fast. Click here for full details. We look forward to seeing you in Greenwich!
