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April Branch Meeting: Dealing With Trauma

A Pakistani man holds his baby, both affected by last Saturday's earthquake as they wait to be airlifted to capital Islamabad for further treatment, at an army base in the northern Pakistani town of Muzaffarabad, Friday Oct. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Photojournalists – whether they report on war or traffic accidents closer to home – stand right at the frontline of reporting on violence and tragedy. At the London Photographers’ Branch meeting on Tuesday 26 April 2011 the discussion will be on Dealing With Trauma, with Gavin Rees from the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma and Associated Press (AP) photographer Lefteris Pitarakis.

North London and Herts Newspapers on strike

London Photographers’ Branch members joined General Secretary Jeremy Dear, General Secretary ElectMichelle Stanistreet and staff at North London & Herts Newspapers on the picket line this morning, on the first day of a planned two-week strike over job cuts.

An Introduction to Final Cut Pro

A course for all photographers, who wish to extend their skills base to include video editing.

Local Press Strike for Quality Journalism

From Tuesday, April 19 journalists at the north London newspaper group will go on strike over the Tindle business plan that is leaving once award-winning newspapers to dwindle and die.

Book to Raise Money for Japan Earthquake Victims

Following the devastating Tōhoku earthquake in Japan, in just one week unpaid professionals and citizen journalists got together via Twitter and Facebook and created a book to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief funds.

NUJ Delegate Meeting Report

Photographers made an excellent contribution to a packed agenda at the NUJ Delegate Meeting in Southport.

We Are Press Not Police Intelligence

In the days following the TUC “March for the Alternative” anti-cuts protest on Saturday 26 March 2011 some media outlets published rogues galleries of 18 people sought by police for questioning, with some of the images gathered from news outlets, not just CCTV. One television news report freeze-framed on a masked protestor, the narrator saying: “Do you recognise this person?”

Different government, similar restrictions on freedom

Less than 2 months after the repeal of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, the coalition government has introduced a section similar in all but name. Section 47a gives a senior police officer an authorisation to stop and search if the officer ‘…reasonably suspects that an act of terrorism will take place.’ This is marginally different from Section 44 in that there must now be a reasonable suspicion that an act of terrorism will take place, previously no reasonable grounds were required.

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Draft March Branch Minutes

Draft April Committee Minutes

March Branch Meeting: Discussing Demotix

22nd March, 2011

In the March Branch meeting, 6pm at Headland House on Tuesday 29 March, we will be holding a discussion on Demotix, the PA distribution deal and what  it means for the profession.

Solidarity with Egyptian Photographers

On a follow-up trip to Cairo, myself and Branch Secretary Jason Parkinson had a very emotional meeting with Mrs Anas, the wife of press photographer Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud who was killed by a police sniper during the Egyptian Revolution.

Derby Format 2011: Right Here, Right Now

Talks by Richard Kalvar, Chris Steele-Perkins and Grant Smith

Brutalized, then Betrayed

By Joan Connell – Republished by kind permission of Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

The sexual assault endured by CBS correspondent Lara Logan in the chaos of Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Feb. 11‚ reported in a brief statement by her employer, brings to the forefront what has been a largely private conversation among female war correspondents about the distinct hazards they face.

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Draft February Branch Minutes

Draft March Committee Minutes

Suggested Positions for LPB DM Votes

Tuesday 22 Febrauary 2011, 6pm, Headland House.

The February branch meeting discussion will look into “Tips of the Trade”, with advice for photojournalists, experience from industry freelancers and insight from those creating and finding new outlets.

Paul Delmar is a photojournalist and ex-tutor of the NCTJ Photojournalism and Press Photography course at Sheffield Norton.

Carmen Valino is a press photographer working for many local London papers including South London Press and overseas newspapers such as El Pais.

Stephen Simpson is a press photographer and head/editor of the new news agency, London News Pictures (LNP).

Sarah Lee a freelance photographer for the Guardian/Observer newspaper.

Update

Demotix CEO Turi Munthe was due to come and talk at the February Branch meeting, but unfortunately due to a mix up in days Turi will not be able to make it, as he is abroad all week. He has expressed keen interest to come in and talk about the PA issue and Demotix as a whole, so we are discussing rescheduling him to the March Branch meeting. Apologies for the mix up.

Branch Members Slideshow

As requested by our members, we have increased the image submission to five images per person and a maximum video rush of 25 seconds. All images should be sent to the branch secretary. Video can be sent via a file share site. The next branch members slideshow is pencilled in for the February branch meeting, 22 February, 6pm at Headland House.

Any motions to the branch should be sent to the branch secretary prior to the meeting.

The Egyptian Revolution Film and Photo Night

After covering the first 18-days of the Egyptian revolution, many UK photographers and video journalists have returned to London and will be screening their work in a special one night event, organised by the London Photographers’ Branch (LPB) and the British Press Photographers Association (BPPA), at the Shortwave Cinema on  Tuesday 1 March 2011.

PA to Distribute Demotix Images

Article on the PA Demotix deal.

Elections for NUJ General Secretary

The National Executive Committee of the NUJ has just announced the dates for the upcoming election of the unions’ General Secretary.

Attacks on media workers in Egypt

Many journalists, attempting to simply do their job, have been threatened, beaten and arrested. London Photographers’ Branch members Jess Hurd and Jason Parkinson were covering the Day of Rage when they were attacked by the Egyptian secret police.

Wikileaks

Members may be interested in this event in support of Wikileaks, the controversial information leaking website that “Could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act.” according to Time Magazine.

Skills Training – what do you need?

New software, new equipment, social media, multimedia, cameras that shoot Hollywood-quality video – do you need help keeping up?

Government Counter-Terrorism Review

After reading the Home Office review, it appears that the coalition government is planning to give the police new stop-and-search powers to get around the European Court of Human Rights’  S44 ruling.

Cadogan Estates Limited CCTV notice, Duke of York Square, King's Road, Chelsea. Image © Phillip Wolmuth.

Ground Control: A discussion with writer and journalist Anna Minton

25th January, 6pm at Headland House.

Street photography, which has a long and fruitful history of recording life in our shared public spaces, is under attack. The privatisation of public spaces – in London, Canary Wharf and parts of the King’s Road are good examples, but there are many more – is making it increasingly difficult for photographers to document how the world around us looks and feels in the 21st century.

Anna Minton’s book Ground Control reveals how, in recent years, “the market place has taken control from the local electorate. Now, untested urban planning has transformed not only our cities, but the very nature of public space. From Liverpool to Manchester, London to Newcastle, more and more streets are owned by private companies with the sole aim of making money”.

What can we do to re-assert the rights of the public in general, and photographers in particular (both amateur and professional), in our shared urban spaces?

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Annual General Meeting

Our meeting on the 25th January will mark a year since the start of the London Photographers’ Branch. It has been a packed year, the highlights of which you can read in the Chair’s Annual Report. We invite you all to come along and take part in the Annual General Meeting which will precede the normal monthly branch meeting with a speaker on the privatisation of public space.

6pm sharp – NUJ Headland House – drinks and nibbles provided.

We will elect a new committee, delegates to the NUJ Delegate Meeting in Southport and two branch auditors. Any member is entitled to stand for committee, however to hold a post as branch officer you have to be a full member.

Positions for 2011

(A) A chair
(B) A vice-chair
(C) A secretary to keep the records and convene meetings.
(D) Membership Secretary assists members with union membership and recruitment.
(E) A treasurer to be responsible for the funds in the care of the branch and for keeping accounts. No treasurer shall be aged under 18.
(F) A welfare officer to care for the interests of sick members and their spouses and liaise with the NUJ Extra.
(G) An equality officer to promote equality issues and provide a focus for questions and complaints arising from the code of conduct.
(H) A union learning representative focuses on branch training and education.
(I) Web Editor co-ordinates content for the branch Website, Twitter and Facebook
(J) Legal Rep assists and supports members pursuing legal issues.
(K) Non Portfolio members assist and contribute, but with no specific role.

The committee would encourage members to think about how they can contribute to the branch, we are very happy to have job-shares for committee positions, absolutely no experience necessary, we are all learning on the job! Feel free to contact committee members for details.

Candidates standing as branch officers will be allowed to address the Branch meeting prior to the election for a maximum of five minutes and questions can be asked of any candidate.

We will also briefly discuss amendments to the Delegate Meeting motions, which will decide the union policy over the next year/18 months. This is a very important meeting, I urge all members to do their best to attend.

Thanks again to all the out-going committee for their hard work and commitment to the work of the branch.

Jess Hurd, LPB Branch Chair

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Christmas Party

14th December 6pm at Headland House.

Our last meeting of the year will be a short one to deal with branch business, before adjourning to the pub for some festive drinks and mince pies. We will also be running a slideshow of members best images and videos of the year. Send no more than 3 JPEGs at least 2000px on the longest side or 3 video clips, no longer than 15 seconds each 720×576 16:9 to jasonnparkinson@gmail.com.

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International Affairs – A panel discussion on working abroad

Tuesday 30th November, 6pm at Headland House.

The November Branch meeting will look at international issues for journalists. With advice for photographers working in foreign countries from our panel:

• Jim Boumelha (IFJ President) will present a motion in solidarity with Palestinian journalists and give a talk about the benefits of International Federation of Journalists membership to camera people working abroad.
• Guy Smallman (Branch committee member) will offer advice on working in dangerous environments based on his experiences in Lebanon and Afghanistan. He will illustrate his talk with some of his photos.
• Isabelle Merminod (Branch committee member) will show some world exclusive images from a women’s prison in the Philippines following on from last months motion passed by the branch.
• Fil Kaler (Branch member) will show his short film about journalists working in occupied Palestine.

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Will Street Photography still be around in five years time?

Tuesday 26th October, 6pm at Headland House.

At this month’s branch meeting we will have an expert panel talking about whether the ConDem government will defend photographer rights over the next five years. Speakers will talk about the subject from their area of expertise before the discussion is opened to the floor.

• Chez Cotton – Head of Action Against the Police at Bindmans Solicitors & a co-ordinator of the Police Action Lawyers Group.
• Jeremy Dear – General Secretary, National Union of Journalists.
• Grant Smith – Award-winning architectural photographer and one of the organisers of the ‘I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist‘ campaign group.
• Anna Mazzola – Solictor at Hickman & Rose specialising in public law (judicial review); human rights; actions against the police and other detaining authorities; and information and data protection law.
• Andrew Testa – Award-winning protest and conflict photographer.

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Next Branch Meeting: How to Pitch Video

6pm, Tuesday 28th September at Headland House.

Branch member and video journalist Jason Parkinson will show a short, yet-to-be published film documenting the devastating effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the local fishing communities and lead a discussion on how to pitch video stories, especially when the story is off the radar.

Any motions to the branch should be sent to the branch secretary prior to the meeting.

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Next Branch Meeting, 27th July: Finding Stolen Images

London Freelance Branch Secretary Mike Holderness will give a visual presentation offering tips on how to use the internet to locate images which have been used without permission and identify who is culpable for the bill. Another speaker on the same subject TBA.

Any motions to the branch should be sent to the branch secretary prior to the meeting.

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