Who will be at focus?

[Roger Hicks]

Who will be at Focus at the NEC? I'm planning on being there Sunday and Monday, barring mishap.

Cheers,

R.

 

[alien]

I am thinking about it...although it was very disappointing last year.

If there is a chance to meet up with feloow analogies though....

Where would be a good meeting point?

 

[catem]

I would go if it was close and if it hadn't got so digital.

Also last time I went I spent too much (but then it was on discounted Kentmere Art Classic and Kentona, although not a lot cheaper when you add in the costs of getting there/refreshments etc.!)

 

[Bob F.]

Those coming from the south-east (or anyone fancying an extra 40 mile drive down the M42/M40) could combine it with this ((there was a url link here which no longer exists)) Michael Kenna exhibition in Banbury.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Brian Jeffery]

If only I'd known about this earlier. I've got a visit to Silverprint planned instead

God help my wallet,

Brian

 

[mikeg]

I'll be there on the Sunday.

I went last year and for those who are solely analogue then it's probably not worth it -- although Les' toning session on the Ilford stand was good fun.

If you're a secret digi user then there's loads to keep you occupied.

Mike

 

[David Lingham]

I have to agree with Mike. I've been the previous 2 years and you do have to look harder to find to find non-digi products. One tip is to take a packed lunch and take a break outside the hall.

 

[Curt]

Roger, what does NEC mean? Is this the place?
http://www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk/exhibitors.htm

 

[David H. Bebbington]

NEC= National Exhibition Centre, which as you have discovered is in beautiful sun-drenched Birmingham.

Regards.

David

 

[Curt]

Thanks David, I was seeing it but didn't know what it was. I haven't been to England yet but my great grandparents are from England and my great grand parents on my mothers side are from Scotland and Ireland, head of those? Anyone know of a McCumber in Scotland?

 

[RH Designs]

Who will be at Focus at the NEC? I'm planning on being there Sunday and Monday, barring mishap.

Cheers,

R.

I'm planning to be there on the Monday.

 

[tim rudman]

I'm planning to be there on the Monday.

I'll be there sunday, monday - and possibly for the duration - at Ilford stand
Tim

 

[mikeg]

I have to agree with Mike. I've been the previous 2 years and you do have to look harder to find to find non-digi products. One tip is to take a packed lunch and take a break outside the hall.

Good idea about the lunch.

I had a thought about last year and it perhaps wasn't that bad but as David said you do have to look hard. If you're after a new tripod, bag etc then there's just about every item there on the market. Robert White were there last year so if you're into RF or large format you can spend a while chatting to them. I've got a V/L Bessa R2 so it was interesting looking at the newer Bessas and the 1:1 viewfinder. I stocked up on chemicals from Fotospeed. Arempublishing had a lot for analogue photogs so I brought a load of paper and the new Ilford developers, but sadly they've gone bust so won't be there this year. Mr Cad had some interesting second hand/"junk" on their stand!

Admittedly, there are rows of stands dedicated to wedding and portrait photogs, plus loads of stuff for digi and lens fondler's but still an interesting day out. A word of advice though, get there early it gets quite crowded by lunchtime.

Mike

 

[Mark Pope]

I'm hoping to be there on the Monday. Shan't be doing too much lens fondling though.

One thing I find odd is how many people come to the show with HUGE bags of kit. It's not like there's much to photograph. Perhaps taking tons of gear is viewed by some as a sort of badge of office.

 

[xtype]

Panoramic chrysotypes will be on exhibition throughout the week at stand E70 - Siderotype.com - also cyanotypes and the new books by Mike Ware - Please stop by for a chat and introduce yourself as an APUG subscriber!

 

[Tom Kershaw]

The 4 hour each way train ride put me off. That line must take a very indirect route.

Tom.

 

[Bob F.]

The 4 hour each way train ride put me off. That line must take a very indirect route.

Tom.

Same thing happens by road: you see NEC direction signs on the M40 and you think: "Oh goody - nearly there". Ha! You still find yourself passing "NEC This Way" signs several hours later...

The NEC exists in a space/time continuum all of its own. Professor Rincewind of Unseen Uni. has shown that, as mass = energy and that energy = heat, and as a sodding great stonking amount of heat is generated when people find out how much it costs them to park at least a mile away from the actual exhibition halls in the freezing, soul-sapping Midlands drizzle, the gravitational force generated by all those overheated, irritated brains reaches a critical mass, causing the surrounding area to collapse in on itself with an event-horizon encompassing the entire Birmingham metropolitan area (which, in itself, explains a great deal about Birmingham that is otherwise inexplicable).

Hence the long train journey.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Dave Miller]

Thanks for that Bob; I wondered why I wasn't going.

 

[BarryWilkinson]

I called into Mr Cad yesterday. He said that he has pulled out of Focus this year for the first time since it started. He implied that the people now visiting Focus were not the type of customer interested in his type of photography.

I don't see Robert White on the exhibitors list.

Barry

 

[Simon E]

I had toyed with the idea of going, but fighting through the melee of digi-fondlers to say hi to the Ilford team and visit a few other stands just doesn't seem worth the effort.

Oh, but I've just found out that David Ward will doing an intro to LF courtesy of BJP magazine... no, that's something I really can't try just now! PDF - talks at The Hub, stand Q20. The Focus website has a PDF floorpland and list of exhibitors.

Anyone arriving by car might like to consider the following note on the Focus website:

"The NEC charge £7 for car parking" <gulp!>

 

[xtype]

We will have 80 sheets of A4 Buxton paper on the Siderotpe.com stand - E70 - not a pixel or memory stick in sight! Books and prints only.

Any Anthotype printers out there? Please bring a few prints or at least stop by for a chat - I'm putting together an exhibition in Brighton for this Summer.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Roger Hicks]

Panoramic chrysotypes will be on exhibition throughout the week at stand E70 - Siderotype.com - also cyanotypes and the new books by Mike Ware - Please stop by for a chat and introduce yourself as an APUG subscriber!

Dear Paul,

I'll try to be at your stand (if you don't mind!) at 1400 Sunday and 1100 Monday, if anyone else wants to be there at the same time for a mini-gathering.

Cheers,

R.

 

[xtype]

So... for all of you that didn't visit Focus, a short report:

Many photographers, faced with handmade prints, admitted to being 'forced' into digital photography by the industry. There is plenty of support for darkroom work out there, especially from students.

The prospect of taking days to produce a finished print was not met with disbelief - having digital prints displayed next to iron-type prints allowed even absolute amateurs to note the qualities that make a hand-made object superior.

Film cameras! - they were there for sale!

It was a great show - thank you to everyone who stopped in.

Paul