A warm thanks to Neil for his outstanding talk last Wednesday, 26th March 2025.
Neil provided an excellent overview of different aspects of his photography, including People and Street, ‘Candids’ and Still Life, concentrating on his Surreal Abstracts and Minimalism work. Neil shared his “obsessive ideas” such as Metallographs, Household Geometry, Frames and Red. Examples can be seen below.
He finds it best to work in sets and highlighted where an image is better presented as a print rather than projected – hats off to that! It was refreshing to see his minimalist, humorous and beautifully photographed work, mostly made with simple, everyday objects, natural light, cards of various shades and the merest hint of post-processing. One of the most memorable insights in your author’s opinion was Neil’s view that “… competition judges just don’t get simple images…” It is hard to disagree with that! In fact, Neil now aims his work very much towards Salons and Exhibitions rather than club competitions and, even today, he can feel delighted when his work is selected and disappointed if it is not. It is a credit to him that his passion is still so strong.
His ” A B C”:
Amuse…
Bemuse…
Confuse…
Neil also shared some definitions to establish his photographic philosophy:
Minimalism reduces its objects to the smallest amount of shapes, colours and textures in order to establish a needed effect.
Abstract art is art that does not attempt to accurately depict a visual reality but instead uses shapes, colours, and forms to achieve its effect.
Surrealism is a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example, by the irrational juxtaposition of images:
”As beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting-table of a sewing-machine and an umbrella”
It was an inspiring evening enjoyed by all in attendance. To see more of Neil’s work, here is his website. Enjoy!
https://www.neilscottphotos.co.uk
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