Success for Ian Hosker ARPS

Ian is a documentary photographer who gained the Royal Photographic Society’s Associateship distinction (ARPS) this autumn for his panel of images based on Teignmouth’s Back Beach. This area of Teignmouth has a long and distinguished maritime history dating back to at least the 1300’s. Now much diminished, it remains a ‘locals’ beach and residents take pride in preserving its distinctive character.

Ian gained his ARPS under the ‘Travel’ genre. To gain the distinction, the panel of 15 images had to not only show a high level of technical ability, it should also communicate a strong ‘sense of place’ (the RPS definition of travel photography). The images were accompanied by a narrative (Statement of Intent) that explained the context and purpose of the images.

Ian’s preferred medium is monochrome printing, as he considers this to be the most effective way of capturing and showing form and textures and while Ian prefers to work alone, feedback from peers is an important part of his development as a photographer, and he acknowledges the support and advice provided by members of SPC's Distinctions Special Interest Group.

A day on Back Beach, Teignmouth

'Teignmouth’s ‘Back Beach’ is much more than a beach. This small area has a long and distinguished maritime history. Although now much diminished, Back Beach now supports a small community whose residents have shaped their environment to suit their own way of life. It has retained some of its roots as a marine focused community and small commercial port and there are no concessions to tourists. Most visitors to the town ignore this area (except to use the foot ferry to cross the river to Shaldon), preferring to use the tourist oriented main beach, which is only 100m to the east.

The aim of this panel is to record how some of the local residents use this physical space for work and recreation. It is a glimpse into their world during a visit on a cold spring day.'

Photos from Ian's Associate panel