A Day in Plymouth with the RPS

I signed up for a one-day workshop in Plymouth with the Royal Photographic Society, and as I headed down on the train, the rain was pouring. I found myself asking, Why am I doing this? And, as usual, the answer came quickly: Because I’m curious.

Curiosity is such a vital part of life. It drives us to explore new experiences, encourages creativity, and promotes critical thinking. As I grow older, I hope to hang onto that inquisitiveness—because I’m convinced it’s key to maintaining a positive outlook on life.

By the time I arrived at the Barbican, I was thoroughly soggy. But I eventually found the group and we headed off to begin our task for the day: using only our phone cameras to capture a set of cohesive images that we would then turn into a zine. All in one day!

Creating with the Unexpected

Fortunately, the rain eased, and the sun emerged just in time. I found myself drawn to the reflections—of boats, buildings, and the ever-changing harbour water.

There was something meditative about focusing on these small visual moments.

But this wasn’t just about taking beautiful photos. We were encouraged to think differently: to look for images that would work together—paired or grouped in quartets—on the pages of a zine. This was quite a shift from my usual approach and made me pause to consider what I really wanted to create.

I started with a familiar idea: look for a colour! And it was yellow and red that sprung out to begin with:

I walked further along the Barbican as the rain clouds threatened and my time was running out:

Other colours emerged as the waters calmed:

I then had a play with ICM (intentional camera movement) which is a bit hit and miss with a phone camera. I have to use an app called Camera FV-5 but I do like the expressionist abstract effects that it leads to:

Learning a New Process

Back at the workshop space, we were introduced to SHRIMPZINE, a free web-based tool designed for making zines right from your phone. At first, it was surprisingly straightforward. I quickly created a blank zine and uploaded a selection of my morning’s images.

And then… my perfectionism kicked in. I’m used to carefully editing my photos, tweaking every detail. But there simply wasn’t time for that. I had to let go of those niggling doubts and just trust the process.

The Art of Letting Go

Next came the challenge of curation—deciding which photos to include, how to sequence them, and which ones worked best together on a double-page spread. I focused on pairing images with similar colour palettes and limited myself to one or two per page to avoid visual clutter. That meant letting go of some favourites, which was harder than expected!

Adjusting image sizes and placements on a small phone screen was a bit fiddly—doing it on a tablet might have helped—but I reminded myself that this wasn’t about perfection. It was about learning something new.

And by the end of the afternoon… I had a printed zine in my hands!

As I walked back towards the station, it was getting dark. The lights were coming on and the scene around the harbour changed again. The start of the next zine maybe?

Why Curiosity Matters

I left feeling proud—not just of the little zine I’d created, but of the fact that I’d been curious and brave enough to try something unfamiliar. That willingness to step into the unknown, despite the rain, the doubts, and the imperfect tools, led to a joyful creative experience. Sometimes, that’s all it takes: a spark of curiosity and a willingness to get a little soggy.

Some ideas to follow up:

Create a Cohesive Body of Work workshop by Charlotte Bellamy

A video on Create an ezine using Shrimp Zine

If you want to see the photos fullsize, click on one and scroll through them.

#RPSworkshops; #zinemaking; #barbicanreflections; #plymouthphotography