Member Profile: Gary Rogers

About me:

Do you consider yourself a Professional/Semi-Pro/Amateur/Beginner photographer?

I am an enthusiastic amateur and always will be. I have no wish to make money from my images even if I was good enough and looking after my grandchildren and my other hobby (fishing) severely curtails the time I have for photography. Getting shortlisted by TSOP is good enough for me.

Who are you?

My name is Gary. I am 75-years-old and live near Rochester in Kent, UK. I am a retired Metallurgist who worked in the Steel and Aluminium industries for 50 years. Originally from South Wales, my career took me to Derby to work in the aerospace industry and then to Kent in the motor industry. When I retired I was working as an auditor providing quality, environmental and health and safety certification to the reinforcing steel industry worldwide. I spend 3 days a week looking after my two grandsons with my wife of 50 years.

Tell us about your photography journey.

This started back in the seventies when my wife bought me a Praktika F35(?) SLR camera. Mainly used for holiday snapshots of my wife and two children, I slowly realised there was more to photography than snapshots and began to realise the importance of composition. However, as my career developed and family demands increased as the children grew up, my photographic journey stalled. My first encounter with digital cameras came on holiday in Sri Lanka in 2006. My wife and I were at the Tooth Festival in Kandy. This festival takes place at night and includes garlanded dancers with flame torches and lots of elephants decked out in chains of electric lights. Quite a sight! I was there with my trusty Praktica trying to guess the correct exposure and sitting next to a man with the latest digital camera. I could see his photos and watched him deleting the poor ones and adjusting the exposure settings to get the perfect shots. My photos were disappointing. I had to get a digital camera. As soon as finances allowed I bought a second hand Nikon D50 with 6 Mp and not looked back since. I returned to photography as a hobby after retirement in 2018, when my family bought me a Nikon D5500 with an 18 to 105mm lens. I subscribed to a camera magazine which helped my development significantly and where I stumbled across TSOP. I joined TSOP in Dec 2023 (I think) and I am almost tempted to say that along with Photoshop and Lightroom it has been life changing. I have completed many of the courses provided by TSOP, starting with Photoshop and Lightroom and they are all brilliant. So informative and easy to follow. My powers of concentration are no longer as good as they were, so to have the TSOP courses to hand as a source of reference is wonderful. My equipment has also expanded to include macro and zoom lenses and also a Panasonic bridge camera which is great for taking “upmarket” snapshots.

What is your preferred genre?

like using overlays to create backgrounds to my flower images. Mobility is becoming more of an issue for me although I do try to get out and about as much as I can. However, I find the monthly assignments from TSOP particularly enjoyable because it makes me think outside of my comfort zone and I enjoy the challenge. I suffer from a lack of creativity and my imagination is poor. I often miss good photo opportunities because I didn’t “see” the photo. TSOP assignments give me the ideas to go out and look.

What inspires you to create photography?

I want to be recognised as a good photographer and I enjoy entering competitions to try and achieve this. I am quite competitive and get a great buzz from doing well. I was shortlisted at the IGPOTY competition in 2024 with my abstract image of a Marigold.

Who are some other photographers you’re inspired by?

There are so many great photographers out there, many of which I have watched in TSOP. I suppose Molly Holman and Jack Lodge are two that particularly spring to mind. Some of the images posted by my peers in TSOP are so good and act as another source of inspiration and ideas.

Describe the first photo you took during your learning journey.

I joined TSOP in Dec 2023 using the members page. I can’t find the early submissions. I joined the TSOP Facebook group in early 2026 so I have submitted one of those early ones (image 1). I have also submitted a more recent one (image 2). Both are images of flowers and I think show significant improvement in composition and presentation. I use overlays on a lot of my flower images using techniques learnt from Molly Holman and other flower photographers. I also think a lot more about my images before submitting them for peer review and judging. I am more particular now about what I submit and I have become a stickler for detail.

What is your favourite photograph that you’ve taken?

My favourite photo is not necessarily my best but I just love the autumn colours (image 3). I stumbled across this view on my way to the White Mountains Resort in New Hampshire. It was autumn in New England and this view just blew me away. I had taken my Panasonic FZ 200 bridge camera on this holiday. I had to stop and take the picture. Settings were f4, 1/200 secs and ISO 160. I didn’t have Photoshop or Lightroom in those days but if I had I would have removed the bush on the left-hand side, which is a distraction I think.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned from TSOP?

The technical side of photography and post processing is relatively straightforward and I can take a good picture. However to take a great picture requires creativity and imagination, qualities I struggle with. I am not sure these qualities can be taught. Still, I will keep trying because it is so much fun and I enjoy the challenge.

What’s next for Gary?

I want to spend more time photographing wildlife, probably birds because these are relatively easy to find and often at home. I live amongst some lovely countryside with woodland and wildflower meadows. I need to get out amongst them more and use Jack Lodge’s advice to take great woodland photos. As my grandchildren get older I should have more time to do this.

Conclusion

Photography and post-processing is a big part of my life and I am driven to get better and produce images which get accolades from my peers and judges. This is tough because there are great amateur photographers out there all wishing to do the same. Many of these are TSOP members who provide inspiration and competition. I love watching the TSOP course and following along with them to get better images.

Where can people follow you?

My Instagram is @grog_images. However I am not very good with social media so I don’t keep it updated as often as I should.