Ripon City Photographic Society is delighted to partner with Ripon Library to showcase a selection of members’ photographs—chosen by public vote.
The images now displayed on the library stairway were originally part of the annual RCPS Photographic Exhibition, a well-loved event held each year at Allhallowgate Methodist Church Hall in late August/early September.
In summer 2025, members submitted more than 120 prints and nearly 60 digital entries. Throughout the exhibition, visitors were invited to vote for their three favourite images. The eight highest scoring prints are the ones you’ll find on the stairway today. These will rotate throughout 2026 to highlight more of the Society’s outstanding work.
Thank you for your interest in the Staircase Exhibition. To learn more about the photographs currently on display, please read on…
Diagonal Hopscotch
Photographed by Richard Egan
June 2022
This image was 12 months in the planning to find a location that would fit with the ballerina, with the idea that the ballerina should look like a poppy — especially taken to highlight remembrance day on the 11th of November.
Location: The Thicket Priory, York (by kind permission of the owner) Ballerina: Erica Mulkern Medium: Digital Print captured on Fuji X-T2 70mm Lens F2.8 1/30th second ISO 400 Natural light
Richard Egan is a highly esteemed photographer who travels extensively to deliver captivating talks on his photographic journey. What distinguishes Richard is that he gives every penny raised through his presentations to renowned cancer charities
Kingfisher with Catch
Photographed by Peter Rushton
June 2025
Having recently started my journey into wildlife photography, the kingfisher was a bird I had rarely seen in the wild and wanted to photograph. I had the opportunity to go to a wildlife hide for a few hours and this resulted in capturing a series of images of these birds.
Location: Aberford West Yorkshire
Medium: Digital Print, captured on OM system OM1 40-150 lens F2.8 Exposure 1/5000 sec ISO 1250
Two Generations
Photographed by Leonard Shepherd
September 2024
This image of a little girl at the steam fair captures a moment while she was still happy. Her father explained he expected trouble later as he had only four batteries for the car – and three had already been used! I chose to convert the image from colour to black & white to enhance the ambience of the finished result. I feel the use of the diagonal line of the car, Grandad and the steam engine behind also help, as does the word “steam” on an enthusiasts overall on the
right.
Location: Hunton Steam Gathering nr Bedale, North Yorkshire
Medium: Digital Print, captured with Nikon Z8 24-120 lens at 44mm
Stairway to Heaven
Photographed by Bill Swan
June 2025
An outside stairway at the heart of the world’s largest pit village — Woodhorn Colliery, Northumberland. Over 2,000 men worked these seams between 1894 to 1981, carving out 600,000 tonnes of coal each year. But the pit also held sorrow: eleven miners lost their lives in the 1916 disaster, a memory that still echoes through the site. The intention of my photograph is to pay respect to that awful event. Today, the colliery stands still and quiet. The stairway leads the eye upward — as if toward a gentler sky. Homage is also paid to the memory of the miners in the iconic display of amateur artwork, known as the Ashington Group, or Pitmen Painters — a permanent display housed at the museum.
Location: Woodhorn Colliery Museum, Ashington, Northumberland
Medium: Digital Print, captured on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24-70mm lens; the moon with a 150-600mm lens
Title Glenfinnan Viaduct
Photographed by Martin Nicholson
May 2025
The Jacobite Steam Train steaming across the iconic 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct. In the hush of the Highlands, history comes alive as the train appears and makes its way across the viaduct. Traveling from Fort William to Mallaig on an 84-mile round trip through some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery, the Jacobite isn’t simply a journey; it’s a moment of history, of nostalgia, winding through incredible Scottish scenery. It’s more than a train ride; it’s a moment that invites you to pause, admire, and even become part of the story. This photograph is my way of inviting you into that moment.
Location: Glenfinnan Viaduct, The Highlands, Scotland
Medium: Digital Print, Captured with OM-1 Series 2 OM 40-150mm lens F2.8
Marking Safe Haven
Photographed by David Warner
December 2024
The day after Storm Daragh we still had strong northerly winds and I thought any structure on the North Sea coast would have potential for some superb images if I could find enough shelter. Fortunately I was able to find a semi-sheltered place to take the picture from as I was struggling to stand up in the winds on the headland. In the frame I wanted to try and capture the feeling of the wildness of the storm and the power of the sea. It was one of those hairs on the back of the neck moments. I had never seen such a powerful sea.
Location: Seaham, Co Durham
Medium: Digital Print, captured on Canon EOS 5Dsr EF400mm Lens F11 1/120sec ISO 1000
Corn Exchange, Leeds
Photograph taken by Stuart Ward
October 2018
This wide-angle perspective draws the viewer into the vast, curvinginterior of the historic Leeds Corn Exchange, revealing its grand architecture in a single sweeping glance. The lens exaggerates the arc of the balconies and the rise of the domed roof, emphasising how space, light and structure interact within the iconic Victorian landmark.
Location: Corn Exchange, Leeds.
Medium: Digital Print, captured on Canon 5D MK IV 12-24mm Lens, F4 1/30sec ISO 400
Blowin’ in the Wind
Photograph taken by Stuart Ward
April 2020
This photograph captures the moment a dandelion releases its seeds to the wind. By freezing this moment, the image reveals the beauty of a natural mechanism often overlooked — the dandelion trusting the breeze to carry its future forward.
Location: Aldfield, North Yorkshire
Medium: Digital Print, captured on Canon 5D MK IV 100-400mm Lens, F6.3 1/250sec ISO 1250