Celebrating Excellence By Victor Gittens
A BPS exhibition held at the Embassy of Argentina
July 17th to August 31st 2027
The opening night of this exhibition was indeed one of celebration, but sadly, also one of heart-felt loss, as the death of one of the Barbados’ living heroes, The most Honorable Sir Garfield Sobers was remembered with a moment of respectful silence.
In his welcoming remarks Ambassador, His Excellency Ciro Luciano Ciliberto Infante indicated that there was always a place for BPS exhibitions on the walls of the Embassy. He also said that he treasured the two original photographs by BPS photographers which were presented to him in the previous year.
Bradley Benskin, BPS President, thanked the Ambassador for the ongoing partnership between the Embassy of Argentina and The Barbados Photographic Society. He noted that the exhibition Celebrating Excellence was featuring the photos that were entered in the World Photographic Cup 2026, as well as the images exhibited in the Special Wild Life Showcase recently held at the British High Commission in Barbados.
The event was well attended, attracting family and friends of the exhibiting photographers and members of BPS. The appreciative attendees were treated to Argentinian wines, other beverages and delicacies, compliments of the Embassy.
The photographers who were exhibiting on the night are :
- Alex Greenidge
- Alison Elliot
- Antonio Cheltenham
- Bradley Benskin
- Charles Mcclean
- Cheryl Small
- Hugh Walker
- Jennifer Gonsalves
- Kurk Rouse
- Niaz Dokrat
- Nicole Phillips
- Stephen Cumberbatch
- Sybil Edghill
These photographers gave brief comments on their work for this article posted on the BPS website. Though not present at the opening, Niaz provided an explanation of the painstaking process that was involved in creating his “Best of Country” photo in the in the 2026 World Photographic Cup in Icland.
Bradley Benskin
Bradley’s photo ably tells the story as described by the title “Grease and Grit”. He explained that in his formative years he grew up interacting with this neighborhood mechanic and credits him with teaching him all that he knows about mechanics.
On a recent visit to his childhood hometown, he took the opportunity to photograph this gentleman, still at work at his lifelong occupation. The photo tells a story of determination, and dedication to his craft, in an environment of “grease and Grit”.
Antonio Cheltenham
Antonio’s intriguing image on the wall definitely required some interpretation on a number of levels. He said that photo was an expression of his exploration into relationships between things and also relationship among persons. Specifically, he wanted to explore how space dictates relationships.
He explained that “normally one would expect a rose to be placed in a vase, but I separated the flower from the vase. Then I asked myself, does space really dictate relationships between things and between persons in our lives”
On the technical level, Antonio said that he was not giving away all of the photographic techniques he used to create the stunning image. However, he hinted that he used several lights to show the contrast between black and white, as a relationship, that characterizes his image.
Niaz Dokrat
Niaz was not able to attend the opening of the exhibition however, he shared the process he used to create this image called “Don’t Use Drugs
This above image was created by compositing multiple images of incense smoke. Basically, it started with me taking a few hundred shots of smoke from an incense stick.
The next step was to meticulously go through and look for any images that could possibly fit as a component of the desired image, in this case anything that resembled a body part e.g. the shoulder.
The next step was to arrange these images into the composite and mask out any unwanted parts like the incense stick or any stray smoke that would make the image messy.
Also, because the image is mostly symmetrical, it was just a matter of finding images for one side of the body and mirroring them but allowing for some overlap that would add extra details and texture.
Sybil Edghill
This photo arose out of the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time and Sybil’s immediate recognition of the opportunity to tell the story of motherly care and nurturing in the world of the Barbados Green monkey.
Stephen Cumberbatch
This photo was a capture of the birds snuggling together, their bright colours made them stand out on the contrasting log on which they stood. What made it even more attractive was seeing the texture of their feathers and the texture of the log.
Jenny Gonsalves
Jenny is known for producing very interesting and unusual artwork. She said that this piece had its genesis while on a hike through a dry watercourse, where she came across the bleached skull of a cow. In her mind’s eye she immediately saw the potential for an intriguing artistic creation.
With the use of various software programs, she processed the original capture to create this interesting final image.
Nicole Phillips
Nicole exhibited four photos in the exhibition. The one seen on the wall behind her captures the essence of popular protest. She said that the event was about “Women’s Solidarity”. The second photo continued the theme of protest, telling the story of “Self Determination” as a force, which came to the fore at the time of the Black Lives Matter marches in USA.
Her other two photos were equally deserving as great images among others on the wall of the gallery.
Hugh Walker
Hugh’s seascape fine art image was taken at Bathsheba on the east coast of Barbados. He said that his photo was taken early one morning. On that particular morning the sunrise was lovely. This is a long exposure shot because I wanted to achieve an image with smooth water and the rocks standing out boldly.
He advised that one cannot achieve an image like that one unless photographer takes the pain to get out of bed very early and get to the location well before sunrise.
Cheryl Small
TITLE: THE CHIEF
Taken at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, this adult male Barbados Green Monkey was observed quietly watching the others in his ‘Tribe’ during feeding time..
Using a zoom lens, I was able to capture the pensive portrait just as he focused on me.
Alison Elliot
An outing and train ride at St Nicholas Abbey with many photo opportunities on offer but it turned out that my favourite photo taken was of a single flowering lily set apart from the others in an old sugar teche. The light was on the flower at just the right angle so that it seemed to radiate out from the heart of the flower. Beautiful in its original colours but more dramatic in black and white in its simplicity whilst retaining the original light at play.
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Giselle Walker – Curator
Our resident BPS curator, Giselle Walker, was responsible for putting together this well-appointed exhibition. In responding to the question, what went into curating this exhibition, she said that the main challenge was to blend the photos submitted from two pervious separate exhibitions so that they conformed to the present theme “Celebrating Excellence”. Essentially, curating involves selecting quality artwork and then determining how the pieces will flow on the exhibition walls. BPS is grateful for her expertise and dedication to the task.
Watch the highlights on Youtube
