Barbados Photographic Society

"Exhibition - Celebrate Excellence - July 2026"

“An exhibition is in many ways a series of conversations. Between the artist and viewer, curator and viewer, and between the works of art themselves. It clicks when an exhibition feels like it has answered some questions, and raised even more.” -  Thelma Golden, American art curator 

It’s been a busy 2026 so far, and I’m honestly loving it. “Exhibition season” continues in full swing. My year started with one exhibition, “Black and White Moments” at the Caribbean Brushstrokes Gallery in Bridgetown, Barbados. And now, a few months later, I’m exhibiting with the Barbados Photographic Society (BPS) once again. This time, the BPS is collaborating with the Embassy of Argentina, hosted by His Excellency Ambassador Ciro Luciano Ciliberto Infante. This exhibition, entitled “Celebrating Excellence”, covers a range of recent achievements and milestones for the organization. And celebrate, we did!

Event Poster For Barbados Photographic Society, in collaboration with the Embassy of Argentina, “Celebrating Excellence”. July 2026.

The gallery space, just before opening on Jul 17.

First, the BPS recognized and extended invitations to those members who had participated in recent exhibitions, including “Black and White”. Second, the BPS highlighted the work of those who participated in the British High Commission’s Special Showcase, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Finally, the exhibition celebrated Barbados’ inaugural participation in the World Photographic Cup (WPC). The WPC is the leading international team photography competition, sometimes referred to as the “photographic equivalent of the Olympic Games” because photographers compete as a team rather than as individuals. In 2025, Barbados received an invitation to participate, making us the first and only English-speaking Caribbean country to join the competition to date. Team Barbados submitted 30 images across 10 categories from 12 photographers. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you may know that yours truly was a member of the 13-person squad (i.e. 12 photographers and 1 judge). Every single image submitted by Team Barbados made it through the validation and judging processes.

While we didn’t win the top prize or place, it is important to celebrate the other wins: getting to showcase our work on the international stage, presenting a full set of 30 images, a commendation for our first-time judge on her stellar work, and having one of our own crowned with a Best of Nation title. Congratulations to Niaz Dokrat, winner of the Best of Nation, Barbados. This exhibition highlights the range and depth of his work, including a special feature of his winning entry, “Don’t Do Drugs”, and a beautiful print from his recent trip to represent the BPS at the WPC Awards ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland. Indeed, the BPS and by extension, Barbados, have made significant strides over the years, but the growth continues.

In addition to the usual canvas, paper and acrylic prints, this exhibition also included a virtual presentation on Opening Night, where friends, supporters and guests had the opportunity to see the WPC entries and mingle with the photographers. The exhibition was officially opened with remarks from the Ambassador, the exhibition curator Giselle Walker and BPS President, Bradley Benskin. And of course, guests made sure to enjoy the refreshments provided (shout-out to Stephen Cumberbatch and his team), including wine from Argentina, courtesy of the Embassy. As the BPS President summed it up in his speech, “A photograph speaks a thousand words, and these are pages and pages on the walls”.

That said, come and see our work! The exhibition runs from July 17 until August 7, 2026. You can view the work by contacting the Embassy of Argentina and booking an appointment:

Embassy of Argentina

Address: Lucerne Building, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados

Telephone: +1 (246) 537-1800

Exhibition - Black and White Moments 2026

"Exhibitions are kind of ephemeral moments, sometimes magic moments, and when they're gone, they're gone. -  Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian" 

It's exhibition time again and I am happy to announce that one of my pieces has been included in the Barbados Photographic Society's (BPS) "Black and White Moments". This year's edition was again curated by Ms. Giselle Walker and opened to the public on April 15, 2026. The selection process started back in December 2025 with a call for entries from all financial members of the Society. Final announcements were sent to the exhibitors in February 2026. My print "Saying No" was selected alongside the work of thirty-four (34) other Barbados-based photographers. As always, thanks go to my family members and friends who came out to support the exhibition. Special thanks to all the ones who pushed me when I needed it. 

Exhibition Flyer for “Black and White Moments”.

My artist’s bio and my image, “Saying No”.


Opening night was quite the event, with over 200 art lovers coming to see the show. The night’s proceedings began with remarks from the gallery owner and the BPS President. The keynote speaker of the night, however, was renowned author Mrs. Denise Haynes, who delivered a most thoughtful address. Based on the feedback that I received that night, it seems like everyone enjoyed themselves, but more importantly, loved the displayed work and the discussions with the photographers about their craft.

As this exhibition proceeds, I wanted to offer a few basic tips for anyone who may want to join an exhibition or consider having one of their own. First, note that this is just a brief article on basic considerations. I am, in no way, an expert on the topic at hand. I always like to start with a definition. Oxford defines an exhibition as "a public display of works of art or items of interest, held in an art gallery or museum or at a trade fair". As such, there are many different kinds of exhibitions for photographers. These can include solo, group, museum, retrospective, and nowadays, virtual/online. Note that the categories can and will sometimes overlap.


Here are a few tips to consider when entering or curating your own exhibition (strictly my own observations and not an exhaustive list by any means):

  1. You should have a clear grasp of the theme and message of the exhibition that you are trying to enter or put together.

  2. If you are a part of a curated group exhibition, you may have a limited number of images to submit for consideration.

  3. If this is your own solo effort and you have to curate, make sure that you set a strict, core idea. Ask yourself if each image serves the theme or narrative that you're building, or if it should really a standalone image.

  4. Themes can be either conceptual or visual, or a combination of both. Try to aim for some visual consistency in your topic, e.g. lighting, colour/black and white treatment, mood, etc..

  5. Image selection is a key process. Give yourself self sufficient time before your submission deadline to consider all potential entries and get feedback from trusted and unbiased persons.

  6. Avoid too much explanation in your caption. If you need too many words, your work may not be as cohesive as you think.

  7.  Determine the narrative flow as either telling a story or a fragmented collection. 

  8. Once you have your exhibition planned out, be sure to reach out and make relationships with galleries, museums and vendors like printers and framers. Some vendors may offer discounts to creatives. 

A random fan found my print on opening night….okay, just kidding. This is my mum, making sure that I got “her picture with my picture”. Thanks for supporting, Mum!


"Black and White Moments" continues at the Caribbean Brushstrokes Gallery in Pelican Village, Bridgetown, Barbados, until May 9, 2026. Drop by the gallery and meet us at the "Meet the Artists" discussion evening on April 25, 2026!

Photographers participating are:

Adam Taylor . Alex Greenidge . Alison Elliot . Ann Marie Massiah . Audrey Bryan . Antonio Cheltenham . Beverly Lugay . Bradley Benskin . Bruce Evelyn . Carla Hinds . Charles McClean . Cheryl McCollin-Walker . Cheryl Small . Colbert Goddard . Elle Rene . Glyne Strickland . Hugh Walker . Jenny Gonsalves . Juliette Downes-Wilson . Kurk Rouse . Leslie St. John . Lynda Browne-Bristov . Markley Bryan . Michaela Williams . Niaz Dokrat . Nicole Phillips . Raquel Marshall . Ron Layne . Sherlock Lord . Sherry Williams . Stephen Cumberbatch . Stephen Sandiford . Sybil Edghill . Tiffany Jordan . Yvette Reid.

New Year, New Projects

I hope you've been having a good year so far, both professionally and personally. I haven't posted here in a little while but I've been busy these past few months working on a few personal things. As I mentioned last year, I've started experimenting with making video. I've been learning this new craft as a fun side project whenever I can. Admittedly it's a learning curve for me but I must confess that I'm enjoying it very much. If you've done some video, or just started, let me know what your biggest challenges are/were. I've uploaded a few of my attempts to my YouTube channel, "Nicky Highlander Photography".  If you have any ideas, suggestions, want to collaborate or just want to discuss photography/videography, feel free to message me!

Here is the link to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9qeA1l42xbNfch6NOgLqtQ . I’ve included the link to my latest practice video, “Wind”, at the end of this post. You will see more of these from time to time.

I've also been making it to a few field trips with the Barbados Photographic Society as well as a few other places with friends. So far, I've been exploring the northern and eastern parts of the island again. We've been to Saint Peter, St. Nicolas Abbey's Heritage Train ride and Andromeda Gardens. Funny enough, video has really reawakened my love for still photography. That seems counter-intuitive but it's true. 

Here's to more enriching projects this year!

Camera and equipment details:
Camera: Nikon D5200

Lenses:  Nikon 50mm F1.8 G Auto Focus-S 

Lighting: Natural Light

Software: Adobe Premiere Elements

Until next time.... 

Revisiting

I don't often revisit a previous theme. I am the kind of person who loves short term projects usually. But when I've found a passion, I can pursue and explore it exhaustively. Such is my recent discovery of PEG Farms Nature Reserve (see last post). Since the initial visit in June, I've made a point to return as often as I can. Fresh air, beautiful surroundings and fresh produce are very inspirational.

It's important to note that sometimes long term projects can lag and lose steam. Your original vision/views can shift or you can lose focus or passion altogether. Therefore it's often good to revisit an idea or a place. Seeing old work through fresh eyes can bring new perspective. If you have realised that this is happening, I've found these 8 steps from Trello to be useful in jumpstarting that creative spark again:

https://blog.trello.com/8-ways-to-apply-a-new-perspective-to-a-dragging-project 

Camera and equipment details:
Camera: Nikon D5200

Lenses:  Nikon 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom,  Nikon 55-300mm VR DX AF-S, Nikon 85mm F1.8 G Auto Focus-S 

Lighting: Natural Light

Until next time.... 


Down On The Farm

If you have read my bio on this website, you would recall that I am a member of the Barbados Photographic Society (BPS)  and a contributor to the BPS website.  This non-profit club organizes a number of field trips every year around the island. I decided to attend the trip to PEG Farms which is a working biodynamic farm and nature reserve located in the parish of Saint Joseph (the north eastern part of the island). This was my first visit and I was curious to see what it offered. 

It was a very fun morning being out with friends, hiking in nature and enjoying the camaraderie. In fact, some of my favourite field trips of all time have been outdoors in nature. This one did not disappoint in terms of beautiful breathtaking views of the eastern coast of the island. Exercise and fresh air are always restorative for body, mind, spirit and the creative eye.  And if you have friends who are natural comedians, the time passes even better. And the best thing about going to the farm? Well, your $25 entrance fee is redeemable in fresh organic produce. Farm to table indeed. Check out their operation here: https://www.pegbarbados.com/

This place easily deserves a revisit, in my opinion. The best times might be in the morning, just after opening around 8:00 AM. Just make sure you avoid the chickens at feeding time.  

Camera and equipment details:
Camera: Nikon D7200
Lenses:  Nikon 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom,  Nikon 55-300mm VR DX AF-S, Nikon 85mm F1.8 G Auto Focus-S
Lighting: Natural Light

Until next time....keep it light.