the Photographer - Issue One 2023

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2023 / Issue One

ISSUE One, 2023

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2023 / Issue One

When Lives Collide 4 Paul Wenham-Clarke FBIPP gives a stark insight into the hundreds killed and injured in road crashes each year in the UK School photos aren’t important? 21 Jane Ellis LBIPP shakes up the traditional way of capturing school photographs

In Conversation with Su Kaye 28 BIPP Photographer of the Year 2022 takes us on a journey through her diverse photographic career Finding Light in the Darkness 40 Journalist Lorraine Mallinder reports on the life of Ayman al-Amiri from Iraq and his project to capture his homeland

The Precise Shot 24 Bernard Rose ABIPP showcases his Karate photography through the eyes of a practitioner of the martial art

Art Direction 44 Andy Walmsley from Wash Studio tells you what you need to know about working with Art Directors as a photographer

the Photographer is published four times a year by the British Institute of Professional Photography, The Artistry House, 16 Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire PR1 3JJ

Directors: FBIPP Paul Reiffer (Chair) ABIPP Karen Massey LBIPP Monir Ali FBIPP Barrie Spence ABIPP Jessica McGovern LBIPP Lucy Newson FBIPP John Miskelly (Treasurer)

T: 01772 367968 E: admin@bipp.com W: www.bipp.com

CEO: Martin Baynes President: Jeff Brown

Regional Ambassador: Barrie Spence ABIPP (Scotland) Argha Dutta LBIPP (North West) David Taylor FBIPP (Midlands) Irene Cooper ABIPP (Yorkshire) Monir Ali LBIPP (South East) Matt Curtis LBIPP (Cotswold & South West))

A Journey into the Desert 48 Leo Francis ABIPP takes on an enduring race to capture some of the most intense athletic endeavours in the remotest destinations and severest conditions The Jurassic Coast from the Sea 58 Steve Belasco ABIPP showcases the awe-inspiring landscape of the coastline in his latest photobook My Life as a Photographer 62 The longest and oldest Australian-based member of the BIPP returns to day one and takes us through his fascinating photographic career Editor: Joel Hansen, editor@bipp.com Advertising: Tel 01772 367968 E-mail: admin@bipp.com UK Subscribers £30, Rest of the World £60 ISSN: 0031-8698. Printed and bound by Magazine Printing Company, Hoddesdon, Herts

Neither the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) nor any of its employees, members, contractors or agents accepts any responsibility whatsoever for loss of or damage to photographs, illustrations or manuscripts or any other material submitted, howsoever caused. The views expressed in this magazine are the views of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the BIPP. All advertisements are accepted and all editorial matter published in good faith. The Publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, that any particular product or service is available at the time of publication or at any given price. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or stored in a retrieval system, or broadcast, published or exhibited without the prior permission of the publisher.

This magazine is the copyright of the BIPP without prejudice to the right of contributors and photographers as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Registered at Stationers’ Hall, Ref B6546, No. 24577. © BIPP 2023

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CEO M A R T I N B AY N E S

D

ear Members,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Photographer.

I am excited to share that we are embarking on a new chapter for the BIPP. While our plan to come together with the RPS has been put on hold for now, we will continue to explore opportunities in the future. I recently had lunch with Dan Jones, the new CEO of RPS, and we will talk again in a few months.

Out of the recent busy and stressful few months, a new fire and engagement from our members has emerged. We have two new and very active directors, Paul Reffier FBIPP, who is now Chair of the Board, and Jess McGovern ABIPP, both of whom run successful businesses and have already made a significant impact.

The recent town hall meeting was a resounding success, with record-breaking attendance and the formation of several working parties, who now form the ‘Task Force Groups’ including Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Mentoring & Qualifications, Members’ Training (both online and in-person), Young Photographers & Scholarship Programme, Social Media, & Website, Ambassadors Regions & Greetings Team for new members, Events (including AGM, regional & national events), Magazine, PR & Marketing, E-com & Digital Retouchers, Colleges & Universities, Scenes of Crime Course, and BIPP Benefits. I am sure you will agree that it is very comprehensive, and I would like to say a big thank you to all the members who have stepped forward to get involved.

We recognize that change can be painful, but it is necessary for us to remain relevant, provide value to our members, and attract new members, which is our top priority.

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I would like to thank Jon Cohen Hon FBIPP for his outstanding service as our President for over two years, and we welcome our new President, Jeff Brown, who is well-respected in the industry and has many business and marketing ideas we look forward to exploring together. I also want to express my appreciation to Johanna Elizabeth for her work on the board and in creating the successful online ‘business clinics’, which have provided valuable advice to our membership. Jeff will be taking this initiative forward, as well as starting a BIPP podcast.

I am pleased to welcome Katrina Bird to the BIPP office team, she has a wealth of administrative knowledge and has already been getting to grips with our unwieldy CRM system. Her administrative skills and experience have already proven invaluable.

Congratulations to our newly qualified members, and to those who were not successful this time, we look forward to seeing you at future qualifications.

To qualify is a huge achievement and as you will see in this magazine the work is fantastic. A special thanks to Paul and Sarah Wilkinson, who work so hard and dedicate so much of their time, in firstly designing and building a new stand to display panels at these qualifications, and also introducing new certificates that members are proud to have on their wall. They also brought together the amazing judges who give up days from their business to impart their knowledge and expertise. I am personally very grateful for all the hours dedicated to the Institute.

Also, all our volunteers and members who get involved in so much, you are the heart of the organisation and we are truly grateful.

We have a few upcoming exciting key dates for you – we will send out more information as we get dates and times confirmed.

PRESIDENT JEFF BROWN

H

ello fellow BIPP Members,

It’s such an honour, a privilege and somewhat of a surprise to be asked if I would step up and fill the shoes of Jon Cohen, the outgoing President of the Institute. I feel I have a big impression to make following in Jon’s footsteps, and if I’m honest, at first, I didn’t even believe I was worthy of such a role, but here I am.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a photographer too, having bought my first SLR camera in my early 20s; I am now 52. Photography was initially nothing more than a hobby; that was until I joined the Royal Navy, when, after a few years of service, I discovered they were recruiting naval ratings for the Photography Branch. I applied, and after 26 weeks of intense training, I passed out as a Professional Military Photographer being awarded my LBIPP in the process. This led to a very rewarding and interesting career; I later went on to serve with the intelligence services for two years as an Intelligence Image Analyst.

After nearly ten years of service, I left the military to start a wedding photography partnership with another ex-military photographer; we used our military resettlement grants to invest heavily in marketing and branding training, something I developed a real passion for. Within just a few years we had four very successful photography companies in weddings, boudoir, commercial and nursery schools. Plus, we also developed a photography marketing programme which later became the model for the business I now run today.

We were never the most amazing photographers, but it was our knowledge of branding and marketing that led to our success. This is something I firmly believe every photographer must get to grips with if they want to truly stand out in an over-saturated market.

In 2014 I bought a large country pub and restaurant which I planned to turn into a wedding venue; this would work nicely alongside my wedding photography.

However, things didn’t turn out exactly as I hoped. Just

12 months later I pulled out of the venture after losing over £160,000 of my own money, racking up a further £60,000 of debt and unsuccessfully trying to drive my car off a bridge in an attempt to take my own life.

It’s not all been a bed of roses, but from my huge failure sprouted the very successful mentoring business I run today, working with photographers in no fewer than 22 countries worldwide. I have written and published three Amazon Best-Selling photography business books, and I’m currently writing book number 4. I’m an ambassador for several big photography brands, have appeared on hundreds of photography podcasts, and webinars, and have written for a good number of photography magazines. I also run a photography website design company. I’ve made it my mission to help, inspire and educate as many photographers as I can on the power of brand, marketing, social media, websites and LinkedIn. So, I’ve been there, dealt with depression, struggled, and had my darkest moments, but from that darkness, I’ve rebuilt myself and my businesses. I know all too well that many photographers suffer from imposter syndrome, lack the confidence to charge their worth and don’t really understand the marketing side of the business, which is essential to success and achieving your dreams.

I want to use my position as President to help and inspire our members, as the BIPP takes itself in a new direction to become the professional association for success, the professional association that gives its members the knowledge, the tools and the know-how to reach their goals, charge their worth and build the business of their dreams.

So starts an exciting new chapter and direction for the BIPP and for you its members too. I’m extremely excited and honoured to be a part of the rebirth of the British Institute of Professional Photography. I’m so much looking forward to meeting you all in person over the coming months as the big changes start to take shape.

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PAU L W E N H A M - C L A R K E F B I P P

When Lives Collide

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Image © Jessica McGovern

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W H E N L I V E S CO L L I D E PAU L W E N H A M - C L A R K E F B I P P

When Lives Collide A hard-hitting and emotive photography project from Paul Wenham-Clarke FBIPP gives stark insight into the grief and suffering facing the friends and families of the hundreds killed and injured in road crashes every day in the UK. A commercial and documentary photographer and a Professor of Photography at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), Paul captured and exhibited the images to mark the 30th anniversary of RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.

P

aul addressed the tragic issue of road death and injury 20 years ago, when RoadPeace’s first ‘When Lives Collide’ exhibition was launched at Gallery@OXO. In 2002, Paul worked with the charity and its members over two years to capture the harrowing images widely publicised by the media.

The exhibition then went on to tour the UK and abroad to raise wider awareness.

Paul comments, “When I made the original ‘When Lives Collide’ exhibition back in 2003 I travelled the country photographing each person in their home. Initially I thought I would do the same with this new exhibition ‘When Lives Collide 2023’.

However, when I realised that from receiving the brief to hanging the work in the gallery would be a mere four months, I figured I needed a rethink.”

Taking inspiration from the renowned American portrait photographer Platon, Paul toured the country using the same lighting set-up and backdrop. RoadPeace members across different cities would then come to sit and were asked to tell their stories as he took their portraits.

“As they spoke, I would take images of them as they went through a roller-coaster of emotion - sometimes crying, at other times smiling, as they remembered a beautiful moment with their lost loved one. I photographed lots of people in one day, and it was a difficult thing to do emotionally. Several times I was in tears, as I listened to the raw pain they were going through.”

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ROADPEACE 30 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

Image © Paul Wenham-Clarke

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“A

s they spoke, I would take images of them as they went through a roller-coaster of emotion.”

“People often ask me why do I photograph such gruelling subjects. I think it’s because I have been a photographer all my life and worked through many genres of photography. I have been taking pictures since I was about 10 years old, so I have thousands of images of expected subjects. I went to art college and then assisted before I became a commercial and advertising photographer, so now after all that, I want to make images of things that really matter to me.”

Nick Simmons, CEO of RoadPeace, says, “When Lives Collide 2023 takes an artistic approach to explore the impact of road harm from the point of view of those directly impacted by it.

Paul’s work so cleverly and creatively documents the lives of crash victims and acts as a call to work together to end road death and injury. We cannot allow this kind of preventable and avoidable suffering to go on.”

Paul aims for the viewer to consider an aspect of life they have overlooked, to think about it in a new way, and says working as a Professor of Photography enables him to take on big, long-term works supported by AUB that are not financially driven but about exploring issues of our modern society.

Paul’s signature style uses an advertising photography approach to social issue topics. However, he states, “it’s often brought criticism from other photographers. “There is not a photography rules book, just long established traditions. I think it is always best to learn the rules, then break them.”

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ROADPEACE 30 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

Image © Paul Wenham-Clarke

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Image © Paul Wenham-Clarke

ROADPEACE 30 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

“T

he portrait of her dancing was made at a bus stop because when she was two years old, she and her mother and grandmother were hit by a bus and she lost her lower leg. Today, with the help of a prosthetic limb she is a 17-year old successful ballet dancer and is certainly someone to watch.”

The exhibition went live in London’s Oxo Gallery on January 4 and featured more than 30 road crash victims and bereaved families from across the UK. “With this work, some of the images capture adults crying without any restraint; that’s not something we will often see in our lives. Using studio flash lighting and a high-end digital camera, these portraits are shocking and hard to view. Just for a few seconds we get to feel their pain and hopefully realise that the statistics on road deaths mean a lot more than just numbers.

The image of Pollyanna Hope is the most uplifting of the images in the exhibition and was shot in a full-on advertising style. I had several assistants holding battery-powered lighting kits and we shot it on a London street.

“The portrait of her dancing was made at a bus stop because when she was two years old, she and her mother and grandmother were hit by a bus and she lost her lower leg. Today, with the help of a prosthetic limb, she is a 17-year old successful ballet dancer and is certainly someone to watch.”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S 2023

BIPP Qualifications at The Flash Centre

M

embers from all over the UK gathered at The Flash Centre to participate in the British Institute of Professional Photography’s qualification assessment. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement, and nerves were running high as everyone prepared to showcase their photographic skills.

We are proud to announce that four BIPP members achieved Licentiate qualifications, and three members have achieved Associate qualifications!

The qualifications were Chaired by Dr Paul Wilkinson FBIPP and judged by a panel of six experts in their field: Simon Mackney FBIPP, David Taylor FBIPP, Sean Conboy FBIPP, Saraya Cortaville FBIPP, Panikos

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Hajistilly FBIPP and John Parris FBIPP. The atmosphere was supportive and encouraging throughout the day, and we hope those who did not pass the assessment were left with valuable feedback from the judges, which would help them improve.

Dr Wilkinson commented on the members’ achievements, “I am delighted to see these talented photographers achieve their Licentiate and Associate qualifications with the BIPP. Their dedication, passion, and hard work have been reflected in the high standard of their photographic work, and I am very excited to see them come back to a future qualification to take the next”.

Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S IMOGEN MOON ABIPP

Equestrian

“I

decided in February this year to do my qualifications as I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone.

You’ll often hear me say I’m the least technical photographer you’ll meet...I guess I can’t say that anymore! I had loads of help from my mentor Barrie Spence FBIPP who told me everything I needed to know and helped me whenever needed.

I was nervous on the day, but everyone was lovely and made me feel comfortable.

The judges were so friendly; I’m so glad I did it. Having the qualifications makes me feel like the real deal now, and it’s another feather in the cap for my business, setting me apart from other photographers in my area.

Thank you to everyone involved! I’ll be back soon for my Fellowship, I’m sure!”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S L AU R E N I R V I N G A B I P P

Architecture & Interiors

“M

y photographic journey has taken a long and scenic route, with skills being gathered and developed through the many varied experiences along the way.

Gaining a BIPP qualification has been a goal of mine for several years, with the aim to achieve professional recognition and accreditation, develop my business, and ultimately aid in my growth as a photographer and businesswoman. To be a member of such an iconic organisation and part of its recognised network of photographers had solidified the 21 years of effort and hard work of which I am so proud, especially when the dreaded imposter syndrome kicks in.”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S SIMON JONES LBIPP

General Practise

“W

hat a wonderful feeling it was to hear my panel of images had been approved for qualification! Thank you, judges!

Since my early years in photography (we’re talking about the late 1980s now), one of my ambitions has been to become a qualified member of the BIPP. I just never took the time to organise myself to try.

As a full-time professional photographer for 27 years, even if I earn no more than I did before the qualification, the boost and the sense of self-worth it provides are priceless.

To achieve, we each have to prioritise and do the things we know we should at least try to do in life.”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S CLAIRE HOWES LBIPP

Headshots

“C

reating my Licentiateship panel has really allowed me to look critically at my work as a photographer and gain more insight and understanding into what makes me tick.

It’s so fantastic to have passed and to be able to reassure my clients of quality from being qualified with BIPP by using their logo and letters. I think that’s so important in an industry that you need to sort ‘the wood from the trees’. Thanks for all the guidance and support.”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S M A R Y M CC LY M O N T A B I P P

Portraiture

“M

y experience in working toward my LBIPP qualification was hard but positive. The first hurdle was deciding what my panel would be. I remembered my Grandmother having a flapper dress, and my love for the Art-Deco period inspired me to produce a panel of 20 Gatsbyinspired images.

Arriving at the qualification venue, I was nervous and never expected the panel qualification to be considered for ABIPP, and the joy of actually receiving both the LBIPP and ABIPP on the same day was amazing; I still cannot stop smiling.

My qualifications have inspired me to follow my heart and work towards becoming a full-time photographer.”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S HELEN SPIEGL LBIPP

Domesticated Animals

“I

have been meaning to start my BIPP qualification journey for a while. Putting my digital Licentiateship panel together and discussing the images with my Mentor, Su Kaye, was a real eyeopener!

I know I am too close to my own images, and every subject has some emotional connection for me, so scrutinising them with the objective of how they would be judged as a panel was really enlightening. I am very proud of my BIPP qualification and would like to say a big thank you to the judges who gave their time to consider our panels. I am now excited about planning for my Associateship panel!”

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Q UA L I F I C AT I O N S DEREK VINCENT LBIPP

Commercial

“I

am truly delighted to have finally achieved my first qualification with BIPP. In the aftermath of a pandemic and the turbulence of an impending recession, I needed something to focus my energies on, revitalise and remind me of how and why I do photography.

The South East regional members were all hugely supportive, and their encouragement pushed me to test my own boundaries during preparation for submission. My hope is that I can use my qualification to push myself to the forefront of prospective client lists.”

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S C H O O L P H OTO S JANE ELLIS LBIPP

Think school photos aren’t important… think again!

Jane Ellis LBIPP has shaken up the traditional way of capturing school photographs. Her article explains how her approach to school pictures differs from the typical posed, rigid images that have become commonplace by replacing them with fun, natural, vibrant portraits of pupils.

M

ention school photos to me and I used to think of false grins or grumpy frowns and strange, pinned-back fringes (never seen before or since) on a white, grey or tacky blue background. A must-have ritual undertaken each year in schools across the country. Dreaded by most kids and an awkward inconvenience for teachers.

As my army of family portrait supporters grew, so did the encouragement for me to take on school photos and provide something better than what they were currently receiving. “Our photos were awful...you could do so much better,” I have heard so many times.

However, I enjoyed my creative portrait photography, I liked the naturalness of my outdoor photoshoots and didn’t want to jump onto the conveyor-belt process of shot after shot of same pose, next child.

However, I knew I could give everyone involved a much better experience and product.

As an employee there was no time to focus on the shy girl or the cheeky boy who thought it all a great game to stick his tongue out until his allocated 30-second time slot was up. I was frustrated that I couldn’t have the flexibility to capture the shots that really showed these children’s personalities.

When a “part-time” position at a national school portrait company came along I decided to give it a shot (quite literally) . The experience didn’t change my views. Ridiculously tight schedules, rushing from one school to the next, following an exacting formula that could be followed by any non-photographer so that everything could be mass processed. Even one of the managers described it as a “sausage factory”…and “a numbers game.” As long as enough people bought the photos and of course they did…(it was the official school photo after-all)…every decent parent has to buy at least one, don’t they? Despite the constraints, my portraiture abilities shone through, and I achieved some fantastic sales returns for the company.

Images © Jane Ellis

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Fast forward to 2023 and I am now very excited to be finalising details for school bookings and getting back to one of the most rewarding parts of my business.

How have things changed?

In 2017 I started offering local schools a bespoke photography service. Working outdoors in the natural environment where children are so much more themselves, I offered mini multi-pose shoots. The response from parents has been phenomenal; after years of the same obligatory photos they were receiving a professional portfolio of their child, capturing, in their words, “the best photos of their children they had ever had”… not just the best school photo…but any photo!

Outdoor portraits help to create a real, meaningful memory of their school experience. Backdrops within the grounds such as a local sandstone wall engraved by past pupils or a favourite old climbing tree can help provide a memory of happy break-times with friends.

After all, who remembers their school as a white void or a mottled grey?

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Each new school I visit sees their photo sales jump and some very nice commission from their once stale school photos. I still have to work fast, of course, but children are much more co-operative outside with a bit more freedom to be natural and I surprise myself how quickly I can get through a school. Obviously, I am also geared up to provide indoor school sessions if needed and sometimes these can provide a nice change after a run of outdoor photo years.

Unlike some of the national companies I don’t need any gimmicks or long-term contracts to keep my schools coming back year after year.

Using my skills to get that “best photo ever” of even the most reluctant child, is a challenge that I thrive on.

There are definitely some parents who wouldn’t forgive the school if they didn’t ask me back! There is always excitement in school to see the photos I have taken, whether marketing or individual photos. My photos make everyone in the school, staff and pupils, feel proud of who they are and what they do.

S C H O O L P H OTO S JANE ELLIS LBIPP

Beverley Thornton (former Head) at Naseby Primary School called me a “miracle worker” since she saw her staff photo.

That is what I love about this role, cheering people up with great photos and building their self-esteem.

At another school, when I asked a parent if I could have her permission to use her son’s school photo to promote my schools photography, she was over the moon. Little did I know how much it would mean to her son, who had been having a particularly difficult couple of days with some of the boys at school. He said that it had made his day that I had chosen his school photo. He felt so proud and it gave him a much-needed boost of selfconfidence.

To me every individual is special and deserves a photo that shows that. Children should not be treated like a “sausage in a sausage factory”. My school photos are about individuality. My service isn’t about how fast I can whizz through the school, it’s about the buzz of excitement, the personal connection and the delight on everyone’s faces when they see themselves as the star of a professional portrait that shows them how others see them when they are at their natural best.

It is still a battle to get into new schools. I have a lot of eager parents but some schools are reluctant to change from what they already know.

However, I find that if I can get through the door to show them my work, my products and my level of personal commitment, I will more often than not get the booking. Once I’m in, the schools don’t look back.

I think that lockdown has opened up the market for independent schools photographers. Social distancing made schools more open to the idea of outdoor portraits and have found them to be a popular alternative to studio shots. Many national companies just couldn’t deliver these types of photos as they did not have the appropriately trained photographers to work in natural light and could not edit the photos on the mass scale that they work at. Word of mouth has power and I expect to see more schools using local photography firms in future.

Image © Jane Ellis

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The precise shot: karate & photography Images & words by Bernard Rose

My journey into photography began in 1972 with my first job as a black & white printer at the Liverpool commercial photographers Elsam, Mann and Cooper.

From 1974 I worked at CJ Studios on the Wirral as a trainee photographer for Neville Kuypers FBIPP and Colin Jackson FBIPP; it goes without saying that I joined the Institute to be mentored by these two great photographers. I qualified for my Associateship with the BIPP in general practice in 1977 (then the IIP), which happened to be the same year I passed my 1st dan black belt in Shotokan Karate.

It brought an opportunity to combine both my passions when I was asked to do a studio shoot of Keinosuke Enoeda Sensei, 9th dan, a world-renowned karate instructor for Fighting Arts magazine. All shot

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on Hasselblad – with no option, as we have now, to check the shots on a digital screen – every technique he performed was precise, and with my knowledge of karate, I understood the exact moment to fire the shutter.

Enoeda Sensei had many print orders from that shoot which he used for publicity, and also I provided two large prints on display in his London dojo for many years. Sadly he passed away in 2003, but he is still highly regarded worldwide, and I still get requests for prints from that shoot - I now have now been able to scan the negatives for high-quality printing. My lighting then was a portrait set-up with brolly key light for Rembrandt modelling, although I repositioned and included an additional rim light for fill and definition to suit the various techniques.

Over the years, besides my career as a jobbing commercial

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photographer, I have continued with my karate training and found a niche photographing some of the top UK exponents. Shooting with DSLRs has had its advantages, but I avoid continuous mode as I prefer to capture the precise moment of a technique. I kept my lighting simple, still using two lights, but now I tend to create a more dramatic effect by setting more lights on each side of the subject. I have found darker backgrounds work best for making the white gi stand out and try to graduate if there is space, as I no longer have a studio, so all recent shoots have been on location.

Sensei Aidan Trimble, 8th dan, who is my instructor, I photographed at his dojo in Nottingham along with Sensei Dave Hazard, 7th dan - they collaborated on an instructional DVD series, and they used the images for the covers and promotional material.

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I have photographed a number of karate-ka with this same studio style; included here are two fellow instructors from the Federation of Shotokan Karate: Sue Bance and Tomasz Kacperski.

Still working as a commercial and architectural photographer, I have maintained my fitness over the years through continued karate training, although wear and tear has recently meant two new hips. At 68, I reckon I have a few more years in the profession and definitely sticking with the karate; at present, I hold a 4th dan in Shotokan, I need another lifetime before mastering either skill, but the journey continues.

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P H OTO G R A P H E R O F T H E Y E A R S U K AY E F B I P P

In Conversation with BIPP Photographer of the Year 2022

Su Kaye FBIPP BIPP Photographer of the Year 2022, Su Kaye FBIPP, has a unique eye for capturing the world around her and brings a fresh and playful perspective to her photography. From the rural landscapes of her travels to the candid moments of family gatherings, no matter the subject, Su’s creativity and sensitivity shine through in every shot.

This article will delve into Su’s life and work, exploring what makes her such a talented and unique image-maker.

When and why did you first get into photography?

From my early childhood, my dad was a photographer, and when I was growing up he had a darkroom in our loft until he had his own studio in London.

I always wanted to be a photographer – the passion was but my dad told me the same as his mum had said to him: “go and get a proper job.”

Image entitled ‘Things are looking up’ won BIPP Photograph of the Year 2022

So I was a primary school teacher, and then I went away travelling for a while, and while I was away, I decided that’s what I wanted to do. I knew if I didn’t take the opportunity to learn from and work with my dad, I’d always regret it. He had a 50% business partner who did all the marketing and sales; I thought I couldn’t just come back and say, “can I have a job” so while I was away, I got a panel of pictures together for a Licentiateship with the RPS. I applied without telling my dad, then I came back and told him I’d passed and asked if I could have a job, and it all went from there. It was about 1995, I think.

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What was your first BIPP panel in?

It was travel, then I did my Associateship in portraiture, and then I didn’t want people to say my dad had been in the studio with me – I’ve just got this thing that everything has to be genuine and above board, so my Fellowship was in ‘travel and illustrative’ because I could prove my dad wasn’t coming around the world with me.

I was incredibly proud of what he had achieved, but I wouldn’t want anyone to question what I achieved at the time.

I N CO N V E R S AT I O N W I T H S U K AY E F B I P P

As a photographer, what inspired you creatively?

Is there a photographer that inspires you?

I really don’t know. I go to exhibitions and love everything from street art to going around galleries in Florence. I find it hard to know what inspires and what makes me do things – I’ll be in the studio, and I’ll think, I’ve got to try something different. I think I get bored quite easily, so I know I can continue what I’m doing and still get clients in, but I’m constantly looking for something different.

When I got into photography, it would have been Karsh - I just loved the quality and the simplicity.

Now, I love the work of Pete Souza, which is more documentary-type, just the way he saw things and his composition, and getting all the details you don’t notice until you read the stories behind the photos.

I’m probably more inspired by art and 3D art; I’m looking around my lounge now, and every piece I’ve got on my wall is 3D. In my photography, I look more at modern art than at other photographers.

In terms of portraits, now I look at people like Platon, his style is a lot more modern and in your face.

The books I would sit and look through more are wildlife – black and white work like David Yarrow, Nick Brandt – people like that I just think are incredible.

Image entitled ‘Dark Side of the Dune’ that got the highest score in the BIPP’s National Print Competition in 1995 © Su Kaye Issue One / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 29

“T

here is also one of a dog shaking its head; he was the first dog I took from a completely different angle because I was trying to do something different from other photographers, and it started to become a bit of a style I could develop.”

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P H OTO G R A P H E R O F T H E Y E A R S U K AY E F B I P P

What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred model you work with?

I’m really simple. Every time I go out and see other photographers, I’ve always got the oldest, cheapest camera out of everybody. At the moment, I’m using an Olympus EM1 Mk 2, which is probably about seven years old, and I’d always used Canon before then.

When I work in the studio, 95-98% of the time my camera is on a stand, which is quite unusual, especially for portraits. Everybody is telling me I have to have eye tracking and this and that – I don’t - though it would make my life easier. I pre-focus where I think they’re going to be, use a long cable release or trigger, and very often stand next to the dog or the child and take a picture with a camera on a tripod on the other side of the studio.

Do you have a favourite lens?

I love the 40-150mm, but my studio is not that big, so in the studio, I tend to use the 12-40mm most of the time.

What’s the most important element of capturing a portrait?

Connection.

How do you get that connection?

Hopefully, I treat my clients well, whether that’s the dogs or the people. I feel there is quite a lot of interaction – I don’t have any automated booking system, and I will always talk to people first. I’ll try to speak to all the different members of the family if I can, try and find out what’s important to them and not just the photos they want but what’s important in their family. Obviously, it’s quite different with dogs, but that’s about learning dog behaviour and understanding what they need – it’s the same as working with children.

Whether it is a dog, a child or an adult, you have to understand their needs – maybe my psychology degree Image of Zeus the dog entitled ‘You’re Under Close Surveillance’ © Su Kaye

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I N CO N V E R S AT I O N W I T H S U K AY E F B I P P

Family Portrait © Su Kaye

Infrared Trees © Su Kaye

Market Seller, India © Su Kaye

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P H OTO G R A P H E R O F T H E Y E A R S U K AY E F B I P P

“I

think because I love what I do, I spend too long editing. I don’t care if I spend all night retouching photos, I love it, and I want them to be as good as they can be.”

The other one is a shot that ended up on the cover of Forbes magazine of a Nigeran man. The nice thing was, it was after my dad had passed away, and he came to me and said he’d previously been photographed by my dad, so there was this huge pressure. He was a very important man, and he’d been to my dad’s studio next to Regents Park, which was quite an exclusive address, and I was in a garage working from home – he came to me raving about my dad.

Paul Adefarasin, author and motivational speaker © Su Kaye

helps.

Do you have memorable or proudest photographs that standout from your career?

When I got the highest-scoring print the first time, I entered the National Print Competition, and I entered three travel pictures because I’d just spent four months in Africa, and that’s where I felt my heart was. Then one got 97% that was taken on some sand dunes; the nice things for me was, I’d said to my dad that I felt I should enter, and asked what he thought; he said, “Well, they’re ok,” but I thought I’d give them a chance, so that’s one of the images I’m most proud of.

There is also one of a dog shaking its head, but he was the first dog I took from a completely different angle because I was trying to do something different from other photographers; it then started to become a bit of a style I could develop, which was nice because I was looking for something that was different.

We got on a Zoom call the next day with all his team in Nigeria, and he spoke positively all about my dad and said, “she was exactly the same”. Portrait wise, that’s the proudest moment for me. I also recorded the meeting and sent it to my mum, who was so happy.

What’s your post-production process and workflow like?

My workflow is like a bowl of spaghetti – it is awful!

I spend hours on pictures, far too long, I’m incredibly unproductive, I’m very anal with my retouching, and I do it all myself.

I think because I love what I do, I spend too long editing. I don’t care if I spend all night retouching photos, I love it, and I want them to be as good as they can be.

It’s not enough for me to say the ‘clients will never notice’ if I’ve seen something wrong then I don’t expect to leave it.

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A picture of a soldier on a basic battle skills course that lasts for about two weeks: they will go from learning how to do session attacks, map reading, and first aid - the aim is for the soldiers to understand how to work effectively in a team and build confidence.

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Attitude is Everything © Su Kaye

I N CO N V E R S AT I O N W I T H S U K AY E F B I P P

Is there something you still want to photograph to cross off your photography bucket list?

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a photographer?

I crossed one off at Christmas, but I’d love to do it again and do it better. My passion, if I could just spend my life photographing something and not need to earn any money, would be wildlife in Africa.

The same advice I’ve given to a few people recently, actually. People ask me which photography course they should do because they want to become a photographer, and I say the first course they need to do is marketing.

They need to learn about marketing, everything else I learned through experience, YouTube and courses, but if you get a marketing degree, you’ll do well.

One of the things I really wanted to do was photograph elephants at ground level, and I did that at Christmas, so I was very very pleased. We put in a lot of hours: days and days of being up at 3:45 in the morning and driving until 6:30pm when gates close.

Aside from that, any travel stuff, I love photographing people, adults, street scenes, and derelict buildings.

Siblings © Su Kaye

On the photography side of it, you have to feel passionate about it, and with portraiture you have to feel comfortable and confident with your subject.

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PHILIP BERMINGHAM ON THE JOB

A

Book Review:

s society catapults further into the digital age, seeing images printed and bound in books becomes rarer and rarer. Yet, every week I must digest thousands of photographs scrolling through the BIPP’s social media feeds and sourcing content for the upcoming magazine. So it was a pleasant surprise when I got a phone call from over the pond from Philip Bermingham, an English-born photographer who, after working the beat as a police officer in Liverpool, emigrated to the States and, in 1980, opened his first photography studio in Washington, D.C.

After our chat, where we shared a connection to the city of Liverpool and our love of photography, the next week, a humungous, beautifully printed book arrived at the BIPP office from the Washington-based photographer made up of his career portfolio working in America’s capital. Alongside his work as a photographer, Philip has sat on several boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and is an Honorary Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

On the Job, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II

Comedian & TV host, Jay Leno

Front cover image © Philip Bermingham

© Philip Bermingham

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PHILIP BERMINGHAM WA S H I N G TO N D. C .

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court © Philip Bermingham

Former USA President, Richard Nixon

Image of Adolph Church taken at the ‘Cresta Run’ in St Moritz Switzerland

© Philip Bermingham

© Philip Bermingham

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“T

he steady stream of interesting faces from every walk of life, from politicians to private families, provided me with a diverse clientele.”

Spanning forty years, the book Portraiture: On the Job displays portraits representing the plethora of individuals who have lived in or visited Washington, D.C. When you open the weighty hardback and look inside, you notice the eclectic collection could not have been made in any other city and is indeed a snapshot in time of the prominent faces of an era, including some of the most infamous figures of the 20th century, from Richard Nixon to beloved comedian and talk show host, Jay Leno.

Philip says, “The steady stream of interesting faces from every walk of life, from politicians to private families, provided me with a diverse clientele. I got to travel far-flung destinations to photograph families in their favourite vacation spots to good samaritans hard at work.”

Throughout his career taking portraits, the Washington-based practitioner says his photography serves as an international passport, allowing him to capture images in the desert of the United Arab Emirates and remote indigenous regions of Australia to taking prolonged visits to the tiny Caribbean islands of Mustique as part of the World Pediatric Project, and trips to the island of St. Vincent to document volunteer doctors and their team providing medical surgeries and training.

Bermingham’s inherent ability to relax the subject to capture exceptional portraits is reflected in the connection made with his sitter in each photo in the collection made whilst On the Job.

You can buy the book on Amazon.

If you would like a personalized signed copy, please contact the studio directly at Philip@philipbermingham.com Plácido Domingo, Tenor © Philip Bermingham 38 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

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LIGHT IN DARKNESS LO R R A I N E M A L L I N D E R

Finding Light in the Darkness:

Ayman al-Amiri explores his war-torn home Words by Lorraine Mallinder & Images by Ayman al-Amiri

International multimedia journalist Lorraine Mallinder’s boots-on-ground journalism covers everything from political uprisings to social justice campaigns in some of the world’s most hostile environments, to give a voice to people who need it most. Lorraine’s guest feature in ‘the Photographer’ tackles the harrowing tale of a young photographer’s efforts to make sense of his obliterated homeland of Iraq and reinvigorate his national identity through his camera.

T

wenty years ago, almost to the day, the US invaded Iraq in what is now viewed as one of the biggest foreign policy blunders of modern times.

Hundreds of thousands died as a result of the invasion, the ensuing sectarian civil war, the emergence of Islamic State and the general collapse of infrastructure in the country.

For Ayman al-Amiri, 27, the invasion would forever change the way he saw the world around him. He recalls Saddam Hussein burning crude oil around Baghdad to obscure bombing targets. The skies, the streets, the buildings, people’s faces were black with the smoke.

Mourners would wear black for 40 days after their loved ones died. And all around him, the mood was black.

“There was no colour at all. Everything was black, black, black,” he says.

The son of a photographer, Amiri helped his father to document everyday life after the invasion – “in all sorts of situations, with water shortages, power cuts, a lack of food, the people crazy and scared.”

By the time he was 20, he’d saved up enough money from freelance jobs to buy his first camera, a Leica M3 with a 50mm lens from the 50s. A luxury item in Iraq, it had been found in the house of a wealthy businessman who had worked in the oil industry. It had cost him six months’ salary, but it was worth every cent.

Light and comfortable, it’s a fantastic camera to work with, he says. “In Iraq, you have to move fast because you don’t know what will happen with security and attacks.” A 40 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

Ayman al-Amiri, 27, photographer with AFP in Baghdad

few years back, he lost a borrowed Minolta XD11 in the Battle of Mosul, following the Iraqi army as they routed out Islamic State, which was attacking them with rocketpropelled grenades. “There were so many attacks,” he says.

“I was running very fast, and I lost it forever.”

LIGHT IN DARKNESS AY M A N A L - A M I R I

They kill the dead twice: a photo conveying the suicide epidemic and the sense of isolation felt the city of Baghdad © Ayman al-Amiri

Working with his Leica, he began to experiment with expired film that he’d found in an old camera shop in Baghdad’s Bab al-Sharqi neighbourhood. He wanted to get away from the “clean, soft, beautiful, perfect” results that were becoming so ubiquitous in digital photography.

Working with expired film, the results damaged and grainy, he felt able to express some of his everyday reality.

“Because my life is like this. Baghdad itself is an expired city,” he says.

His photos recently featured in The Baghdad Gazette, an exhibition in downtown Baghdad. It consists of a series of fictional front-page splashes on the most pressing issues facing a country that has been in crisis mode for the past two decades – though the stories aren’t your usual newspaper fare. One feature on the current suicide epidemic sees Amiri go underground – literally – to interview a 21-year-old who has just killed herself.

Nisan drank a bottle of poison after her father tried to marry her off to his friend, 30 years her senior. Devastated at the prospect of abandoning her studies to marry a man she did not love, she decided to end it all.

“Don’t you miss life?” asks the reporter.

“Can you miss something you never had?” she replies.

Iraq’s reported suicide rate is on the rise, owing to problems like crime, poverty and abuse. But, in this conservative society, it’s a taboo subject, so the root causes go unaddressed. “They kill the dead twice,” says Nisan, who now lies abandoned in her grave, her soul screaming for eternity. Though the failed wedding singer in the grave next to her provides a touch of gallows humour.

The photo accompanying the article features the silhouette of a lone person on a bridge beneath an overcast sky. “Sometimes I feel alone like this guy, as if I was the only person in the city,” says Amiri.

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LIGHT IN DARKNESS LO R R A I N E M A L L I N D E R

“T

his river is 7000 years old, but there is no water,” says Amiri. “The buffalo was reared since Sumerian times.

It is very famous in the marshes, a protector of the water.”

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Image © Ayman al-Amiri

LIGHT IN DARKNESS AY M A N A L - A M I R I

Another piece, written by collaborator Furat al-Jamil, features an interview with a water buffalo named “Taj” in the marshes of Iraq.

Taj has survived the Iran-Iraq war and the US invasion, but is now witnessing the drying of the mighty Tigris, as a result of drought and dams built upstream in Turkey. “This river is 7000 years old, but there is no water,” says Amiri. “The buffalo was reared since Sumerian times. It is very famous in the marshes, a protector of the water.”

His photo of a lone buffalo among the reeds has a dark poignancy, offering a glimpse of a world that may soon cease to exist. As it turns out, Taj is a spirit buffalo, who spreads his large wings, casting a foreboding shadow over the wetlands, before taking flight.

Now working as a photographer for Agence France Presse in Baghdad, Amiri wanted to break out of the 24/7 media cycle to tell Iraq’s story in a quieter, more emotionally engaging way. By blending fact and fiction through stories and photography, he and Jamil wanted to get people thinking about issues like health, poverty and climate change, he says.

“People are thinking outside the classical style. They see that the pictures go with the ideas, creating the same feeling.”

The events of the past two decades have left Iraqis in a state of collective burnout, says Amiri. “People in Iraq stopped using their imagination, they stopped dreaming. They don’t have time to process,” he says. “With the Baghdad Gazette, we wanted to tell people: let’s think again, dream again, have hope again.”

Issue One / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 43

A N DY WA L M S L E Y WA S H S T U D I O

Art Direction

What you need to know For those members who’ve had the pleasure of visiting the office space-cum-gallery BIPP’s head office, you will know that feeling when stepping into the ‘house’ - it oozes with creativity and makes your inner artist leap out.

The Artistry House is an office space-cum-gallery , formed by an innovative Preston-based creative agency, Wash Studio, dripping in cutting-edge design and decorated with captivating artwork - it’s a place the BIPP is proud to call home.

Founder and Creative Director Andy Walmsley speaks to ‘the Photographer’ about his decades of industry experience working with leading photographers to produce standout imagery in the studio and out on location for global campaigns and projects.

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Image from a Jaguar advertising campaign by Wash and shot by Sean Conboy

What about the Art Director?

So, before you photography folks out there get all defensive and think, ‘I don’t need an Art Director’ or have no idea what an Art Director does, for that matter - let me explain: ‘An Art Director is a person who manages and directs a team of creatives, such as designers, copywriters and photographers. Art Directors usually oversee the overall concept of a project and manage the individuals who work on the various creative aspects and outputs of that project.

‘They create a culture of exploration and experimentation, but equally one where they are guided by the brand strategy and creative briefs. So there you have it! That’s Art Direction.’

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A N DY WA L M S L E Y ART DIRECTION My Art Direction Story Before I became Founder and Creative Director of Wash Studio back in 2003, I’d been an Art Director in many small North West agencies prior. However, it was purely a ‘self-titled’ role in the early days as I also had little knowledge of the Art Directing duties. In fact, I had none, until one day, whilst working as a young graphic designer in a jobbing studio in Preston, a chap rocked up outside in his Porsche 911, jumped out, flicked his ponytail and headed into the studio to brief our team on some photography layouts and directions he’d created. He was the ‘Art Director’ from a larger Manchester agency who we were sub-contracting for at the time... and it was love at first sight! That was the job for me. (This was the 80s, by the way.)

For me, this was a way out of just simply sitting on – what was then – a drawing board all day. I wasn’t the best designer, and I wanted to get out and about on photography shoots. I wanted to create concepts and see them come to life. This seemed so much more exciting than pushing fonts and logos around all day. It was such an eye opener for me and a turning point in my career. But it wasn’t an easy move by any stretch.

I left school at the age of 16 without any qualifications apart from my Art ‘O’Level. However, this managed to land me a job at Hamilton Press in Preston on a Youth Opportunity Scheme, being paid roughly £25 a week. And

Image of Andy Walmsley & Sean Conboy out on a shoot

from then, I jobbed around various local newspapers as a paste-up artist and then became a graphic designer. But I was never trained properly; I just picked things up as I went, and I didn’t have much understanding or insight of the industry I was in. It was only when I got the job at the agency in Preston called Longcastle that the creative field I was in started to open up for me.

Image from Lunar Caravan advertising campaign by Wash and shot by Sean Conboy 46 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

Image from Hyundai advertising campaign by Wash and shot by Sean Conboy

The other problem I had was that I couldn’t fit into the ‘city agency’ life. I didn’t particularly want to go to London or Manchester, and although I did try, I got many rejections. So, I needed to make it work up here in Lancashire. But the projects I had to work on back then simply didn’t have the budgets to justify letting me loose on them as an Art Director. So it was a tough climb all the way.

However, what I did do was start to engage with local photographers. This proved tricky at first as many of those hadn’t worked with Art Directors, and many didn’t want pushing out of their comfort zone. Many were far too stuck in their ways.

By the early 90s, I was working at a small creative studio in Blackpool, called Encore, run by a great guy called Ed Christiano. Teamed up with then copywriter Phil Reagan, I was truly let loose as an Art Director. Ed gave me the freedom to come up with engaging concepts and gave me the confidence to sell them in. I was off... and on one cold February morning at Encore, a young photographer by the name of Sean Conboy turned up to show his portfolio.

And I loved it. He was the photographer for me.

After months of pushing ideas and selling concepts, eventually, we got our break and started working together.

Suddenly my portfolio was looking stronger and more professional, and this made it easier to sell in the Art Direction to clients who, back then, didn’t really get it or use that approach. However, they soon realised that what we were delivering was starting to give them the edge over their competition, as their marketing collateral started to look and work so much harder than it had before. A winwin.

So over the years, I built my portfolio whilst working with some great photographers: Sean Conboy, Jonathan Oaks, Adrian Ray, John Spinks, Tony Blake, Jonathan Beer and Kate Abbey, and with clients such as GORE, Hyundai, MG, Jaguar Land Rover, MediaCity, Baird Group, Allied London, Bovis Lend Lease, to name a few. Things went from strength to strength.

Working with a great photographer is something I love.

Pushing an idea back and forth between you and making something look amazing is such a joy. I recommend to any young photographer who is possibly wondering which direction to take their work to try hooking up with a young, ambitious, slightly crazy Art Director and just see where you can push things.

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“I

love to go to places where few people have ever stepped. To capture people putting it all out there and striving to complete a challenge is a humbling experience.”

Image © Leo Francis 48 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

A Journey into the Desert with

Leo Francis ABIPP We all fantasise about leaving the monotony of life to travel the globe and visit the beautiful natural wonders of the world – for Leo Francis ABIPP – this dream is a reality. Combining his adventurous spirit, love of extreme sport and creative vision, Leo works as a photographer on behalf of Red Bull, regularly having work featured in the national media and getting sponsored kit from leading photography outlets.

In this piece, he takes us through a photographer’s enduring journey to capture some of the most intense athletic endeavours, in the remotest destinations and severest conditions.

I

n the heart of Namibia is the Namib desert. Namib means ‘vast place’, which gives a slight insight into the scale and grandeur of the oldest desert on earth. The sand dunes of the Namib desert and the famous Skeleton Coast are perhaps two of the most photographed landscapes in the world – in equal part alluring, evocative, mysterious and foreboding.

In the ancient expanse of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, with the Namib desert at its heart, endless skies merge with the world’s highest, towering sand dunes - they stretch out for hundreds and hundreds of miles nothing else - just sand and sky. And then, at the coast, the Atlantic breakers come crashing onto the shore amid colonies of thousands of seals, rolling in on the cold seas of the Benguela Current all the way from Antarctica. It is an inhospitable, brutal and utterly beautiful part of our planet.

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R A C E TO T H E W R E C K LEO FRANCIS ABIPP

If you’re looking for a remote, truly epic (a word that gets banded around too much these days, but it does apply to the Namib) place for a photoshoot, the Namib desert is it!

I’m lucky enough to head out there each year to shoot a selection of hardy souls whose aim is to cross the desert on foot. Their journey takes them 303km from the source of the usually bone dry Kuiseb River (I have seen it flow once for the first time in 30 years) to the famous landlocked shipwreck, the Eduard Bohlen. This feat of endurance takes four days and is an event created by the UK expedition company Rat Race. I have the pleasure of shooting and taking part in many of their events across the globe, but the Rat Race, ‘Race to the Wreck’, as it’s called, is a particular favourite of mine. CEO and general adventure wizard of Rat Race Jim Mee created the route.

2023 was my third time shooting the event, one of those times being back in 2019, my last trip before lockdown.

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It was the infamous Sport Relief crossing of the Namib where Grimmy had an exceptionally bad time with heat exhaustion, and Judge Rinder surprised us all by showing he was an absolute beast, running the whole thing, taking it in his stride and being an all-round legend in the process.

Each time I shoot this event, I fall in love with the Namib even more. The Namib Desert is an incredible place that will take your breath away. As a photographer, it’s one of the most exciting places to be.

Shooting the Rat Race ‘Race to the Wreck’ event is an epic adventure. It’s a chance to capture incredible images of the Namib Desert and to see the landscape in a way that few people ever get to experience. The magnificent Namib desert with tiny specks of endurance athletes running through that desolate expanse makes for truly magical images.

“E

ach time I shoot this event, I fall in love with the Namib even more. The Namib desert is an incredible place that will take your breath away.”

Images © Leo Francis

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R A C E TO T H E W R E C K LEO FRANCIS

One of my favourite things to do as a photographer is to capture people’s life-changing journeys across a place that is so mind-blowingly epic and remote. I love to go to places where few people have ever stepped. To capture people putting it all out there and striving to complete a challenge is a humbling experience. To give the participants images of themselvess in these locations when they are looking their best, their worst and truly broken is a very special thing to be able to do. I am so grateful I get to do that as my job. I love to experience this journey with them and to create images they will always treasure. This process creates a bond; many of the participants I shoot in these events I am now privileged to call good friends.

So what’s it like to shoot in a place like this? The light in the desert is best in the early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky and casts long shadows over the dunes. You get beautiful shapes created from shadows and highlights. These are the moments when the desert comes alive, when the colours of the sand and the rocks are at their most vibrant. You can get utterly spectacular images at these times.

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TOP TIPS As amazing as the event is, and the experience is, protecting your equipment is always in your mind. So I’m not one to get mega preachy and techy, but here are my top tips for shooting in the desert: Don’t go in without protection Tights, bring loads of pairs of tights, cut them up into tubes, and put them over your lenses to stop the sand from getting in. Hearing your lens grind as you zoom or focus is a truly horrible sound, and adding protection can stop this from happening.

Try and use a lens per body If you can have a body for each lens, you don’t need to change lenses; it can get pretty windy in a desert. If you’re shooting a Duran Duran video, that’s great, but if you’re swapping a lens in a sandstorm, it’s not the best.

Invest in a decent bag This might be a niche tip, but I often run some of the routes, so I bring a big ‘base camera bag’ (I highly recommend a Pelicase for this. They are sand and dust resistant, and if you’re travelling with a crew, you know, if this bag gets moved when you’re not there, that your kit will be as safe as it can be.) and a small on-the-fly camera bag. This allows me to be quickly mobile but keep a lot of my gear in my base camera bag in a vehicle and safe from the sand.

Clean your shit, a lot Google this as there are multiple, multiple ways to clean your sandy gear; choose what you think gives best reduced risk to reward vs speed. I’m not going to recommend what I do here as it may not be good for some.

Images © Leo Francis

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R A C E TO T H E W R E C K LEO FRANCIS

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But as beautiful as the sand formations are, the sand is your camera’s enemy - it gets everywhere - you can’t stop it - it just does. As much as I love shooting ‘Race to the Wreck’, the event is not just about capturing great photographs. It’s also a chance to disconnect from the world and be off-grid for a while. In a world that is always connected, always on, it’s refreshing to be in a place where there is no signal, no Wi-Fi, and no distractions. It’s just you, your camera, and the desert. My all-time favourite thing about this event is the desert camps.

Camping in the desert is an experience that is hard to describe.

The silence is almost overwhelming, broken only by the sound of the wind blowing through the dunes. The stars in the night sky are brighter than you’ve ever seen them, and the Milky Way seems to stretch out endlessly. It’s a place that makes you feel small and insignificant, but at the same time, it’s a place that fills you with awe and wonder.

As you can probably tell, I love the Namib and love shooting there - it’s a vibe. If you ever get the chance or the inclination for an off-grid, remote photographic adventure, the Namib is a place I’d highly recommend. Most importantly, don’t forget your bucket and spade!

Images © Leo Francis

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PIXSY FIGHT IMAGE THEFT

85%

of images uploaded on the internet are used without permission or a licence and few photographers are immune to image theft.

Find and fight image theft with Pixsy.

What is Pixsy? Pixsy is an online service that allows photographers to track where and how their images are used online and take action when they are used without permission.

For creatives, by creatives, Pixsy was founded in 2014 and is a team of photographers, lawyers and developers aiming to bring creatives alike access to legal solutions to copyright infringements at no upfront cost to them. Our clients are photographers, designers, agencies, media companies and brands. Presently, Pixsy works with over 200,000 creators from around the world to protect their images. Each day we monitor more than 150 million images, have uncovered 350+ million matches, and handled over 180,000 copyright infringement cases.

Pixsy offers a suite of tools to help photographers and creators monitor and protect their copyrights. Including: • Monitor = see where and how your work is being used • Resolve = recover compensation when a business is using an image without a licence • Takedown = get images taken down from websites and platforms • Register = register images with the US and Canadian copyright offices 56 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

We monitor the public internet and provide matches of the images for users to review whether the usage is approved or unauthorised.

All matches are presented on an easy-to-use dashboard, and enriched with additional information such as country (where that site is operating from), category (the type of site or business), and grouped by the business sites/ properties). We score each match on how commercial we believe the site to be, and how similar the match is to the source image.

Our technology is good enough to find heavily altered versions of the image; including crops, rotations, recoloring, layers, text/banner overlays, watermarks (added or removed), images printed on objects (t-shirts, books, cups), etc.

If a match happens to be an infringement, the system allows the photographer to take further action and have the image removed (takedown) or recover lost revenue (case/ resolve).

Our team of experts is here to help every step of the way.

D ATA CO LO R PICTURE INSTRUMENTS

Datacolor aligns with Picture Instruments Integration of Datacolor’s Spyder Checkr colour reference charts Datacolor’s Spyder Checkr, Spyder Checkr 24 and Spyder Checkr Photo colour reference charts have now been integrated into Picture Instruments’ MASTER MATCH software, which can be used to colour-correct or match images using a reference chart or to edit based on before-and-after images. This is possible for photos, as well as for video material and 3D content.

Colour matching various camera systems One of the advantages of MASTER MATCH software is the easy, precise and fast matching of photo and video material. When different camera systems are used in a project, footage from a wide variety of sources must be colour-matched to achieve a coherent look and feel.

With the help of Spyder Checkr, Spyder Checkr 24 or Spyder Checkr Photo, this can be done quickly and easily without trial and error. MASTER MATCH synchronises the colour reproduction of a camera with any other camera. From drone shots, iPhone photos or videos to professional films, a colour profile can be applied to other images/videos. Datacolor colour reference charts work seamlessly with MASTER MATCH, so users can easily colour-match camera systems and transfer colour profiles from before and after images or screenshots.

Three modes can be selected depending on the intended use: Colour chart mode: for use with colour charts used during shooting, such as Datacolor Spyder Checkr Photo, Free-point mode: for colour matching without a colour chart, - Pixel difference mode: for extracting looks from before-and-after image comparisons.

3D-LUTs and ICC profiles for absolute flexibility All colour corrections can be exported in various 3D LUT formats and as ICC profiles to be applied to various photo and video applications.

MASTER MATCH can be downloaded from the Picture Instruments website via the try/download button.

The trial version runs indefinitely. A licence is required to export LUTs and ICC profiles or to visualise LUTs in MASTER MATCH. Great price savings on MASTER MATCH! Save £132 Datacolor is offering a voucher code to save on MASTER MATCH software - available for only £178.80 instead of £310.80 incl. VAT. Purchase a Spyder Checkr, Spyder Checkr 24 or Spyder Checkr Photo or Datacolor kit such as the Spyder X Capture Pro or Spyder X Photo Kit, and a MASTER MATCH discount code will be included as part of the set-up instructions in the Datacolor Spyder Checkr software, redeemable on the Picture Instruments web page.

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T H E J U R A S S I C CO A S T S T E V E B E L A S CO A B I P P

The Jurassic Coast from the Sea Steve Belasco is a photographer who has dedicated 12 years to capturing the beauty of the natural world through his lens. His stunning photo book ‘The Jurassic Coast from the Sea’ showcases the rugged and awe-inspiring landscape of the coastline in southern England. Belasco’s passion for photography is evident in every image, and his dedication to his craft has resulted in a collection of breathtaking photographs that are sure to inspire and delight readers.

I

’m in no position to teach my grandparents (fellow BIPP members) to suck eggs. So I’m afraid most readers will find this article anecdotal rather than educational.

I’ve recently had my third photobook, ‘The Jurassic Coast from the sea’ published, which is selling nicely. It consists of some 180 photographs of the eponymous Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site, which is 95 miles long, all shot from my motorboat. Over the last 12 years I estimate I’ve cruised more than 2,000 miles up and down the coast, all year round and at most times of the day and night. The only real restriction is the weather; a small motor boat offshore is no place to be when the wind pipes up.

There are a few specific challenges when working from a boat… the most important, of course, being to stay in it.

Nearly always working alone, apart from the odd occasion when Zelda my sea hound accompanies me, means if I go over the side, there’s no-one aboard to rescue me. So safety is always the number one priority. And I often wish I had two pairs of hands and eyes… it’s more than once that I’ve been squinting through a lens only to eventually look round and realise I’ve drifted closer to the rocks than intended.

But I’m no hero and try not to take risks and the one time I fell in was stepping from the boat into a dinghy which decided to move away at the worst moment. Fortunately, although fully clothed, I didn’t have my camera backpack on! But it still took 20 minutes of hard work, involving stripping off, in March waters, to haul myself back aboard.

Lost the mobile and car key but no camera gear.

The biggest technical challenge is camera movement.

Unfortunately, VR doesn’t seem to be able to cope with a 58 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

Images © Steve Belasco

The wolf moon rising behind Durdle Door, midwinter

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T H E J U R A S S I C CO A S T S T E V E B E L A S CO A B I P P

boat that can be pitching, rolling and yawing, at the same time compounded by my trembling disposition. So that means high shutter speeds, which often means using lenses at full bore. Which creates three other issues: it’s a severe test of a lens’s wide-open performance; you get the depth of field of a fag packet; plus the autofocus often struggles.

My working lens is an old 80-200 Nikkor f2.8. My others are 20mm, 50mm and 300mm mid-level Nikkors. Perhaps surprisingly the telephotos get by far the most use as it’s often not practical to manoeuvre the boat as close to the subject as I’d like. This exaggerates camera movement even more and underlines the need for those high shutter speeds. I try to work at 1/2000 most of the time which then often necessitates a high ISO. Some subjects are understandably less accommodating than others; for example, some warships don’t take kindly to you zooming up close and pointing a lens at them. My ‘intentions’ have sometimes been questioned by HM’s Navy over the VHF with a ‘please keep your distance sir, we are carrying out manoeuvres’, which is their polite way of saying ‘go away’!

Less politely, I once pottered slowly up towards a very large anchored US Naval vessel on a warm, quiet afternoon when suddenly a deafening, twangy voice shrieked out, ordering me to leave the area immediately. I nearly fell out of the boat. I think it was one of those directional loudspeakers that they aim like guns and which, I believe, (turned up a few decibels) can paralyse or even kill people.

(I’m sure I heard a muffled laugh at the end!)

Nonetheless, the sea is a fabulous environment in which to work, with some unique lighting conditions. You’re really sitting in a giant reflector pushing light back into harsh shadows and almost creating an HDR effect naturally.

Then there’s a weather phenomenon called a sea-breeze front. Mainly in the summer and autumn, warm, moist air comes across the Channel and rises as it hits the land, producing fluffy white cumulous clouds all along the coastline. Looking landward, this makes for tasty skies, but standing underneath them on the shore looking outwards, all you’ll see is blue sky.

Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first visit to the Channel. With huge media interest, this sunset photo appeared in The Times, Telegraph, National Geographic and more, Nov 2017 60 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

Image © Steve Belasco

Retrospective images of Steve’s career: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, Donington Festival 1985 | A newspaper front page from two months into my early career | My favourite woman (not!) on the hustings, 1983

If you’re trying (and I emphasise ‘trying’) to earn a living from marine photography, you really need your own boat. Otherwise there are many ‘tourist boats’ that will take photographers out for a daytime or evening coastal cruise for a reasonable price. Here in South Dorset we have resident dolphins and seals which means dolphin-spotting trips are very popular… and good images of them sell well too!

I’m a regular contributor to several local and national magazines which just about covers the boat-running costs but editorial photography rarely pays well these days and it’s considerably more fiscally rewarding for me to supply large pictures for individuals, hotels, restaurants, business reception areas, etc.

My latest scheme is trying to develop ‘fine art coastscapes’, particularly in monochrome. I’ve found the subtle tonal

structure of the sea blending into the land and the sky lends itself very well to greyscale reproduction.

It’s a bit of a circular photographic journey as, 40 years after becoming a professional black and white smudger and later overdosing on the stunning colour possibilities of digital photography, I find myself back in black once again…

I gained my L and ABIPP along the way and would love to finish with an ‘F’ but fear I’m running out of time!

The coffee table book, ‘The Jurassic Coast from the sea’, is now available direct from me for £16.99 UK postage is £3.00 (any quantity) Copies available from www.stevebelasco.net Issue One / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 61

M Y L I F E A S A P H OTO G R A P H E R PA L L I G A J R E E F B I P P

MY LIFE AS A PHOTOGRAPHER PALLI GAJREE OAM, FBIPP, Hon.FRPS

Evening Stroll © Palli Gajree

Dorothy © Palli Gajree

The longest and oldest Australian-based member of the BIPP, Royal Photographic Society and the Photographic Society of America, Palli Gajree, has had a photographic career that's extended from taking pictures to judging, curating exhibitions and teaching. In this piece, he returns to day one and takes us on his fascinating photographic journey.

I

was born and brought up in Kenya, my parents having migrated from North India back in the mid-20s.

My interest in photography began at a young age of 15, when I saved enough pocket money to invest in a Kodak 127 folding camera just after the last war. It had only cost me an equivalent of $3.00 then!

Enthusiasm in portraiture developed and in 1951 I added a twin-lens Rolleiflex to my equipment. Relatives, friends and anyone else who could be persuaded were posing in front of my new camera. Two years later, in 1953, this interest in portraiture took a new turn when I travelled to the United Kingdom to do a two-year full-time course in photography at the Manchester College of Technology (now known as Manchester Metropolitan University).

62 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One

After the completion of studies, I turned to London and joined the West-End portrait studio with the wellknown photographer, the late Walter Bird, FIBP, FRPS. Two years’ experience gained from this studio proved most beneficial and any success I achieved in portrait work is largely attributed to this great master of portrait photography. Bird himself was a keen Salon exhibitor which was to provide even further incentive in competing with other exhibitors around the world. My first exhibition success came in 1957 when one of my portraits taken at Walter Bird Studios was accepted and shown at the London Salon of Photography. The same portrait was subsequently selected and reproduced in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1958 as well as Photograms of the Year 1958.

RETROSPECTIVE PA L L I G A J R E E F B I P P

In 1958 I returned to Nairobi, Kenya, to set up my own portrait and commercial studio with some degree of success. To be a successful portraitist one has to be very much aware of the importance of recording the human personality, coupled with rules of composition, lighting, background and so forth.

A couple of years later, a job offer as a senior cameraman emerged from the Kenya Government Information Services, an offer too good to refuse. This gave me good exposure to various other branches of photography such as Press, Photojournalism, Architectural, Industrial, Wildlife, Landscape Photography, etc.

Also, prior to Kenya gaining Independence in 1963, I was made the Head of Photographic Section with the Kenya Government Information Services. I recall that when Jomo Kenyatta became President of Kenya I was asked to take the official portrait, in colour, for circulation world-wide.

The biggest surprise of my life came in 1964, when my wife, Shashi, gave me a birthday present of a Hasselblad 500C complete with 150mm and 250mm lenses, magazines and prism finder. This was the major breakthrough in doing wildlife studies in colour and black-and-white. From then on, most of our weekends and annual holidays were to be spent around the National Parks and Game Reserves of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, an experience and thrill which is still cherished today.

In 1972, having made a momentous decision, we moved to Australia for permanent residence and settled in Melbourne. I joined Swinburne Institute of Technology (now Swinburne University) in 1973, and retired from a full-time lecturing position in Photography some 22 years later. I found teaching immensely enjoyable and stimulating. The students brought challenging ideas to be solved photographically, and it is very gratifying to see a number of them go on to establish successful photographic businesses, some on the international scene.

Trunk Pattern © Palli Gajree

My membership of both the IBP (now BIPP) and RPS has been a most important part of my life. After joining the Institute in 1954, I gained my AIBP in Portraiture in 1957 and FIBP in 1977 with black-and-white prints of African wildlife. In 1990 I was awarded the rare distinction of an Honorary FRPS, “for promoting photography over many years, particularly in Kenya and Australia, as an exhibitor, judge and teacher”. My work, incidentally, is represented in the RPS Permanent Collection as well as in collections of several other international photographic societies.

Leopard Leisure © Palli Gajree Images © Palli Gajree

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L I F E A S A P H OTO G R A P H E R PA L L I G A J R E E F B I P P

Exhibiting and lecturing, both locally and internationally, have been a major interest for me and I have been a judge at numerous national and international exhibitions. My interest in international photography has led me to be an active member of several of the leading photographic societies around the world and, over the years, I have gained various skill and service honours from these societies. I have also been awarded the highest skill and service honours of the International Federation of Photographic Art (MFIAP and Hon. EFIAP), the first and, so far, the only Australian to receive this recognition.

In 1989 I was awarded my most treasured award to date. That was the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for “Services to Photography”.

Also, as recently as March 2021, I was awarded a special RPS President and Council Commendation for “Meritorious Service”. It’s the first time this RPS Award has been made.

For the last two decades I have been involved with digital photography, taking on the challenges of Photoshop and Lightroom. I now use a Canon 5D Mark IV and shoot images in RAW exclusively. My latest interest has been converting a Canon 40D to take infrared images, a new challenge which I am enjoying immensely.

Looking back over my 65+ years in photography, I have enjoyed greatly the opportunities I’ve had to make contact with international photographers and thus develop an ability to assess constructively a wide range of photographic disciplines. And above all, I value the long-lasting friendships formed with other photographers, some going back fifty or sixty years.

What a pleasure and privilege it has all been.

Monster Tree © Palli Gajree

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