the Photographer - Issue One 2022

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2022 / Issue One

Fleeting Reflections Dive into the world of elusive abstract imagery with Mike Curry FBIPP

FEP Spotlight

Nikon Z9

Meet multi-disciplined photographer operating between New York and Lisbon, João Carlos

Dr Paul Wilkinson examines one of the most sought-after cameras on the market

17-20 S EPT EM BE R 2022, THE NEC, B IRM ING HAM

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ISSUE One, 2022

Fleeting Reflections 6 Dive into the world of elusive abstract imagery with Mike Curry FBIPP One Shot 14 An uncovered story behind a striking shot of a Rolls-Royce Spey engine blast Passion, Light, Vision & Memorable Pictures 16 Retired photography lecturer Gordon Read examines the emotional, philosophical and physiological meaning behind the impact of images

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

CEO: Martin Baynes President: Jon Cohen

In Conversation with Peter Davies LBIPP 24 We speak with a MOD photographer about his decorated career behind the lens and explore his action-packed portfolio.

Fifty Over 50 32 A photography campaign by member Alison McMath celebrating and promoting females over age 50 FEP Spotlight 44 Meet multi-disciplined photographer operating between New York and Lisbon, João Carlos

Directors: ABIPP Karen Massey ABIPP Monir Ali ABIPP Barrie Spence LBIPP Johanna Elizabeth (Chair) LBIPP Lucy Newson FBIPP John Miskelly (Treasurer) Regional Chairs: Barrie Spence ABIPP (Scotland) Argha Dutta LBIPP (North West) David Taylor FBIPP (Midlands) Andrew Younger LBIPP (South West) Irene Cooper ABIPP (Yorkshire) Monir Ali LBIPP (South East) Matt Curtis LBIPP (Cotswold)

Setting Goals 52 LinkedIn specialist Jeff Brown shares insights and guidance in creating and achieving your aims in the world of business Looking Back: John Hannavy FBIPP 54 Reflecting back on a career that’s spanned across a multitude of fields within the photography industry Nikon Z9 60 Dr Paul Wilkinson examines one of the most sought-after cameras on the market

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 2022

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

D

ear members,

Welcome to the spring edition of the Photographer, and well done to Joel on a great issue.

Every time I get a proof copy of the magazine, it really reminds me of the depth and breadth of talent throughout our wonderful membership. It is really exciting to see Aneesa and James working with young photographers to help them along with their new careers, and reading about the amazing John Hannavy and his fascinating journey and experiences. Alongside seeing some of the creative images that MOD photographer Peter Davies can achieve in the most difficult of circumstances, and then the incredible work and images from Alison McMath with her Fifty Over 50 project, and so much more.

The magazine and our membership are places rich and deep in knowledge, skill and passion for an industry we all love.

As I write this, the clocks are about to go forward an hour; I love this time of year as the plants are starting to wake, the first cuts of grass and the long two years of the pandemic will hopefully fall into the shadow of a winter past. I feel the same awakening in our industry; wedding photographers and portrait photographers are almost back to normal, commercial photographers are as busy as ever. And we as an organisation are starting to push on with this journey of change and modernisation we started almost three years ago - we can now release the brakes.

The work has started on updating our qualification procedures with Paul Wilkinson at the helm; we have almost completed updating the categories for the regional and national print competition. We are changing how we work with colleges and universities, and this will be presented to them in the next few weeks. Not 2 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

forgetting that digital LBIPP is currently open for entries and print qualifications, you can book on the website for May qualifications.

We are also planning an open day at the Defence School of Photography (DSOP) at RAF Cosford in August and a trip around the studios at Boohoo Plc in Manchester in June. These are trips that only your BIPP membership can get you access to.

Keep an eye out for things happening in your region, recently, Barrie Spence had a shoot day in Edinburgh with Paul Wilkinson, and Paul Ives put an afternoon on with Nikon that provided a hands-on demonstration of the new Z9. Watch for more regional events coming up; information will be released via email and on the website.

The Regional Image Competition will open on the 2nd of May, and we have changed the categories. I will send out a draft next week and place them on the website for comments.

There will be 12 categories in total, and category winners will be the ‘Photographer of the Year’ in the category they win, e.g., ‘Wildlife Photographer of the year 2022 North West’.

The 12 images with the highest scores will go to a second round to be rescored, and the ‘Overall Regional Photographer of the Year’ will be awarded.

The National Print Competition will open on the 22nd of August, and we look forward to seeing your entries.

Volunteers: we need your help! We want to get the regions vibrant again, and there is nothing better than getting together through Zoom and in person. Please step forward and support your region.

Contact the office or me directly, and we can talk about how you can help.

Have a great summer, and I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.

PRESIDENT J O N CO H E N

S

uddenly meeting people face to face (is this now forever f2f in meeting speak?) has drifted into normality, I know that we’re all forgetting 20/21 lockdowns as quickly as possible but I’m trying to keep in mind that meeting other humans is still a bit special, even on the tube, well that’s probably a step too far but hopefully you get my drift. So as always I’m looking forward to meeting our members at some of the many BIPP and photo industry events planned for the year, both online events and yes, especially the f2f ones.

execution, by Amilah Majid, 14 years old when she took the shot.

Unsurprisingly Impressions Gallery work with some top print labs in the UK, Spectrum Photographic printed this exhibition, they’re run by a lovely team in Brighton with a great reputation for friendly consultation and of course high quality print, they’re regularly printing major UK and international exhibition work so it was really good to see them so involved in this exhibition, if you want to see a bit more about them take a look at Spectrumlab on Instagram.

Meeting young people who have an interest in photography is always special, even more so if it’s potentially a career interest. I’ve mentioned Through Our Lens previously, it’s a project run by Carolyn Mendelsohn, working with young people in the Bradford area and giving their perspective on lockdowns and the pandemic in general. I met up with Carolyn recently at Impressions Gallery and while I’ve enjoyed following the project on Instagram I wasn’t prepared for the quality of the printed exhibition, it looked stunning!

Staying with the southern end of the country I spoke with Print Foundry’s Renato Tavares recently, based in South London they work with artists, galleries, interior specialists and of course photographers. Renato has a real interest in qualification panels, and the Print Foundry team give this area specialist attention as they appreciate that it’s the focus of a photographer’s life’s work.

They’re a very collaborative operation, working closely with photographers and printing some outstanding portfolios for both qualifications and exhibitions. Last year they worked with BIPP Fellow Aneesa Dawoojee on her qualification submission.

Renato talked through the process “We recently had the opportunity to work with Aneesa Dawoojee on her thought-provoking panel. We lined up all her images and suggested that she assess the group as a whole, explaining that the judges will evaluate the panel for the complete story that it tells. It is important to look for points of cohesion and uniformity – even if the panel was shot over a period of time, the judges will not want to see inconsistencies. Aneesa’s panel told a compelling story, which is why it excelled”.

Image ‘Flowers In Ice June’ © Amilah Majid

It’s true that a great printer can go some way to rescue an image but a high quality print completely enhances a good image, and these were seriously good images, the fact that the photographers were aged between 12 and 20 just made it even more impressive. This image was created completely, that’s from concept to

Of course it’s all about the photography, no panel could ever succeed on print quality alone but haven’t we all seen amazing images lose so much impact when they’re poorly printed.

Finally it’s been really enjoyable meeting the new board, they have so much expertise in so many areas, especially social media, they’ll be a major asset to our Institute.

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E D I TO R ’ S N OT E 2022

T

o start 2022 with an edition that displays such a diverse range of BIPP’s photographic community demonstrates why the Institute remains a staple in the photographic industry.

This issue was different from my first two in that there were no competition or qualification results, which usually take up a good portion of space. It meant sourcing the content from scratch, which gave me slightly more creative freedom to pull features from other places.

As a person passionate about photography in every sense of the word, having worked as a photographer for many years, and now through my position as a magazine editor, it’s fascinating for me to interview professionals to understand their processes, outlooks and habits and notice the common threads that connect all photographic disciplines.

I’ve found even the most practical implementation of photography can still require a creative touch, and more artistic pursuits still demand a high level of technical ability. This is one of the main factors that I see that separates photography from other fields; its ability to be a functional tool that captures data to an artistic instrument that expresses imagination.

I always try to highlight this within the magazine. In this edition, two of the contributors demonstrated it best, with Gordon Read’s philosophical exploration of the esoteric meaning of visual imagery to Dr Paul Wilkinson’s systematic breakdown of the complexities of the Nikon Z9.

These two opposing factors meet perfectly in Mike Curry’s Fleeting Reflections work as his meticulous application of technique produced far-out abstract artworks with personal significance.

Another topic I’ve covered in this magazine is

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NFTs. Before I started to research the topic, like for many people, it was a completely unknown concept that I had no actual understanding In Conversation: Gary Hill of its mechanics.

Although interestingly Seizing Opportunities Qualifications enough, one conclusion I come to is that the NFT space is offering Edition Four 2021 potential solutions to each end of the photographic spectrum.

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2021 / Issue Four

We chat with BIPP‘s Overall Photographer of the Year, Portrait Photographer of the Year, and recently qualified BIPP Fellow

BIPP photographer steps up to a new challenge on the world stage at COP26 this October

We look through members panels from the final BIPP Qualifications of 2021

Whether NFTs are something you feel is worthwhile investing your time in is up to you, but its growing role in the broader world of photography seems to be an undeniable factor. How it plays out is still to be seen, but it has the potential to shift the photographic industry in new directions in the coming years.

I’d hoped to celebrate this edition by exploring the history of the Photographer as a publication and highlighting its lifespan as it comes up to its 100th year in print this July, but I didn’t source the content I needed in time. However, after chatting with longtime BIPP members, I was pointed in the direction of Birmingham Library archives to find out more of what material the BIPP has collected over its history.

After making contact, I was informed there are 100 boxes currently in storage in the library’s collection that have not been officially archived. I was sent a brief outline of a few items contained, which listed backdated magazine issues! I will visit next month and begin to get a better sense of what’s available, with the aim to start to revive the decorated heritage of the publication and the BIPP as an organisation.

BIPP INSPIRED F U T U R E P H OTO G R A P H E R S

Inspiring Future Generations The Inclusion Committee firmly believes that the future of the industry lies in the hearts, minds and hands of the next generation of young upcoming photographers. As part of the Committee’s initiatives, we wish to support a career in photography and make it accessible for those who have the passion, drive and ability to work in the sector, regardless of their cultural background or financial situation.

W

e want to be forward-looking by proactively developing the next generation of photographers creatively and professionally and believe that the BIPP and the photography industry as a whole should reflect the diversity of the country and communities within their actions.

The BIPP Inspired scholarship will allow young photographers to develop skills, talk about their fears and be mentored by practising professionals who have been through the same challenges. The mentoring will help nurture both their technical and creative skills and give them a clear focus and path to grow in their chosen genres.

With that in mind, BIPP Inspired was born and is our very own scholarship programme, developed with an aim to introduce a more representative range of talent and diversity of thought and skill into the profession.

Inclusion for us is reaching out to those who are underrepresented in the sector or are unlikely to be able to access the vast amount of support available to them.

Aneesa and James come with their own vision and photographic experiences that will provide a strong basis to supporting the candidates. Both are committed to empowering the next generation of photographers to believe that photography is a positive and rewarding career.

BIPP Inspired is headed up by two fellows, Aneesa Dawoojee and James Musselwhite; both are passionate about opening doors for young photographers who don’t have the opportunity or access to learn from practising professionals in the industry.

We would like to welcome the inaugural recipients of the BIPP Inspired Scholarships Niko and Ella.

We look forward to supporting their growth over the next 12 months. We welcome positive vibes and support to encourage a successful year ahead and for them to enjoy this journey within the BIPP.

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 5

FLEETING

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Image © Jessica McGovern

REFLECTIONS

M I K E C U R RY F B I P P Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 77

FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

Fleeting Reflections It’s unusual to come across a photograph that feels completely different to anything you’ve seen before; today, much of the photography world is overrun with the same ideas, themes, concepts and styles - making creating anything truly unique near impossible.

Yet for me, when I first saw an image called ‘Constellations’ from Mike Curry FBIPP, it struck me that I had never seen anything like it before, and not only that, it also left me wondering what exactly I was looking at and how the unworldly visual was created.

Editor Joel Hansen finds out more...

A

professional photographer based in London for nearly 40 years, Mike’s abstract series titled Fleeting Reflections launched his profile online back in 2016. Having worked in various commercial roles over his career, Mike’s landscape and abstract work has always remained at the heart of his artistic output.

First experimenting with cameras after teaching himself as a teenager growing up in Yorkshire, England, Mike was always drawn to the obscurity of abstract imagery. However, the inspiration for his ‘Fleeting Reflections’ came from a place deeply rooted in his psyche, which preceded his interest in photography entirely.

The project began to form after being invited to work on a commercial commission for Canary Wharf Group plc in 2012 to capture a new angle of the iconic London business district. Mike says, “they wanted some abstract-ish sort of images of the Canary Wharf area because they’ve got lots of architecturally beautiful photographs, but they wanted something a bit more arty. So they gave me a 24/7 pass to go anywhere to explore Canary Wharf.”

“I spent so much time there that I started noticing these reflections in the water”.

After taking a shot of the glimmering specks of light, the results displayed an explosion of geometric shapes and colours in his LCD camera screen that inspired further exploration of the visual phenomena.

8 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

Image entiled ‘Constellations’ is an in camera triple exposure of a shadow of a bridge at Canary Wharf

Image © Mike Curry

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 9

FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

“I

looked to the camera, and I saw it said 999 images that sort of snapped me out of being in the zone.”

So, what you see in the Fleeting Reflection images are literal reflections of Canary Wharf buildings in water, with the water temperament, the weather and the details of the building playing the central role as to what patterns are produced in frame. The number of exposures taken in-camera further influences the outcome of the image, with many of the images taken as triple exposures.

Mike soon discovered his connection with the images.

He explains, “for projects to resonate with you, they have to have deep roots somehow connecting things from perhaps your childhood, or your hobbies.”

“I thought, well, what did I enjoy doing as a child? And it was doing spirograph, kaleidoscopes, Etch A Sketch they were very random, very colourful abstract patterns - with spirograph and a kaleidoscope, you’ll struggle to create the same pattern twice.”

Part of the series’ success, he credits to a change in perspective after listening to a talk at a photography conference called On Landscape that expressed the importance of working close to home, visiting the same spot often and familiarizing yourself with the environment to make something flourish. Mike recalls, “a few things dawned on me; I was interested in doing the reflections work, it was nearby, it was accessible, it was something that is easily repeatable, and it was something I was interested in.”

After frequent visits, he refined a method for the best results, “I just walk around and try and see where the movement of the water suits the light conditions.

It sounds strange, but these things are not visible to the naked eye; if I took you down there and I took a picture, what you see in the back of the camera does not 10 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

KIT LIST • Nikon D500 for density of its AF points over the whole frame and its speed of operation generally • Nikon 70-200mm f4 lens – no need for an f2.8 lens if you are shooting f8 and smaller • Fastest largest memory card you can afford • Patience! Most of my published images were derived from 3-4 hours of solid shooting of one area averaging 2-4,000 shots to create ONE final image experimenting with different exposures and in-camera multiple exposure methods. represent what the eye can see at the time.”

“I would sort of notice something moving out of the corner of my eye most times. Your peripheral vision is more sensitive to movement, so that is no accident. I would do a test shot, as the patterns on the surface of the water move so quickly, experimenting with slower/ faster shutter speeds mainly until what appeared on the LCD was looking good. Then the key to success I found was patience!”

“It’s very weather dependent”, Mike adds. “You need calm weather, you need sunny weather and the sun needs to be quite high to get the contrast and the colours, and there are not really many days when the weather conditions coincide with my availability. That means by the very nature - it’s very elusive and very fleeting - that’s why one of the words that I wanted to use is fleeting because not only the reflections themselves are very fleeting, but the moment to capture them is very fleeting too.”

The exercise of capturing the images become a meditation practice as Mike describes experiencing timeless states of concentration when focusing on a body of water and says for him, “The idea of concentrating for a longish period of time - which is harder than you think to exclude all other thoughts - is very relaxing because it frees your mind from anything else.”

“For example, in this photograph called Silk [front cover], I was standing at the same piece of water for nearly 4 hours photographing an area of water probably 3 meters by 2 meters.”

FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

Image entitled Crane II is shot on an iPhone of a reflection of a crane at Canary Wharf Image © Mike Curry

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 11

FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

A single shot of a reflection of an office building in Canary Wharf entitled The Kiss © Mike Curry

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FLEETING REFLECTIONS MIKE CURRY FBIPP

“T

hen you start thinking more about the conventional rules of photography, like the rules of thirds or Fibonacci curves or it could be the colour and composition. And one of the 999 images usually stands out by having a nice flow to the composition and distribution of elements in the image”.

“I looked to the camera, and I saw it said 999 images - that sort of snapped me out of being in the zone.”

and too much fuss going on, your eye will get distracted quite quickly, and it will become uncomfortable to look at.”

Silk was the first triple exposure Mike tried and would be the image that introduced Mike’s work to new audiences after he posted the shot on Twitter, “about a couple of hours later, and I had about 500 likes, around about 300 retweets, about 100 messages and messages from some of my favourite photographers.”

Each shooting session for the series can produce thousands of frames, which are then carefully whittled down and examined for the slightest variations in detail to figure out what works.

“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t really think that anybody else would be interested in them - I was doing them for me”, Mike admits.

Many of the final images are done mostly incamera and then slightly altered with levels and contrast to define the building aesthetic in the reflections, “You have to increase the contrast to make it actually look like the building itself.”

“You’ll find some buildings with simple elements will lend themselves to doing multiple exposures because one or two multiple exposures of a pattern that is complex already will still look pleasing to the eye. If it’s already a complex pattern, then you don’t need to add anything else to it because if there are too many visual elements

“Then you start thinking more about the conventional rules of photography, like the rules of thirds or Fibonacci curves or it could be the colour and composition. And one of the 999 images usually stands out by having a nice flow to the composition and distribution of elements in the image”.

As the series continued to be well-received online, the encouraging responses spurred Mike on to take the series further, and led to a book of the work published by Triplekite that coincided with his first public exhibition in 2017.

Mike is currently working on a second Fleeting Reflections project and using the same techniques to expand into new personal work and commercial commissions.

See more work at: www.mikecurryphotography.com

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 13

R O L L S - R OYC E O N E S H OT

ONE SHOT!

Steve Smith FBIPP, Head of Image Resource in Rolls-Royce’s Photographic Department, explored the rich photographic heritage of the iconic automobile maker during lockdown and uncovered the story behind a striking shot of a Spey engine blast.

A

s everyone is aware the last two years have been incredibly challenging, including for ourselves at one of Rolls Royce’s remaining ‘in-house’ imaging departments. With ‘events’ stopped, the majority of employees working from home and the threat of redundancy, we had the opportunity to look at ways of making improvements and new ways of working. One such activity was to look at our incredible collection of still and moving images. We are really lucky to be custodians of the company’s historical photographic archive, dating back to the early twentieth century, which has hardly been touched for many decades. We started with scanning some of the early 1913 glass plate negatives and moving on from there.

Somewhat sporadic, but with plenty of surprises along the way.

What suddenly struck me was not just the incredible images but a wanting to know who the creative professionals behind the lens were. I started to put a list together of all the photographers, printers and admin staff I knew of from when I started as a Rolls-Royce Apprentice photographer in 1984. The list grew, and one name, that of Tony Johnson, appeared out of nowhere on a local history Facebook group, not knowing Tony before I made the decision to contact him. It was then that he was able to tell me about his own experiences at Rolls-Royce in the 60/70s. He asked about the Spey engine reheat photograph he’d taken but never had a print of. From his description I was able to track down the negative, make a digital scan and provide him with a print.

Tony recalls the story behind the shot,“Here’s a photo I took in 1965 when I was a photographer at Rolls-Royce Derby. It took 15 PF100 flashbulbs to light it (each about the size of a 100W incandescent light bulb), all linked and fired as one. Then, with the testbed lights out, a time exposure of several seconds was given to pick 14 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

up the image of the reheat flame.

It was a Spey engine ‘souped’ up for the Phantom fighter aircraft; a top-performing ‘plane of the day’. You can imagine - or maybe you can’t - the insane noise level in the testbed! (42 Bed). The camera (a 5x4 MPP studio plate camera, securely bolted to the wall) had to be fired remotely from the Control Room, so I had a little motorised device made to press the shutter lever. The picture was used on the front cover of Flight Magazine soon afterwards. I have only just managed to get a copy of the image for myself after all these years.”

I was able to search our stores and find the type of flashbulb, a camera from the time and the original negative. It’s amazing to think that only one photograph was taken and turned out as a classic.

Through my research, I have discovered over 80 members of the Rolls-Royce photographic department, in Derby, since the early 1950’s. With, incredibly, only five Heads of department over the last 70 years, which includes myself, taking over as Team Leader in 2018.

We are determined to keep the legacy of these dedicated professionals alive and for others in the future to enjoy and learn from.

Image © Tony Johnson

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 15

GORDON READ PA S S I O N

Passion, Light, Vision & Memorable Pictures

An image by Ben Stockley for Yorkshire Golden Tea that combines the client’s needs and produces a memorable image. I am sure the client will be delighted with the series.

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Image © Ben Stockley

GORDON READ LIGHT

Passion, Light, Vision & Memorable Pictures

by Gordon Read I am a long-retired photography lecturer who had the privilege of working with many very talented students. Thanks to the internet I can view a lot of their work and continue to learn from them, they are great teachers.

Introduction

M

y interest in light and vision was rekindled when I received George Logan’s book “Lion, Pride Before the Fall”. George is a London advertising photographer who has a passion for conservation, and Lions in particular.

I have only recently begun to link the three together and the possible contribution they make towards “Memorable Pictures”.

Many years ago, on a family holiday to France we were driving along on a bright summer’s day heading towards Rocamadour. As we came around a corner there was an immediate gasp from everyone in the car when we glimpsed the bright sunlit village on the hillside. To this day some forty years later, we all remember that moment. On stopping the car, we took the time to admire the view. It was just the same as the hundreds of pictures and postcards of Rocamadour that you’ll find spread across the internet or in tourist shops in the vicinity. But stopping to gawp and trying to recapture the moment was futile. No matter how hard we looked, our view, magnificent though it was in all the conventional ways, had little of that instant feeling that made us all gasp. So, what did we all see?

Back in the mid-sixties I was invited to attend a lecture at the Royal Institution given by Dr RWG Hunt, an eminent colour physicist and Assistant Director of research at Kodak in Harrow. On taking my seat in the tiered lecture hall, I noticed a large screen with various blurred colours projected onto it. At some point during the lecture, Dr Hunt pointed to the screen observing that we could not distinguish any subject. It was true. All we could see were blurred blobs of colour. He then showed us a large black and white print of a bowl of fruit. On placing the print onto the screen, as if by magic, a sharp, full colour image of a bowl of fruit materialized before us. So again, what did we all see?

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 17

GORDON READ VISION Observations on Light A phenomenon that has always stood out to me is the seemingly greater intensity of the colour of painted front doors and boats in the Mediterranean. I’ve checked and can confirm that Mediterranean painters and decorators use the same paint as the rest of us. So, what causes the effect?

Flowers, leaves and grass all go brighter on a bright summer’s day. Moreover, the effect of light is so intense that if you hold your hand up to a bright light, parts of it will go semi-transparent. The actual intensity of the light source must be a contributing factor. This intensely bright light appears to penetrate the surface of the subject and illuminate it from within. It’s not a simple case of compensating for the brightness by camera exposure, but rather the magical effect of bright light on the subject itself.

It’s not easy to perceive this effect through straight comparisons. However, when looking at a body of work that utilises a high intensity light source whether outside or in the studio the effects are often subtle but noticeable.

The intensity of light is important, but the quality of light aids that first instant. Pictures in winter taken on a bright crystal-clear day have a very high contrast, with deep shadows. However, pictures taken in summer with a brighter light often exhibit far less deep shadows, this is caused by particles or dust in the air scattering the light, hence filling in the shadows. When discussing this effect with my friend and colleague Roger Goodwill we coined or resurrected the term “Mesda in the Grimlace, is proportional to the bepo dust count of the day”

This image by Annemarie sparks that word again - Passion - this time for flowers. That combined with appropriate technique helped by old Russian lenses allow her to create a mood and atmosphere.

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Image © Annemarie Farley FBIPP

GORDON READ MEMORABLE PICTURES

Stephen James Drury is interested in Light and Darkness; this image is a great example of utilising “Mesda in the Grimlace”

Observations on Vision To some extent we observe what we want to see or are expecting to see. In his book Biocentrism, Robert Lanza states: “that without the observer nothing exists.” What then does the observer observe?

Vision is complex but we understand the basics. In practical terms our central vision is sharp and shows the most colour. Away from the centre our vision falls off in terms of sharpness, colour and contrast. It all blurs off into an undifferentiated, largely unheeded myopic oneness. This is why fighter pilots are trained to turn their heads to look rather than rely on their peripheral vision. We also scan a subject and build up a picture of what it is we are perceiving. Confusing the picture further, the eye accommodates, giving our perception its apparent great depth of field. To complicate things still more, our perception depends in large measure on stored visual experiences in our memory. In other words: “We do not see the actual world, but our predictions.”

But what of that first instant? The spontaneousness of pre-registration? That slip between the cracks of Image © Stephen James Drury

time when we look at what we see, and in the fleeting duration of a mere glance we hit upon a moment of recognition or joy?

That first instant is often triggered by the magic of light, colour or both. This can vary from very subdued to in your face and you might not even recognise the subject at first glance.

With some practice I have found that I can get some idea of that first instant by filling my field of view with an area of similar trees and then concentrating on a specific small bunch of leaves. The temptation to move your eyes to check what else there is to see is immense, a force of dogmatic habit, probably a survival instinct given our evolutionary past as both predator and prey.

But with some practice it is possible to ignore. The result visually is a sharp colourful centre and a less sharp, less saturated and slightly darker area away from the centre. I will call this the “Photographers Zen Moment”.

This concentrated look gives a better idea of that first glimpse. Once the skill is developed it can be applied to most subjects the lighting conditions having to greatest effect.

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GORDON READ PA S S I O N Memorable Pictures During the last few months, I have been looking at a few photographers’ websites and the odd posted picture on Facebook. I kept going back to some of the less commercial work. It was a bit like my occasional, but memorable visits to the Impressionists Wing at the National Gallery, London. I always find myself going to the same pictures to get a top up. These are the pictures that leave a lasting impression. These are my “Memorable Pictures”.

There are images that are memorable for the wrong reasons, or reasons we’d rather forget; pictures that depict famine or war or other evils; or they are deliberately and ostentatiously sensationalist. This is not what I am talking about here. Here I’m talking about

pictures that are memorable due purely to the striking quality of the imagery - regardless of the magnitude great or small - of the subject. This poses the question: What elements are required to produce a “Memorable Picture”?

There are major differences between painters and photographers. They are both influenced by the quality of light, and I suspect that its that magic first moment that arouses the interest and starts the process of capture.

The technical difficulties of painting are well-known and established. Painters, moreover, generally need patience.

But in some ways, even more so, do photographers. Yes, photography is instant. But paradoxically, patience often lies at the heart of photography’s addiction to the moment. Its very momentariness, its split-second

Ian was not one of my students. I spotted this on Facebook which he had titled “Fruit after Cezanne” it’s a memorable picture, I keep going back to it.

20 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

Image © Ian Cartwright FBIPP

GORDON READ LIGHT pursuit of that which is often fleeting, is its arduous and painstaking task. While the painter spends time looking at the subject, then painting it, he is looking again to check, and is all the time working, working, always working, always doing something in the continuous process of refinement. This process might be the painter’s Zen Moment.

The pre-war photographers had the luxury of large format plate cameras equipped with very forgiving lenses; I remember seeing a picture of Ansel Adams lugging a large format camera together with a tripod through the wilderness. The results were very easy on the eye. Since then camera and lens manufacturers have strived to supply us with very expensive equipment with highly developed lenses that give micro contrast, very little flare and razor-sharp images from corner

to corner. This results in photographs more closely resembling the scanned images our brains naturally assemble. It’s as if the camera is dictating the result rather than the photographer. Digital is instant, even in the studio there is no waiting for the test shot to come back from the lab, hence robbing the photographer of valuable pondering, looking time. We are all being suckered into this super sharp, super-contrasted world.

Have a look at the latest televisions. Wow! Yes. But subtle?

It’s instant gratification, here in this second and then gone. This super sharp world is almost aggressive, probably reflecting the speed of life in modern society.

This image entitled Villa Nove de Mille Fonts was shot by one of the first students I had the privilege of teaching the basics to, Doug then took it to a different level. This picture is just one of many of his memorable images.

Image © Doug Currie

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GORDON READ VISION

“P

hotography is instant at recording what we think we see, but requires time, patience, skill and enormous visual awareness to capture what we feel and see in that magical first moment.”

Photography is instant at recording what we think we see, but requires time, patience, skill and enormous visual awareness to capture what we feel and see in that magical first moment.

I am reminded of a quote by Chuck Lewis at an Institute conference a few decades ago, I think it is even more relevant now in this instant digital age.

“Its hard, but its good that its hard, because if it was easy, everyone could do it and that would make it harder still.”

My conclusion is that “Memorable Pictures” must connect with the viewer without the need of any explanation or essay. Such photographs are invariably more pleasing and have an emotionally calming effect, a soothing quality, rendering a sense of relaxation. They have a lasting quality be they in colour or monochrome.

Having viewed many images over the years it might be that there are three possible contributors to that magic image. Appropriate quality, passion and a result that is as close as possible to the vision of the “Photographers Zen Moment”.

All the images are very of different subjects, but to me, they seem to have captured an element of that first magical moment. These are my “Memorable Pictures”.

I would like to thank the contributing photographers. You have been an inspiration to me and helped an old man engage his brain and attempt to make sense of my observations.

Thank you, you talented people.

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Robert Wilson/Jenson Button:Life to the Limit. I first spotted this picture in the front window of my local bookshop. It stood out from all the other front covers. I think portraiture is the hardest area in which to produce Memorable Pictures. They will be memorable to family, but to produce an image that has appeal outside of family is exceptional.

Image © Robert Wilson

GORDON READ

Image © Mathew Burlem

MEMORABLE PICTURES

Image © George Logan

Matthew has that ability to photograph the everyday and add a touch of magic.

George’s passion for his subject makes his book exceptional.

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MOD P E T E R D AV I E S

In Conversation with MOD Photographer

Peter Davies LBIPP Extreme conditions, remote environments, highpressured missions, and physical and mental feats endured over a 40-year career documenting the vast array of branches operating under the Ministry of Defence.

We speak with Peter Davies LBIPP about his decorated photographic experiences and explore his action-packed portfolio.

When did you first start shooting photography?

I started it off just before I joined the army, which was 1980. I got my first camera which was a Praktica TL1000; it was a screw fit, I started off with that, and it was all manual, but the quality that I got from those pictures on my first roll of film, it just inspired me, the quality was just fantastic, and that then led me into doing other stuff.

Where did you train as a photographer? Did you train officially?

I did a course at college, it was a four-week introduction course, and I really enjoyed it and thought I like this, then I ended up on the other side of that than joining the army.

When did you join the army?

I joined the Royal Artillery in 1980 and went to Woolwich Barracks for my basic training. Then after my basic training, I was asked if I wanted to go and do the commando course, which is a part of the Royal Artillery that is based in Plymouth with the Royal Marines; it’s about 10 weeks long, it’s a gruelling course, once I’d passed that I then got posted into the 29th Commandos in the Royal Artillery.

24 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

What made you want to join the army?

I wanted to see the world; I wanted to broaden my horizons and do something else. And where I was living in Hereford, there weren’t that many job opportunities; it was you can work in a factory, not saying that there’s anything wrong in that however I wanted to do something else.

I remember my dad saying you will not like the army it’s terrible because he was in national service, and I said I’m going to give it a go, and if it is not my cup of tea, I will do my three years and go, however, I did the full whack.

MOD P E T E R D AV I E S

I know you’ve done a few different roles within the MOD. Can you tell me about the areas you’ve worked in?

My first job with the MOD was as a photographer working at Middle Wallop; it sounds a bit of a weird and wonderful name, but it’s the army flying school, basically where the pilots go to learn to fly.

There was a lot of flying tasks, basically what would happen, a task would come in, and they would say we want some aerial shots of this area.

Then we would get to the area, and then he [pilot] would say, “okay, what do you want you?

A 360? Do you want to go higher? Do you want to go lower?” And it was up to me. To have that much insert was a lot of pressure because it cost at the time £10,000 an hour in fuel, so there was a massive amount of pressure to get it right.

It was quite funny you’d always get them saying, well actually, could you just possibly take a picture of my house on the way.

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.

Image © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

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MOD P E T E R D AV I E S

“W

hen they were doing the ice breaking, they stuck a diver in there, and he was just touching their legs - it was freaking people out - one guy said someone’s got my leg and started panicking and got his skis off and just dragged himself out.”

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Image © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

MOD P E T E R D AV I E S What was your journey into Soldier Magazine?

I wanted to get promoted, and the only way I could get promoted was by moving. Then a post came up working for Soldier Magazine, and I applied for that, went for the interview and tests, and they offered me the job.

I was there for about five years; it was a completely different job because you were working for a magazine; you either did the pictures for a specific task or did the pictures to go with a storyline.

There was a lot more scope for going abroad and doing different stuff - as the photographer - you were the driver - you got the brief, and it was up to you. If you had a writer with you, then they would write the story.

What content did you produce for Soldier Magazine? What does an assignment look like?

For one, I was tasked to go to Norway to do a winter survival course, so it’s where the army learned how to actually survive in the Arctic. We got on the ground, and it was about minus 10. The guys had just started off this week’s survival course, so what they had to do was learn how to build a shelter in the forest, then were given a chicken to prepare and cook. All they had was what they built, so they got a load of ferns and made a bed in teams of three. Once they did that, they went to do the ice-breaking...

Basically, they cut a hole in the Lake with a chainsaw because the ice is so thick, and then you get changed you put your skis on and some lightweight kit with a rucksack, and you ski up to the hole, and they put a rope around you, and you ski in, and then to drag yourself out with your poles.

When they were doing the ice breaking, they stuck a diver in there , and he was just touching their legs - it was freaking people out - one guy said someone’s got my leg and started panicking and got his skis off and just dragged himself out. Then the next guy was due to go in said, ‘please say you’re joking?’ he said, ‘no, I’m not joking - something gripped my leg!’

The same routine followed, and about halfway through, the diver just popped his head up and went and just pulled his goggles down and said, ‘I’m getting out guys it’s too cold - I’ve had enough.’

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MOD P E T E R D AV I E S

Army Air Corps pilot on a training session in Scotland

MOD dog training exercise at Middle Wallop

Arming Loading Point Commanders Case carrying out uploads and downloads on the Apache helicopter during the final stages of the case 28 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

Images © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

MOD P E T E R D AV I E S What’s your equipment set up?

When I first went to Middle Wallop, I was on Nikon; I had two D4s and a set of lenses. I had a 70 to 200mm with a 2.8, I had a wide-angle, it was a 14 to 35mm, and then I had a 24 to 70mm 2.8, and then I had a set of flashguns, spare batteries, tripod, wireless links for the hot shoe. When I moved to Soldier Magazine, they said we’re running on Canon. We were running with Canon D1xs Mark II, and just before I left, we got the Mark 3s; they were probably about six grand a pop.

I remember going to France with the Gurkhas, and I slipped on some black ice and smashed a 24 to 70mm 2.8!

“W

hen I was serving, I did the Trooping of the Colours in London, and I got a chance to go on the top of Buckingham Palace with the BBC - I was looking down The Mall with a 600mm.”

When you look back on your career, are there any stand out assignments?

When I was serving, I did the Trooping of the Colours in London, and I got a chance to go on the top of Buckingham Palace with the BBC - I was looking down The Mall with a 600mm.

Although you were very limited with the shots you could get, you could get some fantastic shots because you could see them all coming down the mow. It was just a flicker of the mind, and I thought that was brilliant, you know, where would I ever get this chance.

What was the most challenging assignment you remember?

I was going down to do a job, it was a flying job, and I was flying in a Gazelle [helicopter], and it had one of those glass fronts, and it was a hot day, and I just didn’t feel right - this was the start of it. Because the sun was coming screaming right through, for some reason, I was violently sick!

Without landing, I had to get the camera out, do the job, and then fly back feeling like absolute death. When we landed, the pilot got out and came over to me with a bucket and said, ‘here you go, you need to clean that out because it’s everywhere.

Portrait of a Pilot Image © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

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MOD

“T

P E T E R D AV I E S

here was a lot more scope for going abroad and doing different stuff - as the photographer - you were the driver - you got the brief, and it was up to you.”

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.

Image © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

30 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

MOD P E T E R D AV I E S Do you pursue photography outside your job within the MOD? I like to try and do portraits. I’m mostly into portraits, just for me personally. I try and get out there and just have a bit of me-time.

I think you’ve got to really because otherwise, you can just get overrun by it all; I think you’ve got to do it to keep yourself on the tracks.

Can you tell me a bit about the new role you’ve started at the Defence School of Policing and Guarding?

This is my second week with the Special Operation Bureau. I’m going to be taking pictures of the military police, what they do, their role and support their PR. I’m also going to be doing video for them, but in short bursts, we’ve just bought a drone now as well - I’ve got to go on a course to learn that.

It’s quite interesting because, within the Military Police, I didn’t realise there were so many different roles, things like the Scene of Crime Unit, the Special Investigation Branch and there’s a cyber team.

What advice or experiences would you share with someone starting out as a MOD photographer?

Troops from 3 PARA descend on to Fox Covert DZ at Salisbury Plain during Exercise Wessex Storm

Image © UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

I would say, go for your goal if that’s what you want. Yes, you’re going to need some basic qualifications but go for it and never say no because I mean, with me having dyslexia, I never thought to myself I can’t do it, yeah, it’s slowed me up. However, I didn’t say to myself, I can’t do this. There are places that I fall down, but you get over it, there are always ways around things, and that’s what I’ve always thought - if you can’t do that way, then let’s try this way.

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 31

A L I S O N M C M AT H F I F T Y O V E R 50

HOW IT ALL STARTED

M

y oldest friend Michelle was visiting me in the summer of 2017. We met at school when we were 5 years old in 1970. She opened up to me about how much she hated having her photograph taken, so I took it as a challenge, and I created some photos that would indeed change the way she saw herself. She enjoyed the experience so much that when she arrived back in Michigan, USA, she bought a camera and is now taking portraits herself. Michelle works her newfound creative outlet alongside her nursing career, although she wants to retire soon and concentrate on photography. It’s given our friendship a stronger bond for sure. Here is what she wrote: “This image of me taken by Alison is now proudly hanging in my home. It shows me in my true light: My silver hair, the lines around my eyes, but most importantly, it shows the real me. I have always detested having my photograph taken, shaped by my history; I never saw myself as beautiful. This image has changed the way I see myself and it has changed how I show up in life.”

It brings a tear to my eyes every time I read her words.

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A L I S O N M C M AT H

Image © Alison McMath

F I F T Y O V E R 50

a

Lind

Image © Alison McMath

Louise

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A L I S O N M C M AT H

Image © Alison McMath

F I F T Y O V E R 50

Valerie

The Fifty over 50 campaign started just prior to the pandemic; in fact, I completed just one photoshoot the week before lockdown. My aim was to photograph 50 women over the age of 50, but it all went on hold until after restrictions eased. I kept up the momentum by promoting and marketing it all the way through the pandemic. I designed a magazine and set up a Facebook group too, so all the women involved could get to know one another.

My main challenge is to get women over 50 to see the value in having a portrait of themselves. Many feel invisible, undervalued or ignored. The last thing they think about is booking a photoshoot because they feel they have lost their youthfulness, so ‘why do I need a photograph?’. This is the very thing I want to address by doing the campaign. These women deserve to be seen - so much knowledge and joie de vie - they all have a story to tell. I hope my portraits will give a voice to their incredible beauty and spirit. I assure them they aren’t just getting a beautiful portrait, but a wonderful experience and a confidence boost. In addition, they 34 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

have a legacy portrait they can pass on, “Look how cool grandma looks!”

I do a consultation beforehand to find out more about each woman and how she’d like to be photographed.

They are all so different which certainly makes for more interesting and diverse portraits.

Since the start of the campaign, I have grown so much as a photographer and feel that with every session I complete, I have learned something new as each photoshoot has its own challenges. What I enjoy the most is making that connection. That’s when the magic happens!

I’m halfway through the campaign with plans underway to exhibit at Astley Hall, Chorley, where they held the G7 Summit a few months ago. Renovations at the hall will be finished towards the end of the year, so they want me to have my gallery exhibition there in 2023.

So onwards and upwards it is until I reach my ‘50’ .... oh, to be 50 again!

A L I S O N M C M AT H

Image © Alison McMath

F I F T Y O V E R 50

Sarah

Image © Alison McMath

“T

his image of me taken by Alison is now proudly hanging in my home. It shows me in my true light: My silver hair, the lines around my eyes, but most importantly, it shows the real me. I have always detested having my photograph taken, shaped by my history, I never saw myself as beautiful. This image has changed the way I see myself and it has changed how I show up in life” - MICHELLE

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 35

NFTS FA D

B

NFTs

y now, you’ve heard the word NFT battered around the photography world and most likely heard widely contrasting views on the subject that is not just polarising photographers but society on the whole.

One crucial point to understand about NFTs is that it is a complex topic to wrap your head around, so if it has left you feeling like a Luddite or straight-up confused, you’re not the only one.

Much of what you will read in this piece by Editor Joel Hansen will be bite-sized insights that present information about the mechanics behind the new venture and its relation to photographers. Don’t be put off by the technical elements.

Like most technology today, you don’t actually need to understand how the inner cogs make it work, but this article can provide a starting point if you want to educate yourself on the divisive topic.

Blockchain A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger that stores information; think of a ledger for a house that records every occupier that’s lived in the property and any changes made to house over its existence. What a blockchain stores can vary, but a key factor is most blockchains are publicly accessible, meaning anyone can make one, join one and anyone can look back through the ‘chain’ at the history of transactions.

Why ‘blockchain’ technology is heralded as revolutionary, is the fact it is decentralised from any form of authoritative power and is completely run by the users within the chain.

The system created for inputting information and running transactions on the chain has to be agreed on collectively by validating entities on the chain that confirm if the data is trustworthy and accurate through a ‘consensus mechanism’ model and all the information is stored on multiple networks of computers referred to as ‘Nodes’.

If that’s already confusing, you’ll be glad to know that you don’t have to know this to take part in crypto currency - just 36 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

know blockchain is the fundamental cog behind the systems and platforms you engage on through crypto and NFTs. Here is where is gets even more complicated; in order to add a block to the chain (add content/information) you’ve got to earn the right, this is done through two mechanisms, currently the Proof of Work (PoW) is most popular.

1)Proof of Work (PoW): Users (aka Miners) are tasked to solve a complex mathematical equation that will subsequently create a new unique ‘block’ on the chain as the reward for solving the problem – the equation is solved through computers with high processing power in a process called ‘Mining’. Once an equation is solved all the other ‘nodes’ on the blockchain need to confirm the answer is correct for the new block in the sequence to be officially added (there is always a beginning block with a unique coding which the chain builds off). Once a new block joins the chain, it will have a unique identity that is formulated from codes accumulated from every other previous block on the chain – making any dubious attempts to add to the chain near impossible due to the rigorous mathematical validation system. And this system also makes it extremely difficult to ever change information within the chain itself, as changing one block would be extremely difficult and would ripple across the entire chain.

2)Proof of Stake (PoS): Instead of having to solve a complex equation to validate blocks on the chain, people instead put up crypto currency (stake) which gives any person who puts forward a stake the authority to validate new activity on the chain via a deposit that vouches for legitimacy. It means if you approve a dubious block to join the chain, you can lose your entire stake, and as there still has to be a consensus decision before blocks are added to the chain in PoS so you can’t do anything nefarious without other validators noticing. You are rewarded and penalised in relation to your activity, reliability, and efficiency as a validator on the chain – incentivising good practice.

NFTS FUTURE

FAD or FUTURE Smart contracts These are like real life contracts but instead digital and live inside a block on the chain. The actual mechanism behind a smart contract is a programme computer system that is created for a specific purpose and is permanently secured in the chain so it can’t be tampered with. Typically, they are used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome of an agreed upon deal, but they can also have other uses and functions.

What can be stored on a blockchain?

The most popular use of the blockchain is cryptocurrency.

The first use of cryptocurrency came in the form of Bitcoin which was first introduced back in 2009. At the time, the only way to spend Bitcoin was on online black markets such as websites like Silk Road where you can purchase illegal narcotics anonymously, but as the coin grew in popularity, it gave the currency more legitimacy – with the likes of Microsoft and Starbucks accepting it today. Since Bitcoin’s incarnation, a plethora of other cryptocurrencies have emerged on the market, with Ethereum as the other leader within the crypto economy. Yet, the blockchain is a versatile system that is offering more than digital transactions through cryptocurrency. One company called BurstIQ are using blockchain to store and transfer medical records securely and cargo shipping powerhouse DHL are using it to monitor and record shipments on a global scale. The reality is, almost anything can be stored on a blockchain but whether it should be for environmental, privacy and ethical concerns is still out for the jury.

Gas This is the cost of performing an action on the blockchain Ethereum and is being included in this article as the majority of NFTs are traded on Ethereum. Basically, everything you do cost a gas fee to perform a transaction and this is because it requires computing energy to perform any action on the blockchain; this usually means the cost of any activity is

relative to the cost of individual blockchains. The gas fee can fluctuate depending on various factors, the main two are: 1.

2.

How many people are actively using the network creates a higher demand - the higher the gas fees are due to users paying more to prioritise their own transaction which drives up the price across the entire network The size of the ‘contract’ you’re processing, i.e, a highvalue transaction or larger amount of content will cost more gas

What is an NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) is an authentic and unique digital asset that can’t be replicated which make it nonfungible. Something fungible is replicable, like £1 coin can be traded for a £1 coin of the same value which makes it ‘fungible’.

NFTs are created by embedding a piece of digital content (images, videos and music, etc) into the blockchain via a smart contract; currently, the majority of NFTs are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Once a digital asset is created as an NFT, it can be traded, tracked, and validated on the chain.

NFTs first started in 2014 but didn’t come to prominence until 2021, when the NFT craze exploded into the public domain – with the signifying moment coming when digital artist Beeple sold an NFT for a staggering 69million at a Christie’s auction. Since then, companies like McDonald’s have launched an NFT in celebration of the McRib Burger hitting the menu and sports brand Asics created NFTs of trainers to use as a digital world asset to encourage physical activity. In 2021, the trade volume of NFTs in was $24.9 billion, according to DappRadar.

Essentially, an NFT represent ownership of a something - it can be the digital file itself or it can just be something the digital file represents such as token that holds a certain purpose or value.

For creators and collectors, NFTs are offering to solve the problem of securing and legitimising digital assets in the virtual world by allowing people to own an original of something that can technically be infinitely replicated extremely easily.

Issue One / 2022 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 37

NFTS HOW IT WORKS

NFT Platforms The platforms are the front end of a blockchain that users go to interact, mint and trade NFTs. It is essentially a digital shop, gallery, chatroom or game space and most of the platforms are easy to use and have guidance notes on how to set up. A few of the largest players are OpenSea, Axie Marketplace and Larva Labs/CryptoPunks Copyright Outside of the NFT world, the artist reserves all copyright and commercial rights to their artwork for the likes of prints and merchandise, although different usage rights can change depending on the terms of a ‘smart contract’ created for that NFT. In general, it means you can still market your art but the person who collected the NFT of the artwork is not allowed to do so - they only have the right to sell, trade or transfer the NFT of your artwork on the blockchain. If the artist has not given you permission, then you cannot upload their content on the blockchain that would be a copyright violation.

How do I trade, collect or create NFTs? Buying Crypto You can do this directly through a ‘crypto currency exchange’ by buying crypto via debit/credit card and then transferring it into a digital wallet, or alternatively, most digital wallets allow you to buy crypto currency directly.

Digital Wallet You keep NFTs or Crypto in a digital wallet to access them for buying, selling, and creating NFTs. The wallet allows you to create accounts on NFT marketplaces and popular wallet companies are compatible on most blockchains and NFT marketplaces. When you create a wallet you’re given a memorable phrase that you’re urged to keep secure, as that is the only way you can access your 38 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

wallet, if you forgot it you can’t get access to password reset from the wallet providers and you lose all your digital assets.

Two current popular wallet brands are Metamask and Coin Wallet Once you’ve registered a digital wallet, you can then buy crypto currency using real world money, which in most cases if you’re in the NFTs space, is Ethereum. One you’ve purchased Etha - the name of Ethereums currency - it will provide you with currency to perform actions on the NFT marketplaces.When you connect your wallet to a marketplace, you are given the option to create a profile to insert links to your website or social media pages, and specify which cryptocurrency you’ll accept as payment.

Minting Minting is essentially registering your digital asset to the blockchain to create an NFT. The process usually cost money of some form depending on what marketplace you’re using, some will make you pay fees upfront, while other platforms make artists pay a percentage of the final sale price of the NFT. When you make an account on a marketplace, for example on the biggest NFT market, Open Sea, you upload your content and select options to: list the NFT at a set price, a bidding sale, pick the royalty percentage from resells, add item description and whether it is one piece or part of a collection. There is also options to add in physical items as incentives to buy your NFT, like a photographer could sell their image as an NFT and whoever bought one would be sent a physical print as well.

You are only supposed to mint the same piece of artwork on one NFT platform, and if you are found using multiples of the same piece, most platforms have the power to delete the NFT or ban you from their platforms. This was implemented to bring legitimacy to both the platform and the artist.

What are your rights after you sell your work as an NFT? Royalties remain with the creator of the NFT after each sale and the creator decides what that percentage of royalties are before listing the artwork. This is one of the big USPs of blockchain, as it provides a long lasting income stream and creative credit to the artists.

NFTS H O W I T B E CO M E P O P U L A R

Promoting yourself Like any gallery, exhibition or business, branding and promotion is key, and NFTs are no exception; with many NFT marketplaces offering virtual walk in galleries, VR experiences and engaging personalised online profiles where artists have the autonomy to curate their work.

Can’t you just copy a digital file without owning an NFT? Yes, you can. The idea of being the official owner of an NFT is the same concept of owning an original piece of art – although iconic artwork is replicated every day – the value of the original pieces will not decrease. Meaning you can literally download the image and store it as a JPEG, but without it being officially stored on a blockchain and if it is not your image, you have no usage or ownership rights.

How has it become so popular?

Community, Narrative & Marketing One of the key factors in the success of NFTs is the story told for potential investors or artists to become part of a specific NFT venture and how a community is built around it. For most NFTs, they have no intrinsic value outside in real world, so how they are marketed is essential in making the buyer believe they’re parting their money or artistic asset for good measure.

Usually, it’s the case of persuading people they’re at the beginning of something about to take off and if they come in while stock is cheap, they will see an enormous increase in the value of the investment. Certain tactics promise NFTs purchased will act as stock in a new digital game, business ventures, give keys to virtual real estate, or provide entry into exclusive online chat rooms.

More broadly, the sales tactics are promising you limitless financial opportunities. They are telling people that the

future is digital, the future is in the Metaverse and that the world is changing and this is the ticket into the new digital economy.

Many of the communities built around blockchains and NFTs collection are known for using Evangelical language to prop up the vision of the new digital age via social media platforms such as Twitter and Discord.

Scarcity creates value The idea of ‘limited edition NFTs’ is a common theme in generating sales – the idea that a finite amount of NFTs are created by an artist, project or brand forms the illusion of value, yet there is no guarantee the value will increase.

Although it could be the case the NFT increases and holds value over time, it is only speculation and savvy marketing tactics in the beginning that makes people invest.

Bringing art to different demographics?

NFTs demographic largely stands outside of what we typically see in the art world. The movment has defied rules of art history and typical gallery standards - with much of the art work aesthetic of NFTs resembling modern animation more than conventional artworks. And this could be due to the younger user base growing up in the era of gaming, cartoons and digital graphics, which is bringing a greater visual connection to the collectors in the NFT boom.

Yet artistic interest for buyers isn’t always motive, many traders just use platforms like a stockmarket exchange, and the artistic integrity and visual appreciation of a piece of work isn’t considered - NFTs are instead like trading cards on virtual wallstreet.

Timing The surge in popularity of NFTs came during a global pandemic when people were unable to conduct much of normal life under lockdown and instead, engaged in digital spaces to work, socialise, shop and run daily life. Naturally society became more attached and reliant on virtual media, which may relate the uptake in people identifying with digital assets and ownership at time when the real world became fractured.

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NFTS W O R L D O F P H OTO G R A P H Y

What about the world of photography?

Photography has always been a central creative tool in the digital age, as the shift from film to digital cameras revolutionised the industry by making photographs instant digital files that could be limitlessly replicated with little effort.

The fact NFTs are promising to officially secure a digital image as unique asset is a gigantic leap in enabling more rights for photographers as commerce and marketing shifts online. Whether it can be done successfully and sustainably is still unknown, but there are multiple models attempting different methods to incorporate photography into NFTs and shape its future in the online world.

Any type or level of photographer can participate on the blockchain if they have the initial fees to set up, currently, the NFT space represents everything from stock photography, portraits, documentary, fashion and more.

Not only have individual photographers invested in NFTs, the past year has seen some of the biggest institutions in photography incorporating NFT models into their operations. Alongside new photographic organisations setting up entirely for the new wave of NFT photographers.

We’ll take a closer look at how this is done.

British Journal of Photography The United Kingdom’s second oldest photographic publication the British Journal of Photography created ART3.io back in October 2021, it was the first significant body within the photography world to fully invest within the NFT space. They state on the BJP website that, “ART3. io: is a brand new online platform designed to bridge the gap between traditional photography and the ever-unfurling metaverse. ART3.io will be home to expertly-curated NFT photography collections, available to own via auction on OpenSea.” The launch saw NFT work produced by photographers included in their 10th-anniversary edition of BJP’s Ones to Watch magazine that highlights upcoming talent in the industry. The BJP Twitter account with over 250,000 followers also changed its name over to ‘art3’ and shifted its large social media channel entirely. The NFT venture is now 40 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

separate from the British Journal of Photography who still continue publishing under the media company 1854.

Twin Flames Photographer Justin Aversano created an NFT project in tribute to his twin brother, who passed away at birth entitled Twin Flames, the collection is made up of 100 photos, each of a different set of twins taken around the world between 2017 and 2018. The series was minted on Ethereum in February 2021, since then, the Twin Flames collection have brought high flying collectors such as rapper Snoop Dogg and self-made millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk as purchasers.

Since launching the entire series has yielded:

4657.9759 ETH = £9 million Associated Press Global news organisation the Associated Press launched a NFT marketplace created by blockchain technology provider Xooa on 31st January 2022. It allows collectors to purchase the news agency’s award-winning contemporary and historic photojournalism through their online market space.

Dwayne Desaulniers, AP director of blockchain and data licensing states on the AP website, “For 175 years AP’s journalists have recorded the world’s biggest stories, including through gripping and poignant images that continue to resonate today” “With Xooa’s technology, we are proud to offer these tokenized pieces to a fast-growing global audience of photography NFT collectors.”

The NFT offers collectors the time, date, location, equipment and technical settings used in each image. And as a not-for-profit, the AP will use the revenue generated to continue funding their journalism. According to the AP website, the blockchain they’re using to mint is an environmentally friendly, Ethereum-compatible layer two solution model.

NFTS W O R L D O F P H OTO G R A P H Y

Magnum Esteemed international photographic cooperative Magnum Photos In February 2022 announced its collaboration with blockchain Obscura to create NFT collections in a project that will commission eight Magnum photographers to create new work for the partnership.

Magnum President Olivia Arthur says on Magnum’s website: “When Alejandro [Co-Founder of Obscura] and I began discussing this project, we talked about it as a ‘leap of faith’.

This is both on the side of the people who are buying the artworks ahead of them being created and from Magnum because we are making work that would exist firstly as NFTs. We are thrilled to be working with Obscura and believe that their commitment to the production of new photography and stories is an extremely important and wonderful thing.

We are excited to see how, and in what direction, this world will grow.”

The announcement states that Obscura is the first platform introducing visual storytelling in photography commissions in the NFT realm.The vision is to embed the blockchain within Web3 and use the interactive space to support creative opportunities to develop and grow. Obscura also has a commitment to create systems where members of their NFT community have a stake in developing and governing the future of the platform through DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) which is a function of blockchain technology that supports cooperative ways of operating. Magnum Photos vow the project has taken the utmost care to investigate and explore best practices to offset the carbon emissions that the technology generates.

To mitigate their footprint, each collection created has donated a portion of its funds to the photographer’s choice of environmental charity.

Marco Glaviano Word acclaimed fashion photographer and creative director Marco Glaviano, aged 80, launched his first NFT collection through digital art gallery PinholeArt on the Raribil marketplace called “Beauty and the Beast” back in November 2021. The series of images features supermodels Cindy Crawford, Iman, Alexis Ren and Paulina Porizkova as well as a portrait of Donald Trump. Every NFT purchase also come with a unique unlockable element such a personalised video message from Cindy Crawford or your

portrait taken by Marco Glaviano at one of his studio’s.

Since the initial launch, he’s continued to mint another catalog of images from his work and spoke openly about the rise of NFTs and the benefit they can have for photographers.

The Fellowship Trust The Fellowship Trust is a permanent NFT collection of photography from the 19th century to the present day.

On their website, The Fellowship Trust states “We are a group of artists, curators and collectors striving to elevate photography’s cultural significance by helping transition the medium into the NFT space. Our combined efforts foster historical context for photography, educate and inspire new audiences, and provide tools and support to photographers entering the NFT space.”

The NFT collection is a mix of ‘Contemporary’ images taken by leading photographers from the 1960s onwards and ‘Futures’ which spotlight upcoming talent emerging natively in the NFT space. One innovative method the platform is using to engage users is offering to fund projects through micro-grants and support services to help to build bespoke projects for their work.

The wider vision incorporates creating an a ‘Estate Project’ which as stated on their website, says that “What you see in museums is the tip of the iceberg. Some bodies of work are simply too large for physical display and there’s often limited room to show contextual work that gives a deep insight into the careers and practices of the world’s leading imagemakers.”

Photography NFT Communities Although there are several online peer to peer community groups that mainly operate between Twitter and Discord, one of the biggest for NFT photography is NFTPhotographers.xyz founded by photographer Johan Lolos. The community offers ongoing support for any photographers operating in the NFT space to help them get set up, navigate and collaborate in the economy. It also has its own photography directory specifically for anyone interested in collecting images and finding photographers.

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NFTS AGAINST

Privacy issues As the many blockchains are set up as a public ledger where all transactions are open source and available for anyone to view, it means that any information is vulnerable to bad actors accessing it. Although blockchain can be made private, the vast majority of popular chains people use to trade the likes of NFTs are open source and vulnerable to ‘phishing attacks’, where a scammer contacts a user to deviously find out their digital wallet security information.

No consumer protection Due to the fact that blockchain technology is made so it is extremely difficult to change once information is encrypted within the block, if something needs to be refunded or changed for whatever reason, the process of doing it is complex and costly. For example, when your wallet is hacked, there is no centralised entity to be able help you once you’ve got your password stolen.

Demand = Value – what if there is no demand?

The reality is, the entire world of NFTs and cryptocurrency only derives value if lots of people are interested in using them and if the blockchain they live on is popular. For example, if you create a new blockchain full of NFTs but not many people decide to trade on that blockchain, it makes the assets become worthless without buyer interest and predicates the whole system on speculation.

New System Same Problems There are criticisms that only a limited few make the majority of the money via NFTs and most of the creators, collectors and traders just scrape up what’s left. Like most capitalist systems of the real world, those with more money, power and resources set the rules of the game, and a lot of the time, the game can be rigged in their favour. To create your own blocks aka ‘mine’, you need a significant amount of money or resources to do so - creating a system that isolates the majority of the population then brings in to questions the freedom and fairness of the entire market.

Many believe it is replicating the failed economy we have today with unimaginable wealth disparities. Another common gripe that is all too familiar in the world of business, is the dubious ‘pump and dump’ sales tactic that 42 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

purposely fills potential buyers with confidence so they invest and increase the value of the NFT brand and then the characters involved in the project jump ship when their money is made and leave investors empty handed.

Environmental impact One of major criticism against blockchain technology is its negative environmental impact. Due to most major blockchain technologies running on a Proof of Work system that requires enormous sums of computing power to operate which makes energy output astronomical.

According to online cryptocurrency energy monitoring service, DigiCominist: The Bitcoin network annual emits as much energy as the entire country of the Czech Republic.

A singular transaction using Bitcoin is the equivalent to the power consumption of an average U.S. household over 77.41 days The annual electrical usage of Etherum is comparable to the power consumption of Netherlands A singular transaction using Etherum is the equivalent carbon footprint of 330,923 VISA transactions or 24,885 hours of watching Youtube.

At a time when reducing negative environmental impacts is more critical than ever, the suitability of the NFT model is constantly criticised due to its insanely high energy output.

Many people in the crypto space believe switching to Proof of Stake will mitigate the issues as it eliminates the race to solve complex equations when mining via PoW. The PoS system is yet to be full implemented on a the two major blockchains although Ethereum will soon use a variation of the PoS. Alongside this, other eco friendly validating mechanisms are in the works, while initiatives such as the Bitcoin Mining Council and the Crypto Climate Accord are developing ways to make crypto mining and transactions more energy efficient.

NFTS FOR

Decentralised

Securing digital assets

Blockchain technology provides a new form of economy, which instead of being governed by a centralised agencies such as banks, are instead run by the users of the system themselves, and therefore, cuts out the middle man and makes a more fluid and democratic system.

Being able to make a digital asset non-fungible and officially registered to the artist themselves through blockchain is the first time securing digital content has been achievable for collectors and traders. For photographers, the capability to make a jpeg into a unique item is an advantage, as the ease of reproduction and sharability of a digital image can devalue their existence in the online world.

Online World It is undeniable that society is becoming more virtual, if you look back 20 years ago at the way we operate and communicate, it is entirely different than today. The popularisation and access to the internet, computers, gaming, smartphones and the birth of social media has further changed the way humans exist. The direction humanity is heading is moving people’s lives further into the digital and virtual worlds. And it’s not hard to see why a place people spend there time and energy won’t become more tangible as users want to solidify their existence inside virtual realities. Meaning NFTs could become a fundamental part of the infrastructure that builds the ever growing online world.

Web 3 According to wikipedia “Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology, which incorporates concepts including decentralization and tokenbased economics.” Co-founder of Etherum Gavin Wood coined the term “Web3” in 2014 and the idea built interest in 2021 from cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies, and venture capital firms.The argument for web3 is it will provide increased data security, scalability, and privacy for users and combat the influence of large technology companies by working directly on direct user platform. A big part of the how Web3 is structured and governed is by implementing NFTs within it.

Freedom for creatives

Conclusion

The fact the NFT blockchains pride themselves on having no centralised gatekeepers makes the marketplaces become more of a level playing field for all creatives to engage in without having to succumb to the standard of art galleries or artistic hierarchy for approval. It also gives the creator of the content greater exposure and usage rights once they sell their images through royalties.

The impact and growth of the NFT economy in the past few years is hard to ignore. The billions of pounds generated fill many creatives and investors with dreams of success and encourage more users to enter the space every day.

Its adoption by some world-leading photography names has brought more validity to what appeared to many as only a temporary fad, as NFT photography ventures now aim to build permanent structures in the photographic industry.

The challenge is keeping continued demand going forward.

Eventually, time will tell whether the impact we’ve seen so far is just an expanding bubble that will ultimately burst or if blockchain technology will bring a transformation in how we own and use photographs. Outside of all the for and against arguments, the most crucial factor is trying to understand if people value digital assets. The idea of owning just a digital file is alien and meaningless for a lot of society.

However, that attitude is shifting as human habits and behaviours become more engrained in virtual realities, and we become less dependent on the physical world.

Resetting artistic values One standout feature within the mainstream NFT world is that much of the artworks themselves, seem to defy any norms and standards of art - many being simple, easy to make graphics but demand a worth that rivals historic iconic works of art. It shows there are different types of collectors compared to the conventional art enthusiast, and that work doesn’t rely on the prestige or endorsement of institutions there are no rules.

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“I

like taking clients’ little concepts and building upon them and creating other things. It’s all about choosing the right model, the right makeup, the right hair – that all has to come together for it to actually work.”

Image © João Carlos 44 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

FEP SPOTLIGHT WITH

João Carlos A multi-disciplined photographer operating between New York and Lisbon, João Carlos is the first person in a series called FEP Spotlight that will highlight members of BIPP’s partner European association, the Federation of European Photographers and celebrate the talent across our neighbouring nations.

Calling in from New York, João chatted with Editor Joel Hansen over Zoom.

W

hen first looking at João’s website, what strikes you is the diversity in his work; it covers everything from high-fashion, global advertising brands, fine art to social documentary, personal projects, and video production.

João comments, “In a way I think it is a bit of my OCD and ADHD. If I’m always photographing the same thing, say if I was only shooting weddings or one specific thing, I’d kind of go crazy. I like the diversity, and like the fact, on Monday I’m shooting motorcycles, and on Tuesday I’m shooting models in the studio, and Wednesday I’m shooting horses or animals and Thursday I’ll be shooting fine artwork.

Born in New York to Portuguese parents, João’s connection to cameras came early. He tells the Photographer, “my mother told me when I was 5 years old when I asked for my first camera she give me one of those little portable, disposable cameras and I go ‘mummy it doesn’t have a flash’ and gave it back to her and said ‘I want a real camera’.”

João pursued painting formally in education after moving back to Portugal, aged 14, but found himself constantly compelled towards photography, “my teacher said everything you’re doing is photography-related. I think you switch your major to photography.”

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F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

João Carlos image featured on the front cover of the Hasselblad Masters book 2010

After a year stint in the military driving heavy armoured vehicles, he decided to put down the paintbrush and commit to the camera.

His first official photography post came as a photojournalist for a newspaper while studying at the Centre of Communication and Arts University in Lisbon, Portugal.

Changing direction, he moved into a role as an assistant for advertising photographer in one of Lisbon’s biggest studios, “I learned more with him in the first week than in the first 3 years at university.”

An image from Floral Dance series © João Carlos

many years, and I guess in the last 4-5 years, fashion has had a really big shift, and people are doing more e-commerce – more boring stuff – so I started shifting again and started to move back into more commercial and advertising work because that is what paid.”

When creating fashion shoots, he believes that concept is everything, “I think when you get the right concept, everything else falls into it. You know, I call myself a photographer and sometimes a director, but a lot of the time, I’m more of a creative director.”

“As an advertising photographer, it is the best of both worlds; especially if you’re in a smaller market like I was, because you can’t specialise, you need to do anything and everything.”

“I like taking clients’ little concepts and building upon them and creating other things. It’s all about choosing the right model, the right makeup, the right hair – that all has to come together for it to actually work.”

After nearly four years in the role, he decided to go back to New York, age 25 and break into the fashion scene. He says, “I did a lot of fashion for

Describing his creative process, he says, “I’m big on making mood boards. In the past I would be getting magazine clippings, now I’m kind of addicted to

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F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

Image from Stages of Isolation series © João Carlos

“I

t is always a case of just asking. I’ve always worked commercially, but I’ve always done personal projects – I’ve always done projects from the heart.”

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F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

Image from an Infiniti advertising campaign © João Carlos

Pinterest. I think as photographers, it is kind of good to have all our ideas in one place. For example, on my Pinterest, I’ll add my makeup artist, my assistant, my models, my clients, so they can add things to it or erase things they don’t like – so it becomes more collaborative in that sense.”

A career-defining moment came when he won the prestigious Hasselblad Master award 2010, “That’s what launched the second part of my career - the first ten years I was just gaining all this knowledge and figuring things out.”

Outside of commissioned work, João is determined to remain active, which led to his series American Circus 48 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

in Britain, “I always have a camera with me everywhere I go, and I saw the circus and went in and asked to speak to the Ring Master. I said I’m a photographer and want to photograph your circus. It just had that real old feeling and timeless atmosphere”.

“I spent 2 hours on it on the whole, and I’ve created a book and had multiple exhibitions with the series.”

“It is always a case of just asking. I’ve always worked commercially, but I’ve always done personal projects – I’ve always done projects from the heart.

Personal projects are tools that keep João’s artistic stamina fuelled as he explains, “In all most 25 years in

F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

my career, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, not only work-wise but also emotionally and it’s hard to be creative all the time and it is really hard to keep consistency. So I find doing all these personal projects has helped me grow as an artist and opened up a lot more opportunities.”

Inspiration for projects comes from all over, whether walking through a city, exploring a flea market, or for his current Portuguese Queens series, a postcard.

“In my parents’ hometown in Portugal, there is a painting of a Portuguese queen which was done by painter about 100 years ago, and he had painted a queen that had lived 400 years before him. My idea originally was only to do the one queen and because my parent’s home town is called Caldas da Rainha, which is Baths of the Queen, and it was that queen who founded that little town.”

The idea expanded from there and has turned into a national campaign to photograph modern-day women in the style of Portuguese royalty.

The classical painting style continues in his Renaissance Pawtriots series capturing pet portraits as renaissance artworks. The light-hearted theme of the project creates a space for João to have fun with his photography while using the profits to help raise money for an animal shelter, “instead of doing regular charity work, I

Image from the Portuguese Queen series based on Maria II of Portugal © João Carlos

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F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

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Image of Honda CB500T “Sakura” © João Carlos

F E P S P OT L I G H T J O Ã O C A R LO S

Image from Renaissance Pawtriots series © João Carlos

like to do it through my photography”, he says.

His introduction into the Portuguese association, APPImagemm, and the FEP came further down the line in his career, and since joining, he’s become a key part of each organisation. In the APPImagem, he incorporates his film experience and knowledge in their video awards categories, “A photographer is not just a photographer anymore; we’re marketing directors, we’re creative directors, we’re videographers, we’re editors – there are a lot of hats we have to wear. I would suggest everyone do stills and video, but I do think some of us are more naturally innate to do that.”

“One thing I will say, that I think is important for a photographer to realise is, a client will give me a brief, and they’ll ask me to do something, and I’ll give my client exactly what they want, but I’ll also go and do my version. Most of the time, they really love my version, and they might go with that also, or I might be able to upsell it. Again, it is about giving your clients more and not less.”

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SET TING GOALS JEFF BROWN

Overcome Procrastination, Get Stuff Done and Achieve Your Dream Goals We all have dream goals for our photography business, but do you really take the time to make those dream goals a reality?

If you’re not careful, life will continue to get in the way and those big goals will continue to remain dreams that never amount to anything. But there is a way to escape procrastination and start taking those small important daily steps to achieving the success you deserve.

The Importance of Setting Big Goals that Feed Your Business.

Surely achieving success can’t be as simple as setting goals can it? The answer is yes, as long as you set the right type of goals and take small daily steps to achieve them. Above all consistency is the driving force to success. If consistency is the driving force, then collaboration is the fuel to power it faster. I’ll talk about collaboration in a bit.

Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of photographers in over 20 countries worldwide, most of those photographers never set goals until we started working together. Those who had, set only basic financial goals with no road map on how to achieve them.

Your Goals Need a Road Map to Succeed Firstly, let’s just get it out there, NO GOAL IS TOO GREAT. In fact, I encourage all the photographers I work with to set big scary goals, the type of goals you get very excited about. Really no goal is too great, just some goals take longer to achieve than others. By setting big scary goals it encourages you to dig deeper, try harder and quite often the magic starts to happen well before the goal is achieved. This is known as the compounding effect of consistency.

Next you need to set goals for every area of your business and personal life. Why your personal life?

52 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

Because if you feel happy, healthy and your goals lead to big personal goal rewards, such as a new car or luxury family holiday, then this will motivate you to keep up the consistency.

I’m not talking about slogging it out 10 hours a day each and every day, I’m talking about an hour a day working on your goals just 5 times a week. If you don’t work on your goals your business will never change, you’ll just stagnate.

Setting Goals That Feed Your Business In October 2021 I launched my 52 week, habit forming, motivational goal and consistency journal for photographers, The Ambitious Photographer’s Journal.

This journal is a road map to success and covers the 8 areas that feed your business growth, these essential areas are: 1. Income and Shoots 2. Branding and Pricing 3. Website, SEO and Blogging 4. Social Media and Authority 5. Joint Ventures and Collaboration 6. Projects and Passive Income 7. Lifestyle and Personal Goals 8. Rewards Each area of these sections feed into each other. If you use this system correctly they will ALL feedback to dramatically increase your INCOME. For example, if you just focus on making more money that gives you no direction or plan to achieve it. More money comes from firstly creating a premium brand and secondly being consistent in the other areas of your business goals.

Let’s imagine that you’ve had a complete rebrand and now have a premium look and feel to your website, social media and brochures. Because your brand looks premium, potential clients have a higher perceived

SET TING GOALS JEFF BROWN

value in your worth, we all judge brands on their appearance. If you look premium, you can more easily charge a premium. All of my mentoring clients do this as the first step on our journey to building their dream business.

Once your brand is in place the next step is to increase your visibility, reach and authority. The more you are seen the more your credibility grows.

One of my clients, a head shot photographer from the US, made it her goal to achieve 100 Google 5 Star Customer Reviews and post daily to LinkedIn. By focusing on these two small daily actions, she has now become the premium priced photographer in her county. She makes more money for less work, with fewer price objections because her premium brand attracts her ideal clients.

Thanks to her now 150 Google 5 Star Reviews and her daily posting to LinkedIn, in the past 18 month she has….

Increased her price 4 times and is now the premium headshot photographer in her county Because of her 5 Star Reviews she ranks in the No1 spot for headshot photographer She comes up in first position on Google map search and stands out with 150 5 star reviews Her LinkedIn following has increase from around 1500 to nearly 9,000 connections She receives about 4 or 5 premium enquiries per week organically on LinkedIn Her average client spend has increased and she now charges extra for weekend sessions

Why you need to Collaborate So now you understand that by focusing on small areas of your business and being consistent, the bigger financial goals will automatically be filled, more shots, higher profits, more money for less work.

Visibility is credibility and credibility gives you the authority to charge more. There is so much opportunity around us every day, but most photographers don’t reach out to grab it.

Collaboration can literally catapult your business forward to success when you use other peoples authority, network, reach and client base to share content and create profitable commission based joint ventures. There are hundreds of businesses, bloggers, magazines, clubs, associations, influencers and venues etc who already serve your ideal clients. By creating relationships and collaborations with these businesses, you use their authority to build your authority, and give something of value i.e content, or a commission back in return, so both parties benefit.

As you read this you might become aware that this magazine piece in itself is a collaboration between myself and the BIPP, so how did such a collaboration happen? Simple I reached out, I asked, I offered something of value and the lovely people at the BIPP said yes.

Remember that when you reach out for collaboration it must be of benefit to both parties. When you have an idea in your head just make that call or send that email, the worst they can say is NO. However, you’ll be surprised by how many say “sounds interesting, let’s talk”.

To really take your business to the next level in 2022 and learn the art of effective goals setting, consistency and collaboration, grab a copy of my book The Ambitious Photographer’s Journal on Amazon, it’s your personal road map to success.

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RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y

What would George Wakefield think?

Professor John Hannavy FBIPP reflects back on almost sixty years of working in photography and reminisces on a career that’s spanned across a multitude of disciplines within the industry.

B

ack in the early 1960s, John Hannavy, a keen reader of Amateur Photographer magazine, was planning to apply for a place on a photography course. Nowhere in Scotland offered such courses at the time, but when he discovered that the course at the renowned Manchester College of Science and Technology was run by AP columnist and prolific author of books on photography, George L. Wakefield FBIPP FRPS, he filled in the forms and crossed his fingers. A place was duly offered, and bags were packed for John’s first-ever trip outside Scotland, leaving behind the tiny village of Braco for the ‘bright lights’ of Manchester.

As an early prelude to his parallel careers in photojournalism and photographic education, John was quickly involved in the student magazine, becoming Editor in late 1964 and persuading leading pop groups to be interviewed and photographed. “If you want something, just ask” he said, “the worst anyone can say is ‘no’ – and they might just say ‘yes’”. And so, in December 1965, by ‘just asking’ he had found himself sitting at the side of the stage in the Apollo theatre in 54 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2022 / Issue One

Paul McCartney and George Harrison 8th December 1965

RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y

Top left image: One of the massive Tangye steam engines which once powered Brede Waterworks in East Sussex, taken in 2019 for the book The Governor – controlling the power of steam machines, published in 2021 by Pen & Sword.

Top right image: The Hathorn Davey steam engine which powered Twyford Waterworks near Winchester in Hampshire, taken for the 2021 book The Governor – controlling the power of steam machines, published by Pen & Sword.

Bottom image: The Great Western Railway’s 4-6-0 ‘King Class’ locomotive King Edward II, built at Swindon Works in 1930, and a 1946-built GWR mixedtraffic tank engine, photographed outside the sheds at Didcot, Oxfordshire for the 2019 book The 1896 Light Railways Act – the law that made heritage railways possible, published by Amberley Publishing.

Images © John Hannavy

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RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y

Manchester, wearing headphones plugged into the sound desk provided by the Beatles roadie Neil Aspinall. “They were a fantastic live band” he said, adding “not that anyone else in the theatre could hear them above the screaming.”

The Manchester course was not exactly what he had anticipated – it was much more about the science and technology of photography rather than actually taking pictures, and there were times he began to think he had made the wrong choice, although he was assured that if and when he gained employment in his chosen arena of industrial photography, it would all pay dividends.

A career as an industrial photographer never happened – in-house industrial photographic units were becoming fewer and more difficult to

The Puente Viscaya, Portugalete, Bilbao, Spain. Published as the dust-jacket illustration for the 2020 book Transporter Bridges, an illustrated history, published by Pen & Sword Transport.

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Restoring the Rochefort Transporter Bridge, Rochefort-sur-Mer, France. Taken for the 2020 book Transporter Bridges, an illustrated history, published by Pen & Sword Transport.

Image © John Hannavy

RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y get into – with education becoming his main focus. It would be more than half a century later, however, that the science and the technical discipline learned back in the 1960s really came into its own – and that was the result of his major ‘career change’ following retirement from university life in 2005.

Throughout his career in photographic education, culminating in a professorship at the University of Bolton, John always kept a freelance practice going – “You can’t persuade students that you have anything to teach them if you can’t show them that clients are still willing to employ you” he says. And those

two disciplines – teaching and professional practice – together with photographic history filled the next thirty-five years. Having joined what was then known as the Institute of British Photographers as a student member in 1964, John achieved his Fellowship in 1976 – by which time it had become the Institute of Incorporated Photographers – the same year he achieved Fellowship of the RPS. In the 1980s, the history of photography also started to play a major role in his life – with several books on the subject, writing and presenting two well-received television series for the BBC, and curating major

The Domes of the Cathedral of the Assumption, Kremlin Square, Moscow, 2002. Taken for the book Great Photographic Journeys, published by Dewi Lewis.

Image © John Hannavy

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RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y

John was elected to the BIPP Council in the 1990s, and was President at the time of the Institute’s Centenary in 2001, writing, designing and fundraising the book Images of a Century, published to celebrate that occasion.

Just weeks after his year as President came to an end, he was awarded a prestigious Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship, enabling him to fulfill a long-held ambition to travel the world in the footsteps of pioneer British photographers – the first to take their cameras to distant parts of the world – exploring how the experiences and challenges they faced differed from his own.

One of the highlights of that project was a visit to Russia in 2002, with a very specific image in mind. In 1852, Roger Fenton had been given permission by the Tsar to take his large-format camera up Ivan the Great’s Bell-tower at the entrance to the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square in order to photograph the mediaeval cathedrals there. “As far as I knew” said John, “no photographer had been allowed up there with a camera in the intervening hundred and fifty years. The British Council in Moscow told me it would be impossible, the Russian Embassy told me it would be impossible, so I wrote to Vladimir Putin” repeating his mantra for good measure – “If you want something, just ask, the worst anyone can say is ‘no’ – and they might just say ‘yes’”.

The James Lumb Governor which helped control the 2,500 horse-power 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine

by J & E Woods of Bolton which powered Wigan’s Trencherfield Mill, illustrated on the dust-jacket of the book The Governor – controlling the power of steam machines, published in 2021 by Pen & Sword. exhibitions for the Scottish Arts Council and Yorkshire Arts. “I decided against doing any more appearances in front of the camera after the second series” he told The Photographer, “as I thought my on-screen presence looked as though I was doing it at gunpoint!”

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He heard nothing back from President Putin, however, and set off for Russia having all-but-abandoned the idea of recreating that iconic photograph. Arriving at the check-in desk at his hotel just off Red Square, John was amazed to be told, in almost reverential tones, “Professor Hannavy, you have a message from the Kremlin”.

The next day, with Yelena Gagarina – Yuri Gagarin’s daughter who was in charge of the Kremlin estate at the time – and flanked by armed guards, Fenton’s photograph Image © John Hannavy

image © Christina Mitrea

He was also an active member of the BIPP’s Research, Education and History qualifications panel for many years – chaired by Professor Margaret Harker for much of the time – eventually briefly chairing it himself.

At this point, John mentioned that George Wakefield had once told his class back in 1964 that professional photography was 80% project management and 20% skill.

“But he was wrong”, said John, “in this instance it turned out that a large percentage of impertinence and good fortune also came into play – and it was a very different time. Putin’s Russia twenty years ago was a lot more welcoming than it is today.”

RETROSPECTIVE J O H N H A N N AV Y

– originally taken on a whole plate waxed-paper negative – was duly recreated on Fuji colour transparency film. Fuji had generously provided all the film for the ‘great journeys’ project.

“I wonder what George Wakefield would think of photography today?” said John, “As first year students we started out using 5x4 glass plates back in 1963, and look where we are today.”

The resulting book, Great Photographic Journeys, was published by Dewi Lewis in 2007 – the same year The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography which he had edited for Routledge was published – and marked a new direction for John’s research and writing.

Moving away from teaching and writing about photography, John turned his focus to his second love – Victorian and Edwardian engineering, especially anything powered by steam. And it was in that move that he really found a use for all the technical discipline which had been instilled into him in the mid 1960s. He had moved on from what he described as his ‘trusty Arca 5x4 camera’ which he used in the 1970s, but his quest for technical accuracy in photographing his chosen industrial subjects was just the same.

So, what next, we asked him? “If you’d asked me when I started out on this journey as a seventeen-year-old what I expected to be doing in my mid seventies,” he said, “standing on top of a temporary platform a couple of hundred feet above the River Charante, photographing the multi-million euro restoration of the last surviving transporter bridge in France, would not have figured anywhere in my thinking, but, boy, am I enjoying the experiences.”

His profusely illustrated book, The Governor – controlling the power of steam machines was published last year.

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Every Day is a School Day DR Paul Wilkinson Reviews Nikon Z9

There is so much press about this camera, I was asked to write a view from the perspective of an owner (not a reviewer). For the first time since switching to Nikon 20 years ago, we have completely refreshed our camera system: Nikon Z9, Nikon Z7ii, Nikon Z-Series lenses and retired everything else.

OK, I admit I am one of the lucky few - my Nikon Z9 arrived in December, and, although I already owned a Z7ii (a solid camera in its own right), the Z9 truly marks the start of my love affair with mirrorless.

So a bold move, but was it worth it?

Mirror, Mirror Off You Toddle Firstly, there has never been a doubt that mirrorless cameras are the future. Just as the transition from film to digital was inevitable, removing the reliance on moving parts heralds the end of the SLR era: clacking shutters and flapping mirrors were necessary when you needed an optical path through the lens, but today that isn’t the case.

Even now, however, virtually every mirrorless camera still has a mechanical shutter in front of the sensor - along with all of the limitations that it brings: primarily battery drain and camera shake.

However, the Nikon Z9 has eradicated the shutter (OK, not entirely true, there IS a shutter in the Z9, but it’s not quite what you think - more on that later.) That one single modification changes, well, it changes everything.

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What Camera Would You Choose?

Every photographer will have reasons to favour a camera. But, for me, it has always been the way a camera makes me feel: the balance, the controls, the viewfinder, the responsiveness and, ultimately, that urge to pick it up and create images with it session after session, client after client, day after day. It has to feel completely natural - no matter how many megapixels or bit-depths it can produce.

The first thing I noticed about the Nikon Z9 is how it felt when I scooped it up: it is not a lightweight camera by any means - just a 100g slimmer than my beloved D5 - and it balances beautifully against the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S (my current goto lens).

The camera feels natural in my hands; every button, dial and joystick are located where they should be. Given there is no mirror, no prism, no shutter and a completely new flip-screen, it is remarkable how this camera feels more like my D5 than my Z7ii. And that is a good thing: I have loved every one of Nikon’s DSLRs from my very first D100.

Speed Isn’t Everything. Except That It Is. And then there’s the responsiveness. I can swing the camera up to my eye (I haven’t yet made the transition to automatically using the incredible flip screen) while flicking the power switch, and it’s ready to go. It rarely misses a shot.

The speed of this thing is, frankly, addictive: the immediacy of the release and the autofocus is pretty much instant. With a 20fps continuous shutter rate, things can get quite lively (and with no mechanical shutter, they can also be eerily silent!) It can sometimes feel like you’re shooting video: except that you are slamming 20 massive RAW files into those memory cards every second!

Multi-Screen Showing The Electronic View Finder (EVF) and the articulating screen are bright and clear. However, having shot with SLRs all my life, I am still acclimatising to using the screen. That said, being able to flip it out completely, in both portrait and landscape modes, is incredibly useful it certainly saves having dirty knees to get those low angle shots!

Working quickly and changing orientation with the screen is not easy - I’d hate to try it with gloves on! But, somehow, Nikon has created a bit of a puzzle that should be easy. Maybe, it’ll become natural with practice, just like solving a Rubik’s Cube or getting the batteries out of an older Apple Magic Mouse!

Staying Focussed I have to mention the AI-driven focussing at this point. It is weirdly addictive. Set your subject-detection mode to “People”, stick your thumb on the AF-ON button and let the tech work its magic. As a portrait photographer, I love being able to use my NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens wide open, knowing that the eyes will be pin-sharp shot after shot after shot. If your subject is further away, the focus changes to the whole face and, eventually, the entire body. It’s unnervingly (and addictively) accurate.

Image © Paul Wilkinson

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But is this necessary? In the old days, we did all this with manual focus - I created some of my favourite work with almost non-existent automation. If it was good then, do we need all this new technology now?

Well, yes, I think we do.

As soon as you remember that this is how we make a living, it becomes abundantly clear: anything that makes that job quicker and more accurate has a profound effect on the outcomes.

Let me give you a quick example: I work with the Hearing Dogs For Deaf People charity every week. I create images of their incredible assistance dogs during these sessions, which takes time.

One image that is always required is the dogs running, looking energetic, happy and full of life. But, unlike a shoot dedicated to a pet dog, I only have minutes to get that image

Silence Isn’t Always Golden A completely uninterrupted display that never blacks out is a considerable change. Still, it is slightly disconcerting not to have the old-school punctuation of mirror-slap and shutter curtains opening and resetting.

And the thing about all those old-school mechanical components is that you could always feel them through the camera body (I can’t be the only person who knew he’d screwed the shutter speed up by the feel of the vibrations?). Nikon has tried to make up for this by adding a switchable shutter sound - which would be perfect if it sounded (or felt) anything like a traditional shutter. But instead, it is a burst of white noise that is more irritating than helpful.

The focus beep is also annoyingly quiet. That’s fine in the studio, but I can barely hear it in a crowded room.

If a Nikon engineer reads this, please could we have some haptics? Maybe a quick buzz (like a Playstation controller) that lets me know that it’s in focus? I know the little focus square glows green when it locks, but I rarely spot that - I am too busy making sure the elements of the image are where I would like them!

Shut Out The Dust I mentioned earlier that there is still a shutter in the Z9, and that is true: but it’s there solely to keep out dust. You can set this shutter to close across the sensor whenever you power the camera down to change the lens, which is an absolute godsend for someone like me who changes lenses dozens of times while shooting weddings. It also has a magnetic coating in an extra effort to attract dust to it rather than your sensor.

amongst dozens of other requirements.

Now my Nikon D5 was no slouch - even now, it is one of the best DSLRs ever made - but tracking a fast-moving dog, hurtling towards the camera is not easy, and it was made all the more difficult as every shot involved the mirror flapping up, obliterating my view even for the briefest of moments.

Having shot just three weddings, I can already notice the difference.

Now remove the mirror and the shutter, give me glue-like focussing, an always-on EVF, and 20 frames a second of RAW images: instead of three or four runs to get the perfect shot, we’re now doing it in one go. We can then move on to other images, creating a wider variety for the client in the given time.

OK, that’s very specific, but I think my point stands: this technology has genuine commercial benefits.

Battery Life In terms of power, the lack of any shutter mechanism combined with the new EN-EL18d batteries, I can shoot all day without switching to a spare.

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But even when the sensor does need cleaning, the lack of any mirror means the sensor is easy to get to for a simple dust-off.

The early specs and reviews said the battery life would be about 700 images. Well, I am not sure how the reviewers determined that number. For me, the battery Images © Paul Wilkinson

E V E R Y D AY I S A S C H O O L D AY D R PAU L W I L K I N S O N

lasts around 2500 images, which is just as well because you still can’t get your hands on these units (or a second charger) unless you buy another Z9 - and, as we all know, there aren’t enough of these to go around already!

Going Green OK, to the dark side: when working in a gloomy environment - such as a studio - the tiny green AF light is frankly pointless: the 70-200mm lens prevents the green glow from reaching the middle of the frame, rendering it useless. Eventually, this will be solved with new speedlights and flash controllers using green AF LEDs (traditional red doesn’t work with mirrorless sensors that use the green spectrum for focussing), but, in the meantime, this is one function that doesn’t work.

Video You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned the Z9’s video capability.

And it’ll stay that way. This is because I am very much a stills guy (though I shoot video on rare occasions and only under duress.)

But for those of you who like your moving images, according to the specs, the Z9 will shoot 8K up to 60p (via upcoming firmware), 4K up to 120p, 8- or 10-bit H.265, 10-bit Apple ProRes 4:2:2 HQ, 12-bit in-camera ProRes RAW HQ (via upcoming firmware).

Which I believe covers pretty much anything you could wish for.

Incidentally, the memory card compartment shows a warning that the CF-Express cards can get hot - and they do! So run a hi-res video for a while and get your oven gloves on!

Images © Paul Wilkinson

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Bits And Bobs There are so many things on this camera that make me smile it’s untrue: like the full-size HDMI output (with completely clean signal or with all of the camera settings overlaid - great for training!); the dedicated focus-mode button which has returned (it should never have been removed in the first place); the massively configurable menu and function buttons; the prop-me-against-awall level of stabilisation; the compartment doors that never randomly flap open; the rock-solid wifi and onboard GPS (no more spending hundreds of pounds on ridiculous WT-whatever-the-number Nikon bolt-ons); the redesigned lens mount with four (rather than three) lugs and its frankly massive barrel diameter; the high-iso (and low-iso) capability; the orientation-specific displays that remember what you’ve set whether landscape or portrait; the non-click control rings and the digital display on the Z-Series lenses; well the list is endless.

Image Is Everything. Or Is It? I have seen a couple of reports that say the image quality of the Z9 is up there with the D850 - another iconic Nikon unit.

I read those reports and smiled.

But does it matter?

As a portrait and wedding photographer, I am rarely hampered by tiny discrepancies from sensor-to-sensor; my ability to see, frame and capture a moment far outweighs any Dmax differences between two already incredible sensors (that’s not to say it doesn’t please me immensely to see those reviews of the camera I now own!)

I suggest this should be the case for most photographers - a camera is a tool for you to do your job: you should want to pick it up and create. The specs are essential for sure, but does this camera make me want to go and capture pictures (even in the middle of a hectic week when I have barely slept and there is yet one more portrait session to get through...)?

Well, I haven’t been this excited about a camera since I bought my D3 - Nikon’s first full-frame DSLR. Every

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Image © Paul Wilkinson

time I scoop it up, it is a joy to use with almost no separation between me and that decisive moment.

It is utterly effortless.

Niggles, Maybe, But This Is The Real Deal Whatever niggles there are, these are crowded out by the sheer quality of this camera. The D3 changed DSLRs, and I think the Z9 is already doing that for Mirrorless.

The combination of lightning-fast focus, ultimate user interface, long battery life, an EVF without blackout, no physical shutter and stunning image quality from that sensor (and a new enhanced compressed RAW format) make for an utterly usable camera.

I am not joking when I say it is an addiction to pick it up and fire off a few frames. Or 20. I have only had it a few months, and already, it feels like I’ve used it for years.

This isn’t just the pinnacle of mirrorless photography; instead, it is the beginning of an entire revolution.

It is Nikon’s best-ever camera. Long may that continue.

The Ede & Ravenscroft group provide photography for students and families on the most special days of their lives at schools and graduations.

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