CameraTalk December 2023

To p r o m o t e t h e w i d e r e n j o y m e n t o f p h o t o g r a p h y THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIE T Y OF NEW ZEALAND INC

December 2023

In this issue PRESIDENT

Paul Whitham APSNZ m: 021 644 418 e: president@photography.org.nz

SECRETARY

Janet Munnings LPSNZ LRPS m. 022 163 0379 e. secretary@photography.org.nz

EDITOR & GRAPHIC DESIGN Lee Boddington c. 021 215 3823

e. leestuartcreations@gmail.com w. www.leestuartcreations.co.nz

SUBEDITOR

Lindsay Stockbridge LPSNZ

t. 06 348 7141 m. 027 653 0341 e. dilinz@actrix.co.nz

ADVERTISING

Aston Moss LPSNZ m. 021 272 7866 e. aston.t.moss@gmail.com

NEXT CAMERATALK DEADLINE 25 January 2024 Email your contributions to the Subeditor.

Editorial should be sent as Word or .txt files, with images sent seperately from document.

JPEG images generally should be saved at 300 dpi, compressed to high to medium quality. Include return postage if you wish material to be returned.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Council of PSNZ. On the Cover: Untitled by Nicole Tai LPSNZ

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The December 2023 issue of CameraTalk has some wonderful workshop reviews, and great interest articles, making for an enjoyable read over the holidays. It does not have a specific theme but covers a range of topics:

• An informative article titled 'Street Photography: Maligned & Misunderstood' • A great review on the Creative ICM Workshop • An informative article on How Joining PSNZ can improve your photography • Whanganui Camera Club Open Day • PSNZ Canon Online 2023/24 Round 1 Results. Check out the stunning images which took the top spots.

Our next Issue (February 2024): As ever we are happy to hear from all members with ideas and articles.

Contents A Note from the President

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Key Dates for the Diary

5

The Convention in Pictures

6

Street Photography: Maligned & Misunderstood

19

The “Us & Them” Syndrome

25

Fabulous Fabric Workshop

30

The Tedster's Musings from a Weekend in Christchurch on a PSNZ Workshop

31

Instilling Emotion via Photoshop by Helen McLeod

39

A Creative Weekend!

40

How joining PSNZ can improve your photography

44

Impressionist Photography Workshop

45

AV News

47

Whanganui Camera Club Open Day

48

PSNZ Canon Online 23/24 - Round 1 Results

49

Welcome to Our New PSNZ Members!

60

Apologies & Corrections

60

Notices

61

PSNZ Membership Benefits

62

Double Exposure by Irene Buchan LPSNZ

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A Note from the President There is a saying that as you age time seems to move faster.

On that basis then clearly I am quite old, because it does not seem yesterday that we were starting this year. When you read this we will be within weeks of Christmas and the coming of 2024.

The National Convention concluded over a month ago. Like other conventions, this year’s was a great success in terms of what it offered to those who made the effort to attend. The vast majority of the feedback has been extremely positive and we clearly hit the mark with the choice of speakers and options available. It was not a success financially, but the organisation had sufficient reserves and this did not cause a significant issue. I won’t delve too much into the convention here as a fuller review will appear later in the issue.

The PSNZ Council met on the day before the convention with the agenda totally focused on planning for 2024 and beyond.

It confirmed a number of decisions that we had been working on for some time, based on both our own assessments and feedback from affiliated clubs and members.

Having lived through covid times, for some members the meeting provided the first opportunity for some members to meet other councillors in the flesh.

The major decision made was to take conventions back to the time they had traditionally been run, namely April/May for the National and August/October for the Regionals. We had heard comments this year that members do not like having them on holiday weekends and that particularly

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with the national convention they wanted its location to move. The choice of long weekends has also caused issues with our trade partners.

The reality is that with the amount of work necessary to put a national convention together it was not possible to hold one in April/May 2024. Therefore the decision was made that the next national convention will be held sometime around April 2025. It will also be held in the South Island and we hope to be able to advise both the dates and locations of the event in the next month or two.

We are planning to hold one regional convention in 2024, likely to be in September, and if all goes to plan it will be held in Gisborne. Keep an ear out for more information in the coming months.

Based on learnings from this year’s three conventions, we are refining the information for both the national committee and host clubs to make the responsibilities each party has quite clear. While the majority of work is carried out by the national committee, the success of a convention does rely on the local elements that the host club can provide.

Obviously not having a national convention in 2024 has a spin-off into the various events that are connected with it.

We will be running a National Salon in the first half of the year. However it will be digital only and will be slightly different in format than the the traditional National Exhibition.

There will also be no Honours assessment in 2024, with the next submissions closing early in 2025. This decision was largely based on the recommendation of the Honours Board whose members did not want to have two assessments close together. It was also based on feedback from members who received their honours in 2022 and felt that not being able to receive them at the national convention diminished their experience.

Despite the lack of a national convention in 2024 it will still be a full year with the Workshops programme in full swing, and a Regional, so there will be plenty to do. I want to make members aware that I am still in the President’s role. I say this because when I attended a workshop run by Kapiti Coast Photographic Society in November, a number of members came up to me and said that I must be glad with the end of convention my term as President was over.

When the convention coincided with the AGM, this was the case, but not this year. I still have five more months in the role until we make the transition in April 2024.

Finally, at this time of year I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you are travelling over the holiday period please drive carefully so that everyone comes back in 2024. Take lots of photos to recreate timeless memories. If some turn out to winning images then that is a bonus but it should not be the main reason they are taken.

Best regards, Paul Whitham APSNZ

Key Dates for the Diary December 25

Canon Online Round 2 Closes

February 24-25

Creative Portraiture Workshop with Charlotte E Johnson

March 15

Instilling Emotion via Photoshop by Helen McLeod FPSNZ GPSA ARPS

March 16-17

Impressionist Photography Workshop with Eva Polak

Club News If your club has information or events that you would like to share, email the details to Lindsay Stockbridge LPSNZ at dilinz@actrix.co.nz

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The Convention in Pictures

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

Day One

In the weeks leading up the convention, 17 Honours print sets had been stored at the home of PSNZ President Paul Whitham APSNZ. Fortunately his car was just big enough to transport them to the venue in one trip.

Paul Whitham APSNZ

The crew from Displayhire arrived at the venue at 7.00 am to set up the panels needed to display the PSNZ Sony National Exhibition, the Honours Sets and the trade space.

They worked very quickly and by 9.00 am the site was turned over to us.

Toya Heatley FPSNZ AFIAP

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The PSNZ Sony National Exhibition is all set up and awaiting the visitors. The exhibition ran the length of the atrium, providing plenty of viewing space.

In addition to the exhibition prints, 17 Honours sets were on display in the main trade space.

Simon Forsyth

PSNZ Treasurer Maartje Morton and Councillor for Events Richard Passey discuss the merits of an image in the PSNZ Sony National Exhibition Nature section.

Toya Heatley FPSNZ AFIAP

At noon registrations opened in earnest.

Conventions are great places to meet up with old friends and meet new ones, as shown in the areas around the registration desks.

Chryseis Phillips

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The Convention in Pictures Cont...

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

Aston Moss LPSNZ gives the health & safety briefing at the start of the weekend. Aston did a stellar job as MC for the event.

Simon Forsyth

PSNZ President Paul Whitham ASPNZ welcomes delegates in his opening address.

At one point he asked all first time attendees to stand, and when they did they represented about a third of all delegates.

Simon Forsyth

The great selection of speakers kept attendees well entertained during the three days of the convention.

Simon Forsyth

The opening speaker was Simon Runting who many members will know as a top nature photographer. He took the convention down memory lane in terms of his career before going into the tips and skills needed to produce his high quality images.

Chryseis Phillips

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The slide showing his camera gear laid out had an immediate reaction from the audience.

Chryseis Phillips

The second speaker on Day 1 was Rachel Gillespie who had travelled from Central Otago.

She took the audience through the life story that brought her to where she is today and how that has influenced her approach to astrophotography.

Chryseis Phillips

The images were simply stunning and left the audience inspired to try and replicate them.

The first day concluded with Kris Anderson from Australia and was our only international speaker.

Simon Forsyth

His opening address concentrated on his approach to creative images, particularly the use of previsualisation and how he crafted what was there to guide the viewer around the image.

While he was talking about conceptual portraits the techniques employed are universally relevant to other genres of photography.

The audience went away feeling highly motivated by his talk and it made a great end to the first day of the convention.

Chryseis Phillips

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The Convention in Pictures Cont...

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

Day 2 Day two opened with documentary photographer Birgit Krippner. She took the audience on a great adventure in a container ship on the high sea to the USA, through to Siberia on a train.

Simon Forsyth

Along the way she introduced the audience to a range of people before showing images from her most recent work with the Tuhoe iwi in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

Birgit has a love of low light photography and that came through in many of the images she showed.

Her session concluded with a lively Q&A session that had to be stopped to stay on programme, so she clearly resonated with the audience.

Chryseis Phillips

Charles Brooks is an Auckland based photographer who has burst onto the international scene with his amazing images shot inside musical instruments.

Simon Forsyth

Chryseis Phillips

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Charles spoke earlier this year at the North Island Regional where he wowed the audience.

With support from PSNZ Trade Partner Lumix, we were able to bring Charles to the National Convention. Once again the reaction to his images, and especially the approach needed to create them, was significant.

The morning session concluded with Annette Johnston FPSNZ. Annette is well known to most members through the workshops that she runs. This session provided an opportunity to go behind her work as she took us through her Fellowship set, her floral work and then concluded with her most recent work, a 20 image set entitled “The Gift”.

Simon Forsyth

A major feature of the National Convention is the opportunity for attendees to visit the trade stalls and evaluate gear in detail. This is especially important now that most parts of New Zealand no longer have specialist camera stores.

Chryseis Phillips

Another feature of the National Convention is the opportunity to view successful honours sets from the year, especially the 17 print sets.

Although it was not part of the programme, Honours Board Bruce Girdwood FPSNZ ran an impromptu session where he went through some of the sets.

Chryseis Phillips

As you can see from the image it was a popular choice.

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The Convention in Pictures Cont...

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

On Saturday afternoon delegates were given the choice of five breakout sessions, all of which proved to be very popular.

Kris Anderson's “Headshot Hussle” was a live shoot where Kris showed the group how he set up and then shot his successful headshot business.

Simon Forsyth

In addition to showing how the lighting was set up, Kris gave very valuable tips on how to get your subjects to relax in front of the camera.

This was the first time that Kris had attempted a live demonstration, which you would not have guessed, given how smoothly it ran.

Rachel Gillespie ran two breakouts with slightly differing themes.

In her first session she went into more detail about her approach to astrophotography, particularly how she got the shots.

Chryseis Phillips

Breakout sessions provided the opportunity for more information to be given, particularly with the smaller groups, allowing better question and answer opportunities.

Simon Runting presented the same breakout session twice and went into detail on equipment and camera settings, and gave tips to help nature photographers capture better images.

Caroline Ludford LPSNZ LRPS

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Wellington architectural photographer Jim Embury joined the convention to run two breakout sessions. After an introductory talk he took his group on a wander around the block that occupied the centre. The area had been extensively modified in 2018 and included many different styles of features worth shooting.

Jim Embury APSNZ

As part of Andy’s session Karen MoffattMcLeod APSNZ showed how a simple play of light and shadow can produce a very effective image.

Karen Moffatt-Mcleod APSNZ

Annette presented two breakouts that went into the techniques used to photograph flowers. They were extremely popular and were the first breakouts to sell out.

Rather than simply listening to a talk, participants were asked to bring their cameras and the room had a whole range of flower stations for them to take turns photographing.

Moira Blincoe LPSNZ

Moira Blincoe LPSNZ

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The Convention in Pictures Cont...

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

Rachel's second breakout was entitled “Edit to Print” and was done with the support of PSNZ Partner Canon. The session was very hands on with Rachel showing how she edited her images in Lightroom before printing them.

Regardless of whether you were into Astro or not, the section on printing provided valuable insights into the process.

Simon Forsyth

Simon Forsyth

Another popular breakout featured Wellington photographer Esther Bunnings. After a brief introduction that showcased Esther’s work, the group moved into the trade space and utilised the natural light coming in through the windows. In this space Esther demonstrated how she achieved her dream-like images mainly in camera, incorporating both double exposure and shooting through objects placed in front of the lens.

As natural light was being used, participants had a chance to shoot their own images. The session ran out of time and could easily have gone a lot longer.

This image was created by Esther, using the crystal.

Esther Bunnings

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Photo provided by Nikon

The CK Kennedy Honours Banquet was held in the Town Hall. As this room was not in use over the convention it meant that it could be set up early.

Richard Passey

Bruce Girdwood FPSNZ acted as MC for the CR Kennedy Honours Banquet and once again did a great job in running the evening to time.

Simon Forsyth

Licentiates

The highest honour is the Fellowship. It was great to see four of this year’s five recipients at the banquet to collect their certificates in person.

Associates

Simon Forsyth

Simon Forsyth

Fellowship

Simon Forsyth

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The Convention in Pictures Cont...

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

Day 3 One of the new initiatives this year was a panel made up of each of the trade partners present.

They presented their views on a wide range of topics affecting both their industries as well as the general photographic environment.

This proved to be a very good session and will be incorporated into future programmes.

Moira Blincoe LPSNZ

Kris Anderson’s final talk covered his dance photography, showing a wide range of approaches that included both static and movement images.

Simon Forsyth

Before they headed away there was time for one last photo of all of the presenters and PSNZ President Paul Whitham APSNZ. From left to right: Charles Brookes, Annette Johnston FPSNZ, Kris Anderson, Paul Whitham APSNZ, Simon Runting, Rachel Gillespie and Brigit Krippner.

Simon Forsyth

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Convention Comments Just blown away with the PSNZ Convention.

What a line-up of speakers and workshops!

Great to meet the trade partners, all of whom were so helpful. Well run, Awards dinner was extremely good (food was great!). Nice to catch up with people and meet a whole bunch more.

Congratulations to all who achieved awards and all of those who partook in competitions/ honours etc. This was such a comfortable and sharing community that came together, I feel blessed to have been a part of it. Thank you to all of those who helped bring this event together. And if you haven't been to a national or regional convention - get to one! These are your people, your tribe, your support, your inspiration and where you can learn and share your knowledge with others.

By Karen Moffatt-McLeod APSNZ

I was blown away with how good the presentations were, and reminded yet again of the depth of talent we have in our community.

Great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Aston Moss was a superb and professional MC, and I am grateful to all involved in organising and running this event.

Can’t wait for next year’s regionals and HIGHLY recommend attendance.

By Neil Gordon APSNZ

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I truly enjoyed the great company with so many genuinely lovely people and all sharing the same love of photography. Such a privilege and I am very grateful for that. Thank you so much!

By Nicole Tai LPSNZ

Great summing up. Really enjoyed the speakers, very inspirational.

By Diana Andrews LPSNZ

The NC was absolutely amazing. Yes a simplified version/programme but the speakers and their presentations were mesmerising.

The trade Q&A session was the icing on the cake, as it allowed us to see and hear their shared personal passion for photography, just as strong as ours. It was one of those weekends where those who were there, knew they’d struck gold!!

By Moira Blincoe LPSNZ

Street Photography: Maligned & Misunderstood

by Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

Having entered a number of images into a variety of salons and competitions, I have become acutely aware that street photography can be easily dismissed. This seems to be due to a lack of understanding of the genre, accompanied by misleading and incomplete rules and descriptions. As a result, street images can only be entered into photojournalism or open contests. There are only two reasons why street photography is regarded as being photojournalism: •

Images must be telling a story.

•

The post production restrictions are tightly controlled.

unambiguous description or definition.

The shortest descriptions tend to say something like, ‘Loosely, this genre is a subset of photojournalism. It’s the kind of image you might expect to see in newspapers.’ In my opinion, this is a false premise. In reality, newspapers want stories with topical content relevant to current newsworthy issues.

Such images are entirely dependent on a photographer being in the right place at the right time. In my experience, photographers not employed in the field of photojournalism are unlikely to predict what the next topical issue will be. Nor can they guess what spin or angle is in the mind of the photo-editor responsible for choosing an image in support of a particular story.

Newspapers have an extensive remit when supporting the written word with images which add to the subject matter being discussed.

For example, a politically based article may be supported by portraits of senior politicians.

However, I doubt that anyone would consider a head-and-shoulders portrait as being street photography. Conversely, an image of a minister being struck by an ice cream cone might satisfy both genres.

Image One

In this article, I explore issues around street photography in order to lift awareness of the requirements demanded by the genre. I explain why street photography cannot simply be described as photojournalism and why I believe it deserves to be a genre in its own right.

Definitions During my research to locate a clearly identifiable description which succinctly defines the requirements of the genre, I was surprised to learn that New Zealand competitions generally lack a commonly used,

To obtain such an image would require the photographer to be “in-the-know” about the movements of these people. They would probably be paid a retainer and a substantial fee which enables them to devote their entire careers to providing such images. For the vast majority of non-professional photographers, only happenstance or good luck will assist them to make acceptable photojournalism images: for example, arriving at the scene of a traffic collision or some other public catastrophe or disorder. Even then, the chances of their images being good enough to warrant use in the media is unlikely. Of course there will always be limited exceptions to the norm, but these will be few and far between.

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Street Photography: Maligned & Misunderstood Cont...

by Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

Invariably instructions about street photography competitions, salons and exhibitions, focus on describing what is not permitted rather than describing what the judges will be looking for to confirm that the image is indeed a “street” photograph. The following definitions have been used in New Zealand photographic competitions: “… The sky’s the limit - just as long as whatever you photograph is happening out of doors and in public.”

Sadly, there was no explanation of the phrase ‘out of doors and in public’. In respect of this interpretation, it seems that street photography would exclude many venues. For example, an airport terminal or railway station. What about the internal compartment of an underground train or cross-harbour ferry? Could it even extend to an indoor stadium used for sporting events? If the venue for an activity is outdoors, e.g. rugby, are the spectators in the covered stands indoors or outdoors ─ and can they be the subject matter of a street photography image?

In view of the general lack of advice and guidance provided in relation to a public place, where should photographers turn, to establish if their images need to be excluded?

To answer this question with some degree of accuracy, I found it necessary to consider the legal aspects of taking photographs in public places. I discovered that whilst a public place is not specifically defined in New Zealand legislation, the NZ Police have provided a working definition for their officers in respect of photographs which are taken in public. When condensed it seems to cover the following areas: •

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Any street, road or thoroughfare

•

Public library, multi-storey car park, beach, reserve or shopping Mall

•

Anywhere to which the public have access at the time the image was taken. (Caution - some of these locations are NOT public.)

The final cautionary note implies that the responsibility to confirm the ownership of some venues rests entirely with the photographer. I can only surmise that some locations, such as shopping malls, remain “Private Property”, even though the public have a right of access by implied invitation. Common sense would say that if a shop keeper or security guard asked a photographer not to photograph on the premises, that request should be respected.

Whilst the action and subject matter of an image need to take place in a public area, can the photographer making the image be situated in a private location? Again, this is not generally mentioned. My assumption would be that it should be permitted. However, I recognise that this could also become a debatable point, depending on the individual circumstances and the photographer’s intention at the time of making the image.

Photojournalism contests often include Sport or Action categories, whilst others offer Social Commentary. However, none of these keywords are defined. Whilst I feel the inclusion of the term ‘Social Commentary’ is useful, I would suggest that to make Social Commentary acceptable, it would usually require more than a single image. In which case, it is more likely to be included in a Documentary category.

Rather than defining Street Photography, organisers often state what should not be included. For example: triptychs, composites, self portraits or staged images.

A workable definition for Street Photography

In my extensive search for a comprehensive definition of Street Photography, I discovered this excellent description in Wikipedia. It reads as follows: ‘Sometimes called “Candid” photography, it is conducted for art or enquiry. It features unmeditated chance encounters and random incidents in public places. Images can be taken from private locations. Although people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic.’

This definition states exactly what the image should contain, together with the circumstances of its creation; it also specifically requires people to be present. In the absence of people, the definition clearly alludes to the need for a human element to be contained within the image. In my view, the above definition provides photographers and the adjudicators with a clearly stated skeleton, upon which to build opinions about the content of a true street image.

A second supporting paragraph containing information about the restricted use of post production techniques and definitions of terminology can be added to the above definition. Clarification about the meaning of "unmeditated" and ‘public places’ could also be added. For example, Unmeditated means ‘not contrived, deliberately arranged, placed or setup for the sole purpose of creating an image.’

street photography) categorically states, ‘The storytelling value of the image shall receive priority over pictorial quality.’

Unfortunately, this important information tends to be overlooked by many assessors. In the past, this has often been manifest in sporting images; for example, background spectators tend to be viewed as distractions, rather than seen as part of the sporting scene. In street images, comments tend to be made about cropping out small distracting elements such as an unwanted sign, a fence line or unimportant body parts which are cut by the frame. In reality, if such changes were to be made, the accuracy of the story being told is likely to be disturbed or distorted and that would contravene the ethos of the genre.

It seems to me that assessors regularly comment about distracting elements of a scene because they lack a basic understanding of the street photography genre. Many appear to be unaware of the importance of the “story telling” element, preferring to concentrate on perceived technical weaknesses. If an assessor believes the story is weak, they should, explain their comment. For me, this would be preferable to listing small technical issues.

Image Two

An essential part of the current PSNZ definition of photojournalism (which currently includes

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Street Photography: Maligned & Misunderstood Cont...

by Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

The story of street images may often be caused by the juxtaposition of the elements within the scene. For example, I was motivated to make the image “Waiting for a Pulse” because of the juxtaposition of the elderly couple sitting on the bench and the signboard advertising “Pulse” coffee. To me there is a certain irony or humour in this story which portrays our society’s current obsession with coffee. There is a strong link between the two elements which creates meaning. If either element is absent, the story becomes weak and ceases to have any impact.

Whilst most people relate to this image (Image 2), some assessors have prioritised their critiques around the highlight on the van which cuts the top of the frame. Their opinions suggest they found the flaw greatly distracted

Image Three

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them from the story being told. I would counter that opinion by reminding them that ‘the storytelling value of the image shall receive priority over pictorial quality.’ I feel this image is a good illustration of that particular point.

Another of my images recorded a visit to the New York City Library. As you can see, the room is quite impressive and the walls are surrounded by shelves filled with books. Nothing unusual about that; however, if you take a moment to look at the people in the room, you will see that not one of them is reading a book! Every one of the ten people seated at tables is working on a laptop. Why do they need a library? For me, this is yet another "sign of the times" image.

I would argue that this is clearly a street image by definition. However, as I have previously mentioned, this will depend entirely on the rules of individual competitions. The police definition is clear; a public library is a public place but in some competitions, being indoors would not satisfy their definition of ‘public place’. And, of course, the rules of a competition will always take priority.

Returning to that part of the Wikipedia definition which states, ‘… Although people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic’; such images are not that common but they do exist. I have sometimes used this technique to draw attention to ‘man’s inhumanity to man’.

evidence of humans being physically present, the rubbish indicates human involvement by demonstrating the propensity for humans to carelessly dispose of rubbish. I suspect much of this debris was washed ashore, rather than deliberately dumped.

Similarly the image below is called, ‘Pensioner Rates’. The mannequin was situated outside a second-hand shop in Thames. Again, it is an example of a street photography image which does not contain the presence of an actual human person. It is my honest opinion that there is a significantly large number of tutorials, YouTubes, Podcasts, and Facebook pages dedicated to street photography, that the genre should be considered on its own merits and is deserving of independent recognition.

It is no longer realistic to classify this style of photography as being ‘photojournalism’. To do so muddies the waters and neither genre is adequately serviced.

Image Five

Image Four

For example, this beach scene was made in Sri Lanka. I was not expecting to see so much litter across a public beach. For tourists, this comes as a bit of a shock. However, when survival is paramount in the minds of a poverty-stricken population, other things necessarily take priority. Although this is a beach scene with no

If you have an opinion on this topic as a PSNZ member, I would be very pleased to hear your observations and comments. They can be emailed to me at look@paulbyrne.photos.

Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP Member, PSNZ Honours Board Chairman, PSNZ Judge Accreditation Panel Author, Evaluating Photographs, a Guide for Image Assessment.

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The “Us & Them” Syndrome

by Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP Chair, Judge Accreditation Panel (JAP)

Why Did I Bother to Become a PSNZ Judge?

In recent months I’ve been asked this question by a number of rather disheartened PSNZaccredited judges. What is the cause of their apparent despair? Why are these judges so disparaged about an activity to which they devote hours of voluntary time? An activity, which for years has provided a valuable service to members of affiliated clubs, free of charge.

To me, the cause of this malady might be an imbalance of the “Us & Them” syndrome, “Us” being the judges and “Them” being the members who “Us” volunteered to help.

“Us” has gained credibility within the wider sphere of photographic art. “Us” has achieved awards at club, regional, national and in many cases international salons. Some of “Us” have held exhibitions of our work but, more importantly, all of “Us” volunteered to participate in and complete the PSNZ Judge Training.

When that training was satisfactorily completed, “Us” became appointed by Council as Accredited Judges. Following that, “Us” volunteered even more hours of our time to assess, evaluate and opine the images of PSNZ members who, through their clubs, requested “Us” to provide an evaluation in respect of “Them’s” work.

The rules of a club’s evaluation process are set by “Them”. “Them” also sets the topic to be photographed and the total number of images to be assessed. Sometimes “Them” provides a definition of the set subject as a guide for “Us” to work from. “Them” states what awards shall be granted by “Us” and sometimes, “Them” will tell “Us” how to award certain grades of “Them” photographers.

Often, “Them” tells “Us” how many awards we should allocate to each grade or “Them” sets out a percentage target for “Us” to achieve.

Some of “Them” tell “Us” not to make all awards available to certain grades of photographer.

And, by the way, it’s “Them” that works out what grade a photographer is qualified to hold within their club ̶ not “Us”!

It is “Them” who control “Us” which seems ironic, since it is “Us” whose opinion is being sought!

Bearing in mind that “Us” was asked to provide an opinion based on our photographic and artistic experiences, you should not be surprised to learn that some of “Us” become very despondent when some of “Them” dash to Facebook and make unfounded accusations about some of “Us” just because the opinion “Them” sought from “Us” was not as good as some of “Them” thought it should be.

If this applies to you, then please remember that there is a formal procedure in place to notify judges if you feel you’ve been aggrieved in any way. Consult your club rules and bylaws as well as the PSNZ bylaws; there is a wealth of information in these documents.

The correct thing to do is to alert “Us” and allow “Us” to respond. Laying your feelings or complaints bare in public forums is not the way to encourage volunteers to help your photography to grow. Remember, the PSNZ mission is “Helping Photographers Grow”.

Accredited judges will always treat you and your images with respect. In return for seeking their opinion, judges would appreciate a little courtesy for the way in which they have responded to your request. A card or an email from the club to acknowledge receipt of the feedback and express gratitude for the time devoted to providing your feedback is always appreciated.

In reality, there is no “Us” or “Them”. Only “WE” exist. “We” are all from one tribe which aims to help photographers flourish and grow.

“We” respect the work of others and help each

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The “Us & Them” Syndrome cont...

by Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP Chair, Judge Accreditation Panel (JAP)

Paraphrasing the words of John F Kennedy: “Ask not what PSNZ can do for you, but rather ask, What can you do for PSNZ?” Below you will find accounts from a newly qualified PSNZ Accredited Judge and from a trainee who is nearing the end of training and will soon be taking the final tests set by JAP. Newly Appointed PSNZ Judge ̶ Lynda Mowat LPSNZ Some years ago, when our club had too many entries to send to one judge, the A-graders were asked to evaluate the novice entries for our monthly competitions.

I remember thinking that that was quite a responsibility, having learned a lot from judges’ comments when I had been a novice photographer myself. In order to do our best for the novices, a group of us attended a judge trainee weekend and, for me, the insight was quite profound. Apart from gaining a greater appreciation for the time and effort given by our judges, I believe my photography improved as a result, as I could then look at my own images in a more beneficially, critical way.

For various reasons, it was a couple of years after that weekend that I joined the judge training programme. As a trainee judge, I felt very fortunate to be paired with Annette Johnston FPSNZ as my mentor. I’m sure the process is the same with all the mentors, but I found my interactions with Annette to be hugely beneficial throughout the entire process, which ran over a period of about two years. During that time, Annette coached me to look a little more in depth at a range of different images, from both an emotional and technical viewpoint. As my ability to read them improved, I was then encouraged to justify my evaluations more.

When it came to judging for a club as a trainee judge, having Annette look over my comments before they were submitted had two advantages. The club received a second,

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more experienced pair of eyes, but it also taught me to treat every image with respect and to construct my comments with care and strong reasoning.

Regular contact and encouragement with my mentor gave me the confidence I believe all judges need in order to be effective. Now that I’m freshly accredited and judging for clubs on my own, I am grateful for the training process I’ve been through with PSNZ, and for the support that I feel is continually there if I need it.

I can only hope that other photographers, in clubs around the country, take advantage of the judge trainee weekends which gave me my first insight into the judging process. It’s not for everyone, but without judges and their constructive comments, how would any of us improve in our craft?

PSNZ Trainee Judge ̶ Aston Moss LPSNZ I commenced Judge Accreditation Training earlier this year.

The catalysts for me were many. I was intrigued by how this group (PSNZ Accredited Judges) acquired their "wisdom and finesse" both in assessing images and articulating their thoughts in a considered, constructive and respectful manner. As a Councillor, I felt that understanding how it all worked was an important component of my overall knowledge of how PSNZ operates. I knew that if I was successful and chose to continue, I'd be providing service to my fellow members and affiliated clubs and that having more accredited judges benefits our wider “tribe” (a term I love, used as part of our recent PSNZ National Convention) or community.

I was hopeful that in egaging in the training, I'd

learn valuable insights that would help me progress my own photographic journey and evolution. In engaging with various clubs as a trainee, and eventually as an accredited judge, I would meet all manner of photographers and image makers, have the opportunity to see and learn from their work and widen my network amongst our “tribe”. Fortunately, I was right. All of the above points have proven to be true.

I have also benefited from getting to know and learn from a number of knowledgeable and respected photographers ̶ not just the Judge Accreditation Panel, but also through my mentors. As it turns out, I've been fortunate enough to work with Tony Gorham LPSNZ BPSA as my initial mentor and from whom I learned a great deal, and more recently from Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP (coincidentally the JAP Chair) who has provided mentorship laced

with valuable insights through what I hope will be the last stages of my quest.

As I approach the end of this stage of the journey, I know that all of the above hopes and expectations have been met. The programme is exceptionally well managed and led by the Judge Accreditation Panel. We are fortunate they contribute their time and energy to making this such a success. Having accredited judges to support our affiliated clubs is a huge advantage and enables us all to grow. I am equally grateful to our affiliated clubs who make use of trainee judges, who trust us with their valued images while we practise and develop the craft of image review and feedback.

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– Chris Nicholls, PetaPixel For more information about the Alpha 9 III visit https://www.sony.co.nz/electronics/ interchangeable-lens-cameras/ilce-9m3 29

Fabulous Fabric Workshop

Charlotte E. Johnson is a photographic artist and educator, working full-time in Auckland as a digital imaging specialist. In her artworks, she captures original images filled with emotion: contemporary portraiture and landscapes.

Charlotte’s teaching style is encouraging and supportive. She loves to share her knowledge and believes that continuing our personal development is how we stay inspired.

In this workshop, you will learn how to put together creative portraits featuring fabulous

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dresses and flowing movement using just a length of fabric and a camera, as well as how to process your shots for maximum impact. This two-day workshop includes setup and image capture on day one, and post-processing on day two.

For more information please visit the PSNZ Workshop Series Page at https://photography. org.nz/events-and-publications/psnzworkshop-series/ and the link that will take you to the workshop registration page.

The Tedster's Musings from a Weekend in Christchurch on a PSNZ Workshop Photographs and text by Ted Grenfell

Well, that was yet another awesome PSNZ workshop, and I got to hug old friends and meet new ones. This time the workshop was under the expert tutelage of Judy Stokes APSNZ, ably supported by the very capable Nicole Tai LPSNZ. The topic?

partial to exceptional coffee. It’s who I am.

Both north and south sides of our training venue were bordered by good food and good coffee. So that’s all bases covered as far as I’m concerned!

Creative Imagery

Somewhat (well okay, a lot) outside of my comfort zone, I had to deliberately leave my tripod in the car and ignore the impulse to collect sets of 5-shot HDR images wherever I looked. Instead, we found ourselves taking images with camera shake not only an accepted technique, but also encouraged!

ICM it’s called. Intentional Camera Movement.

We began our first day with an excellent overview presentation from Judy, with our first foray out of the classroom a pleasant stroll right across the road, through the ever-gorgeous Christchurch Botanic Gardens. I’ve been there many times, most recently whilst tutoring portrait photography in August. This was the first time, though, that I’d strolled through the gardens looking for opportunities to capture the vista, rather than focus on people within it.

I wasn’t quite up to multiple exposures just yet, but that came later in the weekend.

Once again, the PSNZ workshop crew organised outstanding food, venues, and workshop space within walking distance of great coffee! Those who know me, know I’m rather partial to good eateries, and even more

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The Tedster's Musings from a Weekend in Christchurch on a PSNZ Workshop Cont...

We had clear blue sky which wasn’t ideal for what we had planned. As it turned out, however, it led to some pleasant overexposures and some images with a fair amount of whitespace,which Judy later showed us in an editing session could be quite useful for creating blended images in Photoshop. Yet another technique to add to my ever-increasing toolkit of things that unexpectedly look great if you take the time to experiment.

After lunch at a lovely local café, we returned to the classroom to review our morning captures and to select a couple of our favourites for Judy and the group to enhance and provide feedback on before we then headed to North Beach for some wave shots. I spent some time photographing the photographers from the dunes, getting some quite nice effects. And, as we were leaving, we spotted a chap from DOC

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trying to encourage a seal back into the water.

It had become tired and disorientated and, in the end, it was more than happy to to back in the transporter cage. The DOC people wanted to avoid having to look after it overnight, but it appeared it wanted to stay put with them.

We retreated to a very nice dinner venue (a single lamb shank for me, no dessert thanks) and then, as sunset approached, we ventured out onto the New Brighton Pier. This was a superb opportunity for me to have a crack at capturing seagulls the ICM way. I think I have a lot more work to do before I’ll be entering any of these images into competitions but as they say, good things take time ─ and a thousand images before you get to one that’s good. We walked down the pier as dusk approached, taking shots as we went, looking for opportunities to get bird clusters on the

sand, or movement of the sea combined with movement of the camera, or people on the pier. Or poles, or just about anything that might look good with some sort of camera movement

applied. A brilliant location and thoroughly enjoyable. We stayed until it got too dark to capture good light.

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the Christchurch area. I’d been there for coffee and cake before, yes, I know, but never with a camera, and this morning I’d not even had a coffee first. A very early rise to catch the sun as it got up for the day.

On the drive back I commented to Nicole that I have an even deeper respect for those of you that fill my Facebook feed with amazing ICM images. You know who you are, and I now know the effort required to produce “viewworthy” work.

ICM imagery is certainly up there, but certainly worth it. On Sunday morning we met at Sumner Beach. Early. Another “bucket list” location in

Much fun was had there too, “moving” rocks within the image, tracking water too, and dogs and their owners. We even had a gent doing yoga; he offered an excellent subject against the backdrop of the beach.

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The Tedster's Musings from a Weekend in Christchurch on a PSNZ Workshop Cont...

As an added bonus, around 7.00 am a couple of dozen hardy Cantabrians (yes, there were a lot of them) took to the water for a dip after their beach group exercise. My images of that are not the best, and don’t really do justice to the activity (I can’t expect my first day at this to be much good,I suppose), but again, a fully enjoyable challenge.

After breakfast at yet another superbly chosen local venue (great coffee etc, etc), we made a beeline for the Christchurch Art Gallery to take exterior ICM architectural shots before they opened for the day. PSNZ had organised photographic access for us inside but my first delight there was experimenting with multiple exposures outside. I’d been there before but (as you might expect) that was not with ICM creativity front of mind.

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This day was different. It was a deeply rewarding visit with one exterior building image in particular becoming my favourite of the weekend. ICM provides the ability to “blend” colours as the camera pans and, if the subject is lit well, it can lead to some stunning in-camera captures. Some of you might say that I should convert them to black and white. but not this time.

Once the gallery opened and we were briefed on the photography rules within the building, I found myself wanting to photograph our “pose” in the gallery, and then do a bit of a meander of the space. Strangely enough, I wound up in the cafeteria, drinking a rather nice iced coffee, but also being mesmerised by the lighting and building architecture, and how it might appear in my camera. I’ll leave you with one of the first images of the weekend that I took. It’s my edit of the botanical gardens fountain, but it follows quite closely the editing walkthrough that Judy did of that same image in our postproduction editing session, with some additional suggestions from fellow attendee Julia

Home APSNZ EFIAP/b AAPS GPSA PPSA. It’s fair to say that I’m an ICM convert, but I won’t let go of my trusty tripod permanently, not just yet.

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Instilling Emotion via Photoshop by Helen McLeod FPSNZ GPSA ARPS

Helen McLeod is a Fellow of the Photographic Society of New Zealand, an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and holds a Gold Portfolio Distinction with the Photographic Society of America. She has been tutoring photography for many years in tertiary institutions and runs six landscape workshops annually in Central Otago.

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Why this is important – a way to instil the emotion you felt at the time of capture, to pull out the hidden potential of any photograph, and

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How we can bring to life any image and let our uniqueness shine through our photography.

In this workshop you will learn the What, Why and How of Photoshop image enhancement including:

For more information please visit the PSNZ Workshop Series Page at https://photography. org.nz/events-and-publications/psnzworkshop-series/ and the link will take you to the workshop registration page.

•

Basic Photoshop means of enhancing the images captured from any genre of photography;

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A Creative Weekend!

By Irene Buchan LPSNZ

Nelson Camera Club recently hosted a Creative Landscape Workshop with Mike Langford GM NZIPP GM AIPP and Jackie Ranken GM II NZIPP GMPhotg PB. AIPP in Nelson. We aimed to provide an affordable and accessible opportunity for our members to experience a workshop with high-quality presenters. With Covid having curtailed so many activities over the past few years, it was a great way to give back to our members who were hungry for fresh stimulation!

The available slots were quickly snapped up and 21 members spent the weekend with coaching, critiquing, entertainment and education from Mike and Jackie. Their collection of travel photography is absolutely stunning, and through their photographs, they took us with them to exotic places around the world.

As is often the case, locals don’t appreciate what is in their own backyard and, despite head-scratching by our committee to find exotic locations within easy reach, Mike and Jackie fell head-over-heels for our own Japanese

Miyazu Gardens. Now, why hadn’t we thought of that? And right in town!

The overnight rain cleared away, leaving lovely soft lighting for the morning shoot ̶ perfect for the black and white landscape shots that we were encouraged to go out and take.

Mike and Jackie are masters of their art and masters of their gear! Not just Canon Masters, but also Camera Masters. Several of us found settings that we didn’t know we had or just couldn’t find. No matter the brand of camera we had, they could find the settings or solve the problems.

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Everyone went away enthused and having learnt something new, and we all agreed it was a very successful workshop. We highly recommend Creative Photography Workshops with Mike and Jackie to other photography clubs. By keeping the workshop local, using

community facilities and doing our own catering we were able to offer a world-class workshop to our members. If we were not able to get enough numbers from our club, we would have offered spaces to nearby clubs. But sorry guys, that just didn’t happen!

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A Creative Weekend - More Images Photographs here by Nicole Tai LPSNZ

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How Joining PSNZ Can Improve your Photography

By Chryseis Phillips

The Photographic Society of New Zealand has been helping photographers grow for over 70 years. It’s even in the PSNZ Constitution!

Section 3,1a states that 'The purpose of the society is to promote education in and advancement of the art and science of photography.' – and the PSNZ continues to do just that.

In spite of recent Covid lockdowns, a cost of living crisis, and the closure of a few affiliated camera clubs, the PSNZ is still here, and we are still providing members with numerous ways and means to improve their photographic skills. If you want to elevate your photography to newer heights, come and join us (or come and stay with us). So how can joining PSNZ improve my photography?

Aside from having informative articles on the bi-monthly newsletter, CameraTalk, PSNZ members are able to learn through other activities, such as those mentioned below.

1. PSNZ offers its members a unique mentoring programme where those wanting mentors are paired up with more experienced photographers. Together, the mentor and mentee work together help the mentee achieve identified photographic goals.

2. Joining Print Circles is another way the PSNZ helps members. Each print circle is composed of up to 10 members of differing photographic skill levels and their images are circulated to other members in the group who will each provide constructive comments.

3. PSNZ also provides group learning through the PSNZ workshop series. PSNZ workshops are led by highly qualified presenters who generously share their knowledge and provide technical guidance on creating images through in-camera techniques and/or post processing.

Our workshops are heavily subsidised, and to ensure learning is maximised, attendees are capped at a reasonable number. Furthermore, preference is made to members who do 44

not regularly attend (or have not attended) workshops in the past.

4. Competitions, both in digital and /or print format, PSNZ run or those by affiliated clubs, free and paid, are held regularly. Members are able to submit entries on popular genres. Whilst judge feedback is not always readily available (please remember that judges oftentimes assess more than a hundred images), the winning images are often published online, and members can study each image at their own pace.

5. Those who want to take their photography to the next level can attend the Judge Training Programme. This programme is available to members and non-members, and its aim is to show photographers what accredited judges look for when assessing images for competitions, and how to effectively provide feedback to the artist. Those who complete the Judge Training Programme can then work towards becoming an Accredited Judge and help newbie photographers become more competent and confident in their craft.

6. Finally, those who want to gain photographic distinction can apply for their Honours. The PSNZ Honours distinction is an internationally recognised award that confirms one’s level of photographic competence as demonstrated through a portfolio of work presented to the Honours Board. Whilst application to the first level of Honours (Licentiate) is open to nonPSNZ members of PSNZ affiliated clubs, application for the next two higher levels (Associateship and Fellowship) is only to current PSNZ Members.

7. Other member benefits include discounted registration fees to PSNZ conventions and to some NZIPP events, product discounts from our trade partners, and access to the private PSNZ Facebook Group, a safe place where members can have a healthy discussion about anything photographic.

That’s a lot of learning opportunities! However, to see results, one must work towards it. The PSNZ can put all the workshops, events, activities, training materials in front of you (like the gym does with all the equipment and classes they offer), but it’s not worth anything if you don’t participate at all.

So for 2024, I challenge you to participate in as many PSNZ activities as you can. Start

small – enter Canon Online, enter 4 Nations, photograph something you don’t normally photograph, chat with a fellow member online and go on a photo walk, join a print circle, attend a workshop – just do something. I can guarantee that by the end of 2024, you would be surprised at how much you have changed and improved as a photographer.

Impressionist Photography Workshop

Step into the realm of artistic expression with our Impressionist Photography workshop, where the camera becomes a brush, and reality transforms into a canvas of visual poetry.

This workshop is designed for photographers seeking to infuse their work with a touch of impressionism, embracing the play of light, colour, and movement. Led by renowned photographer Eva Polak.

In this course, we will look at the ideas and techniques of Abstract and Impressionist Photography and learn how to use captivating and simple in-camera techniques that turn ordinary scenes into light-filled impressionist photographs. During this course, I will take the mystery out of impressionist photography and help you get started on creating beautiful painterly pictures.

If you attend this workshop, you will:

- Learn core concepts every impressionist photographer needs to know - Gain insights and learn about impressionist photography - Explore light and composition - Learn about “Abstract Expressionism” in photography - Learn how to capturing “Emotion and Essence” - Explore creative camera techniques - Get individual image review and feedback in order for you to gain confidence in your creative and artistic abilities Fee $230 (excludes lunches which are available at the onsite café. BYO food is not allowed.)

Log into the PSNZ Member Area to register for this workshop – only 12 places available so be quick.

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AV News

By Trish McAuslan FPSNZ EFIAP/b FAPS AV-AAPS PSNZ AV Coordinator

321 Challenge I have mentioned this competition before; it is a fun international challenge. It allows you to share your work and also see AVs made by workers in other countries. It works like this.

Begin by creating a new AV or reworking an old AV so its maximum length is 3 minutes 21 seconds. It can be shorter than this but not any longer. Note that it must be an AV you have made recently – in the last two years.

Save your AV as an mp4, complete the entry form, use WeTransfer to send your AV to the organisers and, finally, use Paypal to send the entry fee.

Judging is done by groups of AV workers (hosts) in various countries. This year the Tauranga AV Group, along with a couple of AV workers from Howick, formed one host.

We watched and marked all the entries. The marks were averaged to give a final list which was sent to the organisers who created a total result. The top ten authors received cash rewards which were funded by the entry fees.

For more information, check out their website: https://www.challenge321.org/

number of people in the judging teams so we could either include more people into the Tauranga AV group or start a New Zealand judging group. If you are interested in taking part in a judging team please let me know and I will keep you updated as information arrives.

(See above for my contact details.)

Proposed AV Workshop 2024 Early next year I am going to run an audiovisual workshop by Zoom, one evening a week, for four weeks starting on 14 February. This will allow people to participate without having to travel to a central venue. Each workshop is designed to introduce and illustrate part of the AV-making process and, during the following week, participants will have time to use their own images to complete each step. At the end of the workshop, I am hopeful that everyone will have a completed audio-visual.

This workshop will be open to PSNZ members and members of affiliated clubs so please encourage all interested members of your club to participate. If you would like more details and/or would like to put your name on the list of participants, please email me. If you are not able to attend on a Wednesday evening, still contact me because if there is sufficient interest we will repeat the workshop on a different day.

(See above for my contact details.)

JSMT Competition 2024

This year there was only one New Zealand entry so it would be great to more than double that number next year. Entries open on 15 January and close on 15 March. Judging starts about the end of March and must be completed by mid-June although we usually stretch the time a little more than this. There is no specific

With the return of the PSNZ Convention to April 2025, the Jack Sprosen Memorial Trophy Competition will return to late October/ November 2024. The Tauranga AV Salon will remain in June and will give New Zealand AV workers at least two competitions spread through the year.

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Whanganui Camera Club Open Day a Roaring Success

By Vivienne McLean & Maartje Morton

The aim of the day was to raise the profile of the club and to attract new members, and those objectives were well and truly achieved!

All told over 100 visitors passed through our doors, welcomed by "meeters ‘n’ greeters" who helped show them where to go and what to do. Tables were set up around the room to showcase different genres and club "experts" were kept busy answering questions about portraits, landscapes, nature and macro photography and more. Flyers were available to take home for those who wanted more information.

members who want to know more about how their camera operates and to learn different techniques and genres.)

The committee table was non-stop, with committee members signing up over 40 new members during the day. The President’s AV of members’ Honours images and club activities was a wonderful showcase of what we do (thanks to the techie team), and the whole day was abuzz with interest in what the club does.

Guest speaker (and club member) Mark Brimblecombe’s inspiring presentation on what it means to be a photographer attracted excellent numbers at both the morning and afternoon sessions, with club members just as attentive as the visitors. One club member’s display of lenses and images was a highlight for many, especially the boys, both young and young at heart, while another member was constantly busy with enquiries about cameras, photography and Shutterbugs. (Shutterbugs is a special interest group set up to help newer A large part of the success of the day was due to the excellent advance media coverage, especially the editorial and advertising support from Whanganui Midweek.

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PSNZ Canon Online Photographer 2023/24 Round 1 Results

By John Hawkins, PSNZ Canon Online Coordinator

The Winner!

Congratulations to Judy Alley LPSNZ, winner of the Canon Online round 1 for 2023/2024.

There were 96 entries in this round.

About Judy and her winning image...

I have been with the Photographic Society of New Zealand [PSNZ] and Waikato Photographic Society [WPS] for more than 13 years. I am a PSNZ-accredited judge whose love of photography is taking me on a neverending learning experience.

I am retired now but the favourite part of my working life involved more than 12 years with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Macquarie Radio news network, presenting news, weather and current affairs, ultimately taking on the job of radio news Director. I also have published a candid photo-book about my son’s successful journey through the ups and downs of nearly a year in Starship Hospital.

Documenting this 2005/2006 journey is where my love of photography began.

I am delighted to have been awarded first place in this PSNZ Canon Online competition.

I also appreciate that the judge noted that she could “feel the windblown sand” and the “mood” conveyed by the image. Thank you.

Sandstorm Coming is a compilation of two images taken with my trusty old Canon EOS 7D, from a street overlooking the harbour at Raglan, west of Hamilton.

The judge for this round was Shona Kebble FPSNZ, who writes: I joined the Howick Photographic Society in 2002, having done a night school class locally.

I learnt a lot from the club members and have been encouraged over the years to try different genres. I do not specialise in any one thing as I enjoy the variety of styles offered to us today. I was awarded a FPSNZ in 2022 – a great thrill. I feel that judging competitions is a way for me to help others, and I like to see the development in our members' journeys in photography. I enjoy travelling in New Zealand and getting out with my camera as much as possible.

Judge’s Comments Overall I found the standard to be very high.

The first 20 were easy to pick out but whittling them down to 10 was very hard. Some excellent images had to be left out and I feel for those photographers. My choice is firstly based on the emotion and feeling that the image conveyed to me and then I moved on to the technicalities. It is good to see the rules broken at times and the differing techniques being used.

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1st - Sandstorm Coming by Judy Alley LPSNZ This image caught my eye straight away. I could feel the windblown sand. The pastel tones convey the mood and the people seem to be leaning into the wind. The post on the extreme right stopped my eye from going out of the image. The overall effect is well-balanced, soft and emotive.

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2nd - Past Time by David Scarisbrick LPSNZ This also caught my eye and was a close runner-up. I really liked the gritty effect and the movement you have shown from the bike and rider; this works well against the sharp background. It has a good feel to it and portrays street photography well.

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3rd - Hellebore - a Rose in Winter by Jennifer Burton This image also stood out. The light on the flower helps it to pop out from the background. All the tones work well together. The image has been well constructed.

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4th - Of a Feather by Jo Curtis APSNZ The black-and-white nature of this image is very graphic. I enjoy the progression through the three frames with the increasing number of birds and moving from sitting to flying. The story being told is clear.

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5th - Little Bee Eater Taking Flight by Jo Broadhead APSNZ This image grew on me each time I viewed it. The stick leads us to the bird which is just taking off to places unknown. I like the curved shape of the bird with its little feet sticking out. It is a bit noisy on the chest, but I can forgive that. The face and beak are sharp, and the wings show movement. I also enjoy the negative space giving the bird plenty of room to fly around.

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6th - Catlin by Brent Higham This portrait stood out for the lovely soft lighting. The shadows give the face shape but are not harsh. The eyes are sharp, and the direct smiling gaze works for me. I also like the softness around the edges of the hair and coat. The background does not compete with the subject.

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7th - Moving Landscape 2 by Nicole Tai LPSNZ The colour here is striking. The movement you have used is just right. We can still see the shape and form of the mountains while the blurriness gives it an ethereal feel.

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8th - Reedbuck by Brenda Pinfold The animal’s face is nice and sharp and is well-positioned within the frame. The direct glare draws me in and I can’t stop looking at those eyes, giving me a connection with the animal. The colours are natural and the soft lighting works well here.

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9th - Deep Sea Fishing by Graeme Skinner LPSNZ I liked the thought process of this photographer. The story has been well told. Even the fish look as if they are afraid of what is coming next. Good creative style.

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10th - Ghosts of the Past by Barbara Lee APSNZ The starkness of this image stands out. It seems to take me into another world where the land is dying but the warm colours and blue sky give me hope. The blackness of the trees gives a good connection from the dark base to the light sky.

The techniques used here have been executed well.

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Welcome to Our New PSNZ Members!

Malany Turner Eva Cadario Alex Shulamith Simon Runting Renee Edwards Agnes Desombaux-Sigley Melanie and Lex McRae Joseph Pooley Karen McConachy Janette Miller Kyutaek Cho Debra Cole Carolyn Jerome Peter and Jennifer Koopman Rachel Hampton

Apologies & Corrections CameraTalk October 2023 Apologies to Wendy Pemberton LPSNZ. In our last CameraTalk issue (October 2023) on page 6 and 7 of the issue, images Hellebore Veins and Model Fly were incorrectly credited. The praise belongs to Wendy Pemberton.

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Notices Communication! Communication!

A request from PSNZ Vice-President Caroline Ludford LPSNZ LRPS. Members, a reminder to update your details on the PSNZ website if you change any of your details, including your email address.

If your club is not receiving regular communications from PSNZ, please let us

know. Send your club’s best contact email address, probably your secretary or president, to Sandy Odell LPSNZ at liaison@photography. org.nz. Sandy is Councillor for Club Liaison and sends out a regular newsletter, so don't miss out.

Communication is a two-way thing and we love to receive your club newsletters. Please send them to Sandy!

Affiliated Club Presidents ̶ a Reminder!

By Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP Chairman, PSNZ Judge Accreditation Panel

In 2012, PSNZ was asked by its affiliated clubs to provide better training for assessors which included a degree of standardisation about the process of judging. I believe JAP has been very successful during the past 11 years.

Throughout New Zealand, each affiliated club has its own definition of the awards they ask accredited judges to use. These vary hugely.

Not only are they significantly different, but many clubs use different expressions to formulate the definitions. The terminology can be confusing within the training sphere.

With a view to considering how JAP might better handle this situation within the judge training package, the President and Vice President of PSNZ discussed this issue at the Presidents meeting held by Zoom on 5 September. That discussion was followed by a consultation document which was sent to all 60 affiliated club presidents.

The document explained the reasoning behind the proposed standardisation of definitions and included examples of a range of awards which are currently used by clubs. JAP was hoping that affiliated clubs would engage in this debate so that our training system might be improved.

To date, fewer than 10% of affiliated clubs have responded to this document. I ask all presidents to consider the document with their committees and club members and express an opinion relative to the proposal. The definitions are not set in stone and the examples were composed in order to obtain club responses so that we can move forward together.

If you have any questions, I can be contacted via, japsecnz@gmail.com.

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PSNZ Membership Benefits • Expert advice and continual education to help improve your photography.

• The opportunity to achieve a Society distinction (Licentiate LPSNZ, Associate APSNZ, Fellowship FPSNZ).

• The opportunity to apply for FIAP (International Federation of Photographic Art) distinctions via the liaison officer. (PSNZ is a member of FIAP.) • The opportunity to attend PSNZ Workshop Series events annually.

• A complimentary copy of New Zealand Camera, and the opportunity to submit your images for this publication.

• Access to member-only resources, including a member-only PSNZ Facebook page.

• The opportunity to enter images into national and international competitions.

• Discounts to Society activities (e.g. annual PSNZ national convention, workshops, international competitions).

• The opportunity to participate in regional club meetings and events.

• A copy of our bi-monthly members magazine – NZ CameraTalk.

• The opportunity to exhibit your work in regional and national exhibitions (e.g. PSNZ Sony National Exhibition).

• Subsidised access to judge training workshops through the Judge Accreditation Programme.

• Ability to promote your personal website to our members.

• Regular blog posts to stay up to date with the latest news on events, activities and special offers.

• Product discounts and savings from our corporate partners and associated companies.

• Discounts to some NZIPP national events.

• The opportunity to join a PSNZ print circle.

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