Photonews Spring 2018

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

Spring 2018

2018 Founder’s Cup Results Issue

PENING

SHOT

Buttermere Tree by Kirsty Railton (IC12) I took this shot on a very dull, and unpromising grey day in December. We had just had a talk at my local photo society on painting with light, so I was experimenting with the editing to try and bring out some light and colour, and to try and add a bit of depth into what was a very flat image that was destined for the bin. Whilst it’s not an image I’m happy with, I’m pleased with the editing.

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

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Postal Photo Developments

6

Roots, Trunks & Scars

Dave Whenham An update on the goings-on at PPC HQ

John Histed The weird and wonderful shapes you can see in trees

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Classic Cameras

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Founder’s Cup 2017 Print Results

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Geoff Leah Exploring the Nikonos

PPC Judging Panel The results tables and winning images from the Print section

Musings from the Gulf: The Value of Prints John Pattision An opinion piece about the printed image

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So... What’s the Score?

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Founder’s Cup 2017 PDI Results

48 59

David Ridley Tips for giving fair scores to images

PPC Judging Panel The results tables and winning digital images

In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images Eric Ladbury The first of three tutorials from Eric

Circle Spotlight: IC10 Dave Whenham A set of images from a particularly memorable folio

POSTAL PHOTO DEVELOPMENTS News and Updates from PPC General Secretary, Dave Whenham This issue marks the start of my fifth year in the editorial hot seat. Some doubted I’d last this long and many doubted that we could sustain four issues a year but somehow, out of a scheduled 16 issues over the four years we have managed to produce a staggering 20 editions including some special issues. None of this would have been possible without the wonderful support of our contributors, many of whom have put pen to paper on a regular basis.

Looking back the magazine has evolved considerably and not just by the introduction of colour. In terms of physical layout, we’ve used A5 portrait, A4 portrait, A4 landscape and more recently a square format for example. We have moved the publication online using the page-turning software at ISSUU. The increase in content has also meant that the emailed PDF is no longer practical from a quality perspective, although I regularly send a full-sized PDF to a small group of members who have requested it via the online WeTransfer service. We have certainly tried to harness the power of the internet to bring the maximum benefits to members as we continue to evolve the magazine.

We have also dramatically increased the number of images we present every issue and there is a far greater emphasis on celebrating the superb photography of our members; hence the strapline we introduced on to the front cover in 2017 – Celebrating the PPC and its Members. Bringing Kieran on-board in 2017 to look after the graphic design brought a highly polished professionalism to the overall look of the magazine and I was personally very humbled that he chose to evolve the format I had been developing rather than throwing it away and starting afresh. My very grateful thanks go to him for everything he has done in 2017 to really bring the quality of our magazine on in leaps and bounds over the last twelve months.

Whilst on the subject of the FC, a quick reminder for online circle members regarding file naming. The software we use to run the PDI competition extracts information from the file name hence the requirement that when you upload images they need to be in the format “title_initials_circle” for example “My Potboiler_GH_IC1”. Some Circle Secretaries have spent time renaming files prior to submission to Graham, time they might well have preferred on something else!

Corrections – David Ridley

But there can be no resting on laurels …

The Founders Cup Competition Congratulations to all those who have gained awards and certificates in the Founder’s Cup. The standard was very high indeed, and I don’t envy the judges their task in picking the Award winners.

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This issue brings you all the results from the 2018 Founders Cup competition, the first of our two annual competitions.

The most important difference between this and the annual print and PDI competitions (the TE for short, remembering last issue’s editorial) is that members do not select and submit their own images but instead the competition entry comprises all of the “stickered” images across the whole of the club from the past twelve months. As each folio completes its journey, every Circle Secretary saves or puts aside the top three images, the “stickered images”, from that folio to then forward to the competition secretaries in early February. These comprise the entry into the Founders Cup competition which is judged by external judges. They are known as “stickered” simply because at the conclusion of each print folio the Secretary affixes a place-sticker on the front of the print folders of the top three images.

I must just apologise to David Ridley for re-naming him David Leah in the credits for his Panasonic article in the Winter issue.

Many of you will not have seen the typo as we replaced the online file within a few hours of publication but those who had the PDF version on the day of issue may well be feeling slightly confused. My apologies again David!

Postal Photo Developments - Dave Whenham

Fancy a bit of PPC history?

Barry Roberts writes to tell me he has two rather battered circulation boxes from the Club’s pre-envopac days if anyone would like them. Internal dimensions; 10½ x 7½ x 2 (inches) 265 x 190 x 50 (mm) and external dimensions; 11¾ x 8¾ x ¼ (inches), 300 x 225 x 56 (mm). They are free, of course, and Barry will post if you cannot collect them.

Finally My end-of-column image this month is I hope very topical and is an image that I’ve had in my mind for a while now but until last week the conditions were never quite right. I did attempt the composition a couple of years ago but wasn’t totally happy so I was delighted when the Beast from the East arrived despite having to walk down to this spot in a blizzard and despite only then getting a two minute window in which to get the shot. I am sure we will see many such wintery scenes in folios over the next few months.

Stay safe and stay creative!

Dave Whenham

COVER PHOTO Mother & Child sculpture on Morecambe sea front

by Graham Harvey Postal Photo Developments - Dave Whenham

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Roots, Trunks and Scars

Part two of John Histed’s project photographing the details and textures of trees In the previous article I explained the background leading up to the start of my project on trees. All the images to a greater or lesser extent show shape, form and texture. I hesitate to say they are organic because that term is used rather loosely these days and the term is implicit in the subject matter. I myself find the irregular curvilinear shapes fascinating.

All the images are reasonably accurate representations of the subject but to a greater or lesser extent display perceptual ambiguity. In discussing them with colleagues I have found that different viewers have different interpretations of the same image. The interpretation is dependent on the viewer’s mindset. For example, in one particular image a religious friend saw a Madonna and Child where a second saw the same pattern as genitalia.

This article includes images of the main structural elements of the trees in three groups: roots, trunks and scars. I have identified the trees using the local common names.

Roots

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Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

The root images are mostly fig trees in South Africa. That is not to say that there is a lack of interesting roots in this country; I have not given their capture much thought. At Avebury there are some spectacular roots on the banks and ditches connected with the stone circle. These and the roots that have grown over the past three hundred years are a must for some time in the future.

Left: Fig Tree, Roots on veranda This is the same cluster of roots as shown in Image No 10 in the previous article. To me it has a totally different feel. Instead of the roots appearing to flow like a liquid down the wall to the flowerbed below they are much more static and resemble body parts.

Above:

Fig Tree, Port Elizabeth

Top Right:

Fig Tree, Bosch Luys Kloof

Bottom Right Ash Tree, Ayrshire Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

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Trunks When I started looking I found much of interest in the trunks themselves. In this group I have included images where the shape of the trunk is important. I have included images where the texture and surface of the bark are more important than the shape in the third article.

Below: Fig Tree - Trunks and air roots on veranda This is the same tree as that in Image No 1 but a few feet higher. The air roots are still young and have not yet developed to the extent shown in Images 5 - 9 in the previous article. I imagine they won’t be given that opportunity as that would have serious implications for the structure of the building.

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Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

Facing Page: Top Right: Sapling and creeper, Tsitsikamma Bottom Right: Rhododendron, Westonbirt This Page: Top Left: Carrot Tree,

Ingwelala Game Reserve Top Middle: Western Red Cedar, Westonbirt Top Right:

Mulberry, Tuscany

Bottom Right: Blue Gum, Hermanus Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

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Scars and Decay The third group in this article includes major disfigurements usually caused by damage or the dying of part of the tree.

Below:

Mulberry and Dead Ivy, Tuscany

Top Right:

Blue Gum, Calitzdorp

Bottom Right: Leadwood - Ingwelala Game Reserve

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Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

Top Left:

Cherry, Wiltshire

Bottom Left:

Cypress, Sussex

Top Middle:

Beech, Lake District

Bottom Right:

Apple, Wiltshire

Top Right:

Apple, Wiltshire (An experiment with stacked focus)

Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

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Technical Matters These images were captured very simply with a Nikon D7100 with an 18 - 150mm lens (and occasionally a 150-500mm Sigma) . I use a tripod where possible but the terrain and location of the subject matter often makes this difficult. I also use available lighting.

The most difficult problem is to achieve a good depth of field.

The obvious solution is to arrange for the focal plane of the lens to be parallel with the surface of the sensor. This sounds simple but it is often quite difficult as Trees rarely grow at convenient angles. If the subject is leaning away from you the camera may need to be raised several feet off the ground. One woman I met solved this problem by taking a substantial step ladder with her.

I have tried using smaller stops (f25 upwards) but they are not really satisfactory. They give the depth of field but loose resolution. Sharpening can only retrieve some of the quality but the end result is never the same.

I have recently been experimenting with stacked focus and have included one example above. So far I have used only the Photoshop functions and want to compare the results to other options available. I have tried to discuss this with people using other methods they just say they use it on recommendation and have no specific reasons. The main problems I have found are managing the paraphernalia outdoors away from a car in inaccessible places. I think the method has great potential and so far the results are encouraging.

The final article in this series will deal with the patterns on the bark. Image No 20 is a collection of thumbnails.

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Roots, Trunks and Scars - John Histed

Classic Cameras The Nikonos - an underwater classic from Geoff Leah Manufactured by Nikon between 1963 and 1968, the Nikonos was the ultimate under-water camera. The patent was acquired by Nikon from the French company Spirotechnique, and production started. It is equally suited to use on dry land, provided that only the 35mm. lens is used. Eventually two other lenses were made, but these were specially computed to work only under water. The lenses are unusual in that they are contained within a large waterproof housing, from which they cannot be removed. Two big handles protrude from this housing, a white one which alters the aperture when turned, and a black which alters the focus of the lens.

The lens is a Nikkor 35mm. f2.5 of similar design to that made for the rangefinder cameras. On the rear of the lens housing is a large rubber O ring that provides a water-tight seal against the body. Removal and fitting of the lens simply involves twisting the housing through 90 degrees, and pulling it off the camera body. The body is cast in two parts. The bit holding the film slides downwards into the outer part, which is ribbed to assist grip when wet.

A large (very!) O ring fits between the two parts, providing a water-tight seal. On the top of the camera is a large silvercoloured knob that controls the shutter speeds (there is no meter in the camera), and a direct-vision viewfinder. The shutter is a focal plane type.

A large open-frame finder was available to assist composition when wearing a face mask underwater. There is also a small lever on the top plate which has dual functions.

When the shutter is cocked, this lever is pressed inwards (when holding the camera normally) to fire the shutter. After firing the shutter, this lever automatically springs outwards until it is 90 degrees from the camera body. Pushing the lever further outwards to about 180 degrees then winds the film on and cocks the shutter. The lever can then be moved back into the firing position. Clever, but as an ex-diver I wouldn’t like to try this whilst wearing diving gloves! The camera is synchronised for both bulb and electronic flash. Needless to say, special waterproof guns MUST be used!

The camera weighs 1lb 9ozs. The aperture and distance scales are easily read through the window in front of the lens, and the camera is easy to use on dry land. I have run a film through it and been very pleased with the results. The camera was VERY expensive when new, and Mark 2 versions such as mine cost £80/100. I was very lucky and found mine on Ebay for £28!

Much improved and modernised versions (4A, 5 and RS) were made until the early 1990s. Greys of Westminster have a Mark 5 for sale at £1000! I wouldn’t risk mine underwater after all this time, but it remains a fascinating and un-usual rain-proof camera.

Classic Cameras - Geoff Leah

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Founder’s Cup 2018 Printed Image Results Ken Ainscow DP 406

Ken Ainscow DP Fuchsia Reflections Ken Ainscow DP Three Judges Jon Allanson DP Adoring Couple Mike Atkinson C1 Shore Bedruthen Steps Mike Atkinson C1 Jackdaw Portrait Neil Bland DP Looking for the Next Jump Neil Bland DP Portrait of a Steampunker Richard Bown CP1 Don’t Mess With Us Richard Bown CP1 An Early Snowstorm Graham Dean DP Contrastin’ Styles Roger Edwardes C19 Catch Me If You Can! Roger Edwardes C19 The Head Gardener’s Office Alan Edwards C8 Osprey with Catch Bill Martindale C8 Lower Slaughter Mill Barry Roberts CP1 Orchid Richard Walliker C1 Dozing Dog Dave Whenham C1 Wonder Barry Willcock CP1 Horse

Founders’ Cup for the Best Print Certificate for the Best Mono Print The Norman Richards Portrait Cup Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit The Floyd Landscape Trophy Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate for the Best Colour Print Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit The Singleton Trophy for the Best Wet Print Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit Certificate of Merit

The Ellis Martin Cup is awarded to DP for the best performance in the competition

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS Geoff Robinson ARPS EFIAP DPAGB BPE5*

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As a former “Wet Printer” it was pleasing to see this traditional method still staying strong in the club.

The General Standard of all the entries, both in mono and colour, was of a very high quality and it was no easy task to pick out the winning pictures, particularly the final 25 and the Award winners.

I was impressed by the overall print quality and content of the entries which were a pleasure to view, showing much talent which bodes well for the future of this portfolio.

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

The Founder’s Cup for the Best Print Certificate for the Best Mono Print The Norman Richards Portrait Cup

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS

406 Ken Ainscow

This was the most outstanding image ,in my opinion of a very competitive and quality portfolio. A superb moody sports shot capturing the strain and fatigue on the runners face and body. the athlete is caught in the right position with room to move into and the sympathetic use of the misty background adds to this effect and concentrates the viewers attention on the runner.

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

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The Floyd Trophy for the Best Landscape Print

Shore Bedruthan Steps Mike Atkinson

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS A different viewpoint than what is normally seen of this well photographed beauty spot. Taken at shore level which means you must be younger and fitter than me!. A very detailed foreground lead in the picture with good depth of field used by the author, together with an amazing sky (which I personally would like to have seen a little more)completes the picture with an altogether outstanding print quality.

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Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Certificate for the Best Colour Print

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS

Contrastin’ Styles Graham Dean

Certainly lives up to the title. A very well seen image with a carefully chosen viewpoint together with excellent colour print quality and detail throughout. I like the inclusion of the overgrown weeds on the top of the older building providing a point of interest and contrast to the tones of red brick.

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

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The Singleton Trophy for the Best Wet Print

Lower Slaughter Mill Bill Martindale

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS Excellent print quality, with toning to match the warm Cotswold Stone of the buildings and correct verticals. I liked the inclusion of the treet on L/H side which not only gave balance to the picture ,but also acted as a fill for an otherwise blank space.

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Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Certificates of Merit - Print

Top Left: Three Judges Bottom Left: Adoring Couple Right: Wonder

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Ken Ainscow Jon Allanson Dave Whenham

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Top:

Bottom:

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Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Looking for the Next Jump Neil Bland Osprey with Catch Alan Edwards

Top Left:

Bottom Left:

An Early Snowstorm Richard Bown Dozing Dog Richard Walliker

Top Right: Fuchsia Reflections

Ken Ainscow Bottom Right: Jackdaw Portrait

Mike Atkinson Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

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Top Left: Don’t Mess

With Us

Richard Bown Top Middle: Portrait of a Steampunker

Neil Bland Top Right: Horse

Barry Willcock Bottom: The Head

Gardener’s Office

Roger Edwardes 22

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Left:

Right:

Founder's Cup 2018 - Print Results

Orchid Barry Roberts Catch Me If You Can! Roger Edwardes 23

Musings from The Gulf: The Value of Prints An opinion piece from John Pattison There have been a few calls recently for more photographs produced by PPC members to be printed including those members whom are exclusively in the online Circles.

These are interesting times in photography as there is a resurgence of interest in film and print, some may say it never went away and for a few it never did but for the clear majority film and printing did go away. One could look to the trends in photographic gear and say that for most occasional photographers one’s smart phone has replaced a camera and therefore digital imagery reigns supreme and that the advent and upsurge of social media outlets allows one’s images to be seen either by selected friends and family or by the world populace.

Let me at the outset state that I do not print my images on a regular basis. Occasionally I may print an image just to see what it looks like but it is very rare. Having said this, I did print a couple of images during 2017 but in keeping with the rarity of this action the last previous occasion was some four years ago and that was a family holiday snap!

Various reasons for printing one’s images have been expounded both by club members whom regularly print and whom have contributed articles on printing to this magazine and by many other photographers out there and I tend in general to agree with those reasons. I recall thumbing through the family photo album as a child. We only had the one album and that covered all the important events that had happened in our family. My mother kept the album but did not add anything to it past the late 1980`s and on her passing away the album was given to my sister for safe keeping.

Whilst that album recorded events dating back over 40 plus years other photographs taken through the period and in later years and printed at either the local high street photo shop or sent away to a photo film lab, were when received back looked at once or twice and then never viewed again.

So, have we as photographers and viewers of images really changed over time with the advent of digital images that are now produced daily in the millions around the world? I now look at many digital photographs each day posted to various social media and other web sites sparing some a longer glance than most, the majority usually merit no more than a second

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Bonding Graham Harvey Certificate of Merit in the 2017 Travelling Exhibition

of my time and on many occasions far less. The physical album of printed photographs however would have me looking at images for a while back in the day and perhaps that is the significant difference. Those printed images of family and past holidays had a story to tell that held my interest beyond that of looking at family members and holiday scenes in bygone days and that story telling aspect has not I think wholly transferred to the digital era.

Musings from the Gulf: The Value of Prints - John Pattison

A Walk in the Snow Richard Bown Best Colour Print in the 2017 Travelling Exhibition

Therefore, does the print have value beyond the archival, as has been expressed by several photographers recently in magazine articles and on YouTube and other social media outlets, that in digital images do not hold? In my opinion there definitely is and there should not be any surprise that there has been a reawakening amongst some camera manufactures for film and instant prints in recent years to meet that demand.

Fujifilm cameras of this ilk are probably the best known being fun and colourful in design, but the resurrected Polaroid brand has a few too.

Once the novelty has worn off though will the film and instant ready prints again go the way of the dodo, maybe or maybe not only time and the cultural demand to hold in one’s hand a tangible print of the image may stay the final demise of film.

As the club approaches its 80th anniversary the traditions of the printed image practiced by the print circles has been brought to the forefront of the Club membership and the request for prints to be made by Digital online circle members to celebrate the PPC’s history in book form has gone out from the PPC secretary, Dave Whenham.

For myself I think it is important to ensure that the print lives on as more than just an archive media and I will be contributing one of those rare images that I print from my digital images to celebrate the PPC Anniversary.

I hope that all members of the Club will contribute to the club’s anniversary and that prints remain as an integral part of the Club’s traditions no matter what technology trends come about over the next 80 years of photographic development.

Musings from the Gulf: The Value of Prints - John Pattison

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So... What’s the Score?

David Ridley shares his tips and reflections on marking images Whilst enjoying viewing images and offering our critique on them when invited to do so it seems to me that there are usually four main areas to consider: •

Technical factors

•

Composition

•

What goes into making a good image

•

How the image actually makes us feel

1. Focus and/or Soft Focus - is this over the whole area or in part and does the focus add or detract?

2. Exposure - is it over or under exposed and if so has it been done on purpose to create a mood?

Speaking for myself I know that in most cases first impressions are lasting ones but I think that just like meeting a person for the first time it’s better to get to know not just people but also many things in life including visual imagery before making ones mind up fully.

Now with a photographic print being a two dimensional view of a three dimensional object it’s physically easy to handle, move into differently lit areas and view from different angles.

Doing the same with a digital image on screen or projected is slightly more problematic but not impossible. The question is do we take the time to cover all or most of the four areas in any detail to help us get maximum enjoyment from our viewing?

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TECHNICAL FACTORS - can basically be divided into seven main areas:

3. Depth of Field - has a deep or shallow depth of field been used or applied and if so does it suit or enhance the subject?

4. Contrast - is there too much contrast or perhaps it’s too muddy?

5. Lighting - is it soft, harsh or lit from the side? What type of light was used? Would different light be an improvement?

6. Colour - does it look correct? Do I think that it would work better in monochrome or maybe a split tone or even using pop colour?

7. Special Effects - Have any been applied and if so do they generally seem to work? Has any effects actually enhanced the image? Have any such effects been over/ under done?

So... What's the Score? - David Ridley

COMPOSITION - this would include: 1. Rule of Thirds 2. Rule of Odds 3. ‘S’ Curves within the frame (not to be confused with Photoshop curves adjustments) 4. Diagonal Composition 5. Framing & Use of lead in lines.

THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH Consideration in this area is likely to include, but not limited to: 1. Visual stimulation 2. Impact 3. Thought Provocation

Many of the considerations in the four areas apply to all forms of art but for ourselves our day to day usage would mainly be in the photographic domain which is no doubt our area of choice. When we look at images in photo magazines or we notice artwork, including photographs that may be displayed in public areas like cafes, libraries etc., do we actually take a little time to study any image that we’re presented with?

Because I’m sure that’s exactly what the author would like us to do! However, I’d wager often we do little more than give a fleeting glance to such visual offerings, quickly deciding that ‘I like it, ‘I don’t like it’ or worse still ‘I don’t get it!’ or ‘It’s not for me!’ as we quickly go on our merry way. If this is the case we would in the main only be considering initial impact together with our own subject preference(s). Ask yourselves as the photographer of any image you present for others to view and maybe invite critique on would you want anyone to treat your creations in such a scant way? I venture to suggest not!

I am sure that we all have favourite types of images, some may prefer landscapes, some portraits, some urban scenes, some seascapes, some manipulated images etcetera. Taste is an individual thing in all areas of our lives, but do our preferences get in the way of our full appreciation of other subjects depicted because of a blinkered approach when there is such a wide variety of photographic matter to enjoy?

4. Imagination 5. The Containing of an Idea 6. Perhaps it fits into a cultural context 7. Originality 8. Clean presentation.

HOW THE IMAGE MAKES YOU FEEL - I am sure we all get a measure of inspiration from the efforts of others and when looking at images it’s only natural as fellow photographers to consider in our own minds had we taken a particular image what we would have done differently, if anything? So, once again we are likely to ask ourselves questions including perhaps: 1. Why do we like/dislike it?

For arguments sake let us suppose that portraits happen to be more to your taste than landscapes. When looking at two good, well presented images do you automatically rate the portrait above the landscape owing to the fact portraits are your thing and they are both good images in any case, even if based on the criteria above the landscape may have the edge? Or, putting personal preferences aside do you rate the landscape above the portrait because taking everything into account it is the better image? Only you know the answer to this situation!

Competition judges no doubt face a more difficult task when judging a number of images of varying subject matter as in ‘Open Competitions’ but of course there is always richness in the variety entered.

2. What if any emotion(s) does it stir?

3. What mood does it conjure up?

4. What if any artistic aspects are there?

5. Is it creative or merely a competent offering?

6. Would I be happy to hang this on my wall or maybe use it a computer screen saver?

7. Am I likely to remember this photograph even though I’ve only seen it for a limited time?

Have I caused some confusion, given some clarity or simply some food for thought? Whatever you may think I certainly hope I have indeed provided a little food for thought, and as I once said to my wife when she got her eye on something a street vendor in Germany was selling (long before the introduction of the Euro as a currency) “how many marks is that honestly worth?”

Yes a lot to look for but the more we look the more we are likely to see, and the more enjoyment our visual experiences may reward us with. As already mentioned perhaps we may also gain some inspiration or even aspiration!

So... What's the Score? - David Ridley

David Ridley LRPS

27

Founder’s Cup 2018

Projected Digital Image Results

28

Michael Atkinson

IC4

Carrion Crow

Certificate of Merit

Peter Bagnall

IC4

Rare African Wild Cat

Certificate of Merit

Gary Barton

IC5

Harmby Waterfall

Certificate of Merit

Gary Barton

IC5

Blue Tit in the Sun

Certificate of Merit

Allan Bate

IC7

Grilled Spheres

Certificate of Merit

Allan Bate

IC11

Four Corners

Certificate of Merit

Shirley Boulton

IC3

Jaguar Headlight

Certificate of Merit

Pat Couder

IC7

Eastbourne Pier

Certificate of Merit

Pat Couder

IC7

Chloe in Clay

Salver for the Best Portrait Image

Pat Couder

IC7

Stag

Certificate of Merit

Pat Couder

IC7

Yo Beatboxer

Certificate of Merit

Pat Couder

IC11

Alone

Certificate of Merit

Pat Couder

IC11

Scooter Boy

Certificate for the Best Colour image

Roger Edwardes

DSO

On Target

Certificate of Merit

Charlie Gott IC5 Museum of Liverpool

Salver for the Best Image Certificate for Best Mono Image

Charlie Gott

IC5

Morning Has Broken

Salver for the Best Landscape Image

Gordon Hendry

IC2

New Life

Certificate of Merit

Peter Henry

IC1

Rugged

Certificate of Merit

John Hughes

IC4

Kittiwake Attacks Fulmar

Certificate of Merit

Eric Ladbury

IC4

Comma Butterfly

Certificate of Merit

Rodney Marsh

IC11

Here Come The Girls Vietnam

Certificate of Merit

Kieran Metcalfe

IC7

Perch Rock Sunset

Certificate of Merit

Peter Nutkins

IC7

Morning Has Broken

Certificate of Merit

Peter Nutkins

IC7

Black and White Test

Certificate of Merit

Alan Phillips

IC10

The Photoshopper

Certificate of Merit

Alan Phillips

IC10

Watching

Certificate of Merit

Kirsty Railton

IC10

Rain

Certificate of Merit

Bob Rawlinson

IC1

Kingfisher

Certificate of Merit

Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Bob Rawlinson

IC5

Arctic Tern

Certificate of Merit

Peter Redford

IC4

Sparrowhawk with Prey

Certificate of Merit

Peter Redford

IC7

Sparrowhawk Plucking Kill

Certificate of Merit

Francesca Shearcroft

IC1

Three Friends

Certificate of Merit

Francesca Shearcroft

IC1

The End of the Beginning

Certificate of Merit

Francesca Shearcroft

IC11

Staircase

Certificate of Merit

Steve Terry

IC11

Snakelocks Sea Anemones

Certificate of Merit

Carole Wetherley

IC2

Dalmore Beach

Certificate of Merit

Dave Whenham

IC1

Swansea Bay

Certificate of Merit

Dave Whenham

IC3

Goit Stock Falls

Certificate of Merit

Shurle Woodhouse

DSO

The Tackle

Certificate of Merit

Shurle Woodhouse

DSO

My Favourite Trainers

Certificate of Merit

Stephen Yates

IC4

Female Small Red Damselfly

Certificate of Merit

Stephen Yates

IC4

Mating Harlequin Ladybirds

Certificate of Merit

Stephen Yates IC4 Yellow Dung Fly with Prey

Certificate of Merit

The Top Circle Award is awarded to IC7 for the best performance in the competition.

JUDGE’S

Thank you very much for asking me to judge your Founders’ Cup Competition.

David Bibby

Judging has become a lot more difficult since the advent of digital photography, however I can only do my best and at the end of the day the images that come through into the awards are probably the ones I like the best, irrespective of the amount of work that has gone into producing them!

COMMENTS EFIAP CPAGB BPE3*

I have been a member of a Photographic Society since 1980 and judged my first competition in 1986. I have now judged more than 200 photographic competitions, either individually or as part of a panel.

As I expected (feared?) the overall quality of the entries in this competition is very good which made it very difficult to whittle the entries down from 393 to 40-odd!

However, I am satisfied that I have picked a good selection of images of all genres in the final results.

I have to say though that I was surprised to find that there is no award specifically for the Best Nature photograph, especially as there are so many excellent nature images. This is perhaps something the organisers could look into.

A lot of entries were in the running for the individual “Best of…” awards, but I will give my reasons for my final choices below.

Thank you very much to everybody who entered and to Graham for his help and clear instructions.

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JUDGE’S

COMMENTS Such a difficult choice, and one I am sure that won’t go down well with those photographers (and there are many!) who don’t like monochrome but I am going to choose Museum of Liverpool as the Best Overall image.

I’m always a sucker for “moody monochrome” and this image has it in spades. This image is all about the heavy monochrome treatment, with the “prow” of the building looming towards us out of deep space, imbuing it with a real sense of menace and ambiguity. The use of monochrome at it’s very best in my opinion.

Photography is fundamentally about observation, but a good dollop of imagination can make the most commonplace subject look brilliant.

This is a photographers’ photograph.

The subject matter is familiar to me through visits to Liverpool and also seeing photographs of the building in other competitions, but the way the final image has been produced this time - not “manipulated” in the modern sense of the word, but by using traditional “dodging and burning” techniques - has lifted it to a highly artistic level. Well done.

Museum of Liverpool Charlie Gott

Salver for the Best Image Certificate for the Best Mono Image

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Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS Despite all the creativity we see nowadays I still feel drawn to photographs that capture a fleeting second and this photograph of the boy doing tricks on his scooter has been captured exceptionally well. He is pin sharp and is striking a good pose, mirrored to some extent by the shadow beneath him. It is almost as an afterthought that the viewer notices that the background has been tinkered with to make it less prominent so I think that this has been done very well. One very, very small comment about attention to detail – the maker’s logo on his t-shirt would normally be on the other side of his chest so it looks to me that the photograph has been flipped to improve the composition – it’s been done to good effect though so is another plus! I could be wrong of course.

Certificate for the Best Colour Image

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Scooter Boy Pat Couder 31

Salver for the Best Landscape Image

Morning Has Broken Charlie Gott

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS 32

I sometimes think that the simplest compositions are the best and this image focuses on a single tree, which is silhouetted nicely against the early morning sun.

There is a hint of mist in the background and frost on the grass in the foreground, giving the image a great deal of atmosphere.

Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Chloe In Clay Pat Couder

Salver for the Best Portrait Print

JUDGE’S

COMMENTS

There weren’t a huge number of portraits to choose from but I like the directness of Choe’s look, ie. straight at us, with the eyes really standing out against the crusted clay around the rest of her face. Chloe’s head has been placed slightly off-centre which I think has improved the composition, but I would have liked the background to be more mooted or blurred. A very striking mono portrait.

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Certificates of Merit - PDI

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Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Facing Page: Top Left: Sparrowhawk with Prey

Peter Redford Top Right: My Favourite Trainers

Shurle Woodhouse Bottom Left: Carrion Crow

Michael Atkinson Bottom Right: Female Small Red Damselfly

Stephen Yates

Top Right:

Bottom Right:

Yellow Dung Fly with Prey Stephen Yates Staircase Francesca Shearcroft Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

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Top Left: Rain

Kirsty Railton Bottom Left: Snakelocks Sea Anemones

Steve Terry Facing Page: Top Left:

Top Right:

Bottom:

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New Life Gordon Hendry Swansea Bay Dave Whenham Eastbourne Pier Pat Couder

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Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Facing Page: Top Left:

Top Right:

Bottom Left:

Bottom Right:

Goit Stock Falls Dave Whenham The Tackle Shurle Woodhouse Sparrowhawk Plucking Kill Peter Redford Grilled Spheres Allan Bate

Top Right:

Bottom Right:

Four Corners Allan Bate The End of the Beginning Francesca Shearcroft Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

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Top: Perch Rock Sunset Kieran Metcalfe Bottom Left: On Target Roger Edwardes Bottom Right: Black And White Test Peter Nutkins 40

Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Top Left: Kittiwake Attacks Fulmar John Hughes Top Right: Blue Tit in the Sun Gary Barton Bottom: Morning Has Broken Peter Nutkins Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

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Top: Here Come The Girls Vietnam

Rodney Marsh Bottom: Kingfisher

Bob Rawlinson 42

Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Top Left:

Top Right:

Bottom:

Arctic Tern Bob Rawlinson Watching Alan Phillips The Photoshopper Alan Phillips Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

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Top Left:

Top Right:

Bottom:

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Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Comma Butterfly Eric Ladbury Harmby Waterfall Gary Barton Jaguar Headlight Shirley Boulton

Top: Yo Beatboxer

Pat Couder Bottom: Mating Harlequin Ladybirds

Stephen Yates Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

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Top Left:

Bottom Left:

Bottom Right:

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Founder's Cup 2018 - PDI Results

Alone Pat Couder Dalmore Beach Carole Wetherley Rare African Wild Cat Peter Bagnall

Top Right: Stag

Pat Couder Bottom Left: Three Friends

Francesca Shearcroft Bottom Right: Rugged

Peter Henry

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In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images

The first in a series of Lightroom Tutorials from Eric Ladbury When I write for a tutorial I have regular rules used in the text these are simply...

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When I write click it refers to a left button of the mouse  being clicked once.

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Anything in-cased in square brackets thus [see fig. 00] is a referral to a grab shot from the original screen.

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All words or phrases in>bold>plain script with a “>” is a description to a direction or track through any “tree route” of a menu used in Adobe Lightroom.

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All words or phrases in bold italic script is a description to a specific place or action within Adobe Lightroom.

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When a keyboard shortcut is recommended I will use [[ A ]] which in this case suggests the use of a single press “A” key; or for multiple key presses [[ Ctrl + A ]] which in this concept, refers to pressing both keys TOGETHER, not one after the other.

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Pictures or Images will be referred to as slides throughout these notes.

Before I get into the essentials of moving image files there are four points I will highlight first:1. The Preferences need to be checked for their settings if this has not been looked at previously [see fig. 1], in the Library mode go to Edit>Preferences and in the dialog box select the General tab and tick the required boxes for your own preference my choice is the ones in fig. 1. While you are in this window if you have not been here before it is worth viewing all the tabs and setting your desired preferences. One important box to tick is well named in Import Options the first line “Show import dialog when a memory card is detected” it is an advantage to tick this one.

2. Next for gaining the maximum screen space when working it is an advantage to be able to switch on and off the four panels at top, bottom, left, and right. Simply a click on the light grey triangle mid point of each side of the screen [see fig. 2] a right click will bring up a dialog box, each panel can be changed how it reacts with any options showing in the dropdown menu with a selection click on the line your choice; also by using the [[tab]] key (on the

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keyboard), it will bring both left and right panels into view together, or toggles to hide this pair with the one key press and [[Shift + tab]] for all four. Note a left click on the grey triangle will show that panel depending which preselected was made, thus manual will always be manual. A further refinement is the function keys [[F5]], [[F6]], [[F7]] and [[F8]] give keyboard control to show or hide the Top,

In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images - Eric Ladbury

Bottom, Left and Right panel appropriately. I can never remember which key does what if it has been a while since in the program, I made a “Dymo” label and stuck it above these keys, saving time and annoyance.

3. There are two other shortcuts to control the Filter Bar and Toolbar boxes, at the top and the bottom respectively in this screen using keys [[/]] for the filter bar and [[T]] for toolbox.

4. My final tip here is when in Library mode the folder display in the left panel lists all attached drives available [see fig. 3], these have a tell-tail light on the left end of each entry showing either green, red or black this denotes status level available of the drive, green means space is available, red nearing maximum capacity, and black is full or not available. The “DRIVE” top bar e.g. Windows (C:) or Local Disk (C:) when right clicked displays a dropdown menu to alter the information shown at the right end of this bar, my preference is the Disk Space. The ““ on the right end when clicked displays the whole content of the selected drive, actually a click anywhere in the title bar will make this selection too, click a second time and the dropdown folds back into the top bar.

It may come as a surprise that the first opportunity to make some kind of selection choices starts at the down-loading stage, when a few choices can be made to the individual or all the pictures being transferred from the camera or its card, to the preferred hard drive. It probably sounds common sense yet it is often missed. So before uploading images in the Import window there is a tick box in the “Import” window [see fig. 4], under File Handling “” in the right-hand panel, Don’t Import Suspected Duplicates which is (in my opinion), best kept as ticked, this avoids a lot of work in sifting images later. There are a few times when it is prudent to import duplicate files (images), these will become apparent at the time these arise, simply take the tick out of the box, don’t forget to reapply the tick when the action of uploading is ended.

It is significant and important to apply your own copyright information embedded within the Exif file, this is a two minute job and quite simple to do. Move further down the right-hand panel to Apply During Import “” if nothing is visible below this bar just click on the bar and three lines (bars) show below, in the Metadata bar click on the double arrow at the right end which opens a dropdown menu. Click on the New… line and a new huge window appears [see figs. 5&6] in the top line Preset Name type in the title of the preset, here it will be similar to mine SHORT copyright, the reason for “short” is, I have two versions of copyright preset, short is a four line version for general use such as local club entries, whereas the “full” one contains more information and I will use this in connection with formal contacts e.g. publishing or for major

national or international competition entries. Edit the lines in section four “ IPTC Content” you can use my version as a guide or place your own text, once completed to your satisfaction click the Done box bottom right. It is now available by checking the Metadata bar and selecting the desired line for the download of files currently being used by clicking the  and choosing the appropriate line.

The next bar down keywords [see fig. 5] can be very helpful when searching for files later, simply click inside the window when a cursor appears start to type any appropriate single

In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images - Eric Ladbury

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or multiple combination of words, separating them by a comma, with NO spaces between each entry, but multiple word phrases can have a space in the middle of the stanza see below: Example 1

London,city,capital,2018,Tower of London,keys,ceremony,building

Example 2

Birmingham,Cathedral,cathedral,ecclesiastical,

In example 1, The “Tower of London” phrase will only register as a single key word entry and will be found by that full three word entry. Notice also in entry 2, Cathedral has been entered twice once with a capital “C” and once with a lower case “c” this is to allow for search engines which differentiate between the upper and lower case entries to locate this word.

When a camera memory card reader is connected to the computer, (I prefer using a reader in favour of uploading direct from the camera). There now should be an automatic action made by Lightroom to swap windows if you have followed “preferences” (see step one on page one above). If this preference has not been set, then whilst in the Library module (window), just click the Import… button at bottom left of the screen [see fig. 7 label A], either route will bring up the import window, which is the empty view, ready to make your choices or directions.

Going back to the import screen [see fig. 8] there should now be a new bar in the top of the left Panel “ Source” named Devices [see labels A] relating to this new connection i.e. G:\(Camera or Card Reader) the drive, note the prefix letter may be different on your computer; if nothing is visible but the bar “ Source” click on this bar and the  changes to  and the whole information of drives and files should be visible and available. Go to the  in the Devices, bar and make sure there’s a tick in the box - this ensures there is no problem when removing the card reader (or camera). The next task is to select the action to be applied to the images during uploading by confirming the correct method is selected [see label B] and confirming Copy is highlighted and thus is chosen. Don’t forget, the File Handling “” in the right-hand panel, Don’t Import Suspected [see label C] Duplicates (see page 2 paragraph 1), and any appropriate Keywords [see label D] are typed into the box in the correct format. There’s one more tick box to consider Make a Second Copy To: [see label E] selecting a route for any duplicate images to be placed in a separate folder, just tick the box and click right and select from dropdown menu, normally Choose Folder to send the second copy too.

Moving further down the panel to Destination  [see fig. 9 label A], it is important to set this area up correct, if you fail here it maybe quite a while before you see those precious pictures again. I have failed here in the past, to my regret, and

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a cost of several hours of searching for the errant files, often to no avail, only to resort to uploading the whole batch a second time. Then finding the lost images several months later in the wrong folder or drive!

Commence with selecting by a click the Drive you wish to use this could be TOSHIBA MOBILE~EML… my choice in this instance, and note the drive has changed from grey to white, [see label B], but it could easily have been Windows(C) or any other Drive letter available. The next task is, if this drive contains many folders there is a definite advantage in placing the pictures into the correctly named folder already in place, or, into a new folder by creating one in Into Subfolder [see label C], place a tick in the box and to the right type a title for folder such as Belper Special Card as I have used. NOTE if you are doing this for a subsequent time there will be a folder name already in this window SO MAKE SURE YOU TYPE A NEW NAME EVERY TIME, but if you are using a current folder it will need to be selected from the visible ones after choosing the folder as usual.

Next go to the main window displaying all the slides (pictures) which should be visible [see blue dash outlined box]. Each individual slide will be showing a ticked box top left of every one, this means all are selected for Copying to the destination drive previously made. However there could be a reason for only loading part of the batch of pictures, maybe two or more subjects have been shot on the one card, my folders are mainly location based names, and for this I use either or both the selection tools [see labels D,E&F] each task is listed below: [see label D] •

All Photos ~ by clicking in the box to the left selection of all or none toggles on or off.

[see label E] •

(1) All Photos : (2) New Photos: (3) Destination Folders ~ left click toggles through all 3.

1. Selects all photos including those already loaded except these are greyed out use this to see every picture on the card or folder of origin.

2. Shows images new to Lightroom, this is handy if you use same card to add images to when shooting again, then return the card to upload the new pictures, only the new ones are visible, these can be seen, selected and used.

3. This button hides any images with the same name in the destination folder. [see label F] •

Check All / Uncheck All ~ self explanatory really, when unchecked is used all images go dark (greyed out), simply click on either button.

In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images - Eric Ladbury

If you are uploading from an internal folder selected from the left panel in Lightroom, then it is usual to send this to the same folder in the right panel but not always the case.

Finally the images are ready to be downloaded from the card to be transferred as a copy with full information to the selected drive and folder therein. The last command to is to click the Import button at bottom right of the screen [see fig. 9 label G], this puts into action all the selected items needed to transfer copies of all the chosen images, it does

NOT remove any pictures from the card in the card reader or camera when sending the files; neither does it format the card, and anyway I always advocate formatting the card in the camera it is to be used in, but don’t do this formatting until you are certain the upload has gone to plan. If anything looks wrong or odd and you don’t feel the upload is going according to wishes just click the Cancel button bottom right. Only re‑format the used card when you are completely happy the files have loaded correctly.

In the Lightroom: Importing Your Images - Eric Ladbury

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Circle Spotlight: IC10

Dave Whenham explores the submissions in a particularly memorable folio One of the privileges I get as the online circles manager (one of the hats the General Secretary wears) is that I can see any folio that I chose. Thus, back in September 2017 I viewed the fifth folio in IC10, our themed online circle. The subject was “Circles” and I was struck by the range of interpretations from the nine members of IC10 and commented in the Notebook “Fabulous folio – good luck sorting this one out”. I of course immediately asked for the opportunity to feature the folio in

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Photonews. Finally, five months later we have the opportunity to bring them to you in this issue.

The themed Circle was one of our 2017 experiments and was originally to be trialled for a few months only. Nine folios later it offers something unique amongst the online Circles. There is space for a couple more members so if you like the idea of a fresh challenge every month then let me know!

Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

Circles And Shadows Alan Phillips The highest scoring image in that folio came from Alan Phillips who scored an average of 9, quite an achievement but amazingly only 0.1 of a point higher than the second place image from Kirsty Railton. Alan explained that “Circles & Shadows” is a tabletop shot and the surface is a piece of white mount card; below this is a magnet holding a set of steel washers in a vertical sculpture.

Behind the washers are three single-LED white spots with red, blue and green gels shining towards the camera. The background is a vertical sheet of mountboard lit by a 3-LED white light. Oh. And he confessed at the time to “Much, much, much Photoshop work to tidy up the flare spots….”

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Ring Nebula Kirsty Railton Kirsty meanwhile was playing with oil and water. The background to this image, placed under the glass was a CD. Clearly Kirsty would have taken many shots whilst playing so I asked what made her chose this one; “I liked this shot best even though it has the light reflection in it, It made me think a sci-fi planetary system�.

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Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

Reflections in Dewdrop Circles David Williams Reflections of the surrounding grass provided the core of David Williams’ shot “Reflections in Dewdrop circles”. Rather modestly he tells us that “it was just a case of getting the right lighting to achieve what I wanted” although we all know these are not the easiest images to get right!

Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

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Tubes Sally Anderson Sally Anderson’s offering of “Tubes” prompted Eric to exclaim “Gosh! The places this circular task has taken our circle of photographers, here the exploration of children’s play items; who would expect organic metallic tubes sprouting from carpet embossed roundels? “ Sally explained that there were no children around at the time which gave her the chance to experiment and play. Indeed the word “play” features a lot in comments for this folio.

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Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

Jet 1 Michael Nadin Michael Nadin gave us something different and an interesting piece of technique advice gleaned from an RAF mechanic. This is an image of the exhaust end of a military jet engine. “The technique was shown to me by a Red Arrows mechanic – ie hold the camera near to the exhaust and take the picture using flash The results are amazing! You can clearly see all the intricately machined parts of the blades and fan – and in this case a number of circles!”

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Five Silver Rings Eric Ladbury Next we come to Five Silver Rings from Circle Secretary Eric Ladbury. His is a more subtle image and as he explains he wanted to create a surreal effect of the silver rings and remove all colour except around the rings. It is subtle but as ever did garner several views including the thought that “Maybe the other way round would give a more surreal effect – stark mono for the rings and pavement, and washed out colour in the background?”

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Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

Wine Circle Colin Rogers While looking around an old house in France member Colin Rogers came across a display of wine. “The lighting was great.” He tells us so of course he couldn’t resist getting the camera out. As with all of the images in this folio members were extremely positive in their feedback and also provided some interesting food for thought.

Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

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Vortex of the Mind John Metcalfe “… it could be the wreck of a supernova in space, or an ultra-micrograph inside a blood vessel or the Manifestation Of An Elder God.” Thus did one member describe John Metcalfe’s “Vortex of the Mind”. Many members were curious as to what it was with paint dropped into water being one suggestion but thus far John has maintained an enigmatic silence on the matter although those in IC9 will have a clearer idea as he spilled the beans in that folio.

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Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

Wool Circles Shirley Boulton Shirley Boulton’s “Wool Circles” certainly challenged the members of IC10 with an image that very clearly met the brief with a lovely composition but which was processed in a very unique way which certainly got members thinking with a range of useful suggestions and some very constructive feedback.

Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham

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To view more of our images, learn about the club and for membership information, please visit postalphotoclub.org.uk

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members Photonews is published four times per year.

All rights reserved. All materials copyright The Postal Photographic Club and/or their respective authors. Any opinion or statement expressed by the author of any article published in this magazine does not necessarily reflect the views of The Postal Photographic Club, the editor or its members.

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Circle Spotlight: IC10 - Dave Whenham