Photonews Summer 2017

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

Summer 2017

PENING

SHOT

Galactic Beacon

by Kieran Metcalfe, IC7 While camping in Conwy Iast summer I spent a late evening at Penmon Point on Anglesey.

Through sheer luck more than judgement, I was treated to the Milky Way being in the right place for lining up with the Lighthouse.

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

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Postal Photo Developments

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Welcome to the World of DP

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

David James Take a look at what this month’s Featured Circle have been up to over their first 75 rounds.

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Boring Postcards

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Classic Cameras - Olympus 35RC

Clive Piggott Clive reviews Martin Parr’s dubiously-title book.

Geoff Leah A tour of a gem of a camera.

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Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera

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Jon C Allanson’s Photoshop Notes

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Travels with a Camera

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Large Print Circle

David Ridley An insightful account of the strengths of bridge cameras with example images.

Jon Allanson Part 3 of this helpful series, this time covering HDR, Noise Reduction and Monochrome Conversion.

John Pattision Notes from the Gulf in this issue is from Nizwa in the Sultanate of Oman.

Jon Allanson An introduction to LP1 in it’s first year.

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Photonews+ Forum Update

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The Lowdown on Plants

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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Summer Cover Competition

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From the Webmaster

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Clive Piggott Read about the new features provided by the PPC online forum.

Barry Willcock Barry’s techniques for taking and processing his images.

John Kay & Graham Harvey A selection of Peter’s fantastic images, contributed over many years as part of C1.

Clive Piggott & David Whenham The winner and Runners-up, along with judges’ comments.

Graham Dean An update from Graham about his work with the PPC website.

Twenty Questions... or less Roger Edwardes Meet Roger and read about his photography with a selection of his award-winning images.

Eric’s Corner Eric Ladbury Reflections on themed competition images.

POSTAL PHOTO DEVELOPMENTS News and Updates from PPC General Secretary, Dave Whenham WELCOME! The first four months of 2017 have seen a welcome influx of new members into both print and online circles. So, a big welcome to John Metcalfe, Shirley Boulton, Terry Boulton, Neil Bland, Chris Woodcock, Charlie Gott, Ian Riley, Trevor Fleet, Peter Nutkins, Colin Rogers, Carole Wetherley, Chris Knapper and Shurle Woodhouse all of whom joined between January and April.

Several of our new members came from a talk that Graham Harvey and Mike Atkinson gave to their local camera club in Lancaster and I would encourage all of you to think about how you can promote the club at your local club. Membership of the PPC, be it through print or online circles really can complement membership at a traditional “bricks-and-mortar” club and we also run for 52 weeks of the year. Do let me know if I can support you in any way.

A very big “thank you” also to everyone who participated in the “Growing the Membership” survey recently. I am currently looking at the results and with support from other members of the committee will be considering how to take some of your suggestions on board and we are very grateful for the support.

TRAVELLING EXHIBITION Everyone should by now have received an email from me with the formal invitation and full instructions for how to enter this years Travelling Exhibition competition – if not please get in touch as soon as possible. I would encourage all of you to enter both the print and the digital competitions. As a reminder there is a two-week window during which we will accept entries opening on 10th July and running through to the 25th July inclusive. New members should speak to their Circle Secretary in the first instance if they need any help or guidance. If you have any questions about the process or concerns with the deadlines please contact Jon Allanson (print) or Graham Harvey (digital) our two hard-working Competition Secretaries.

Don’t forget that this year sees our first print panel competition. Panels should consist of 4 prints individually mounted on 7 x 5 inch or 5 x 5 inch stiff cards and one panel

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can be entered for each circle you are a member of. The panel will be presented as 4 images horizontally or 4 images in a square depending on your instructions.

Good luck to all of you, we expect to announce the full TE results in the Autumn edition of Photonews towards the end of August so something to watch out for!

TWO REMINDERS! As I mentioned in my Spring editorial, whilst growing our membership base is a key priority for 2017 I am particularly keen to see an increase in the number of members participating in print circles, perhaps alongside their existing online circle. So, don’t forget that any member who is currently in just an online circle(s) who joins a print circle during 2017 will receive a complimentary pack of 12 print folders to get them started. Don’t be shy – email or call me today!

The “Growing the Membership” survey is still open for a short period – please try to find the time to complete and submit the survey as every comment will help us in planning for the PPC’s future.

MENSA Clive, our Forum Editor, is a member of MENSA and has previously joined their photography special interest group.

Recently he took on the job of producing their occasional newsletter and asked me if I would write a column every now and then. Long story short, the newsletter is now monthly and I am also writing monthly for MPHOTO as the newsletter has been rechristened. I have also agreed with Clive that a short promotional editorial should go in at various intervals supplemented with an article from a past issue of Photonews.

Peter Henry has kindly agreed that we can use his long

Postal Photo Developments - Dave Whenham

exposure article for the first of these. If any of you are also members of MENSA then do let Clive know, as he would be pleased to know there are other PPC members in the MENSA photography SIG I am sure.

FINALLY The demands of publishing necessitate that these pieces are written ahead of time and it is approaching the middle of May as I put the finishing touches to this issue’s editorial. It is 8am and I’ve just got back from a stroll, which culminated in a visit to the newsagents for Amanda’s papers. As I left I instinctively picked up a camera as I went out of the door, something I do pretty much every time I leave the house these days. The impetus for this has been in no small part down to the investment in a Fuji X100T, which I take virtually everywhere these days. The snap here of Zac was taken as we walked down Gog Hill one morning recently, he turned to tell me something and without really being conscious of the act I took this image. The point of this domestic tale is to pose a question to you all – has a piece of camera gear changed your way of working, your perception or even your life? I’d love to know – who knows we might get that Letters Page off the ground with your anecdotes!

Good luck in the forthcoming TE, I look forward to a record entry again this year!

Dave Whenham

THANKS FOR YOUR

FEEDBACK

It is always gratifying to know that the work and effort that goes into Photonews is appreciated by members so Kieran and I were very happy to receive several emails from members saying how much they enjoyed the Spring issue. One particularly singled out John Pattison’s feline feature for praise and I also learned from these emails that at least one member ordered a ring light on the strength of David Ridley’s article!

Unfortunately the Typo Gremlin got in to the Founder’s Cup results and Bill Martindale was wrongly renamed Bob – apologies again Bill and thanks for being so understanding. Apologies also to anyone who spent time wondering about this “new” member with a name so similar to Bill’s. We have corrected and re-released the Spring Photonews.

COVER PHOTO An English Summer’s Day by David James Ed: This image was the winner of our Summer Competition.

See the results on page 56 in this issue for more information from David and to see the Runners Up. Postal Photo Developments - Dave Whenham

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Welcome to the World of DP David James showcases the work of the Digital Print Circle.

Circle DP (or Digital Print) was started by Jon Allanson in 1999 as digital began to take hold in amateur photography. Jon stayed on as circle secretary until October 2014 when I took on the job after joining the circle in round 126, roughly ten years after Jon had started the circle. In those early days most, if not all of the entries, were scanned prints and slides which then allowed them to be manipulated in early versions of Adobe Photoshop and printed digitally at home. Jon’s intention was originally for members to digitally print, not necessarily to manipulate, but as Photoshop developed then so did members’ ideas. The first version of Photoshop was released in 1990 but by 2001 the latest release was version 6, followed in 2002 by version 7.

The inaugural round comprised six members. Geoff Babbage, Dani Canham, Bill Chadband, Jonathan Harris, Dave Flitcroft and Jon Allanson. Round two found Graham Harvey in the circle and within twelve months the circle was up to nine members. CDP was, and still is, the only print circle to allow every type of digitally printed image. It is “open” in every sense of the word. Be it a straight print, however odd, a manipulated “photoshopped” one, something created in camera or a figment of your imagination. All are welcome.

As with all circles, some images you may like, some not, but all constructive critiques can be of benefit even if you don’t like the picture they relate to. The circle also gives you the opportunity to try something different without thinking that it is going to be rejected out of hand “because it doesn’t fit”.

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Images from Rounds 1 and 75 The images show the first and the seventy fifth rounds, along with an assortment of more recent entries.

Over the years the circle and its members have been successful in our annual competitions, indeed we have won the Ellis Martin Trophy for top print circle six times.

So, if you fancy trying something different and want a challenge, come and join us.

Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Breakfast Time David James

Welcome to the World of DP - David James

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Bricks David Nail 8

Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Egg Timer Graham Dean Welcome to the World of DP - David James

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Harbour Station David Ridley

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Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Incoming Tide Steve Terry

Welcome to the World of DP - David James

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Lily Richard Vale 12

Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Silver Girl Ken Ainscow Welcome to the World of DP - David James

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Sopwith Camel Frank Mordecai

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Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Transporter Bridge Paul Robinson Welcome to the World of DP - David James

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U Bein Bridge Jon Allanson

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Welcome to the World of DP - David James

Boring Postcards Martin Parr A book review by Clive Piggott ‘Boring Postcards’ is the somewhat underwhelming title of a book comprising a collection of postcards of Britain chosen by Martin Parr. In line with the low impact title, the unprepossessing cover is plain grey with just the title and Publisher’s Name. Published in 2004, the paperback version is available on Amazon for £8.95 at time of writing.

This is an unusual book to review because there are no chapter or section headings, and there is no index. In fact, apart from acknowledgements on the inside covers, there is no text or commentary whatsoever to accompany the contents. Well, there are one or two postcard captions but that’s all. The book is small and compact – approximately 15 x 20 x 1.5cms – i.e. a little bigger than the average postcard.

As you might expect the contents comprise a collection of postcards, mainly from circa the 1960s, which have been chosen and arranged by Parr. Parr is an avid collector of postcards - among other things. There can be few photographers who have not heard of Parr nor seen some of his work. Parr has said of his photography, “The fundamental thing I’m exploring constantly is the difference between the mythology of the place and the reality of it.” Parr is famous for his fascination with ‘Englishness’ and with the English and their social eccentricity and class differences, and he is an influential champion of the photobook.

The postcards are printed one per page and the choices form a picture of the post-war period of redevelopment and reconstruction when much of modern Britain was being built.

These are not ‘pretty postcard’ views with steroidal blue skies and happy faces frolicking on beaches or upon hills and vales.

Although there are no headed sections as such, the postcards are arranged into some groupings which I’ll call ‘parts’.

The first part covers the growth of motor car ownership and use: e.g. motorways, service stations, city road systems. Then we find new urban buildings and redevelopment – e.g. new leisure centres, shopping precincts, civic centres, offices, libraries, schools, redbrick colleges, power stations. Next we find a collection on the burgeoning travel and holiday industry – airports, motels, seaside resorts, caravan parks, holiday camps etc. Also included are some residential housing developments.

Most of the postcards are in colour though a significant number are in monochrome. There is no particular artistic vision or photographic cleverness used: they are in the main, simple ‘boring’ snapshots of simple ‘boring’ subject matter and thereby display a pleasing authenticity. Consequently they are anything but boring and form a fascinating social and photographic document.

Though some redevelopment from this era came to be considered hideous, e.g. the Birmingham Bullring was rebuilt in 2003 (and still attracts controversial views), these postcards clearly succeed in capturing and preserving some of the pride that Britain had in its post-war reconstruction and redevelopment programmes but, in successfully doing so, they also show the potential value of unpretentious, loosely but accurately framed, record photography - printed and presented in the simple and underrated form of the postcard.

It is to be hoped that ‘postcards’ are being recorded nowadays that might provide a similar ‘boring’ record in 50 years time.

Boring Postcards - Book Review - Clive Piggott

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Classic Cameras - Olympus 35RC Geoff gives us a tour of a classic gem of a camera.

Founded on 12th Oct. 1919 as Takachiho Seisakusho, the Olympus Company initially made only microscopes. In 1936 they produced their first camera, the Semi-Olympus folder. In 1942 the Company name was changed to Takachiho Kogyo Co. Ltd. (another snappy, easily remembered title), and again in 1949 to the Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. Olympus have manufactured a bewildering array of cameras, including folders, TLRs, SLRs, small 35mm models and many half-frame 35mm. cameras. The model illustrated is a small 35mm. fixed lens camera with built-in CdS metering and a coupled rangefinder. Olympus are renowned for the quality of their Zuiko lenses, and the 35 RC has an excellent 42mm. f2.8 five element fully coated E. Zuiko lens which focuses down to three feet.

The coupled rangefinder is accurate and easy to use. The viewfinder displays a “suspended frame” to aid composition, and also the shutter speed and aperture being used.

The film speed is set using a dial situated around the lens.

Metering via the CdS meter is either of the shutter-priority

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type, or fully manual. The meter, like many older CdS types, uses one now-defunct 625 mercury cell. This is no longer a problem thanks to the Wein Air cell. These supply the correct 1.35 volts, are available from Amazon etc. for around £7 each, and have a long life.

The shutter is X synchronised, and speeded from 1/15th sec to 1/500th, plus B. An easy-load film system is also incorporated.

A large curved wind-on/cocking lever is situated along the top rear edge of the body. The body is all metal, with very little nasty plastic to be found anywhere, making the camera feel solid and pleasant to use.

The performance of the 35RC is amazing, with excellent results coming from both negative and positive (slide) films. It is small enough to fit into a pocket and weighs only 14 ounces (410 grams). A version with a larger lens, called the 35RD was made, but is both bigger and heavier than the 35 RC. This is truly a little gem amongst cameras, and worth snapping up should you ever find one for sale, which doesn’t happen very often!

Classic Cameras: Olympus 35 - Geoff Leah

Classic Cameras: Olympus 35 - Geoff Leah

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Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera Useful insights on David’s choice of equipment.

For many years I have used Canon equipment both 35mm film & later a 400D paired with Canon & Sigma EX lenses which I still use on the very odd occasion, but when it was obvious that digital was definitely overtaking traditional photographic medium I ventured into bridge cameras and purchased a Kodak P880 (8.1 MP) which again I still have and is dusted off for holidays as a second camera.

The Kodak & I got along well for a few years but as technology advanced I decided that for me a bridge camera would definitely serve well for the vast majority of my needs & decided to buy a Leica (Type 114) bridge with a 1” sensor which is now my companion on at least 95% of my photographic outings and it has a familiar DSLR feel & layout about it. It was also packaged with a Lightroom version 6 download.

Of course the idea of a bridge is that as far as possible it’s a complete ‘all in one’ piece of kit that will cover a vast number of situations and with a big weight advantage. Since I don’t have one subject that particularly appeals to me, a bridge camera seems my obvious choice as like me it’s an ‘all rounder’. I use a 16 or 32 gb. memory card with a 95 mb/sec. rating, and a 16 gb. card has the capacity for approx. 1650 images at the highest jpeg quality setting and of course carry a fully charged spare battery. In addition to the bridge camera a compact is kept in the car at all times again with a spare battery so that when I’m out locally for any reason I always have a camera to hand should one be required, this being a Panasonic LF1.

Now before I go any further I know that there are those that consider this Leica to simply be a Panasonic Lumix FZ 1000 with a Leica badge but this is not a comparison that I’ll be going into as I’m sure most are aware of the Leica & Panasonic ‘tie up.’

The choice of mainly using a bridge camera may seem an odd one for a keen amateur like myself but as they say ‘what suits one...’

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Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

Water Frame

When out and about I still use a small gadget bag for transportation of the Leica and ‘am still able to carry the charger, spare battery, a couple of filters, spare memory cards and a ring light together with an LED light. But what a difference in total weight compared to the DSLR with all my lenses and accessories! And because there’s no need to change lenses it’s also one less thing to think about especially when arriving at a location all I have to do is turn the camera on and it’s ready for most situations. The lens itself is in my opinion a real beauty which zooms from 24mm to 400mm (in old money) and goes from f2.8 to f4 at the telephoto end but also extending digitally to 1600mm although I’ve never used it beyond around 850mm because I’ve never needed to & beyond this sort of length hand holding would present it’s own challenges in respect of focusing and stability as I’m not a great fan of tripods although I do carry one in the car also with a monopod to keep it company. On the lens is a wide duel purpose ring which more normally would be used for manual focusing but I have it set for zooming manually which I find convenient as I almost never focus manually and this saves battery power as I find I’m able to operate the zoom much quicker than using the electronic lever.

So, as to some of the other functions that I find that makes a bridge my favourite camera, well, there is the in camera HDR function which I don’t use for my normal photography but is most useful when visiting historic properties where flash isn’t allowed and works well for ‘family album photos’ in fact even where flash is allowed I still use this function as my preferred choice and usually choose aperture priority at around f4 to f5.6 with auto ISO setting from which the camera normally sets a realistic shutter speed. Although I’ve always been able

Gossip Corner to hand hold at 1/15 sec. or even 1/8 sec. without camera shake being evident I feel that this is where the image stabliser comes into it’s own for me because the camera makes between 3 to 5 images combined, and without the aid of a tripod I don’t think I’d like to try this setting without such stabilisation. However, I do have the stabilization switched on at all times based on the principal that if it’s available use it and I suspect that I’m far from alone with this. Another plus for me personally is that the

Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

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image stabilization is always there because not all DSLRs have the system in the camera body and if that’s the case then fine if all the lenses acquired have stabilization but if a system has been built over a period of time and older lenses are also in use then that’s something else to think about before taking a shot.

For me, possibly the two biggest conveniences of this bridge camera are firstly the close focus and macro zoom setting which at the 24mm end of the lens focuses down to approx.

1” from the subject but I’m able to operate close focus setting at any focal length I want which is great if I need a little more distance from the object I wish to capture and with a greater focal length plus a wide aperture combined with the 1” sensor allows a reasonably out of focus background if required. When really close to a subject the tilt/multiangle screen is a boon but more generally I still prefer the viewfinder option most of the time. Again, being interested in general photography, rather than one particular subject, the wide ranging focal length of the lens allows me to quickly & smoothly move from using the wide end at 24mm right through the telephoto range should the situation dictate. The second biggest convenience for me is the available burst rates on continuous shooting, which are available at 2, 7, 12, & 50 fps which I normally leave set at 12fps but easily move from single shot to my chosen burst speed at the turn of a separate knob on the top plate.

I have customised the ISO availability by resetting the i resolution which gives a range of 80 to 25,000 ISO plus auto instead of the normal and optimum value of 125 ISO. Although I can’t envisage ever using the 25,000 setting I do favour using the lower end 80 ISO in the right conditions as minimum noise is created at this setting. There are five viewfinder/screen display options at the fingertips which include a ‘horizon leveller’ that I find of some use but for me the choice of viewfinder line guides are a more valuable aid to my general efforts. I have customised the five available easy access ‘FN buttons’ to suit my quick access requirements, those being 1.

Metering Mode 2. Macro Mode 3. ISO Sensitivity 4. Photo Style (Standard, Vivid, Mono Etc.,) 5. AE One Touch Focus/Exposure Lock . As said it has a familiar DSLR feel & indeed layout with the most used options at the fingertips once customised; together with a dial on the top plate to access single or continuous shooting which for continuous I have set within the main menu at high rate (about 6 frames per second) although the maximum is approximately 12 frames per second. There is a switching facility switching between electronic & manual shutter operation which I leave on the electronic setting. On switching the camera off I have set the lens to resume to the last used focal length used, when switching it back on, which I find useful if at say an event when there’s a break in proceedings and I wish to conserve battery power or simply need to change batteries at any time.

Standing His Ground

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Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

Here’s The Problem

Red Admiral

Hello, I’m Up Here

Overhead Fly Past

Most things in life are a compromise involving many factors, considerations, choices etc., and for my general photography and enjoyment I certainly don’t feel disadvantaged in any way not using a DSLR in fact quite the opposite especially when I see fellow photographers along side me with large heavy bags of gear and often having to change lenses. Provided the car is nearby where I’m shooting I simply remove the camera from the small gadget bag, hang it over my shoulder, put a spare battery in my pocket and I’m off! Simplicity is the key for me but safe in the knowledge that I’m ready for the vast majority of situations I may encounter.

some can be customised & some simply have set options to choose from not all of which I or probably many others would use on a day to day basis and that being so I simply haven’t mentioned them because as you’ll have gathered I use a bridge camera for sheer convenience & ease of use combined with weight advantage factor. Finally, like all photographers once I’ve captured the image(s) I want there is always the question of image quality and I must say I’m pleased with the results here as I always use JPGs set to fine but again sometimes use other options to squeeze as much as possible from the JPGs, namely setting the camera to Adobe RGB rather than sRGB as this produces more colour and sometimes use the Dynamic Range set to low in order to help the shadow areas. If I’m producing

Now this isn’t a test report on my bridge camera and of course like most cameras today it has a lot of functions of which

Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

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a 7” x 5” print, well I ask you? A4 is no problem either and judging by the results I get A3 shouldn’t be challenging although I don’t currently print to this size.

I shoot in mainly in 4:3 ratio which uses the maximum pixels available and with this quality allows cropping without any great loss of detail. At this aspect ratio of 4:3 it records at 4864 x 3648 which all things being equal should produce 20” x 16” prints. So, have I done any comparisons or tests? No! is the answer. Why not? The answer to that is that I don’t need to because in a nutshell it provides all the functions that I (and probably most other amateur photographers) ever need combined with convenience, light in weight and providing quality results. I’d wager that if a quality bridge camera was purchased as perhaps a second or back-up that once the owner became familiar with it that it may become the tool of choice most of the time for all the reasons that it appeals to me! So, put simply, it allows me to just enjoy spending my available time photographing the things that take my fancy without being troubled as to what gear I need to take with me, which lens should I use, the time needed to set up etc., when just looking for & taking pictures, for me, is at the end of the day what it’s all about!

Walkies

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Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

Walking The Boards

The Milk Train

Now, Where’s My Shirt

Why I Mainly Use a Bridge Camera - David Ridley LRPS

The Big Lift

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Jon C Allanson’s Photoshop Notes Part three of Jon’s series of tips and techniques for editing your images.

The third in the series of extracts from Jon’s Photoshop Notes which were written using Photoshop and Elements for PC so if you use a Mac you will need to bear in mind that the ALT, CMD and CTRL keys work slightly differently.

These notes are not meant to be prescriptive, giving exact details of how to achieve the final results, but rather are intended as a set of basic ideas and techniques that can be adapted and applied to your taste. You will need to experiment with them to find the best ways of applying them and the settings that work best for you. A modicum of existing knowledge is assumed.

the process and used selectively to avoid sharpening noisy areas. (High Pass is very appropriate and many photographers apply sharpening as the very last process).

In ACR and Lightroom there are good tools to reduce noise, however they tend to soften the image. Two RAW conversions can be applied, firstly a standard conversion and then one applying the noise reduction (if ACR is used rather than Lightroom it is necessary to record the standard conversion settings so that they are also applied to the softened conversion as the only difference should be the softening). The softened version is then stacked below the standard version, which is masked where required to eliminate the noise but retain required detail.

The selective use of the ‘inverted High Pass’ filter can also be used to reduce noise in areas of the image.

White Layer Effects – High-key, Irene Froy, Brian Beaney styles

HDR or Tone Mapping First a couple of definitions - HDR requires a series of separate exposures whereas tone mapping uses a series of different ‘exposure’ conversions from a single RAW image.

Many people do not like it as it can produce artificial/ unrealistic looking results particularly in sky areas. A way around this is to produce an HDR version of your image and stack one or more of your ‘original’ versions then use layer masking to reveal the non-HDR sky and get your final image as a mixture of one or more of the ‘original’ versions and the part with HDR enhanced detail.

For high-key take a suitable relatively low contrast image and make a new layer, fill with white then change blend to Soft Light. The effect can be increased by copying the white layer, or by using Levels or Hue/Saturation adjustment layers.

Localising of tone can be achieved by the use of layer masks.

Rather than using a Soft Light blend on the white layer the opacity can be reduced. Inserting a copy of the base layer

If there is a large luminosity range over an image produce 2 (possibly 3) versions each of which is correct for an appropriate part of the image. Then stack them on top each other with the main version at the base, then apply ‘black’ layer masks to the higher versions and then paint back in the required corrected parts with a white brush.

Noise reduction Noise is often caused by under exposure and is exacerbated by lightening up the image during processing. This can be best avoided in RAW by exposing for the dark areas and then recovering the highlights in the raw conversion. JPEG images will often benefit from exposing for the dark areas but always provided that there are not highlights which will burn out.

If sharpening is undertaken early in processing the image it will accentuate the noise, so sharpening is better left to late in

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Jon C Allanson's Photoshop Notes

with Multiply blend beneath the white layer can increase the strength of some of the colours.

Mist and foggy images can be achieved by using a layer made up of patches or stripes of grey (from the swatches palette) instead of the white layer. To make the image appear warmer add a low opacity orange/yellow layer to the top of the layer stack.

Monochrome conversions To make effective monochrome conversions you need to pre-visualise what you are trying to achieve by deciding if a colour is going to be rendered as a dark or light tone. In CS3 or above use adjustment layers and the Black and White filter – this allows you to adjust the tone that individual colours will convert to in monochrome. It is possible to apply several corrections in the same layer.

Sometimes however a global adjustment will not always give a suitable result over all the image (a good example is if blue and cyan are adjusted to create more contrast in the sky, any shadows areas containing a cyan component will also be darkened which is undesirable.) A mask can be applied to the Black and White adjustment layer to leave a monochrome sky with the rest of the image still coloured. If a further a Black and White adjustment layer is now applied with a different adjustment it will not affect the area that has already been converted to monochrome. Using a series of Black and White adjustment layers and masking it then comes possible to exercise very great tonal control over the image.

If you do not have the black and white filter HUE AND SATURATION can be used, make a HUE AND SATURATION adjustment layer, and de-saturate the image. Then choosing the individual colours from the drop down box adjust the lightness control to give the desired tonal effect. If you create different tones for a colour in different parts of the image paint a mask to that part to bring back the original colour. Then, apply a further HUE AND SATURATION layer in a similar manner - it will not affect the area that is already monochrome. If you are converting from RAW using ACR then a similar type of process can be followed using Smart Objects and layer masking. A similar result can be achieved from other RAW to monochrome converters in which multiple adjusted images are imported and stacked and then treated with layer masks or the use of the eraser tool to create the final image – though this process is often very memory hungry.

We hope you’re finding these thoughts useful. In the next part Jon shares some thoughts on dealing with burnt out areas and how to make skies more dramatic along with chromatic aberration and some final thoughts.

Jon C Allanson's Photoshop Notes

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Travels with a Camera: Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman John visits Nizwa in this instalment of his Notes from The Gulf

Road to Nizwa - Main road from Muscat to Nizwa with part of the Hajjar mountain range seen on the right.

The Sultanate of Oman has a wealth of opportunities for the photographer from landscapes, markets, forts, old cities to diverse wildlife. I have lived in Oman as part of my work in the Middle East on two occasions the first time being in the early 2000’s and the most recent being in 2011-2012. It is a beautiful country with scenery that includes stark limestone mountains, deserts, wadis, rugged and open beach coastal landscapes and in the south west of the country swathes of green countryside.

The images illustrating this article were taken in and around Nizwa, an ancient city and once the capital of Oman.

Nizwa, today is a quiet town rather than a city with the restored Nizwa Fort and town walls dominating the modern buildings and enclosing the former glory of the old city which can still be seen when one wonders through the labyrinthine streets of Old Nizwa.

All images were taken in late July 2011, with a Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro DSLR and the Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6 lens. Post processing carried out in Adobe Lightroom CC 2015.10 in 2017.

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Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

Labyrinth Narrow and winding streets in the old city

Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

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Support A special use for a tree trunk!

Nizwa Garden A peaceful shaded spot in amongst the ruins and dwellings that are still occupied

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Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

Omani Door in the Old Town A typical Omani decorative door

Watchtower Restored with the city walls this watch tower guards one of the main gateways into Nizwa.

Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

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Doorway through the City Wall Ornate door frame and doorway giving access to the shaded inner sanctum, a welcome relief from the late July sun.

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Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

Nizwa Fort The fort dates back to the days of Portuguese occupation of Oman and has been restored in recent years.

This is a view of the main keep and it dominates the skyline as one approaches present day Nizwa.

Notes From The Gulf: Travels with a Camera - John Pattison

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Large Print Circle In the club survey that we ran last autumn there was a good level of interest in running print circles for images larger than 7 x 5 inches. We discussed this further at the committee meeting where the idea was also well received and it was agreed that I should take responsibility for setting the new circle up. As the first new print circle for many years it was something that everyone present felt excited by.

It was felt that to run the rounds at monthly intervals, as the print circles currently do, might be a burden on members and it was agreed that we should start cautiously and then evolve the circle as we gained experience. It was proposed therefore that we start a circle with up to 10 members on an experimental basis, with 2 pouches and 4 rounds circulating during this first year.

Having agreed to start up the circle, I set about the mechanics of how it would work and decided to base it on the system

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used by an RPS circle I was involved with. A4 sized prints are circulated in a 40-pocket display folder, which also incorporates the notebook within its pages. Members are required to print out their own comment sheets and notebook headed sheets from templates provided but in all other respects it works identically to normal print circles.

The circle (LP1) is now circulating well and the second round was dispatched on its way in early April. As the larger prints would not be eligible for the Founders’ Cup Competition the club rules have already been amended to allow for a separate competition for large print circles in the future once we have more large print circles running – that’s forward planning for you!

As Dave mentioned in his spring editorial, it is proposed to start a second circle later this year and anyone interested in joining us should drop him a note or give him a call.

Large Print Circle - Jon Allanson

Jon Allanson

Photonews+ Forum Update •

The New Member Information Pack (this is sent to all new members when they join)

As Dave has written, the annual programme for issues of Photonews has recently been updated and outlined in more detail and specificity :-

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Photonews Periodical Index (index of all issues of Photonews)

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Online Copies of Photonews (links)

“I am intending that the publication dates for 2017 will change from the pattern established over the last three years in order to bring the Founders Cup and Travelling Exhibition results announcements into a scheduled issue of Photonews rather than producing standalone PDFs. The Autumn issue will take the Travelling Exhibition as its theme. The Rally Special will be incorporated into the Winter issue which will also incorporate a round-up of all the Circles to give newer members in particular an overview of what else is on offer in the Club handy for New Year resolutions.”

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Committee Contact Details

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PPC Constitution and Rules

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Subscription Renewal and Rally Bookings

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Members’ Discussion Threads

In line with this strategic philosophy, the structure of the forum has also recently had a bit of a refresh: including some minor changes and additions in order to make it more sharply focussed and to better fulfil its complementary relationship with the Photonews magazine - which is the main online communication channel of the PPC. In effect, the forum now has a more comprehensive ‘Front Page’ section to improve accessibility to key club information and boost ease of use, making for a more ‘snappy’ member experience.

The ‘front page’ section now provides direct access to the latest news and links on such important topics as :

These items are kept up to date and incorporate the latest changes as they occur.

There are also links to the PAGB newsletter and RPS Website.

These two bodies are the main conferrers of photographic distinctions in the UK. Most GB camera clubs are affiliated to the PAGB in some form.

Committee Members’ related Notebooks are still available in another section, where further club news, emails to members, and other information may be found.

We now have over 70 members of the club registered on the forum, which is probably most of the club. If you have never logged in, please do so as you will find much useful information there.

All the best Clive

Forum Update - Clive Piggott

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The Lowdown on Plants Barry takes us into his process for creating beautiful images of flora and foliage Like most us who enjoy photography, we reach a stage when just making individual images with an appeal chiefly for ourselves but also in the hope that others will find them of interest is not enough. I reached this stage in my photographic life rather late – I am in my eighties now – but making a series of images with a common theme has nevertheless given me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. I must confess that the theme I decided on has been a challenge not only to the imagination, but also to the physique – it has involved a lot of bending and stretching and has helped to keep the waistline under control.

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A word of explanation of the theme might not go amiss. Most gardeners and others who deal with plants, shrubs and trees think of their charges as creatures of the soil, and this is of course true. But it is only part of the truth – plants, whether seedlings or mature trees, are also aerial organisms, depending on light to enable them to convert into food the moisture and chemicals drawn up by their roots.

I decided to use a camera to explore the relationship of plants with their aerial environment. This involves laying the camera on its back, usually on a bag (bean or plastic), with a moderate

The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

Facing Page: Inside The Currant Bush The inside of a red currant bush showing the supporting twigs, used as scaffolding for the image.

One layer replicated four times and each layer rotated to give the effect of a Kaleidoscope.

Left: Canopy Taken with a compact camera (Sony RX10003), this is virtually as it came out of the camera, with just a little sharpening and tweaking with curves.

Below: Blue Thistle the background replaces a bland white sky and the colour was chosen to complement that of the plant. wide-angle lens pointing towards the canopy of leaves.

Exposure is measured using a separate meter, and the camera is set to manual. Focus is usually manual but sometimes I leave the camera to its own devices. Firing the shutter can be fiddly so taking the image often involves using a cable release or the self-timer function.

Post-processing varies – often it is minimal, but sometimes if the result is too unbalanced I combine two parts of the same image to make a more satisfying arrangement, or mirror the camera image and join the result with the original to make a “kaleidoscope” effect. The process is not entirely “hit and miss”.

Often the final image comes at the end of a sequence of exposures each separated by small movements of the camera to achieve a more satisfying overall composition and/or a better depth of field. I have on occasions used a small monitor screen on the end of a lengthy HDMI cable to help compose the image, though this is not an infallible method and works better on some images than on others. I am now starting to explore ways of tethering to an iPad. Overall, the images that I find pleasing invariably have some prominent element that is sharp, though for me overall sharpness is not an essential attribute of a satisfying image.

The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

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Against The Evening Sky A false-colour infrared shot with a converted camera. Channel swapping followed by curves and hue adjustments produced the sky colour that I eventually selected.

Doronicum I like the strong colours of this shot taken in the flower border in our garden, but I could not find a composition that was satisfying.

In the end I made two identical layers in Photoshop, and inverted one using free transform. I then played with blend modes and opacity to achieve what to me is a pleasing combination.

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The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

Hydrangea Another taken with a compact camera with sharpening and curves adjustment to the raw file.

Through The Thistle This was taken very early in the project. The camera position (lying on its back) was changed several times in pursuit of a reasonably balanced arrangement of the elements. Unusually for me nowadays, ( I gave up entering competitions some time ago when the cost of fees and postage escalated) I entered it in the International Garden Photograph of the Year competition and was delighted to find that the judges like it.

The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

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Top Centre: Wind in the Tree Tops.

Hand held with intentional camera movement in an attempt to suggest movement caused by the wind Top Left: Tree Fern 2 An off-centre Kaleidoscope. Using the same technique as the cover image.

Left: Tree Fern A straightforward shot of this plant, the same one as for the Kaleidoscope image above.

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The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

Top Right: Umbellifera The small petals of this multiple flower head seemed almost translucent against the bright blue of the sky. I used four layers with different blending modes to achieve what I was after.

Right: Alium.

A straightforward image of Alium flowers against a blue sky. I was tempted to clone out the part flower head in the bottom left corner, but decided to leave it as providing a better balance.

The Lowdown on Plants - Barry Willcock

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Storm in the Sound

A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock Circle One or C1 as it is more commonly known has been in existence for at least seventy three years based on the number of folios but I suspect has probably been going since the club was formed eighty years ago. The circle operates as an opensubject, monochrome print circle and we are currently on Folio 881.

For those members unfamiliar with print circles, a folio is a small 5x7 inch booklet that has a print mounted on the inside cover, a page opposite with the image title, exposure and processing details plus a small area for you to add any relevant techniques used in acquiring the image. Next are several blank pages where your fellow members make comments about the image.

Peter Bullock was at one time Secretary of C1, indeed I took over from him several years ago, although he remained a member right up until his health meant he could no longer participate in the monthly folios. He was a regular at the club’s annual rally and was well respected for his knowledge and skills by all those of us who had the good fortune to meet him. I spoke to him regularly on the phone and have certainly missed those chats in recent months.

This selection of images, especially chosen by Club Archivist John Kay, are C1s way of paying tribute to a much loved and much respected member who sadly is no longer with us. I hope you enjoy these as much as we in C1 enjoyed having Peter as a fellow Circle member.

Graham Harvey Circle Secretary C1

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

A Walk In The Sun A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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Arab Girl

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Concentration A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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Cork Pilot

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Distractions A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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It’s a Fair Cop

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Lift Up Your Eyes

A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Not Forgotten

A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Staircase, Haddon Hall A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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Trombone Player

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A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

Windswept A Portfolio Tribute to Peter Bullock

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Summer Cover Competition The winning entries, judged by Clive Piggott and Dave Whenham Cover Image:

An English Summer’s Day

by David James Well we know that English summers are notoriously unpredictable, indeed it is possible (common) to have all four seasons in one day, even on the same afternoon). This image cleverly juxtaposes scenes of the extremes of weather that may often be experienced (or even expected?) in our warmest season of the year.

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Summer Cover Competition Results

Runner-up

Colours of summer

by Francesca Shearcroft A simple image, very bright and colourful. A single radiant yellow flower that lifts the spirits in the darkest depths of winter, evoking memories of warm summer days yet to come. The blue background sets off the subject perfectly.

Summer Cover Competition Results

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Runner-up:

Song at First Light

by Brian Viercant When we begin to hear the dawn chorus once more, in the early morning, we know that summer is coming and the dark days of winter are behind us at last. This is an unusual silhouette treatment that is well composed and effective, creatively presenting the main subject matter, i.e. birdsong at dawn in the summer.

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Summer Cover Competition Results

Runner-up:

On the Cumbrian Coast

by Graham Dean Cleverly framed and suits the square format impeccably. Very different from Bournemouth beach in the height of summer! The two figures are perfectly positioned giving a nice focal point to the wide-ranging view. Lovely colours perfectly illustrate the calm serenity of this beautiful moment.

Summer Cover Competition Results

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From the Webmaster It’s about 20 years since set up my first website (you can still get a flavour of it by following the web archive link at the foot of my current home page: www.GandLJDean.co.uk). One of the first items that I uploaded was a photographic journey down the River Ribble (a much abbreviated version of a slide talk that I used to give to camera clubs). The web version was aimed at primary aged pupils – even though at that time very few primary classrooms had internet access. But it achieved a far wider audience than I had envisaged: I had feedback, suggestions, and enquiries from degree students, secondary schools as well as interested adults from all over the world.

Many of the pages were improved with additional information provided by visitors to the site – one visitor particular provided much additional information on Preston Docks.

The pages are still on-line (though much in need of an update) – and still receive a fair number of visitors (searching for “River Ribble” on Google still usually brings up one of my pages on

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the first page of search results on desktop web browsers).

In fact the Ribble pages receive more “hits” than they did in the early days, but I can’t remember the last time I had any feedback! Static web pages no longer seem to generate any comments or criticisms – certainly not in the way they did in the early days of the web.

What has any of the above to do with the PPC or its website?

From the stats that our hosting service provides, we know that people visit the site. We know that the occasional new member is recruited by finding the PPC website following a search using Google. But how many of the 176 unique visitors to the site in the last 7 days have actually looked at the any of the 636 pages that have been “viewed”?

Very occasionally your webmaster makes mistakes (usually either spelling errors, or broken links). Yet I’m usually the first to spot them (often when doing the next monthly update).

Feedback would be great – positive or negative!

From the Webmaster - Graham Dean

Up For Air Highly Commended WCPF Members’ Exhibition DPIC

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

Please tell us a little about yourself and your background

How long have you been a photographer? How did you get started in the hobby?

Born September, 1949, in Newport, South Wales. After school, went to Portsmouth to train as a teacher, met Lynda, my future wife, and taught at Prep schools in Hampshire and Oxfordshire before moving to Torquay. We both now teach at St. Christopher’s, a small rural Prep school in Staverton, a village not far from Dartington. Lynda does the hard graft, teaching English and Maths to Year 3 and English to Year 4, while I get to do the fun stuff teaching Science to Years 3 to 6. The school has an enlightened attitude toward pensioners and we’re both now part-time, Lynda doing four days while I’m down to two!

More years than I care to think about!

We have one daughter, Sarah, who works in magazine publishing, lives near Bristol with her future husband and our first grandchild, Joshua, born at the beginning of March this year.

I have a strong recollection of helping(?) my father print some holiday snaps in the bathroom – nothing fancy, a frame held up to the light, (my job was to turn the light on and off!). But the magic of an image appearing in the tray made an impression.

That may have been the start, but my interest developed at school and later at college as I had access to their darkroom and started to acquire some of the basic skills. I worked on the college newspaper and with the absolute confidence of youth took awful pictures that weren’t improved any by the quality of reproduction, “soot and whitewash” wouldn’t begin to cover it.

I’d bought a second-hand Fed 4 rangefinder – a Russian Leica copy – and if nothing else, it looked the business!

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

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Leaving college, I got my first teaching post at a boarding prep school in Hampshire. At the time the school was full boarding, meaning a virtually 24/7 commitment. I’ve said before, there is an imperative in boarding schools to keep the pupils occupied and you can’t have a skill without it being exploited! So, as well as doing the obligatory school “Camera Club”, I was often called upon to take pictures for various purposes – “so-and-so is leaving and we need a quick picture” – the ‘groups and grins’ type of stuff that all organisations need. Sport is a major part of the curriculum in private schools and thus action pictures became a big part of my photographic output as well.

A Deputy Headship came along next and with it a move to South Oxfordshire. This time the school was predominantly day pupils with a small number of weekly boarders.

No Saturday school, as was often the case with day schools,

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but a full fixture list meant matches most weekends. Alongside all the other duties came the editorship of the School Magazine and that was badly in need of some photographs to offset the rather dry doings in school-masterly prose of the 2nd XV et al! Suffice it to say there was an outlet for my images and over the years, I like to think they got a bit better.

Things move on, in life as in photography and now, fifteen years on from a move to Devon and jobs for both Lynda and I at St. Christopher’s Prep School, I’m involved in producing pictures for our school prospectus, website, newsletters and press releases for local papers. I do the individual and sibling portraits each year and the team and school photographs as well. The marketing needs haven’t changed, but the output media has, away from print and towards the internet.

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

How long have you been involved with the PPC? Despite having been interested in photography for many years, club photography had passed me by until we moved to Torquay. We joined Torbay Photographic Society about twelve years ago and eventually ended up on the committee, Lynda becoming Treasurer and, until this season, I looked after the website and helped the competition secretary. When we joined, around 2004/5, John Maule was the secretary of TPS and he introduced me to the PPC through the Travelling Exhibition. I joined John in C19 and took over from Ian Fairgrieve a few years ago as secretary. Last year I added an online circle, DS, and signed up to LP1 as well.

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

Far Left: Eye on the Ball PPC Best Action winner 2015 Left: On Target!

Right: So Close!

Highly Commended WCPF Competition Far Right: Rising Above the Obstacles

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A Breezy Day at Hartland Quay - TPS Landscape Trophy 2016. On the North Devon coast.

Processed this to bring out the fine mist of spray that was being kicked up by the strong onshore wind

What equipment do you currently use? What has been your favourite camera over the years?

The old FED 4 soon made way for an SLR, a Fuji 801 (from memory) with an LED readout for metering in the viewfinder. I added a couple of extra lenses and that did sterling service for a couple of years. Photography kit was always way down the discretionary spending list at the beginning and so minimising costs was important; I’m sure some of you remember bulk film loaders? Being extremely careful opening the caps of 35mm canisters so that they could be reused? And all the joys of processing and printing in a badly blacked out bathroom!?

Eventually, I could run to some better equipment and camera wise I bought the all-singing-and-dancing Canon A1, and I’ve

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stuck with the marque ever since. The A1 was followed by the EOS 3 and a couple of Sigma lenses, their 24-70mm and 70-300mm.

The 35mm kit was supplemented by a Bronica 6 x 4.5 medium format outfit which covered the more demanding group work, team photographs etc. as well as being my first choice for landscapes. It was definitely the biggest wrench when we parted company.

A short digression. Back in the 70’s some weird machines started to appear in schools and it was naturally assumed that anyone teaching Maths, as I was, must be capable of doing something educationally useful with them! Computers had metamorphosed from boxes the size of cars operated by men

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

in white coats(!) to lumps of plastic and glass that sat on a desk. Private schools, with one eye on their marketing, were, to use the modern jargon, ‘early-adopters’ and thus I soon added IT to the CV. Fast forward twenty years and enter Uncle Al, an otherworldly sort of chap appointed to take over teaching IT from me and bring a new computer suite into operation complete with internet access. Soon after the new system was up and running, at break-time in the staff room, I asked Al how it was all going.

“Good”, was the reply, “ Except I can’t understand what Year 8 found so interesting about the White House. I was telling them about the internet and how all sorts of places have websites, even the President of the United States. There was an awful lot of sniggering and one of the boys even said it was ‘An ace site, Sir!’ – don’t understand it at all”.

A bit of head-scratching, but then another colleague chuckled, “Al, you do realise there’s a porn magazine called Whitehouse, named after that campaigner for TV censorship Mary Whitehouse, don’t you? Probably has a website?”

It was Uncle Al who quite proudly let me have first use of the then new digital camera purchased for the school; a megapixel or maybe two and made by Kodak, as I recall. I duly went off to take some pictures of a rugby match and failed miserably.

As a teacher, I purchased Photoshop at a heavily discounted rate, but, as updates were ceasing, I signed up to Photoshop CC with Light Room last year. LR has made the school editing a lot easier; a set of event pictures for the website can now take well under an hour including download/upload time!

I do my own printing and that is on an Epson R2400. I always use Epson inks and have found their papers and generic profiles give good results. I have tried other brands of paper, some work, but the results can be a bit inconsistent.

Are there any types of photographic “genres” you specialise in?

I’ve always regarded myself as a ‘generalist’ when it comes to photographic subjects/genres and yes, the jack-of-alltrades criticism probably applies! However, I take heart from the anecdote attributed to South African golfer, Gary Player.

During a practice round with the press in attendance, Player holed out from a bunker. One young reporter called out, “Lucky shot, Mr Player!” Turning to the young man, Player replied, “Son, it’s funny, but the more I practice the luckier I seem to get!”

A few years on and Lynda’s camera gave up the ghost. We replaced it with a digital compact and it did everything she wanted and I got a chance to try it out too. A bit more research and a Panasonic Lumix compact was added to the bag. At the time many electronics giants were collaborating with camera/lens manufacturers and this Lumix boasted a Leica lens, 16 x 9 format and the ability to shoot RAW. Noise was horrendous at anything over ISO 100, but I did get a few decent images.

As a keen mono worker, the problems of getting a good print was a drawback to going fully digital. I could see that there were advantages, particularly in enhancing images and I experimented with scanning negatives and even tried producing a “digital” negative printing onto inkjet acetate.

But, again, things move on and the reviews of Canon’s 5D made it clear that this going to prove to be a significant step up in the quality available from the technology. So, I bit the bullet and went for the 5D. I skipped the Mk 2, but acquired a Mk 3 as it was a step-change upgrade. I’ve gradually added L lenses with the EF24 – 105mm being a favourite as a versatile and very capable general-purpose lens.

I have been very lucky and managed to sell most of my camera and enlarging kit, but I know others in TPS who couldn’t give it away!

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

The Old Stove

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Portraiture, in all its forms, has always formed the largest part of my output and I took some inspiration from the work of Eamon McCabe, staff photographer on the Guardian/Observer back in the 1980s and still, I believe, picture editor for the paper. I felt his kind of ‘action portraits’ chimed well with the marketing needs of schools and occasionally my efforts are, I think, good enough for a wider audience. I still have McCabe’s picture of Bjorn Bork at Wimbledon as inspiration.

And, of course, once the school holidays arrive I move on to anything pictorial, often in preparation for club competitions especially if there’s a theme in the offing!

Which other photographers do you admire and why?

Who has influenced your photography the most?

There are plenty of photographers whose work I enjoy; a few in no particular order - Bill Brandt’s social documentary work and off-beat portraits; Don McCullum’s war images are still harrowing to look at today; Cartier-Bresson and Robert Droisneau’s street photography before it had a name; Ernst Haas colour abstracts; Adams landscapes, of course. There are plenty more, and they all contribute something to one’s understanding, but reeling off a list of names is probably not particularly helpful.

Terry Before the Gig My Best Man, band mate and long-time friend, now sadly deceased. His family used this image on the Order of Service for his funeral.

Are there any fads or fashions in photography you particularly like / dislike?

Yes, dislike, but, on the same principle having been taught at a young age that discussing religion or politics in the pub is a bad idea, let’s move on!

What do you like best about the hobby?

The balance of the technical and the creative aspects of photography. The mix of skills required means constant challenges and, if anything, this has only been enhanced by the advent of digital.

What is your best photographic achievement?

I’ve been fortunate enough to win a few club awards with PPC and Torbay PS, and had a couple of commendations from the Western Counties PF region of PAGB. I started entering salons under FIAP and BPE patronage, attained the AFIAP in 2014 and am about half way towards the EFIAP. They have all been very pleasing and I can’t single out one as the ‘best’.

Photographically what do you think is in store for you in the next five years?

In terms of still photography probably more of the same (or should that be hopefully!) and I shall probably have another go at the CPAGB at some stage.

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Do you have any ongoing projects you would like to share with members?

We’ve just had our school website updated and some new photographs are the order of the day. The current gallery pictures have simply been moved across to the new layout, but the front page is new and the option to include video/AV clips has been added as well. So I expect to be trying to get my head around the 5D Mk 3’s video capabilities which are hardly used at present.

The web address is http://www.st-christophers.devon.sch.uk if any of you would like to take a look.

My laptop, though quite well specced when new is starting to creak and groan and I’m not sure updating it to Windows 10 actually did it any favours. I’ve been thinking of going back to a desktop machine and dedicating that just to photography.

The old laptop would happily handle the browsing, email, school and C19 admin. Another thing to think about!

If you could pass on just one tip about photography to a newcomer what would it be?

Join a club.

Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

Above: Tal Y Llyn Top Left: Fort Grey Guernsey TPS Landscape Trophy 2017 Middle Left: Low Tide Clovelly PPC Best Mono and Best Print 2015 Bottom Left: The Old Tack Room Roger Edwardes in Twenty Questions (or less...)

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I was judging some images the other day; the theme of the competition was “Textures in Black & White ”. Amazingly, of the six hundred or so competitors who had entered over a thousand pictures between them into the challenge, around ten had submitted photographs which had within the frame some colour, or were even a fully totally colour shot!

The outcome for these ten entrants was they were classified as “rejected”. So, in short, they had failed before they had even entered the final stage of judging. As it happened on this occasion there was no cost to enter the competition, so they only lost self-esteem and suffered dented pride.

The lesson here, is, do read the entry rules set by the organiser very carefully, maybe even two or three times through. Thus making really sure you understand the “full” description and requirements of the event, along with the restrictions and sizes demanded by the rules.

On another instance the subject for the contest was “The Colour Green”. Now that’s straightforward one would think?

Not so it transpired! On this occasion entries included monochromatic pictures with a full range of greys, from pure black to paper white. These would not get through the first sift of entries. Several pictures had a dominant subject matter

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shinning in bright RED, not really any green in sight. Would they survive the cut, I think not.

A further area of interest over many years, even going back into the film and dark, dark, darkroom days, is “Colour Popping” or “Selective Colour” imagery. A mainly monochrome, (not just black and white) picture, within which a strong or subtle colour is highlighted in the picture for appearance. The picture usually involving the conversion of an original “colour” image into a grey scale picture which could be further enhanced by being toned to a single hue.

The layer is next given a white mask which has one part or certain multiple sections blocked off (masked) to reveal the original colours beneath, which are needed to show through for the effect to be seen. The original image can be reduced in intensity to more pastel hues or enhanced by careful saturation to strengthen the “Popping” of the chosen colour(s).

All very interesting, and, yet another series of various methods that can be applied to an “Original” picture.

Or am I just looking at it through rose coloured spectacles???

See you round the corner soon…

Eric's Corner

Eric’s

C ne r or

Eric's Corner

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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.