RPS Digital Imaging Accolade 9

Hello and welcome to Accolade 9 This time we have 18 contributors; 4 FRPS, 6 ARPS and 8 LRPS so a nice mix for you to enjoy.

I really enjoy my role as Assistant Editor here on Accolade as I have the privilege of seeing all your work first as you send it to me. It was while reviewing Mo Martin’s contribution that formed the idea of the article on writing Statement of Intent’s found in this issue.

The Statement of Intent is a major factor for ARPS and FRPS and getting it right is a skill in itself. There is of course the word count to adhere to (150 for most genre’s and 300 for Contemporary), however, one that I always remember is simply ‘My Mother’.

Unfortunately, I did not see the panel, but was told about it at an Advisory day.

Regular readers will know we like to mix our questions about to keep the articles fresh. This time we have asked “How has the impact of Covid either helped or hindered your panel?”. As you can imagine we have both positive and negative replies to that one.

Plus, there are some of the other previous questions too.

Don’t forget you can scroll through to the back where the 18 hanging plans from each contributor are displayed – always a popular section of Accolade.

We could not make this publication without you of course, so thank you for sending your successful panels and well done to all of our contributors featured here.

Holly Stranks ARPS Assistant Editor DIG Accolade

RPS DISTINCTIONS This year’s season of Distinctions assessments is well underway, with an opportunity to book a place as an observer. 2021 has ushered in exciting changes to the RPS Distinctions programme, including advice on Statements of Intent, new Portraiture and Photobook genres, and observer places at Fellowship Assessments.

You can book a 1:1 portfolio review and/or a 1:1 statement of intent review session with a panel member appropriate to your genre/distinction, but be aware there can be a waiting list for both.

These are covered on the Distinctions Update page of the RPS website.

From Natural History to Visual Arts, you can book your Distinction assessment (print, digital and book submissions) for each level and every genre. A few dates are still left for 2021 for most genres; 2022 dates will be announced in October. Online observer tickets for assessments are also available to book now.

For the most up-to-date information on the availability of Distinction Assessment Days, see the following links: •

Licentiate (LRPS)

•

Associate (ARPS)

•

Fellowship (FRPS)

The RPS has a FAQ page where you can find out more about the status of the assessment programme. In addition, a number of Chapters and Regions have begun to offer online Distinctions Study Groups.

You can find these by searching the RPS website.

You can see some example LRPS panels and ARPS panels to guide you, and there is detailed advice for each category of distinction available by following the links on the RPS qualifications page. Genres for ARPS and FRPS are further detailed in this PDF document: Genre Definitions - January 2021 (rps.org)

If you missed any of the excellent Distinctions Live talks, you can catch up here.

The closed Facebook Group RPS Distinctions **Official Group** now has almost 3,500 members, and is a civilized venue to ask questions, share your successes – and disappointments – and ask for critique on your proposed portfolio.

All past issues of Accolade are available to Digital Imaging members: rps.org/DIGAccolade.

Success Story 1 Name: Adrian James Location: Holmfirth Successful Licentiate Panel March 2021 About My Panel I wanted to select a range of images that not only demonstrated the photographic skills required but that also represented a range of styles and subject matter. I also wanted to include both colour and monochrome images, whilst producing a balanced panel built around some strong central images. I felt both relieved and elated to be told that my panel had succeeded, particularly having seen the high quality of some of the preceding successful panels.

My Favourite Image Difficult to choose but my favourite image is of my granddaughter, taken at her 5th birthday party – it was always intended to be the heart of my panel. I love the directness and stillness of her gaze. The background was poor so I added an image layer of a field of barley and did some careful editing!

58mm, ISO400, f/8, 1/80 sec

How this helped me during Covid/lockdown Like many members, I am sure, my photography has been hugely important during lockdown. Fortunately, I have been able to get out with my camera but I was also able to devote many hours to designing and refining my panel, giving me a sense of purpose during this very difficult period – I count myself very fortunate!

Image of your choice I wanted to use this image, titled ‘Odd one out’, of a Whitefaced Woodland ewe (a cross of the Woodland and the Penistone sheep) among a herd or Swaledales. It is one of my favourite monochrome images but to show it to best effect, I could not adjust the dimensions to fit the panel.

Odd one out

Success Story 2 Name: Ben Speed Location: London Successful Licentiate Panel October 2020

About My Panel My panel reflects my photographic journey to date - a mixture of genres and subject matter as I experiment with photographing whatever catches my eye. Going through the Licentiate application process helped with this, as I had to expand into new areas beyond landscapes, street and travel to add the required variety. I can genuinely say that my distinction success is one of my proudest achievements and has inspired me to reach greater heights in the future.

My Favorite Picture The scene in Baker Street station was particularly satisfying, given the technical challenges in the low light and with the lens I had with me. It also rewarded my persistence at visiting the scene several times until I got the composition and subjects that I was happy with. I enjoy the historic architecture, the symmetry and the lack of interaction between the subjects. I felt the black and white conversion helped reduce the distraction from these elements.

Image of your choice This image was described as ‘brave’ by one of the online advisors due to the large expanse of deep shadows. It was shot with a wide angle lens, so required heavy cropping reach the desired composition. This meant it lacked the required level of resolution for the assessment and, reluctantly, was dropped from the panel.

How this helped me during Covid/lockdown Preparing the panel was a great help to me during Covid, giving me a project during a period of furlough and encouraging me to branch out into new genres. The addition of macro shots of the dandelion and pink peppercorn, taken during the first lockdown on my dining table, added some much-needed variety.

Success Story 3 Name: Dr Chris Goodacre Location: Huddersfield, Yorkshire Successful Licentiate Panel April 2021

About My Panel I usually think of myself as not following a particular genre of photography but when I look through my back catalogue there is a strong “natural” theme to my work – textures and patterns in nature, landscapes, plants, trees etc.

In terms of the L panel process, my first thoughts were that producing 10 images would be straightforward, but it becomes clear that it is, in fact, a more complex task. To put together a selection that satisfies all the assessment criteria and creates a coherent and balanced collection was more of a challenge than I had anticipated.from achieving that goal, I feel I have gained a sense of accomplishment and a real feeling of progressing in my work.

My Favourite Picture The goat exhibitors; this was an opportunistic shot which I think has interest and tells a story. I like the juxtaposition between the group of exhibitors in the background who are all engrossed in, what one assumes are the results, and the exhibitor in the foreground who doesn’t seem bothered and is staring into the middle distance…why? Did he win or bomb-out? Also, the goat in the foreground makes me smile – it’s focused entirely on nibbling on its leash…it the vain hope of escape perhaps?

1/500 sec f10 ISO200 EF16-35mm f4 L lens @ 28mm How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown Covid and the lockdown(s) didn’t have any direct influence on producing the panel.

But indirectly, it did mean that advisory days and portfolio reviews went online via Zoom and were in my opinion easier to access.

Image of your choice My other favourite image is of Langdale Pikes. The English Lake District is a special place to me and this picture takes me there. It was spring and the light was changing all the time. I love the drama in the picture; the dark sky and the patchy sunlight casting strong shadows across the fells. The single sheep draws the eye into the picture and on to the Pikes. Overall, I think all the elements of the picture fit together and it captures the spirit of the place.

1/60 sec f16 ISO400 EFS18-55mm f3.5/5.6 lens @ 55mm

Success Story 4 Name: Louise Knaresborough Location: Brasil Successful Licentiate Panel May 2021 About My Panel This submission was a long time in the making as it coincided with me moving to another country, twice, and of course COVID. In the end it took me over five years to get the whole panel pulled together.

I started by looking for photographs with a similar palette, selecting a broadly blue tone. Then I looked at the shape and style of my pictures to get the overall balance correct in order to create that elusive 11th picture.

The process forced me to be more precise in my shooting and way more objective about my pictures. Often this meant killing some of my favorites as they simply did not work in the set. The overseas advisory group, with Janet Haines, was a great source of advice (especially out here in Brazil) as were other friends who had previously been successful.

My Favourite Image This picture of My Son is my favorite it was taken in the studio with a standard two light set up. I was after a serious portrait and asked him to pull up one side of the polo neck to add interest with the hands and not smile.

f3.2, 1/200 , iso 100, 50 mm How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown Being in lockdown gave me the space and the time to consider and curate my panel and the nudge I needed to submit it. I would say that apart from a few tweaks and last minute replacements it was probably ready to go 2 years ago but I hope the additional time still led to a better result.

Image of your choice I was so happy with this shot as it was in late in the evening, and the crowds of the day had moved on. In the low light, I was really pleased to capture the stars, the sunset and the steam of the geyser.

Success Story 5 Name: Mark Gillett Location: Successful Licentiate Panel in March 2021 About My Panel My Panel was finalised following an extremely helpful online 121 resulting in 3 images being completely replaced and two converted to monochrome to allow a 3rd strong monochrome image to be included to balance the panel. The photographs were chosen to demonstrate the assessment criteria, although I am increasingly drawn to landscapes and nature. My 121 was in August 2020 so it was a long wait for my panel to be assessed in March 2021. Achieving the LRPS feels like a major achievement in my photography and a stimulus to the next step - the ARPS.

My Favourite Image My favourite image is number 5 – the Outer Lighthouse at Dovercourt near Harwich in Essex. It was my first serious attempt at long exposure photography. It was a very dull and grey December day and works well in monochrome. It was also selected for the Going Spiral Photography exhibition at Bury St Edmunds in 2019.

8.0 secs @ f/11, ISO 160, Nikon D610, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens

Best Technical or Creative Tips I discovered during lockdown how effective the Gradient and Radial Filters in Lightroom are in processing an image rather than using global adjustments and brushes. When combined with the range masking tool, this allows more precise and selective fine-tuning based on luminosity or colour ranges.

Image of your choice

My “one that got away” is an image of a flamingo taken in the Camargue. I cropped in camera to exclude the body as I felt this was unusual and focused on the shape of the legs and neck. This had to go following my online 121 as I agreed the background is somewhat cluttered and distracting.

Success Story 6 Name: Tim Marchant Location: Cambridge Successful Licentiate Panel April 2021 About my panel I deliberately decided to include a variety of subjects in my panel. It meant ditching some promising prospects - but that actually forced me to include a wider technical range i.e., the slower panned shot of the cyclist balanced by the faster shot of my grandson kicking leaves; the shallower focus on the sunglasses buried in the sand versus the shot of the air crew etc.

Then came balancing format, orientation, colour and tone - a complex but fascinating challenge.

My Favourite image I think my favourite shot is of the West Cambridge University site.

I’d scouted the location a couple of weeks before and that night I was blessed with a deep red sunset, which complimented the lights in the buildings, all framed by the symmetry of the architecture.

A plan that came together.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown My big tip would be join a good camera club.

I’m an introvert by nature and not a natural joiner but the advice, constructive criticism and encouragement I’ve received from the wonderful folk at Cambridge Camera Club have made me a far better photographer than when I joined. And the journey has just begun.

Image of your choice The shot of the fields looking back towards Newnham means a lot to me. The previous day I’d had an unsuccessful Cardioversion which had left me with paddle burns to my chest and back, such that I was unable to sleep. As dawn broke I decided time with my camera would help me ignore the pain, and it did - I got this shot.

Success Story 7 Name: John Chatley Location: Northamptonshire Successful L Panel in March 2021

About my panel I wanted my panel to reflect something of my broad photographic interests and style whilst satisfying the criteria for LRPS. I’d recently completed the RPS/OU Digital Photography course which included some useful experience of constructing panels, although not to such exacting standards.

The two one-to-one Zoom sessions I had with Sarah Dow were an enormous help. Thanks to Sarah’s advice and encouragement my final panel was significantly better than the first one I shared with her.

My Favourite Image My favourite image was taken on the fells above Buttermere in the Lake District. I think this is an example of what Guy Tal calls ‘equivalence’; ‘the ability to compose visual elements in such a way that their combined effect communicates more than what something looked like, but also inspires emotions of the photographer’s deliberate choosing.’

Lumix DMC G3: Lumix G Vario 14-42; 1/60; f11; ISO 160

Image of your choice The beach huts at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex are colourful and at the point where the promenade curves towards the sea, multi-storey.

To capture as many of the huts as possible set against the blue and white of the sky, as well as the curve of the sea wall, without the distraction of people required careful positioning and patience.

Canon 5D Mark III: EF 16-35 f/4L IS USM; 1/125; f16; ISO 100

Best Technical or Creative Tips Develop a critical eye. Look at all areas of an image in detail, at least at 100% magnification, to identify things that need to be addressed (eg distractions, dust spots, halos, ghosting, chro-matic aberration) and then take appropriate action. It is worth doing this carefully and slowly. If necessary make the effort to learn new editing skills and techniques.

Success Story 8 Name: Kirsten Bax Location: Dumfries and Galloway Successful L Panel in April 2021

About my panel I don’t concentrate on a particular genre of photography which helped when I decided to try for an L. I looked at my images which had been successful in competitions and fitted criteria but I struggled to make a coherent panel.

Help from friends and the advice sessions made all the difference. I was nervous on the day, but delighted I passed.

My Favourite Image My favourite is 02, Anemone Still Life. I really like the calmness of it.

I spent a lot of time on the composition and editing, then adjusting the three blue toned images to go together well.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown Working on the panel during Covid gave me a focus and time to really think about my images, but the lockdowns delayed the assessment.

Best Technical or Creative Tips My tip would be to think outside the box and try and look objectively at all your images, not just your favourites. Also to be really picky about detail, processing and print quality. Printing small versions to play about with really helped me refine my layout.

Image of your choice This is from a trip to Morocco, visiting nomads. I felt it was a good portrait of the nomad family, showing their vulnerability. I was really keen on it, but it didn’t fit colourwise, so it didn’t make the final selection.

Success story 9 Name: Maureen (Mo) Martin Location: Exmouth Successful A Panel in April 2021 About my panel ARPS Panel in Contemporary Photography.

The concept of my Print Panel was to focus on the very low media profile women’s sport has in relation to men’s sport (this is slowly improving).

Achieving a balanced panel in terms of sports and the visual impact was the challenge.

My first assessment took place behind closed doors and led to a referral being offered, with my focus to be on consistent processing.

1:1 advice, layout, and image changes, some reprocessing and re-printing all images on a different paper led to my second assessment, which I was able to attend via Zoom, Luckily, I was first on, and my racing heartbeat finally calmed when I was declared a successful candidate. I am not sure which process was the most stressful but being able to hear the feedback was a definite plus.

ARPS Statement of Intent – Contemporary Photography ‘This Girl Can’ My interest in sport, both as an active participant and as a retired PE teacher, provides the background to my fervent support for the campaign ‘This Girl Can’. Even with recent breakthroughs in the improved media coverage of women in sport - the women’s football World Cup, the success of England’s cricket team to name just two – it still only gets 4% of global coverage and female participation in sport is still often viewed as second-class.

My panel shows a variety of sportswomen displaying the skill, speed, power, determination and concentration of female athletes. To emphasise the actions of participants and capture the moment on the field of play I have chosen to mostly get in close with the main focal point of each photograph and to generally remove the distraction of the wider environment. This also allows for the intensity of effort shown in the faces and body language of participants to be prominent in the image.

Visibility matters and my intention in showcasing high achieving professional athletes, including those surrounded in controversy, as well as officials and amateur performers, is that they can all stand as role models to inspire and encourage the future ‘Girls that Can’.

Maureen Martin LRPS

My Favourite image My favourite image is entitled ‘Power and Concentration’ and this is hopefully the impact the viewer gets as the athlete speeds down the long jump runway.

I was at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and finally a seat near the action – a specific issue for the amateur sports photographer like myself.

The image needed minimum cropping – I just had to ensure I got a correct shutter speed.

ISO 4000, 300mm, f6.3, 1/1000s

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown COVID was a definite hinderance to completing my panel.

Following my 1:1 advice with Richard Brayshaw – thank you Richard for your invaluable advice – I needed 2 more images to complete a cohesive panel.

So, with no sporting events allowed to take place, it was a return to the back catalogue and slightly less variety of sports than I had originally intended.

Image of your choice My second image of choice is of a female boxer training with the men at an outdoor ring in Cuba.

My intent was to focus closely on the female athlete so processing the image was a challenge as the colourful, intrusive background and her male sparring partner were surplus to requirements.

SOME THOUGHTS ON WORDING AN SOI Whilst compiling this issue of Accolade I did my normal review of the images and text sent to me with the above successful A panel from Mo Martin. I saw on my spreadsheet of names that Mo had been in the Contemporary genre.

Being a photographer and therefore, a visual person I looked at her images before her Statement of Intent (referred to as SOI for the remainder of this article) and text. Her panel at first viewing looks like a good example of an Applied panel, so once I had looked at the images, I was keen to read her SOI to see why it is in the Contemporary genre. This does indeed take us into Contemporary ground. Therefore, it is an excellent example of how important an SOI is and how it shapes your panel.

When I started on my own A journey, I paid little heed to the importance of the SOI. Through feedback on my unsuccessful first panel and then 1:1 advice from Paul Walker FRPS, I came to understand how to write a SOI. I have since attended a Zoom talk by Richard Brayshaw FRPS on the subject of SOI’s and know far more, but ask me to give you definitive advice – I would not feel confident to do so…..however, remember one thing - EVERY WORD YOU USE is read and digested by the assessing panel and if you say something about your images and the images do not show it, this will go against you.

Getting back to Mo, I asked her about why she chose to go down the Contemporary route and this is what she said:

“Before I applied, I sent my images and my SOI as requested to the RPS and asked which genre I should apply in as I too felt Applied was appropriate. It seemed, however that my SOI was what defined the genre rather than my images and Contemporary and Conceptual was the correct category. I did attend an Advisory Day but as the Advisors were from the Visual Art genre, I had to receive my feedback via a written report, which was read out on the day. I must add that I was very lucky, and the report was excellent and extremely helpful.

Subsequently the categories changed, and I had a mild panic as the word Conceptual was removed. I checked with the RPS again but as I had put forward a stated concept Contemporary was still the correct category. Applied was apparently more for the photographer who was producing their work for a purpose. I then applied, did not pass but was offered a referral and at the second attempt was successful so Contemporary and my concept obviously met their criteria.”

The best way to explain how to SOI’s work and are viewed by an assessing panel is to speak to someone on the “Official side”. I asked Stewart Wall ARPS who is a member of the Licentiate Assessment Panel to add some thoughts: “One of the purposes of the RPS is to help photographers create their own voice, and one of the key ingredients of developing a creative voice in photography is to have aims and purposes for photography.

The Statement of Intent (SOI) gives the applicant the opportunity to make the assessors aware of the aims and purposes of the photography submitted, which when considered alongside the entered genre’s criteria helps the assessors make a decision about whether to make the award. Whilst the RPS is photography driven, a well written SOI is a vital ingredient in gaining an RPS Associate or Fellowship distinction.”

I would recommend an SOI 1:1 at the start of your A or F panel as that is a perfect way to start the whole process of your distinction journey.

Other things you can do of course is read the SOI’s from successful candidates in this issue and past issues of Accolade and that will help you get a feel of what is needed.

The SOI and panel from our next contributor – Lorna Brown – shows that you do not always need to use the full word count. Here Lorna has a 60-word SOI which describes her panel perfectly!

Holly Stranks ARPS

Success story 10 Name: Lorna Brown Location: Chichester Successful F Panel in March 2021 About my panel I made the first of these images while seeking an A panel project, but was advised to save it, so this Visual Art F Panel was a while in development. The background base is a wonderfully distressed workbench in the garage – aka my studio. The objects photographed on that come from my sentimental hoardings and are matched with family portraits. A major challenge, other than the physical challenge of steps and tripods on a fixed workbench, was making aesthetically pleasing images that also had emotional value. As my second attempt, I was more than ecstatic it was successful.

Lorna Brown: Statement of Intent Remains of the Day 11th March 2021 I’m sentimental – and a hoarder. Our attic bears witness to that.

But I rarely see the things I cannot bear to throw away because of the people and memories they represent.

These images are a way to bring those papers, objects and photographs into view, illustrating the lives and the times of six generations and bringing those mementos to life.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown It was an advantage during Covid lockdowns that much of my photography is ‘home’ based and meant I could concentrate on my panel. While I missed showing the prints in full, the online assessment was something to work towards and success was a real fillip during the latter part of the winter lockdown.

Best Technical or Creative Tips Thanks to online tutorials I learnt how to add the portraits as I wanted them in Photoshop. I found the best blend mode for these isn’t constant but needs testing. It took me longer than it should have to realise that adding an adjustment layer as clipping mask would allow me to fine tune the portraits.

My Favourite Image The very first image I made, Memento Mori, has to be a favourite as it inspired the series. I’d taken other objects on that background before but with this added the wedding photograph and textures and learnt so much from developing these techniques. Who knew a dead bird found in the garden could be so inspiring?

15sec (before I had any lighting), f11, ISO 100

Image of your choice I’d got rather stuck, struggling to find suitable family portraits when a cousin sent me this picture of my Dad and his sister, the first I had of him as a child so this one has a special meaning. Some images came together really easily, other were recomposed several times, this one took about six attempts.

1.6 sec, f5.6, ISO 100

Success Story 11 Name Janet Brown Location: West Sussex Successful Successful A Panel May 2021 About my panel After a successful LRPS in 2014, I had been looking for a suitable A project. As an “anything and everything” picture-a-day photographer, it found me.

In late February 2020, I received a phone call from the father of 19 year old film director Elliott Hasler, asking our camera club to document filming of Vindication Swim and produce images for use in publicity. We soon learned the frustrations of photographing film shoots!

Lockdown stopped everything, but we were back in late June 2020.

A month later, after deciding to work towards ARPS, I had to summon up the courage to go on a boat for swim shoots, despite anxiety about seasickness.

Filming eventually finished in July 2021, though my panel was created with images from 2020.

I was excited to be successful, as it felt like more exposure for Elliott’s hard work.

Statement of Intent Applied and Portraiture May 2021 Vindication Swim is the second feature film from young director Elliott Hasler. It portrays Mercedes Gleitze, from her childhood introduction to swimming to her battle to be recognised as the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1927. I was invited to photograph the making of the film and produce images for publicity.

My role was to show the filming process. This involved developing a rapport with the director and actors, and observing Elliott’s strong vision coming to life through his script and camerawork. I also made candid portraits of the lead actors and extras. Dealing with whatever conditions were scripted without artificial lighting or getting in the way called for creativity and good reactions, especially on a moving boat.

I soon realised that I had a body of work that suited me, as it combined my life-long interest in people with quick thinking photography.

Janet Brown ARPS

My Favourite Image Mercedes goes home on the bus after a long training swim. I was able to position myself to get Elliott’s reflection in the window, balancing Mercedes’ luminous face. This is one that I was very happy with artistically, and determined to keep, despite problems with low light levels and Elliott’s bright LED panels.

Canon 7Dii with 50mm f1.8ii lens; 1/80s at f2.8, ISO 1600.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown

After the first Lockdown, shoots were mainly outside so were able to restart safely. This helped me regain my fragile confidence among other people, and I became part of the film ‘family’.

The second Lockdown gave me the chance to focus on getting the panel ready for assessment.

Image of your choice Out on the sea, a speedboat headed towards Mercedes so our safety boat roared over to protect her. Liking the waves we produced, Elliott asked for more. Spinning around the filming with two cameras slung round me, I was never sure where I was, or whether I’d fall in!

Elliott films Mercedes taking fluids from her coach in the support boat, which is rocked by our wash, getting the journalist wet. You should see the next frame…

Canon 200D with 24-105mm lens at 93mm; 1/800s at f8, ISO 400.

Success Story 12 Name: Colin Yelland Location: Successful Successful A Panel About my panel My panel started as a project to record the internal architecture of Exeter Cathedral for an exhibition. After the first shoot I realised that I had captured some good images and began to think about an A Panel submission. I wrote a Statement of Intent and then did two further shoots. I had about 180 images to choose from and selecting fifteen was a time consuming process. Following a 1:1 Online Portfolio Review I made six changes to my initial panel before submitting the prints for assessment.

Statement of Intent Applied & Portraiture 26th May 2021 Exeter Cathedral is one of the great cathedrals of England and one of the finest examples of Gothic Architecture anywhere.

The cathedral has the longest continuous medieval stone vault in the world and this is one of the glories of this spectacular building.

In my panel I aim to show the intricate and impressive nature of the architecture of the interior of the cathedral including the stone vaulting which is full of geometric patterns, the moulded stonework which plays with layers of light and the round roof bosses which act as keystones locking the ribs of the vault in place.

I plan to present the images in monochrome to draw out the intricate detail of this beautiful building.

It is intended that these images will be included in an exhibition at the cathedral later this year.

Colin Yelland ARPS

My Favourite Image My favourite image is of the South Aisle of the Cathedral as I think this best displays the features mentioned in my Statement of Intent. I particularly like the contrasting patterns of the stone floor slabs and the detail in the columns.

24-70mm f4 lens (ISO 100 at f11)

Best Technical or Creative Tips I had always intended that these images would be in black and white. There are several light sources inside the Cathedral and producing colour images would have been almost impossible. All images were taken with a 24-70mm f4 lens (ISO 100 at f11) and downloaded and processed in Lightroom including correcting converging verticals. I used my own recipe in NIK Silver Efex Pro 2 to convert to black and white.

Image of your choice I felt that the image of the ceiling in front of the organ would make an ideal centre image as it is symmetrical and the four corners point to the other ceiling images in the panel. I have an image of the exterior of the Cathedral that I was tempted to use in the centre but decided that this would be a better image.

24-70mm f4 lens (ISO 100 at f11)

Success Story 13 Name Lesley Peatfield Location: East Riding of Yorkshire Successful Successful A Panel October 200 About my panel After achieving my L in 2018 I decided to think about my approach to abstract multiple exposure photography as a basis for an A. Following a day with Doug Chinnery in York using the iPhone, I developed this method into my own system I enjoyed applying to mainly architectural sites.

Initially I chose my favourite images (which is often something we do) and submitted my first panel in April 2020.

It just missed the mark, and I was offered the chance to re submit with some changes.

I completely agreed with the critique and set to work again. As the first panel had images from York, North Yorkshire, France, Italy, and Humberside, I decided to keep it local to York and the surrounding areas. Places that are special to me.

I resubmitted in October 2020 with some advice from Paul Mitchell and was delighted to be awarded the A. I felt a real sense of achievement as I set myself this challenge as I don’t belong to a club and wanted to measure myself against a fixed standard.

Statement of Intent Fine Art Category “PARALLEL LIVES Growing up in the City of York meant I was familiar with it’s many famous and photographed places which are usually portrayed traditionally.

The ethos of this project is to make abstract images of these places in my own way.

The multiple exposure method lends itself well to creating a truly original piece of work from places that are so personal to me.

I made these images on my iPhone and completed the image whilst still at the scene to capture the energy of the place.

The layering of the multiple exposure allows me to deal with the differences in architecture to show the beauty and complexity of the City and surrounding areas.

From Roman times through to the Middle Ages and the Minster, then the Victorian styling of York Station, to the architecture of today.

Places that mean a lot to me in York and North Yorkshire.”

Lesley Peatfield ARPS

My Favourite Image Castle Howard.

This was an image I made as we were leaving after singing there with my choir. The last light was just hitting the tower and I realized it could make one of ‘my’ images. At one of the assessment days I attended an assessor commented that it had a Second World War feel about it, and he could also imagine search lights in the sky.

I also love the fact that people see what they want in these images – St Pauls in London, Florence – they seem to capture the imagination.

Made with the Photosplit App on my iPhone.

Image of your choice The first in this series was my view of York station. The curved roof has fascinated me since I was a child setting off on family holidays full of joy and anticipation.

Travelling by train late last year gave me a different perspective of the station and some precious time to stand and contemplate.

The abstract nature of the image shows the curves and complexity of the structure and captured my feelings about this place. This is ironically one that didn’t make it to the final panel in it’s original form. It was considered too monochrome so I created the colour version that is in the panel, however this is my inspiration.

Success Story 14 Name: Niall Ferguson Location: Camberley, Surrey Successful A Panel October 2020 About my panel An Advisory Day some years ago having heavily criticised my first aircraft panel, I tried one of steam locomotives, but was never happy with it so went back to aircraft.

Although my LRPS submission had been PDIs, I used prints for my ARPS Applied genre submission, but the date was delayed by the Pandemic and ended up as an online assessment with prints at Paintworks. Passing was a great relief because of the changes in methodology resulting from the Pandemic.

Statement of Intent

Applied

My panel consists of a selection of aircraft images taken at United Kingdom air shows. My intention is to show the wide range of aircraft that can be seen at both large and small air shows in the U.K. I have been photographing aircraft for nearly 40 years, partly helped by the fact that I worked in Farnborough.

My images of historic, commercial, and military aircraft have appeared in magazines and national newspapers, and have been used by airline companies and manufacturers in their advertising material. It is intended that these images will also be published in a similar manner.

Niall Ferguson ARPS

My Favourite Image My favourite image is No.12 of the autogiro because the position is not what one expects of an autogiro, the concentration in the pilot’s face is seen, and the image is really sharp but there is still movement in the rotors.

Canon EOS 1Dx EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L 1/400 sec F 14 Shutter priority Pattern metering

Image of your choice The Gloster Meteor image was taken in 2012 and was one of two remaining images from my original panel attempt. I love the sky and the appearance of the metal. Lots of people think it is an air-to-air image, but it was taken from the ground at Dunsfold.

Best Technical or Creative Tips I got advice from two friends with ARPS. One tip was to print lots of potential images “postcard” size (about 30) as a good way of trying different Hanging Plans. I got my mounts professionally cut with precut apertures as my own mount cutting is not always perfect.

Success Story 15 Name: Stephen Hyam Location: Bristol Successful A Panel in April 2021 About my panel I have been fascinated by birds since I was a small boy but It’s difficult to be different when presenting bird images.

In the course of my work I have been obliged to travel to places north and south of the equator always squeezing in equipment and finding time to capture images. The panel is entitled ‘Heading South’. I was keen that my panel was a bit different – challenging the assessors in the statement of intent to guess why the birds fitted where they did in the panel. The answers to this are supplied in the hanging plan / species list.

I was nervous how the assessors would react – fortunately they liked and took up the challenge. The quality of the images and prints met the criteria – I was delighted when I was awarded the ARPS.

ARPS Submission Statement of Intent ‘Heading South’ This intent of this panel is to lead the viewer to want to learn more about the birds illustrated in it through finding out why they appear where they are in the panel. The hope is that this curiosity is inspired by the beauty of the subjects.

The panel images are broadly arranged from north to south, top to bottom of the panel hence the title ‘Heading South’.

The position of each image in the panel is determined in one, other or all of the senses below.

• the location where the image was captured, • the migratory habit of the subject • the aesthetics of the panel itself.

The photographer’s justification for the panel location of each image is in the species list

Stephen Hyam ARPS

My Favourite Image My Favourite image is the pair of Gentoo Penguins (Image 5).

Olympus E-M1MkII – 50-150mm F2.8 with 2* Teleconverter @284mm 1/1600s f/11 ISO1000. Taken on Berthas Beach in East Falkland. It was October (Southern Spring) and the birds were reinforcing their pair bonds before breeding. I caught this pair in a brief moment of sunshine between sleet showers.

Best Technical or Creative Tips In nature photography the most important thing to remember is that your result must be artistically pleasing as well as technically excellent. Image manipulation is frowned upon in this genre so the photographer must keep composition high on the priority list when taking images. My tip – pretend its film – spend time composing rather than firing off the shutter & fretting in post.

Image of your choice My Other image is of a Sedge Warbler singing. Nikon D500 Nikkor 800mm F5.6 1/1000s @ f/11, ISO640. This was the last image I captured for the panel and I took it during lockdown. It was late in the season and at dawn when I captured this image using my 25-year-old manual lens. The intensity of the song over the wind in the reeds seemed deafening in the quiet of lockdown. It took all my learned fieldcraft to get close enough to avoid the image being spoiled by atmospheric heat disturbance.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown I was on Ascension Island when the pandemic hit and flew back into lockdown and a very busy and stressful work time back in UK. Capturing the final image in the reedbeds of Sheppey to fill a gap and preparing the prints for submission really helped in coping with it all.

Success Story 16 Name: Simon Street Location: Surrey Successful F Panel May 2021 About my panel Having worked on a macro Fine Art Panel in 2020 during Lockdown, I wanted to get back to ‘street’ photography – an excuse to get outside. I really enjoy taking pictures of people at the seaside but wanted to be brave enough this time to make them more of an environmental portrait. I was looking to create a book as the output of the effort. The Applied category therefore seemed the best fit. The Covid numbers were racing back up as I started work in Autumn 2020. By December 2020 (as if you needed reminding!) I was back at home locked in again after many frantic days of shooting on the south coast.

Statement of Intent: Applied Photography 20th May 2021 The zig-zag rooflines and postcard colours of beach huts have become a much-captured photographic icon. Far less has been explored of the beach hut community – the ‘Hutters’ – both hut owners and local regular visitors around the huts. A book concept employing more unusual images was born. ‘Beach Hut People’ was later published in 2021.

I wanted to capture Hutter natural expressions with hands, face and body. Low viewing angles helped provide fresh perspectives, intimacy and occasionally, invisibility. My conversations began. Some shouted in anger at political circumstances. Some were euphoric or self-deprecating.

While all seasons are represented here, the cooler months provided less busy beaches and a more senior focus. Higher contrast toning rendered my subjects more starkly against their beach huts.

I hope the diversity of body language depicted makes you pause to wonder what is taking place.

Simon Street FRPS Best Technical or Creative Tips Best creative I knew nothing at all about the Applied category. I was an amateur photographer trying to work in a category often used by professionals. I had an excellent online review to screen the image selection. Images that I had (reluctantly) added to my Spares (I deemed them poor fits) were quickly promoted.

Best technical If you are shooting environmental portraits, keep your eyes on your subject and take at least 50 images quickly while engaging them in conversation. The later ones will have genuine, natural expressions. Engage an electronic shutter if you have one to keep the camera silent.

My Favourite Image I like the energy of this picture. There is a lot going, including the diving boy in the distance and the woman to the right looking pained at the action. The man with the tattoo needed a lot of work to recover almost burnt-out detail due to the sun directly over my shoulder.

Fuji, 16mm lens, 1/320s, ISO 250, F11.

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown The hindrance was knowing that the door had slammed shut on the last shoot and there was no going back. Once I realised that I really had to scrutinise the RAW quality to pick only those images I knew would make it through process and printing to the F standard.

Image of your choice My second choice is of a 90 year old lady inside a beach hut. You can see her (nearly) blind and deaf husband to your left. I wanted to make a brave crop to add mystery. I hope her hand gesture makes you wonder what she was telling me! This image became the cover shot on the ‘Beach Hut People’ book I published earlier this year.

Success Story 17 Name: Julia Wainwright Location: London Successful Successful F Panel April 20/21

About my panel My FRPS print panel was in Natural History Photography. I had been working on two ideas but with trips cancelled due to the pandemic I was unable to progress further with my potential Raptor Panel and so concentrated on Lions of East Africa using images gathered over 10 weeks of safaris. I soon realised that the range of lighting in the images (everything from dawn to dusk) was affecting the balance of the panel and decided to opt for an all monochrome panel to aid cohesion.

Statement of Intent FRPS Assessment in Natural History Photography Lions of East Africa Lions are Africa’s top predators and I have had many opportunities to observe and photograph them on several East African safaris, often tracking the same pride (close family group) over the course of different trips.

Lions spend much of their day resting and sleeping but beyond that there is the ongoing need for food, rearing future generations and simply surviving as a species.

My intent with this panel is to show a variety of aspects, such as: • • • •

• Their differing features and penetrating gaze • Bonds between members of a pride • Lionesses nurturing their young • Their power and strength, essential for bringing down large prey • • A selection of close-up and in the environment images • • Use of tracking collars, vital for monitoring activity patterns in support of conservation The use of monochrome helped bring cohesion to the panel allowing the detail and textures to tell the story of each image.

Common and Scientific Names Lion Panthera leo African Buffalo Syncerus caffer Common Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus Masai Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi Julia Wainwright ARPS MPAGB BPE2*

We would like congratulate Julia on her appearance in the BBC Countryfile programme on Sunday 22nd August 2021, and that she will be featured in DIG News shortly.

My Favourite Image We had tracked this lioness over a couple of days after seeing her pride with 13 thin, hungry cubs. The next time we saw her she was hunting and killed a young giraffe in front of both us and its parents before dragging away to cover (image 21). It began to rain heavily and in my favourite image 6 she is standing in the rain looking for her cubs to lead them to the kill. In wildlife photography it always is worth staying with your subject for as long as you can as you never know what might happen.

1/500s, 560mm, f5.6, iso8000

Best Technical or Creative Tips Wherever possible my preference is to photograph wildlife at eye level. This helps create a more intimate perspective and connection with the subject. In addition, this viewpoint helps to exclude some of the ground behind the subject and better isolates it against the more distant, out of focus, background.

Image of your choice This bald eagle image was taken on a shoreline in Alaska. Despite it being the depths of winter, this was the first snowfall we had seen since we arrived, so we left the boat we were on and walked along the shore. Lying prone in the snow allowed me to capture an eye level view of this beautiful eagle who, to my mind, is looking grumpily at the snow-covered ground.

1/640s, 400mm, f8, iso500

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown Having decided upon a monochrome print panel on Lions I had a steep learning curve ahead of me. My experience of monochrome conversion was very limited. Lockdown gave me time and so I spent many hours watching YouTube videos and Zoom talks and experimenting to learn about monochrome processing and printing.

Success Story 18 Name: Jayne Winter Location: Worcestershire Successful Successful F Panel May 2021 About my panel Landscape Genre – I wanted to portray the beauty of my local woodland in the frost and foggy conditions of the winter months.

The images needed to convey the peace and solitude that I felt by being there, as an escape from the restrictions of the lockdown due to the pandemic. All of the images were taken between November 2020 and February 2021.

The panel needed to show a distinctive style, where all images were obviously the work of the same photographer. This meant achieving a uniformity in style, tone and processing, so part of my pre-planning was to work out the ‘design’ of the shots that I needed before setting out, especially given the limited occasions when weather conditions were favourable.

I was absolutely thrilled and honoured to be awarded a Fellowship, a lifetime’s ambition finally fulfilled!

Statement of Intent Landscape Fellowship 13th May 2021 Tiddesley Wood is a 6,000 year old ancient woodland near Pershore, close to where I live, previously owned by the Abbots of Pershore Abbey. It is currently in the hands of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

In winter, the frosts and mists transform it into a wonderland. I call it my happy place where, in a world of constant change and uncertainty, I can find solace by immersing myself amongst the trees as they stand majestic and patient. I like to capture those quiet, early morning moments when the mists create a timeless atmosphere, adding mystery to the woodland whilst the frosted carpet protects the dormant life under my feet.

I loved creating this body of work, which allows me to portray the calmness and beauty of my local woodland during the sometimes harsh and lonely winter months.

Jayne Winter FRPS

My Favourite Image My favourite image is no 01, the first in the panel. I just feel it epitomizes the atmosphere created by the fog and frost. A wood in winter is a place of beauty; I love the delicate pastel colours, the whole scene having a timeless feel to it. The path leads the viewer deeper into the wood and reminds me of the calmness that I felt as I walked the paths alone, in my own world, away from the reality of the pandemic.

1/640 sec, F4, ISO 320, , Nikon Z6 24-70mm @ 70mm

Image of your choice I like the recession created by the fog and frost in image no 08. I also love the shape of the foreground trees; I was happy to lose some of the base as this would have complicated the composition.

The limited colour palette works well with the rest of the panel and I took it specifically to act as a ‘bookend’ for the middle row.

1/160, F11, ISO 250, Nikon Z6 24-70mm @58mm

How this helped me during Covid/Lockdown I saw this as a brilliant way to get through the restrictions, to which we were all subjected, as a result of the pandemic. Not only did I enjoy escaping into the woods to make images for my panel, but I had great pleasure in having a real purpose once back home, with the processing and printing and sorting of my panel submission.

ACCOLADE 9 Hanging Plans for more detailed viewing