December 2023 Newsletter
Genesis - Tracy Ross LRPS
Well, the last Newsletter at least proves that some folks do read this Newsletter…sometimes I do wonder, such is the silence. PhotoFest 24 has whetted your appetites, that much is clear, and so for the next 4 Newsletters it will come as no surprise that I will be heavily promoting it, and the speakers that we have lined up. I’ll feature a couple of them each month, in order to whip up that enthusiasm even more. The Sunday of PhotoFest is all about RPS Scotland, so if you’ve achieved a Distinction in the past few years and want to share it and celebrate it…get in touch, as the Sunday morning is all yours. Sunday afternoon will be the revamped Exhibition selection, so get your printers red up in readiness for that. Booking is now live on our website, via Billetto https://billetto.co.uk/e/photofest-24-tickets-896441 There will also be the usual stuff in the Newsletters, with the other What’s Ons, and ‘zines from the various local Days Oots, and we won’t be forgetting the day job. Nollaig Chridheil. Down Came the Rain Mike Tibbs ARPS
RPS Scotland
Exhibition
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2024. January: Eden Court Theatre, Inverness February: Aberdeen Arts Centre
Monthly Competition After a wee wobble October’s entries jumped to a reasonable level, but then November’s were low too. Are we seeing the end of the Monthly comp…looks like it? Creativity takes on many forms obviously, but I do think the right choice was made…well done Tracy Not unreasonably December’s theme is Winter, so entries to Ken, sized at 1000px wide, by as many pixels as you want tall, via Scotlandweb@rps.org.
PhotoFest 24 - whassup! Well, here’s how it starts… Colin Prior was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1958. His proximity to the Scottish Highlands helped to shape his passion for wild places, although his journey into photography began not here but beneath the waves. In 1981, having created a portfolio of images in Scotland and the Red Sea, he went on to win best newcomer to underwater photography in an international competition, which changed the course of his life. Within a year, he had decided to pursue a career as a professional photographer and, in time, was being commissioned by design and advertising agencies for clients in the travel, lifestyle, and leisure sectors. This led to commissions for British Airways to produce their corporate calendars for four years, which took him to over fifty countries. During this period, he worked in a wide variety of habitats, which included tundra, deserts, mountains, rainforest, and savanna. Inevitably, he had a few scrapes — flying from Kunming to Perth in Australia with a fractured skull, having survived a collision with a tree in a Chinese taxi, and spending four weeks in Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains with a herniated disk—neither of which, he says, he would like to repeat. Colin is fascinated by the relationship between the elements of the natural world, and he sees photography as a medium through which they can be brought together as a unified, harmonious whole. He believes that it is the combination of these elements that makes a place unique. Colin’s work has been published in nine books, most recently by Merrell, Fragile: Birds, Eggs, and Habitats, 2020, which was followed by The Karakoram: The Ice Mountain of Pakistan, 2021, the most glaciated region on the planet outside Antarctica and the Arctic. Colin’s awards include the National Adventure Awards, Business Category Winner (2015), and the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture (2020). He has been the subject of three BBC documentaries entitled Mountain Man, which focused on his work in Scotland and Pakistan. Bibliography The Karakoram – Ice Mountains of Pakistan, 2021; Fragile - Birds, Eggs and Habitats, 2020; Scotland’s Finest Landscapes, 2014; High Light, 2010; The World’s Wild Places, 2006; Highland Wilderness, 2004; Living Tribes, 2003; Scotland The Wild Places, 2001; Highland Wilderness, 1993 www.colinprior.co.uk www.facebook.com/colinpriorphotographer https://www.instagram.com/colinprior
Paul Sanders has been a professional photographer since 1984, beginning his career as fashion and advertising photographer. He moved into newspapers in 1991, starting at the Daventry Express before progressing on to News Team International, a successful agency based at Birmingham. He was appointed Deputy Picture Editor of the Manchester Evening News in 1996, and two years later joined Reuters, the international wire service. He’s always had a need to prove himself, to pushing himself to the limits and to succeed. For him, success was embodied by attaining a senior role at a national newspaper, which he achieved when, in 2002, he was approached by The Times, by 2004 was The Picture Editor. Looking at nearly 20,000 images every day and the associated responsibilities left him suffering with stress, depression, insomnia and anxiety. By 2011, depression had got its claws into him. His relationships with friends, with his wife and son all suffered and he was in a very bad way. At the end of December 2011, he left The Times to pursue a career as a freelance landscape photographer. He’d no experience in landscape photography, but it gave him something that he’d been missing; it gave him a way of expressing himself where words failed him. He loves being outside surrounded by the beauty of the world we live in. It never ceases to amaze him, as he watches the storm clouds blow in over the coast, listen to the waves crashing against the rocky shores or watch sunlight stream through trees on a foggy morning, how lucky we are to have such beauty on our doorsteps. You can stand in a location for several hours, waiting and waiting for the light to give you a bit of something; you can wait for the rain to stop or for the fog to lift or come down. It’s trying to get the best out of what Mother Nature gives you without feeling frustrated or judgemental - She rarely gives what you want but She almost always gives you what you need. Today, he looks at success in a very different way. Success is appreciating what you have in and around you, your family, friends and health, material success is like chasing the wind, and to him that doesn’t bring happiness. He is happy with who he is, therefore he is successful. He’s absolutely passionate about the power that photography has to help people overcome anxiety, and to positively adjust their outlook on life. Still brings together his love for landscape photography and his personal experience of using photography for wellbeing, offering you a new way to use photography to express yourself and explore the World. www.discoverstill.com https://www.instagram.com/discover_still/ https://www.facebook.com/discoverstill/
Special Interest Groups active in Scotland - the past few months we’ve had promo texts for Digital Imaging, Creative Eye and Landscape SIGs, as they have RPS Scotland members in senior positions. This month we are looking at Contemporary and Documentary, who have a joint group functioning in Scotland, organised by Steve Whittaker, which started earlier this year. So far the group have had a Day Oot in Edinburgh during the Fringe, and had 3 zoom talks, and another one due in mid-December. It’s a small group, but high in quality, and very supportive. Contemporary Photography that conveys ideas, stimulates thought and encourages interpretation; photographs "about" rather than "of". The Group provides a forum for presentation and encouragement of its members in pursuing production of coherent bodies of work with a speci c role. Emphasis is put on photography based on expressing ideas; on meaning and purpose, with sets of images to a theme rather than individual stand-alone photographs. It is about the “why” rather that the “what” of the photography. The Group will appeal to members who look to achieve a longer standing value in their work, as an alternative to the well-trodden route of competition and photographic salons, and those pursuing work on personal projects to a theme. It publishes Contemporary Photography, a full colour print magazine; Concept, an e-magazine; has postal folios; webinars; Facebook / Instagram; and active regional sub-groups, including Scotland where the sub-group has enjoyed a Day Oot, and 4 zoom talks this year.
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Documentary Documentary photographers’ work always has an intent; whether that is to represent daily life, explore a speci c subject, deepen our thinking, or in uence our opinions, and members have a common interest in documentary, urban and street, photography. Documentary photography communicates a clear narrative through visual literacy. It can be applied to the photographic documentation of social, cultural, historical and political events. It is at the sharpest end of the photographic spectrum, and embodies the truth that photography can change lives. It publishes The Decisive Moment as it’s digital magazine, runs workshops, has regional sub-groups (including Scotland, where we share a grouping with Contemporary, our closest SIG, and hosts the Documentary Photography Awards bi-annually, which is a prestigious International competition, and as of 2022 the DPA winners exhibition also tours the UK in print form, including two venues in Scotland…Inverness in June, Stirling in July.
Fa’s fa? I have been a keen photographer since I was ten. Starting with a Kodak Brownie Flash B which I still have. Over the years my interest has waned and recovered as with most hobbies due to changes in circumstances yet I have never really stopped taking photographs. In the seventies and forward until the mid-eighties, I had a purpose built darkroom where many hours were spent learning darkroom crafts. On moving to Derbyshire and starting my own printing business, I had the use of my platemaking darkroom where I would occasionally process and print images for my own use. However spending time in there beyond the needs of the business did slow my interest for a while and with the advent of digital imaging I preferred to make use of the equipment within the business to produce prints. Darkroom work from then took second place. In 2008 my wife bought me membership of the Royal Photographic Society and I took my rst distinction, the Licentiate of the RPS in 2010. This was followed by an Associateship in 2015 and my Fellowship in 2023. I have worked steadily towards each achievement preferring to learn my craft carefully at each stage. Along the way I took a keen interest in the cameras themselves and, having been fortunate to have an uncle who was a professional photographer based in St Andrews, I was able to acquire a number of Rollei ex TLR cameras along with a Leica and some other interesting collectable cameras. These included a Micropress 5x4 and several very old Kodak’s. To date I use, in analogue, Interpid 5x4, Rollei ex Wide Angle as well as a “T” and a 2.8C, Mamiya 645pro, and C220 TLR, Minolta 35mm, Ikonta 531/2 folding. Additionally I do have Olympus OM1 and Nikon F cameras to hand but these are rarely used as I prefer medium roll lm cameras. Digitally, Canon 5D cameras are my choice (including a 7D infrared conversion) although I prefer using the lightweight mirrorless cameras these days as they are so much lighter. Age is nally catching up!
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Standing Alone…it takes me back says Ken. He lived in Derbyshire for 30 years, and moved back to Scotland for family reasons when his son settled in Aberdeen. This image brings back Peak District memories, of good times, and good friends.
What’s On in December? Making Space: Photographs of Architecture. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh 07/10/23-03/03/24. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-portrait-gallery RPS Scotland / Landscape SIG: December 7th Alex Nairn: The Great Wilderness https://rps.org/events/regions/scotland/2023/december-2023/alex-nail-frps/? _cl=MTswOzE7YU1oT2RRazBqWUc1cDFob1JOZFlwS2pqV05tRE1LN3B3TjJ5R2g0cmd KSkt2TW5iamtmeFBNWTBTblZQcW5UcTsxLDMsNA== Contemporary / Documentary SIG: December 12th Zoom David Collyer FRPS 19.30. To join this group email Steve Whittaker, sqarehole@btinternet.com Further Ahead RPS Scotland Online Photoforum: 21st January 2024, invigilated by Douglas J May FRPS https://rps.org/regions/scotland/photoforum/ 29th February 2024: Documentary SIG: I Burn But I Am Not Consumed, Alicia Bruce https://rps.org/events-listing/? _cl=MTswOzE7bmhxYUU1YmZ5YUhNcHdWdHdON3dhSHhvZkpuNUE1WVJPVXJhVjh oUllKQmQ3dmlrWnd0Y0c1aGdLM0c2aGxSVjsxLDMsNA== 6th/7th April 2024: PhotoFest ‘24 and AGM and Exhibition Selection, Stirling University
Ongoing? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v4db Dealbh is Slighe - Image and Path, a wonderful series of photography programmes, hosted by Calum McLean. It is in Gaelic, but there are subtitles, and each episode is short but very sweet. Recommended. ‘Zines There’s been a few Days Oot recently, and here are the links to their ‘zines. Grampian - a busy day out to Ferryhill Railway Heritage Centre https://issuu.com/royalphotographicsociety/docs/15_oct_2023?fr=xKAE9_yAgHw Northern - Glen Canning https://issuu.com/royalphotographicsociety/docs/ northern_group_e_zine_1_220be802221cd5?fr=xKAE9_yAgHw Northern - Garve Day Oot https://issuu.com/royalphotographicsociety/docs/inverness_day_oot? fr=xKAE9_yAgHw
RPS Scotland Committee RPS Regional Organiser: Dave Ferguson LRPS scotland@rps.org Committee: Ken Ness FRPS scotlandweb@rps.org Kirsten Bax LRPS scotlandtreasurer@rps.org Steven Whittaker ARPS scotlandsec@rps.org Local contacts Northern Dave Shillabeer ARPS Grampian Nigel Corby FRPS Tayside Robin Millar Fife Monica Vella Ken Goodfellow LRPS Mark Reeves FRPS Central Bob Black Lanark Douglas Thompson FRPS Glasgow Anne McKelvie Borders Fiona Cadger ARPS Colin McLean LRPS Tracey Largue Ayrshire Clive Watkins LRPS South West Jean Robson FRPS