RPS Digital Imaging Newsletter December 2022

NOTESFROMTHECHAIR

Season’sMeanderingsfromonelegoftheThreeLeggedChair

MelanieaskedmetodothispieceforDI news.Theotherlegs,DeborahandJanet,are otherwiseengagedsoIwasthenatural(only) choice. ☺

TherewassomeamusementwhenMelanie askedmebythosethatoverheardher request,asmyviewofthisseasoniswell knownanditiseasyformetofindotherGrumpyOldMenwho arewillingtoborepeopleintosubmissionabouthowawfulthis seasonis.IresentitbeingtheonedayoftheyearwhenIcannot beaGoM. ☺ SoIwillnowtryhardtolookonthebrightside.

ThisistheperiodwhenIcatchupwithfriendsthatImadeinmy earlylifewithanemailora“longnote”intheChristmascard. Sometimestheycontainsadnewsbutoftentheyarean opportunitytocatchuponpeople’slivesandexchangedetailsof howourliveshavedeveloped.Iamstillincontactwithfriendsthat Imadeatschool,beforedaughtersandcertainlybefore grandchildren.Itisalsoanopportunitynowtoplanavisitortwo witholdfriendsafterabreakofthreeyears

ThisisaperiodwhentheAmazonparcelsarewhiskedawaywhen theycomethroughthedoor.Theworstthingistomentionin NovemberthatI’dliketobuymyselfsomethingandthenhaveit declaredasaChristmasPresentfromarelation.“Theyhavebeen askingwhatyouwant”,freezesmanyanimpromptupurchase.The upsideisthatIdogetwhatIwantalbeitdelayedbyacoupleof months. ☺

Isitaperiodofrest?WellDIactivitycontinues.Deborahison holidayintheUSbutisalreadyemailingdatatous.Janetis workinghardonwhatourfuturemaylooklike.Ithinkamtheleast busylegbutIwillsneakoutemailswhenmyfamilyarenot watchingevenonChristmasday ☺

Sowhatistherealgem?Wearegoingawaytospendtimewith oneofourdaughtersherfamilyincludingourgranddaughterand grandson.EvenbetteristhatNorawillnotstressaboutpreparing theChristmasMealasSandy,oursoninlaw,notonlyenjoys cookingbutheisverygoodatit!Infactstrangelyhisrequestfora Christmaspresentisanyfood.Mydaughterstickstoaritualasto howthedayprogressesandeventhatdoesn’tcausestressasit wasinheritedfromus ☺

FromonelegoftheChairIwishyouallseason’sgreetingsanda happynewyearonbehalfofyourDigitalImagingCommittee.We hopetobringyoumoregreateventsin2023.Myrecommendation isthatifyouareaGoMlikeme,putitawayforaday…………….

Rex

RexWaygood

DigitalImagingCoChair digchair@rps.org

DeborahLoth DigitalImagingCoChair digchair2@rps.org

JanetHaines

DigitalImagingCoChair digchair3@rps.org

MONTHLYONLINECOMPETITION

FortheNovembermonthlyonlinecompetitionthetopplaceis‘IamAloneinthe DarkWood’byKenNessARPSandourcoverimage.(Formoreinformation aboutthisfriendlymonthlycompetition,includinghowtoenter,visit https://rps. org/di/monthly-comp/. Keepaneyeoutforvideoslideshowsofmonthly competitionentriesonour YouTubechannel.)

ItookthispictureinOctober2012atThorpPerrowArboretuminBedale,North Yorkshire.Itwasatypicalautumndayandhadbeenrainingonandoff.About midafternoon,IcameacrossthislonelyAcergrowingawayfromthemany othersthatwereinthepark.

Itwassurroundedbytalldarktreesofmixedspecies,andyetsomehow,abeam oflightlititup,makingitstandoutfromitsbackground.ThecoloursoftheAcer werespectacularandcontrastedstronglyagainstthedarksurroundingtreesand inPhotoshop,Itooktheopportunitytodarkenthebackgroundfurthertobring outthevibrantcolourinthemainsubject.

Thetitleisintendedtoemphasisthefactitstoodalone,awayfromthemain groupoftreesofthesamespecies.

Ken

IamAloneintheDarkWood’byKenNessARPS

ThirdPlacewas‘FitzwilliamGreen’byJonathanVainesARPS

WORDSFROMTHEEDITOR

TheDecemberissueofDINewsandmy9thissueastheeditor,bringsustothe endofanotherayear,itwillbeexcitingtoseehowweevolvein2023!

Ilookforwardtoanewyear,freshideas,yourphotographyjourneys,storiesand moreexcitingevents.Dosharenews,results,exhibitionsoryourthoughtswith me,Iamhappytoconsiderpublishinginteresting,photographybiasedarticles.

Asalways,theNewYearbringsacleanslate,resolutionsandachancetotry innovativeideas.Withmyother‘hat’on,moreworkshopsareplannedandnew Educatorsbeinginvitedtobroadenourrange.Thereisademandfrommanyof you,wantingtocontinuetolearnnewskillsorbrushuponexistingones,to expandtheworkshopsweoffer.AnewideaIwillbetrialingwillbe‘Bundles’of severalworkshops,whichwillbeonofferinJanuary,hopefullysimplifyingthe orderingprocess.

ThedarkdaysofJanuaryaretobebrightenedbyanOnlineEventviaaZoom Webinar.Thisisa seriesofthreesessions,onconsecutiveSaturdayAfternoons entitled‘ProducingBetterPrints’readmoreonPage14

IamleavingyouwithapertinentquoteandwishyouapeacefulChristmastime andlookforwardtoseeinglotsofyouin2023.

"TellmeandIforget. TeachmeandIremember. InvolvemeandIlearn."

BenjaminFranklin

MelanieChalk

DINewsEditor digworkshops@rps.org

(ManythankstoLoisWakemanforher assistancecompilingthisnewsletter)

AMEMBERPOSESAQUESTION!

What’sInATitle?AlanGouldLRPS

Doweneedtotitleourphotographicwork?Somewouldarguenot,thatan imageshouldbeselfexplanatory,orthatitshouldbeuptotheviewerto interprettheworkastheyseefit?Thereisobviousmerittothisargument. Indeed,whenwesubmitapanelforourLicentiatewearenotpermitted individualtitlesorastatementofintent.

However,theuseofatitlecanoftenbebeneficial.Itmayjustsimplybeusedto identifythesubjectorlocation,yetitcanalsobedeployedtocreateintriguefor theviewer,establishaspecificmoodorevenintroduceanoteofhumour.This devicehasoftenbeenadoptedveryeffectivelyintheartworld,especiallywith painting,literatureandmusic.Athought-provokingtitlecanoftenchangeour perceptionofanimage.However,inmyopinion,aworksimplytitled‘Untitled” doesnotfallinthiscategory!

BoombyAlanGouldLRPS

OnlytheLonelybyAlanGouldLRPS

Ifrequentlyhavegreatfundreamingupasuitabletitleformyownwork.Indeed IoccasionallyhavetheideaofatitlebeforeIhaveevenpressedtheshutter! Furthermore,whenenteringaclubcompetition,awellconsideredtitleismyone opportunitytoguidethejudgetowardsmyintention.

So,doweneedatitle?Wellitisapersonalchoice,sowhateverworksforyou. However,itisjustpossiblethatthetitleofthispiecedrewyouintoreadthe entirearticle. BrokenHomebyAlanGouldLRPS

CatchUpbyAlanGouldLRPS

PRODUCINGBETTERPRINTS

Printingcanbechallenging,confusingandintimidating,andgoodprinting informationcanbehardtofind.Inthiscourse,withsimplelanguageandclear examples,SeanBagshawandZackSchnepfsharethemostimportantelements ofprintingwithoutgettingboggeddowninoverlytechnicaldetails.

SeanBagshawandZackSchnepfwhohave30yearsofcombinedprinting experience,willshowwhatisessentialinourprinting,usingbothLightroomand Photoshop,theywillshowushowtomakeprintsthatmatchourvisionmore consistently.Theprintingtechniquesaretheonestheyusethemselves.They haveworkedhardtobreakdownthesteps,giveclearexamplesandcoverthe mostimportantaspectsofprinting.

Thiseventwilltakeplaceonlinevia ZoomWebinaroverthreesessions:14 January,21Januaryand28January. YouwillregisteroncetoreceiveONE Zoomlinkforallthreesessions.Thisenablesyoutojoinuslive,yourZoom invitationwillalsoincludealinktotenpracticeimages,ahand-outofadditional resourcesandatimetableofthecoursecontent'chapters'.Eachsessionwillbe uptotwohourslongandattheendofeachsessionSeanorZackwillbepresent toansweryourquestions.Therewillnotbearecordinginaconventionalsense. YouwillreceivealinktoarecordingoftheQ&Aaftereachsession,butifyou wouldlikearecordingforreviewandreferenceattheendofthecoursewewill provideadiscountcodeforyoutopurchasethevideocoursedirectlyata25% discountoffitsusualprice(US$49).WhichIthinkworksouttoabout£30, dependingontheexchangerate!

PutthedateinyournewdiarynowbeforeitispromotedtothewholeoftheRPS membership,asitmaysellout.Clickbelowtotakeyoudirectlytobookyour placeforthis FREE eventforallRPSmembers,andtoreadmoredetail.

TheRPShasaskedmetofacilitateaseriesofworkshopsonstreetphotography –we’rerunningthefirstsetofthesestartinginJan20th2023–4sessionsevery otherFridaymorningstartingat10am,sothisarticleisintendedtointroduce somethoughtsaroundthetopicandperhapsencouragesomeofyoutodipyour toeinthewaterandcomeandtrystreetphotography.Do,especiallyifyou’ve nevertriedit–it’sreallyfun!

Whydidtheyaskme?

Istartedmyownjourneyintostreetphotographybackin2018andwrotealittle bookaboutittitled“StreetsofDublin”whichwasreleasedin2019.I’vealso presentedmytalk“Streetphotography–apersonaljourney”over100times sinceCovidbegan,toclubsaroundtheworld,soImightbeableto,atleast, facilitatesomeinterestingdiscussionsduringour4sessions–that’stheidea anyway!

Streetphotographyisa fascinatinggenrethatis deceptiveinitslayersand complexity.Onthe surfacewhatcouldbe easierthanwalking aroundwithacamerain handtakingshotsof whateverishappening aroundyou?Simple right? Notreally!

Afewyearsago,Igotanopportunitytodosomeworkwithacompanybasedin centralDublin,hereinIrelandwhereI’mbased,andafteradayortwoof crawlinginthroughrush-hourtrafficmywifePennyhelpfullysuggestedthatI considertakingthebus.Aftergettingovermyinitialverynegativereactionto thisItrieditandwashooked-flyingpastthestandinglanesoftraffic,feelinglike Iwas8yearsoldwhenImanagedtosnagtheupstairsfrontseat,andgettinginf anhourofshootingbeforeworkstartedeverymorning–allgood!

Facingthefear

HowmanythingsinlifedoweNOTdobecauseoffear?Manyyearsago,Iwas recommendedawonderfullittlebookbySpencerJohnsontitled“Whomoved mycheese?”Thislittlefablebeautifullyillustratesthepowerofturningand facingyourfear,andmostlyseeingitevaporateawayassomethingfarlessawful thanyourmindhasbuilt.Ithasbeenahugeinfluenceonme,andIhighly recommendit,andnotjustforstreetphotography!

PuddlebyJoeHoughton

Fromdoingmanytalksandworkshopsovertheyearsonstreetphotography,the questionwhichcomesupmostoften,normallyquiteearlyon,issomething around“I’mfearfuloftakingpicturesofpeoplewithouttheirpermission”.And it’saveryvalidworry,andonewhicheveryonewhodoesstreetphotographyhas tofaceandcometotermswith.

Inmanycountries–notall,youdoneedtocheckyourlocalregulations–taking picturesonapublicstreetorinapublicspaceispermitted.It’snotillegal,and no-onehasthelegalrighttopreventyoufromdoingso.Ifthelandisprivately owned,theruleschange–youarethenworkingunderwhateverrulesand latitudetheownersarepreparedtogiveyou–ornot.

Butlet’sfocusonthepublicspaces.OK,sowe’reallowedtoshoothere,butthe fearstillremains,doesn’tit?Landscapeiseasy–youjustpointthecameraat thesceneryandit’snotgoingtocomplainorgetshirtythatyou’vecaughtitina badlight(I’mgettingintoSOmuchtroublewiththeLandscapeGrouphere!). Productphotography–noproblem–thestuffjustsitstherewhileyoulightit andshootaway.Evenstudioportraits–theywanttobethere(mostly)sono pushback.

Butstreetisscary.WhatifthepersonIjustcapturedtakesoffence?Whatifthey comeaftermeandbeatmeup,smashmycamera,shoutatme?Theseareall validandperfectlynormalfears,whichweallhaveaswestartourexplorations intostreetphotography.

Buttheyare–inthe vastmajorityofcases –unfoundedfears. I’veneverin4years ofshootinghad anyonetake exceptiontomy photographingthem. Iknowpeoplewho havehadtheodd encounter,but virtuallyallofthese wereresolvedwitha fewwords,perhaps anapologyand maybetheoffending photobeingdeleted (ornot). Seeyoulater byJoeHoughton

Nowyoudoneedtobesensible.MyownapproachisthatIneverphotograph childrenapartfrommyownunlessIhavepriorpermissionfromtheirparent/ guardian.Idon’tphotographanyonewhoisdown-and-outorlivingrough unlessIknowthemandagainhavebeengivenpermission.Butthat’s–tome–justcommoncourtesyandsense.Everythingelseisfairgame.

AndifpeopleIcapturedobecomeawarethey’vejusthadtheirphototaken?As soonastheymakeeyecontactwithme,Iwave,smileandapproachthem,and offertoshowthemtheshot,explainingthatI’mdoingstreetphotography.This seemstodefuseanyworriesasI’mbeingtransparentandnotseeminglikea dirtyoldmancovertlytakingshotsIshouldn’t.

Gear

It’snotbyaccidentthatmoststreetphotographeroptforquitesmall, unobtrusivecameras.Youdon’tseemany600mmlensesandtripodsinuseby experiencedstreetphotographers–that’snotgenerallythekityouwillbeusing. Youmightthinkthatsoundsgreat–captureyoursubjectsfromahundredyards away–they’llnotknowyouarethereandyoudon’thavetointeractwiththem.

PassingInterestbyJoeHoughton

Streetphotographyasitispracticedbymanyexpectsyoutogetupclosewith yoursubjects,whichiswhytheclassic35mmfocallengthisaperennialfavourite, ormaybe50mmforaslightlymoredistancedviewpoint.Whetherit’sHenri Cartier-Bresson,inthemid1900’s,VivianMaier,orBruceGilden,manyofthe “greats”getupcloseandpersonal–sometimesinteractingwiththeirsubjects butnormallyquiteclosetotheaction,movingaround,tryingtheangles,reacting veryquicklytochangesinthescene.Emma“GinnyWren”isaverycurrent photographerupinNorthernIrelandwhoisconstantlyoutthereatrallies, demonstrationsandbigpubliceventsshooting–andsomanyofherimagesare alsocapturedupclose–inthesceneratherthanlookingintoit.Herphotosare wellworthalook–checkout Emma’sFacebooklink

ImovedawayfrommytrustyNikonD810DSLRwhenIstartedstreet,switching tothesmallerFujiXsystem.MycurrentstreetcameraistheX-T2whichdoes everythingIwantittoinasmall,yetversatilepackagewhichallowsforswitching lensesandusingatechnicaladvancethathelpsmyagingeyes–focuspeaking. Otherthanthat,Itrytoshootcompletelymanual,settingaperture,shutter speed,ISOandfocusallmyself.DoImissshotsasaresult–yes.Hasthis approachimprovedmycameracraft–mostdefinitely!

TheWorkshops

Theworkshopserieswillstartwithapresentationonstreetphotographyasa genre,withthefollowing3sessionssetupasdiscussionandsharingcritique spaceswheretheworkshopparticipantswillsharephotostheyhavetakeninthe 2weekspreviously.Eachofthelast3sessionswillbegivenathemeinthe previoussession,andeveryonewillhave2weekstogooutandshootsome imagesonthattheme,thensubmitthemaheadofthenextsession.Sessionswill beasupportivespacewhereweallexploreandlearntogether,anddifferent approachestoshooting,processingandrenditionwillbeencouragedand celebrated.Andmaybewe’llgetanonlineexhibitionoutoftheimageswe curatebytheend?

Ifyou’veneverdoneanythinglikethisbefore–tryit!Ifyou’rethinkingyoucan’t –youcan!Whateveryourstageonyourphotographyjourneythiswillbeafew funweekstotrynewstuffinasafe,supportivespacewithlike-mindedpeople.I hopetoseeyouononeoftheworkshops!

Joe’swebsitetoseehisStreetPhotographyBook

ThefirstcoursestartinginJanuaryhasjustoneplaceremainingbutwewill berepeating,itsokeepalookatupcomingevents. Link ifinterestedinthat remainingplace.

StillontheSTREETTHEME

OnJanuary13th AZoomtalkonDevelopingStreetPhotographyby photojournalistTomLanglandsisthefirstsegmentofa three-part Street PhotographyexperienceofferedbyRPSDigitalImagingincollaborationwiththe RPSScotlandRegionandtheSouthWestRegion.

EachoftheRegionsisorganisingWalks,aftertheinitialtalk,topractiseand captureyourown‘Street’images.Hereisthe LINK toEventbrite.

RPSDISTINCTIONS

Arecentchangeforprojectedimageassessmentsandone2ones

Themaximumpixelsizeis3840(w)×2160(h),comparedto4096×2400 previously.Youarerecommendednottogobelow1920×1080,althoughthisis notarequirement.Ifyou’vealreadysubmittedimagesattheoldsize,theywill beacceptedfortherestoftheyear,oryoucansendresizedsubstitutesvia WeTransfer.Enquiriestoandy@rps.org.(Allthesesizesaredependentonthe aspectratioofyourimage;e.g.2160×2160forsquares,or1215×2160fora portraitimageatthesameratio.)

Youcan watchatalk explaininghowtoprepareyourimagesonYouTube. Thenewmemberwebsiteisslowlycomingtogether

Visit https://portal.rps.org toseewhat’sonoffer–thisisverymuchaworkin progressandyourprofile-specificinformationandupcomingeventswillbe addedgraduallyoverthecomingmonths.Ifyouoverlookedthememberemail inlateJuly,you’llneedtofindit(subjectis“AnUpdateforMembers:YourNew RPSMembersPortal”)soyoucanregisteranewlogintoseethecontent. Atthetimeofwriting,mostdistinctions-relatedeventsarenowbookable directly,sokeepaneyeonRPSemailsandtheFacebookgroup(seebelow)for announcementsofhowtobook.EventListing(rps.org)isagoodplacetostart–therearefiltercheckboxestonarrowdownyoursearch.

AlltheassessmentdatesupuntiltheendofJuly2023arenowonthewebsite. Youcansendyourbookingformstodistinctions@rps.orgorbyposttohead office. Findoutmore:

Tohelpyouprepare,youcanrequestaone2oneportfolioreview–anonline sessionwithapanelmemberappropriatetoyourgenre/distinction.Duetohigh demand,HQisstoppingone2onesonthe30thNovemberandstartingagainon the9thJanuary.(Youcanstillbookaone2onebetweenthesedates,butwillonly beallocatedabookingfromthe9thJanonwards.)Seethispageformore information: Howtobookaone2one(rps.org)

Therehasbeensomeconfusionoverwhathappensnext–someonefromHQwill findyouanadvisorandputyoubothintouchtoarrangeadateandtosend images/presentationplan.Thiscantakeaweekortwo,andyouareadvisedto makeyourrequestatleast4monthsbeforeanassessment.

SomeregionsareofferingAdvisoryDaysinpersonandonline.Usethislink https://portal.rps.org/s/event-listing andtickthe‘advisory’filter.Youcan generallyattendasanobserverifyouaren’treadytostepupyet(freeuntilthe endoftheyear;advertisedaweekbeforehandontheFacebookgroup).In addition,someChaptersandRegionsofferonlineDistinctionsStudyGroups.You canalsofindtheseby searchingtheRPSwebsite.

Anddon’tforget,aswellasprojectedandprintedimages,youcanalsoapplyfor aFilm,DigitalandMultimediaDistinctionatanylevel,andalsoawritten ResearchDistinction: Film And Research.

IfyoumissedanyoftheexcellentDistinctionsLivetalks,youcan catchup here. (Alsoaccessibleviathe RPSDistinctionschannel onYouTube.)

TheFacebookGroup RPSDistinctions **OfficialGroup** hasover4400 members,andincludesnewsfromHQ, andpostscelebratingdistinction successestoinspireyou.It’sacivilized venuetoaskquestions,shareyour successes–anddisappointments–and askforcritiqueorexpertadviceonyour proposedportfolio.Ifyouaren’tsure whichgenreorleveltoapplyfor,youcan post6images(plusyourSOIif appropriate)andrequestmoderator advice.

Accolade,whichcelebratesDigital Imagingmembers’distinctionsuccesses,is usefulforinsightintotheprocessinmany differentgenresandatalllevels. Issue11 ofAccolade isavailableonIssuu(back numbersalsoavailable). Thislink takesyou toviewallpastcopiesofAccolade

WearestillworkingonthefinedetailsfortheDIPrintExhibition.Weare busilybringingeverythingtogetheranditwillbeuponthe Website verysoon, DatesforyourdiaryarelistedbelowincludingtheAGM

WewillsendroundaBroadcasttoinformyou.

DIGITALIMAGINGWEBSITE

TheDigitalImagingwebsitehasbeenre-organisedandredesignedto accommodateourgrowingneeds.Thisiswhy,ifyouhavebookmarkedparticular pages,theymayhaverecentlydisappeared,soyouwillneedtoreinstatethem.

Wehopethatthereorganisedwebpageswillassistyouinfindingallthe informationyoumightneedinthefuture,allaboutourgroupandwhatis happeningandwhen.

Theinteractiveimagesbelowreplicatethoseonthewebsite,simplyclickthe imagetoopenthelink.