Royal Photographic Society Digital Imaging Group News September 2018

DIG News - September 2018

‘The Attendant’ by David Pearson ARPS Winner of the DIG monthly competition for August.

DIG ANNUAL PROJECTED IMAGE COMPETITION Monday August 20th was selection day. With three categories this year there were a total of 1356 images, from 276 entrants. But our poor PI Comp organizer, David Taylor, had to deal with most of them at the very last minute. So, thank you David as I know it is stressful in those last few days, even up to the close of submission.

We thank Rachael Talibart, Clive Haynes and Colin Henderson who did a great job in selecting our winners and the accepted images. By now you should all have had your personal results and individual image scores.

My personal opinion was that the standard was higher this year and the inclusion of the new Mono class proved popular.

Congratulations to our Trophy winner, also this is the gold medal winner in the open category, ‘Fight or Flight’ by Sue Dixon LRPS. We had several new members winning the top awards, which is really great.

The Altered Reality Gold medal was won by Pauline Pentony ARPS with this very original work ‘Mirror Box’

In the Mono section another new members Lisa Bukalders LRPS won the Gold Medal with ‘Ostrich Family Outing’.

Information about all the Award winners and acceptances can be viewed on the web site. A link is provided on the DIG web page HERE You might be interested to know the number of images that got accepted by category – Altered Reality acceptance level was 13 – 43 acceptances.

Mono acceptance level was 12 (plus any that scored a 5) – 46 acceptances.

Open acceptance level was 12 (plus any that scored a 5) – 69 acceptances.

You can see from these figures that the acceptance level was pretty high so do not be disheartened if your work did not get an acceptance. But the printed catalogue when it comes out towards the end of the year will have some great work it there. Such was the quality of our members work.

An observation. Members are still entering some works in the wrong class. This results in your image being marked down, where it might have done better in the correct class. There were obvious creative works in Open, which is not against the rules, but it does you no favours. There was even one in entry in the Altered Reality category that looked totally straight out of camera. Of course we cannot tell whether it was or not unless we ask for original files, but again had you entered it in the Open class it wouldn’t have been marked down. We had three mono works that appeared to have some colour (or tones of) in them. This may be the result of monitors that aren’t calibrated perhaps or simple processing errors.

DIG committee are going to rework the rules and classes before next year in an attempt to give greater clarity for members.

For full information on all the accepted images and winners go HERE

MONTHLY COMPETITION This month was a landslide victory for David Pearson ARPS with his image ‘The Attendant’. Well done David. A minimal composition that works so well – see the front cover.

The Attendant - This was taken in the Newport Street gallery in London, a place that I keep going back to, not only for its interesting art but because its architectural simplicity suits my style. On this occasion I was first attracted to the geometry of the two doorways and the way that the three allwhite walls showed up as slightly different colours because of the different lighting. I took one or two shots with the empty chair but when I came back later the chap sitting there really made the picture.

2nd placed was ‘Siblings’ by Ashish Chalapuram

3rd placed was ‘A Blast From The Past’ by Dennis Russ LRPS

DIG MEMBER GALLERIES Two very different galleries to enjoy this month, with thanks to the photographers.

Photos were taken from three different hides - one near a forest, one near a lake and one near a swamp. Normally it is no more than 15 degrees centigrade in Finland in July. Unfortunately Finland had a heatwave and it was 30 degrees during the day.

Insulated for the cold winters it was more than 45 degrees at night inside the hides with no ventilation. With wild bears outside getting out of the hide was not an option.

It was a wonderful day with Tony Bramley FRPS, very informative and hands on. We visited many sites including the Barbican Centre, National Theatre, Weston Rise Estate and the Brunswick Shopping Centre. The challenge was to find different angles and drama within the image. Many of my images I converted to black and white to create a more brutal and stark effect. All my images were taken using my Sony A7 mk2 camera with 24-240 f3.5-6.3 Sony lens. A most enjoyable day.

Click on the images to take you to their galleries.

SoFoBoMo You may recall a couple of months ago we told you about the online book challenge that was happening in July and August. So far 4 DIG members have completed 5 books. Maybe there will be more we can feature next month, but for now if you wish to read the books then simply click on the image from the various books to link to read them.

A SHEDFUL OF IMAGES Highly recommended you watch this video but read first‌..

When the East Midlands Regional Organiser, Stewart Wall ARPS saw Brian McCarthy's work at an East Midlands Associate advisory event he was so taken by it he asked if Brian would collaborate on a project for a degree module in design he was then doing at The Grimsby Institute's University Centre, Brian supplied the images and Stewart curated the show. They then co-hosted a series of 'meet the artist' events throughout the week, which saw hundreds of students attend the show and Brian talking to them in the lecture theatre. At the opening event of the exhibition Stewart invited Shy Burhan of Bradford Radio to visit and she created a show that was broadcast during her weekly photography show, which forms the soundtrack to a YouTube video Stewart created of the exhibition.

The staff and the students of The Grimsby Institute, both FE and HE and from photography and other creative courses, for example design, enjoyed the exhibition and felt inspired by it. The event helped forge a relationship between the institution and the RPS and associate principal, Emma Forrest-Leigh worked with Stewart and Geoff Blackwell which resulted in the Photography Degree becoming part of the RPS degree affiliation scheme which meant all students became members of the society.

Brian was happy as he received his Associateship with the work and enjoyed his week at the institution and Stewart received a first for the module. Shy Burhan returned to East Midlands a few weeks later to make another recording when the region had Brian Griffin present to them.

click on the image above to go to the YouTube video.

DIG CENTRES All DIG Centre meetings are open to everyone. Each puts on a minimum of 4 meetings p.a., offering varied and inspiring content. All welcome to every DIG meeting; members and nonMembers alike.

By clicking on any of the Ads it will take you to the RPS Events pages where more information can be found about the meetings.

Thames Valley Centre

DIG SE Centre

Western Centre

Scotland Centre

WELCOME to our new members this month… Georgina Lee LRPS - Ormskirk Michael Windle ARPS - Moreton-in-Marsh Lynette Ryan - Wirral Viel Richardson - Rochester Susan Wilde - Bicester

Daan Olivier FRPS Sue Dixon LRPS Paul Chaplow Alan Gould Coleen Rust

- Camberley - Folkestone - Luton - Romney Marsh - Norwich

SIG LINK By clicking on any of the Ads it will take you to the RPS Events pages where more information can be found about the meetings.

Creative Eye Group

RPS AV

DOC & TRAVEL

A&H Group “Digital Imaging Group members are warmly welcomed to the Archaeology & Heritage Group’s ‘Members’ Showcase’ on 13th October . This longstanding annual event is held at Leatherhead institute, 67, High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AH. The location is convenient of access from the M25, and there is a frequent rail service from London to Leatherhead.

The event showcases the variety of subject matter and approaches enjoyed by our members, as they pursue their interest in photographing various aspects of heritage. There are six or seven presentations, with subject matter varying from recording local or family history to archaeology, ancient artefacts and monuments, or churches and other historic buildings. Themes developed range from architectural recording, and celebrating the diversity and beauty of old buildings, to the purpose of heritage photography and what images can tell us about earlier civilizations. There is likely to be something here to interest many in the Digital Imaging Group.

The cost to Digital Imaging Group members is £15 per person – please pay on the day, but inform the organiser, Mike Sasse (mike.sasse@btinternet.com, 01892 531179) that you will be joining us.”

The new WIP SIG…..

RPS MIDLANDS REGION This really looks like a fab meeting and one I wish I could go to‌..

click on the ad to go direct to the event page for more information

A UK MEMBER Bryan Kelvie FRPS came to our attention this month as he posted on the DIG Facebook page. So we thought you might be interested if we asked him to contribute to this months DIG News‌..

I joined Reed International Photographic Club in 1987, they had their own darkroom and some very talented photographers. I then joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1988 and worked my way through the distinctions to obtaining my Fellowship in 1993. Through the build up to my Fellowship I found that the area of photography that I received the most pleasure in, and my comfort zone was Applied.

It also gave me a great deal of pleasure in highlighting the work of the talented artists from the unknown to the well known. All of this done on film and in the darkroom.

With the advancements in photography, I embraced the digital world, as you will see from the images I’ve selected for you to view, I hope you enjoy.

The record image ‘The Scapular Vision’ by ceramic artist Adam Kasowski, was taken mid July 2018 at Aylesford Priory, Kent where most of his ceramic work is displayed. To see the best of this particular print you need to view as a large print mounted with the mount board to compliment and cut to fit snug to the arch at the top and following down keeping the bevel edge tight to the grey block affects at the sides and bottom - for me that is the icing on the cake together with, of course, a good choice of paper that allows your full concentration to be on the image without any distractions.

The next image, ‘The Chase’, is one of many shots taken of our lovely Saluki Dog. I look at this image with mixed feelings remembering the wonderful times spent together. This particular image conveys the pure joy he got whilst doing what he loved doing the most, Running!, and that for me comes over loud and clear.

The manipulated images I enjoyed putting together as they invite your imagination to run wild. I think of the title before the picture is built and taken.

For instance the image ‘Moon Flight on a Pepper’. When we purchased the owl from an art shop in Bridport, Dorset, as soon as I set eyes on it I thought it looked as if it had just dropped off the moon so I built the picture accordingly. The background is one of my black mount boards with glitter sprinkled on for the stars. The moon was a shot taken while waiting for the northern lights to show from our holiday in Iceland. The pepper from the fridge and then all put together and edited in photoshop.

The ‘Lookout Post’ is the same principle. The double Postbox is sited in Morrisons car park in Reigate and the owls eyes are from an image taken on a visit to the Wildlife Centre Lingfield. Then edited in photoshop.

My four images, I believe, showcase variety but at the same time, have given me a great deal of pleasure in taking and I sincerely hope gives you the same in viewing.

Bryan Kelvie FRPS

AN OVERSEAS MEMBER Personally I love finding out more about our overseas members and how their lives vary to ours. This month we feature a Scot who, by the sounds of things, left at a young age and enjoys living in the Far East.

Welcome to Stewart Forbes, currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia A Love for the Wet and Wonderful Living and working in Asia for some 50 years now has offered me the opportunity of fascinating experiences in an enormous range of photographic environments (though perhaps at the expense of adequate exposure to my native Scotland).

My passion for nature and a fortuitous conversation with a rugby colleague (and chairman of the Singapore ANZUK Sub Aqua Club) took me underwater in South East Asia in the early 1970s at a time when underwater photography was still pretty much the forte of the professional diver/photographer (anyone remember Hans and Lotte Hass?) and focussed my latent photographic talents on the marine environment and, in particular, the detail and intricacy of the smaller denizens of the deep, which are my ongoing interest.

Underwater photography presents a set of particular problems for the diving photographer, over and above the photographic issues and technicalities that confront all photographers.

Schooling Jacks Protecting cameras from the ravages of salt water and serious pressure while permitting the use of external camera controls is an obvious challenge and, like many early photographers, I have had the agonising experience of opening my camera housing after a dive to see a half inch of salty water sloshing around in the bottom of the case, corroding my camera as I watched.

Other than the physical impact on photographic equipment, photography underwater presents challenges in terms of that most important aspect of photography ‌ light. Water absorbs light and the deeper down the more is absorbed. Additionally, light is not absorbed evenly with the red end of the spectrum being absorbed first and then progressively orange, yellow, green till at some 100 feet down little is left but blue. Not the best scenario for full colour photography.

Lizard Fish The solution of course is for the photographer to take his light down with him. Today electronic flash or high powered LEDs provide enough light for even small aperture shots, but my earliest efforts to deal with the lack of full spectrum light saw me armed with a mesh bag of flashbulbs manually ejecting a used bulb and replacing it with a fresh one while sitting on the sea floor some 60 feet underwater! Thank goodness for modern technology.

The advent of digital cameras was a boon to underwater photography.

No one had ever found a solution to changing a roll of film underwater and the usual 36 frame limitation of film cassettes disappeared with the availability of digital memory cards. No more hoarding the last few frames of Kodachrome in case a special photo opportunity presented itself just before surfacing.

Pipefish

Nudibranchs I currently live in Malaysia, which is on the edge of the Coral Triangle, offering the greatest abundance of marine species in the world. On my doorstep I have the prolific marine environments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, with Thailand, Papua and Australia not that far away.

Shallow sand bottoms, towering oceanic reefs and black volcanic sand all provide differing environments and species.

As I usually favour smaller marine fish and invertebrates, my usual gear is a Nikon DSLR in an aluminium Subal housing with twin electronic flashes. A 60mm macro or 105mm macro is my lens of choice while in those instances when I am going wide, a 20mm lens behind a dome port gives me ample wide angle coverage and the ability to get in close. Even the clearest water has particulate matter in it so getting as close to a subject as possible is eminently desirable. Post processing is with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, in most cases to remove unnecessary and obtrusive particles from the image.

Blue Ringed Octopus

Commensal Shrimp

Modern advances in technology, both in terms of photography and diving equipment and techniques has made underwater photography both safer and more comfortable and I can say it is now well within the capabilities of almost everyone. For myself, I expect to be 100 feet down snapping weird and wonderful creatures on my 80th birthday in not too many years from now.

Stewart Forbes

Hawksbill Turtle Note. We usually ask for 4 images but thought you would want to see all the work Stewart submitted so did not get the editors red pen out.

When you do your 80th Birthday dive Stewart do send us a shot for DIG News to celebrate !

We are a little early in getting this out for September but a key persons holidays meant it was now or not at all. For October it is likely to be a little late as then it is my turn to be away and not back till October 5th.

But we do our best.

Regards

Janet

Janet Haines ARPS DIG Chair digchair@rps.org