Royal Photographic Society Digital Imaging Group News June 2107

DIG News - June 2017

‘Crossing the street’ by Andre Bergmans

Winner of the forum competition this past month.

DI EXPO 2017 Update on the latest news around DI Expo – Members who have already booked tickets were asking us how they could reserve their places for the two studios. We had not originally anticipated offering pre-booking as we did in 2015, but we listened to what the members wanted and changed the process.

Having first bought your Expo tickets you should know that to hear our 5 key speakers in the main theatre you will not need to pre-book their sessions as there are sufficient seats to accommodate everyone.

However the studio places are very limited so early pre-booking of their sessions is essential.

Brian Collier – portrait professional

Polina Plotnikova – fleurs extraordinaire

The programme for the day can be found on the DI Expo web page www.rps.org/DIGexpo You will see that in the first session you have the choice of a talk about filters, from Paul Sanders, in the main theatre, or talks by the relevant professionals in the two studios. It is these latter two where there is a limit of 25 seats (less in the practical sessions) – so book the studio lectures early if you want to listen and learn.

Information about both studio professionals is on the web site.

Then throughout the day both studios have 4 practical sessions each, where you can experience working in a studio with the help and support of the professionals. Don’t forget your cameras.

Studio places are very limited so you need to consider pre-booking.

This is only possible after you have bought your DI Expo ticket. So the process looks like this – 1. Book your DI Expo ticket – follow the link from the web page HERE 2. Once paid then you get a pdf response. That gives you the opportunity to then book studio sessions. Unfortunately due to RPS pre-sets it says ‘Book by Post’. We cannot change this but if you click this link then it takes you through to the studio booking facilities.

3. Look at the programme on the web site HERE and decide what you want to see.

4. Book your place in the studio. You may take two practical sessions; one in portraits and the other in flowers, but not two in one genre.

5. If you are booking places for others in your party use their names, not yours, for studio bookings please.

6. You do not need to book places in the main theatre, only for the studios.

Whilst booking your sessions you might also wish to consider if you want to take advantage of the 1:1 Distinctions Advisory sessions. They have to be booked direct with the Distinctions team at HQ. email si@rps.org to book and pay for your Advisory session.

PROJECTED IMAGE COMPETITION Time has come round again for our annual FREE TO ENTER, members only, PI Comp: The perfect opportunity to try out some of your latest and best work prior to the new camera club season.

Whether you do straight out of camera work (Open) or like creating your own altered images (Creative) we have a category for you to enter.

You can enter 4 images, either all in one section or across both. We are using the same competition system as last year. This is not an RPS system but is outsourced, so you have to register for access to that site if you did not do so last year.

https://photoexhib.co.uk/rps/login.php Please download and read the rules really carefully as it will save you and us frustration in the long run ! If you follow the information therein then it is easy – it only goes wrong when members fail to read the instructions.

Our three eminent selectors this year are Martin Addison FRPS John Tilsley ARPS Margaret Collis ARPS Bios of our selectors are on the DIG PI Comp web page. We thank all three of them for giving up their time for us.

Martin Addison FRPS

John Tilsely ARPS

Margaret Collis ARPS

NEW DIG DISTINCTIONS For some reason or other we only seem to have new Distinctions at the Associate level this month. But it certainly seems to have been a good time as we have no less than five new Associate members to congratulate. Well done to you all.

Congratulations go to‌ Derwood Pamphilon ARPS Duncan Webster ARPS Chris Dixon ARPS King Chee Tsai ARPS Keng Tam ARPS

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Bristol Mawsley Waterlooville Hong Kong Macau

<<<<<>>>>> Last month we had the name of Yvonne Mitchell on the list congratulating her on her LRPS. This month Yvonne has kindly agreed to share her panel with us all and write a few words to go with it.

I have a creative background which could have led me in many directions.

Many years ago I attended art college where, amongst other subjects, I did some black and white film photography including processing and printing. After that I became busy with work and family and did not resume photography until I took early retirement, when my husband and I joined Fordingbridge Camera Club in Hampshire.

Before I started working on my LRPS panel, I attended a number of RPS advisory days as a spectator. These gave me a good understanding of what is involved in the process. I found it especially helpful seeing how other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photographs were moved around to make coherent panels.

I started working on my panel in earnest in October last year, with the encouragement of experienced club members. Their advice and support has been invaluable.

I am quite a perfectionist which led to a number of very late nights. I seem to work very quickly in the middle of the night and before I knew it, the clock showed 3am on numerous occasions. Ultimately, the overall design of the panel fell into place quite easily during one of these latenight sessions. However, I am trying not to burn the midnight oil anymore as it is a bad start to the next day!

All my photographs are taken fairly locally. I cannot categorise myself as being any particular kind of photographer as I take anything that catches my eye. I think my panel looks as if I am a nature photographer but I am not really, it is just a phase which I am enjoying enormously especially butterflies.

My day in Bath was exciting and a little nerve-wracking, but my panel went through with all positive comments and I was delighted to gain my LRPS distinction. I must admit I felt rather lost when it was all over.

I am now hoping to develop my photography in more creative areas. I will look forward to the next challenge!

Yvonne Mitchell LRPS

Coming Out

Eryn

FORUM As you will have seen our winner this month is Andre Bergmans who is a member from the Netherlands. He has been enjoying his DIG Forum membership for many months now, so it is especially good to see him win this monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; competition. Well done Andre.

So let us find out a bit more from Andre about his unusual image….

“I was delighted to be informed that this image was selected for the month of May. We see a girl (or boy?) in black with a black shadow crossing a street over a rainbow zebra. After review in the DIG forum (my ongoing masterclass really) I made some final modifications. The image was technically and aesthetically appreciated in the DIG forum. However the narrative or cultural context adds something to it.

In the Netherlands and Belgium the rainbow zebra is a symbol for the support for emancipation of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) citizens. So we are looking at a specific cultural geographical context. Since 2013 in around 25 cities zebras like this have been created. Sometimes for an event (Gay Pride or Pink Saturday) but in most cases as a permanent symbol. Is the person in the image on a journey or discovery?; what direction will he/she take? Society is more colorful than a black and white zebra suggests.”

Just one point behind Andre was Max Green LRPS with his dreamy image ‘Weeping Cherry’

3rd place went to Ralph Pettet ARPS with ‘The Vine’

VIVID SYDNEY 2017 SPECTACLE Every year our DIG HERE Tony Healy sends me a personal email and web links to this annual festival of lights down under. They project on to the Opera House shell roof line and light areas and buildings around the town. I thought you would like to see how it looks this year – spectacular as usual. To see more then follow this link HERE

DIG CELEBRATES CAMERA PHONES A grainy photograph taken 20 years ago on June 11th 1997, has been described as one of the most influential images ever taken. The photographer Philippe Khan used a speaker cable ripped out of his car, a digital camera, and a mobile phone to send the first picture via SMS, which gave birth to the camera phone, and changed photography forever. Today it is estimated that around 700 billion images are taken each year, and 500 billion of those come from smart phones.

Philippe Khan used a digital camera, laptop, and a speaker wire scavenged from his car to send this first SMS image in June 11th 1997.

(Phillipe Khan).

As in the film era, the introduction of George Eastman’s Box Brownie, brought affordable photography to the man in the street, and Kodak’s launch of the instamatic cassette system allowed most households to own a camera. However, during the digital revolution, the camera phone has meant every single person can own an easy to use and convenient camera and, unlike their earlier film predecessors, the quality of the image is quite astounding.

Camera phones have changed the way we record the world around us.

News organisations and publishers rely on the public feeding them high quality still and video images provided by these pocket wonders. While it may be annoying to purists, concerts and live events are now illuminated by members of the audience, capturing the show and, of course, where would we be without the ubiquitous ‘selfie’?

“Line Breaker” University of Manchester.

Stirzaker ARPS)

May 2017 ISO 32. Shutter 1/2500

(John

As manufacturers realised that the camera was more than a gimmick, and there were some users wanting to use them to take high quality images, they have developed devices that can have their settings customised, and some devices use condensed versions of editing software to process the images. Others have used established camera and lens manufacturers to develop better cameras. This has led to serious and professional photographers using them to capture high quality images. In 2013, RPS Wakelin Bursary winner Oliver Woods presented a portfolio that included a shot of a Rolls Royce being bailed out during floods in the centre of Jakarta. His Cartier Bresson ‘decisive moment’ shot proved, that the best camera to have is the one you have with you and most people looking at the image in the RPS Journal would not have realised it had been shot on a phone.

As serious photographers using these devices, we have to approach their use more carefully than a ‘snapper’ would. Camera shake, and not being able to compose images in bright sunlight are among the numerous problems that can prevent good images being taken. There are hundreds of accessories available to overcome these issues, such as

camera holders that can be fitted to conventional tripods and Bluetooth triggers that allow the phone to be triggered remotely. Kits containing these can cost under £10. All images can be saved to your computer and edited using your favourite software, or there are many apps available in both Android and Apple, that can edit within the device.

“Statuesque”. A street scene in Manchester. Captured on an iPhone 5s ISO 32. Shutter 1/1150 May 2017 (John Stirzaker ARPS)

My own adventure into camera phone technology.

As someone who had not really explored using a camera phone, I decided to try and get some images using my own Apple iphone 5s. These images were shot in May 2017 in the Manchester area. I enjoyed the flexibility and having an easy to use camera that could produce quality images , and as I always have my phone with me, I also have a camera.

John Stirzaker ARPS

It was this Facebook posting from John that promoted us to do something to celebrate 20 years of camera phones.

FACEBOOK COMPETITION TO CELEBRATE THE JUNE 11TH ANNIVERSAY OF THE SMART PHONE To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the birth of the smart phone the DIG group is having a camera phone day, on Sunday June 11th. We are inviting all members to take an image on that day and submit it to the Group’s Facebook page. Images can be of any subject and must have been taken between midnight and 11:59 pm on June 11th 2017.

We would like DIG members to demonstrate the creative versatility of themselves, and smart phones. The images must be loaded with a hashtag ‘#cameraphone2017’ in the accompanying text, plus your image title and photographer’s name, by midnight on June 12th.

Voting for the best image will be chosen by member votes on June 14 and 15th. Information will be on the Facebook page for how to do this.

Full entry details will be available on our Facebook page. If you are not already a member of the DIG Facebook closed user Group then it is very simple.

Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/255778611506306/

DIG NEWS FEEDBACK We would welcome feedback on how we are doing in respect to DIG News. This publication is produced each month for our members so it is important that the content reflects what you are all interested to read.

How are you doing with these Ken Payne tutorials? I know some of you are using them as we get the occasional email when a link is not working properly. Are they useful – do you want us to continue?

Please email digchair@rps.org and let us know.

MEMBERS GALLERIES

ABOUT THIS ALBUM ARPS contemporary and conceptual Statement of Intent For Brian McCarthy's panel "Tweeter And The Monkey man" I remember the private eye detective films with characters such as Phillip Marlow, Sam Spade and Harry Lime and so set out to produce a set of fifteen images such as may have been taken by a stills photographer during the making of a motion picture in the film noir genre, but in my own style.

All the sets were built and photographed in the garden shed at my home, I kept a photographic and paper record of the progress of the project, which to date has been 15 months.

The sequential images follow my story line, but, I hope any viewer will be able to add their own interpretation of how the story unfolds.

Had this been a film, rather than a series of stills, you would have seen from the end credits that I was costume and set designer, best boy, lighting, cameraman and producer and director.

ABOUT THIS ALBUM I go every year to the Welney Wildfowl Trust in Norfolk near Ely in Cambridgeshire in January and February. over 8,000 swans (mainly Whooper but a few Bewick swans) fly to England from Iceland and Siberia for the "warmer" weather. The site has some great hides for taking photos and it is like Heathrow airport for swans. Swans are flying in and out all day. A great place to practice taking photos of birds in flight. Most of the swans are all over Norfolk during the day eating the beet heads in the fields but they come back to Welney at night for the regular swan feeds and safety in masses from predators. A great opportunity for taking photos of swans and other waterfowl. At the beginning of March they start to fly back home.

Click on gallery images to go through to the web site to view.

KEN PAYNE ONLINE TUTORIALS

From Ken â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greetings members I have just posted a video showing you how to make adjustments to a sky without getting that familiar black or white line on the horizon.â&#x20AC;? If you would like to watch it then please click HERE. Run time 8 mins.

Published on 28 Apr 2017 A simple method of removing excessive red in skins using Hue and Saturation in Elements 15. Click HERE to view Run time 8 mins 38 secs.

News from the RPS DIG Print exhibition 2017 Very many thanks to Peter Jarvis LRPS who arranged for some of the prints to be exhibited at Crosby library during April. The exhibition was well received by the local residents.

From 1st June we will be showing all the prints at the West Swindon library, then again on 23rd September at the NEC, and during October at Smethwick PS. We still have a number of prints that were not collected from the 2016 exhibition, and a few from this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unselected prints. If you would like to contact me directly to arrange for their return, please do so.

Marilyn Taylor digexhibitions@rps.org EXHIBITION NOW ON AT SWINDON see photos below.

Thanks to Marilyn Taylor and Chas Hockin for hanging them for us.

DIG CENTRE ROUND-UP Links to all the Centres web sites can be found HERE

NEW SOUTH EAST CENTRE With much thanks to Barrie Brown for his initiative and energy, we are delighted to announce that DIG will have a new Centre in the South East. It has long been felt to be a good place for another Centre as membership is quite high there, but finding the volunteers has always proven difficult. But Barrie has made it happen!

LAUNCH OF SOUTH EAST CENTRE ANNOUNCED The RPS Digital Imaging Group is delighted to announce the launch of a new DIG Centre for the South East of England. Its inaugural event will take place on Sunday 1 October in Tonbridge, when the speaker will be Steven Le Prevost FRPS (twice), AFIAP, MPAGB, FIPF. Steve lives in Guernsey. Steve is a renown RPS speaker and does some stunningly beautiful work. This really is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;not to be missedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; opportunity to hear him speak and to get inspired. For a peek at his work go to http://www.stevenleprevost.com This event is being sponsored by Fotospeed. There will be a raffle with support from Epson, Peak Design, Permajet, Hahnemuhle and Fotospeed. Representatives from Epson and Fotospeed will attend the event.

The launch of the Centre will come as welcome news to the many DIG members living in Kent, East and West Sussex and the outer London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley and Croydon. In addition to the many other benefits of DIG membership, they can now attend DIG events locally. Because the region being served by the new Centre is itself so large, the intention is to locate major events in different locations Tonbridge, North and East Kent and the Hastings/Eastbourne areas on the south coast.

Bruce Broughton

The launch of the SE Centre has been made possible by the hard work, enthusiasm and determination of a small group of DIG members who got together earlier in 2017 in Tonbridge to form an interim organising committee.

Bruce Broughton is the Centre Organiser and Barrie Brown, Treasurer. The other members of the group are Carole and John Lewis, Jan Beasley and Chris Hennessey. But more volunteers are urgently needed to get the Centre fully up and running, so if you live in the South East and would like to take part in helping set up this exciting new venture, please let Bruce know by emailing him at digse@rps.org

Barrie Brown

A programme of other notable speakers is already being planned for 2018 - including Polina Plotnikova and Margaret Salisbury. Details of the 2018 programme and beyond will be announced shortly. The South East

Centre will also be arranging regular photographic field trips in the region, hopefully joining forces with local members of other RPS Special Interest Groups.

Further details of and bookings for the launch event on 1 October can be obtained by emailing Barrie at drbjbrown@gmail.com.

<<<<<>>>>> THAMES VALLEY CENTRE History and Heritage meet High Quality Digital Thames Valley Centre Digital Imaging Group - 21st May, 2017 Rarely does a single day offer such a range of imagery as that on show in Wokingham on Sunday 21st May. The day began with a presentation

by Marilyn Taylor ARPS who spoke about her experiences photographing re-staged historical events. With a stunning panel of prints and a fascinating selection of projected images, Marilyn left the audience in no doubt that a visit to a re-enactment event is a unique opportunity to see and photograph parades, skirmishes and living history. Her photographs capture the atmosphere, intensity, attention to detail, and the passion of those involved. One could almost hear the crack of the flint-lock muskets being fired.

The second presentation given by Neil Cave of Timeline Events, continued on the theme of history and heritage with two projected image sequences showing the range of subjects and locations that Timeline offer to photographers. Neil explained that when the company was founded in 1997 it concentrated on steam trains, due primarily to his passion for steam. In 2011 a journey to The Needles following the paddle-steamer The Waverley heralded a move towards different subjects. Now the company offers days photographing a broad range of subjects including trolleybuses, boats, planes, and vintage fairgrounds as well as steam trains.

Following lunch the inaugural Len Deeley Memorial Trophy PDI competition was preceded by a recorded video tribute to Len by Janet Haines ARPS, Chair of the RPS Digital Imaging Group. Len Deeley FRPS, a popular and renowned sub-aqua photographer, died, suddenly and prematurely, in 2016, just months after entering, and winning, the Thames Valley Centre PDI Competition with his image “Two Banded Clownfish in Sea Anemone”. It was felt fitting therefore, that the Thames Valley Centre create a Trophy in his name for this competition. His name is posthumously engraved on the base as the first winner.

In addition to Janet’s tribute the audience were treated to a projected image presentation of Len's photographs, all of which had been entered for various competitions at the RPS Thames Valley DIG over the years.

The sequence highlighted that Len was a master of far more than just sub-aqua photography. Portraits, street photography and natural history all captured in a style and quality that set his work apart.

Len was also past chairman of Mid Thames AV Group, Three of Len's most successful AV presentations were also screened, 'Thistlegorm Remembered', 'A Compassionate Man' and ‘Send in the Clowns’ highlighting his ability to tell a story and illustrate it with a sensitive and sympathetic handling of the subject.

The afternoon concluded with the annual PDI competition, judged by Leo Rich ARPS. Congratulations to all certificate winners and to Stephen Galvin for his image of a family of elephants entitled ‘Suspicious’ that was awarded 1st place and the fabulous new trophy. Our thanks to Pat Deeley for joining us for the day and agreeing to present the certificates and trophy.

SPOTLIGHT ON AN OVERSEAS MEMBER It is a moot point as to whether this months OS member is just that or not – living in Jersey technically she is part of the RPS Southern Region but as those in the Channel Islands have the same issues as being an OS member it does feel that Suzanne Trower ARPS qualifies. So I asked her for a contribution…….

When I was first asked to write an article as an overseas member, I thought what on earth can a photographer sitting on a rock of roughly 45 square miles, possibly say?

The rock in question is Jersey, one of the Channel Islands nestling in the Bay of St Malo.

Well, the answer was in the question. I, like many photographers, hit a plateau every now and then and there always comes a time when I think, where do I go from here. Driving an hour down the road to see if there’s anything more exciting to capture is not an option.

But being confined to a small area can, in fact have its advantages.

Although I like to photograph architecture, my real love is in coastal areas and anything to do with water, which is just as well living where I do. I started out taking shots of beautiful sunrises and sunsets but needed more. The sun rises in the East and sets in the west. Cliffs, sandy beaches, rocky bays, dunes and a big tidal range, all waiting to see what I can do. Experience teaches me the value of recognizing weather patterns, trying to predict when the more unusual conditions may occur and plan outings accordingly. But opportunities must be grasped immediately, they will not be there tomorrow, especially with a tidal range of up to 12 metres.

Neknomination

Despite the changing conditions, the view itself largely remains the same. Imagination is now crucial to try and see a picture that has not been photographed many times before. A love of long exposures gives me the opportunity to hunt out more intimate shots whilst the camera is doing its magic.

Very often the picture only presents itself when I am about to call it a day.

Out to Sea

Finding a pleasing composition has not got any easier or harder since I started out with my first digital camera, but I have now accepted that whilst I will not come home with a bag full of great images on most shoots, every now and then I will have one which makes the exploring, planning and waiting worth while.

Suzanne Trower ARPS

Grosnez

Rozel

With so much going on in DIG I am very conscious that this DIG News seems to get longer each month. But we make every effort to make it easy to read with a clear font size that is large enough to read if viewing on tablets. If you read using the ISSUU software do look for the open square icon below the cover image on the RHS; click on this and it gives you a full page view and makes everything easier to read.

Enjoy !

Regards

Janet

Janet Haines ARPS DIG Chair digchair@rps.org