Travel Group eNewsletter #43

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Travel Image of the Month is: “Red Canyon, Wyoming” by TG Committee Member Roy Morris, ARPS

©RoyMorris

Thanks Roy for this strong image of a very imposing landmark.

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Contents Meet the Committee - John Riley, LRPS Springboard Competitions Book now for the Brazil photography tour Distinction success by Peter Bartlett, ARPS Bits & Bobs - an invite from Judy Hicks, London Region Meet the Committee Step forward please John Riley, LRPS. John is your Travel Log Editor and has been very active recently in the organisation of your Springboard event.

That’s the last “Meet the Committee” for a while as it’s time for you to meet us all in person at:

Springboard 2019 Your annual event is getting closer and I would like to thank Liz Rhodes, John Riley, and Roy Morris for their sterling efforts to secure a great venue and make all the necessary arrangements. Thanks too to Bob Akester for looking after the bookings and to Keith Pointon for organising the Projected Image Competition.

There are many others who also give their time as volunteers to make the event a success - why don’t you come along on 13th April and give them all a round of applause!

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Springboard Competitions Projected Image Competition

You should by now have received your entry form and competition information but, if you missed it, then you can download the forms here: PIC Forms

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Bring-a-Print Competition

Free to enter, this is a great opportunity to show your work off!

Also, if you are arriving in Salford on the Friday, as I am, then Liz Rhodes is hosting a photo tour around Salford Quays which will start around 1.00 pm and last for a couple of hours.

To register your interest for this free guided tour, please drop Liz a line at travel@rps.org

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup Š 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Brazil - off the beaten track Get away from it all and take some stunning photos on this August trip to the dunes & lagoons of north-east Brazil.

Click on the link below for the full trip information pdf:

Brazil

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup Š 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

With our sights firmly set on the Manchester venue for Springboard it’s my pleasure to include in this month’s eNewsletter a successful TG ARPS panel by Peter Bartlett, ARPS, who did not travel very far to capture his images of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. If travel photography is about images which encapsulate the “uniqueness” of a place or its people, then these hit the spot for me.

ARPS Sucess by Peter Bartlett - Hanging Plan

MANCHESTER’S NORTHERN QUARTER I joined the RPS in 2008 and gained my LRPS in March 2010. Following an unsuccessful ARPS application a couple of years later, I put the idea of an ARPS distinction out of my mind until late 2014 when I started to think about a suitable distinctions category and recognised that a Travel panel based upon an area that I knew well was the way forward.

I was brought up in Greater Manchester and both started and ended my working career in the city so I know it very well. After a little thought I settled on the area of the city now known as the Northern Quarter.

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

In the 18th and 19th century when Manchester was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, this area was a commercial centre with warehouses, cotton merchants offices and affiliated businesses lining the streets.

However, by the late 1980s the area had fallen into a state of decline with empty and dilapidated buildings and evidence of dereliction creeping in. The Northern Quarter did not exist as a specific entity until the mid-1990s when a group of interested parties came together to identify the boundaries, create the name and brand the area.

Over the following years it has developed into a hub for the creative industries with fashion design, clothing wholesalers and shops, coffee houses, restaurants, music venues, clubs and commercial art galleries occupying the re-purposed 18th and 19th century buildings and street art decorating the buildings. The area is constantly changing and there is always something new to photograph.

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup Š 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Before I started shooting images, I wrote the first draft of my Statement of Intent and obtained a map to ensure all my images were within its boundaries. I also pulled several images from my hard drive that I made in 2013 that I had yet to process.

I made my first trip to Manchester in April 2015 and after several more visits I had sufficient work to put together a draft panel and around a dozen spares so I booked a slot at an Advisory Day in Wakefield in June 2016. James Frost FRPS was the advisor on the day and his comments were very supportive of the panel’s concept in relation to a Travel Associateship but it was clear that I needed to do more work.

By late spring 2017 I thought I had sufficient images for the panel and prepared for an assessment in Bath in September. I attended on the day and it quickly became clear that I would be unsuccessful.

Three specific images were criticised and there were too many images that looked as though they had been taken from across the street and of street corners, with insufficient engagement with the subjects. The view was expressed that technically the images and print quality was excellent and that with more work the panel could succeed.

Attending the assessment had been useful as when the written feedback arrived two weeks later the reason for the disappointing outcome was confirmed although only one of the three criticised images www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup Š 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

was mentioned. It was suggested that more use of a wide-angle lens would help and I was invited to re-submit after taking on board the feedback.

I booked a resubmission for September 2018 giving me plenty of time to get it right. I quickly decided which images to discard – the three criticised at the Assessment in September were the first to go along with three (possibly four) others. A review of my existing images produced one that would fit in, so I knew that I would need to find five or six more images (plus spares) to fill the gaps.

I then embarked on two or three more expeditions to Manchester carrying only wide-angle prime lenses in my bag and by late April I had more than enough images to start thinking about image selection and panelling.

The second Assessment Day in September seemed like a breeze compared with the first – it was hard to believe from the comments that the core of the panel was the same as had been presented a year earlier.

The one comment that sticks in my mind was when David Noton FRPS observed that if the prints were put in a box and not opened for 30 years the panel would show just how we live today.

So what did I learn from the process?

Researching the area in advance and writing the first draft of my Statement of Intent before shooting any images paid dividends and helped me keep the project on track Choosing a location within easy travelling distance enabled to return regularly – A travel panel doesn’t need to be of a place on the other side of the world Attending an Advisory Day is highly recommended as is discussing the advisors comments with him/her It is well worth attending the Assessment – if you are successful, then great, but if not, whilst the written feedback is excellent, there is no substitute for actually hearing the assessors comments.

Seek the opinions and advice of others on image selection and panelling, but remember it is your panel and make your own decisions on which images to include and which to discard Don’t give up!

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

STATEMENT OF INTENT With a history rooted in the Industrial Revolution, Manchester’s Northern Quarter has a unique character. Yet, until the mid-1990s when it was defined and named, it did not exist as a distinct area.

Now, it is a vibrant centre of alternative and bohemian culture, characterised by its street art, offbeat atmosphere and 19th century buildings, occupied by a wide range of independently owned businesses.

In this collection, I have sought to capture the essence of this half square mile area adjacent to central Manchester as residents, workers and visitors pass through its narrow back streets.

Text & images copyright Peter Bartlett

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup Š 2018 Royal Photographic Society

#43 February 2019

TRAVEL GROUP e-NEWSLETTER

#43 February 2019

Bits & Bobs Our friends in the RPS London Region are holding an exhibition of their prints from 6th February to 4th March at Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, London N6 5HG, United Kingdom. For full details of the opening times, please contact Judy Hicks, Co-Regional Organiser, London Region. They will be delighted if any of the TG members pop along, and Judy herself will be at the exhibition on Sunday 10th & Sunday 17th February.

I think the venue is fairly close to Highgate Cemetery so there’s a good photo opportunity as well!

Don’t forget - come and support your group and its committee at SPRINGBOARD 2019 See you next issue Grahame

©GrahameSoden

www.rps.org/travelgroup www.facebook.com/rpstravelgroup © 2018 Royal Photographic Society