DIG News - January 2016

DIG News - January 2016

The Girl on the Train by Eric Begbie

Welcome to 2016 We hope you have all had a very pleasant holiday period and that the new year will bring you more super photographic opportunities to enjoy.

Given we are now offering two ways to read DIG News from this month on we will be putting the DIG Forum Monthly competition winners image on the front page. So if you want to see one of your works there then why not think about entering – you have to be in it to win it.

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DIG AGM This annual meeting seems to come round so quickly so on February 28th 2016 we will all be back at Smethwick for our day long meeting. Full information and a map is on Page 5 of the recent DIGIT magazine that you should have received pre-Christmas. (If you didn’t receive your copy of DIGIT then do let us know) We will be at The Old School House, Smethwick Photographic Society Club Rooms, Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Mids B69 2AS from 10.00 to 16.00 The AGM is just a very short element of the day, then we go on to enjoy the selection of the DIG Annual Print Exhibition and a talk from Iain McGowan FRPS “Digital Photography – A New Way Forward”. Iain has a refreshingly simple approach to his digital photography that we feel many of you will enjoy hearing about. If you have read his article in DIGIT then you will already begin to get an idea of what a breath of fresh air he is. I am sure it will be an inspiring talk.

We hope as many of you as possible will join us as it is usually a thoroughly good day.

LUNCH OPTIONS FOR THE AGM We have a slight change for this year. Smethwick are offering us the following Jacket Potatoes – baked beans, cheese or chilli £3 Soup – likely choice lentil or leek & potato £3

These need to be pre-ordered by emailing to our DIG Sec on digsecretary@rps.org before Feb 18th. Payment on the day.

Of course you are welcome to bring your own packed lunch.

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DIG PRINT EXHIBITION 2016

Information is now up on the web site on how to submit your entries for the 2016 travelling DIG Exhibition. Every member is eligible to enter 3 prints, with a guarantee that one will be accepted. For UK members we ask for mounted prints, but overseas members may elect to send us unmounted works. It is FREE to enter and if you plan things well you can even avoid postage costs by either bringing your prints along yourself or using one of our regional Drop-off points (see below).

See the competition rules and full information on the web site HERE http://www.rps.org/special-interest-groups/digital-imaging/about/040print-exhibition If you have any query then please contact our Exhibition Secretary Marilyn Taylor on digexhibitions@rps.org Do note that we have a slightly different process this year so do please read the rules carefully. Your entry form must be emailed in and accompanied by jpg versions of your prints. PC users can just attach the jpg’s in the normal way, but MAC users need to read Note 7 of the rules and compress their jpg’s prior to attaching them to the email.

The overall winner will receive the gold medal and Trophy. Additionally each of the three selectors will have two RPS Ribbons each to award to their chosen prints.

PRINT DROP-OFF POINTS

There are several RPS meetings where DIG Prints can be handed in and a representative will bring them to the AGM on your behalf. A full list and details can be found on the web site HERE but in brief they are as follows –

Jan 10th DIG N W Centre meeting at Warrington Jan 10th RPS Western Region meeting at Fenton House (morning only) Jan 10th DIG Thames Valley meeting at Wokingham Jan 16th RPS Contemporary Group N E meeting at York (see http://www.rps.org/events/2016/january/16/contemporary-north-east-meeting ) If you wish to take prints to this meeting for collection then please ring ahead to Mike Oakes on 0773 801 3372.

Jan 24th DIG Southern meeting at Ringwood Jan 26th Kingswood Photographic meeting – see John Long Feb 14th DIG Thames Valley meeting at Wokingham Feb 14th RPS Western Region meeting – Fenton House (morning only) Feb 21st DIG Southern meeting at Ringwood Ian Bailey at Shipton-on-Stour Malcolm Blackburn at Chapel-en-Le-Frith Paula Davies at Stokesley

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NOMINATIONS TO DIG COMMITTEE Any DIG Member wishing to stand for Committee at the 2016 AGM should be submitting their fully supported nomination form to our Secretary, Janet Davies, by February 14th 2016. The form can be downloaded from our web site HERE.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------DIG FORUM Starting from this month each DIG News will be headed up with the Forum monthly competition winners image.

For December we congratulate Eric Begbie on his well executed portrait easily winning the popular vote. I asked Eric for a few words about his image and, bless him, he is currently travelling in Thailand and coping with temperamental wifi but here is what he kindly sent me.

The picture was essentially a grab shot of almost the whole side of a railway carriage in Sri Lanka. From the whole image, the wee girl watching me take photographs was the only part that held much interest - one of the big advantages of high Megapixal sensors - one can get a usable image from, in this case, about 8% of the full frame. Apart from

that very severe cropping and mono conversion, all that needed to be done was to darken the area around the girl's head to remove the distractions from the other occupants of the carriage.

FORUM LOBBY

The DIG Forum Lobby is an external shop window where we encourage nonDIG RPS members to engage with us. Many of our DIG Forum members interact with our visitors there and recently one RPS member, TrevorR, posted an image and got feedback to help him improve his work. He later returned to say thanks and here are his words‌.

At the end of November I posted an image on here, which I called "The Swan Of Tuonela". I received several valuable suggestions as to how to improve it.

I took that advice, and I sent a digital version to the Yorkshire Salon. I received the news today that it achieved the maximum mark of 15, and received an "Honourable Mention". So thanks again for helping me to produce a successful image - the first time I've ever had a 15 in an exhibition.

Proof indeed how the DIG Forum can help us all improve our work. Well done TrevorR – we hope that it will encourage you to join DIG.

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CONGRATULATIONS We have not received the latest lists from Bath HQ due to the holiday season, so there are no new Distinctions to report this month. However I do have one error to correct from last month.

Andrew Hayes I listed as LRPS whereas he actually got his coveted Associateship (ARPS) with a splendid nature panel. Well done Andrew and thanks for sharing your Statement of Intent, identification table and your layout plan for us to enjoy.

Andrew’s SOI My interest in wildlife was first nurtured during my early teenage years while living in Kenya.

Fifty years later I returned to record images of the animals that had stirred my passion for wildlife.

My panel shows images of a small selection of the wildlife l encountered while travelling through the Rift Valley and Maasai Mara areas of Kenya.

My aim was to collect images of the wildlife, showing the diversity, interaction and sometimes humour. While in Kenya I decide to base my Associateship Panel on the wildlife of these areas. Hopefully they will inspire others.

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News from around the UK Centres starting with DI Group Thames Valley Centre: Next event Sunday 10 January ­ Jerry Webb on Monochrome with an Edge A talk through his best and more interesting photographs, what he likes about them and why and how he took them, plus his thoughts on modern photography and attitudes. Plus a practical take on his photography techniques and ideas, getting power, drama and tension into a picture, shape and composition, using and photographing

people, post-processing and finishing with a demonstration of how he processes his images and why this works for him. Jerry has worked in publishing as a magazine designer followed by a number of years as an art editor. In 1988 he turned freelance and has remained so ever since. He has subsequently branded corporate events in the UK and abroad, a job he has done for nearly 20 years which he currently combines with photography commissions. Jerry's website can be found at...http://www.jerrywebbphotography.com/

And...a rumour!

“I heard on the grapevine that Thames Valley DIG are holding a special event during 2016”.

“Well I said, if that turns out to be true, then as a Season Ticket holder, you are guaranteed a place with nothing extra to pay, but other than that, I couldn¹t possibly comment”.

A full year's Season Ticket gains entry to all DIG Thames Valley Centre events for the whole of the relevant calendar year without further event charges. Season Tickets are great value as you get all 8 events for less than the price for 5.

Laurie Pate Centre Organiser

We meet at: Woosehill Community Hall Wokingham Berkshire RG41 3DA About us: http://www.rps.org/digtv Members and non-members welcome FULL DETAILS at: http://www.rps.org/events/2016/january/10/dig-thames-valley--jerry-webb---monochromewith-an-edge TICKET DETAILS at: http://www.rps.org/special-interest-groups/digital-imaging/digital-imaging-thamesvalley/about/tickets-for-events

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DIGIT We apologise for some errors in the Accepted Images section of DIGIT 67.

Page 30 - And God Bless Mummy and Daddy by John Boyd LRPS Page 32 - Charging Ahead by Malcolm Rapier ARPS Page 40 - Osprey With Brown Trout by John Boyd LRPS Page 42 - Sharing A Joke by Marion Rapier ARPS Page 46 - The King of Fishers by John Boyd LRPS Page 49 - Yellowstone Canyon Falls by Sandra Barrett ARPS Page 50 - Edwardian Style by Clifford Brown LRPS

Page 24 – images by John Hoskin should have appeared in the Open section of the catalogue.

We had good feedback from some members from the latest DIGIT. Several seemed to find the article by our DIG AGM speaker, Iain McGowan to be particularly interesting. Thanks to all who got in touch.

We appreciate your comments, good or bad.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------BOUQUETS AND BRICK BATS The following was received as a personal message to me, but proves the value of DIG membership ……

I too often debate at this time of year if I should continue as an RPS member just to hang on to my ’L’. It’s just the DIG group, and especially DIGIT, that has prevented my resignation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------MEMBER EXHIBITION If you are going to be in Interlaken, Switzerland any time between 16th January to 29th July 2016 then why not head to the Hotel Metropole to see an exhibition from our member Hans Abplanalp ARPS. Hans has also invited DIG Members in the area to contact him on planni@bluewin.ch It is always useful to have some local knowledge if you want to get the best work in the limited time you are there, so it is a great offer. Thanks Hans and good luck with your exhibition.

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FOCUS ON OVERSEAS MEMBERS This month we are featuring Sarang Bhand DIG member from Navi Mumbai, India I am an ardent nature lover, avid traveller and a photographer. A marketing graduate and a certified project manager, professionally I'm committed to my family business engaged in waste management and renewable energy sector. I strongly feel nature and wildlife photography is not only about documenting

the natural history moments but also about creating awareness and sensitivity towards conservation of environment and its biodiversity.

I started Photography a few years back, what started as a weekend hobby has escalated into a strong passion. My portfolio can be accessed at http://www.prakrutianukruti.com A keen learner of photography; I’m still exploring the Art and love to experiment with new techniques.

Digital imaging offers a wide platform to express your creativity. It was only recently that I started towing an idea to play around with my mobile camera. I had never earlier paid attention to the phone camera and used it rarely, but to my surprise it turned out to be one neat thing. I was somehow fascinated with the idea of testing the limits of the tiny 4.8mm X 6.1mm (29.3mm2) sensor with 1.5 micron pixel size for a 8 mega pixel camera (source: chipworks). Probably this was the idea, to test one’s limits, to push boundaries, which motivated Glyn Evans of the South West England to introduce iPhoneography to the world for the very first time in 2008 through his blog iPhoneography.

So as many would guess iPhoneography, as per acceptable social definition on Wikipedia, is the art of creating photos with an Apple iPhone device (and no it’s not a marketing propaganda of iPhone by any means). However, processing of these photos on iOS or a third party application is subject to debate and discretion amongst users. I often use an external lens system as an attachment to the phone camera. I use ‘real camera’ app for shooting the images as it gives extended controls on iPhone’s camera. It is as good as DSLR where you can toggle with exposure compensation, ISO and white balance. It’s always a good idea to post process your images before you present it to the world, I use Adobe Photoshop express for its efficient processing tools particularly highlights & shadows besides contrast, sharpness and de-noising tools. I prefer not to use the in-app pre-set filters.

What is even more exciting is that besides social sharing apps such as Instagram or Flickr where you share your work to be reviewed and appreciated, you also have

community apps such as Snapwire, Twenty20 & Foap which not only let you share your images but also makes it possible for you to monetise and earn from your images. I found Snapwire and Twenty20 to be quite engaging apps, with their direct buyer requests and community challenges for sourcing images from within the community.

I started exploring and experimenting with my iPhone camera and many of my friends wondered if I had given up my DSLR for good. Personally speaking, shooting from iPhone is as rewarding and satisfying as from my DSLR, rather it’s more convenient as you are geared up to shoot at any time and at any place.

The process workflow for creating an image using mobile phone is quite similar to that of a DSLR. Android 5.0 and Google’s lollipop mobile operating system’s capability to shoot in Raw formats is going to revolutionise the way we see mobile photography in coming days.

My work-in-progress on mobile https://instagram.com/sarangbhand/ .

photography

can

be

accessed at ‘Mangrove’

‘Reflection’

‘Light Play’

‘Waterfall’

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It is great to see so many images from our members in DIG News. We pride ourselves in being open to all genre and this issue of DIG News is a good example. So often I hear people saying only creative work succeeds, but quite why they feel that way never ceases to amaze me as it is so inaccurate. We do offer a ‘creative’ section in the annual PI Comp and that was to overcome the feeling that ‘only creative wins’ when it was an ‘open’ class. But as you will see from the last issue of DIGIT the ‘Open’ class way outweighed the ‘Creative’, and that simply reflects the interests of our membership.

DIGs main objective is to offer a stimulating and encouraging environment for all. The original rationale of supporting one another to learn new skills or understand new software still prevails, but the genre is irrelevant.

So may the light be with you in 2016, whatever you are shooting.

Regards

Janet

Janet Haines ARPS DIG Chair digchair@rps.org