Northern News July 2017

NORTHERN NEWS Issue 2

July 2017

NORTHERN NEWS Issue 1

May 2017

Northern Diary Sunday 10 September 2017 10:30 Steel Rigg Car Park, Henshaw, NE47 7AN (Parking Fee £4)

GUIDED WALK ALONG HADRIAN'S WALL Geoff Chrisp and Marj Baillie will lead a guided walk along parts of Hadrian's Wall including Sycamore Gap, Steel Rigg and Crag Lough. A fairly strenuous five mile walk for good walkers. Steep ascents and descents along the path.

For full details see the RPS web pages. This is a free event but please register via the RPS website

Sunday 17 September 2017, 10:30 - 16:00 Newton Community Hall, Newton, Stocksfield, NE43 7UL

DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY

Attending this Advisory day will give you the opportunity to discuss your images with current panel members in a professional but friendly atmosphere. A day open to both members and non-members of the Society, this is intended to assist anyone considering an application to the Distinctions Panels. Full details on the website. Participants should carefully read the information on the website.

Booking essentail via the RPS Website - Northern Region Events Tea/coffee provided - bring packed lunch Advice: RPS Members £15, Non Members £20, Spectators £10

LRPS ASSESSMENT Sunday 8 October 2017, 10:30 to 16:30 The Grainger Room, Royal Station Hotel, Neville Street, Newcastle NE1 5DH The hotel is adjacent to Newcastle Central railway station.Tea/Coffee available A rare opportunity to have your Panel assessed in the North

Booking essentail via the RPS website Sunday 19 November, 10:30 to 16:00 Newton Community Hall, Newton, Stocksfield NE43 7UL

FOTOSPEED PRINTING WORKSHOP An in-depth instructive workshop demonstrating the importance of colour management and printing to ensure the best possible files as well as matching papers to images.

Tea/Coffee available but please bring packed lunch RPS Member £10, Non Member £15

Booking via the RPS website

All bookings should be made via the Northern Region Events page on the RPS website 2

Message from

NORTHERN NEWS Issue 2

Carol Palmer ARPS

July 2017

Regional Organiser Northern Region

THE NORTHERN TEAM Regional Organiser Carol Palmer ARPS northern@rps.org Deputy Regional Organiser

RPS Distinctions I would guess that many of our members joined the RPS primarily to work towards a distinction(s) and as a region we continue to have many successes. At a recent assessment in York, six Northern members gained their LRPS and you will have the opportunity to see their work over the coming months.

Geoff Chrisp

Our congratulations to: Irene Berry, Sue Devlin, Alexandra Prescott, Dave Purnell, Ian Thoms and Gerben Van Dijk.

Treasurer

And John Devlin recently gained his ARPS in the Fine Art category.

Bob Turner ARPS Secretary Bob Gates ARPS northernweb@rps.org Cover Image Š Leo Palmer FRPS NORTHERN NEWS INFORMATION Š 2017 All rights reserved on behalf of the authors. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for such permission must be addressed to the Editor.

The Royal Photographic Society, Northern Region and the Editor accept no liability for any misuse or breach of copyright by a contributor.

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the RPS or the Northern Region.

Editor: Bob Gates ARPS northernweb@rps.org

I intend to celebrate all future distinction successes and many of those from 2016 by including the work in our newsletters to showcase the talent of these members and hopefully encourage those thinking about future submissions.

A very important part of the distinction process is attendance at an Advisory Day to find out about the required standard and to see successful panels, as well as bringing along your own portfolio for feedback. It is a great learning experience and I know that most of our successful people have attended at least one Advisory Day. Another excellent way of finding out more is to attend an Assessment Day as an observer. Unlike an Advisory day you cannot get any personal feedback but it is an invaluable learning experience.

As a region we hold two Advisory days every year and the next is on Sunday 17th September and this year we also have an assessment in Newcastle on Sunday, 8th October. If you would like to come along then please book via the website.

Carol 3

A distinction success in the Applied & Professional category using Images for Screen

George Ledger ARPS

tells his story

How did you hear about the Society's Distinctions?

What advice would you give to anyone starting an ARPS?

I'd been aware of them since the 1970s when I started photography. I read a book by Will Cheung, 'Make your Photos Win', in which as well as competitions he outlined the RPS Distinctions.

Get some good initial advice and if possible don't speak to anyone else. I felt that the advice from different people was often contradictory. Once you decide on your idea and write up your 'Statement of Intent', then start taking the photographs.

How did you approach doing your ARPS?

Is there anything you would do differently?

Originally, I thought I would complete a nature portfolio (still my favoured genre), but I found myself taking more and more sporting images. I worked on the portfolio myself as I found the regional distinction workshops did not cover the Applied & Professional category. I had to seek out assistance from RPS Headquarters before finding anyone to get specific advice. I did submit to the on-line feedback and received some great help.

Decide upon an easier/different category! I don't mean that the pass threshold of 'Applied' is at a higher level - just that in some categories it is easier to get good advice and assistance at a local level. I felt that I had to personally enquire and search out assistance from RPS headquarters - although I think that the on-line forum will complement the official 'on-line feedback' for future applications.

How did you approach the 'Statement of Intent' - did you write it before or after getting your images?

I wrote the 'Statement of Intent' as the first stage of applying for the ARPS. Once I was happy with the statement, it seemed to focus my mind into the type of image I needed and whether I needed to take new photographs. In the end I took seven new images for my panel, including the important first and last one.

How may images did you take in total before selecting the final 15 for the panel?

Impossible to say, but I did begin my final edit from 50 images. I narrowed this down to 15 plus 5 reserves for the on-line advice. I then used 13 of the suggested 15, substituting 2 others with newer images.

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How did you go about sequencing the images?

Finally, can you describe how you felt when you learned you had been successful?

I submitted Images for Screen, as I felt that it strongly matched my professional work process.

I knew that I needed to panel the images so that their brightness gradually changed and did not blind the viewer. I also tried to flow the images between sports rather than bounce haphazardly between the different types. Finally, I wanted to use some portraits in the panel and felt that by limiting the numbers, I could use a high-key at the start and end with a low-key portrait for most impact.

Relieved! I put a lot of hard work and time into applying for the distinction. I was very happy with the success and very relieved I did not have to try the process again - well not until I decide to attempt the Fellowship!

What adice did you receive before submitting your Images for Screen panel?

I got lots of advice not to submit Images for Screen! However, as I had written my Statement and I knew these matched my professional process, I felt that I couldn't follow that advice.

Although I did send my images to three different people to check on their equipment to ensure that the colour space and resolution was correct.

Thank you George for telling us about your journey to a successful Images for Screen submisssion. We don't often see successful submissions by this route. Maybe it will encourage more of our members to consider an application using Images for Screen.

Full details of all the technical requirements for distinction submissions by this route can be found on the RPS website

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Statement of Intent I am a professional sports photographer, and cover a wide range of sports at all levels including sports portraiture.

Each sport I cover has its own technical issues which influence my choice of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. The issues, which must be taken into account, covers such things as whether it is played inside or out, either natural sunshine or artificial lights or inclement weather conditions. However, I always seek to capture the power, technique and concentration that is required by those athletes taking part.

All sport is about winning and the pleasure that brings, however the flip side of this is losing and the heartache and defection that it inflicted.

As part of agency commitments I have to send my complete processed jpgs to my clients from pitch-side using FTP, this is the main reason for submitting my application in Images for Screen format.

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Portraits from the North East John Cogan ARPS David Trout LRPS tells the story of John's ambitious project John Cogan ARPS is the moving force behind Durham Photographic Society's remarkable series of portrait exhibitions which have been showing at venues across the North East over the past couple of years.

The exhibitions come as a major achievement for John who, in this 60s, has also discovered the magic of portrait photography, earned both LRPS and ARPS in less than a year and met, photographed and interviewed some of contemporary photography's most influential figures.

But the road to success has been difficult for John, a keen photographer since childhood.

Inspiration was sparked only after early retirement from his teaching career due to stress related illness. Encouraged by his wife, Angela, who bought him his first digital camera, a Nikon D40, for his 60th birthday, he joined the Royal Photographic Society and Durham Photographic Society.

Athlete and TV sports presenter, Steve Cram

And it was Angela who encouraged him to submit for distinctions. It gave him a new purpose in life. The 'new boy' at Durham Photographic Society also began his grand photographic opus, taking more than a dozen fellow DPS members with him on a unique portrait photography venture.

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Durham sculptor Fenwick Lawson in his studio

This involved an ambitious project to photograph and mount a series of exhibitions of influential people in the North East. The subjects ranged from sport, the arts, business, politics, science and medicine. One hundred influential people of the region agreed to be photographed by the team from Durham PS working as Portraits from the North East. One of the first subjects was the Duchess of Northumberland who offered to stage the first exhibition at Alnwick Castle; this leading to the show being featured at other venues. And it led to another PftNE project - this time surviving World War 2 veterans and then on to an exhibition of traditional craftsmen and women in the region.

The exhibitions have been shown at a variety of venues including Alnwick Castle, Bowes Museum and the Witham Gallery both in Barnard Castle, Sunderland Art Gallery, St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle and Blyth Arts Centre. Quiet an achievement for John and his team at the DPS. John's personal photographic career began at the age of nine when he pestered his parents for a camera prior to being taken to an RAF Open Day at Church Fenton in his native Yorkshire. His first ever image is of a commendable but slightly fuzzy Meteor night fighter from that day.

John says, "I had several Nikons in the days of film, my favourite being a robust F2; solid brass and able to survive my clambering all over the Lakeland Fells. When I worked in Suffolk there was an ad hoc group who met every Wednesday evening at Westbourne High School in Ipswich, where we could learn from the wise old goats and use their darkroom.

Moving to Sunderland, I built a darkroom next to the kitchen, but Angela was not happy, as I created at bit of a smell. It was also giving me problems with my chest."

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Moving on to recent times John says, "The arrival of the digital camera coincided with my having to leave teaching for health reasons and my mental health suffered. For a very long time I was unable to leave the house. The Nikon D40 became a life-line."

"Very cannily, Angela introduced me to the RPS and hinted that I might be able to attempt a distinction. I rose to the bait. A wee while after becoming a member, Angela continued to drip feed the idea of setting myself goals and that culminated in a couple of days away at the Bridge of Allen on an RPS Distinctions Advisory Day." John achieved his LRPS and immediately set about work on an Associateship panel helped by advice from the Chair of the Conceptual & Contemporary panel over the way he could develop his submission.

"The submission of my Associate panel at Bath was a turning point. It was there that I met Del Barrett (then Chair of the Documentary & Visual Journalism Group). Over a bar meal at The Bear after the assessment of the panels, Del and I talked over the possibility of developing the Group on-line magazine Contact. I had already written several pieces for the Durham Photographic Society website which had been published. From the collaboration with Del I managed to interview leading photographers."

Over the next few months, John interviewed Sefton Samuels FRPS, Alison Baskerville at her Oxo Tower exhibition opening and had dinner with Giles Duley HonFRPS. Other Honorary Fellows soon followed including Martin Parr, Chris Steele-Perkins and Elliott Erwitt - "We mailnly talked about dogs, whisky and women - well it was Elliott!"

He also met Stuart Franklin, the Magnum photographer who was in Tianamen Square to record the uprising in 1989. His was the famous, 'Tank Man' photograph.

Other notable photographers featured in John's interviews included Anastasia Taylor-Lind and Venetia Dearden, both of whom had just left the photo agency 'VII'.

The late Lord Walton, Vice-Chancellor, Newcastle University, medical pioneer into muscular research

He went to Prague to interview National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale and ended up being filmed for Czech television as he photographed that year's Czech Press Photography Awards.

"Ami and I are still friends, sharing both a birthday and a love of documentary photography.

But probably one of the most significant interviews was with Ian Berry HonFRPS of Magnum. That was in 2013 and, since then, Ian and I have embarked upon a joint project to tell his story."

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Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Para Olympian

What does John photograph? He says, "I guess I am a sort of documentary photographer with a dash of Street for good measure. This goes back to those wet, horrid days in Castleford where the coal dust settled on the window ledges and you stayed indoors because the Chemical works had discharged a yellow, sulphurous cloud again."

Portrait photography came to him when the Lindisfarne Gospels came to Durham in 2013.

Durham Cathedral authorities and Durham Photographic Society agreed to run their annual exhibition in the Cathedral on a Gospels theme. It led to John photographing local sculptor, Fenwick Lawson. "I asked him for a chance to photograph him for the Cathedral exhibition.

People seemed to like the result and that was the start."

For the first few subjects John worked alone - local MP Bridget Phillipson, Andrew Sergeant at the Sage and a couple of others. He then managed to scoop world-renowned opera singer, Seaham born Sir Thomas Allen, Chancellor of Durham University. "This was too big for me alone and I asked fellow DPS member Tony Griffiths to accompany me."

And that set the pattern for John and fellow DPS members to work as a team on the project. Tony also went with John and DPS member Julie Ferry to photograph the Duchess of Northumberland.

Says John, "The format became set: one to chat and one or two to photograph. As a technique it worked and offered a chance for other DPS members to participate. This became important for the development of the Portraits from the North East Collective."

What's the future for John's photography? "Will I proceed to a Fellowship? Yes - once I get other aspects of my life sorted!"

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Sir Thomas Allen, Operatic baritone

John Cogan ARPS

© David Trout LRPS

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ADVANCE NOTICE

© Tony Worobiec FRPS

Have you ever wanted to sign up for a RPS workshop but you are put off by travelling to Bath or the southern counties?

We have persuaded Headquarters to bring one of these workshops to our region and depending on the success we may be able to do more in the future. Tony Worobiec FRPS will run a workshop called, “Photographing landscape whatever the weather", on Sunday, 18th March 2018. Tony published a book of the same title which was considered one of the 10 best photo books of 2016.

This is a workshop and places are more limited than a talk so if you are interested don’t leave it too late to book. Booking is via the RPS website.

Exhibition by two Cumbrian members Rosamund and John Macfarlane “The Word-Hoard “ A photographic and literary exhibition Wordsworth House & Gardens, Main Street, Cockermouth CA13 9RX Daily, except Friday 10 am to 4 pm now until 3 September 2017 Rediscover a lost world of shreep, smeuse, strodi and shuckle at The Word-Hoard: Love Letters to our Land, a fascinating new exhibition celebrating the evocative language and images of nature and landscape.

Curated by Robert Macfarlane, award winning authour of Landmarks, it features stunning images by his parents, Cumbrian based photographers Rosamund and John Macfarlane, many taken close to their home in the Lake District.

Free to National Trust members, or with an entry ticket to the house and garden.

Beautiful image-rich catalogue available. Make a day of it in the lovely North Lakes 13

My Favourite Place Wester Ross and the Western Highlands

John Devlin ARPS It’s little wonder that Scotland’s wild places are on every landscape photographers shooting list.

From Goliath Mountains, glacial shaped glens and rugged coastline, one can’t help but return time and again to capture what is arguably, the UK’s best-loved wilderness.

One area , for me at least, is the area of Wester Ross and the Western Highlands where all these elements are met with jaw dropping admiration.

Liatach, An Teallach & Torridon, who’s names themselves instil fear in mere mortals. And yet, in total contrast, the lapping waters of Loch Ewe and Loch Maree bring peace and tranquillity. Of course, we mustn’t forget the meeting of Loch Alsh and Loch Duich where the fairytale castle of Eilean Donan – that much photographed and filmed icon, stands proud.

Moor then, without invitation, Glen Coe and the Buachaille – Buachaille Etive Mor. This majestic mountain range guards Glen Etive and Glen Coe for that matter, and is the first real impression of the highlands we imagine. The unmistakeable face of Stob Dearg, standing at 1022m (3,353ft), greats you without grace. A violent geological past has shaped this land without precedent and is without doubt one of the most recognisable mountains in Scotland.

Loch Torridon, Wester Ross

It’s hard not to stop en-route and at least admire the scenery let alone practice our photography. Loch Leven and Ballachulish give safe passage to Loch Linnhe and Fort William where this arterial hub gives home not only to Scotland’s highest mountain but the UK’s too – Ben Nevis. At 1345m (4,412ft) an estimated 150,000 hikers scale it’s slopes each Little Gruinard, Wester Ross year but not without casualty. Although most There are many routes to Torridon all boasting a take the safest route and follow the ‘well-used’ stunning landscape, and your choice of route will path, straying off or indeed trying to rock depend on how much time you can spare. I climb could have profound consequences. It’s particularly like the trip north from Glasgow, which not a walk in the park with deaths recorded has a gentle start for what has to come. Skirting the annually! banks of Loch Lomond, the landscape changes in poetic fashion. Tarbet, Crianlarich and Tyndrum – Depending on the distance travelled from refreshment halts popular with bustling tourists. your hometown (In my case Billingham in Rolling hills and sleepy glens give way to bleak Teesside and an average 400 miles and 8-9hr landscapes and the barren wilderness of Rannoch drive), you bed awaits you amidst spectacular 14

Loch Ewe, Wester Ross

scenery. Having a plan for your stay is key to a successful trip. Up-to-date maps are a must and prior knowledge to sunrise/sunset times, tidal times, locations and distances, will make life easier. Depending on your location, there may be very little or no Internet service or telephone signal!

Minor roads skirt the sea lochs bathed with crystal clear waters, pristine sand and an abundance of wildlife. One of the attractions sea lochs have is that they are tidal, which reveal a fascinating and unique world twice daily.

Middlesbrough! It is here from Loch Ewe that Arctic Convoys set sail during WW2 and the stone was to commemorate those convoys.

There was one final twist in the tale; I later discovered that my Step-father’s, father sailed from here with those convoys!

It is the shear scale of natural wonder in this area that inspires my photography. From the sea lochs and inland lochs, towering mountains brooding & protecting and gurgling streams and raging waterfalls. Its beauty is naturally wild and forever changing.

Welcome to Scotland…

Having photographed early in the morning, I use the daytime hours to explore the area and ‘see’ what ‘s round the next corner. On one such day was a ‘recce’ along the minor road skirting the west bank of Loch Ewe. The weather was very changeable which was ideal for capturing images. Frequent stops ensued till the road ends at a place called Cove.

Negotiating a gate and a short walk, revealed a maze of footpaths connecting look-out posts and a memorial stone. I was amazed to see inscribed on the steel girders used to frame the posts, the words Dorman Long, Eilean Donan Castle 15

IMPACT, EMOTION & STYLE a successful Fine Art panel

Mike Berry ARPS I’ve been doing photography for 40 years, like many of my generation I was a wet room worker, printing big 16x20 inch B&W images in huge trays. The smell of the chemicals, the red glow of the safe light, the womb like feeling of being alone in the dark, somewhat romantic. I saw the world in shades of grey, (not 50!). I totally ignored colour.

Digital arrived. I remember thinking what’s this all this about? I don’t need a computer in my life, and an ink jet will never compare to a wet printed image. (A subject still open to discussion) Anyway, how wrong was I? I didn’t take a serious photograph for eight years.

Then the moment happened, a chance meeting with Sir David Attenborough in Borneo. After the most engaging and enthralling conversation with this truly inspirational man, I got back in the saddle.

On returning home I bought a new digital SLR, and started to teach myself Photoshop.

I’ve only been in the RPS a couple of years, and to be honest it was the distinction process that appealed to me. I knew I could take a photograph, but making a cohesive portfolio of work was something different, a challenge.

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My original idea was to do a travel portfolio; it seemed the perfect choice, as my wife and I travel extensively. However, I’m not what one would consider a conventional travel photographer. I look for dynamic shapes and parts of buildings in the cities I visit, I love using negative space in my images. My principals are IMPACT, EMOTION, & STYLE. The impact makes you stop and look, the emotion, well that’s the viewers, positive or negative, I don’t care, and style, well that’s just me.

I began to realise that my images might not be a good fit for the travel panel. This was pointed out to me on an assessment day, and it was decided Pictorial (now the Fine Art category) would be a better fit.

Advisory days are a must in my opinion. The first one I attended steered me into another group, the second was just a confirmation of the panel quality. I do think it’s worth mentioning the RPS doesn’t give these distinctions away, they have to be worthy pieces of work.

I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard the words “ not up to standard” This begs the question,“why”? Is it a failing on the RPS side in communication? I don’t think so, all their literature gives comprehensive details of what is expected at each level, and there are many examples of

successful submissions on line. So, why so many problems with initial submissions? It comes as a big shock for people who may have had a little success in their camera club competitions, and think it’s a forgone conclusion they will attain an LRPS.

Unfortunately, this is not available for the Fellowship, a situation I disagree with, as at this level I think interaction with the panel and the photographer would be a positive step forward.

The future for me, well I guess a re-submission of my failed Fellowship portfolio. The challenge for How has this situation evolved? Maybe the me is that one of the comments on the portfolio type of judging we have all seen in club was that it didn't show enough progression from photography is a starting point. This has always my A panel. But that's what I do and that's my been gentle, with a format of positive, style. So I guess 'll have to get my head around negative, some suggestions and finish with a that. positive. Above all, don't hurt anyone's We continue to travel, Hong Kong late in the feelings. I am not convinced this will make a year and back to one of my favoutite cities, better photographer.

Bangkok, early next year.

But would I recommend anyone to go fo it?

Absolutely, yes, go for it. BUT remember, each print has to be perfect in all aspects. If you are short of a couple of images, don't put packers in - they will be spotted straight away and rejected.

If you are going for an ARPS, this is a significant step up from the LRPS, not only do the images have to be perfect, but they have to link together in a cohesive group.

The assessment days are interesting and, if you can get there, do go. However, you are there as a guest and can take no part. Nevertheless, it's a good insight into the process. It's the final part of the journey, so do try to attend.

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The Statement of Intent was the challenge for me.

Those who know me will tell you I can be “wordy�. Advice, - keep it short and to the point.

What is it? Where is it? Why did you do it?

Statement of Intent ARPS Creative (now Fine Art) New York has risen like the Pheonix from the horror and ashes of 9/11.

Ladder 10, ironically situated on Liberty Street, renowned as the quiet downtown posting, first on the scene, lost six men.

Huge flags blow in the wind from many city buildings in an unashamed display of nationalism.

Stunning contemporary architecture and cutting edge art installations stand proudly alongside the classic brownstones, as 13,000 ubiquitous yellow taxis cruise the streets.

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The Eye of the Nautilus Jim Lycett LRPS Some seventeen years ago I was looking for a retirement project that would embrace a degree of engineering design, photography, some construction therapy and use of simple hand tools.

Also one that would involve some academic rigour with both theoretical and practical considerations. My quest lead me into the beautiful realm of pictorialism and pinhole photography.

Whilst the ‘Blue Peter ‘ approach to pinhole photography is to use a shoe box and sticky tape as a camera it serves only as proof of principle. I wanted a pinhole camera that was robust, able to take more than a single shot and one that was possible to use cut-film or roll film - without having to search for a dark room or changing bag to reload the camera after each shot. It also had to withstand an arduous life in the field. There are many excellent pinhole cameras readily available, but several years ago only a handful of pinhole cameras were commercially available.

These cameras were generally based on conventional focal lengths and angle of view thus eliminating edge darkening - a desirable characteristic favoured by many pictorialists.

My basic underlying thoughts were to design a practical camera that would record the natural world as ‘the human eye sees it‘ - that is some 140 degree angle of view. The choice of recording the whole scene including edge vignetting was considered desirable and together with the characteristic overall soft focus of the pinhole the image promoted a degree of pictorialism favoured by the 19th century pictorialists, the Secession Movement and The Linked Ring Brotherhood [1]. George Davison in1890 caused an upset in the annual exhibition of the Photographic Society of Great Britain [2] when he walked away with first prize for his pinhole image “The Onion Field” (An Old Farmstead). This upset caused the formation of the Linked Ring Brotherhood in 1892

Radcliffe Terrace, Hartlepool

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Bassenthwaite Lake

PS Wingfield Castle Bridge, Hartlepool

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The resultant camera design was formed around a monoblock, i.e., a single piece of hardwood machined to form the camera body, a Linhof style lens panel to house the pinhole and simple shutter arrangement, and universal dark slide or roll film magazine retainers. The pinhole size (diameter) was based on the convolution of the ‘Airy Disc’ and Raleigh formulae using the wavelength of green light (to use infra red film the size needs to be adjusted by a factor of approximately 1.5).

The formula to determine the diameter of the pinhole is given as:Pinhole diameter ‘d’ in mm :Focal length ‘F’ in mm, d f stop

= sqr(0.0013xFocal length) = focal length/d

To obtain a view angle of 140 degrees on a 5in x 4in negative the focal length is calculated by simple geometry as 25mm or 1 inch. Thus the pinhole diameter may be calculated as 0.18mm giving an f stop of 138. The pinhole may be made from brass shim or aluminium foil and bored using a No 10 embroidery needle. The shim is temporally taped to a piece of thin card, placed on a small ceramic tile and the card and shim assembly rotated under the needle point. Finally the burr on the hole is finely removed with fine emery cloth.

To verify the pinhole diameter projection techniques may be used, first making a reference slide from exposed film leader, scoring two parallel lines1cm apart and projecting to give an image size (between the two parallel lines) of 1metre. By replacing the reference slide with the pinhole shim, the diameter of the hole is measured and divided by 100 to give the pinhole diameter.

A view finder was considered unnecessary as the camera will record what the human eye sees, thus staring at the scene, positioning the camera, levelling and shooting is straight forward.

Exposure may be obtained from a simple light meter with adjustments made for reciprocity failure and reduction in development time (generally from 10% to 30%) depending on the exposure time calculated.

Using the camera gives immense pleasure and satisfaction, the overall softness and edge darkening takes the photographer into the world of pictorialism. One thing that becomes apparent is that the pinhole camera will produce in-camera what many photographers attempt to reproduce later by post processing or in the use of Photoshop.

It goes almost without saying that Mother Nature was first on the scene. The sea mollusc Nautilus has used the principle of pinhole vision for millions of years, its eyes are apertures allowing both shape sensing and directional vision. Petzval in 1859 termed the pinhole camera, ‘The Natural Camera’ for it records the natural world around us - just as the Nautilus sees it. The Eye of the Nautilus.

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References:1.

Harker Margaret F. : The Linked Ring, A Royal Photographic Society Publication, 1979, Heinemann, London.

2. Photographic Society of Great Britain, later to become The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1894.

Northgate House, Darlington

Dr Jim Lycett LRPS Retired University Lecturer and Chartered Engineer, Jim gained an interest in photography at the age of fourteen when given a Thornton Pickard quarterplate camera. This was used exclusively for about three years until a local farmer took pity and presented him with a 35mm camera. Since then Jim has worked mainly with medium and large format cameras with a renewed interest in alternative photography including pinhole and wet plate photography. He operates both a conventional monochrome printing dark room and a light room for high end digital work. Jim has a special interest in landscape and fine art photography.

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Why go for a Distinction?

MY WAY TO THE LRPS Teesside member Richard Richard DennisDennis LRPS LRPS tells his story Why did you decide to go for a distinction and how did you go about it?

I decided to apply for the LRPS distinction mainly because of my wife. She is also a keen photographer and had already achieved her LRPS. We both have been interested in photography for many years, but she had completed some part time photography courses which led her down the path of pursuing her LRPS distinction. I just followed.

I have been taking photographs for about 5 or 6 years and had built-up a personal portfolio of my favourites. This was a good starting point for selecting the photographs What did you want to show in the portfolio? for my distinction portfolio although there were many photographs that were added My understanding of what a distinction portfolio and removed in the process. should include was that it should contain a good range of diverse types of photography. I had Did you attend an advisory day and was it assembled mine to show skills useful? in a variety of photographic styles, which included Yes, I attended an advisory day at Backworth landscape, travel, sports, and macro photography.

Hall in Newcastle. The advisory day itself was What ambitions now? quite nerve-wracking but also was very interesting. It was the first time that I had My ambitions for now are to continue taking received any comments or critique on my photographs. There's nothing better than getting photography, but it was also a good out and about whenever the opportunity arises, opportunity to see distinction portfolios from visiting some new places and other people. The comments received, both taking more photographs. The thought of going positive and negative and not only on my for my ARPS is in always in my mind and with time I portfolio but for others attending the think I will probably pursue it.

Advisory Day were very informative as to what exactly the RPS were looking for in a submitted portfolio What did you learn or gain from building the portfolio?

I think one of the most important things that I learnt from building my portfolio was that the photos all need to work together as one. might have a photograph which you consider to be very good and maybe a personal favourite, but however much you like it, sometimes it just does not fit in with the rest of your portfolio.

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WANTED As most of you know, Northern is the largest geographical region in England with our borders from Cumbria to the Scottish Borders and south to North Yorkshire.

Finding venues to suit members across this vast area is an almost impossible task but we would like to have our events throughout the region.

Of course, this will only be possible if we know about suitable accommodation as well as having volunteers from whichever part of the region to help with the organisation of the venue.

If you know of any such venue that is on, or near to, a main trunk route, that has comfortable seating for up to 80, parking, disabled access and facilities for refreshments and would be happy to help then please let me know.

Carol Palmer ARPS, Regional Organiser Email: northern@rps.org

ARTICLES FOR NORTHERN NEWS We are hoping to issue our Northern Newsletter every 2 months. It is quite an undertaking but hopefully worthwhile for our members. Many of our members have already agreed to do articles but we need manymore people to volunteer.

We would like articles about projects you may be working with and would like to share, exhibitions youmay be holding, your “favourite” place as well as your opinions about photography. We would also like toinclude a ”how to do” section such as Photoshop techniques, ICM, Slow shutter speed etc.

If you can help then please contact Carol or Bob for details of format and sizes of images.

RPS LANDSCAPE GROUP On the 3rd September, the Landscape Group are holding a one day workshop in our region.

Led by professional photographer Mark Banks, this outdoor workshop will share Mark's expertise in using filters for landscape photography. There will be a maximum of six participants. Amongst other things the workshop will cover: • the correct use of graduated filters • using neutral density filters for long exposures • improving your results with polarising filters.

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© Mark Banks

FOR BOOKING DETAILS AND COSTS PLEASE SEE THE RPS WEBSITE

From the RPS Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Rudolf Koppitz (1884-1936), was an

Austrian pictorialist photographer and teacher, who studied and taught at the Institute for Teaching and Research in Graphic Arts in Vienna. His time at the Institute was interrupted by the First World War in which Koppitz found himself putting his talents to use as an aerial reconnaissance photographer. The bulk of his body of work produced during this time consisted of landscapes captured during his aerial reconnaissance work, his favorite of which was the study of water from the air. When Koppitz was not photographing for the Army, he spent his time documenting the lives of soldiers and the communities of people he came into contact with. Photographs from this period are laden with dramatic sentiments due to Koppitz's use of light, the sun, clouds and mist to express the emotions of the people and the time. After the war, Koppitz returned to the Institute to teach photography.

Between the wars, most Austrian photographers were supporters of art photography and pictures from that time are full of symbolic meaning. They often captured nude and clothed dancers. Koppitz's own nude self-portraits fascinated his contemporaries. They were taken out of doors, high in the Alps or at the seashore, with the assistance of his wife, Anna. Often symbolic, they reflected his enthusiasm for nature that he nurtured throughout his life.

This image, 'Bewegungsstudie' (Motion Study), is the most widely published and best known image in Austrian photography. Koppitz created this masterpiece in about 1925 using dancers from the Vienna State Opera. The nude dancer is credited as the Russian, Claudia Issatschenko but is more likely to be her daughter, ballet dancer and choreographer, Tatyana Issatschenko Gsovsky.

The original print is 28 x 38 cm and was made using the carbon process. The carbon transfer process was invented by our own North-East photographic hero, Sir Joseph Wilson Swann. Swann was awarded the RPS Progress Medal and Honorary Fellowship of the RPS in 1902. The transfer process enabled images to be made with a full tonal range.

Very rich carbon prints have a raised surface where the image is darkest, giving a 3D effect. As they contain no silver, they are permanent and the strength of the colour can be very impressive.

The process was also used by Julia Margaret Cameron to make multiple editions of her prints.

This well-known image by Koppitz was exhibited widely in the United States in the late 1920s and sold at leat 20 copies. This one was purchased by the RPS in 1928 for......ÂŁ5.

Bob Gates ARPS 27

Alhambra, Bradford

Š Jim Lycett LRPS

www.rps.org/regions-and-chapters/regions/northern