RPS Benelux eJournal 16, Autumn 2019

VOLUME 16 / AUTUMN 2019

WWW.RPS.ORG

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VIEW FROM THE RPS BENELUX CHAPTER ORGANISERS

How to appreciate contemporary work Welcome to the third issue of our eJournal this year.

The Royal Photographic Society Benelux Chapter Copyright The copyright of photographs and text in this eJournal belong to the author of the article of which they form part, unless otherwise indicated

We held a special RPS Benelux Chapter meeting at the Royal Academy of Arts in Den Haag on 10 July where we were escorted round an exhibition by some of the photography students and treated to a short lecture from their head of photography, Rob Honstra, FRPS, who explained how to appreciate contemporary work, which is often very different to the style of work we ourselves produce.

Several Chapter meetings will still be held in 2019 which we hope you will attend: 6 October: We will have another super photographer over from the UK - Leigh Preston FRPS, for a monochrome workshop. Benelux Chapter members are encouraged to bring a panel of 5 monochrome prints with them for discussion at the workshop. Members should have already received a registration e-mail from Janet. If not, please contact her at the e-mail address below.

A close-up and macro photography workshop will be held in the early part of next year.

Future Study Group evenings will be held in Rotterdam on the evenings of 24 September, 22 October, 26 November, 21 January 2020, 18 February and 24 March.

A Celebration of Members Distinctions At the meeting on 26 November, a Celebration of Members Distinctions will be held. All who have gained an L or an A are asked to bring along their prints and to tell us a little about their personal journey to achievement.

Please support our activities and book these dates in your agenda.

Cover photo New Brighton, England, 1983 - 85 From 'The Last Resort' © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Editor eJournal Armando Jongejan Proof reading Dawn Black Webmaster André Meyer-Vitali

Liability Disclaimer The author of an article is responsible and liable for all content, text and images provided by them.

Neither the RPS Benelux Chapter nor the editor is responsible or liable for any content therein Photo Requirements 2000 pix long side and quality 8

Have your say in shaping the future of the RPS Membership voting is now open online and will close shortly before the Society AGM on 23 September. Go www.mivote.com/rps/ - have your RPS membership number to hand. There are two red boxes down the bottom of the page, one for the AGM papers and one for the Trustee candidates.

Only if every member votes can we put in place a Trustee Board that truly reflects the wishes and opinions of the majority of members. Make it happen - your vote counts.

This is your Journal The chapter’s website remains an important source of information about the chapter and its activities. All the issues of our chapter eJournal, which is published 4 times a year by our eJournal Editor, Armando Jongejan, can be directly viewed or downloaded from the RPS-website.

Remember that this is your Journal, so please provide articles and photos that are of interest to chapter members along with information about upcoming events in the Benelux.

If you have any questions, please do come back to us.

Janet Haines and Richard Sylvester RPS Benelux Chapter joint organisers

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IN THIS ISSUE - AUTUMN 2019

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VIEW FROM THE RPS BENELUX CHAPTER ORGANISERS Janet Haines FIPF ARPS and Richard Sylvester LRPS

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IN THIS ISSUE

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MARTIN PARR - PHOTOGRAPHY THAT MAKES YOU SMILE Armando Jongejan FRPS

12 A BOOK TO GRACE ANY COFFEE TABLE Bas Meeuws by Janet Haines ARPS

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20 A CELEBRATION OF DISTINCTIONS Janet Haines ARPS

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21 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Janet Haines ARPS 22 CHAPTER MEETING AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ART - THE HAGUE Trevor Simpson ARPS 24 SEARCHING FOR DARK, COMICAL AND FASCINATING TOPICS #RIP Jill Louise Verweijen 32 PHOTOGRAMS GENERATED BY SENDING POSTBOXES Tibor Dieters

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38 THE 3X3 AS AN EXERCISE FORMAT André Bergmans 44 TAKING PICTURES IN A CLASSIC WAY WAS NEVER MY GOAL Achraf Baznani 52 LET’S TALK MONO WITH LEIGH PRESTON Janet Haines

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MARTIN PARR HonFRPS - PHOTOGRAPHY THAT MAKES YOU SMILE

text by Armando Jongejan FRPS and photos with permission of Martin Parr / Magnum Photos His photography makes me happy During the 1990s I visited Hay-on-Wye in Wales. This small market town is World renowned for books and bookshops and is also the place where I bought the photobook Home and Abroad by Martin Parr HonFRPS. I have admired Parr for more than 20 years and his photography makes me happy. When I went to London last May to visit the Chelsea Flower Show with my wife, I also went to the new Parr exhibition ‘Only Human’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

© Armando Jongejan - entrance exhibition of Partin Parr’s exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in London

The National Portrait Gallery introduces Parr: “This major new exhibition brings together works by one of Britain’s best-known and most widely celebrated photographers, Martin Parr. Including recognisable photographs alongside works never before exhibited it will focus on one of his most engaging subjects – people.

The exhibition will include portraits of people from around the world, with a special focus on Parr’s wry observations of Britishness, explored through a series of projects that investigate British identity today.”

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That is the official announcement, but is it satire or celebration? Even the exhibition café was in the style of Parr’s photographs. I bought something to drink and made a photo with my phone of a couple next to me and a breastfeeding mother in the left corner. This exhibition made me and many other visitors smile. Parr find his subjects during sporting events, at world heritage sites or on the beach, even his self portraits are made with the same reflecting view of his other series: autoportraits.

Parr writes the same way he makes his photos and series. For example his series ‘Britain in the Time of Brexit’ made after the 2016 referendum is shown in a dead-end room, with arrows on the wall with leave or remain displays ‘subtle’ humour, although it is a serious subject.

© Armando Jongejan - the exhibition café at The National Portrait Gallery in London

Photography is about observation Martin Parr (1952) is a British social documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector and - I must write - photobook creator. Parr has published more than forty books! He is well known for his projects and you will recognise his work easily. It is satirical of all aspects of

modern life. He documents people all over the world, especially in the UK with an anthropological look. Even in his series of the Establishment it is clear that it is made by Parr.

Martin Parr has also been a member of Magnum Photos since 1994. The home of The Martin Parr Foundation is next to the new RPS headquarters in Bristol. Founded in 2014, it opened in 2017 and houses Parr’s own archive, his collection of British and Irish photography by other photographers, and a gallery.

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Martin Parr Foundation 316 Paintworks

Gallery opening times

Arnos Vale

Wed to Sat, 11am – 6pm

Bristol BS4 3AR

Sun to Tue, closed

(+44) 0117 329 3270

Free entry to all exhibitions

info@martinparrfoundation.org

Š Armando Jongejan - at The National Portrait Gallery in London

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Nice, France, 2015 Š Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

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New Brighton, England, 1983 - 85. From 'The Last Resort' Š Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

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New Brighton, England, 1983 - 85. From 'The Last Resort' Š Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

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Christ Church, Oxford, England, 2016 Š Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

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The Chancellor's Court, Oxford, England, 2014 Š Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

A BOOK TO GRACE ANY COFFEE TABLE text by Janet Haines ARPS and photos by Bas Meeuws If you do not have the space on a wall in your house Bas Meeuws work was featured in the June issue of the RPS Journal and having seen his work in a gallery in The Hague, Netherlands I can attest that his work is truly fantastic. Even if you do not have the space on a wall in your house to own one of his beautiful images you can now enjoy a fabulous selection in the book he has just published and in our eJournal!

Radically contemporary His photographs are of an old-fashioned beauty and at the same time radically contemporary.

Flower by flower Bas Meeuws composes his floral still lifes, but digitally: the basis for Meeuws' monumental works are digital photographs of individual flowers. They allude to the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century with their sense of luxury and their eye for the ephemeral. Meeuws strikes a chord in the art world with his flower still lifes. He is represented by Dutch, American, Taiwanese and Indian galleries and exhibits from Amsterdam to New Delhi. ‘Flower Pieces’ can be purchased since June 2019.

Text English ISBN 9789401458054 Hardcover 352 pages

Meeuws is a member of the RPS Benelux Chapter and the RPS Digital Imaging Group.

Visit also his website.

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© Bas Meeuws—untitled #115

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© Bas Meeuws - untitled #134

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© Bas Meeuws—untitled #139

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© Bas Meeuws—untitled #140

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© Bas Meeuws - Muchal #12

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© Bas Meeuws - untitled #135

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A CELEBRATION OF DISTINCTIONS text by Janet Haines ARPS The RPS Distinctions at LRPS and ARPS levels Over the past 3 years since starting the Benelux Chapter Study Group a good number of our members have achieved The RPS Distinctions at LRPS and ARPS levels. In recognition of this we will have a special meeting of the Study Group at our normal venue.

Tuesday 26 November 2019 19.30 to 22.00 at ‘ Het Palet ‘ Duikerstraat 29, 3067 CG Rotterdam

The meeting is open to everyone The only difference is we ask that any member who has achieved their LRPS or ARPS brings their panel of prints with them that evening. They will be displayed on the big print stand as we will ask you to talk briefly about the work and your journey to achievement.

The meeting is open to everyone, so do bring along anyone whom you feel might be interested. It will be a free to attend evening; with the normal drinks and biscuits included.

If you need the venue details or travel information then do contact Janet Haines.

PLEASE NOTE that work from members working towards their panels will not be shown on November 26. However normal Study Group nights will be held on September 24 and October 22 to review your work and give feedback.

© André Bergmans - made during one of the earlier meetings

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS text by Janet Haines ARPS

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Most SIGs produce member magazines, run competitions, hold meetings and much more!

All members of the RPS can elect to join a Special Interest Group (SIG). We thought it would be interesting to see what percentage of our Benelux Chapter members took advantage of these groups. Headquarters ran the statistics for us and it seems only about 60% of the Chapter members belong to a SIG. Of those members the graph shows which SIG they belong to.

You can join more than one group. Each does cost you a small subscription per annum.

Most SIGs produce member magazines, run competitions, hold meetings and have online groups.

For details about all the various groups and what they offer go to http://rps.org/special-interestgroups. Many concentrate on a specific genre such as Documentary or Contemporary photography.

A group such as the Digital Imaging Group (DIG) caters for work of any style from portrait or landscape through to street and creative work.

There are 17 groups in total so there must be something of interest to each and every one of you.

All members are welcome to join any or all of the Groups We would encourage you to consider joining a group if you have not yet done so. The more you engage with the activities of the Society the more fulfilment you will get from your membership. It is easy to join any group - simply log in on My RPS and on your account page you tick the box to join any Special Interest Group of your choice there. Any difficulty with this just email membership@rps.org, give them your RPS-number and name and ask them to join you to which ever group takes your fancy.

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RPS BENELUX CHAPTER MEETING AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ART - THE HAGUE text by Trevor Simpson ARPS Own voice through research, collaboration and experimentation We had a truly eye opening RPS Benelux Chapter meeting at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague NL (Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten) where we were welcomed by Rob Hornstra, co-head of the Photography department. This Dutch photographer of predominantly long-term documentary projects both at home and around the world is very well know for his books and exhibitions especially The Sochi Project.

We began with a lecture detailing the type of studies available and the viewpoint of the KABK on Contemporary Photography. This revealed that studying at the KABK means you have your own

© André Bergmans - during the talk by Rob Hornstra

views on the world and medium, yet also show a willingness to be challenged. The KABK helps students to further enhance their own voice through research, collaboration and experimentation, teaching them to invent their own path to define the photographic field of tomorrow.

Then we had a guided tour with three of the graduates where we were shown the end work of eight different Bachelor students and asked to note down our reactions concerning aesthetics and communication. What we’ve seen is actually more like visual art than just being old style photography, so more of an expansion on photography as we grew up with it.

I feel that what photography was really about in the analog era, where all the time was spent on the material and on the image, has now gone because with your phone there is an image in a split

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second. We need to trigger ourselves in new ways as well when using this type of imagery but also the viewer outside has to look at the work from a different viewpoint.

I was overwhelmed by the creativity It is interesting that today photography needs to exploit new paths to enhance visual communication exploring all avenues to represent the story and deliver the information in order to capture the audience. There is no right or wrong, just what works for you in the project.

I found it very interesting to see how photography is just one of the ways used to support the story

© André Bergmans - the guided tour

but I’m not sure I agree with that and how it is interpreted by different people. However, I was overwhelmed by the creativity from such young people and the amazing way they cooperate with each other - not working alone - which is a breakthrough and a lesson to me! I found the visit to the KABK amazing and mind boggling, food for thought indeed. Such a visit should be a fixed topic on our Benelux Chapter program as it was so good to have some interaction with the art world and the next generation.

Two graduates Next two articles are of two graduates of the Royal Academy of Art: Jill Louise Verweijen and Tibor Dieters. Two Bachelor students show their inspiring work, each in their own way: conceptual and contemporary.

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SEARCHING FOR DARK, COMICAL AND FASCINATING TOPICS #RIP text and photos by Jill Louise Verweijen How do we deal with it?

I am a photographer and video maker and with my work I am searching for dark, comical and fascinating topics. Each time a different story. I always stage these stories and give the viewer options to choose from or to think about, mostly using a commercial element. Since me and my family had to arrange the funeral for my grandma (who had no wishes before she died) I became amazed by the thousands of options there were for things such as caskets, flowers, music and locations. Why had I never known or seen this before? It was the starting point of an in-depth research of the funeral business in the Netherlands: how do we deal with it?

© André Bergmans Jill Louise Verweijen is on the right hand side behind her plain white boxes and billboard

Attending multiple funeral fairs and talking to people who worked in the industry, I became interested in the commercial point of view of death. How could I sell the unsellable? (This is a reoccurring theme in my work).

A "death-friendly" society My graduation work has become a campaign for the younger generation to talk more about the subject of funerals and death. The poster campaign gives you that boost to take a different look at it.

With this choice for a campaign, I want a "death-friendly" society, in which there is room for loss and to make death and funerals a subject for discussion. I became a firm believer that we don’t talk about it enough and we don’t see enough campaigns or images to confront us.

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Such a nice funeral cliché In my presentation for my graduation work I chose plain white boxes for my images, which could be referred to as ‘modern’ gravestones as well as the big white table in the room, which was the size of a tomb. The choice to serve coffee and cake was because it is really recognizable for a lot of people in the Netherlands as such a nice funeral cliché - great to make jokes about. The big billboard in the room was meant to be a reference to the billboards in the streets - the commercial side of the project that it would be great if we could actually see this in the street.

This is a piece that the department wrote about my graduation work: “Mortality is the returning theme in Jill Louise Verweijen’s work. #RIP is the title of the graduation work of Verweijen.

The title already bears a deliberate reverence to contemporary e-culture where secularization is a total fact and proven rituals and traditions around death are lost. In an age where identity is more and more conceived as a personal construction, everything needs to be epic in our event driven culture, so also our funeral. It becomes a means to express your personality at your last moments of fame, as Jill Louise Verweijen has stated. #RIP presents a youthful, fresh new way of anticipating your own funeral in the form of a poster campaign for the public domain. Carefully staged and constructed, the graduation work is photographed in such a manner that the final form stays light and that the contemplation element is not lost. Her keen eye for diverse and meaningful locations and sets are evidence of a professional approach. The threedimensional displays are well executed.“

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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© Jill Louise Verweijen

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PHOTOGRAMS GENERATED BY SENDING POSTBOXES text by Tibor Dieters & Sabine Pendry Low barrier to entry and ease of reproducibility Exposure (2019) is an ongoing series of photograms generated by sending postboxes transformed into pinhole cameras to various unsuspecting galleries. The resulting imagery is generated when the postboxes are returned and covered on arrival - charting the movement between and the dependency on institutions at the mercy of transportation otherwise unseen.

The pinhole camera is one of the more accessible and welcoming of photographic techniques given its relatively low barrier to entry and ease of reproducibility. All that is needed is a box that has been made light-proof, light sensitive paper, and a needle to poke a tiny hole opposite of the paper. Left to absorb light, the simple mechanism will generate an image.

'Exposure' by Tibor Dieters, shot from Graduation festival at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague Installation documentation Š Charlotte Brand

Exposure times ranged from 15 to 25 hours The flexibility and relative economical ease with which the cardboard box cameras could be (re-) produced and sent led to experimentation: sending them using PostNL, the Netherlands based postal company. To do this means outsourcing creative control - leaving the choice of framing, etc, to an unpredictable external partner. Most exposure times ranged from 15 to 25 hours and all the postboxes were trafficked within the Netherlands. The works were made on the occasion of the graduation festival at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, which doubled as the return address for the postboxes. This choice of return address, the same for all boxes, created a site specificity for the work. All were generated along different routes, but were eventually returned to and presented at their last resting place, made for the space they would be presented within.

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At the time of this publication 21 postboxes were sent, with 13 returned The images attempt to be democratic by not depicting anything but the physical process by which the photograms are created and the labour that has gone into producing them - the elements within the image therefore do not signify anything grander. The images do not promise anything that exists beyond the frame itself - except to make transparent the labour of which they are the direct result.

Where many images often present a set, assigned version of what they depict as they are presented in different spaces, the resulting imagery of a process that documents indiscriminately is an indifferent byproduct of a political and logistical movement. To democratise meaning in this way,

'Exposure' by Tibor Dieters, shot from Graduation festival at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague Installation documentation Š Charlotte Brand

however - specifically, to democratise the way the images are made by outsourcing their creation to the postal service - poses subversive as well as problematic implications.

The various galleries don’t get a say in how the images are made, merely whether they are made, by sending back the uncovered pinhole cameras - same with the artist who has outsourced their individual creative control. Both are alienated from what they set out to create, only witness to its outcome. The PostNL workers, however, are alienated from the work by not knowing that they’re part of the project in the first place. They are unknowingly part of a process affording meaning to an art object that will inherently disenfranchise them because it exists only to reify the artist and the galleries, while the postman is left stacking boxes.

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'Exposure' by Tibor Dieters, shot from Graduation festival at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague Installation documentation Š Charlotte Brand

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Š Tibor Dieters and Charlotte Brand

The aleatory byproduct of an exploitative relationship The photograms, in addition to being created by the physical process of movement, attempt to lay bare the exploitative consequences of this process, instead of obscuring it. This is illustrated specifically in the dependent relationship between artist, institution, and the postal workers they are at the mercy of and in the eventual perpetual subordinate dependency on cultural elites: artist and institution. Furthermore, outsourcing the creative process in this way challenges conventional notions of authorship and ownership.

Something that sells itself is an idolatrous commodity. If it sells anything else it is an advertisement.

These images do neither. They are neither seductive nor do they signify anything outside of themselves - they are merely the aleatory by-product of an exploitative relationship.

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Š Exposure 01 (Galerie Helder) 2019.03.06-2019.03.12

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© Exposure 16 (Galerie Caroline O’Breen) 2019.04.25-2019.05.15

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THE 3X3 AS AN EXERCISE FORMAT text and photos by André Bergmans A closer look to a 3x3 panel In photography we often hear the term ‘Body of Work’. The term can a bit confusing as sometimes it refers to the total oeuvre of a photographer like ‘the body of work of Ansel Adams’. It then suggests that all images of Ansel Adams can be recognized by their common theme, processing and presentation format and thus they belong together and can be recognized as his work. The ‘Body of Work’ in this sense has the clear signature of the maker. In other cases we refer to a body of work. In that case we refer to a group of photos that have been brought together with a specific purpose like: ‘Randy’ by the Dutch photographer Robin de Puy or ‘Genesis’ by Sebastião Salgado.

The reason why we bring photos together can vary. The way we bring images together can vary. It

© André Bergmans - Azulejo I

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can be a triptych, any other series, a panel, a book, a box with photos, an audio-visual and so on. In this article I will have a closer look to a 3x3 panel as a format to bring photos together and how it can serve as a great exercise for bigger projects.

Why a body of work?

There are numerous reasons why we move away from the single image to a body of work.

The most common reasons given are:

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Tell a (complex) story better

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Give a meaning and express an opinion

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Give focus and better visualisation

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Make something important

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Make your intentions clear

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Achieve content depth

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Challenge the viewer

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Stimulate your creativity

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Work along a concept

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Achieve more than the sum of its parts

© André Bergmans - Heerenweg

Overall the reasons indicate that we believe that with a body of work, as compared to a single image, we can achieve more depth and a more convincing message. We thus move away from the lucky shot and force ourselves to work with an idea or a concept in mind. For a single image a lucky shot may happen but there is no such thing as a lucky body of work.

I encountered the 3x3 panel for the first time as an assignment in my photo club. The assignment was: ’Create a black and white 3x3 panel based on the themes square, circle and triangle’. One may be inclined to use square images in a 3x3 but that is not the only option. A combination of landscape and portrait images was also allowed and feasible.

You will be surprised by the variety of results if you give a group of people these kind of assignments

for a 3x3. The advantage of a 3x3 is that the assignment can be done in a relatively short time but the process and experience is the same as if you would work on a larger and longer project-type of work. We can consider it as a step-up or an exercise for the much bigger projects.

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The process and experience will generally contain the following steps:

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Work from first stated idea or concept

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Take and make images

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Crop and print

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Sort and select

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Arrange and swap

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Ask others and reconsider/review

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Print and present

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Close and complete © André Bergmans - Rome

We often have to go back a step or two in the process for example back to: ‘Take and make images’ as we are looking at an iterative process. Needless to say, we sometimes have to kill our darlings and sometimes the ugly duck becomes a swan.

My response to the assignment: ’Create a black and white 3x3 panel based on the themes square, circle, triangle’ was the following 3x3.

The essence of an interesting 3x3 assignment is that you build in creative restrictions both in content and processing. In this way we force the participants into a certain creative direction and we force them to become creative within and because of the restrictions. In the end it is also easier to compare results and even appoint a ‘winner’ incase we did make it a friendly competition in a club.

The 3x3 assignments are especially useful for club events and can serve as an exercise to focus your way of looking and seeing. Restrictions are important in the assignment to enhance the creative process. Assignments can be restricted in many ways so the exercise can be repeated many times.

Find some more examples of 3x3 panels in this article. For me this simple exercise is a great means to explore new options and find new topics for bigger assignment.

© André Bergmans - Signs

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© André Bergmans - Zander

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© André Bergmans - Glass

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Š AndrÊ Bergmans - Bergenia

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TAKING PICTURES IN A CLASSIC WAY WAS NEVER MY GOAL text and photos by Achraf Baznani I have always liked to distinguish myself from others Photography has always been my passion. I am a self-taught artist photographer, but I wanted to go a step beyond normal shots and focus more on photo manipulation. That is why Photoshop is such a great tool for me because I can carve out my thoughts from the photos.

When I was a child, I drew a lot, I drew everything I see, especially the characters in cartoons, I participated in drawing contests at Elementary school and I always won prizes. My parents bought the tools necessary to do the job, which I used up quickly. They and my teachers called me The Artist. In 1994 I took part in a national art competition and I won! it was an unforgettable moment!

It was a long journey for me to become an artist. Art has accompanied me all my life having drawn and made caricatures since my childhood. One birthday I received a Kodak Ektra compact 250, a small analogue camera as a gift and I started to take pictures with the result pleasing everyone. But we can't say it was the beginning of my career as a photographer! I was a teenager. I remember seeing pictures but I couldn't understand how they are made, and I didn't try to understand until I discovered computer tools in the '90s and early 2000. In 2006 I made my first short film “Walk” and I got the first prize for directing at the International Educational Film Festival in Casablanca, Morocco.

It was a new experience far from drawing. I directed several short films including "Emigrant", which won several national and international awards.

I am self-taught. I have never taken photography courses. As I gradually began to face the obstacles, I didn't realize my dream of being a famous director. It is really very difficult, so I once again opted for my childhood hobby: photography, but this time artistic photography. I have always liked to distinguish myself from others, taking pictures in a classic way was never my goal. I searched how to use photomanipulation tools on the Internet and took photoshop courses.

The sources of inspiration for me can be anything but most of my works are a "translation" of my dreams. Each image begins with a drawing, I draw the idea quickly, so as not to forget the concept and then prepare the photos that will be manipulated and merged to get a final result. Several artists influence my work, namely André Breton, Salvador Dali, Tim Burton, David Lynch and many others.

The road from concept to the finished piece can be a long one. I start with research work, though that may not be the case if I plan to translate a dream into surrealist imagery. I then draw the idea quickly and start taking the necessary photographs. Then I merge them if necessary with the tools of manipulation like photoshop and I finalize the image by correcting the colours and imperfections.

With surrealism, you can take a break from reality. I believe that with my images I can have people think outside the box. I do not want to be complicated, but just inspirational and distinctive so I like to use normal, simple things we find around us every day. If there is something that inspires me in some way or notice something, I start to think about how I can use it in my imagery. I break down possibilities and try to be innovative. Then I start to shoot photos and experiment with digital manipulation until I have a creative image that makes viewers ponder and contemplate.

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Š Achraf Baznani - Horizons

The model, particularly the small man presented in all of my artworks is nobody else but myself. I like to use myself for most of the shots because the messages I usually convey are either personal thoughts or things I believe in or really care about. What inspires me in everyday life practically fuels my passion for my work. It is ultimately a touch of personalization and it helps me to ultimately offer a better product. I use self-portraiture to create characters that are a representation of the surreal, dreamy, ironic and passionate world I would love to live in. Through my images, I transport outside the conflicts of human personality, the ironic ambiguity between the wisdom of adults and the innocence of children.

I always dreamed of being a director of short films, I have already made three short films and I have received many awards, but photo-manipulation gives me breath to express my ideas through my artwork. More information, visit the website of Achraf: www.baznani.com.

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© Achraf Baznani - Into the abyss

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© Achraf Baznani - My small world

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Š Achraf Baznani - The inevitable end

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Š Achraf Baznani - Special taste

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© Achraf Baznani - Noisiness

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© Achraf Baznani - Dictatorship

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LET’S TALK MONO WITH LEIGH PRESTON FRPS text by Janet Haines ARPS This man eats, sleeps and breaths photography Many of us dabble with mono work, some more successfully than others, but undoubtedly we all have something to learn from Leigh Preston FRPS who is running a one day workshop for the Benelux Chapter on October 6th in Ghent.

I have known and respected Leigh for many years. He has been a long term member of the RPS Distinction panels, is the Permajet Lecturer who leads their print workshops, was for several years the Chair of Arena (a very highly respected group who run prestigious annual meetings hosting the best speakers and exponents of photography), is a speaker and an international judge. This man eats, sleeps and breaths photography, producing some impressive work and books, as well as panels of work.

Make a big improvement in our mono work The programme we have put together will cover elements such as how to pre-visualise for mono work and reading a location in mono. That knowledge in itself will really start to make a big improvement in our mono work but Leigh doesn’t stop there as he will include much more information that will help us to strengthen our skills and learn more mono working tips and tricks.

In his own words here is a little more about the man himself…

About Leigh Preston Thirty years and some have passed since I first picked up an SLR. A lot of developer has flowed under the bridge since then, a lot of printer ink too. What amazes me is that I still get asked to lecture to clubs - having done well over 1000 lectures. I've been in a number of clubs, as I've moved about the country a fair bit - my first taste of club life was at Ordnance Survey - I used to draw maps for a living, before being more involved on the surveying side. Redundancy forced me into such diverse things as postal work, ice-cream manufacture and wedding photography before I ended up as a part-time college lecturer and Jessops tutor. Most of my work is harsh, gritty, no compromise monochrome, still darkroom at times, but mainly computer based now. I work almost entirely in themes or sequences and travel widely to take pictures. My carbon-footprint is not too clever!

Besides photography I enjoy spending time in the mountains as a fell walker and somewhat timid climber. I listen avidly to most forms of music and worst of all I enjoy/suffer the rigours of longdistance running - marathons etc. - even though I'm in my late fifties. But best of all I like pressing the shutter and passing on what I've learned to other people running workshops both in the UK and more recently abroad.

If you have yet to book your place for the meeting then do email Janet Haines for full information and how to book your seat. © Leigh Preston FRPS

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© Leigh Preston FRPS

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© Leigh Preston FRPS