RPS eJournal Benelux Chapter volume 17 Winter 2019

VOLUME 17 / WINTER 2019

WWW.RPS.ORG

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VIEW FROM THE RPS BENELUX CHAPTER ORGANISERS

AGM and Macro Workshop in Photo Museum Antwerp Welcome to the fourth issue of our eJournal this year.

We held a super monochrome workshop on 6 October in Ghent, Belgium, with the UK photographer, Leigh Preston, FRPS. Chapter members also brought along with them a panel of 5 monochrome prints for discussion at the workshop.

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

After two showings earlier this year in The Netherlands, our Benelux Chapter 2019 print exhibition came to Brussels from 24 October to 14 November. Details are provided elsewhere in this issue.

Study Group meetings will be held in Rotterdam on the evenings of 21 January, 18 February (to be confirmed), 24 March, 18 April, 26 May, and 23 June.

The meeting on 26 November was devoted to a Celebration of Members Distinctions. All members who have gained an L or an A were asked to bring along their prints and to tell us a little about their personal journey to achievement. During the latter part of the evening, we had a special presentation from a recent successful FRPS UK based member, Daan Olivier, FRPS. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a close-up/macro photography workshop will be held in Belgium at the Antwerp Foto Museum on Saturday, 8 February. The meeting agenda, which includes the details of the workshop and a visit of the Stephan Vanfleteren exhibition, can be found elsewhere in this issue of the eJournal. The AGM is an important meeting as there will be an election of Chapter Officers and it allows our members to have a say in the Chapter’s future activities.

Cover photo © Richard Sylvester LRPS - Light

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 no watermark or text in the photo and no borders around the photo

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

It is your eJournal, send your article to our editor The chapter’s website, which is under-going a re-design, 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 Newsletter Editor, Armando Jongejan, can be directly viewed or downloaded from the 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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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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A VERY INSPIRING INSTRUCTION E-BOOK ABOUT STREET PHOTOGRAPHY Willem Wernsen

12 CLOSE-UP AND MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY Rychard Sylvester LRPS 20 MACRO/CLOSE-UP WORKSHOP Richard Sylvester LRPS

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22 TELLING A LITTLE STORY Ben Ros 30 IN TIME Mitch Epstein

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34 BRASSAï André Bergmans and Trevor Simpson 36 A PACIFIST AT THE FRONT Cor Oorthuijsen 44 RPS - BENELUX CHAPTER 2019 PRINT EXHIBITION Eddie Maes and Richard Sylvester 46 BEING A TRUSTEE Janet Haines

48 PARIS PHOTO & LUNCH Kim Bybjerg

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A VERY INSPIRING INSTRUCTION E-BOOK ABOUT STREET PHOTOGRAPHY introduction by Armando Jongejan FRPS, text and photos by Willem Wernsen A new online book about Street Photography In our eJournal a few years ago we featured an interesting article about Street Photography by Dutch photographer Willem Wernsen (Volume 7 | Summer 2017 - p 22-29). Now, Wernsen has a new eBook about Street Photography with Belgian photographer Piet van den Eynde. It is full of inspiring information.

101 Tips for Street Photography PDF eBook Street photography is more popular than ever.

Outwardly it’s a simple discipline, but anyone who has tried it has come to realize that appearances can be deceptive. The main message in street photography is looking, seeing, and then acting quickly and decisively.

In this book, Willem Wernsen and Piet Van den Eynde, share their more than 50 years’ experience, offering 101 practical tips which will take your street photography to a higher level. This book of 8 chapters deals with conceptual as well as more practical issues, including an extensive answer to the most important question for the beginner as well as enthusiast street photographers: ‘How do I approach my subjects?’

Willem Wernsen Willem Wernsen has been a street photographer for more than 40 years and has published five photo books. He is a popular lecturer and workshop teacher. He has had many exhibitions, from the photo festival in Naarden in the Netherlands to the Shandong Art Museum in Jinan (China).

Piet van den Eynden Piet van den Eynde is a freelance photographer and Adobe Lightroom Certified Expert. He has written more than ten books about digital photography and photo editing. In this practical book, he and Willem Wernsen provide useful, immediately applicable tips for improved street photos.

8 chapters, 232 pages and discount for RPS-members 01 | philosophy page 15, 02 | people page 53, 03 | setting page 75, 04 | composition page 97, 05 | light page 143, 06 | timing & time page 171, 07 | gear and technique page 189 and 08 | finishing touches page 225.

If you want more information about the book: www.morethanwords.be/street-book. If you order the eBook before 10th January 2020, you get 20% discount for the standard edition and for the deluxeedition 25%. Fill in RPS25 at check out.

The book 101 tips voor Straatfotografie is also available in Dutch as a soft cover printed version.

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Š Willem Wernsen - Barcelona, Spain

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Š Willem Wernsen - Omaha beach, France

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Š Willem Wernsen - Libo, China

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Š Willem Wernsen - Libo, China

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Š Willem Wernsen - Ghent, Belgium

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CLOSE-UP AND MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY text and photos by Richard Sylvester LRPS Admire nature’s beauty One of the reasons to do macro and close-up photography is to admire nature’s beauty: bugs, animals, flowers, minerals, gems, etc, by bringing out their hidden details not readily visible to the naked eye. It is also used for food photography and to document small archival objects such as

© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Agate

artifacts. In macro photography, the image captured on the camera’s sensor is the same size (life size) as the subject, i.e. there is a 1:1 magnification (reproduction) ratio at the closest focusing distance of the lens.

In close-up photography, the image captured on the camera’s sensor is smaller than the subject, so there is less than a 1:1 magnification (reproduction) ratio.

The degree of enlargement/magnification that a lens provides depends on its focal length and its closest focusing distance: the distance between the camera’s sensor and the subject. This is not the same as the working distance: the distance between the end of the lens and the subject.

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Š Richard Sylvester LRPS - Paesina Stone

Longer focal length lenses (105 mm. vs. 60 mm.) provide greater working distances and are thus less likely to block light and cast a shadow. For example, for the Nikon 60mm macro lens, the minimum focusing distance is 18.5 cm and the working distance is 6.5 cm. For the Nikon 105 mm macro lens, the minimum focusing distance is 31.4 cm and the working distance is 15.4 cm.

Each have their advantages and disadvantages Compact cameras can provide a greater magnification and depth of field than APS-C and full frame cameras, however they are not recommended for good quality work. Interchangeable lens mirrorless and DSLR cameras each have their advantages and disadvantages.

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It requires a lot of patience Mirrorless cameras have an electronic viewfinder, no mirror vibrations, focus peaking in manual focus mode, and focusing and exposure are both done directly on the sensor. DSLRs, however, provide a more mature technology and more options.

Macro lenses generally provide the best optical quality at close focusing distances, but they can be expensive and suffer from light falloff as you focus closer to the subject (effective aperture). A number of accessories are available that allow you to focus closer with non-macro lenses: 1) Perhaps the best and easiest method is to use extension tubes: hollow, light tight cylinders that fit between the camera body and the lens. They increase magnification by increasing the distance between the front element of the lens and the camera’s sensor. The optical quality of the lens is retained along with the electronic contacts between the camera and the lens. There is, however, some loss of light and they are less effective at longer focal length lenses.

2) An alternative to using several extension tubes is to use a bellow mounted between the camera and the lens to move the lens even further away from the camera.

3) Close-up lenses are filters that screw on to the front of the lens, thus the filter thread size must match the lens diameter. Their strength is measured in diopters and they provide greater magnification at longer focal lengths. There is no light loss, however image quality can be affected.

4) With single lens reverse macro, a reversing ring is required so the electronic connection between the lens and the camera is lost. 18-55mm and 50mm lenses work well on crop sensor cameras.

5) With double lens reverse macro, a lens is reverse mounted onto another conventionally mounted lens using a macro coupling ring. The primary lens should be at least 85mm. Although there is some light loss, autofocus and exposure are maintained, and the image quality is good.

Lighting can be challenging due to shadows and the small working distances. Possibilities include using on camera (ring) flash, off camera flash, and continuous (LED) studio lighting which provides maximum flexibility. Back lighting can be especially effective with translucent objects.

The main challenges in macro photography are to focus and to get a sharp image with enough depth of field (DOF). At 1:1 or greater magnifications, there is only a very shallow DOF. For focusing, manual focus is often used with the camera being moved back and forth to change the point of focus. Manual and electronic focusing rails come in handy to change the position of the camera in small increments relative to the object being photographed.

A small aperture is used to increase the DOF but beware of diffraction (bending of light) which decreases the sharpness for apertures smaller than about f/11. To get the sharpest images, use the lens sweet spot (about f/8), a low ISO, a long shutter speed, a tripod, a remote shutter release and turn off IS/VR. If you don’t have enough DOF, use focus bracketing to take a series of photos where the point of sharp focus varies from front to back. Tethering the camera to a computer can facilitate this process.

Then use focus stacking software to combine together the sharpest parts of each image.

Macro photography can be frustrating. It requires a lot of patience to learn and practice to perfect.

However, its rewards can be great when you see the photos that can be achieved.

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© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Paesina Stone

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© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Agate

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Š Richard Sylvester LRPS - painting

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© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Shell

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© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Paesina Stone

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MACRO/CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP (PLUS EXTRA)

by Richard Sylvester LRPS Theory and hands-on This workshop will provide an introduction to close-up and macro photography.

In the morning session, the following topics will be discussed, relevant equipment demonstrated, and examples provided: • The difference between close-up and macro photography • Photographic equipment:  Camera  Lens  Lighting (flash and continuous)

 Tripod  Focusing rail • Photographic technique • Tethering on a computer • Software for focus bracketing and stacking

In the afternoon, we will break up into groups so that participants can try their hand at shooting close-ups and macros. One group will shoot inside the museum under “studio” conditions and the other outside. We will then review the images that have been taken, discuss the problems that were encountered and answer any final questions.

All members are welcome, including those with no previous experience in this field.

To fully benefit from this workshop, please bring your camera, tripod, flash and any close focusing or

macro lenses and macro related accessories that you may have. A laptop for photo review will be helpful.

Saturday - 8 February 2020 10:00 - 10:30 Arrival and purchase of your museum entry ticket: 10€ 10:30 - 12:15 Macro/Close-up Workshop, part 1: presentation 12:15 - 13:00 Break for lunch (museum café) 13:00 - 13:30 AGM 13:30 - 15:00 Macro/Close-up Workshop, part 2: shooting 15:00 - 16:00 Review of images and questions Antwerp Foto Museum Waalsekaai 47 2000 Antwerp, Belgium Organizers: Richard Sylvester and Eddie Maes

Extra 16:00 - 17:00 Museum visit: Stephan Vanfleteren exhibition

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© Richard Sylvester LRPS - Smoky Quartz and Hessonite Garnet

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TELLING A LITTLE STORY text and photos by Ben Ros

© Ben Ros - Muchacho Muchacha

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Š Ben Ros - familia Santiago

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Š Ben Ros - David en la farmacia

pizzeria Moa

The adventure of the unknown encounters Since my youth I have been fascinated with photography. It really started with seeing my father develop and print his own black and white photos in his tiny darkroom. I still remember the magic of the moment when the picture slowly revealed itself in the developer. One could more or less imagine how the picture would turn out to be at the moment it was taken but you would only know if you succeeded at that moment in the darkroom.

My father gave me my first camera when I was around 14 years old. It was a 6x9 Zeiss Ikon and since then I have been taking photographs, mainly in the streets. I developed and printed my own black and whites prints.

However, in last 20 years I have almost exclusively worked in colour. Before that only in black and white. There are some reasons for this one of which is the digital possibilities that have made it easier and cheaper to produce your own colour pictures of a constant quality.

Nowadays in the digital era all is different. Shots can be revised immediately and the magic now has to be found in another way. For me this is the adventure of the unknown encounters when I am in the streets in order to make photos.

In time my style and the subjects have changed gradually but people have always been the most important subject. If a photo doesn’t have a human being in it, for me, something is lacking. I like to

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Š Ben Ros - Virgilio

barbero Loco

stroll through the streets and just look around to see something interesting. Very often I stay for a while in the same place, for instance a corner or an intersection, and wait and just look to see what happens.

Capturing a moment in the daily life of people Cuba has been a main subject in my work since my first visit back in 2001. I have returned there many times and as I learned the language communicating became easier. Also, the fact that I married a Cuban brought me closer to to Cuban daily life away from the tourist areas.

My photos are most successful in my eyes if I succeed in telling a little story to the viewer. This can be something about the way of life of the people I captured but occasionally there will also be something to be guessed. Capturing a moment in the daily life of people in their habitat is what I like and in putting that into a nice image, colour and composition are very important to me.

When I photograph in the streets I hardly ever do it in a candid way. I almost always make contact if the person sees me taking pictures and have a talk. They can indicate if they object to being photographed and I respect that. Having a nice talk with people will show them that they can trust me.

I do not do a lot of post-processing. It is limited to adjusting colour saturation, white balance, and contrast next to some slight darkening or lightening parts of the picture to my liking.

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Š Ben Ros - Mango jugo

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© Ben Ros - pescados

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Š Ben Ros - perro guardando Santiago

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Š Ben Ros - Keiti y Keiler

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IN TIME - MITCH EPSTEIN - VISIT BEFORE 9TH FEBRUARY 2020

by Armando Jongejan FRPS - text and photos published with permission of Museum Helmond A pioneer of colour photography Mitch Epstein’s iconic photographs - characterized by layered, deep space, and bearing multiple interpretations - give a startlingly clear, yet complex view of the United States of America. Kunsthal Helmond presents 50 photo­graphs, selected by the photographer, from four renowned series: Rocks and Clouds (2015), New York Arbor (2012), American Power (2009), and Family Business (2003).

Born in 1952 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA, Epstein is a pioneer of colour photography, who also works in black and white. Known for his attention to craft, Epstein pushes the limits of printmaking in both.

Family Business explores the downfall of the businesses owned by Epstein's father. Viewers become participants in the personal shift that took place in the artist’s family, which coincided with a cultural shift in his hometown. In the large-scale photographs from American Power, Epstein evokes the impact of various energy sources on the American landscape and the nation’s communities.

Rocks and Clouds and New York Arbor poetically upend the conventional view of cities. In Epstein’s homage to New York, nature is central, not a mere backdrop to human society.

Visit Museum Helmond / Kunsthal Helmond F.J. van Thielpark 7 / 5707 BX Helmond Tue - Fri

10.00 AM - 5.00 PM

Sat - Sun 12.00 PM - 5.00 PM

Page 30: © Mitch Epstein - Amos Coal Power Plant, Raymond City, West Virginia 2004, from the series American Power Page 31: © Mitch Epstein - Flag - From the series Family Business

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© Mitch Epstein - Ocean Warwick Oil Platform, Dauphin Island, Alabama, 2005, from the series American Power

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Š Mitch Epstein - BP Carson Refinery, California 2007, from the series American Power

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BRASSAÏ text by André Bergmans and Trevor Simpson ARPS Captured the essence of the city From September 19th to December 4th FOAM (Amsterdam) was presenting the first retrospective exhibition of Brassaï in the Netherlands. The French/Hungarian photographer is considered a key figure of 20th-century photography. Brassaï, born Gyula Halász (1899- 1984) created countless iconic images of 1930s Parisian (night)life.

Brassaï captured the essence of the city in his photographs, published as his first collection in the 1933 book entitled ‘Paris de Nuit’ (Paris by Night). His book gained great success, resulting in Brassaï being called ‘the eye of Paris’.

© Armando Jongejan - entrance of the exhibition

In addition to photos of the seedier side of Paris, Brassaï portrayed scenes from the life of the city’s high society: its intellectuals, its ballet, and the grand operas. He had been befriended by a French family who gave him access to the upper classes. Brassaï photographed many of his artist friends including Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, and several of the prominent writers of his time, such as Jean Genet and Henri Michaux.

Way of working To understand his way of working we have to be aware that Brassaï worked on glass plates of which he could only carry 24 because of the sheer weight. After using these 24 plates his working day or more likely, his working night was over. Add to that the heavy wooden tripod. Brassaï preferred the

literally darker side of Paris and often worked in very low light conditions. He had a preference for the foggy nights in the city of Paris which gives many of his images the distinct atmosphere. He was well introduced in the nocturnal society of Paris so most of the people at least knew him. Hence, he

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could and did stage quite a few of his photos, a fact which he admitted more than once.

Impression The initial impression you get from the FOAM exhibition is how small the prints sometimes are, many smaller than A4 and usually placed in the centre of the frame which is also small.

The exhibition has been divided into themes such as "Paris Street" and "Paris by Night" so that each half of a room is dedicated to a particular subject. Within each theme the images are more or less arranged over time. Images are presented in well aligned frames that come in different sizes.

Š Armando Jongejan - Brassaï in FOAM

As a street photographer the thing that was immediately apparent was that the structure and composition of the photographs was exactly what you see today on the internet. The surprise was to see that they were captured in 1932! Yes, the technical side was less than today and the black &

white images were not as rich in contrast or sharp as we make now but the vision ‌ the vision was perfect.

We really enjoyed seeing this work and it will give your imagination a wake-up jolt.

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A PACIFIST AT THE FRONT text and photos by Cor Oorthuijsen

Š Cor Oorthuijsen

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial by Walter Allward. In the background the characteristic Northern French Terrils. The Battle of Vimy Ridge took place from 9 to 12 April 1917 between Canadian troops, supported by the British, and German troops. There were 10.602 casualties on the Canadian and British side. 3,598 dead and 7,004 injured.

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From Nieuwpoort to Pfetterhouse When the Dutch photographer Cor Oorthuijsen visited the Belgian Ypres in 2011, he noticed that preparations were being made for The Great War Centenary, the commemoration of 100 years since the First World War.

It was then that he decided to make a photo series on the Western Front between 2014 and 2018.

The Western Front in the First World War is an approximately 750 kilometre long line that runs from Nieuwpoort on the North Sea to Pfetterhouse on the Franco-Swiss border.

© Cor Oorthuijsen - Book cover - A Pacifist at the Front

Not looking for heroism and heroic deeds There was heavy fighting on this front between 1914 and 1918 to which many military cemeteries, monuments and plaques bear witness. Bunkers, bomb craters and remains of trenches are part of the modern landscape and to this day, ammunition from that time is still found.

During those four years he traveled several times a year to the Belgian Westhoek and northern France to work on his series. He was not looking for heroism and heroic deeds - that does not fit with his status as a recognised conscientious objector from military service. He wanted to record how the front area looks a hundred years later and how the memories of the war are kept alive.

The photo project has resulted in a 126-page book, in which 105 black-and-white photos are

included. The title of the photo album is ‘Een Pacifist aan het Front’.

The beautifully designed photo album is published in-house and is now available. For further information please contact cor.oorthuijsen@quicknet.nl

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Š Cor Oorthuijsen

On June 30, 2016, the photographer met this French re-enactor at the Ulster Tower near Thiepval. On July 1, 2016 it was exactly 100 years ago that the Battle of the Somme started. On the first day, the Allies lost 60,000 soldiers to the dead and wounded, 30,000 of them in the first hour of the attack.

The British army lost more soldiers on this day than in any other battle in its history. The Germans, who were seven times as weak in terms of men, also had only one seventh of those losses: 8,000 men.

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Š Cor Oorthuijsen

In the north of France, around the places where the fighting took place in WWI, there are several socalled Villages DĂŠtruit, disappeared villages. OrnĂŠs is such a village. These villages are seen as

"communes mortes pour la France". Interestingly enough, the villages no longer exist, but the municipalities do. In this way there are municipalities in the north of France with no more than 0 inhabitants. By the way, it is not always safe to walk everywhere. Not all of the ammunition was removed after WWI, sometimes because it simply cannot be found in the fallen ground.

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Š Cor Oorthuijsen

June 2016, this Dutch army unit ended a training with a wreath laying at the Ossuaire de Douaumont, near Verdun. The Battle of Verdun took place between February 21 and December 20, 1916. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the First World War. To this day, it is a symbol of the senseless slaughter of human lives. On the French side, 62,000 were killed, 101,000 missing and 215,000 injured. On the German side, there were 100,000 dead and 277,000 injured.

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Š Cor Oorthuijsen

Hartmannswillerkopf is located in the Vosges. After the Franco-German war of 1870, Alsace had fallen into German hands. The mountain overlooks the Rhine valley. In 1914, the French army

attempted to recapture Alsace, but only partially succeeded. The German army survived, resulting in a static trench war. Around 30,000 soldiers were killed in the fighting in Alsace, the majority of whom were French. To this day, remains from the First World War can still be found on the mountain.

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Š Cor Oorthuijsen

On a billboard in Wulvergem you can see a photo that recalls the Battle of the Kemmelberg, that took place on April 16, 1918. The battle claimed more than 5,000 lives. The cyclist, a guide who shows people around the former battlefields, wears a shirt with poppies, in Great Britain the symbol of the First World War.

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© Cor Oorthuijsen

The Menin Gate in Ypres contains the names of 54,896 missing soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers of the British Commonwealth. The remains of these soldiers have no known grave and

are either lost somewhere in the Ypres fields, or in a war cemetery around Ypres with a mention on the tombstone “Known Unto God”. Since 1928, under the vaults of the Menin Gate, the “Last Post” has been blown every evening. It is a tribute to the Allied soldiers who fell in the First World War.

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RPS - BENELUX CHAPTER 2019 PRINT EXHIBITION text by Eddie Maes LRPS and Richard Sylvester LRPS Landscape to street photography to abstract art After two showings earlier this year in The Netherlands, the Royal Photographic Society Benelux Chapter 2019 print exhibition came to Brussels from 24 October to 14 November. It was held at the Flemish Cultural Centre, GC Kontakt, Orbanlaan 54, 1150 Sint-Pieters-Woluwe.

With local arrangements being handled by Eddie Maes, the exhibition included 29 images from 25 Benelux Chapter members, and featured a variety of different photos ranging from landscape to street photography to abstract art.

© Eddie Maes - impression of our exhibition in Brussels

Various activities Being held in a cultural centre that featured various activities during this time period, the exhibition was easily accessible to both the local community and visitors to Brussels.

© Gemeenschapscentrum Kontakt vzw

Page 45 © Kim Bybjerg - Tokyo, one of the photos of our exhibition in Brussels

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BEING A TRUSTEE text and photo by Janet Haines ARPS Strategic planning and decision making Firstly thank you to all members who voted for me at the recent Society elections.

Armando asked if I would write a few words about the role of a Trustee so that Chapter members understood better some of the ways the Society works.

Being a Trustee is similar to being on a non-executive Board of a corporate organisation. It is a group that oversees the strategic planning and decision making in an organization. Establishing general policies. Selecting, appointing and reviewing the performance of the chief executive. However the RPS is also a registered UK educational charity, with a Royal Charter. Both of these elements lead to further requirements on the Trustees to ensure we meet our obligations.

The new Board of Trustees has already had training about the Charity Commission and been given documents to read about the Royal Charter. Given we have personal liability under both of these then it is really important that we understand and ensure that the Society complies. Then there are the RPS’s own Charter and By-Laws which are similar to a companies Memorandum and Articles of Association. The RPS documents are publicly available on our web site if you are interested. http:// www.rps.org/about/annual-general-meeting-2019. All these various rules and regulations govern how we operate.

Confusingly the Board of Trustees is also referred to sometimes as the ‘Council’ so we sort of wear two hats. The Council includes the chief executive, out of courtesy for administrative purposes and makes combined decisions with him/her. Some business at our Board meetings will be exclusively Trustee items and others for Council to decide upon.

What the Trustees should not do is make operational day to day decisions. Having set the strategy it

is up to the staff to make the operational decisions in line with the strategy. We do have to approve certain things and most especially the annual operating budgets. It is our role to make sure the Governance (general policies) documents are up to date and fit for purpose, as these lay down the foundations of how things should operate, which the staff and volunteer groups work to.

Various aspects of the Society have operational committees which are normally made up of a mix of staff and volunteer members. Ones you might hear more about in the Journal are the Distinctions or Education committees. These formulate plans (for example) about the future direction of Distinctions, most of which they can

roll out with no more than a briefing to the

© Janet Haines ARPS

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Trustees. Sometimes they need approval if what they wish to do falls under certain criteria, such as a major financial investment. One or two committees may have individuals from outside the Society where their expertise is advantageous.

As an educational charity we are obliged to ‘educate the public’, however the members are also the public. In the Charity Commission’s book ‘The Advancement of Education for the Public Benefit’, which RPS Trustees have all been provided with, it states the following useful information…

As you can see the areas highlighted are of particular relevance to the RPS. So we are obliged to ‘increase public learning and knowledge about a particular subject’. As Trustees we have to consider this and write the strategy to ensure we meet this requirement, then the staff and volunteer groups deliver the various activities accordingly.

Trustees hold Board meetings every two months, with emails and perhaps video calls in between to keep the wheels oiled. We have to look outward and inwards. We have to consider the now and the future of the Society. We have to follow the rules of charity governance, as well as set policies for how to meet our obligations. We have to be sure we work within the letter of the Law and maintain a financially healthy Society. It is a tall task and one of responsibility, but also we are here to maximise the benefit the charity brings to the public – but remember our members are also part of the public.

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THE 23RD EDITION OF PARIS PHOTO & LUNCH AT THE DUTCH AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE text and photos by Kim Bybjerg 213 exhibitors from 31 countries Recently I visited Paris Photo for the second time. With more than 70,000 visitors in 2019, Paris Photo is the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and is held each November at the historic Grand Palais in Paris. Since 1997, the Fair’s mission is to promote and nurture photographic creation and the galleries, publishers and artists at its source.

Personally I find it very interesting to visit because of the 213 exhibitors from 31 countries that are showing a wide variety of photography work. Additionally various photographers are giving a presentation on a certain topic or their work in general.

What I noticed this year is that the exhibited work this year was less modern and more traditional compared to last year, a trend that I’m personally happy with.

Prepare (plan) your activities Why do I come back? Because you rarely get a chance to see so much different photography work in one place (Paris Photo) but also because of all the surrounding activities taking place in Paris during Paris Photo. There are so many photo talks, exhibitions and photo book sale activities and book signings, that even three days is not enough and every year I promise myself that next year I plan better upfront. So my advice for anyone who want to attend is, prepare (plan) your activities well in advance and be prepared to stay from Wednesday to Sunday to allow you enough time.

Photo places to visit when you are in Paris:

• Foundation Cartier Bresson, 79 Rues des Archieves, 75003 Paris (exhibition: Henri CartierBresson: China 1948-1949 & 1958)

• Atelier Nederlandais, 121 Rue de Lille, 75007 Paris • Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, 5/7 Rue de Fourcy, 75004 Paris I attended Paris Photo as part of a program, organized by Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, in my capacity as Ambassador for the Photomuseum.

Every year the museum organizes a 3-day program for its Ambassadors around Paris Photo. Besides the VIP visit to Paris Photo and visit to various exhibitions, there is also a lunch at the residence of the Dutch Ambassador.

The residence of the Dutch Ambassador is located in a very beautiful house in the centre of Paris.

The house has been the residence for the Dutch Ambassador for the past 299 years. 2020 will the 300-year anniversary.

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Lust for life Before the lunch the Director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum always gives a status on the year that has passed and especially the results of the main exhibition and the coming years main project/exhibition is presented.

This year, after the welcome speech by the Dutch Ambassador, the director of the fotomuseum Birgit Donker gave an update on the results from the exhibition Ed van der Elsken, “Lust for life”.

With almost 100.000 visitors the “lust for life” exhibition (May 25th to November 3rd, 2019) is the biggest in the history of the Fotomuseum.

The 2020 main project was presented by Curator Frits Gietsberg. It will be an exhibition of the work of Johan van der Keuken. The interesting thing about this exhibition is that it will be a mix of Photographs and film as Johan van der Keuken also experimented with film making.

© Kim Bybjerg - director Nederlands Fotomuseum Birgit Donker

About the Nederlands Fotomuseum Ambassador program We are approximately 40 Ambassadors from all parts of the Dutch society. Some are collectors, some are publishers and others hobby photographers but all with a passion for photography and a commitment to support and promote Nederlands Fotomuseum.

© Kim Bybjerg - Dutch ambassador of France Pieter de Gooijer

page 50 © Kim Bybjerg - in the Dutch embassy