RPS Landscape Special Interest Magazine, Spring 2019

THE MAGAZINE OF THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY LANDSCAPE GROUP

Landscape

Spring 2019

Slater Bridge by David Pechey

Editor Robert Brittle ARPS Assistant Editor Gaynor Davies LRPS Contributions: Please send to landscapemagazine@rps.org

Committee Richard Ellis ARPS (Chair) Jim Souper ARPS (Web Editor) Mick Rawcliffe LRPS (Newsletter Editor) Janet Stott ARPS (Secretary) Mark Reeves LRPS (Pro Event Manager) John Urquhart LRPS until 31.03.19 (Treasurer) Diana Wynn from 01.04.19 (Treasurer) Dave Glenn (Member Led Event Manager) Fiona McCowan (Member Without Portfolio) Richard Glynne Jones ARPS (Member Without Portfolio) Robert Brittle ARPS (Magazine Editor) THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY RPS House, 337 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol, BS4 3AR, UK www.rps.org reception@rps.org +44(01225 325733 Incorporated by Royal Charter Patron Her Majesty the Queen President Robert Albright HonFRPS Vice President Dr Del Barrett FRPS Chief Operating Officer Mike Taylor Honorary Treasurer Derek trendell ARPS Director of Education and Public Affairs Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS

@2019 The Royal Photographic Society All rights reserved.

COVER IMAGE: OLD FAITHFUL

by Alan Edwards ARPS EFAIP INNER COVER IMAGE: SLATER BRIDGE

by David Pechey REAR COVER IMAGE: AURORA ABOVE

by James Kelly

CONTENTS 8 Love them or hate them, Electricity Pylons are a feature of many a landscape. Vanda Ralevska explores their relation within a landscape.

8 14 Justine Ritchie’s

move to Eigg, inspired by previous visits, has proved to be more than just a photographic journey.

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22 Morton Gillespie

discusses how to avoid the crowds in the Highlands.....

22 38 Richard Ellis highlights the journey towards his latest distinction.

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS

REGULARS

Alan Edwards Brian Eastmond David Pechey

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Inspirational Places

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Editorial

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Musings from the chair

38 Distinctions Corner 42 Last Light Printed and Published on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society by Henry Ling Ltd The Dorset Press, Dorchester, DT1 1TD.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

Landscape is the Magazine of the RPS Landscape Group and is provided as part of the annual subscription to the Group @2018 The Royal Photographic Society. All rights reserved on behalf of the contributors and 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, RPS Landscape Group and the Editor accept no liability for any misuse or breach of copyright by a contributor. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Royal Photographic Society or of the Landscape group.

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INSPIRATIONAL PLACES The Grand Tetons Sunrise by Alan Edwards ARPS EFAIP

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Editorial Welcome to The Royal Photographic Society, Landscape Specialist Interest Group Spring 2019 magazine.

A warm welcome to issue 2 of the group’s magazine. I am really pleased to keep my editorial brief this issue, to make way for the fantastic content received since issue 1; please may this continue. A big thank you to all the contributors to issue 2, which sees the start of a series of articles dealing with the process of distinctions. Susan Brown gives us an overview and Richard Ellis has detailed his experience of gaining his ARPS distinction. The copy deadline for issue 3 is 30th August 2019.

So – You are a Landscape Photographer, have some images and want to get an ARPS or FRPS? Which Category? Panel member Susan Brown discusses the choices It is a misconception that it is difficult to get a Distinction with a Landscape panel. ALL Distinctions are difficult to achieve, or they wouldn’t be worth having, but they have to be of the standard.

Go to an Advisory Day or sit in on an Assessment Day to get an idea of the standards required or look at the RPS website to see some examples.

Which category depends very much on your Statement of Intent.

There is certainly more than one category that would accept Landscapes.

Applied A Landscape panel could be Applied if it has an end use, i.e. a travel brochure, an exhibition or a book. This would probably be a project on one specific area or geological feature, for example – ‘Sea Stacks around the Coast of the UK’ or ‘Ancient Woodlands’.

Your statement of intent should make it clear what the images will be used for. Professionals as well as amateurs often use this category.

There is also Documentary, where you could, for example, document a landscape over a period of time, showing the impact of changes which have occurred either socially, personally or both.

Contemporary/Conceptual Your Statement of Intent needs to be very clear in this category and you have 300 words as opposed to 150 in other categories to make it clear. This could be a project

or a series of images illustrating issues such as Destruction of Rain Forests, Effects of Global Warming or landscapes to show the regeneration of an area. Your message must be clearly defined, researched, and well illustrated to convey your message to the viewers.

Fine Art This category is a golden opportunity for a landscape photographer to shine. It is the category where the creative eye can be demonstrated. In this day and age with modern cameras, anyone can produce a wellexposed and focused image. For a Distinction in Fine Art you have to take it a big step further. Consider the composition, viewpoint, light, time of day, lens etc to be sure to communicate an emotion to the viewer. Is the image sharp where it should be? If the image lacks sharpness is it obviously intentional, as in a pinhole camera usage or movement? Again, make sure you achieve what you have set out in your statement. It does not need to be exactly 150 words either: ‘My panel illustrates how the changing seasons affect the light in my local woodlands’ would be sufficient as long as that is what the panel does.

Travel It is also possible to do a Travel panel with landscapes; look at the work of Ian Thoms ARPS. A travel panel would need to illustrate

the terrain or living conditions of a specific place or places. Your statement of intent is important.

You must give the viewer a strong feeling of what it would be like to travel to the place (or places) you have chosen to photograph. It’s all about communication.

If you are still unsure of what category to go for, send a minimum of six and maximum of 10 images to category@rps.org and the statement of intent, as this is the key to determining which category we would suggest, as it gives you the opportunity to convey what you are saying about your images.

Once that is received it will be possible to offer a way forward. It is so easy to get advice now: As well as Advisory Days, there is online advice and many panel members are always happy to help where possible, just ASK – any team member at the RPS will point you in the right direction.

Useful links: ARPS successful Portfolios http://rps.org/distinctions/ distinction-successes/arps-galleries FRPS successful Portfolios http://rps.org/distinctions/ distinction-successes/frps-galleries Good Luck Susan Brown FRPS – Fine Art Panel Member and Member of the Distinctions Committee.

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Musings from the Chair Chair’s Welcome

Richard Ellis, Chair, RPS Landscape SIG

By the time you read this, the days will be lengthening and hopefully you will have been out with your camera to shoot some wonderful winter scenery. I am always impressed by the different ways people manage to treat a season.

Part of the joy of photography for me is to look at different people’s work. This winter I have been looking at three photographers: Krista McCuish is a geologist, nurse and photographer based in Nova Scotia. Her recent work focuses on the intimate landscape and she has produced some beautiful work that reminds me of 17th century wallpaper. The images possess a beautiful symmetry about them. ( www.kristamccuish.com)

Gary Wagner lives in northern California and has captured winter by producing black and white pictures. He has made photographs in both Iceland and the Sierra mountains and used black and white to capture the full range of winter tones. You can feel the beauty of the landscape in his images ( www.garywagner.com)

Esen Tunar, currently based in the UK, has captured some lovely views not only of the northern lights but also astrophotography. (www.esentunar.com)

Finally, I am always a sucker for the Northern Lights. I have been fortunate enough to see them several times in different parts of the subarctic region and they always amaze me. As the light dances across the sky you can really understand why our forefathers thought they were celestial spirits.

The committee were pleased to meet many members at the conference and AGM and to hear your thoughts on the direction of the Landscape SIG. We had a great programme with a wide range of speakers, workshops and the opportunity to go out and explore the local landscape.

I hope that viewing other people’s work will inspire you to capture some wonderful images of your own.

Best wishes Richard

Lonely Lighthouse by Richard Ellis

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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VANDA RALEVSKA

Lines In The Landscape Following on from speaking at the group’s conference, Vanda Ralevska considers how man-made structures in the landscape create both artistic impressions and questions around their inclusion in landscape images.

Electric Valley

Power lines are not usually regarded as objects of interest or excitement. Lines of pylons striding across the countryside have always been somewhat controversial, invoking a whole range of feelings, from hatred and loathing to affection and fascination. For most people they spoil many a view. They are considered to be obtrusive, or even ugly blots on the landscape.

Although the electricity pylons are far too often objects of hate, they perform an invaluable service, bringing us power, light and warmth. Therefore we accept them, learn how to live with them and quite often ignore them.

However, there are a surprising number of people who find much more in these tall lattices of metal than the necessary evil. To those people they are things of gaunt,

almost haunting beauty. The design of Britain’s first electricity transmission tower was inspired by the word “pylon”, which means an ancient Egyptian gateway to the sun. Since then many artists and poets have embraced electricity pylons as a symbol of the modern world, a gateway to the new golden age.

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

Many of them, inspired by their skeletal grace, brought a new, lyrical dimension to these towers of steel criss-crossing the British countryside.

Sculptor Barbara Hepworth once recalled on a train journey witnessing “pylons in lovely juxtaposition with spring turf and trees of every stature. It is the relationship of these things that makes such loveliness.”

In the 1930s, Stephen Spender’s poem The Pylons started the whole poetic movement, which reacted to Britain’s newly industrialised landscapes. In his poem Stephen Spender wrote:

“Now over these small hills, they have built the concrete That trails black wire Pylons, those pillars Bare like nude giant girls that have no secret.”

Further on he continued: “But far above and far as sight endures Like whips of anger With lightning’s danger There runs the quick perspective of the future.”

Another Pylon Poet, Stanley Snaith wrote: “Over the tree’d upland evenly striding, One after one they lift their serious shapes That ring with light. The statement of their steel Contradicts Nature’s softer architecture.”

Like most people I used to consider the power lines an eyesore; something that interferes with the beauty of our natural world.

High Voltage

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VANDA RALEVSKA

Lines in the Landscape

But over time I have learnt how to see the way they blend into the landscape and even see their special beauty. Brute, industrial beauty, but nevertheless beauty.

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There is definitely something about the old saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. It all comes down to the ability to see such beauty in the plain and unexciting; in those objects that most people walk by without noticing, such as the towering steel sentinels snaking across the landscape. There is something striking about their shapes and the way they interact with their environment, as the lattices of metal parade over the hills, through the woodlands and dales and across the fields.

There is something majestic in the rhythm of these lines of giants as they gradually disappear on the distant horizon.

“There is definitely something about the old saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

There is something electrifying in watching them form an unchallenged line across everything that stands in their way.

They are great pieces of design and engineering and, with hundreds of electricity volts running through the overhead lines, they carry a little piece of magic too, as Flash Bristow, the founder of the Pylon Appreciation Society, found out: “My favourite trick is to sit underneath a high-voltage pylon at night, holding up a fluorescent light tube. The residual emissions from the electricity cables will eventually cause it to light up.

Just another piece of magic that you only get with pylons.”

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

March Of The Giants

Parallels Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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VANDA RALEVSKA

Power To Two

The Power Net 12 12

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

High Flight

The Power of One

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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JUSTINE RITCHIE

CALL OF THE ISLE A Photographic Journey ‘The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.’ —Dorothea Lange, Photographer Lange’s words resonate deeply. Although my way of seeing is very much underpinned by the early connections I made to the landscape as a child and my subsequent travels and adventures in both wild and remote locations, it is the camera that accompanied me on many of these trips that helped shape the way I now look at the world around me; enabling me to see the abstract within the concrete, the extraordinary within the ordinary and the unseen within the visible.

Dawn Mist - Kaukapakapa, New Zealand

Contemplative Connections Autumn 2011 took me to New Zealand which is where I bought my first DSLR camera - an entry level Canon 1000D. It was while living here on a remote smallholding in the North Island where the skies seemed infinitely bigger, that my interest in photography became more of an obsession. Before long, losing myself behind the lens became a daily meditation; a means of disconnecting from past or future thoughts and instead engaging in the present moment while forming an intimate connection with my subject. I had begun to see very differently, and without realising it, I was seeing with a photographer’s eye; a more 14

mindful eye - tuning into the landscape around me, embracing the elements, becoming aware of the light, the direction of the wind, the patterns, textures, colours and contours that shaped the landscape’s true spirit of place.

“I started to view everything with a heightened awareness; from the way shards of light created geometric

I was still just shooting on auto but I had opened my eyes and my heart to what was around me.

Even when out and about without my camera, I started to view everything with a heightened awareness; from the way shards of light created geometric patterns across a wooden floor to the fugitive light as it raced across exposed hilltops fleeing into the shadows of lost valleys below. I became hypersensitive to the way the light fell, how it illuminated things. My world had become more tangible, more visible, and infinitely more discernible.

patterns...”

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER ‘A Picture Tells a Thousand Words.’

During this time, I was working as a teacher, teaching English to community groups of adult migrants and refugees. With photography fast becoming all consuming, I began to use more of the photographs I had taken as visual aids to elicit the language and reinforce the newly learned vocabulary. They say ‘A picture tells a thousand words’ and soon my students started to use their own photos as prompts to help them convey a moment, a place, a process or to describe their families, friends or their feelings.

Learning outside the classroom became a more regular component of my teaching practice and photography

“soon my students started to use their own photos as prompts to

them to their new landscape, culture and environment.

Recognising the emotional connections my students had to the photographs they were eager to share further reinforced the power of photography as a form of visual expression and a means of connecting people to their different worlds.

help them convey a moment...” became a way of connecting

Sunrise of Summits (in-camera multiple exposure)

’Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist’ - Pablo Picasso I returned from NZ in 2015 knowing that I wanted to pursue photography more seriously and immediately signed up for a course run by my local adult learning centre. It was here I learnt the basic technical aspects of photography and gained the confidence to switch to manual where untold creative opportunities ensued. I was then able to build on this knowledge spending countless hours out in the field where I let my intuition guide me while Nature stepped in as my new mentor. I entered the annual photography competition run by the course provider

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

(Surrey Adult Learning) and won the Landscape category. This boosted my confidence and led to a further two winning entries in the Surrey Library Services ‘Words in Focus’ Photography Competition 2016 and publication of my images in the ‘Words in Focus’ book published by Surrey Libraries in partnership with Hurtwood Press and The Bluehouse Festival in January 2017.

in Participatory Photography Facilitation run by the charity PhotoVoice, as I was keen to explore how photography could be used as a platform for positive social change.

In addition to the photography courses I attended and my ongoing self study, I also completed the 3 day workshop

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JUSTINE RITCHIE Warm Hearts and Wild Embrace Juggling two jobs and my constant desire to be outside behind my lens inevitably meant burning the candle at both ends and I soon realised that this was not sustainable. It was time to follow my heart and put as much energy as I could into pursuing what I loved most.

working as a conservation volunteer.

My love of wild landscapes drew me to a small, off-grid community-owned island 12 miles off the West coast of Scotland where I’d spent a number of weeks over 3 consecutive years

home, my mentor and

“and now Eigg, (one of the four small Isles in the Inner Hebrides), is my my muse... ”

It didn’t take long for the island to bewitch me and for it’s warm hearts and wild embrace to hold me captive. Each time I left the island, the pull to return grew stronger; so much so, I knew that after my third season of volunteering, the next time I stepped off the ferry onto her windswept shores, I’d be making a permanent move. That was just over a year ago and now Eigg, (one of the four small Isles in the Inner Hebrides), is my home, my mentor and my muse.

Red Rùm (Laig Bay, Isle of Eigg)

Visual Poetry When I’m behind the lens, the landscapes I frame and capture are not created by sight alone; I engage all my senses so the final image becomes not just an illustration of what I see but also an aesthetic interpretation of what I feel.

“The landscape becomes a form of visual poetry... ”

The landscape becomes a form of visual poetry and I can spend hours observing how the elements shaped and continue to shape, nurture, erode and embrace the landscape.

I see the beauty and the beast; the light and the dark, from the quiet desolation on Rannoch Moor to a carefree ballet of trees dancing in the breeze.

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER An Island ‘En-Eigg-ma’ Eigg has taught me a lot about photography. Most importantly, this small yet vast Hebridean island has taught me not to venture out with an intention to capture anything specific because Nature doesn’t always deliver. You cannot order a spectacular sunset or the right kind of clouds. I learnt this lesson as I ventured out one evening unaware that the island had a very different offering in mind.

Having gone down to the beach convinced I’d return with a classic sunset shot from the bay looking over to Rum, I wandered along the beach looking for a place to set up, but there was something about the light, the clouds and the mood that told me I’d be disappointed. I packed away my tripod, let go of that disappointment and was instead happy to breath in the salted air, enjoy the sensation of my feet

sinking into the wet sand and watch the burn snake its way into the sea. Something then forced me to turn around. It was as if Mother Nature had tapped me on the shoulder sensing the way in which I’d chosen to embrace my surroundings and relinquish my earlier intentions.

As I turned round, I was forced to put down my camera. The imposing cliffs that rise up and form a dramatic backdrop to the crofts dotted along the small village of Cleadale were bathed in the most arresting amber light; a light that seemed to come from nowhere and yet it illuminated the crags and jagged lines so often left in the shadows or more frequently veiled by a diaphanous drift of cloud.

I couldn’t help but smile, realising that the island decides what it wants to reveal to you and when.

I now venture out excited by what I may find; what the landscape chooses to reveal to me.

Such lessons led me to explore new and alternative ways of capturing and interpreting my surroundings and the emotional connection I had forged with this enigmatic or rather en-Eigg-matic isle. Preferring to use my camera handheld as I feel far more connected to the landscape that way, I began experimenting with Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and Multiple Exposure (ME) photography. Both of these in-camera techniques enable me to integrate and reconcile the differing elements of the landscape or seascape such as the light, colour, contours, mood, motion and moment into an abstract expression for the viewer in either one or a series of images.

Hushinish Blues (in-camera icm)

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JUSTINE RITCHIE

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Commissions and Workshops Since moving to Eigg, I have embarked upon a number of personal projects and have secured commissions for local businesses on the island and mainland. I have also been invited to collaborate on another couple of projects featuring the island’s landscape and the inspiration others draw from it for their own creative pursuits.

The local tearoom has very kindly given me wall space to display some of my framed prints and this in turn has generated sales and further commissions.

Drawing on my work as an educator and the methodology that underpins participatory photography facilitation, alongside my own practice and experience of a more mindful approach to photography, I am now developing a series of workshops that focus on a more contemplative and intuitive, as

opposed to purely technical, approach to photography as a way of connecting people both physically and emotionally to their surroundings. I believe outdoor photography is also a great way to de-stress; the camera is a wonderful way of connecting us to the landscape while disconnecting us from everything else.

“Drawing on my work as an educator and the methodology that underpins participatory photography

wild and remote places will continue to be my inspiration, motivation and meditation.

My photographic journey is a never-ending one as I continue to develop my technical skills and perhaps, more importantly, my desire to convey what these places feel like when I connect to their untamed beauty. Time spent in such landscapes has instilled a deep respect and appreciation of the natural world around me and an increasing desire to want to preserve and protect it. I hope that my work continues to inspire others to connect to such places and help them find their own visual voice to express the connections they make to the landscapes they are drawn to.

facilitation...”

From the far-flung wilds of NZ to the windswept shores of Eigg,

Beyond the Brae (Isle of Eigg) 18

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

Cloudscape

Bejewelled (Glen Nevis, Highlands) Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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JUSTINE RITCHIE

An SgĂšrr - (in-camera double exposure)

Tide Pools (in-camera multiple exposure)

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Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

Last Light on Laig (in-camera icm)

Laig Light Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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MORTON GILLESPIE

Morton Gillespie Away From The Madding Crowds A trip to the Highlands of Scotland is always a challenge but getting to your chosen location to find a group of other photographers have beaten you there can be very frustrating. Morton guides us through some of the challenges.........

Photographers Gather Living in the Scottish Highlands will, for many landscape photographers, be like living the dream. With some of the best mountain scenery in the world on our doorstep there are photographic opportunities round every corner as you explore what must be one of the few places left in Europe where you can experience true wilderness and isolation.

Living in the Highlands gives us the ability to capture the amazing landscape in all seasons and in all weathers.

This has in itself attracted many photographers to move to the Highlands and establish themselves as both landscape and wildlife photographers, providing local knowledge and offering guided photo workshops.

“In today’s digital world everybody has a camera”

Whilst this is welcome for the local economy, it has put a severe strain on the infrastructure.

The recognised “photo hot-spots” and the so-called iconic locations are now struggling to cope with the visitor numbers, resulting in indiscriminate parking, overcrowding and the churning up of the very landscape that people come to admire.

In todays digital world everybody has a camera and consequently there has been a marked increase in the number of tourists visiting the Highlands over the past years.

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER This was recently brought home to me when driving up to the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. I was confronted by no fewer than 12 tripods set up in a row with the photographers all taking identical photos of the iconic view, and this was in November, not the height of the tourist season.

The Isle of Skye in particular has struggled to cope with the increase in visitor numbers and, as a result, has become a place to avoid during

the peak tourist period, which in any case is not the best time of year for landscape photography as the sun is high in the sky and the lighting is flat and uninteresting.

The recognised photo hot-spots such as the Quiraing, Old Man of Storr, Fairy Pools and Neist point have sadly been overrun with visitors and are best avoided in the peak season.

have similarly suffered from visitor numbers and the much photographed view of Buachaille Etive Mor has sadly been churned into a quagmire.

We need not worry however as there are still lots of locations where you can enjoy the spectacular scenery without being overrun by hordes of tourists.

Glencoe and Glen Etive

Trees in Winter

“We need not worry however as there are still lots of locations where you can enjoy the spectacular scenery without being overrun by hordes of tourists.�

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MORTON GILLESPIE My recent experience on Skye made me decide to turn my back on and avoid these iconic locations which have been photographed to death - I have now managed to wean myself off the hot spots and I can even drive past Eilean Donnan castle without stopping!

photographers. You can still travel roads and drive for miles without coming across a fellow traveller or any signs of human habitation.

There are so many wonderful locations around the Highlands and it only takes a little effort to find and explore them on your own, without having to fight for your position along with other

without stopping! ”

“I can even drive past Eilean Donnan castle

It’s just a matter of exploring and avoiding the recognised tourist hot-spots.

Avoiding the obvious and seeking something new has also resulted in the growth of what is referred to as the Intimate Landscape. An intimate landscape is often a smaller part of a grand landscape. It might also be a small composition that focuses on shapes, lines, colours, textures or patterns. An intimate landscape puts a frame around a small part of the world around us and thereby draws our attention to something we might not otherwise notice.

An Intimate Landscape

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

The Iconic View of Slioch and Loch Maree It requires greater attention to detail in order to be creative and capture a more personal and intimate interpretation of a larger scene. It can, and often does, result in a semi-abstract portrayal of a landscape. It is very rarely obvious and consequently requires the photographer to look around and explore the surroundings in order to identify the possibilities. The secret is to spend time absorbing your environment even before you take out your camera and seek out details rather than simply jumping out of the car, setting up the camera and taking the shot and then moving on to the next location. We need to slow down, enjoy the surroundings and spend time exploring the possibilities.

The rewards can be fulfilling and provide your own unique interpretation of the scene rather than that captured by those who have gone before you. The benefit is that you can avoid the recognised hot-spots as “intimate” landscapes

can be captured virtually anywhere - it’s just a matter of looking.

“Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the Scottish Highlands are very proud of our amazing environment and are always willing to show it off to other photography enthusiasts. ” Living in the Highlands means that we are somewhat isolated and at a distance from the many activities and workshops that members of the RPS enjoy in the more populated areas of

the country. In order to counter this and to promote the RPS in the Highlands we have created a Scottish Northern Group, the purpose of which is to bring together like-minded members of the RPS who live in the Highlands.

The group holds seasonal outings to explore the Highlands, which are deliberately informal and allow like-minded RPS members to meet up and exchange views.

Members from outside the Highlands are very welcome to join us on these outings which normally start out from Inverness - full details are provided in the RPS Journal under the Landscape Group activities.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the Scottish Highlands are very proud of our amazing environment and always enjoy showing it off to other photography enthusiasts.

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MORTON GILLESPIE

Using an isolated tree to frame the mountain

A more intimate interpretation 26 26

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

Using a telephoto lens to emphasise the mountain

Create Adstract Patterns 27 Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

ALAN EDWARDS ARPS EFIAP

Alan Edwards ARPS EFIAP Yellowstone Revisited Sadly for Alan it’s not a physical return to Yellowstone, but returning to images taken some years ago and reprocessing them with the latest version of Photoshop.

Castle Geyser

Sadly not returning to Yellowstone itself, but returning to images taken some years ago and reprocessing them with the latest version of Photoshop CC; the current offering from Adobe being superior to the version that I originally used and allowing me to draw out more detail from my RAW files.

“Yellowstone has fascinated me for years, and my desire to visit the area became more intense while watching a series of television programmes”

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Currently I am trying out ON1 Raw as an alternative to subscription Photoshop, but I have to confess that it’s hard after so many years to make the break.

Yellowstone has fascinated me for years and my desire to visit the area became more intense while watching a series of television programmes featuring the national park throughout the four seasons: I just had to see it for myself.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER Subsequently, I was fortunate to visit Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons twice, once in winter and again the following Fall. For both visits I was a participant in a group situation. While this has many advantages, it does mean sticking to a fixed itinerary and timetable not involving too many ‘golden hour’ photographic opportunities.

My main areas of interest are nature and landscape photography and the visits to Yellowstone didn’t disappoint.

The images submitted with this article have mostly been reprocessed; the raw files being returned to Camera Defaults via Develop Settings in Adobe Bridge, before being re-worked in PS.

“One benefit of revisiting the Yellowstone images was the discovery of unprocessed files that were overlooked at the time because of lifestyle and family pressures.”

One benefit of revisiting the Yellowstone images was the discovery of unprocessed files that were overlooked at the time because of lifestyle and family pressures. Some of those are reproduced here. Retirement has, to a certain extent, allowed more time for me to indulge my passion for photography.

I found the transition from active full time work for over 50 years to retirement difficult, but working towards an AFIAP, then EFIAP helped enormously. Many of the photographs used were taken in Yellowstone and have won awards, or been accepted in international salons.

Stormy Sky

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ALAN EDWARDS ARPS EFIAP

Tangle Creek

Tire Pool

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Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

Cliff Geyser

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BRIAN EASTMOND

Brian Eastmond Along the Jurassic coast from Seaton to Lyme Regis For many years Brian lived in East London and enjoyed photographing the Cityscapes. Now living in Devon, Brian has become more engrossed in the countryside around him and his work has become more focused on Landscapes and Seascapes.

Axmouth Harbour Situated at the mouth of the river Axe, this quaint harbour has been brought up to date yet still shows signs of bygone days. The fog on the river this morning just added to the feel of the whole image.

I would describe myself as an enthusiastic amateur Landscape photographer. I originally studied photography at the Amersham college of Art and Design where I gained my Diploma.

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I have recently moved to the Fuji X series from a Canon full frame which has been a steep learning curve but I am enjoying every moment of it.

Joining the RPS last year, I have managed to advance my work even further and met some great photographers along the way.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

Arriving Storm Taken at Lyme Regis just as a storm was about to hit the shore. Feeling rather apprehensive, I set up on a wall over-looking the town. This image came just as the last light shone over the houses.

Snow Tree While the snow was falling and wind howling this photograph appeared before me. With the background softness and the solitary tree in the foreground, I feel the image shows a sense of calmness.

Snow Man - (following pages) This photograph was taken during the snow storm and blizzard named “The beast from the east� last year. Taken on Seaton beach in East Devon, it just goes to show the effect a blanket of snow can have on a coastal town.

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Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

BRIAN EASTMOND

Snow Man

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Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

35 Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

DAVID PECHEY

David Pechey Recording the interaction of light with the world around us The more often I photograph these landscapes the more I appreciate that cameras and lenses are tools and that composition is a guide but good light is the crowning glory.

Winter Light Landscape photography involves recording the interaction of light with the world around us. It is a privilege to live within striking distance of both the Lake District and the Peak District, two of the UK’s finest national parks. That brings with it the opportunity to photograph some of the most beautiful and inspiring landscapes anywhere. While it is difficult to take bad photographs when surrounded by such riches, the difference between a good photo and a memorable one is almost always the quality of the captured light.

Among these landscapes the most obvious example is “Winter 36

Light”. This was taken from the top of Mam Tor in the Peak District. It’s a place I have been to 20, perhaps even 30 times in the past but this scene never presented itself to me previously.

The obvious landscape shots from this vantage point are north across Edale to the Kinder Plateau, south across the Hope Valley and the picturesque village of Castleton or east along the stunning two mile striding edge of the Great Ridge.

But on New Year’s Day afternoon the westerly winter sun, filtering through low clouds, strikingly modelled the rolling Derbyshire countryside and rendered the

sheep fields with the texture of green baize like an undulating billiard table.

The quality of the light on “Slater Bridge” (see inner leaf ed.) in Cumbria’s Little Langdale is less obvious. The sky is overcast, flat and mostly uninteresting.

However, the defining play of light is reflected from below where, in contrast to the sky above, the River Brathay sparkles animatedly in the starkness of a November afternoon. The effect is to place the soft, moss-covered stone bridge and the skeletal tree right at the boundary between a lifeless sky and a lively river.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

Rydal Cave The use of light in “Rydal Cave”, up above the Lake District’s Rydal Water, is easier to discern. The sky over Nab Scar on the far side of the lake produces a silhouette of the “jagged teeth” of the cave entrance. This in turn is reflected

in the pool below to create the impression of wide open jaws and of the photo emanating from the bowels of a growling sea creature.

The light also penetrates partially into the cave interior, illuminating and building interest in the russet

colours of the rock wall. The last job of the incoming light is to reveal the expanding ripples created by a fallen water droplet like a beauty spot on the face of a débutante.

Lingmoor Fell Finally, the photo of “Lingmoor Fell” is wholly dependent on the presence and deficit of light.

Lingmoor is a modest Lake District fell overlooked by the much grander Langdale Pikes. The photo captures something of this big brother-little

brother relationship between the high profile pikes reaching to the clouds in the defining light while their smaller neighbour cowers in shadow. The distant wintry sunlight reflects off the frosty, snowy top of the pikes while the roiling clouds

leave Lingmoor languishing as a gloomy foreground slash across the frame, its craggy escarpment cast into shade with only the autumn clad trees giving it definition.

37 Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

DISTINCTIONS CORNER

Richard Ellis ARPS ARPS panel: Sea and Structure In 2015 I was awarded my LRPS with a panel based on my natural history and landscape photography. Having been given my award I took a break from the distinctions process and just enjoyed my “L” status. Happiness has been defined as “wanting what you have” and this seemed to apply here.

After a year or so I was ready to embark on the challenge of the associateship and so started to think about a project.

“After a year or so I was ready to embark on the challenge of the associateship and so started to think about a project”

I was born on the mid-Wales coast and so the sea and the role of sea defences in protecting the coast provided some inspiration. After some more thought and some photography I settled on shooting a panel of images that explored the form of man-made structures that resonate with me, within their coastal environment.

Initial Panel (28/12/2016) 38

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

DISTINCTIONS CORNER

Final Panel (18/09/2018)

I planned a series of excursions to the coast, using Google satellite views and the internet to identify suitable locations. In January 2017 I was ready to go for my first advisory day. The feedback was that the panel subject was suitable but needed some better images so I needed to get out and shoot lots more images in order to have a bigger bench from which to pick.

I persevered with the images and presented my work a couple of times at the Photographers in Camera (PiC) group associated with Amersham Photographic Society.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

Panel Pointers

Pick a subject that really fires your imagination: You will be shooting the subject over a prolonged period so you need to want to get out there and do it.

- Get the photography right first and then worry about the printing, panelling and presentation – I spent too long on the printing, panelling and presentation and not enough time on the photography for my first advisory day.

- Do not shoot too many of the honeypot locations - it is hard to do something novel.

- Present your panel widely and gather feedback but remember it is your panel.

- When you seal your box up and take it to HQ make sure there is nothing you wished you had done; it needs to be your very best effort.

- Maintain perspective and enjoy the process: Remember you are doing it to challenge yourself.

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This was a great source of inspiration and ideas. Finally, in October 2018 I was ready for my assessment and after a nervous few minutes I was delighted when the chairman read out my name.

I thought it may be of interest to show how the panel evolved so I have included a panel of my first submission.

Richard Ellis is the chair of the RPS Landscape SIG and a member of Windsor Photographic Society.

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RICHARD ELLIS - ARPS PANEL

Reaching Out

Coastal Illusion 40

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

SELECTED PORTFOLIO

Alien Seascape

Silent Sentry 41 Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

LAST LIGHT

James Kelly Aurora Borealis - Faroe Islands One of the natural wonders of the world, James Kelly’s fascination with the Aurora Borealis has helped him create a stunning portfolio of this fascinating wonder of the skies.

I have been lucky to have spent 4 winters in the Faroe Islands and most nights, when the skies are clear, I am able to capture the Aurora Borealis.

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Winter of 2016, I was treated to almost a whole month of these stunning dancing lights. Due to the layout of the Faroe Islands, you only have to go 1/2 a mile

and you are away from any light pollution. We’ll see more of James’s images in issue 3.

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

LAST LIGHT

SandvĂ­k with the Aurora dancing above

Landscape Magazine Spring 2019

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