We were treated to an outstanding presentation by Gigi Williams ASIS FRPS and Robin Williams ASIS FRPS via Zoom on Wednesday 12 November. They titled it ‘Fifty Shades of Grey – the Sordid Secrets of the Darkroom’. Not only are they superb photographers and expert presenters, they’re also able to come up with attentiongrabbing titles! For this was all about monochrome photography. And it was brilliant.
Gigi and Robin both grew up with black-and-white photography. Then along came digital, ‘a perfect storm’ as Robin said. It changed everything. Cameras became digital, desk-top processing and printers replaced the darkroom, image distribution became electronic, … the lot. It seemed that black-and-white photography had died. Yet now we are seeing a resurgence, with increasing demand for analogue equipment and processing methods especially among young people – and even in schools. Monochrome is back.
Black-and-white images require the viewer to interpret an image differently; Elliott Erwitt was quoted as saying
that colour photography is descriptive whereas b&w is interpretive. Our speakers suggested that intentional use of b&w in the field may be more successful, and that to do this we need to learn to ‘see’ in monochrome.
Many famous photographers of the past have worked solely in b&w; their images are still widely admired and full of impact. Think of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, Yousuf Karsh and Sebastian Salgado, and many others. Yet it depends on the subject and the purpose of the photograph. As Gigi said, some subjects need colour, others cry out for monochrome, and some will work either way.
Gigi and Robin then covered many aspects of the road to monochrome for those who have worked only in colour. That road might be via analogue methods or via digital, and they covered each with lots of very practical, hands-on advice about the issues, options and decisions needed along the way. This included lots of useful information on how they use software such as Lightroom and Photoshop to produce their monochrome images. The opportunities are vast.
Infra-red photography is
another example of monochrome work now being explored by many of us. Again, we were given practical suggestions and examples of how to go about this, especially via the digital routes now possible.
To conclude the presentation, Gigi and Robin showed a selection of their own monochrome images. The beautiful and striking images reflect their great expertise of the technical issues and a deep understanding of the natural world which they both share.
This was a wonderful excellent presentation, stimulating and inspiring. We in the Chapter are so fortunate to have been given a glimpse of the huge possibilities of monochrome photography through Gigi and Robin sharing their knowledge and experience so generously, and we extend our very warm thanks to them both.
[PS: We are checking whether the recording of this excellent presentation can be loaded to the RPS YouTube site. We’ll let you know.]
Digital Imaging Group – LRPS Support Group
Janet Haines ARPS
An Invitation to Australian Chapter members who wish to work towards their LRPS Distinction.
The RPS Digital Imaging Group runs an LRPS Support Group for our members. We find it helps individuals to feel supported and inspired if they are discussing their potential work with other members and our facilitators.
Support is offered in two ways: Firstly, we have a bespoke forum that support group members belong to, where you can post individual images or proposed panels for comment and input from your peers. It also gives you the opportunity to comment on other members’ work, which teaches you to analyse and consider images, this being helpful to your own
development.
We then hold monthly Zoom meetings, during which we have both ‘participants’ and ‘observers’. Participants show work (panels or individual images, depending on where you are in your journey), and our facilitators and other participants give you feedback. Observers watch and listen from which they learn too. These meetings are recorded for later viewing. Each month, members are invited to book for these sessions, which are normally held at 11 am on either a Friday or Saturday morning. However, we could consider changing the times if it would help with the different time zones for Australia.
Our facilitators are not RPS Assessors, and we still recommend doing official RPS
1:1s or Advisory Days when work is discussed with Assessors. But we do our very best to stay abreast of any changes in the Distinctions programme and to give the best feedback to individuals that we can.
The above support is normally only offered to Digital Imaging Group members, but we are now delighted to be offering membership of the DI LRPS Support Group to any Australian Chapter member who may wish to join us for free. We appreciate how Chapter members might feel isolated and therefore find it more difficult to work towards their LRPS. We do hope as many of you as wish will join us.
If you are interested, then please contact us at DISupportGroup@rps.org
Editor Note: If you are interested in distinctions. You can check out the RPS YouTube channel. Click on the image to the left to check it out.
There is also a download on the website.
Fig.4 top: South Korea.
Fig.5 bottom: The United States of America.
Fig.6 top: Portugal.
Fig.7 bottom: Canada.
photography is an innate and spontaneous process of recording my observations of the world. I think of these visual documents as the storage of information, to be saved for a later purpose, still unknown. The photographs in this exhibition were taken at widely different times as I travelled, and their inherent connection to one another is only now becoming apparent. As a photographer, I have always felt that making images is a very intimate and solitary experience. The action requires my full concentration, and I do not welcome anyone else’s presence when I'm engaged in camera work. I work intuitively, and as an artist, I photograph those things and events with which I have a personal empathy. My catalogue of images has become extensive, and while I expect that most of these photographs will never be presented for public viewing, I take satisfaction in knowing that I have recorded the narratives of places, people, and events that have excited my worldview. When I review them, I am always surprised to see and rediscover where I have been and especially what I have seen and enjoyed. In retrospect, I know that I was thrilled during the
capture of these images. Both from the experience and the very personal relationship with my subjects. I do look forward to further travels in the future and so expand my diary of the commitment to intimate visual understanding.’
Unfortunately, David Scopick died in Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, in 2024 at the age of 76. Scopick graduated from Nutana College in Saskatoon in 1967 and then pursued his studies to become a photographer in Toronto. He graduated from Ryerson Polytechnic and furthered his studies at The San Francisco Art Institute and York University. In 1974, David began his long and dedicated teaching career at the Ontario College of Art and was the Head of Photography and Director of ‘Photovision’ for nearly two decades. He retired after forty years of contribution to students’ learning and the art of photography. He taught internationally at photography symposiums in the United States, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Italy, China and Australia. I had the great pleasure of hosting David at RMIT University as a visiting professor in 1992; along with John Pollard FRPS and Peter Fredrick FRPS they held a joint exhibition and taught
Fig.8 top: Indonesia.
Fig.9 bottom: China
Fig.10 top right: Portrait of David Scopick (unknown date and photographer).
workshops for students. In addition to his teaching career, he was an accomplished artist who had international exhibitions and was well respected in the field of photography for his professional achievements. Scopick’s works are held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
Cattle & Sheep at the Royal Adelaide Show –September 2025
Michel Claverie – RPS Australia
Fig 1: Cerys and Rose from the Urrbrae Agricultural College and their protegée (I did not catch her name) being interviewed by the ABC Behind the News program. Check it online.
Fig 2: Trimmed and massaged to look and feel her best.
Fig 3 and 4: All is more or less under control during stages of a merino sheep wool quality competition: belly wool inspection, back wool inspection, the prize ribbons, and the struggle back to the pen.
Fig 5: Remember to wash your hands with soap and running water!
My trip to Churchill Manitoba Canada
Neil Anderton ARPS
Recently, I travelled to Churchill in Canada. Churchill is known as the Polar Bear capital of the World. The bears can be a problem in the town, so they are caught in bear traps, placed in large nets, and transported by chopper back into the wild. Often, they are back in three or four days.
Travelling from Melbourne to Churchill is quite a circuitous route. Firstly, I flew from Melbourne to Sydney, then to Vancouver, on to Winnipeg, and finally to Churchill.
My accommodation was at the Tundra Buggy Lodge in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. It was very good and warm. The Buggy Lodge is a lodge on wheels. So, it can move to different locations as required.
On my last morning there, it was the coldest, -30°C. Along with the poor light, the extreme cold made taking images quite tricky at times.
Fig 1: Polar Bear Hunting Wapusk NP Manitoba
Fig 2: Polar Bear & Cubs Wapusk NP
Fig 3: Polar Bears checking each other out
Fig 4: Polar Bears test of strength
Fig 5: Polar Bear leading Cubs
Fig 6: Polar Bear Mum & Cubs Wapusk NP 2
Fig 7: Snowy Owl departure
Fig 8: Polar Bears Fighting
Fig 9: Ptarmigan in Winter Plumage
Fig 10: Snowy Owl Female Wapusk NP
Fig 11: Ptarmigan
Fig 12: Snowy Owl Female 2 Wapusk NP Manitoba
Fig 13: Tundra Buggy with Photographers
Fig 14: Tundra Buggy Lodge
Members’ Gallery
Palli Gajree OAM HonFRPS
Fig 1: Split Point Lighthouse
Fig 2: Split Point Lighthouse
Fig 3: Split Point Lighthouse
Photographic challenges for the holidays
With the holidays approaching, and the chance to take some time off work. If you are looking for something to photograph, but don’t know what to shoot, here are some photographic challenges to try over the holidays.
Feel free to send your results in for the Members’ Gallery next year.
Line and analogous colours
Create an image where line is the dominant design element, using an analogous colour palette (e.g., blue–green–teal or red–orange–yellow). Look for lines that lead the viewer’s eye through the frame.
Shape and complementary colours
Capture an image featuring strong shapes while using complementary colours (e.g., blue/ orange, red/green, yellow/purple) to increase contrast. Seek out simple, bold shapes: circles, rectangles, silhouettes, windows, signs, objects.
Texture + warm/cool colour contrast
Showcase texture with a clear contrast between warm and cool colour temperatures. Photograph textured surfaces such as brick, foliage, fabric, rust, sand, or water. Use time of day intentionally: golden hour for warm tones, shaded areas for cool tones.
Proximity + monochromatic colour
Illustrate the principle of proximity (objects placed close together to imply relationship) using a monochromatic colour scheme. Use objects of the same colour family (e.g., multiple red items or different shades of green).
Contrast + triadic colours
Explore contrast using a triadic colour palette (e.g., red/yellow/blue or purple/green/orange).
Look for scenes where three distinct hues appear naturally or arrange objects yourself.
Balance + split complementary colour scheme
Create a balanced composition using split complementary colours (e.g., blue with
red-orange and yellow-orange).
Identify scenes with two smaller accent colours and one dominant base colour. Use symmetrical or asymmetrical balance.
Rhythm + analogous warm colours
Capture rhythm (repetition and flow) using analogous warm tones (reds, oranges, yellows). Seek repeating shapes or patterns: chairs, windows, fruit, flowers, street elements. Choose warm-coloured subjects or shoot during golden hour.
Emphasis + complementary highlights
Use a complementary colour pop to create emphasis within a composition.
Compose a mostly neutral or monotone scene. Use a single complementary-coloured subject to draw attention (e.g., a red subject in a green landscape).
Unity + desaturated colour palette
Produce an image where unity (visual coherence) comes from a soft, desaturated palette.
Look for naturally low-contrast scenes such as misty mornings, interiors, soft fabric textures, or pastel objects.
Space (positive/negative) + complementary colour accents
Create an image that explores space, the relationship between positive and negative areas, using complementary colour accents to control where the viewer’s eye lands.
Choose a simple scene with lots of open or uncluttered space.
