RPS Yorkshire Newsletter March 2017

Yorkshire News

Newsletter for Photographers in the Yorkshire Region March 2017 YORKSHIRE

Notes from your RO

Firstly, here are just a few of the things the regional committee are currently concentrating on; Showcasing Yorkshire Print Exhibition 2017 had attracted at least 30 by mid January - being open to anyone, free entry through to the end of February. Selected prints will then be collected and prepared for the first exhibition at HIP Gallery in Hull from 28th July to 24th August, so I hope many of you will get the chance to see it.

Other venues are being negotiated to follow.

The flurry of regional events in start in March with our Advisory Days and Café Sessions/Self Help Groups, and we hope to see you at some of these.

Don’t forget to book on these events if you are bringing work, see the website for details.

in this issue Contacts - who’s who in Yorkshire: P.1 Notes from your RO P.1 PAGB Advisory Day Visit P.1 Got any news? P.2 International Photobook Exhibition P.2 Getting the final exposure - Eric Houlder LRPS P.3 New members and successes P.4 Exhibitions and lectures P.4 What not to miss in Yorkshire P.4 What’s UPP? P.4

Yorkshire Region contacts Regional Organiser: Mary P Crowther ARPS E: photobox50@gmail.com T: 07921 237962 Regional Treasurer: Robert Helliwell ARPS E: bobhelliwell@clara.co.uk T: 07802 413570 Newsletter Editor: Brian Crossland LRPS E: RPS.Yorkshire.News@gmail.com T: 07540 824112 Website: E: T:

Notes from your Regional Organiser… continued..

I recently attended a PAGB Advisory Workshop, to learn about their accreditations and processes. The PAGB and RPS are not so different in the end results, but have slightly different paths to get there. The Advisory Workshop Day works very much like our RPS Advisory Days, both being focussed on advising individuals on achieving a distinction or accreditations.

Rod Wheelans MPAGB, PAGB, Life Vice President gave a very detailed account of how the Advisory Workshops work, the accreditation awards, and the format of the day.

The day enabled all those who had booked to see at least one advisor and receive feedback and advice.

Spectators could walk round and switch between seeing prints and PDI collections at the different group tables. Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience, one I’m sure I will be repeating soon.

In April it is the RPS Regional Members Day – and I hope many, especially new members, will join us. David Burgess will be guest speaker. We have an open afternoon for individuals to have 10 minutes of fame showing their work [PDIs]. There are plenty of things to see and discuss on the day and, if there is scope, we may also have an area of expertise on effectively preparing mounts to enhance your images.

I do hope you will support the region in these events and we look forward to seeing everyone.

Regards Mary

Page 1 of 4

Email the Yorkshire Region Newsletter: RPS.YORKSHIRE.NEWS@GMAIL.COM

Got any news?

Many RPS members and other readers of this Newsletter, are also members of a range of Photographic Societies and Clubs, so why not use this Newsletter to share your news of members’ activities and achievements, v i s i t s , h i s t o r y, p r o b l e m s , developments, etc. If we can squeeze it in, we will.

Got something interesting happening?

Please let us know and we’ll try to include it in a future Newsletter, or write your own report and email it in.

Know of any photography exhibitions near you?

Please let us have venues, dates, websites, contact details, etc and we’ll try to visit and report back in the Newsletter.

Page 2 of 4

International Photobook Exhibition Saturday 12th November 2016 - at Bradford’s Impressions Gallery: 10:30-4:30 Between 50 and 60 people visited the International Photobook Exhibition at Centenary Square, a few having a brief look, but many spending an hour or two looking through the work on display.

The range of visitors included a few who helpfully introduced themselves, saying who they were and why they were there; such as RPS and local camera clubs and photographic society members, college and university students and a few, for whom particular photobooks recorded events and circumstances which had personally

One visitor asked if there was a comments or feedback form, because he would have liked to add some feedback to the photographer responsible for one of the photobooks as the contents aligned with his personal experiences and he wanted to pass on his appreciation. Most viewers commented about the photobooks, their range of topics and the excellent photographs they contained.

Thanks are expressed to the Contemporary Group members who organised, set up and dismantled the display.

GETTING THAT FINAL EXPOSURE

By Eric Houlder LRPS ‘The Last Bit’, about squeezing an extra frame out of a 35mm film brought back many memories for me of my early days in photography. This particular tale dates from 1965, when I was newly-married (in 1963) and trying desperately to maintain a mortgage, a Lambretta, and a wife on a take-home salary of well under £40 per month.

A kindly boss had given me an electronic flash. It was powered by a stick-shaped high voltage battery, and these were now quite unobtainable, so in effect it was useless. However, my recently-deceased grandmother had had a hearing aid which used a ninety volt battery, so I had the idea of removing the business-end from the redundant cell and fixing it to a handle which I fashioned out of wood and leatherette. Before Aralditing the contact end to the handle I had soldered wires to the underside of each contact and run them down beneath the leatherette each to a crocodile clip. The assembly was completed with a ¼” Whitworth tripod screw socket to enable it to be fixed to an accessory bar.

Now came the dangerous bit! I took it to my friendly neighbourhood electrical dealer, bought a ninety volt hearing aid battery, and connected it: no ready light. I bought another and added it to the circuit: still no orange glow. This was becoming expensive, but nothing ventured, as they say, so I bought another, and after a suitable pause the light came on. Success! The three batteries fitted nicely in the front pocket of my gadget bag, though it was now very heavy.

The opportunity to try it came within a few days when we exposed a medieval burial on the excavation where I was working as a volunteer. Removing the covering slabs we immediately noticed that the skeleton was wearing boots; a rarity then and now.

It was already too dark for exposure on Agfacolor CT18 (50 ASA), at that time the best colour film for archaeological recording, so I assembled camera, accessory bar and flashgun, only noticing at that point that the counter on my Aires Penta was reading 22 – on a twenty exposure film!

I gingerly wound on, calculated the exposure from the table on the back of the gun allowing for the outdoors and non-reflective surroundings - a grave; I mean, what could be less reflective? and exposed the frame. After re-winding, the film went off to Wimbledon with a note requesting special care. Two days later I was asked to sign for a package from Wimbledon containing my trannies, a set of plastic mounts, and a complimentary film!

The final image was excellent, so I had done my sums correctly. Recently I scanned the somewhat faded original and restored it. It was still good enough to be published in a modern journal.

Interesting report, Eric - interesting from a historical point of view and a photographic one. We’d like to hear from other members about their own experiences of photographic making do and mending (or otherwise) and experimenting with technology to achieve the results they wanted. Any story submitted will be included in the Newsletter as soon as space permits. Please send to RPS.Yorkshire.News@gmail.com with a picture or two.

ALL IMAGES IN THIS NEWSLETTER ARE COPYRIGHT THE OWNERS PLEASE DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT THE OWNER’S PERMISSION

Page 3 of 4

What you should not miss - please check the venue and our website before setting off

The Yorkshire Region continues to grow: Welcome to our new members: Jenni Whiteley James Robert Sillar Jane Batty Ian Wood Correen Low David Alec Cotton Carolyn Mendelsohn Saixi Liu Rhiannon Rees

Philip Hardill Colin Shaw ARPS Peter Farthing LRPS Jeff Jaycock Sara Sault Helen Peterson Demetri Dourambels Neil Womersley James Gatehouse-Cross LRPS

Congratulations on receiving your Distinctions: Nick Hillman LRPS Trevor Thurlow LRPS Alan Tyrer ARPS Multimedia William Barrington-Binns ARPS(exemption)

• March 11th Advisory Day, New Brookhouse Club, Wakefield.

• ENDING - 11th March - Street View: Photographs of Urban Life; Graves Gallery, Sheffield • ENDING 18th March: The Queen, The Chairman and I. Impressions Gallery, Bradford. 20 years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule.

• April 5th - Photograph Bolton Abbey and the River Wharfe with the Landscape SIG. Contact Jim_Souper@msn.com • April 8th - AGM and Members’ Day. New Brookhouse Club.

• April 9th: Yorkshire Monochrome Group - Martin Priestley.

• March 12th - Yorkshire Monochrome Group - Mike Heller (more later) • April 21st - 27th; Sheffield Photographic Society - see below.

• April 22nd to June 3rd - RPS 159th International Print Exhibition - The Civic, Hanson St, Barnsley, S70 2HZ. • May 13th - Self Help Group, Café Session. VJ’s Art Bar, York.

• June 17th Advisory Day (inc ARPS Natural History). New Brookhouse Club, 221 Barnsley Road, Wakefield, WF1 5NU. • July 28th to August 24th - Hull HIP Gallery exhibiting the selected Yorkshire Showcasing Yorkshire prints.

• July 29th Self Help Group, Café Session. Whitecloth Gallery.

Event: Detail:

Sheffield Photographic Society Annual Print Exhibition Exhibition of winning and selected Society members' print images.

Judged by John Chamberlin FRPS APAGB MFIAP Time: Daily from noon on Friday 21st April TO 4pm Thursday 27th April 2017 Venue: Sheffield Cathedral, Church Street, Sheffield, S1 1HA. Entry: Free For more information visit www.sheffield-photographer.org.uk The Yorkshire Monochrome Group: 12th March 2017 Mike Heller - details to be confirmed 9th April 2017 Martin Priestley - www.martinpriestley.co.uk Martin graduated with a degree in Photography & Digital Imaging from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2007. Based in Saltaire, Martin now uses his photography as both a hobby and a job.

We now have a RPS Yorkshire Facebook Group - which is open to anyone, not just members.

The 11th Aesthetica Art Prize is Now Open for Entries (until 31/08/17). http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/art-prize/ Categories: Photographic & Digital Art; 3 Dimensional Design & Sculpture; Painting, Drawing & Mixed Media; Video, Installation & Performance.

The 37th Frame

What’s UPP? Many of our members may already know about and be part of UPP (the United Photographic Postfolios), a postal and on-line photographic club. Members submit monthly images for circulation, by ‘secure postal bag’ or ‘on-line’ allowing others to comment and appraise their work. This virtual club comprises ‘circles’ of about 12 to 15 members with a shared interest and covers the UK and many overseas countries. There is an annual convention, held near Birmingham in September and some members develop long lasting friendships due to the social elements within their circles. The use of on-line circles greatly enhances this.

Please tell us about your experiences with: 1 - membership of this, or any other such group which other member-photographers may be interested in.

2 - other photography clubs, societies or similar organisations?

For anyone wanting more information about the UPP of Great Britain, find it at - www.uppofgb.com or ask a member.

Page 4 of 4

The last bit, squeezed in at the end. When using 36 exposure films, it was expected that a Yorkshireman would manage to get at least one more frame out of the film.