RPS Visual Art Group, Newsletter No. 14, August 2022

August 2022 No. 14

WELCOME TO OUR SUMMER NEWSLETTER Wow! What an amazing summer we are having so far. Record daytime temperatures and hot sticky nights don’t exactly help your creative photographic juices to flow but hopefully you are managing to find some interesting and unusual images to shoot.

In this newsletter I have included my own ARPS panel and hope that you enjoy the story behind the images as well as the images themselves.

CAROL PAES - ARPS PANEL The door creaked as we (my photography friend and I) pushed it open far enough so we could squeeze through. The conservatory rattled in the wind and we wondered if we were in fact a little mad to even venture through the door. We have no law of trespass in Guernsey but, even so, we asked for permission to explore with our cameras.

The Brighton residential weekend was a big success so we bring you some images and insight into that weekend. The Gloucester weekend workshops are now fully booked but there is still some space on the actual weekend. I have still included some information on what to expect for those lucky enough to have secured a space. There is also a teaser for the spring 2023 residential weekend in Newcastle upon Tyne. Mike Kitchingman LRPS is doing a fabulous job organising these events which are enjoyed by so many.

Also included in this newsletter is an article from James Reid regarding his Architectural Portrait of Edinburgh, a book he has been working on for a few years. Gabriella Muttone has also submitted an article regarding her recent work, which is very interesting.

Rollright group activities are explained in an article from Barry Barker FRPS and Wendy Meagher LRPS updates you on our Print Exhibitions - where and when you can view the images that were included in our Square Images magazine.

I am delighted that some VAG members have contacted me to include their work in this newsletter. I would love it if more of you would be happy to write a short article and submit some of your images for me to include in the Autumn newsletter. Please contact me if you are even slightly interested!

Happy snapping one and all Carol Paes ARPS

The hotel has been closed for about five years due, I believe, to failing some fire regulations. I could see the outside falling into disrepair and wondered what the inside could share with an enthusiastic amateur photographer.

I had visited the hotel often when it was still open, but, standing in the reception area and gazing through the cracked windows leading to the bar, gave me a sense of both joy and sadness. The joy, because only now I realised that I had just found the topic for my RPS associate level, and sadness, to see such an iconic hotel totally unloved. The first image of my panel was the broken glass in the door leading to the bar area. I hoped to show the dilapidated nature of the hotel through the fragmented shards of glass.

We cautiously climbed the stairs and stopped in shock at the row of bullet holes perforating the safety glass at the top of the stairs. Graffiti on the walls made for interesting, if not a little unsettling, reading. The first room we entered was the second image on my panel. Broken glass from the cupboards scrunched underfoot, the mattress was displaced from its base, with

August 2022 No. 14 the sheets still attached. Graffiti stained the glass on the windows. The rooms were bizarre as most still had the cups and saucers on the tray, along with the tea bags and sugar. Signs of vandals and squatters were everywhere and, as you can imagine when we opened each door,

The ceiling was also falling in and the smell of fungi/mould hung heavily in the air.

Everywhere we looked, the incongruities we saw made us exclaim out loud even when we found ourselves alone. Soon after entering the building, I decided my panel would be in the Documentary category, in black and white, but I decided I would only use available light and not move anything. I wanted the character of the place as it had been left to shine though.

we wondered what we would find, including whether there were still people hiding around the abandoned hotel.

Picture 7 shows one room in which the bedroom’s patio door had been broken and, as such, the rain ingress had caused mould to grow on the carpet. As we stepped into this room, we could feel the floor give slightly beneath our feet.

Picture 4 showed the light coming through into the dining-room area. The brambles had also made their way in, with cobwebs just visible. I included words about nature taking its toll on the building, and one assessor felt that this hadn’t been fully displayed in my images.

Luckily, the next assessor commented that the water, air and mould all caused decay and damage and these were also nature.

Fortunately, we had brought decent torches with us as the ground floor had been almost totally boarded up. Moving around the kitchen was fascinating, as all the piles of plates and glasses had been left intact. It would appear that the cooker was being cleaned as the shelves were still in the sink where they had been left when the hotel closed. The fridge and freezer were still there, as were the coffee machine, microwave, cups, saucers, saucepans and utensils. The darkness was a challenge to get a decent photograph but I hope I managed in picture 5.

I did try to incorporate one or two images from the outside but couldn’t get the same ‘feeling’ in the images that I had managed for the inside.

August 2022 No. 14 As you can imagine, there were many hotel rooms I could choose from to take images.

Some of the rooms were still intact, with duvets on the bed and the room totally untouched.

Other rooms were completely wrecked with curtains ripped, furniture slashed and trash left everywhere. Images 3 and 11 are of the same room, a double with a four-poster bed. This room looked like it had been lived in, with clothes, shoes and make-up left lying around.

Empty bottles of alcohol and even an empty pot of vitamins were in the room. The soft furnishing had been slashed with a pair of scissors which were still lying on the chair.

Picture 12 of the slashed pillow with the words ‘sweet dreams’ made me smile in an ironic way, so it had to be included.

One room had clothes laid out on the bed as if someone was in the shower. We found the ironing room (as the industrial-style iron was still there) which was still full of sheets and duvet covers, etc.

Some bathrooms were still intact and others had the tiles broken with holes made in the walls. It was a challenge to get a decent shot of an interesting bathroom as they were usually windowless, making them very dark, or the shape of the room restricted a good angle to take an image. Picture 14 was my bathroom shot and, as you can see, I managed to get a good image by using the bathroom mirror to get an interesting angle of the room. The wine glass and full jar of passata were as I found them, next to the sink.

As the panel was to show how the hotel had fallen into disrepair, it was important to show as many different facets as possible: bedroom, dining-room, corridor, bathroom and kitchen.

Some of the images are darker than others but I hope they reflect the actual hotel as I found it.

My final image, number 15, of the dark corridor leading to the light outside, was to draw you out of the hotel and back into the sunlight.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience to take the images, process them and work on my ARPS panel. The support I received from my ‘Harem friends’ was invaluable, and the one-to-one session really helped to identify the best images and fine-tune my statement of intent.

August 2022 No. 14

Statement of Intent St Margaret’s Lodge Hotel was once a vibrant, essential part of the tourist industry in Guernsey. Around four years ago, the hotel was closed suddenly as I understand it failed some essential fire regulations.

I drive past the hotel on a regular basis. I saw the outside had been reinforced following damage and could see the building fall into disrepair over a relatively short period.

I wanted to be able to illustrate how much the hotel had deteriorated in this space of time, what had been left intact, the damage done by any vandals forcing their way in, and if nature had started to take its toll on the building.

Using only available light and not moving anything, my panel is intended to show what can happen to a hotel when left vacant, abandoned and unloved for only a few years.

Carol Paes ARPS

ROLLRIGHT UPDATE 28th May 2022 Hello Friends, Fellow Photographers and Artists, We had a super day at Long Compton in May. This is what was enjoyed or this is what you missed...

I think that most of us learned a new word yesterday – taphofile** - the first set of images presented by Viveca Koh having the title “Taphophile Tales”. Not surprisingly, even my spellchecker doesn’t recognise it. This was followed by some very spooky dolls, Isle of Man seascapes, a floral tribute to Robert Mappelthorpe, and her personal interpretation of Dungeness beach. Viveca’s image constructions using multiple exposure, texture screens, layers and abstractions, combined with photographs of found objects, urbex decay, and a wealth of source material in her vast collection of picture postcards, found beauty in the most unexpected places. Her images were full of ideas and creativity, emotion, and sensitivity. She has a wonderful eye for detail, composition and compositing and great technique.

In Part II, Philip Joyce presented a number of his documentary projects – the Porthcawl Elvis festival – full of characters and humour; the Gipsy Horse fairs at Stow and Appleby; Livestock markets; Pride marches; the coiffured dogs (and their pet owners) at Crufts; the fun and flummery of Oxford degree ceremonies, and an essay on Port Talbot, cut through and dominated by the M4 overpass.

His pictures were well suited to the monochrome treatment that he gave to many of them, full of light, contrast and chiaroscuro** (another good word!) . Someone much wiser than me said that documentary photography requires a commitment and engagement with the subject, immersion was the word used - patience, persistence and above all time. Philip clearly has these qualities in spades and his style and light-hearted delivery was most entertaining.

Completing the day was Ashley Franklin, who regaled us with the story of his journey, taking his casual pursuit of photography to a passion and on to his, now, profession. As well as his excellent photographs, particularly of the Derwent Valley where he lives and clearly loves, he had much to say on the importance of marketing, contacts, diversity, hard work and, (he was honest enough to admit), not a little good luck on the way. He talked of the influences on his work and it was interesting to see how it evolved from personal and club photography, to the wide ranging broad appeal of his contributions to magazines, books, calendars, interior design, portraits, the occasional wedding, and the landscapes of his beloved Derwent Valley and in Tuscany, where he frequently runs workshops.

Many thanks to everyone who helped to organise and run the day, and to everyone who supported it.

We had a very full and varied day of excellent photography, which I thoroughly enjoyed – even if I did have to reach for the dictionary at the end of it…

For peace of mind ** A Taphophile – is someone who is interested in cemeteries and gravestones. ** Chiaroscuro - is the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting, an effect of contrasted light and shadow.

Who knew?

August 2022 No. 14

Save the dates The next Rollright VAG meeting on 27th August will be for group members to show off their pictures and I hope to have a goodly programme of guest presenters for the 26th November.

bereavement) and an excellent talk it was.

Viveca always gives a good presentation and this time was no exception so many thanks V for stepping in.

Barry Barker FRPS

BRIGHTON SPRING RESIDENTIAL WEEKEND I’d like to thank all of you who attended our Brighton weekend for making it the success it was. As it was the first one we’ve organised it was not without trepidation that we arrived on Thursday evening to set everything up and true to Murphy’s Law we had a few hiccups along the way but thanks to some excellent guests and a great supportive crowd we got through.

Caroline Briggs LRPS We also had Tony Bramley along showing his superlative ‘F’ panel “Approaching zero degree” which, he explained, was based on the suprematist work of Kazimir Malevich and, with a lot of agonising over a period of 18 months, developed a pure photographic vision.

Sam Ruth We started off Friday with our usual welcome drinks and to get acquainted and meet old friends and followed up with Paul Mitchell giving a talk as a preliminary to his workshop the following day after which we had dinner and then our first ‘show and tell’ of the weekend.

On Saturday those who were lucky enough to book onto the workshops set off on their respective gigs (they proved very popular and were booked up quickly, a heads up for next time) and the rest of us enjoyed the lovely weather we were blessed with and got out there with our cameras.

Saturday evening kicked off with Viveca Koh, (who had gallantly stepped in after Andy Holliman was unable to attend due to a family

Claire Carroll On Saturday night we tried a new idea and went out in small groups to take pictures of the goings on along the seafront and in town and on Sunday after the workshops and a break for refreshments we welcomed Jo Teasdale. Her work is an artistic form of self-expression, poignant and edgy, often unveiling elements of our human nature.

‘My Adopted Family’ is her latest major body of work since being awarded her Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in 2016 for her

August 2022 No. 14 portfolio entitled ‘The Factory’. This was another great presentation from a unique and perceptive photographer.

After dinner we reconvened in the meeting room for our last ‘show and tell’ of the weekend together with our images of the weekend challenge which was ‘Brighton Rock’. A lot of scope for invention and true to form there were some really good, varied ideas shown.

ROLLRIGHT VISUAL ART GROUP MEETING 27th August 2022 At Long Compton Village Hall, CV36 5JJ £8 per person, pay on the door (cash only please) 10.30 to 4.00pm (doors open 10.00am) Tea and coffee provided, we are unable to do lunches so please bring your own food.

This meeting will be a members' day, an opportunity for everyone to show their work.

Please book your place and indicate if you wish to show prints or PDI’s at this link to Doodle: https://doodle.com/poll/3k6vqnur8v2qixuf Simply add your name, tick Prints and/or PDIs and Send.

You will receive a message confirming that you have successfully registered.

Our projector for PDIs handles most standard still image formats, but best to stick to jpeg, sRGB colour space, and HDMI resolution or less, on a USB device. We will have a laptop and sound system, which is capable of showing any size of image, as well as mp4 videos, including any sound track.

Mark Deutsch LRPS So, on Monday morning we all set off home and Sally and I got some nice feedback from everyone which has given us a lot more confidence for the next weekend which will be held in Gloucester in October on the 21st-26th and which you should have, by now, received details about. So, if you fancy coming along and I know you’ll enjoy the experience, get in touch with me as soon as possible.

Sally and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you all there in October.

Mike Kitchingman LRPS

Double Thirteen Photography If you wish to show an AV or Powerpoint presentation I recommend you bring your own device to drive the projector.

We will show prints on the two print stands.

Although under the aegis of the RPS-VAG, our meetings are not restricted to RPS members.

If you know anyone who might be interested in what we have to offer, please pass on this message and encourage them to come along.

August 2022 No. 14 Our members' days are always stimulating, full of variety and creativity so I hope to see you there.

For more information on Rollright VAG or to join our emailing list, please contact Barry Barker at visualartrollright@rps.org Barry Barker FRPS

Let’s go OUTSIDE...

Instantly I felt a connection to the Visual Art Group. Visual art is how I believe best describes my personal photographic work.

I am a newbie to VAG, joining last autumn just before I arrived in England from the United States, but I was born and lived my formative years in Canada. These last eight months in England unfolded as a wonderful surprise. I found myself in a quaint little town just southwest of Salisbury. The area is mainly farmland and is very lush with foliage, crops and livestock. I became ever so inspired to unpack my macro lens and photograph the foliage. Primarily a portrait photographer by trade, my imagery usually has a human in it. Yet given the opportunity, I will select my beautiful 105mm macro lens with add an extender and focus on photographing florals.

These images were all taken outside under overcast skies using natural available light.

Everything was shot in-camera using a double exposure, along with a long exposure while moving the camera to create motion blur.

Nikon Z7 w/105mm macro lens, 1/8 sec, 100 ISO, 2.8-11f

Let’s stay INSIDE...

Dried grasses and blossoms.

Living in such a beautiful part of the country with so much natural habitat to explore I decided to collect some of the spent grasses and blossoms and photograph them indoors.

Earlier this spring I visited Kew Gardens in London. It was wonderful to met up with other photographers from the RPS to share ideas on how to capture foliage and blossoms in unconventional ways. What is so wonderful is how differently each image develops even when we used the same technique and shot the same object. The wonders of photography as visual art!

August 2022 No. 14 for her creative boudoir portraits. Also in 2020 the Houston Center of Photography chose work from Gabriella’s ‘Hollywood Streets’ pandemic lockdown series for it’s ‘Togethering’ Exhibition.

And in 2018 OpenShow San Diego chose Gabriella to present a live show of slides and prints from her project ‘Midnight Muse’ at the beautiful MOPA San Diego.

All images ©gabriellamuttone. www.gabriellamuttone.com

VAG AUTUMN RESIDENTIAL WEEKEND GLOUCESTER OCTOBER 21st-24th

Workshops are fully booked!

We have some treats in store for our Gloucester Weekend in October and I can now elaborate on the programme that I sent out in the last newsletter.

Firstly our workshops are now confirmed as Benedict Brain who will be conducting two workshops one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Photo Walk 01: Beauty & the Banal

These images were all taken inside against an off white wall using naturally available light with the grasses and blossoms held in a narrow necked vase.

I shot in-camera using double and triple exposures. I also changed the white balance in between frames to change the colour overlays.

I prefer doing as much work as possible incamera and as little post production in photoshop as possible.

Nikon Z7 w/105mm macro lens, 1/100 sec, 200 ISO, 2.8 Gabriella Muttone is a Canadian/American published photographic artist and international model/instructor living in Los Angeles.

OpenShow #67 Los Angeles, presenting July 19th 2022, selected Gabriella’s work ‘A Beautiful Mind : Anna’ as one of only three international presenters. In consecutive years 2020 and 2021, she received international accreditation

Exploring Gloucester with a mindful and creative eye this photo walk will embrace the idea that interesting images can be made anywhere Photo Walk 02: Monsters, Myths & Metaphors A fun and interactive photo walk exploring creative ideas around narrative and storytelling in photography using Gloucester Quays as a stage.

He will also be giving us a talk. ‘The Art of Seeing’ In which Ben will be discussing photography and his approach to imagemaking using work from his long-running column called The Art of Seeing Ben is a UK based photographer and journalist. He graduated with a degree in photography from the Derby School of Art in 1991 (now University of Derby), where he was tutored and inspired by photographers John Blakemore and Olivier Richon, amongst others.

He is an Associate of the Royal Photographic

August 2022 No. 14 Society and also sits on the society’s Distinctions Advisory Panel.

Until recently (July 2018) Ben was editor of Britain’s best-selling consumer photography magazine, Digital Camera Magazine and as a journalist he met and interviewed some of the world’s greatest photographers and produced articles on a wide range of photography related topics, presented technique videos, wrote in-depth features and curated and edited best-in-class content for a range of magazines He currently writes a regular column, The Art of Seeing, for Digital Camera magazine.

Ben is also a tour and workshop leader for the UK’s premier landscape photography tour company Light & Land.

Then we have Paul Gallagher, well known for his wonderful work in landscapes and minimalism. Paul will be conducting a workshop in the Forest of Dean in his inimitable style.

A few words from Paul “Along with photography, the outdoors and wilderness have always drawn me strongly.

There has always been something within me that changes as I walk out into the hills or along the coast. I spent many hours with my father in the mountains which cemented this love. The connection with the wilderness and my absolute drive to make photographs fashioned me into the photographer I am now.

I became a lecturer in photography and have taught in a number of colleges and also have the privilege of passing on my knowledge during the many field workshops I run with my company, aspect2i.

Photography is the very foundation of who I am. To make photographs of the landscape that represent what it means to me is still wonderfully challenging and rewarding. Now that I am using digital cameras, I can choose to present my exploration in colour or black and white, and more recently, my exploration of digital infrared photography has become another avenue of discovery for me”.

For our talks over the weekend we have Ray Spence FRPS extolling the joys of the Wet Plate Collodion Technique. This and other early techniques such as cyanotype have become more popular of late and lend themselves well to Visual Art as Ray’s wonderful work will show.

Also we have Vanda Ralevska who is a semiprofessional landscape photographer based in

London. Photography has been her passion since her teens, and over the years it became an inseparable part of her life. It enables her to see things that normally stay unnoticed and appreciate the beauty that exists within everyday scenes. She is passionate about capturing the world we live in, always searching for those fleeting moments of magic that transform it into something extraordinary. landscape a predominantly is Vanda photographer. Her images strive to reflect the atmosphere, feeling, and sheer wonderment that our natural world can evoke within us.

“Photography has been my passion for many years. It started on one special day, when I got my first camera from my dad. A little red snap happy Konica. At that time in Czechoslovakia a camera was a very rare present, which made it even more special for me. I started to discover the whole new world around me and see things I walked by before without noticing them”, Vanda Ralevska

Weekend schedule and costs As in previous weekends we will still be having several show and tell sessions. These will consist of images/prints members bring to share with the group (any Distinction Panels are always welcome) also those taken at the workshops and on location around Gloucester (we will have a card reader for you to use in your laptops) The workshops will be run as normal on Saturday and Sunday from 10.00-15.00 with a break for lunch with a maximum of 8-10 participants on each workshop on each day.

The cost for workshops will be £65.00. including a packed lunch.

The overall cost for the weekend including breakfast, dinner, lunch and all talks will be £399.00 for a single occupancy room and £509.00 for a double/Twin. A nice reduction on our Brighton costs and, an added benefit, there will be free parking at the Hotel which is a short 10-15 minute drive to/from the town centre where parking charges are also very reasonable.

THERE ARE A FEW PLACES LEFT PLEASE CONTACT MIKE FOR MORE INFORMATION Mike.kitch@outlook.com

August 2022 No. 14

AN ARCHITECTURAL PORTRAIT OF EDINBURGH 2010-2022 The concept of photographing Edinburgh and producing a professionally published book was created in 2011, whilst discussing various book ideas with an Architectural Book Publisher in Singapore.

Since then the project has grown into an immense undertaking of commitment, education and team building.

Having lived and been educated in Edinburgh, I assumed that I knew the City well. That assumption was underestimated which forced me to reappraise and take a bigger view of the City and my ideas. So, through a methodical approach I started to understand the History and Geography of the City in a more complete and thorough manner.

Salisbury Crags and Calton Hill from the former St Andrews House Edinburgh is a complex and challenging City to understand, very old and contains 3 World Heritage Sites.

So the challenge was to create a meaningful structured vision of the book concept. Then to develop and visualise how the work was going to look in terms of format, medium and style.

Very early on I decided on black and white imagery, using large composite digital images, analogue film and iPhone technology. This mixture has been an exciting aspect to the work, allowing a different level of creativity and experimental perspective. Whilst providing a very interesting visual experience.

Visually, I was interested in the darker side of Edinburgh. A medieval past full of horror, with a castle placed strategically upon a Volcanic plug.

Port of Leith, Listed Cranes and the Listed Grain Elevator, now being demolished.

One of the most exciting parts of starting the project was to be back in Edinburgh after many years away. Walking the City as a reconnaissance exercise proved to be a pinnacle move. I was able to look at the City whilst being better informed.

St Anthony’s Chapel Ruins, wth views towards Calton Hill, the Castle and Royal Mile.

August 2022 No. 14 To create an atmospheric portfolio I used large composite images captured in the perpendicular to reflect architectural excellence and detail. Whilst supplementing these images with more rudimentary and grainy images from the use of other media.

Through connections I was able to build a team of people around me, who willingly helped me to make impossible things possible.

Organisation’s started helping with access and unique arrangements to enable unique and different location photograph

This provides a broad range of different mediums and techniques, which provided an exciting, experimental and creative platform.

George Square and Edinburgh University Library St Marys Cathedral Edinburgh remains an over photographed tourist attraction. And that fact alone generated many barriers to capturing the work. But also represented a challenge in producing different work.

Additionally, I found Black Dog. A creative publisher of note that is now at the forefront of producing and publishing the Edinburgh book.

At this stage the portfolio contains over 1000 images.

These images have been edited down to 240 images for the book publication. This alone is a massive exercise, utilising specialist skills, to produce a sequenced and coherent body of work.

6 writers were also selected to add some brief essays and stories to support the work and add an alternative view point to Edinburgh.

Together all these talented people have contributed to an amazing journey in realising a small dream germinated in Singapore all these years ago.

The book will be launched in Edinburgh in October 2022, by Black Dog, with an exhibition.

14th Century Craigmillar Castle Additionally, there were significant barriers that threatened progress. Allocation of time and resources was an immediate concern, along with funding issues and working on my own.

James Reid MA ARPS

August 2022 No. 14

SPRING RESIDENTIAL WEEKEND 2023 Teaser for Newcastle Upon Tyne We will be holding our Spring 2023 Weekend on the 14th-17th April in Newcastle Upon Tyne and we’re now under way getting plans together for something we’re sure you’ll enjoy.

We’re going up to check out our preferred Hotel soon, which will be based around the Tyne/ Gateshead Quayside, within walking distance of the many iconic bridges, (the Gateshead Millennium, the Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge etc.) together with such goodies as the Victoria Tunnel under the City Centre, Grainger Market, a grade 2 listed building with some great eateries and perfect for candid shots, the Sage Concert Hall, (designed by Norman Foster) which, when seen at night is a magnificent edifice. This is a small part of the “Gateshead Quays Development” which includes the Baltic Arts Centre (with its 4th and 5th floor viewing areas across the Tyne it’s another wonderful building, originally the Rank Hovis flour mill and converted by Dominic Williams in 1994).

All these are within a short walking distance from the Quays and we’re a fit lot aren’t we ?

There are also many photographic opportunities around Tynemouth, a short 25 minute drive away and, who knows, this may be a venue for one of the workshops ? Time will tell !

I’m in the process of booking Speakers at the moment but I already have two great Workshops lined up, one with: Bill Ward.

A multi-award winning photographer and actor, born and raised in Newcastle-uponTyne so he has a particular affinity with the area. He specialises in creative photography, and is particularly drawn to water but is also a great advocate for ICM. A lifelong traveller, he’s interested not just in the places he goes, but the time that he spends in them. It's this that forms the basis of his work He is a regular writer and “ICM worldwide the for contributor Photography Magazine”, gives talks at Photographic Societies all over the UK, and is proud to be an Ambassador for Pentax/Ricoh

Imaging. He also holds workshops for “Light and Land”. I’ve included a link to his website below, so please do take time to check it out, some astounding work. https://www.lightandland.co.uk/photographytour-tutors/view/bill-ward As well as being an inspirational and creative photographer Bill is also an accomplished actor in his own right having been in TV programs such as Emmerdale, Vera, Coronation Street as well as numerous stage productions so has a thespian’s eye for lighting and creativity.

Our other workshop will be in the capable hands of Tony Worobiec FRPS. A Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, Tony is a fine art photographer with work in the permanent collection of the RPS, The Fox Talbot Museum and in numerous corporate and private collections here in the UK, in Europe, Japan and in The States.

Author of 17 books, Tony Worobiec studied fine art at The University of Newcastle upon Tyne and spent 18 years as head of a large design faculty in Dorset. He has won awards for photography in the UK and internationally, and has had work exhibited in London’s Barbican Gallery, Bradford’s National Museum of Photography, The Menier Gallery London and The Fox Talbot Museum Lacock. Dozens of his photographs have been used for book or covers. album a 100 than more in appeared His work has UK the in here both magazines photographic write to invited been has He America. in and well-respected for articles extended photographic magazines such as Black & White Photography, Practical Photography, Total Digital Photography, Digital Photo, Digital Camera, Photo Plus and Photo Techniques USA. Several of his articles have also been published in the German magazine, Canon Foto. Tony is also an assessor on the Visual Art Panel of the RPS. As with Bill, his work is well worth a look. https://www.tonyworobiec.com Both Tony and Bill will also be giving a talk about their work, but more to follow on that when plans are crystalised.

Newcastle is a really buzzing venue for us and I’m sure that with our workshop leaders and the speakers I’ll be lining up, and the myriad

August 2022 No. 14 photographic opportunities to be had around the area this will be one to remember.

In Brighton, due to our hotel being in the centre of things we had an evening walkabout in small groups of friends/colleagues after dinner to capture the nightlife and, if time and space permit we’re planning a similar gig in Newcastle. At night the town and quayside (where we will be based) both come to life with upmarket and trendy bars, set against the mesmerising riverfront and together they combine a party atmosphere with epic views, a photographers heaven (but you may need a tripod to get the best of them12), It’s a bit early for you to be making any decisions yet but I’m always around for any questions/comments you may have. mike.kitch@outlook.com Mike Kitchingman LRPS

EXHIBITION UPDATE

Venue: The Photographic Exhibition Centre, 68 Great King Street, Edinburgh EH3 6, Scotland.

Opening hours: Mon-Sat, 10.00am-5.00pm; closed Sundays.

Due to space limitations, 50 prints, including the 10 award winners, will be exhibited. In case you wish to visit, the following prints – as published in the VA Members’ Print Exhibition 2021 Magazine - will be shown: pp 3-15, 64-73; 75-82; 84; 86-97; 99-102; 106; 114; 118; 128; 130. (Please remember that prints up to p 61, including the winners, were shown at the Landmark Gallery, Teddington, in A Saturday 17 September – Saturday 15 October @ Gallery Photiq, 40 Park St, Leamington Spa, CV32 4QN. Tel: 01926 833212; Website: www.photiq.uk Opening hours: Tues-Sat, 10.00am-4.00pm; closed Sundays and Mondays.

Due to space limitations, 59 prints, including the 10 award winners, will be exhibited.

If you wish to visit, the following prints – as published in the VA Members’ Print Exhibition 2021 Magazine – will be shown: pp 3-15, 62-63; 74; 83; 85; 98; 103-105; 107-113; 115117; 119-127; 129; 131-150.

Sat 1 October – Closing date for the submission of up to 3 of your prints for the 2023 VAG Members’ Print Exhibition. All details on the Entry Form and Conditions of Entry have been emailed to you already.

Tuesday 8 – Thursday 24 November @ the Handa Gallery, Wells Maltings Trust, Staithe Street, Wells next the Sea, Norfolk NR23 1AN. All 145 prints will be exhibited.

Opening hours: 11.00am-4.00pm, every day.

Sunday 27 November – Selection Day for the RPS VAG 2023 Members’ Print Exhibition.

Edinburgh Photographic Society On Monday, 8th – Sunday, 28th August: The Edinburgh PS has kindly invited us to exhibit 50 of our 2021/2022 Square Images prints at their 158th Edinburgh International Exhibition of Photography 2022, to run concurrently with the Edinburgh Festival.

Tuesday 5 – Sunday 18 December @ the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Park Street (entrance through the Woodstock Museum, 14 Park Street), Woodstock OX20 1SN. Opening hours: Tues-Sat, 11.00am-5.00pm; Sun, 2.00-5.00pm; closed Mondays.

This exhibition will continue to the end of January 2023. All 145 prints will be exhibited.

Wendy Meagher LRPS

August 2022 No. 14

DISTINCTION SUCCESSES

Here is my attempt!

We congratulate the following Visual Art Group members on their recently gained RPS Distinctions Associate, Documentary, March 2022 Alan Cameron, Lancs Christine Cormack, France Licentiate, April 2022 Eve Milner, London Marios Pittas, Singapore Helen Shaw, London

UPDATE ON THE CIRCLES "The Visual Art Group gives all its members, free of charge, the opportunity to make new photographer friends, from all over the UK, and occasionally even abroad.

You can join one of our two Print Circles, exchange prints and share comments on them every few weeks. For reasons of postage and loss of prints, the Print Circles are restricted to the UK. If you're interested, just drop me an email. I can find you a place straightaway. Or if you want more information, I can put you in touch with one of the Secretaries who run the Print Circles and you can discuss queries with them.

The Visual Art Group also runs 5 Email Circles, which circulate images monthly, and welcome new as well as experienced members. There are a few places available in both Print and Email Circles just now so if you'd just like to know a little more, drop me a line at Gill@dishart.plus.com Gill Dishart ARPS

AND FINALLY……….LEARN A NEW WORD OR TECHNIQUE In this newsletter I would like to introduce you to the Adamski Effect. This is when motion blur is incorporated or added to shots to give a surreal effect. There are many youtube videos that explain this technique - here is one such link.

Why not have a go and then post your attempts on our Facebook page.

VISUAL ART GROUP Committee members 2022/23 Chair John Cavana ARPS Secretary Carol Paes ARPS Treasurer Barry Barker FRPS Membership Mark Deutsch LRPS Exhibitions Lead/Magazine Co-ordinator Wendy Meagher LRPS Exhibitions member Martyn Pearse Web Editor Michael Butterworth LRPS Circles Co-ordinator Gill Dishart ARPS Residential weekends Mike Kitchingman LRPS

https://vwww.youtube.com/watch?v=WhrX9paWFw

Committee Member Claire Carroll

Here is a link to show some of the work of Josh Adamski.

Exhibitions Member Bob Bracher ARPS

https://www.saatchiart.com/account/artworks/ 384643