Viewfinders Newsletter March 2023

#295 MARCH 2023

Photo by Peter Löffler

What’s inside? Intro

Well. It’s there – it took quite a lot of organising, preparing, discussing and running around, but it’s there - and it is beautiful.

If you haven’t had a chance to see our “Collective” exhibition yet, you have until March 19th to do so. And to miss seeing it ‘live’ would be a great pity – the work of Viewfinders members that is on show there could stand with pride in any prominent gallery. The very well attended opening party (complete with DJ) on March 5th was probably the largest and certainly busiest we have organised to date, and the feedback from visitors there has been consistently extremely positive.

So, very many congratulations and very big Thank You’s to all the exhibitors, and in particular a Very Thank You to the people who organised and set up the exhibition and all the logistics around it.

If you won’t be able to see it ‘in person’, don’t worry –we’ll be fully documenting it online once the exhibition has closed.

Alun Foster

Photos by Nicolas Jouveneaux

Preview of the March 2023 Meeting

Come join us at our next Viewfinders club meeting on the evening of Wednesday, 15 March, starting at 20:00 at the Swedish church. Prior to the start of the meeting, we will visit the nearby Viewfinders Collective Exhibition at GH Market, av Georges Henri 490, 1200 WSL.

After Alun’s announcements, we will view the images that members have submitted for the “Photo to Edit” project.

The main event of the evening will be our external speaker, Eddy Verloes.

Eddy is a multi-award-winning Belgian literary symbolic photographer, a visual storyteller. His atmospheric shots of interiors, landscapes, and urban life hover beautifully between realism and surrealism. Taking a spontaneous approach to the craft, Eddy captures the unexpected moments of the day. His studies of literature and philosophy fueled an inquisitive search for the mystical and the poetic. He shoots with his soul, not with the camera.

Eddy will speak about his last 3 projects:

- Losing Our Minds (about ultra-orthodox Jews)

- Aardelingen (Earthlings) : project with Jef Neve in December 2022

- In omzien : project with the psychiatric institution Alexianen.

For more information about Eddy, his work and his long list of awards, see his website at: https://www.eddyverloes.be/

Along with his collection Losing Our Minds: https://www.eddyverloes.be/books/buiten-zinnenlosing-our-minds

Looking forward to seeing you at the club meeting on 15 March.

Richard Sylvester

Photos by Philippe Clabots

Summary of the February 2023 Meeting

Alun welcomed those members who were present at the church and those attending via Zoom. In his announcements at the start of the meeting, Alun mentioned the upcoming activities that are being organized, which include the “Faceless Portraits” Challenge in April, the Portraits in the Park photo project in June, and the Bright Brussels photo walk on 18 February. The ongoing club exhibition at the Brussels Women’s Club finishes on 19 February. He also invited members to upload images for posting on the Viewfinders' Instagram account, and asked for volunteers to help run the meeting and provide backup for producing the Newsletter.

A large part of the announcements was dedicated to questions concerning the forthcoming Collective Exhibition at GH Market which opens on 5 March. There will be a visit to the exhibition on 15 March just prior to the start of the March club meeting, which will feature the guest speaker Eddy Verloes.

The main event of the evening was the Triptych photo project which Alun introduced at the end of his announcements. Print Triptychs were presented by two members while nine members presented digital Triptychs. Generating an interactive discussion, they covered a variety of topics including landscapes, architecture and city scenes, portraits and wildlife, both in black and white and in color. Jason Kravitz then introduced his interactive website, https://www.aminus3.com/ which can be used to generate Triptychs with his Photo Resonance Creator App.

Alun then thanked the participants and closed the meeting.

Richard Sylvester

Photo by Kaim Merali

Darktable: A Free Alternative to Lightroom

by Diego Naranjo

Photographers relay on software in order to edit their work once it has been taken with their cameras. Whether you shoot RAW, RAW+JPG or just JPG, chances are you are using some software to help you classify, edit and export your images. Traditionally, some of the famous raw developer software used are Lightroom or Capture One. If you need to go the extra mile, you may also need additional software such as Photoshop to finalise your photographs whether by using layers (for example, if you use multiple exposures to compose one image) or even to just remove some imperfections in the skin of a person of whom you took a portrait.

From my side, I have been using (both professionally and personally) Linux-run computers for over a decade. For the most part, I rely on free software (or open source) for most of my applications. However, I have a pragmatic approach to technology and when needed I use non-free programs that can be used on Linux (Zoom, Microsoft Teams…). For photography, there are two programs right now that do everything I need to do for my creative photographic work : Darktable (an alternative to Lightroom) and GIMP (and alternative to Phosotshop). Both of them are available for free download for all platforms: Windows, Apple iOS and Linux. Today I’ll be focusing on Darktable.

Darktable is a non-destructive raw editor. As in Lightroom, Darktable allows you to add any image (raw, tiff, jpg…) to your personal library, categorise them, edit them and export them. The first thing you need to do once you open Darktable is to decide whether you want to just “add to library” or “copy and importing”. If you choose the former you will leave the original files where they are but Darktable will create a sidecar file (a file attached to your image file) containing the edits, ratings and any other metadata related to your image. If you choose “copy and import” you can copy physically your images from your SD card to a folder on your hard drive and at the same time import the images to your library (and thus create a sidecar file as well).

Since Darktable is a non-destructive raw editor, like Lightroom, you can play around with your images as much as you want, adding contrast, sharpening them, distorting them, cropping them and your raw file will remain unaltered. All of the changes stay in the sidecar file that will be created along with your original image file, but they don’t affect the original image.

Once you import images you can do the similar categorisation of your image by adding tags, rating them, adding colour tags, etc… Also, since Darktable will also read your metadata from your EXIF file, which will allow you to categorise your images by camera or lens used, ISO used, capture date or any other way you may use in other raw developer programs.

Dartktable does not have “presets”, it has “styles”. Something I miss in Dartktable is that it does not bring by default some of the “film simulations” that Fuji cameras have and that allow you to apply a specific number of edits (a “preset” in Lightroom) to an image. However, the vibrant Darktable community has got you covered, and I have downloaded a large number of styles (including equivalents to the Fuji film simulations) that I can apply to images before I fine-tune them further manually.

Darktable has two main areas of work: Lightable and Darkroom. The Lighttable is the part where you will have the overview of your images, can apply stars, tags or any other information in bulk, and from where you can export images. Darkroom is the section where you work on a single image and where you will be able to use a large number of modules: sharpening, contrast, colour zones, rotate, white balance and even add frames to your images. Believe me, all of the main editing options you will need from Lightroom or any other raw developer can be found on Darktable.

I have been using Darktable since I started photography and I have not said a single time: I wish I had the “Lightroom module X” to finalise my image.

Once you are done editing an image, you might want to export it. Darktable allows you to export in TIFF, JPEG, PNG, XCF (and more), select the bit depth, select the colour profile you need and get your image exactly as you wanted it. If there is a specific way of exporting that you will use frequently (for example, TIFF, 16-bit, Adobe RGB, 300 dpi) you can save it as one of the preset options so you just have exactly what you need in one click.

Darktable is a fully professional, photography workflow application and raw developer. If you are looking for new software you can use but you do not want to get attached to yet another company yearly or monthly rates, give Darktable a try. It is free, available for all platforms and it will not disappoint you. Read more about all its features here.

Masters of Portraiture

Richard Avedon: — Part 1: “The Story of the Photographer"

by Philip Houtekier

Richard Avedon (1923–2004) was born and lived in New York City. The son of a women's clothing store owner on Fifth Avenue, he was fascinated by photography as a child and joined a camera club when he was twelve years old.

After dropping out of Columbia University, he joined the armed forces in 1942, serving as Photographer’s Mate in the U.S. Merchant Marine. “My job was to do identity photographs. I must have taken pictures of one hundred thousand faces before it occurred to me I was becoming a photographer." He took the shots with a Rolleiflex given by his father.

Two years later, he left and began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper’s Bazaar. Initially denied the use of a studio by the magazine, he photographed models and fashions on the streets, in nightclubs, at the circus, on the beach and at other uncommon locations, employing the endless resourcefulness and inventiveness that became a hallmark of his art.

He was quickly discovered by art director Alexey Brodovitch. He established his own studio in 1946 and also delivered photographs to Vogue and Life eventually becoming the lead photographer for Harper’s Bazaar. In 1947, he landed in Paris to cover haute couture shows and had Catherine Deneuve and other of the most emblematic actresses and models of the time as protagonists of his images.

Richard Avedon May 18, 1991

At the time, the fashion world, accustomed to seeing magazine pages full of women displaying static, motionless poses, was ripe for a force like the young lensman to enter the scene. Avedon broke the norm and brought the models to life, transporting them from the studio to the street and using the city as his canvas for more youthful, energetic photos. Avedon encouraged his models to embrace and express themselves, beginning with the newfound power women gained during the mid-twentieth century to the sexual revolution of the late '60s.

In April 1965 Avedon quit the magazine after facing a storm of criticism over his collaboration with models of colour! He proceeded to become the lead photographer at Vogue photographing most of the covers from 1973 until late 1988. In 1992, Avedon became the first staff photographer at The New Yorker, where his portraiture helped redefine the aesthetic of the magazine. During this period, his fashion photography appeared almost exclusively in the French magazine Égoïste.

Richard Avedon Nastassja Kinski, June 1, 1981

Richard Avedon Catherine Deneuve, 1968

Meanwhile, since the late ’60s Avedon embarked on a political project under the working title Hard Times. He began photographing an array of subjects who were either part of or opposed to what was then known as “the Movement”: Black Panthers, American soldiers, Vietnamese napalm victims, U.S. government officials in charge of directing the war, student demonstrators, radical lawyers, gay poets.

From the beginning of his career, Avedon made formal portraits as he was always interested in how portraiture captures the personality and soul of its subject. As his reputation as a photographer became better known, he photographed many public figures in his studio using for the first time a Deardorff 8x10 inch view camera. Rather than

crouching behind the lens, as he had done for decades with his favoured Rolleiflex, he now stood beside the camera, engaging his sitters face to face. He photographed them in what became his signature fashion: in a bluntly frontal manner, against a white paper backdrop, sheared away from any setting or prop, framed only by the black edges of the negative. The subjects stand isolated in a kind of existential police line-up from which there is no escape, no appeal and—most disturbingly for the politically inclined—none of the solace afforded by a community of likeminded souls. Unlike the swooning movement of his fashion photographs, Avedon’s portraits evoke a stillness in which you can hear the ticking of a clock.

Richard Avedon Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, August 1955

His reputation as famous photographer was such that he could get almost anyone to sit for him. And because he required magazines to allow him the final choice of image, he always got the last word in the eternal contest between subject and artist over whose idea of appearance would rule. In 1976, Avedon commanded an entire issue of Rolling Stone for a portfolio called “The Family”: 69 portraits of members of the American power structure. Great statesmen, responsible for the fates of countries, came to Avedon’s studio as supplicants. Henry Kissinger begged the photographer to “be kind to me.”

You can guess the result.

His first book of photographs, Observations, with an essay by Truman Capote, was published in 1959. He continued to publish books of his works throughout his life, including Nothing Personal in 1964, Portraits 1947–1977, An Autobiography (1993), Evidence 1944–1994, and The Sixties (1999).

In September 2004, Avedon had been working on a project called "Democracy, roaming the country snapping an array of politically engaged citizens" , on assignment for The New Yorker in San Antonio, but died unexpectedly.

Richard Avedon Henry Kissinger, June 2, 1976

Richard Avedon Ronald Reagan April 1, 1993

Meet Moncho Aldamiz

Iwas a teenager in the 80’s in Madrid, Spain. It was an exciting time for the city and for Spain as a whole! We were starting to experience the new freedoms that came with democracy, and for the first time, we had access to many new forms of entertainment and culture. We had films, music, and television shows from around the world, as well as Spanish-produced films, television shows, and music. There was a contagious creative energy all around, a youthful search for identity and the idea of opening to the world.

Once I finished college, I knew I want to pursue something creative but wasn't quite sure what exactly. My mother introduced me to a friend of hers who was a photography teacher and after talking to her, I decided to enroll in the course. From the start, I immersed myself in photography and learned the basics of composition, portraiture, documentary, and darkroom technique. After learning the basics of photography, I started to experiment with different techniques and styles. I also became interested in social documentary photography and started to focus my work on capturing candid images of everyday life.

Photos by Moncho Aldamiz

In my early twenties I moved to London, UK with a view to studying TV and Film production. After graduation, I started off as a freelance camera trainee and moved up in the camera department, working on TV ads, music videos, TV dramas, feature films and documentaries, during this time I also worked as freelance press photographer for Camera Press Picture Agency in London.

Throughout my life, I’ve always been passionate about connecting with others, expressing myself, and learning about interesting people, thus portrait photography has always inspired me the

most. In my portraits, I aim to evoke an emotion in the viewer. My subject and I, collaborate on the image and I think a bit of both of us is reflected in the result. It is important to me that my photos have a timeless quality.

I joined Viewfinders in June 2022 to meet likeminded people with a passion for photography and I am very glad I did.

www.monchoaldamizphotography.com

Photos by Moncho Aldamiz

Viewfinders exhibition: "Views on Time"

By Alun Foster

Originally conceived to be presented in May 2020, when preparations were so rudely interrupted in March of that year, this exhibition finally went ahead at the Brussels Women’s Club during January and February of this year. It was, by all accounts, a success.

The opening event took place on Sunday January 15th, and our decision to have an unusually long opening time proved to be a good one. The number of people attending was exceptional – “the largest we’ve ever had”, according to the BWC exhibition coordinator. So, thanks to everyone for publicising the event so widely! The feedback from visitors during the exhibition itself was consistently

positive, concerning the beauty, the quality and the professionalism of all the images on display. And congratulations to those who sold some pictures, too! We were in fact invited to stay some 2 weeks longer than originally planned, so popular was the show we collectively put on.

The really positive outcome of this smaller, more intimate exhibition can inspire us to hold more events of this smaller scale in the future. So if you know of a similar location who can welcome such an exhibition, let us know!

Photos by Alun Foster

Photo by Paula Cagli

Me, Myself and Time

Photo by Richard Sylvester

A Tunnel Through the Fabric of Time

Photo by Kaim Merali

Will Grandpa always be my best friend?

Photo by Janet Wishnetsky

The Old Clock Shop

Photo by Hélène Cook Ghosts of the past

Photo by Miguel Angel Vilar Instance of a Dream

Rain stopped play. Bright Brussels Festival trip.

by Alun Foster

On Saturday evening, 15th of February, some 10 Viewfinders and guests gathered in the square in front of Brussels Central station, as the starting point of what we’d planned to be a fairly lengthy walk along one of the axes of this now annually recurring festival. I say ‘gathered’ but ‘huddled’ may be more appropriate in this case – for whatever reason, the weather gods had taken an unkindly view of our escapades this time.

And the choice of the Saturday evening may not have been the best of ideas, given the large crowds (which later made keeping a group together all but impossible). Still, when all were assembled, we headed off towards the Mont des Arts / Kunstberg. The displays there, and at the adjacent Museum square were, as previous years, lovely to behold and challenging to do photographic justice to.

But we did our best! From here we moved off, past a colourful display at Bozar heading toward the cathedral, where more luminous delights purported to await us.

Along the way, the chill wind and damp air turned to “scotch mist” and from there to – there is but one word for it – rain. We decided at this point to head up towards the EU area by metro, grab a bite to eat and then continue the walk. But, as often happens, “grabbing a bite” turned into a Seriously Enjoyable Time at table together. Replete, in good humour and promising to show our photos to the club we headed home, once more raising a “digitus impudicus” to the weather gods as we went (maybe that’s why they’re so often annoyed at us..?)

Photo by Adrian Cornwell

Photo by Alun Foster

Photo by Sylvina Calas

Photo by Adrian Cornwell

Photo by Peter Löffler

‘Collective’ exhibition – « Making of » by Sabine Posdziech

Here we go, after weeks if not months of extensive preparations, we were getting ready for the final touch: the hanging of pictures!

On 4 March, the ‘day before THE day’, from 9:00 in the morning the small parking lot in front of GH market was filling up, a constant come and go for those bringing their pictures, tools and hanging material and then driving their car elsewhere for the day. A closer inspection of some hanging spaces revealed that old nails and screws had to be taken off the wall to make space for a new arrangement of pictures. In a (very!) quick action,

we even painted parts of a wall white to get rid of a huge blue rectangle which did not fit in with the pictures that were to be exhibited in that space. One wall was covered with black fabrics to cover a window behind.

Exhibitors started measuring, hammering, drilling, discussing. It was not always easy to get the pictures in the right position because of the sometimes uneven bricks. But in the afternoon all the pictures were in place and the exhibition looked fantastic!

Photo by Anne Christine Brouwers

Photo by Sabine Posdziech

Photo by Piotr Wolski

Photo by Piotr Wolski

Photo by Kaim Merali

Photo by Sabine Posdziech

Photo by Adrian Cornwell

Photo by Diego Naranjo

Photo by Kaim Merali

Photo by Adrian Cornwell

What's up?

Faceless portraits - Viewfinders Challenge

Submit your pictures by Sunday evening April 16 2023 latest (for club members only).

Thou shalt see me at PhilippiStratos Kalafatis exhibition at Brenier Eliades gallery, from 9 March to 29 April 2023

Brussels Street Photography Festival (BSPF) is back! You can submit your pictures until 26 March 2023.

Discovery

Fan Ho's Hong Kong in photographs

Painting pictures with light and shadow

Though lesser known than some of his Western contemporaries, Fan Ho (1931 – 2016) was one of the most important street photographers of the 20th century. The remarkable images he captured of

Hong Kong during the 1950s and 60s assert the zeitgeist of the time and continue to influence and inspire today.

Viewfinders Calendar 2023

15 March 2023

19 April 2023

17 May 2023

7 June 2023

Photo to edit

Ext. Speaker: Eddy Verloes

TTT: Night Photography

Challenge: Faceless Portraits

TTT: My best/worst accessory

AGM/Member Photos

Photo Project: Portraits in the Park

President Alun Foster

Vice - President

Miguel Angel Vilar

Secretary Richard Sylvester

Treasurer

Newsletter team

Membership Coordination

Programme Team

IT Support

Meeting Support Team

Trips Team

Exhibition Team

Social and others events

Caroline Hendry

Sabine Posdziech

Anna Nowak

Ines Touche

Milton Fanfa

Dagmara Jakubowska

Dagmara Jakubowska

Joaquim Capitao

Alun Foster

Miguel Angel Vilar

Miguel Angel Vilar

Nicolas Jouveneaux

Martin Schmid

Milton Fanfa

Kathy Moran

Anne - Christine Brouwers

Alun Foster

Karina Robin

Anne - C Brouwers

Karina Robin

Any items from members for publication are welcome. Images are particularly welcome. Please send them in as separate attachments (not embedded in emails or documents) in JPEG format, with no less than 2000px on the long side and minimal compression. Please be aware that, in accordance with the layout, some cropping may occur. Please send submissions to newsletter@viewfinders.be.

Photo by Nathan Wajsman