TO N Y M AY
FIONA SPENCE
YO R K S H I R E & N O R T H E A S T P H OTO G R A P H E R O F T H E Y E A R
Q E P W I T H F E D E R AT I O N O F E U R O P E A N P H OTO G R A P H E R S
Digital Creation
“M
y QEP panel was based loosely on my mono ABIPP panel. I tried various combinations, but ultimately I opted for all portrait images as the smaller panel of 12 looked better with everything in the same orientation. I also replaced one image with a more recent photo, which I thought tonally matched better. Feedback suggested I see what some of them looked like without background textures and I got to work smoothing the background for print as soon as I saw the draft panel in that way. I’m delighted Barrie and I were successful with our panels, especially as he took them out to Antwerp for both of us. I met some of the FEP folks in Prague recently at their annual competition awards. They’re just as warm and welcoming as a BIPP meetup and we look forward to seeing and working with them in the future.”
“I
shoot pre-owned watches for one of my clients and this one was shot on white for website use. It’s not an advertising shot, which would have had more time spent on it. But it has to sell the watch.
There is some focus stacking and layering involved with separate adjustments for individual parts. It has to represent the real thing so marks that can’t be physically cleaned off have to stay on. I do my own post-production and retouching. I created and added the background in Photoshop just to see if it might work in my portfolio and entered it into the competition as an afterthought. So I was surprised when it won, I can see everything that should be put right…”
14 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue Two
Issue Two / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 15
