DI ONLINE
COVER IMAGE
ALL ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE
ThePhotographer: Patricia Tutt ARPS
TheImageTitle: Boat Hull Dry Dock
AbouttheImage:
This detail straight shot of a yacht hull in dry dock is an inversion of the red/blue original. Turn 90 degrees counterclockwise and you may see creatures in it.
Olympus E-M1 MarkIII, Olympus M 40150mm f/2.8 at 150 mm (300 mm full frame), f/8, 1/400, ISO 200
Editor DI ONLINE: Melanie Chalk
Contact: dionline@rps.org
CHAIR’S CHAT
THOUGHTS FROM THE CHAIR…
I wouldn’t pretend to our members that as the DI Committee we are profound enough to sit in a darkened room contemplating ‘kaizen’ principles, but we do seek to evolve and to achieve continuous improvement. Something I am proud to say I feel we deliver in bucket loads, with thanks to our wonderful volunteers.
It would be foolish to undermine my Chairs report that I will give at the AGM next Sunday, but when we look back over the past 24 months the improvements have been exponential.
In just this past week we have announced the Books & Zines 25 project, a new Saturday webinar with Brian Matiash, an Affinity Photo workshop series and the launch of DI Pulse. A cornucopia of inspiration and opportunities for engagement by the members.
If you didn’t catch the arrival of DI Pulse this is a new monthly online publication which lists everything DI is doing, with live links to the booking web sites. The rationale for this was to a) improve member information b) lessen the number of individual emails we send to members each month announcing different things and c) to lessen the workload of our over worked volunteers. You can download a copy or access it via the web page , https://rps.org/groups/digital-imaging/di-publications/pulse-latest-issue This is going to be your ‘What’s on in DI’ go to resource. So why not book mark the web page in case you lose the email.
Talking of emails we are well aware that emails from rps.org email addresses very often end up in SPAM/JUNK but there is nothing we can do about it for you. My concern for you is if this is happening then you are missing out on so much. Consider doing a bit of ‘Googling’ to find out how you can ensure any rps.org emails end up in your In Box, so that you can then keep your finger on the pulse of everything DI has to offer you.
We look forward to seeing you at the AGM this coming Sunday.
Regards
Janet digchair@rps.org
EDITOR’S WORDS FROM THE COMPUTER CHAIR
So this is the first issue of the newly revamped DI ONLINE for February, the content will now focus on you, the members, showcase your images, your experiences, stories and books. I am always happy to receive offers of copy and images, so don’t be shy. By removing advertisements and promoting our events and workshops in the new monthly publication, DI Pulse, we’ve created more space to display your photographic images, giving them the room they deserve.
The first winners of the revived, friendly monthly competition are featured here, some great images and coincidentally all turned out to be entries from International members.
Helen Otten, shares with us her favourite images, some stunning captures. Fleeting moments, perfect timings and magical action shots!
Our ‘International ‘ this month is Sandra Roberts, who formerly lived in London but has relocated to Italy, she shares her favourite images too.
Sometimes my requests for articles are not forthcoming, for various reasons, so for the Books and Zines feature I asked Melanie Chalk to tell us about her recently published book, she couldn’t and wouldn’t say no!
AI Snapchat this month is a collection of members thoughts and posts about all things AI. Our roving AI reporters Joe and Simon will be back in future issues to up date us on new innovations in this fast moving AI technology market.
Do remember to update Lightroom to 14.2 It promises , significant performance improvements enhancing speed, precision, and fluidity across various tools and adjustments!
Melanie Spring is just around the corner !
Melanie Chalk Editor DI ONLINE dionline@rps.org
NEW MEMBERS
Each month we welcome and list all new members, here are those who have joined in January. Let me take the opportunity to welcome all those listed here. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we might be also welcoming a ‘Re-Joiner’ but we welcome you all.
There is lots of information within these pages, and in DI Pulse, as well as links to the DI Webpage. Which is where you will find more detail as well as contact information.
MICHAEL ALEXANDER
PETER BARNES
DAVE BAXTER LRPS
SUE BISHOP
SUSAN BROWN FRPS
DR GARY CHESTER LRPS
SALLY CLARKE
IAN CLEMENTS
DAWN CLIFFORD LRPS
BRIDGET CODRINGTON
GRAEME COOK
GAVIN DOLLIN
ZAC EVANS
MICHAEL FARLEY LRPS
RITA HOFMANN-SIEVERT HONFRPS
DONNA LANCIA
REG LEE
DR GORDON MILLS ARPS
BURAK OGUZ LRPS
DR LAWRENCE OSBORN
CHRIS RUSSELL LRPS
JOHN SLATER ARPS
DEBBIE STANFIELD
MAUREEN STUART
DAVE SWINBURNE ARPS
VICTORIA TAYLOR ARPS
SUSANNE TEMPUS
BARBARA VICARY
NICK VIDAL-HALL
JUSTIN WEEKS
DR JOHN WHITT
LONDON
SURREY
LINCOLNSHIRE
DEVON
DEVON
BEDFORDSHIRE
HUDDERSFIELD
DEVON
SURREY
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
ANGUS
WEST SUSSEX
BRISTOL CITY
SURREY
FRANCE
LONDON
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
CUMBRIA
WARWICKSHIRE
GLASGOW CITY
YORKSHIRE
PEMBROKESHIRE
GREATER MANCHESTER
DUBLIN
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
SOMERSET
SWITZERLAND
KENT
GWENT
USA
USA
MONTHLY COMPETITION
THE WINNERS
By popular demand the DI Monthly competition has returned and the first round of the year has been decided, by you, the Members. For the month of January there was a good turnout and a total of 72 images were submitted. The top three scored 17, 16 and 14 and those images are displayed over the following pages. Interestingly, all three of the winners this month are International members.
So just in case you don’t know or are a new member, this fun competition is open to all DI members. You can submit one image each month ,any subject, mono or colour. We are using our PollUnit submission system so you can upload, change or delete your chosen image; uploads and changes can be made from the 1st to the 23rd of each month, and voting is from the 24th to the last day.
Once voting is over and the votes counted the winners are contacted, with the top 3 images then featured in the DI Online the following month, displayed on the website, and posted on the DI Facebook page.
To read the RULES go to www.rps.org/di/comps and click on Monthly Competition. Entry is already open for February so if you haven’t entered before why don’t you have a go?
Winner - 1st Flight of the Flamingos by Ashok Viswanathan (India)
2nd Place - The Gathering by Barbara Brown, (Australia)
3rd Place Light catcher by Peter Hungerford (Switzerland)
INTERNATIONALS
Each month we will feature an International Member and learn more about them and their photography. Here Janet Haines poses questions to Sandra Roberts who now lives in Italy.
Janet. As an RPS member who moved to Italy what are the differences you experience in terms of your RPS membership?
Sandra. The main difference is there are no face to face events to attend, in fact Italy does not even have an RPS international Chapter. When I lived in UK I was an active member of the London Region and had just started to take on a volunteering role before I moved to Italy. I miss the face to face groups and events so I continue to keep in touch with the London Region and wider RPS by taking the opportunity to meet and attend many of the talks and workshops online. The other main difference is I very rarely get a paper copy of the RPS journal delivered due to the poor postal service here in Italy.
Janet: Many UK members will be envious of you living in beautiful Italy. Do show us an image of some part of where you live and tell us a little about it.
Sandra. Don’t be too envious as Italy has its daily struggles with bureaucracy and socio-political differences. I have an ongoing project documenting how household waste and litter is just discarded in the beautiful waysides here which I was going to show you an image from but instead will show you the valley I live in with my home town of medieval Acuto perched above on the hill. This image does reinforce that all Italy is idyillic and I do feel blessed to live amongst the olive groves. We are 35 miles east of Rome, 30 miles from the coast and 10 miles from a ski resort so for someone who also enjoys landscape photography I am spoilt for choice.
Janet: Are you able to engage with other photographers now you live in Italy and if so do you see a difference in their photography to that which you see in the UK?
Sandra. Yes I have engaged with photographers locally to where I live. There are no organised groups or camera clubs in my area so we arrange to meet up individually for photo walks or at exhibitions. I don’t see any difference in the photography here other than obviously the subject matter and content is Italy focused. I have found that there are many Italian photographers whose post processing is quite stylised where images especially landscape or street scenes are processed with low contrast to compensate for the high contrast sunny days.
Walks with Bailey
Janet: Finally can you show us two of your own personal favourite images and tell us why they are important to you?
Sandra. This image is very personal to me as it is called Mia Nonna - My Grandmother. It is a portrait of her from my memory. The image was made specifically for an exhibition here in my town of Acuto for their summer festival of 2023, where I showed images from my series ‘Riflessi di luogo' (Reflections of Place). In this series I aimed to awaken memories for the residents of our town of the people that previously lived, worked and played in the many empty homes, abandoned places of work and leisure venues in the town.
Mia Nonna
The second image was hard to decide upon as I have many that I am fond of. I was considering an image from when I lived in London but have decided to show you an image which will be shown in an upcoming exhibition this year. This image is from my series I Couldn’t Bear To Listen which documents the current buildings of a former World War II internment camp situated not far from where I live. It was built to host prisoners of war but instead opened to intern civilians, including children and elderly. The work aims to reflect my shock at finding that the first internees were the Anglo-Maltese community from Tripoli Libya, who were also British citizens. They were accused of spying for the British government by the Italian fascist regime, as Libya was an Italian colony at that time, so they were forcibly taken from their homeland and interred here in Italy in appalling conditions.
Sandra Roberts LRPS
Campo le Fraschette
BOOKS AND ZINES
A REGULAR FEATURE ON BOOKS AND ZINES
“A
WARTIME ROMANCE AND A FARM CALLED PHYLLIS”
BY MELANIE CHALK ARPS
I will start at the beginning of my ‘Book’ journey by quoting below, from the opening page of “A Wartime Romance and a Farm Called Phyllis’ that I completed in December 2024. This describes how I approached this very personal journey, and in January 2025 I was then able to share the books with my nearest and dearest. At a family reunion earlier in 2024, when we had been sharing old photo’s and memories, someone was heard to say, ‘Whydon’tyoumakeabook,Melanie?”
Why do I always get these jobs? Having attended all the events organised for the Books and Zines project, I had the knowledge and the software but also the willingness to confront this challenge. I now had a project for the summer months. I spent many happy days sitting in the sunshine reading the diaries and the letters, speaking into my phone to record, and convert to type, many passages of text, and in September started to compile the record of the years from 1928 to 1945, laying it out in Affinity Publisher.
“I feel I should share with you the thoughts and emotions that have emerged as I am completing the process of compiling my mother’s letters and diaries into this book, this treasure was discovered in the loft of our childhood home. Among hundreds of letters, I carefully read and organised them, selecting significant passages and key moments that recount Phyllis’ teenage years, the beginning of her working life, career changes, and the serendipitous renewal of her friendship with Reg, which became the heart of this story.
This journey has been a profoundly enriching experience, allowing me to feel closer to both my Mum and Dad. It has been deeply moving to witness, through their own words, the intimate and heartfelt exchanges of their correspondence. Like so many of their generation, their loving relationship endured immense challenges, particularly the inevitable separation brought on by the ‘Call Up,’ which kept them apart - sometimes for months, and ultimately for four long years.
Those years, marked by danger and constant anxiety for their loved ones’ safety, come alive in their letters. Some offered reassurance that perilous journeys across a war-torn country had been safely completed, while others brought the joy of announcing leave, filling them with hope as they counted down the days to a reunion. Throughout it all, their letters reveal their remarkable resilience and acceptance of the circumstances they faced. Their deep enduring love, mutual respect, and shared dreams shone through, culminating in the realisation of their plans and the life they had envisioned and discussed together over the war years”.
The minuscule diaries , often written in pencil, were hard to decipher and interspersed with cuttings and photographs, that had sparked my mother’s interest. The letters often written and exchanged daily, on reading made me laugh and cry in equal measure.
This will be my legacy, a fascinating record of a time in history, including their survival after a bomb dropped on the pavement outside their family home. I hope this book will be read & cherished by the younger generation of my family in years to come.
My plan was outlined, the materials were ready and a start was made. I could not of course record everything written, I had to be selective, and spaced the entries out, trying to capture the essence of her life and then that of my father too, but avoiding too much solid writing. My first idea was to use the patterns of fabrics and paper of the period to break up the text, initially I hadn’t wanted to add modern photography, as I was hoping to retain the nostalgic feel of that period.
I then went off plan and started to introduce my own photography, with images fitting the seasons and the flowers mentioned by Phyllis. She was a florist, so flowers a very important part of her. I share this love and had many of my own images to choose from, in my extensive archive. I subdued the images, and my style of photography, soft focus and dreamy seemed to compliment the words and descripive text as well as introducing something of me into this book.
This was my page layout, the diary entries, to the right and the ‘Snippets’ down the left hand-side. My mother was a consummate collector of snippets and newspaper and magazine cuttings, which she then stuck in scrapbooks. So I had a wealth of sayings, poetry and quotes to choose from and include in the book, She was also an avid reader of books and poetry and describes how happy she was to sit beside the fire and read and write reams.
The story recorded in diaries and letters stops as my parents come to war torn Folkestone, where they started their flower business.
There was little time then for diaries, and no need for letters,
She writes to my father, in November, 1945,
“We’ll have to write to each other sometimes just for old times sake”.
TO VIEW THE DIGITAL VERSION OF MY BOOK
But I am so pleased that she did record her life and her romance and that we discovered this box of treasure in the loft, and that I completed this book, it was a labour of love!.
Not a Photo book but a family history including photographs!
Melanie
My mother had a great love of Spindle, an image and one of her quotes from the book.
“I shall remember branches of spindle in the old black jug looking for all the world like pink blossom”
A PHOTOGRAPHER’S STORY
HELEN
OTTEN
SHOWS US HER FAVOURITE IMAGES
What makes a favourite image from the many we may have on our hard drive or have printed?
For me it is one that is special because of an emotional connection, either with the subject, a special place or a cherished memory which brings back feelings of nostalgia and happiness.
Second to that would be that fleeting moment captured at the perfect time, preferably with perfect composition, lighting and colours - a rare event!
With a passion for animals and for the great outdoors, a selection of my favourite images would probably have to include dogs, horses, wildlife or a moody landscape. These would not be judged as my ‘best’ photographs but ones that continue to resonate with me.
For me there is something magical about a spaniel in action with ears flapping, paws outstretched and gleaming eyes. Such boundless energy and happy personality are a joy to capture. It is impossible to choose one favourite of my cocker spaniel so a few have to make my top ten and the subject of my first Blurb book.
Like many people I find photographing nature and animals rewarding in many ways and it is more than just a photograph; it’s a moment of connection, a time for solitude and peace, listening and observing, appreciating all that surrounds us.
The soulful eyes of the horse, the gliding pelican, the direct gaze of the fawn and the leopard cub connect with me as much as my images of Welsh woodlands and mountains, which I love but they will have to wait for my next list of favourite images!
Helen Otten LRPS
Flying High
Friesian Stallion
Mother’s Tail
Autumn Owl
All Calm at Kerkini.
Jumping Spaniel
Sandy Spaniel
Touching Moment
AI SNAPCHAT
UNVEILING THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN AI-DRIVEN PHOTOGRAPHY
Many of you will have watched the talk/discussion with Joe Houghton ‘AI - What’s allowed’!
What conclusion did you come to at the end of the presentation? Do you have more questions than answers?
HERE ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS AND ANSWERS FROM THE CHAT ON THE DAY
”ArtificialIntelligence'isitselfmisleading.Itisnotintelligentand,asnoted,ithasinherentbiasfrom theavailablecontent. Mark
Alotofwhatwearetalkingabout,includingthecleverstuffthataphonedoes,iscomputational. Butisitartificialintelligence? There'satendencythesedaystocallanythingdonebyacomputeras AI. SurelytherealproblemisjustGenerativeAI. Neill
Good luck to the rule setters! David
Isn'tallthisobsessionwithrulesandchecksgoingtokilloffcompetitionentries?Ourexternalcomps secstooddownasaresultoftherecentFIAPdemands. David
IswhatwehaveseenwiththemaskingreallyAI. Isn’titjustamoresophisticatedversion-asweall have much greater processing power - of what we [may] have done over the years with the magic wandandtheClonetool?
Ask yourself whether the AI tool being used is only a productivity tool or whether new content is beingimportedfromimageswhichyounevercreated.Mark
AquestionIhaveisbasedontheolder,‘manual’toolssuchasnoisereduction,objectselection usingbrushes,magicwand,healingbrush,clonestamp,content-awarefilletc. Surelythoseare doingexactlythesamethingasthenewAIversions? Ifwegodowntopixelleveltopainstakingly removeeverydotofnoisefromastarrysky,orusethehealingbrushtoremoveanunwantedinsect fromapetal,whatthesoftwarewilldoisreplacewhatwe’vepickedoff,withpixelsthatweren’tthere before.? Avril
The PAGB view is that, the less said in rules, the fewer questions are raised, the simpler it is to comply and the more difficult it is to evade by claiming some exception. There is also a big difference between PAGB/Clubs and Distinctions, FIAP and PSA. The latter are entered by individuals who have to study any regulations before entering. PAGB/Club activity needs to encourage maximum participation where most individuals may not have thought about detailed rules. Therefore the PAGB guidance only expects photographers to consider whether they have added content from elsewhere and which the photographer did not originate. We would expect a photographer to be able to answer that question if asked. That is the basis of the PAGB document 'Only You Can Know'. Mark
Therearealreadydifferentrulesforjustabouteverycompetitiongoingandhowitincreasesthe burdenonthephotographertoensuretheyhavecompliedwiththepreciserulesforeach competition. Itmustputoffquitealotofpeoplefromenteringatall. Iwouldlovetoseemore uniformityacrossallseriouscompetitions(ienotcontentharvestingones)butthat’salottoaskof themanyorganisationsconcerned. Icanonlyseeingitgettingmorecomplicatedandstressful, though. Forexample,I’mcurrentlytryingtofinaliseapanelfortheRHSPortfoliocompetitionandI realisedthat,whenweprocessourphotoswithnocompetitioninmind,wejustdowhatwealways do,withoutqueryingwhetheritwillbecompliantwithwhatever. I’vehadtorevisitandreprocess myselectedimagesbecauseIoriginallyusedtheTexturesliderinLightroom,whichIthinkisnot allowed. Avril
Justtoremindyou,atthismomentintime,theRPShasthisstatementaspartofit’sDistinctionprocess.
The purpose of the RPS Distinctions is to assess and recognise the achievement of a photographer not the ability of an artificial intelligence (AI) application to mimic a photograph or to contribute to the work of a photographer. Consequently, any image or any element of an image made using a generative AI feature within an image editing application is not permitted in any portfolio submitted for a RPS Distinctions assessment.
If an image or any element of an image is conclusively proved to have been made using generative AI, the entire submission of images will be disqualified from assessment. If this is subsequent to the award of a Distinction for that submission of images, the Distinction shall be revoked and the certificate and emblem must be returned to the RPS. If the use of generative AI by an applicant is proved beyond reasonable doubt, the applicant will be barred from submitting any further work for assessment for a Distinction for a period of not less than five years from the date upon which the use of generative AI was proved.
The RPS Distinctions Manager reserves the right to request, at any time, a copy of any original or intermediate image files, including but not limited to camera RAW files, if deemed necessary by the assessors.
Mypersonalconclusionlisteningtothediscussionwas,
Thatacommonsetofruleswouldindeedbebeneficialforconsistencyacrosscompetitionsand salons.Suchrulescouldpotentiallyinclude:
1. CleardefinitionsofAI-generatedvs.AI-assistedcontent.
2. AlistofpermittedAI-assistedtoolsforbasicediting.
3. GuidelinesontheuseofmoreadvancedAItoolslikecontent-awarefill.
4. PotentialcreationofseparatecategoriesforAI-enhancedorAI-generatedimages. Thisshouldalsoberegularlyupdatedtoo.Notholdingmybreaththough! Editor
Trevor Litherland gavemepermissiontorepeathisFacebookposthere. Iknowsomepeopledo notfollowFacebook,andastherearesomeinterestingthingspostedthere,someofwhichreceive lotsofcomments.IthoughtIwouldgivethesepostsawideraudience,bydisplayingthemhere. Thisisonthesubjectof‘LLM’whichstandsforLargeLanguageModel.
Trevor writes, “I watched a YT video this morning by the intimate landscape photographer, Simon Booth. In it he explored the use of a LLM to critique and suggest edits to his processed image. I know with the froth about AI, this could be considered a very click bait thing but he was seriously experimenting with ChatGPT to see if it made a difference and the results were extremely interesting.
He acknowledged that, with the free version, he was limited to very few uploads, so it was a small experiment. He was, however, surprised at the critique and resulting editing suggestions. This does bring into focus, and something that may not have been considered by the RPS, the use of AI to re-process images to enhance them. A photographer may then say, in all honesty, they did not use AI on their image. All they have done is asked advice and sought instruction how best to process their image from a LLM. Similar to asking renowned photographer to critique your image and suggest how to get the best from it but multiplied a thousandfold.
Eric Begbie commented:
As someone who as used Lightroom since the very first beta version and who, for the past 17 years, has made it the hub of all photo processing (using Photoshop, Topaz, Nik, etc as plug-ins to LR) I am delighted that it keeps progressing. However, given that AI is now employed in over 2000 Lightroom processes, it does begin to cast doubt upon the restrictions some competitions are placing upon the use of generative AI in competition entries.
Trevor continued: If you are using Lightroom to edit your images, make sure you've updated to version 14.2. Adobe has now made it easier to delete your old catalogue backup files, thereby reducing the bloating on your HDD or SSD.
After trialling Adaptive Profiles in ACR last year, Adobe has introduced them into LR. As opposed to the usual profiles i.e. Adobe Color, Camera Matching, Modern, B+W, etc. which were applied globally, the Adaptive Profiles, (Color/Monochrome) use machine learning to apply local adjustments. As profiles they do not alter the sliders in any of the tabs. Finally, Adobe has improved LR's response timing when using the level tool or multiple masks.”
SIMON BOOTH’S YOU TUBE CHANNEL
He followed it, just this morning, with this, Genie out of the bottle?
Following on from the discussion surrounding the Simon Booth video, regarding using a LLM for critique and suggestions, yesterday evening I watched another content maker use ChatGPT. Todd Dominey referenced in Simon's video and tried his own experiment, wherein it critiqued and offered suggestions, even to using a different lens and viewpoint. Even more, Todd asked ChatGPT to offer suggestions as to where the image was made - it's first suggestion was scarily correct. Also, I'd posted in the DIG LRPS support group the same about Simon's video and Gordon Brown used Perplexity to critique and offer suggestions about one of his images.
I now think we are moving into an era where LLMs will be regarded by image makers as an essential component in their toolbox of post processing. The fact that LR and ACR now have Adaptive Presets that analyse an image and adjust at a local level using Adobe’s Sensei is an indication of travel. We’re all on the express imaging train now, so all we can do is hold on tight and enjoy the ride!
There may be new DI members reading this, who might like to join the DI Facebook Page
Have you seen this? It’s on special offer at present. Click image to find out more.
Janet Haines asks the question, Wheredoesthisfitintokeepingthings‘pure’photography??
DI PULSE
JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED THE EMAIL ANNOUNCEMENT DUE TO THE BT & EEE ISSUES ON SATURDAY With the intention of improving how we communicate with our members we are launching a new monthly publication – DI Pulse (What’s on for Digital Imaging Members). Normally DI Pulse will come out on the 1st of every month.
DI Online, our newsletter about our members, will shortly be published every other month and carry no event advertising.
Can also be viewed on the DI webpages HERE Bookmark this page: https://rps.org/di/pulse/
Janice Payne ARPS
DIGITAL IMAGING WEBSITE
Do visit our webpage
The members-only link for the DIGIT Archive is to be found in the email message announcing this newsletter. The RPS Digital Imaging constitution can be downloaded HERE. For everyone’s convenience, we include a list of shortcuts to the main Digital Imaging pages at the end of each Broadcast.
You can subscribe to our email Mailing Lists here to hear new announcements: Garden & Plant Photography Workshops