THE DECISIVE MOMENT
Quarterly journal from the Documentary Group
September 2020 Edition 20 ISSN 2634-8225 Photo: Tony Johnson
Contents 4
Winner of the April 2019 Bi-Monthly Competition
6
From Our Chair
8
The Documentary Group Team and Goals
10
Winner of the June 2020 Bi-Monthly Competition
12
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Ian Day FRPS
40
Frontiers
42
Online Workshops - Building a Photographic Series
44
Applied FRPS Panel - Ronen Tivony FRPS
70
Documentary ARPS Panel - Neil Milne ARPS
86 Events 88
Engagement Talks
94
A Day at the Races - Peter Bartlett ARPS
108 Another Country - Ian Wright ARPS 122 The Documentary Group Plans 2020-2021 124 The Documentary Group Online
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Hear the story behind the photographs with The Yorkshire Post team p12 Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Project Frontiers and project focussed workshops p40-43 Image: Rolf Kraehenbuehl
Distinctions p44 Ronen Tivony FRPS
Distinctions p70 Neil Milne ARPS
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Bi-Monthly Competition Winner
Winner of the April 2020 Bi-Monthly Competition
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Bi-Monthly Competition Winner
The entries for the second bi-monthly competition of 2020 can be seen on the Documentary Group section of the RPS website: rps.org/groups/documentary/bi-monthly-competition.
The winning image was ‘Dressing Room Diva’ by Lorraine Poole LRPS I shot this image of Tyra Misu backstage in the dressing room of a drag cabaret club close to where I live. I love all the wonderful outfits, accessories, piles of make-up and props everywhere. I was there to gather some background information and preliminary images towards my Documentary ARPS later this year. My subject is the ‘Art of Drag’, and my aim is to immerse myself into this outrageous and extravagant world, get to know the characters and discover the highs and lows first hand. I feel very privileged to work with such passionate and talented people.
Highly Commended Images The April competition had two highly commended images. ‘Street Cleaner, Johdpur’ by David Pollard ARPS and ‘Desert’ by Rolf Kraehenbuehl.
Our popular bi-monthly single documentary image competition is open for all Documentary Group members to submit their best/favourite photos. Your entries should be sent to dgcompetitions@rps.org The winner will be selected shortly after the closing date by the Documentary Group Committee. All images will be put into a Documentary Group gallery on the RPS website and some selected for publication in The Decisive Moment. 5
From Our Chair Welcome to another Decisive Moment. This edition is a little more varied as, despite the constraints of Covid-19, there is a lot happening. Last month, we completed a successful on-line AGM followed by our first Engagement Talk. In summary, the current committee remains in place, our membership and finances remain strong; we are delivering our plan, with more online events and workshops. We can only do this through the work of our volunteers, so a big “Thank you” to those on the Group committee, those volunteering to deliver Decisive Moment and the Newsletter, and those who run our regional subgroups. On that note, I am pleased that Thames Valley has been resurrected, thanks to Philip and Graham, and we have a new group, jointly with Contemporary, in Central region. Other regions are using a combination of Zoom or Flickr to continue their virtual activities. Anyone wanting to volunteer their time, especially to help with next year’s Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) competition, should contact me directly. Our Engagement Talks are now up and running. We started with two of the DPOTY finalists Andrew Wood and Lina Geoushy, and continue with John Bulmer (sold out), Margaret Mitchell, Mik Critchlow, and Jim Mortram in the next few weeks. We already have Arteh Odjidja confirmed for February 2021. All are bookable online, but reservations fill up fast. These talks aim to engage with established and upcoming photographers, working on documentary or long-term projects, as part of our educational role and to form connections with the wider photographic community. We have run half a dozen, online, documentary workshops, with consistently positive feedback. These too can be booked via our events page. They provide in-depth training covering the planning, execution, and completion of a project. While they are targeted at documentary work, they are equally
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applicable to long-term projects in travel or contemporary genres. We emphasise the importance of full engagement and focus, having a clear intent and narrative, established by conducting research and becoming an ‘expert’ on your chosen project. It is clear from the work of established photographers and the expectations of those aspiring to Associateship or Fellowship Distinction that this is as critical as the quality of the images; that depth and connection are critical to the work and evident in the images. Simon Leach, Chair of the Documentary distinctions, explains this using the successful Fellowship of Ronen Tivony, in Applied (Photojournalism) as an example. Our workshops explain how to do this in the planning stage, in the field work, and the final edit and sequencing. Sadly, we recently lost one of the icons of British documentary photography, Chris Killip. He was one of world’s best. His seminal book, In Flagrante, stands out as work of social documentary. As Chris himself stated: ‘I wanted to record people’s lives because I valued them. I wanted them to be remembered. If you take a photograph of someone they are immortalised, they’re there forever. For me that was important, that you’re acknowledging people’s lives, and also contextualising people’s lives.’ Chris was important, he should be remembered forever. Finally, a plea; we hope to run the DPOTY competition again next year, but it depends entirely on finding some volunteers. We can split the work into management activities (eg communications, planning, submissions). Please contact me directly if you can help. Thank you.
Mark A Phillips ARPS Chair, Documentary Group
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The Documentary Group Team Documentary Group Committee: Chair:
Mark A Phillips ARPS
doc@rps.org
Secretary: David Barnes LRPS docsecretary@rps.org Treasurer: Andrew Ripley doctreasurer@rps.org Members:
Harry Hall FRPS
Patricia Hilbert Valerie Mather LRPS Dave Thorp
Sub-Group Organisers: East Midlands:
Volunteer Required
docem@rps.org
South East:
Jeff Owen ARPS
docse@rps.org
Northern:
Peter Dixon ARPS
docnorthern@rps.org
Southern:
Christopher Morris ARPS docsouthern@rps.org
Thames Valley:
Philip Joyce ARPS
doctv@rps.org
East Anglia:
Malcolm English ARPS
docea@rps.org
Yorkshire:
Carol Hudson LRPS
docyork@rps.org
Central (w/Contemporary): Steff Hutchinson ARPS
The Decisive Moment: Editor: Dave Thorp decisive@rps.org Sub-Editors:
Dr Graham Wilson
Lyn Newton LRPS Editorial:
Gerry Phillipson LRPS
And the rest of the team: Bi-Monthly Competition: Patricia Hilbert
dgcompetitions@rps.org
Social Media:
docweb@rps.org
Patricia Hilbert
Flickr: Dave Thorp
The Documentary Group Goals for 2020 - 2021 Overall Objective To help support the RPS Strategic Plan and specifically increase the relevance of the RPS for Documentary Photography (especially for younger photographers) and engage wider audiences. We have decided to focus our goals under the three headings of promote, educate, and encourage:
Promote - the highest standards of achievement in photography These activities are focussed around showcasing and celebrating high quality photographic work and thinking, which is fundamental to the RPS’s purpose.
Educate - members of the public by increasing their knowledge and understanding of photography As an educational charity, it is important we continue to develop the range and reach of our educational work. We want to help photographers develop their practice, and also educate nonphotographers about what is current in documentary photography.
Encourage - the public appreciation of photography We want to engage with more people, including those who are not photographers, to appreciate the value of documentary photography so that it is enjoyed by as many people as possible. Details of The Documentary Group Plans for 2020-2021 can be found on page 122.
Bi-Monthly Competition Winner
Winner of the June 2020 Bi-Monthly Competition
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Bi-Monthly Competition Winner
The entries for the third bi-monthly competition of 2020 can be seen on the Documentary Group section of the RPS website: rps.org/groups/documentary/bi-monthly-competition.
The winning image was ‘Rooted’ by Ian Wright ARPS An image from my project on rural life in the Lincolnshire Wolds, begun in September 2019. The image captures some important elements of my narrative. It portrays one of the central features of rural culture - the close relationship farmers have with their working dogs - against a landscape backdrop typical of the area. The ancient drainage ditches are a prominent element of the landscape and in autumn and winter the mist commonly descends on the rolling hills - it’s a myth that Lincolnshire is uniformly flat. This is a very English area with traditional patterns of life and values; big fields; small hamlets and market towns in existence for a thousand years or more. Mark - the subject of my portrait and one of the characters through which I tell my story - manages 6,000 acres spread over several farms.
Highly Commended Images The June competition had three highly commended images. ‘Meeting a friend from a different household’ by Chris Barbara ARPS, ‘Aqua aerobics in Malta’ by Marianne Van Loo ARPS and ‘Orderly Queue’ by Lorraine Poole LRPS.
Our popular bi-monthly single documentary image competition is open for all Documentary Group members to submit their best/favourite photos. Your entries should be sent to dgcompetitions@rps.org The winner will be selected shortly after the closing date by the Documentary Group Committee. All images will be put into a Documentary Group gallery on the RPS website and some selected for publication in The Decisive Moment. 11
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Ian Day FRPS
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post Ian Day FRPS The Yorkshire Post is a daily newspaper, based in Leeds, covering the largest county in England with a total population of 5.3 million people. It began as the Leeds Intelligencer in 1754 and was one of Britain’s first daily newspapers. Our team of six multi-award-winning photographers, are managed by Head of Audio Visual, Marisa Cashill, and are highly disciplined across all forms of photography, producing work for The Yorkshire Post and sister title The Yorkshire Evening Post. As photojournalists they record daily life across the county. During a normal shift, they could cover breaking news incidents, a rural news feature, a magazine fashion shoot, and a football match in the pouring rain. The Yorkshire Post prides itself on having extremely high standards of journalism and photography. It was recently awarded, by industry audience measurement company PAMCo, the Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain status - ahead of our national peers - and currently holds the Society of Editors’ Best Daily accolade. Over the years, our photographers have won major awards for their work at the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards and the Society of Editors’ Regional Press Awards, to name just two. This newspaper strives to produce quality photography which tells the story of daily life across God’s own county. Our photographers push themselves each and every day to produce some of the best photography in the country. They are the heartbeat of the newspaper. You can follow the news and life in Yorkshire as told by the Yorkshire Post photography team on Twitter @YPinPictures. Ian Day FRPS, is the Deputy Editor of The Yorkshire Post. He has worked as a photographer, picture editor and senior editorial manager for the past 30 years across national and regional publishers. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in 2015 for his contribution to press photography. Ian has been a photographic judge for the British Press Awards, Sports Journalists Association Awards and the Irish Press Photographers Association Awards. He’s been the Chair of Judges for past UK Picture Editors’ Awards and is also a committee member of the guild. You can follow Ian on Twitter @IanDayPix 12
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Ian Day FRPS
Ilkley Cycle Races - Bruce Rollinson Closed circuit racing in the town of Ilkley which takes place on a tough course including the climb pictured. I had positioned myself looking down on the climb when a very heavy shower hit the race, bouncing back up off the road, which added plenty of drama to the event
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post
Photographer’s Eye - Tony Johnson We are very lucky to have this job, working for such a trusted and respected newspaper and one which uses images so well. We just cannot allow our standards to slip, as there are a great many people who would like to be in our shoes, and some cracking freelance colleagues working in the region. It’s not lost on us, as a team, that we have a duty to work ethically and respectfully. We are the face of the company. Because of the nature of the job, most of the time you have no idea what you are facing when arriving on an assignment. You have to work quickly and think on your feet. It can have a knock on effect all day if you take too long on an assignment. These days we often work independently from a reporter or writer, relying on a decent brief to give us the key information and most importantly, a contact phone number for the job. I spend time preparing for a shoot by using Google the evening before. It’s a great tool and the maps and streetview give you some sort of idea of what to expect. Some people and locations you come across many times, so you have an idea of what pictures you can get but very often you are going on assignments blind, so any information can help you form some ideas whilst driving there. The very first thing when arriving on a job is to use your people skills, to get your subject onside. They may not want their picture taken or have an idea of what they want you to take, which might not be what you think will make the best image. But it’s very important to listen as you may get an idea for a picture from something they mention or potentially hear of other stories and information. At the same time as you are chatting, you are hunting for locations and ideas. All the time you need to be in control of the situation as you can’t afford to be side-lined and lose focus and track of the time. Once you’ve gained their trust, life becomes a lot easier as people are a lot more open to suggestions. Rarely do you just rock up to a job and the picture just happens, it’s up to us, the photographers, to make it work. Another challenge is shooting video on assignments for the website. Fortunately, we have a video editor which makes it a lot easier for us to concentrate on the interview and doing some cutaways. You must know the limitations and capabilities of your kit. My Nikon gear is old and beaten up and has many issues, but it’s down to me to get the most out of what’s in my bag. The editors want to see great images every day. I tend to work pretty simply, with a couple of Nikon D3s, 12-24mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm, 300mm lenses in the back of the car with a Godox remote, a couple of Godox speedlights and a couple of brollies. Check your kit is fully charged. Many times I’ve seen inexperienced photographers turn up to jobs unable to shoot because they have no power.
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post
Top tip - always be prepared. The best advice ever given to me was on the first morning of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) photography course in Sheffield. Course leader Paul Delmar, who has influenced press photography throughout the UK, told us rookie snappers, ‘never assume anything’. It’s stuck with me since that day and has been so true. Oh, and dress appropriately for the day. Usually smart casual, as we spend a lot of time laid down, so you don’t want a suit on. We could be photographing royalty in the morning and then be on a police raid in the afternoon, so we wear clothes that won’t offend anyone and that are practical. Waterproofs in the back of the car, with boots, buff, hat and gloves all a must. We are in Yorkshire after all. And suncream is your friend.
James Hardisty @snapperjim
Gary Longbottom @YpGary
Bruce Rollinson @brucerollinson
Jonathan Gawthorpe @jgawthorpeYPN
Simon Hulme @SimonHulmeYPN
Tony Johnson @TonyJohnsonYPN
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - James Hardisty
James Hardisty Louis Smith, bespoke shoemaker, Old Sole, Swinegate, York For this assignment I was working independently to produce images and a possible cover page for the Yorkshire Post Magazine. When I arrived, I saw that what I thought would be a traditional cobblers in historic York, was in fact a modern retail shop. My ideas had to change, and after taking several images as part of this shoot, I was still looking for that possible cover shot. One corner of the room had a traditional feel, so we built a set using wooden boxes, shoe patterns, and a modern filament lamp which gave a nice warm glow. Just a few props helped set the scene and give the impression I was at a working traditional cobblers. As press photographers we really have to think on our feet because the day will be filled with assignments, each one different, and the main approach is to try and keep it simple. Magazine jobs need a number of pictures to hold the page and a possible cover so it’s nice when your hard work pays off. This image was used for the Yorkshire Post Magazine cover. Derek Brown, co-owner and the 5th generation of the famous Fortunes Kippers, Henrietta Street, Whitby I was with a reporter spending the day on the East Coast for a feature and this traditional smokehouse was one of the places we wanted to visit. I had been here many years before and I knew the smoking room was black with inches of tar clinging to the walls. We were chatting to Derek, the co-owner about possible ideas and the reporter had just started his interview outside the smokehouse. I had a quick think about the shot I had in mind and how I was going to light it, when suddenly the sun came belting through the window casting incredible light beams from the rising oak smoke chippings, which cure the meat and fish. I had to stop the interview there and then and ask Derek to come and stand in the smokehouse. I quickly positioned my lights so they wouldn’t power out the sunbeams and was able to create a dramatic image of a traditional business which has seen the test of time. This really was one of those assignments when you had to take the picture at that moment because five minutes later the clouds came over and the atmosphere in the smokehouse had gone.
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - James Hardisty
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - James Hardisty
Camden Stud and York Harness Racing Memorial Race The event was The Daniel Welling Memorial Race Meeting held in aid of the Sheffield Parents Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT). Diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour as an eight-month-old baby, Daniel had surgery and chemotherapy followed by a very short time in remission before his condition became incurable. He spent 16 months living at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital undergoing treatment. After much persuasion doctors agreed that he could go home at weekends so for the last two months of his life, he was at the track each weekend watching the racing. Sadly, he died just a few days before his second birthday. I had one idea in mind as my main picture for this race. I wanted to take an image of the horses as they followed the pace vehicle. This angle would put the horses’ heads right in the foreground of my frame showing the passion, speed, and determination of the riders to win. Unfortunately, the pace vehicle had only one 18
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - James Hardisty
seat, for the race starter, which was right in the middle of the “gate�, a large safety barrier suspended onto the back of the vehicle. With no cameras allowed over this barrier the only alternative was to use my Manfrotto magic arm to clamp the camera in position so I could fire it remotely. I used a Nikon D5, manually pre-focused the 12-24mm lens, and set the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Once the five lead riders were in position, I could press the remote trigger from the back of the pace vehicle and, fingers crossed, everything would fire. What I didn’t foresee was the dryness of the track and the incredible amount of dust rushing into the vehicle. On the other hand, this could add to the drama and excitement. To my relief, the remote images were fantastic, so much atmosphere and well exposed. I was very proud to have taken the picture which made the front page of the Yorkshire Post. 19
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Gary Longbottom
Gary Longbottom
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Gary Longbottom
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Gary Longbottom
Fire eating Jester This photograph was shot on film and made the front page of the Yorkshire Post’s first ever edition using colour photographs. They were looking for a striking colour image. I knew I wanted to frame the photograph within the East End of York Minster, but not quite knowing how far the flames would travel or, on film, how the flames would look, the fire eater had to make a few attempts. The exposures were bracketed to cope with the light from the flames. When I saw the developed film it was obvious which frame was the best to choose and the flames made the image. In my opinion it made a great colour photograph for the front page of this historic edition. Prince Charles visit to Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales I selected this image because of Prince Charles’ reaction and his smile at the cheese. I was covering the event on a Royal Rota basis. Photographers are chosen from the national and regional press, together with TV and radio crews and reporters. On a Royal Rota you are escorted everywhere so it is very different to shooting alone. We had no real idea what images we would get or where the royal party would stand, although we did have a very quick preview of the route before Prince Charles arrived. The main consideration when shooting in a group of photographers is to try and get into a good position. My image won a Royal Rota photographic competition, and I was the only photographer to get this frame. Plane Crash on M1 motorway at Kegworth near East Midlands airport I was working the late shift at the Yorkshire Post and at around 10.00 pm we heard about the plane crash on the M1. I knew I would not be able to get there and back in time for the deadline, so another staff photographer was despatched from Sheffield to get something for the night’s paper. When I arrived roadblocks had been set up, so after walking through fields and woods, I reached the M1 and was directed to an area on the other carriageway, cordoned off for the media. These was pre digital days, so I was shooting on film at ISO 1600. There were a few floodlights from the emergency services lighting up the plane, so my exposures were bracketed. As we were not allowed to move from our position, the only way to get different pictures was to change lenses, but most of the photographs were shot on a long lens because of the distance from the plane. I was pleased with the final image despite shooting at ISO 1600 on film under the floodlights.
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Gary Longbottom
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Bruce Rollinson
Bruce Rollinson Tucano Formation The RAF have a pilot training school based at Linton on Ouse and the Yorkshire Post was invited to join the squadron as they rehearsed a fly past, in close formation, over Scarborough Bay. The formation comprised 31 Tucanos, plus support aircraft. The flypast was for her Majesty The Queen’s review of her Military Forces, as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations on 27 June 2002, and would overfly Whale Island, Portsmouth as “E II R”. To fly with the RAF I had to do basic training to cope with G forces and ejection from the aircraft. The image was shot using a Nikon D2X and an image stabilised lens as the formation passed over the East Coast of Yorkshire. Tour de Yorkshire This image was taken as the peloton climbed out of Robin Hoods Bay, by Cote de Hook House Farm, on Stage Three of the Tour de Yorkshire heading from Bridlington to Scarborough. I had taken pictures of the breakaway riders roadside and then ran across fields to get this wider view as the peloton chased them down. The Tour de Yorkshire passes through spectacular scenery and this shows some of the best of the Yorkshire coastline. I then had to get back to Scarborough for the finish. Flying Scotsman at Dent Head My assignment was to capture The Flying Scotsman crossing the Dent Head Viaduct, on its return journey from Carlisle to Oxenhope, to celebrate the reopening of the Settle Carlisle Railway line. I had originally been at Ribblehead Viaduct for the outward journey but, because there was a lot of media there, I decided to head further up the line and get the Flying Scotsman at Dent Head on its return. It was a cloudy March day; the train was very late, and the light was fading. Any breaks in the cloud had disappeared. While I had a second camera set up on a tripod, giving a slightly different view, this handheld shot using a Nikon D4 and 80-200mm lens is the one that was used.
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Bruce Rollinson
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Bruce Rollinson
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Bruce Rollinson
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Jonathan Gawthorpe
Jonathan Gawthorpe
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Jonathan Gawthorpe
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Jonathan Gawthorpe
Deer in a field of corn I’d been covering a football match one Saturday afternoon and it was early evening when I got back to my village so I decided to go and watch the last few overs of the village cricket team. On my way I drove past a field of tall wheat ready to harvest. I could make out what looked to be the head of a roe deer. I pulled into a track next to the field and slowly got out of my car trying not to scare it. I managed to get my camera body out of the boot, attach a 400mm lens and monopod, with the deer staring at me all the time. As soon as I lifted the camera to my eye it set off, but it didn’t run through the wheat as expected, it bounded high in the air, giving me an even better shot. The photograph was used the following Monday on the Picture Post page of the Yorkshire Post. Bradley Johnson, Leeds United It was 8th May 2010 and the last match of the season for Leeds United. They needed to beat Bristol Rovers to make sure they claimed the second automatic place for promotion from League One to the Championship. Most thought that this would be an easy task and I had planned where I needed to be, should they win. However Leeds went 1-0 down and also had a man sent off, so my mind suddenly turned to think that I would need shots of heartbreak instead. Then it all started to change in the other direction and in the end they won. As the clock was ticking down, I knew over 30,000 fans would try and enter the pitch to celebrate. I have covered promotion matches before and knew it would be hard to get near the players as they celebrated. With time nearly up I made my way around the perimeter of the pitch to the players tunnel. As soon as the referee blew his whistle the fans ran from the stands onto the pitch. As they ran one way, I ran the other, up into the stands, giving me a great view over the pitch to pick out the players. I could see that Bradley Johnson was being lifted onto the fans’ shoulders and I used my 300mm lens to capture the moment where he briefly shouted and punched the air. That gave me the shot I was looking for with all the fans hands below him. General Election 8th May 2015 Shadow chancellor Ed Balls was looking to be re-elected to his Morley and Outwood seat. It was late into the night and rumours circulated that Andrea Jenkyns might take the seat. I had taken shots of ballot boxes arriving and being counted and as other results came and went, the Morley and Outwood seat kept going to a recount. As I photographed other results, I could see that “Leeds” was repeated across the banner where the candidates stood. I had noticed that if I cropped my photograph, I could spell Eds Leeds by losing the letters “L“ and “E”. Eventually the news came in just after 7am the following morning. The pair stood on the stage and, when the result was read out, Andrea Jenkyns reaction gave me the photograph I had waited over 10 hours for. It had taken so long that when I arrived back to my car, I had a parking ticket from the council that I just been covering. The image went on to be used on the front page of the election special supplement of the Yorkshire Post. 30
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Jonathan Gawthorpe
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Simon Hulme
Simon Hulme
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Simon Hulme
Swimming Mermaid I came up with the idea of taking an underwater photograph of the Bramley Mermaids, a group of synchronised swimmers who perform in costume. Bramley swimming baths is very old, and it has kept its original nostalgic look. I used a Nikon D3s camera with a 12mm fisheye lens in an underwater camera bag. My intention was to place the camera lens on the surface line of the water, so I could get Lucy the Mermaid under the water line and show the swimming baths as well. I was delighted with the shot. I had other images from the shoot but this one captured the moment I was looking for. Tour de France When the Tour de France came to Yorkshire, I covered the start in Leeds on the Saturday. On Sunday I was sent to Holme Moss to cover the place touted to have the longest climb. I camped the night before so I could get to the area to find my spot. The riders were due to pass at 3.30pm and I was on the climb at 11am as the crowds were building by the thousands. I had looked at the images from Saturday and they were all scenic pictures of the peloton passing through the Yorkshire countryside. My aim was to try and get a front page picture for Monday’s paper. I spotted some girls with painted faces and decided to use the crowds as my angle. As the riders climbed to the summit of the hill, the girls were really encouraging the riders, so I went in close with a wide-angle lens and fill-in flash. I loved the expression on their faces. The timing of the weather was spot on as 20 minutes after I took the photograph the dark skies arrived, and the heavens opened. Cherry Blossom I was asked to get a weather photograph to illustrate spring. I had photographed the cherry blossom at Harrogate in previous years. I knew a man from Pudsey who had a penny farthing bicycle, so I called him, and he was keen to be in the photograph. The problem was he lived 20 miles away, but he managed to bring this rather large bicycle to Harrogate on the train, even changing at Leeds. The light was really nice, backlighting the cherry blossom. I took the picture on a Nikon D3s camera with an 80-200mm lens and it made front page next day in the Yorkshire Post.
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Simon Hulme
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Simon Hulme
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Tony Johnson
Tony Johnson
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Tony Johnson
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Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Tony Johnson
Rasputin This image was taken in February 2020 and shows Rasputin, the polar bear, settling into his new home at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park after arriving through quarantine from France. The image was shot on a 400mm lens as we were at a distance, not only for our safety, but for the comfort of the animal. After some time he tentatively came out of his cage and ambled around the large space, thus making some pretty poor images. Eventually he went for a swim before exiting the lake and having a good shake. Picture in the bag. In our job we don’t often have a lot of time on one assignment, but the Picture Editor saw the worth in allowing me the morning to shoot. A good thing because I would have struggled to get anything until the shakedown at the end. This picture made a very large front page image - it’s always nice to grab a front page. Boris Johnson in Leeds for his Vote Leave campaign in 2016 It was 2016 and I popped along to photograph Boris Johnson giving a rallying speech to Brexit supporters for his Vote Leave campaign. With these events it’s always worth arriving early, giving you a chance to prepare and choose potential spots to shoot from. I was with a reporter and a local news TV crew backstage when Boris breezed in early and gave an impromptu interview. I know this venue well. It is very dark, and the stage is lit from above by fluorescents which makes the light even worse. The guy with the TV camera popped his LED on as the interview began which gave a lovely rim light, and not much detail in the face. It was shot a little underexposed deliberately, but that shock of hair just made the picture. Pleasingly, I won the Regional Press Photographer of the year with this image. Ten Lords are Leaping, Northern Ballet at the Leeds Grand Theatre shot in December 2017 This is a bread and butter job. An assignment which you probably expect not much from but hope for the best. The Yorkshire Post’s sister paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post, which we also work for, decided it would be fun to shoot the 12 Days of Christmas, as a light-hearted feature, every day in the run up to Christmas. I rocked up to the Leeds Grand Theatre, not having very much time before needing to dash off to another job. The guys at the Northern Ballet were in a similar situation, taking a break between rehearsals to fit this assignment in, and were hopeful I could nail a picture pretty quickly. Unfortunately for me, the lighting technicians were on a lunchbreak, so I only had some stage lights, set on low power, to work with. I had no choice but to set up a couple of speedlights on a remote and start shooting. The brief was very simple - ten dancers leaping. But we are working with one of the best ballet companies and the images had to look right. Shooting with 38
Photojournalism at The Yorkshire Post - Tony Johnson
speedlights can be frustrating and in a large dark space like this, you only get one shot, so timing is everything. In some images both the flashes didn’t go off, in others the dancers weren’t off the ground at the same time. Even when we did get an odd shot with the guys in the air, a couple of dancers’ feet weren’t perfect, and the director scotched the images. We had run out of time really, but all of us took a deep breath and we nailed it with the last image. From arriving to leaving the job had taken 35 minutes, with less than 20 minutes of shooting time. 39
Project Frontiers
Frontiers We often associate the word and the concept of landscape with the picturesque, the pastoral or even the sublime. However, if we understand landscape in a broader sense, then it can include much more, even the built environment. We’re then tempted to speak of cityscape or maybe townscape, but in the end, the built-up land is basically land which has been landscaped in a particular way. In some cases, beautiful cathedrals, surrounded by cobbled streets, have been built on this land; in other cases, it’s residential areas and housing estates; and sometimes it’s storage facilities, business parks, waste water treatment plants, or scrapyards. Early next year the North Wales Region of the Royal Photographic Society and the North Wales Photographic Association (NWPA) will launch a joint project that aims to integrate landscape photography with nature and documentary photography.
Identikit anonymity? - Rolf Kraehenbuehl. One of several housing developments at the edges of Y Felinheli in North Wales. The architecture is rather bland and identikit style, yet living there seems quite popular. I’m interested in finding answers to the questions about the local residents’ experience of living there, and if there is a sense of community. 40
Project Frontiers
Construction work for a road bypass just outside Y Felinheli - Rolf Kraehenbuehl. Are such building projects a blessing or a curse for the local communities?
The topic is to explore, photographically, peri-urban areas, often called “edgelands” or “fringelands”. The project is called Frontiers because it should serve to look at geographical boundaries and help to overcome institutional as well as personal boundaries. The organisers are seeking the participation of Regions and SIGs to cover a larger geographical area and increase the diversity of subjects, in order to produce a more comprehensive and substantial body of work. The aim is that each participant works on a project of several months’ duration, photographing in their geographical vicinity. This allows repeat visits to the chosen location, encourages photographers to look at their immediate environment in new ways, and cuts the need for travel to the bare minimum. We will provide further details on the Frontiers project in the next edition of Decisive Moment, including how to get involved and some ideas to get you started on planning and researching your approach.
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Events
Online Workshops Building a Photographic Series
Image: Valerie Mather LRPS
Learn how to tell stories with your camera on our new 3-part RPS Documentary and Photographic Project Workshops, intended to provide expert practical guidance and support to produce meaningful documentary projects. Combining interactive demonstrations, live Q&As with photographers, pdf guides and exclusive access to a private RPS Documentary Facebook group - with RPS and professional photographer support - we’ll equip you with the tools you need. The courses are modular and contain many tools professionals use to set their work apart from the pack. They can be done in any order, will help you build your understanding and confidence about this genre.
Events
Specifically, the three separate courses cover: Starting Out - How to start building a photographic series, including where to find inspiration, define your intent, and decide if it’s a go/no go. Execution - How to shoot the best story you can, including planning, ethics, staying motivated, tricks/tips, and knowing when to stop. Finishing Up - How to complete your series, including editing, sequencing, showing your work, and getting feedback. These courses have been built specifically for RPS members in 2020, and created from the ground up by Mark Phillips, RPS Documentary Chair, and Jon Cunningham, founder of award-winning photography education company, Creative Escapes. We are delighted to be working with Jon and his team, who bring extensive and professional teaching expertise to deliver this. We have now run a number of these successful workshops and for the near future these will continue to be held online. These cover the stages of any project - each reveals a tool kit of professional techniques to help you develop, shoot and complete your project. Each course is listed in our RPS Online Learning section on the RPS website. The price for each workshop is £56 for members (and £75 for non-members). Each course consists of 5 hours of instructor-led tuition and a 50 page guide to keep, plus free access to our closed Facebook page, where course participants can have ongoing feedback and support. Please book each workshop via the links below: Starting Out (getting started) - 28 November rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2020/november/documentary-online-workshop-1
Execution (working on your project) - 5 December rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2020/december/documentary-online-workshop-2
Finishing Up (editing and sequencing) - 12 December rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2020/december/documentary-online-workshop-3
Look out for more online workshops in early 2021. For more information contact Mark Phillips at doc@rps.org
FRPS Panel - Ronen Tivony FRPS
Ronen Tivony FRPS American Politics & Unrest, 2016-2020
A series of photojournalistic images taken while on assignments for wire services and media companies. The images cover political moments from the presidential candidacies of Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden as well as of social unrest and protests following the 2016 presidential elections in the U.S. The protest images include images from the Muslim ban, Dakota Access Pipeline protests, family separation and detention, Students’ March Against Gun Violence & Black Lives Matter. All the images submitted were captured for the purpose of publication.
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Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign rally in Costa Mesa, California.
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Police officers in riot gear patrol the streets as anti-Trump protesters demonstrate following a campaign rally held by the Republican Presidential candidate in Costa Mesa, California.
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Donald Trump supporters clash with Anti-Trump protesters outside the Anaheim Convention Center during a rally for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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A child and her mother participate in a protest against migrant detention centres. Organisers called on the Trump administration to close the migrant detention centres and to stop the family separation policies.
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A high school student detained by police during an anti-Trump protest following a rally for Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
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Protesters at the Los Angeles International Airport rally against Trump’s executive order to ban entry into the US to travellers from seven Muslim countries. Los Angeles.
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Protesters upset over Donald Trump’s election as the President of the United States shut down the Hollywood (101) Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.
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Protesters attend the Women’s March in Los Angeles, California on January 21, 2017. An estimated crowd of 750,000 people marched to protest President Donald Trump.
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Anti-Trump protester (Left) and a Trump supporter (out of the picture) are pointing fingers and yelling at each other as the Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, campaigns in Anaheim, California.
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A supporter of President Donald Trump, wears a mask of the president, as he dances near Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California. He was one of about 15 people gathered to voice their support of Trump’s policies.
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Activists protest police brutality in Los Angeles, California. The protesters marked the 22nd annual “National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and Criminalization of an Entire Generation” which was started by families whose loved ones were killed by the police.
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Activists protest Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Los Angeles, California. Professor Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
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Demonstrators during a “No War in Iran” protest against the Trump Administration’s military actions and economic sanctions against Iran.
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Native American activists protest the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. Los Angeles, California.
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Students participate in a protest against gun violence during the National School Walkout in Los Angeles. Students and activists throughout the US marked the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre and called for stricter gun control laws.
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Thousands of anti-Trump protesters marched through the streets of Los Angeles, California on November 9, 2016.
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Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders during a campaign rally in Los Angeles, California.
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Former Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Los Angeles.
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Protesters upset over Trump’s election as the President of the United States shut down the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.
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Anti-Trump protesters shut down the 101 freeway in Los Angeles.
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A protester holds up the Black Power fist after Trump’s election as the President of the United States in Los Angeles.
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Simon Leach FRPS - Documentary Distinctions Panel Chair, Applied Panel Member The step up to Fellowship is significant and not to be underestimated. Technically everything must be appropriate, with the “highest levels” of craft required, there is no room for error. Your intention as photographer will be clear, visually tackling your aims and objectives without distraction. The cohesion of your work will demonstrate a real and evident individual, personal vision, by which it will be identified as the work of a single photographer. This personal understanding and individual vision of your work, your aims, and your objective, will really add to that distinctive and distinguished portfolio we are looking for. You will see this through Ronen’s submission; he likes to be at the centre of the action and builds his images on that proximity. Whilst the level of photography is clearly Fellowship, particularly understanding the reason for your work, your photographer intent, is vitally important. Learning to identify what you want your work to do, to say, and where it is you fit, forms part of the many elements of the self-education process that is the Royal Photographic Society Distinctions. There are obviously points where projects could/can cross over between genre depending on your personal intent and that of the particular body of work. So Ronen’s techniques are all appropriate to his approach. Just from the images it is clear this is someone accomplished at producing photojournalistic images. His individual approach of getting right into the action creates drama and dynamism that at appropriate moments are enhanced with additional techniques; movement, depth-of-field. His compositions are tight, sometimes even cropping part of the information out, but this can just serve to intrigue more as photo-journalism that works. Ronen has edited four years of events into a body of work that looks very cohesive. Yes there is the technical tonal range, contrast levels, no colour shift in the monochrome. But now this is Fellowship it is more than style, the arms in the air, the mouths open, it is in your face, it is confrontation. Well, all but the Muslim ladies, which is equally as confrontational by their passiveness. The presentation is Images For Screen and so in sequence, the one image following the next and, in this submission, there is no let up. It starts with the figure that defines these four years in the US and is impact following impact. This does not mean every Fellowship has to be about impact, remember this is just one photographer’s clear intent.
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So why Applied and not Documentary? Well the difference here is that the submission as a body of work is more diverse, in essence each photograph is a headline image on its own, distinct, and importantly each intended to illustrate a headline. So whilst there is an underlying theme of unrest in the United States this is not a single complete story. It covers too many elements - different issues, different groups with different political figures behind, and some might say the ones responsible for the headlines. There is a clear intent that these would be newsworthy and publishable images. It does not contain the single clearly communicated narrative that would be appropriate to making the Documentary Genre the most appropriate route. Just one idea of how this could be achieved would have been to take just a single issue, e.g. Students’ March Against Gun Crime, and more fully explore and communicate a detailed understanding of that particular issue. Remember Fellowship only has a maximum of 21 images as a print or Images For Screen (IFS) submission and so you need to accept the constraint and tailor your intent, developing your story to fit within that space. Of course this is also where the Statement of Intent (SOI) can really provide you benefit. Ronen has written an excellent Applied example of a SOI. He has been very specific the intended end use and gives a sense to the events covered. It does not deal in technical information, it does not ask for sympathy for challenges faced, it does not over promise on images. It acts as an introduction; we know what we are about to view, and he lets the images do the rest. Ronen’s panel is featured on the RPS website as one of the example FRPS submissions (rps.org/qualifications/frps/example-fellowshippanels) and RPS members can read in interview with Ronen in the September/October edition of The RPS Journal.
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FRPS Panel - Ronen Tivony FRPS
Ronen Tivony FRPS My photojournalism career started 32 years ago with my service as a military photographer. I am now based in Los Angeles, working as an independent photojournalist. My work has focused particularly on politics, social issues, breaking news, and wildfires where I provide editorial images to media companies and wire services. This year, I was awarded a Fellowship by The Royal Photographic Society for my submission, American Politics & Unrest, 2016-2020. The images for this body of work were selected based on their emotional and visual impact as well as their historical value. I sequenced them using a mix of wide images and close-ups to provide visual variety. The first image in the series is of Donald Trump, who was then a candidate, in one of his first and few campaign stops in California. Then we move to the second image which was taken the same night, outside the campaign rally, and shows law enforcement officers, in riot gear with batons, responding to mass anti-Trump protests. From there the series follows the many protests and political campaigns that followed the 2016 Presidential election. Access at political rallies is controlled by the candidate’s campaign team. We, the press, normally only get access to the “buffer zone”, an area in front of the stage, at the beginning of the event and a few minutes before the event concludes. My goal is to make as many images as I can from a variety of angles and to photograph a range of subjects such as the candidate, special guests, and supporters. I pay close attention to the speaker’s body language and facial expressions, getting images of both the candidate or speaker and the supporters’ reactions. In general, I try to get my images as quickly as possible while trying to maintain situational awareness. I photograph from a variety of angles, locations, and focal lengths so that I end up with images that are drastically different from each other and provide fuller coverage. Since a publication is not likely to run an article with two that look very similar to each other, I try to provide editors with as many uniquely different images as I can. I’m inspired by and study the work of photojournalists who are great visual storytellers and visual problem solvers, especially: Francine Orr & Marcus Yam of the LA Times, Doug Mills (NY Times), Lucy Nicholson (Reuters), David McNew, Ringo Chiu, Matt McLain (Washington Post). I always have a clear mental or visual idea of the images I want to get while at the same time being flexible enough to recognize other good photo opportunities that are not on my list. With experience you learn to recognize the moments, gestures and expressions that make good pictures. For me, the images with the most impact are the ones that 68
FRPS Panel - Ronen Tivony FRPS
capture decisive moments, show emotions, gestures, expressive body language, and have a visually appealing composition and hopefully some interesting light. Different assignments require different preparations. For example, when covering the massive and often deadly wildfires in Southern California I have a ready-to-go container with flame-resistant protective clothing, eye protection, a helmet, an air filtration mask, a first-aid kit, and an AC power inverter so I can charge batteries. It’s also important to know the weather forecast and, most importantly, if there is going to be wind. In South California there is a weather pattern called the Santa Ana winds in which the winds can reach 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. Wind-fueled fires are extremely dangerous as they spread quickly and erratically as the wind direction changes. In case my car gets stuck in the sand or mud, I also carry vehicle recovery gear like traction boards, a shovel, tyre deflators and tyre inflators, a car battery booster, and a fire extinguisher. But now, having spent the last seven years covering almost nonstop social unrest, protests, political events, and wildfires, I feel a need to balance some of the negative things I have seen by getting out to photograph nature and wildlife. Ronen’s work has appeared in numerous publications including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, LA Times, USA Today, BBC, HBO, TIME, CNN, VICE, The Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post. He has won awards and honourable mentions from photography organizations including: The National Press Photographers Association, Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles, International Photo Awards, Prix de la Photographie Paris, Siena International Photo Award, Royal Photographic Society, Tokyo International Foto Awards and The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. Website: 15images.com Twitter:
@15images
Facebook: Ronen.Tivony Instagram: @15images_ronen
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ARPS Panel - Neil Milne ARPS
Neil Milne ARPS
Caird Hall in Dundee is the area’s largest venue of its type and has held particular significance for me over the years. The site of my first ever rock concert, my graduation ceremony, and a place I came to know well searching it top to bottom as a Police Officer prior to VIP events. Approaching 100 years old it has a style and faded grandeur that endures. I like its worn edges, its film noir shadows, period furniture and echoing corridors. There are art deco bars and installations by local artists to be found. The scars on stage are a testament to its age and use but it is cared for lovingly, nonetheless. I have tried to document the hall and its features and to portray a sense of the character that it retains.
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Neil Milne ARPS Initially I showed about 10 images of my work from Caird Hall at an RPS Scotland forum as I was thinking about using them as the basis for putting together a panel for my Licentiate portfolio. The images were reviewed by Peter Paterson FRPS, who provided really constructive criticism. Firstly he felt a couple of my images needed to be reprocessed as the tones were a bit off and secondly, an image of two projectors was skewed and too close to the edge of the frame. Both comments were completely valid and obvious when pointed out by someone with experience and an objective eye. Furthermore Peter felt that the images were too good a standard to be used for a Licentiate panel and should be used down the line for an Associate application. I was both delighted at this comment and perturbed as I now had to come up with another complete set of images for my L panel and take more images at the hall for a possible A panel down the line. I set about pursuing my Licentiate distinction and received it some months later. After a brief time I revisited Caird Hall where I shot some more images and intended to reshoot the image of the two projectors. That was not to be however as in the interim they had been donated to the new V&A museum in Dundee. The panel was always going to be submitted in black and white. My overriding idea about the look of the panel was that it should have a film noir feel so, to that end, I shot sharp angles, looked for contrast and avoided any modern trappings so as to give the images a period feel. Ultimately, I visited the hall three times, and shot many more images both inside and outside the building but the editing process wasn’t too difficult as the 15 images I finally used gave me the look and feel I had wanted. As an exercise I think the best lesson I learned, and the thing that I have told others, is that I had a clear theme and a vision of what I wanted to achieve before I visited the hall. The building itself duly served up these images.
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Simon Leach FRPS - Documentary Distinctions Panel Chair Neil introduces his project through the Statement of Intent (SOI). This is important because it is his opportunity to introduce, very briefly, what the subject is, why he has photographed it and, importantly, what he is trying to tell ‘us’, the viewer. The aims and objectives of the SOI, his photographer’s intent, is to take us on a tour of this building with the nostalgia of so much personal history and life experience. Memories that have created a real love and connection with this building. Spaces can be very important to us. A home, a safe place, a familiar place and in this case a place that is connected to, that represents, so many key moments in a life. That is a connection that perhaps, in a way, many can identify with a little. The submission itself shows an appropriate level of cohesiveness for an Associate Distinction with a consistent use of process, exploitation of light and attention to detail. Neil has also taken into account his preference to submit as Images For Screen (IFS). His edit, therefore, needed to take into account that the images will be assessed in sequence, one following another, not laid out together on the wall in a hanging plan as would be the case with a print submission. So we do not need to consider the ‘balance’ of the submission as you would with prints, but you have this quiet flow. There is a sense of being shown the building. Neil’s handling of the craft of photography, the technical aspects of his work, absolutely meet the high level expected at Associate level. The techniques used are both appropriate and fundamental to the vision he has created of Caird Hall. Each image has this clear, polished grandeur that is highlighted in the SOI. The one image that perhaps does not hold completely true to this is image 07 of the old projector room, but this does give us a link to perhaps the golden age of Hollywood, the silver screen glamour, and certainly hints at the film noir. Overall then this body of work is not just depicting the aims and objectives of the statement, but it is doing so in a cohesive manner and with real understanding being shown by the photographer. In turn this gives Neil’s submission the sense of a very individual vision of this beautiful, and to him extremely important, building. Added together these things allow Neil to communicate his message about the Hall. The staircase (06), the hallway (01), the organ pipes (10), the seating (14) are well captured in a precise manner. As well as being a good example of how it is possible to communicate a message about a subject, it also proves an excellent example of the huge variety of subjects that the RPS Distinctions Team have already seen. It shows that the Documentary category does not have to be about people, though equally it could be just about people. We have assessed environments and objects. So whatever you have a passion for, wherever that connection is, that is where you will have the story to tell the assessment team (and anyone else) through your photography. 85
Events
Events 22 October 2020
09 November 2020
Distinctions Talks Live: Simon Roberts HonFRPS
Getting Your Ducks in a Row Copyright
Simon Roberts HonFRPS work deals with our relationship to landscape and notions of identity and belonging. One of his current projects concerns the disappearance of ancient broadleaved woodland, with much of it cleared for housing schemes, quarries, golf courses and major infrastructure schemes.
This talk is about being business-like, protecting your work, understanding agreements, copyright and how to protect yourself against future misuses of your work. John Walmsley will cover all the essentials needed to protect yourself and your work, and get paid properly and fairly for the use of your images whether you are a working professional or just starting out.
rps.org/events/bristol/2020/october/ distinctions-talks-live-simon-robertshonfrps
rps.org/protect-your-work
26 October 2020
12 November 2020
Little Poland: A Community in Devon
Engagement - Margaret Mitchell
Ken Holland ARPS, will be talking about his project “Little Poland: A Community in Devon�, which illustrates artefacts of history illustrating a post-WWII migration from Europe to an American Hospital and then on to a purpose-built residential home.
Free online talk. See page 86.
rps.org/events/groups/ contemporary/2020/october/kenholland
rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/november/ engagement-margaret-mitchell 12 November 2020 Yorkshire Meeting
Documentary
Sub-Group
Zoom meeting. 27 October 2020 The first women of photography 18391860
rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/november/ yorkshire-documentary-group-meeting
Rose Teanby, in conjunction with Photo Oxford 2020. This online talk, delivered by one of the leading researchers on early women photographers, focuses on British women photography pioneers from its earliest days. rps.org/events/bristol/2020/october/ the-first-women-ofphotography-1839-1860
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Events
23 November 2020
03 December 2020
Collaboration in visual storytelling
Distinctions Talks Live: Steve Smith FRPS
Rehab Eldalil is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller based in Cairo, Egypt. Her work focuses on the broad theme of identity explored through collaborative approaches. rps.org/events/groups/ contemporary/2020/november/rehabeldalil 25 November 2020 Thames Valley Documentary SubGroup Meeting Liz Vaz ARPS will be talking about how she discovered tattoo conventions and how this was my inspiration for an ARPS panel. rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/november/thamesvalley-documentary-group-meeting 26 November 2020 Engagement - Mik Critchlow Free online talk. See page 87. rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/november/ engagement-mik-critchlow 26 November 2020 Workshop - Building a Photographic Series - Starting Out How to start building a photographic series, including where to find inspiration, define your intent, and decide if it’s a go/no go. rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/november/ documentary-online-workshop-1
The Distinctions Talks Live event on Thursday 3rd December 2020 features social documentary and street photographer Steve Smith FRPS. rps.org/events/bristol/2020/december/ distinctions-talks-live-steve-smith-frps 05 December 2020 Workshop - Building a Photographic Series - Execution How to shoot the best story you can, including planning, ethics, staying motivated, tricks/tips, and knowing when to stop. rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/december/ documentary-online-workshop-2 10 December 2020 Engagement - Jim Mortram Online talk, see page 88. rps.org/events/groups/ documentary/2020/december/ engagement-jim-mortram 21 December 2020 In conversation with Giles Duley HonFRPS Giles Duley is an anti-war photographer, public speaker, writer and founder of the international charity Legacy of War Foundation. Duley concerns himself with the impact of conflict on individuals and communities. With his work he advocates for change “No More War” and supports those who are impacted by war with his charity. rps.org/events/groups/ contemporary/2020/december/gilesduley 87
Events
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Events
John Bulmer
14 October 2020
This first Engagement talk featured Award Winning Documentary Photographer and Film Maker, John Bulmer. John was a pioneer of colour photography in the early 1960’s working for the Sunday Times Magazine from the very first issue till the 1970’s. He photographed stories for Town Magazine, a fashion magazine that became well known for good photography, using others such as Terrence Donovan, David Bailey and Don McCullin. John Bulmer did many ground-breaking stories for them including; The Black Country, Nelson, The North, as well as overseas stories in South America, Africa, New Guinea and Indonesia. The Sunday Times then produced the first of the Colour Supplements, later copied by all the newspapers. John Bulmer shared the cover of the first issue with David Bailey. Many of Bulmer’s most important assignments were abroad, but he was also acknowledged as an adroit recorder of provincial Britain. His reputation as a recorder of the industrial cityscape was probably gained at Town, where he was responsible for stories on Nelson, Lancashire, The Black Country, and The North is dead. John moved into making documentary films. He filmed a programme on the life of Van Gogh in the South of France, directed by Mai Zetterling, and went on to direct many films on travel and untouched tribes in the most inaccessible parts of the world. These were primarily shown on BBC, Nat Geo and Discovery Channel. John’s work can be found here: www.johnbulmer.co.uk He has published two books with Bluecoat Press: The North and Wind of Change.
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Margaret Mitchell
12 November 2020
Margaret Mitchell is a Scottish documentary and portrait photographer whose work ranges from exploring communities and children’s worlds through to longterm documentation projects on environment, opportunity and social inequality. Her photography explores the intricacies and complexities of people’s lives with a particular emphasis on place and belonging. Responsibility, dialogue and collaboration are key components in her approach. Mitchell’s talk will take us on a journey through her early documentary practice through to current day work. Within this she will discuss her long-term projects ‘Family’ and ‘In This Place’ which address both personal and political issues and can be seen in her upcoming book with Bluecoat Press. Mitchell is the recipient of a number of awards including within the Sony World Photography Awards and The Royal Photographic Society’s IPE160. Work has been exhibited widely including at the National Portrait Gallery, London; FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby; Festival Circulation(s), Paris; Somerset House, London; the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh and Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow. Alongside working on personal projects, clients include the Guardian, Shelter, Telegraph magazine and CNN. Her work is held in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. Margarets’ work can be found here: margaretmitchell.co.uk Her new book is published by Bluecoat Press. rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2020/november/engagement-margaretmitchell 90
Events
Mik Critchlow
26 November 2020
Mik Critchlow is a British Social Documentary Photographer based in the North East of England. He began a long-term photography project documenting his home town of Ashington, Northumberland. The son of a miner, he has worked in the community with a deep-rooted empathy for the townsfolk, documenting the area and it’s people during a period of social and environmental change. His work is held in public and private collections and has been exhibited and published widely including: Side Gallery, Amber-Side Collection, Brunel University, Durham Art Gallery, Arts Council England, Northern Arts, The British Journal of Photography, and Creative Camera. Recent exhibitions include: ‘Forever Amber’ - Laing Art Gallery (2014), ‘The Share’ - Northern Rock Gallery (2014), ‘About the North - Imagined Dialogues’ - Side Gallery (2018), ‘WORK + WORKERS’ - Side Gallery (2019) and ‘Photo-North Festival’ - Harrogate Conference Centre (2019). He recently published Coal Town, his long term project about Ashington, his home town. Coal Town, is published by Bluecoat Press. Mik’s work can be found here: www.mikcritchlow.com rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2020/november/engagement-mik-critchlow
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Jim Mortram
10 December 2020
Si, Kirsty and Bandit. ‘All the millionaires and that, they are sat there in their big houses and judge us. The benefits people always fob us off, every week they say “You can’t expect us to give you money straight away.” and yeah, that’s alright but you don’t know how we have to live, what state we have to live in and you’re there going home to your nice food, to your brand new car, a seven bedroom house and we’re left here and no one has a care in the world.’
This Engagement talk features Award Winning Social Documentary Photographer and Creator of Small Town Inertia, Jim Mortram. Jim lives near Dereham, a small town in Norfolk. Dereham is no different from thousands of other communities throughout Britain, where increasing numbers of people struggle to survive at a time of welfare cuts and failing health services. For over seven years, Jim has been photographing the lives of people in his community who, through physical and mental problems and a failing social security system, face isolation and loneliness in their daily lives. His work covers difficult subjects such as disability, addiction and self-harm, but is always with hope and dignity, focusing upon the strength and resilience of the people he photographs. Small Town Inertia is a remarkable body of work. A full-time carer for his mother, Jim is, like his subjects, unable to escape from the geographical confines of his hometown and his understanding and sympathy for his struggling neighbours is apparent in every photograph. The event will be around 90 minute and is free. However, we invite you to make a £5 donation which will be forwarded to the charity Trussell Trust, which is working to stop UK hunger and poverty. Jim’s work can be found here: jamortram.co.uk
smalltowninertia.co.uk
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Arteh Odjidja
25 February 2021
Arteh Odjidja is an award-winning portrait photographer and educator born and raised in London. Arteh considers London to be his home and a place of inspiration for his work. He also draws much inspiration from his global travels and his focus on empowerment through the medium of portraiture. He has been commissioned to create work for some of the world’s most recognized brands and organisations including Virgin Atlantic, Christian Dior,Paul Smith, Ozwald Boateng Savile Row, Mont blanc, Oxfam-UK to name a few. Over the last 7 years, Arteh has also been active as an ambassador photographer for Leica Camera UK–allowing him to share his knowledge and experience through handson workshops and presentations throughout the UK. Arteh’s growing passion to make a positive impact through his work has led him to explore international project-based assignments and self-initiated personal projects, that challenge our sense of privilege and equality in our modern world. His well publicised ‘The Stranger Series’ Project which profiles the stories of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds has been exhibited extensively throughout the US and UK in prominent galleries and public museums including the Tate Modern, The British Museum, City Hall London and the Museum of Contemporary Photography–Chicago. Arteh’s work can be found here: www.arteh.co.uk Arteh’s The Stranger Series project will be published by Bluecoat following a Kickstarter campaign. rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/february/engagement-arteh-odjidja
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A Day at the Races - Peter Bartlett ARPS
A Day at the Races Peter Bartlett ARPS I have been attending horse race meetings around the North of England for several years and, as an inveterate people watcher, have always been as fascinated by the crowds as I have been with the racing itself. In the spring of 2019, I started a project designed to document spectators at race meetings and capture the colourful scene. Racegoers are an eclectic group. At one extreme there is the serious punter and, at the other, the casual visitor simply enjoying a day out. Some go to be seen as well as to see, the high-rollers, the young, the old and those in between, the wealthy and those less so, the countryset and the townies that just go to party. The mix of attendees is endless, creating a unique atmosphere within the spectator enclosures as people circulate between the stands, the betting ring, the bars, and the parade ring interacting and engaging with one another. My original thinking had been to continue shooting throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, I didn’t know then that the carefree and fun atmosphere of a race meeting would be brought to a sudden stop by the onset of Covid-19. Two attempts to run pilot race meetings with limited numbers of spectators, and tightly controlled social distancing arrangements, have foundered. For the foreseeable future, racing will continue behind closed doors, and a return to the relaxed and frivolous atmosphere witnessed at pre-pandemic race days is a long way off. These images, all made in 2019, form the basis of a photobook that serves to document happier times and perhaps provide a marker of where I would like to return. ‘A Day at the Races’ is available direct from the publisher, ADM Publishing, and can be ordered from all good bookshops and major online retailers. Website: www.peterbartlettimages.co.uk Instagram: @peter.j.bartlett
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Another Country - Ian Wright ARPS
Another Country The Last Days of Holsworthy Livestock Market Ian Wright ARPS Making documentary photo essays are just a part of my curiosity - of looking, interpreting, trying to understand my own life experience, the society I live in, those I visit, the issues I investigate. My images of Holsworthy Livestock Market were made between July 2012 and November 2013 on a dozen separate visits - an hour from my former home in Exeter. A spontaneous visit led to deeper interest, as the dilapidated century-old buildings were due to be bulldozed and the market moved to new premises. Both my sets of grandparents and their ancestors, as far back as the seventeenth century, worked the land - one - a family of landowners, the other - agricultural labourers, stonemasons, garthmen, lime burners and domestic servants. This stimulated my curiosity about the communities that are pockets of traditional, rural English culture, including strong accents with a rhythm and stress which reflect the depth of our history. I wanted to witness, and record, the passing of one of the oldest remaining livestock markets in England, and to know something of the life of the community and individuals for whom it is both an economic and social hub. Much of our information today comes mediated for us - through TV, newspapers, magazines, and the web. Exploring - simply being there, is quite different. Being ‘present’ engages all the senses; we can interpret for ourselves. My photography allows me to experience things first-hand, and has a simple structure - to reveal through planning and pursuing photographic projects; to reflect on the experience; to relate what I have learned. Photography is essentially autobiographical revealing why we photograph, our interests, what excites and awes us; displaying our tastes, our ideas, our influences, and our filters. Photographing somewhere like Holdsworthy is an exercise in social relations, negotiating access and becoming invisible. Arriving around 7.30 and leaving after lunch in the market café, I didn’t do much camera work on my first visits, more 108
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making myself known, asking about the price of lambs, showing interest in the workings of the market. Key to this was the relationship I struck up with the chief auctioneer, a leading member of an influential family who owned the market and other agricultural businesses. He gave me all-area access and made it known to his staff who I was and what I was about. Showing a series of images from previous projects was a major factor, as was showing images that I made as my visits progressed. I think he was intrigued when I honestly remarked that photographing the market was one of the most interesting places I had visited. Gradually, I just blended in - I soon began to look like one of the farmers; green wellies, waxed coat, flat hat. The farmers and their families were universally tolerant of this intruder, good-natured and generous - talking to me about their lives and the difficulties of contemporary farming; yet, not one would give it up. It was a great privilege to be allowed to become a temporary insider into the Holsworthy community and I hope that my images contribute in a small way to record of a traditional English way of life - and some very resilient, dignified people. The end product was a self-published (Blurb) book Another Country: The Last Days of Holsworthy Livestock Market and a set of prints for the offices. The images here give a snapshot of the atmosphere and the characters. This is my foreword to the book: “Every Wednesday morning for over a hundred years, the farming community of the borderlands of North Devon and Cornwall have assembled in the now crumbling buildings of Holsworthy livestock market. Auctioneers with their characteristic, quickfire gabble, act as ringmasters in crowded cockpit-shaped arenas. All the senses are assaulted - the cacophony of noise, the stench and mess underfoot, the sheer size and latent power of the cattle. The weather is etched in the farmers’ faces as deep as the furrows they plough and the market is part of their economic life-blood but it is much more - it’s a major part of the social fabric. Farming is a lonely activity - man against the elements - and market mornings briefly bring together people who share a common culture and a common fate. Many are here to congregate for its own sake; they cluster in little confidential groups; they laugh a lot but conversation soon turns to the more serious issues of the day - perhaps over the breakfasts in the steamy cafe that richly deserve the label ‘full English’. This is another England where ‘stewardship’ is the core value - a concept based on deep generational roots in their soil and an imperative that keeps them farming when it may make little economic sense. The market is soon to move to new premises. Its social function may well survive but these are precarious times for these independent men and their families. Their ability to survive is squeezed by the cold winds of a globalised world and the power of commercial giants to dictate prices and the terms of trade. Once politically powerful, the rural community find themselves marginalised as the British population has become used to cheap food and their voting power is drowned out in what is now overwhelmingly an urban nation. And of course, the oldest adversary of the farmer - the weather remains as potent as ever.” 109
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The Documentary Group Plans for 2020 - 2021 Overall Objective To help support the RPS Strategic Plan and specifically increase the relevance of the RPS for Documentary Photography (especially for younger photographers) and engage wider audiences. We have decided to focus our goals under the three headings of promote, educate, and encourage:
Promote - the highest standards of achievement in photography These activities are focussed around showcasing and celebrating high quality photographic work and thinking, which is fundamental to the RPS’s purpose. Continue to develop our journal The Decisive Moment (DM), currently published quarterly and online (via Issuu), with themed approach and ca. 120-130 pages to enable high quality documentary projects to be given sufficient ‘space’. Push DM distribution and readership outside the RPS to increase visibility and relevance. Target: 20% external readership increase. Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) – following Covid-19, all exhibitions are on hold until galleries can accommodate. We plan to extend the touring exhibitions into 2021 as promotion for the next competition. For 2021, we have considered an ‘open competition’, but without resources and volunteers, this is not feasible. Instead we will look to expand 2021 categories (to include Documentary Group Member, RPS Member and Under 35 RPS Member prizes), and consider opening the competition for a later year. Distinction Advisory – work with Distinctions to host a number of documentary-focussed Advisory days (first took place on 22 Feb 2020 at RPS HQ). Continue to work with Distinctions to develop advice and supportive articles (in DM) for documentary projects.
Educate - members of the public by increasing their knowledge and understanding of photography As an educational charity, it is important we continue to develop the range and reach of our educational work. We want to help photographers develop their practice, and also educate nonphotographers about what is current in documentary photography. Documentary Workshops – continue to develop our new documentary focussed series of workshops and education covering the lifecycle of a project from initial idea and intent, developing narrative, conducting research, through execution, to editing, sequencing and ‘getting it out there’. (5 workshops in 2020, more to follow, subject to demand). Website and Social Media – develop our RPS website and social media to better engage younger and more diverse documentary photographers (currently being reviewed and revamped). Target: increase social media ‘hits’ by 20%. Provide regular image driven content. Engage University courses focussed on documentary, following on from recent ‘education’ focussed edition of The Decisive Moment. Offer opportunity to show-case exceptional student work in Decisive Moment. Consider offering complementary membership to RPS and Documentary for up to 3 recent graduates. Documentary Talks range of talks by established and upcoming documentary photographers.
Encourage - the public appreciation of photography We want to engage with more people, including those who are not photographers, to appreciate the value of documentary photography so that it is enjoyed by as many people as possible. Work with groups outside RPS such as Photo Scratch, PhotoForum and recognised documentary photographers and publishers to put on documentary focussed events. (Target: 4 events per year). Support similar regional events or sub-group events and workshops. Regional sub-groups – continue to support and help fund (e.g. help with room hire or Zoom subscription) sub-groups and ideally expand them to cover new regions, subject to sufficient interest and volunteers. Showcase sub-group work in DM and social media. Where no active sub-group, work with the Region Organisers, or put on events via Zoom, to provide Documentary focussed events for members and public. DG Bi-monthly competition – continue our online bi-monthly single image competition with documentary-focussed books as prizes. Monthly Newsletter – continue to publish in the months with no Decisive Moment.
Outline of Scheduled Events – see RPS Events for details: 2020 DPOTY 2019 Awards at RPS HQ Let’s Talk Documentary by RPS East Midlands Documentary Advisory at RPS HQ Documentary Workshop - July Co-promote Documentary Talks Update Documentary Resources on website Documentary Workshops – August Documentary Workshops – September AGM and DPOTY online talks Engagement - Documentary talks series. John Bulmer, Margaret Mitchell, Mik Critchlow, Jim Mortram Documentary Workshops – Oct, Nov, Dec Thames Valley and Central sub-group support 2021 Engagement - Documentary talks series. Arteh Odjidja, others to be announced DPOTY Exhibition at Newcastle Arts Centre (TBC) DPOTY Exhibition at Cork, Ireland (TBC) Documentary Workshops (online) Documentary Photographer of the Year Competition 2021
11 January 2020 25 January 2020 22 February 2020 Deliver workshops 1 and 3 2 talks promoted Complete and updated Deliver workshops 1 & 3 Deliver workshops 1, 2 & 3 September 2020 Oct, Nov, Dec Deliver workshops 1, 2 & 3
February 2021 onwards TBC TBC Deliver new workshops From April 2021
Ongoing activities Update Website Resources Monthly Decisive Moment - online magazine issues End Dec, Mar, Jun and Sep Bi-monthly photographic competition Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec Plus Regional sub-group Activities - see RPS events All year
The Documentary Group Online The documentary group has a presence on the following platforms, come and join in the conversation. We understand that not everyone has a social media profile or wants to create one. That’s why all our profiles are public and can be viewed by everyone, no matter whether you have an account or not. This means you will be able to view all our posts and book on to ticketed events. Checking our RPS page and searching for events is still a good way to keep informed with all that is happening in the Documentary group. If you have any questions you can always e-mail us – all our contact details are listed there.
Facebook Facebook Page - facebook.com/rpsdocumentary Our public Facebook page is new, but it already highlights the successful projects that entered our Documentary Photographer of the Year competition. You can also find albums for the Bi-monthly Competition winners and short texts from our Journal The Decisive Moment (DM) there – these updates are designed to be easy to read on a phone screen that also provides you with the link to the full articles.
Facebook Group - facebook.com/groups/RPSDVJ We also have a closed group Facebook page, exclusively for our members. If you want to join us there, you can share your pictures with us, ask for advice, and engage with our online community.
Instagram @rpsdoc Instagram is an image-based social media platform, so think of our profile as of an online gallery. If you follow us there, you can see pictures from our competition winners, DM contributors and members along with invitations to events and images from these occasions. Instagram is the place where we want to promote the work of our group and our members to the wider public and encourage them to follow and engage with our projects.
Flickr Royal Photographic Society - Documentary Group Documentary Group members run an active group on Flickr with plenty of images and the opportunity to discuss them with the group.
rps.org/documentary
Contact: docweb@rps.org
#rpsdoc Twitter @rpsdoc Our Twitter page is for short important updates such as events, exhibitions, call for entries or other announcements. If you do not have much time for scrolling on social media but still want to be in on the action, we recommend you to follow us there. We promise we’ll be short and concise.
Issuu Issuu.com - Documentary Group, Royal Photographic Society The Decisive Moment is published on the Issuu platform where you can read each edition online or download pdfs to read offline. Please follow the Documentary Group in Issuu and use the buttons to like and share your favourite editions or individual features - it really helps support the Documentary Group.
Website rps.org/documentary The Documentary Special Interest Group has a section on The Royal Photographic Society website. Here you can learn more about the group, hear about recent news and future events and access an increasing number of documentary photography resources.
Documentary photography as a practice spans a range of approaches, so makes precise definition difficult. Taken literally, all forms of photography can be described as documentary, in that they document someone, something or some place. As a working definition, the Documentary Group uses the following: “Documentary photography communicates a clear narrative through visual literacy. It can be applied to the photographic documentation of social, cultural, historical and political events. Documentary photographers’ work always has an intent; whether that is to represent daily life, explore a specific subject, deepen our thinking, or influence our opinions.” rps.org/documentary
Flickr
Members form a dynamic and diverse group of photographers globally who share a common interest in documentary and street photography. We welcome photographers of all skill levels and offer members a diverse programme of workshops, photoshoots, longer-term projects, a prestigious Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) competition, exhibitions, and a quarterly online journal ‘The Decisive Moment’. Some longer-term collaborative projects are in the pipeline for the future. We have a active membership who participate in regional meetings, regular competitions and exchange ideas online through our social media groups. Overseas members pay £5 per annum for Group membership rather than the £10 paid by UK based members. The Documentary Group is always keen to expand its activities and relies on ideas and volunteer input from its members.
If you’re not a member come and join us. Find us on the RPS website at: rps.org/documentary
Street Cleaner, Jodhpur - David Pollard ARPS
rps.org/documentary
