DIG News - December 2015 How many of you tried out the page turning software for DIG News last month? Did you even notice the link to Issuu where we had the November DIG News hosted? The aim is to make DIG News even more enjoyable for you. We feel that page turning software is a more pleasant reading experience than a straight block of text on one page. So we will do the same this month, offering you the chance to read it either way. But do at least have a look at the Issuu version as we would like to know what members feel about it. DIG News does not try to take the place of DIGIT, but is intended to keep you all up to date with what is going on within the group and highlight a few of our members successes or work. If ever you have anything to say, or feel you want to participate in any way, then again do get in touch. Perhaps to announce an exhibition you are holding, or a book that is being published. It is Your group and Your DIG News.
CONGRATULATIONS This is really a very special month as we have had some very fine achievements in the Distinctions with one FRPS and 13 LRPS to give our sincere congratulations to: Andy Hayes Eileen Wilson Kathryn Phillips Mark Comick Yiu Wah Wong Glyn Fonteneau
LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS
Kincardineshire Kent Surrey Middlesex Hong Kong Dorset
Russ Foote Jamie Rowland Dennis Hunt Phil Lavery Alan Hurst Chris Dixon
LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS
Dorset Manchester Sussex Ayrshire Nottinghamshire Hampshire
Susan Hendrick
FRPS
Dorset
It seems appropriate this month to ask our new Fellow to give us a peek at her successful panel layout and she has kindly also shared her Statement with us……. Macro photography gives me the opportunity to extend my imagination. As I live near the sea I wanted to convey some aspect of the coastal landscape in a more creative form. This inspired me to use small parts of the surface of a variety of fish, using natural light to convey the three aspects of my panel. My panel shows the forms and colours of the eroding cliffs as they interact with the sea. I have used ice to give the feeling of movement of the fish on the surface of the sea. The drifting movement of marine flora and organisms reflect light and colour on the sea bed
DIG EXHIBITION 2016 Each year at the DIG AGM (28th February 2016 ) we hold the members annual print exhibition selection. Individuals can submit 2 or 3 prints with the guarantee that one will be selected to be hung in our travelling exhibition throughout 2016. UK members will be asked for mounted prints; but from overseas members we accept unmounted work. Dates: submission will be open from early January and full information will be up on the web site shortly. But in the meantime do start thinking about which of your images you will submit for 2016.
DIG FORUM We have joint winners this month on the DIG Forum monthly competition. So our congratulations go to Phil Lavery, with ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ and John Bull for ‘Man and Gateway’. Two high quality images to enjoy. Both look like straight work – but read on…… When I contacted Phil to ask for a few words about his winning image he told me he was having quite a good run at present as he got his LRPS earlier this month (he is on the list, but congrats again), plus he was short listed in the RPS 365 comp for October. So he is obviously on a roll. As a relative newcomer to the DIG Forum it is good to see him winning and we look forward to seeing more of his work over the coming months. John may be a long standing forum member but his work is always a pleasure to view. Whilst this shot perhaps isn’t quite his normal style it still reflects his eye for symmetry, patterns and a strong composition.
“Smoke and No Mirrors� Taken in the Bargello Museum in Florence, last Easter, with a Fujifilm X100s. The majority of work was done in photoshop. The clone stamp was used to remove a sign on the column above the woman and a modern light above the doorway on the stair. Then, the temporary chipboard panel above the door, under the second arch, was recoloured using a HSL layer. Curves were used to control light and shadow. First a global curve layer to set black and white points and then a further four curve layers with masks to work on specific areas. And finally, some high pass sharpening layers using hard light and soft light blending modes and dialed back as required." The image was part of my very recent L panel and I wrote a bit about the journey here : http://rps.org/member/gallery/phil-lavery/LRPS#
“MAN AND GATEWAY� was taken from the terrace of the Library of Birmingham, looking out over Centenary Square. I took this picture on my first visit in July. I was pleased with several of the shots I had taken inside the building and went out on to the 3rd floor terrace and took about a dozen shots there in various directions. I was attracted by the patterns in the brickwork and the curves of red in the flower bed. I waited for a suitable figure to appear. This chap's red jacket echoed the colour of the flowers. I waited until he was clear of the railings and flowers and took just the one shot. Several people have commented that I must have waited a long time and taken a lot of shots to get this one. In one sense that is true - I have taken a lot of shots of people from raised viewpoints over the last few years. I was first inspired to try this at a talk given by Ann Miles in which she showed pictures she had taken from a high point at the Louvre. In Photoshop, I had to remove a number of pieces of litter and quite a few chewing gum stains from the bricks. On the advice of the DIG forum I later removed some foliage bottom right which also improved the image. I visited Birmingham again three months later and returned to the same location. Sadly the flowers had gone, so had the sun and unsurprisingly the man!
DIG CENTRES
News from around the UK Centres starting with Midlands: We are really delighted to be able to announce that DIG Midlands Centre has reformed under the leadership of Ian Bailey. Once a thriving Centre it has unfortunately been dormant for 12 months since the last organiser left the RPS. It always seems to be a struggle to find volunteers but we are very fortunate indeed that Ian has stepped up and is willing to take over. BUT HE DOES NEED HELP – your help please if you live in the Midlands area. If you are willing to pitch in then please get in touch with Ian via digmidlands@rps.org Ian is hoping to have the 2016 Midlands programme up on the web site by the end of December. So keep an eye on the following web page(s) http://www.rps.org/special-interest-groups/digital-imaging/digitalimaging-midlands . Meetings will be held at the Smethwick School House, so still at the same location for those of you who have been along in the past. Thanks Ian for rescuing DIG Midlands. We are sure that in your capable hands, and with help from others, it will go on to be the thriving Centre it once was.
Western: This is another Centre that has been without an official Centre Organiser for many months. We thank the Treasurer, Dennis Knowles, and web master (should that be mistress?) Sheila Haycox, for keeping things going. With a bit of luck and the following wind we are hoping that Mike Basham will be taking over permanently as the Centre Organiser, but first he needs to see how things pan out on a trial basis.
So thanks for giving it a shot Mike. You have a good Centre committee to work with; a strong forward programme, and the DIG Committee is always around if you need any further help or advice.
DIGIT The next issue of our quarterly magazine is with the printers so should be landing on UK members door mats before Christmas. It will give you something to escape to on December 26th when the world comes to a stop and we none us know what to do – the calm after the storm. And will no doubt lighten an early January day for our overseas members. Enjoy !
DIG MEMBER OFFERS We have two new offers for members this month, both of which you will find information for on the web page http://www.rps.org/special-
interest-groups/digital-imaging/about/dig-member-offers • Andy Beel is offering DIG Group discounts for his workshops and guided holidays. Reading his client feedback it seems he offers first class tuition and everyone has a good time, enough to want to go again. So a good recommendation. • The second offer is very seasonal but just in time for those of you who have been meaning to make your Christmas cards but have yet to get around to it. Pinnacle ink jet Greeting Cards with a 10% discount, from our friends at Paper Spectrum.
FOCUS ON OVERSEAS MEMBERS We have not one but two slots from overseas members this month. First one is from our long term DIG member and friend Tony Healy, who is a regular contributor to DIGIT. He sent me a link to his latest e-Book so I thought you might all like to share this fascinating look at the world of colourful and intriguing sea slugs and worms. First a short over view from Tony before you link on to see his book‌..
I have always had an interest in photography and the natural world - animal, vegetable and mineral. In the case of the animals and vegetables I have tended to concentrate on the smaller and less seen species. Australian native orchids in the latter, and marine life in the former. To find these marine animals I had trawl rock platforms at low tide and check the undersides of rocks. They are also seen in the deeper waters but I couldn’t afford diving gear. Collecting the sea slugs and placing them in a glass container, was relatively easy as they were on average about the size of a garden slugs. However the flatworms were so fragile I had to use an eyedropper and squirt them into a container. Both these animals, being so small, needed to be photographed in a controlled environment. Electronic flash was used to keep apertures small and increase depth of field. I used bellows to obtain close-up shots. Quite a large number could be photographed in a petri dish, but over time I manufactured other sizes and shapes to fit the subjects and variations on a theme. An illustration of these containers can be seen in the DIGIT archive for 2008 No.39. Both these animals are extremely colourful, numerous and wide spread. Recreation divers are now more aware of these life forms and are able to observe these animals in their native habitat. Something I was unable to do in my time of the sixties and seventies. If you wish to view the book go to http://www.blurb.com/books/6674130-the-edge-of-the-sea
And our second overseas contributor this month is ‌..
CYRIL MAZANSKY - USA After a relative photographic drought from my university days to when my children were teenagers, I once again become interested in serious photography. This phase has been for the past thirty years. It was not long before I became a member of the RPS, even though I have now lived in the USA for well over forty years (having been born and educated in South Africa). Perhaps it was my colonial background that attracted me to RPS! Within a few years I obtained my ARPS in Nature Photography
and then another ARPS in what was then Visual Arts. I am also an active participant in many of the activities of the Photographic Society of America (PSA). What has always attracted me to the RPS, in my personal opinion, was a very different approach to fulfilling its photographic mission compared with the PSA. The two complement each other well. I was a late holdout before embracing the digital photography era, having used a large format camera for many years. However, once I sold all my film-based equipment, I imbibed the digital mode one hundred ten percent. I found new life and new stimulation in my photography as a result. It was about that time that I joined the DIG division of RPS, and it is probably my favorite section. I am what can be described as a photographer who does not do any fancy manipulative/creative work, but uses the digital tools to maximize my straight photography. I essentially photograph scenes as they are. What I really enjoy about DIG is that it encourages both types of photography, as long as it is digitally based. The skill sets required to obtain the maximal digital information out of a non-creative type of image, are somewhat different but equally intense.
Glow over Hart Prairie
Wotan’s Throne at sunset
Pair of Masks on Bridge
Stairway in Myknos
Many thanks to all our member contributors this month. It is always great to hear your stories and see your images.
So all that remains is for me to wish all DIG Members Seasonal Greetings from the DIG Committee. However you choose to spend the holiday we wish you all a happy, relaxing time, with lots of good photographic opportunities.
Regards
Janet
Janet Haines ARPS DIG Chair digchair@rps.org