Creative Light - Issue 45 by Guild of Photographers

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

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: September | October 2021 - Issue 44

Contents © Bregitte van Haaren QGPP

10 16 30

Steve Oldfield Enthusiast Photographer GuruShots Magnificent Architecture Challenge Jo Bradley Mentoring for Qualifications

32 40 48

Sarah Smith Master Craftsman Submission

Rob Hill Too busy for your business to grow?

52 54

Lorraine Dale Craftsman Submission Peter Farrington Craftsman Submission

Gold Awards July & August 2021

64 72

Gary Hill Modifiers and how to use them

76 80

Roberto Aguilar Photographer | Specialist Printer

Qualified Submission Successful Qualified Panels

Gaille Gray Craftsman Submission Sandie Powner Craftsman Submission Stuart Waugh Craftsman Submission

Editor

Julie Oswin

Welcome to the 45th edition of Creative Light. The fabulous month of October has arrived! October got its name from ‘Octo’, meaning ‘eight’ as it was the eighth month of the year in the old Roman calendars. Better still, the Saxons name for October was ‘Wyn Monath’ because it was the winemaking season! During October, the night sky is much clearer and the perfect time to go stargazing. This edition features Roberto Aguilar, Fashion Photographer and Specialist Printer - view the superb video explaining the printing process! Secondly, well-known enthusiast Guild photographer Steve Oldfield shares insight into his landscape locations on the South Coast. This month GuruShots competition winners in their ‘Magnificent Architecture Challenge’ is featured on page 16. Gary Hill’s Part I of an Introduction to Modifiers and why you need them! Part II will be in the next edition due out at the end of November. Finally, we feature some fantastic qualification successes from the Craftsman and Master Craftsman submissions held in September at Head Office. Due to the sheer volume of successful panels entered, we will be featuring them over this and November’s edition. Have a fabulous October, enjoy!

Front Cover by Mark Harris My choice for the front cover for this edition is a magnificent image of a Stag taken by Mark. The image typifies everything Autumn and the month of October! Mark’s image received a Gold Award in the Guild’s Image of the Month and awarded Members Choice Overall Image of the Year 2020. - Julie Oswin

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https://visionmediadesign.co.uk © Julie Oswin

Sun bursting through the storm clouds after the rain!

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: September | October 2021 - Issue 44

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Steve Oldfield

ENTHUSIAST “ I am an enthusiast photographer based on the south coast of England in East Sussex and enjoy all things to do with photography. I was born in Rye and have lived just along the coast in Hastings for the last 30 years, which means I have some great coastline within an hour’s drive as well as some beautiful downland countryside. After 37 years in the finance industry, I took early retirement in 2016, and this has allowed me and my girlfriend, who shares my passion for photography, to travel in the UK and abroad. We spend time exploring countries photographically. We continue to develop our skills and spark ideas and compositions off each other and be critics of each other. Photography, for me, is not a business but a passion. I capture images to please me, but I also share them on social media, enter competitions, and place a few with stock image sites. Both my girlfriend and I love landscapes. Over the last few years, we have started to delve into other genres, including macro, wildlife, street, and Astro, challenging ourselves to develop new skills. My digital DSLR cameras have all been Nikon, and I am enjoying mastering the new mirrorless Nikon Z7ii and some of the fantastic lenses that Nikon is producing to support it -albeit far too slowly”

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Q: How did you first get interested in photography? Born and brought up in a rural area, I have always loved being out in the countryside. Not satisfied with just walking and observing, I wanted to record the beauty of the flowers and insects around me, and so I saved up and purchased my first camera, a Zenit E, in the 1970s. However, my overinflated confidence in my photographic ability and technical knowledge, plus the cost of getting images processed at a lab, meant that my many failures resulted in my interest in photography quickly waning. The camera was reduced to family and holiday pictures. Work and playing sport meant that it was not until around 15 years ago and the advent of digital cameras that I started to get back into photography as a hobby. I purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D40, in 2008 and started to learn the skills I so lacked as a teenager. Q: What do you specifically look for first when creating your wildlife and landscape images? A great composition. Q: What is the most challenging area of your photography? Post-processing. How much is too much? Whilst my skills with Lightroom, Photoshop, and other applications have improved over recent years. I still have a lot to learn. I regularly revisit and reprocess digital files to apply new knowledge to try and make them better whilst still retaining the elements that first attracted me to take it. Q: What motivates you to get up in the morning to capture the first light? The chance to see the start of a new day and capture that moment with a great image. Sadly, it does not always work. Q: How has your style of photography developed or grown since you first started? I am not sure I have a style, and as I enjoy most genres of photography, having a single style for everything is difficult to achieve. I am certainly more considered taking images today than when I first started when I had an almost point and shoot style. Q: Favourite lens in your camera bag? I switched to a Nikon Z7ii at the end of 2020 and have recently purchased the Z 24-70 f2.8 lens. Optically, this is far and away the best lens I have ever used, and I can’t wait to upgrade other lenses as and when finances allow.

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Q: Best buy for under £50? Lee Filters Field Pouch. It holds all the Lee 100mm filters I use in a soft, safe environment. The shoulder strap makes it easy to carry and access. Q: Do you use a tripod? If so, how important is it for your photography? Very important for landscape photography. It makes me slow down and think about composition and camera settings and lets me take long exposure images. For other genres such as street and macro, not so much as I prefer the freedom of hand-held shooting. Q: What top tip can you share for people interested in natural world photography? Composition. Decide on the main subject of your image, then spend some time exploring angles and perspectives. For macro and street photography, try and avoid distracting background elements that draw the eye away from your subject or use a shallow depth of field to blur them. Q: How important is Photoshop|Lightroom |PostProduction to your photography? Very important. My skills have significantly improved over the past couple of years, but I still have a lot to learn. Whilst I try and get as much right in-camera, there is no avoiding some post-processing. I use Lightroom to organise my images and undertake some processing. Photoshop is my image editing tool, together with some plugins and other applications like Topaz DeNoise AI. Whilst I aim to keep the image accurate to what I saw, I have recently started to delve into creating ‘art’ images with replaced backgrounds and blended horizons etc. Q: Your favourite subject that you have photographed and why? The Lofoten Islands in Norway in winter. The sheer beauty of these islands is made better with the addition of a fresh covering of snow. The colourful wooden buildings in the fishing villages stand out brightly against the white background—a magical place. Q: What is your go-to place on the South coast to photograph the sea? There are many great places along the south coast from Kent to Cornwall, whether towns, rocky shores, or towering cliffs. For East Sussex, my go-to places really depend on the weather. Newhaven is great in storms with waves breaking over the harbour arm, Beachy and Seaford Head offers the chalk cliffs, great in any weather and time of day, and towns like Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea and Eastbourne are great for more urban coastal shots.

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Q: Who inspires you? My photography was all about wildlife in the early days, so photographers like Eric Hosking and Stephen Dalton were my primary inspirations. Today there are just so many excellent photographers, both amateur and professional, who not only produce amazing images but have the ability to communicate their photographic passion and knowledge. A few names that spring to mind is Andy Rouse, Ross Hoddinott, Tom Mackie, Tim Mannakee and Gary Gough. Q: If you were to be on a desert island and only take one item, what would it be? As a photographer, it must be a camera! Q: How do you relax? Reading, gardening, and just going out and about with my girlfriend and, of course, my camera Q: Three individual words that describe you? With a bit of input from my girlfriend: Passionate; Considerate; Humorous. Q: Favourite place in the world and why? Anywhere there is snow. My girlfriend and I have a passion for snowy landscapes and try and get at least one trip each year. Our next trip postponed from this year due to the pandemic is to Senja in Norway in 2022

Q: Three pieces of equipment that you couldn’t do without? 1. Hoodman: Over the last couple of years, I have started to need reading glasses more and more. I don’t like wearing them when out with the camera and so have come to rely on a Hoodman to help review images on the camera screen. 2. Lee filters: I am perhaps a little old school in that I try and get things right in-camera to try and reduce the amount of post-processing I do. Using filters for landscapes is an integral part of this. 3. Camera L-Bracket: These make changing camera orientation on a tripod so easy. Q: Favourite food? You simply can’t beat a good roast dinner. Q: Where next? Photographically, continue to learn and improve by attending workshops, travelling with professional photographers, and submitting images to Image of the Month and for feedback and critique. Location wise, we had a couple of overseas trips postponed due to Covid-19, so hopefully, these will take place in 2022. Until then more trips in the UK, visiting both new locations and some old favourites!

- Thank you Steve for sharing with Creative Light Magazine an insight into your photography!

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Photo Credit: Lynne Harper

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Magnificent Architecture Challenge

Janna ~ Unite

Ambrogio Stanghellini ~ Italy ~

Jorge Reis ~ Portugal ~

Charo Parras ~ Spain ~

TOP PHOTO WINNER | TOP PHOTOGRAPHER WINNER | TOP GURU’S PICK WINNER

Troy T ~ Unite

Bart Buckalew ~ United States ~

Conrad Joseph Camit ~ United States ~

Olaf Wiehler ~ Germany ~

Gordana ~ Mac

Paris Eleftheriades ~ United Arab Emirates ~

Yevgeniy Gladkikh ~ United Kingdom ~

Guy Wilson ~ Israel ~

jen ~ Is

Fabiano DosSantos ~ United States ~

Miguel Danoninho ~ Germany ~

Lily Xu ~ Germany ~

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Nicolen ~ Au

a Gurvich ed States ~

Thomas Martin ~ Australia ~

FMT| Cdt.Feu ~ France ~

Zsuzsi Gesztelyi-Nagy Margit ~ Hungary ~

Thomas ed States ~

Wolfgang Weber ~ Germany ~

Igor Antonov ~ Spain ~

Eva Miffy ~ Austria ~

a -ND, Doc cedonia ~

Lori Moreno ~ United States ~

Grazyna Fuchs ~ Poland ~

Ramon Sanchez ~ United States ~

nny45 srael ~

Britt Hotshotz ~ United States ~

Lee Darnell ~ United States ~

Mary Ionita ~ Romania ~

Johan Nensen Lindqvist ~ Sweden ~

Frederick Wong ~ Hong Kong ~

rabbit in relaxed mode ~ Mozambique~

ne Dreyer ustralia ~

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Peter Draemann ~ Switzerland ~

Sergey I. Bredikhin ~ Russian Federation ~

Rob de Jong ~ United States ~

kuri ~ Nethe

Fred Matos ~ Brazil ~

Ilan Horn ~ Israel ~

Pedro Campos ~ Portugal ~

Frédéric ~ Fran

Olga Zeltser ~ United States ~

Bexx Walker ~ United States ~

Andrew Malcolm ~ United Kingdom ~

Csilla H ~ United K

Melissa Rae ~ United States ~

Gibarjan GF ~ United Kingdom ~

Peter Merz ~ Canada ~

Paula ~ United

Jess van Putten ~ South Africa ~

Dagrun Stokke ~ Norway ~

olivernmacdonald ~ United States ~

Thierry ~ Luxem

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iene erlands ~

Aadil Bricha ~ Netherlands ~

Xavier @xavierjouve | Team X ~ France ~

Benjamin Wang ~ China ~

Pallanca nce ~

Chef Martin Fels ~ Germany ~

Juliano Gonzalez ~ Brazil ~

Bianca Kuchenbrod ~ Germany ~

Horváth Kingdom ~

Andy Malhan ~ Hong Kong ~

thekellyd ~ Mexico ~

Diane Via ~ United States ~

Eagle d States ~

Anzori Popkhadze ~ Georgia ~

Derek Walocha ~ United States ~

Zhivka Живка ~ Spain ~

y Guinet mbourg ~

Susan Moss ~ Australia ~

Michele Guzman ~ United States ~

Vladimír Vérosta ~ Czechia ~ Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

Annette Leach ~ Denmark ~

Jalmari Heikkonen ~ Finland ~

Christopher Leth ~ Denmark ~

Paul Ne ~ United K

Martina Priel ~ Germany~

Luca Ferrari ~ Italy ~

Carmen Watkins ~ Romania ~

Ashley L ~ United

Paolo Barozzi ~ Italy ~

petraengler1 ~ United States ~

Janna_AOTW ~ Germany ~

Deri D ~ United

Michael Gordon ~ Israel ~

Karim Benkirane ~ Canada ~

Karolina Morris ~ Canada ~

Patti ~ United

Adel Murza ~ United States ~

Lainey Burke ~ United States ~

Brand ~ United

Hadi Yashruti ~ United Arab Emirates ~ 22

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ewman Kingdom ~

Derek Armstrong ~ Thailand ~

Mike Gibbons ~ United States ~

Brigitte Dupuis ~ Canada ~

Levinson d States ~

Sally Levi ~ United States ~

Sébastien Chareyre ~France ~

Ana Isabel Pe RI MyWay ~ Spain~

Dority States ~

Györgyi Barta ~ Hungary ~

Markus Schweers ~ Germany ~

Brown d States ~

Oleg Ы. ~ United States ~

den May d States ~

Yves Légaré ~ Canada ~

StevanE ~ Serbia ~

The Joker ~ Israel ~

vbsm ~ Australia ~

Find out more about GuruShots by visiting their website. Join the daily photo challenges, improve your photography and get rewarded. www.gurushots.com Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

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Getting Backdrops Right Hi—I’m David Shoukry, a studio portrait photographer and educator based in the UK. Everything I use in the studio, whether it’s the camera system or an A-clamp, has to be either useful or beautiful (to paraphrase John Ruskin), and I’d like to show you some of the ways that I’m using my Hand Painted Backdrops in useful and beautiful ways! I work in a small studio, so being imaginative with that space is a key factor in getting things right. There isn’t the luxury of having several sets standing by all the time, but I can transform the studio by stacking up several backdrops or arranging them to make new ‘rooms’. This creates the illusion of space—I can make ‘corners’ with a large and small drop, create three ‘sides’ to a room or simply pile them up to give a riot of textures and tones! The ‘problem’ of space is taken care of, and I can set up scenarios with warm and cool shades, whether I’m shooting a corporate headshot or an editorial.

Let’s look at some of the ways that you can make backdrops work for you. In the first image above I’m using the backdrop in the most straightforward way; it’s a traditional portrait on a neutral grey. By the way, the mid greys will work well with almost any portrait subject. Let’s see a yellow backdrop paired with an old-fashioned room divider as seen in the middle image. You could replace the room divider with a piece of fabric and still get an interesting balance of textures. One of the most enjoyable ways for me to use several backdrops is to hang them in unconventional ways, keeping an eye on the colours used. In the third image, I chose a kind of autumnal palette designed to match the model’s warm red outfit. The key light was a 150cm Octabox on the left—on the right-hand side, I was firing a CTO-gelled strobe through a gobo to create the ‘sunlight’ effect. The idea here was to accent the folds in the backdrops and make the most of the dappled effect. As photographers, hopefully, there’s plenty of variety in the kind of work we do. Sometimes it’s formal and low key, but sometimes we can get more colourful and creative. Hand Painted Backdrops made me a collection of small (100x130cm) backdrops that I call my Pop Drops —they’re brightly coloured (image 4), some with abstract patterns that remind me of a piece of modern art. I pair these up with a larger, more neutral backdrop shade, and it’s a great combination for more extrovert shoots. One final way to bring things together is to use several different backdrops that all share a similar shade but with variety in the textures. I love muted greens on all kinds of portrait subjects—in this image you can see how the different textures come together to create interest across the green set - (image 5). If you’re uncertain about combining colours effectively, a good way to start is simply by having several different shades of a single colour and working from there.

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The portraiture scene is a crowded marketplace, and it’s important to have features in each image that are recognisably yours. Hand-Painted Backdrops provide just that: each one is unique, whether you have an ‘off-the-shelf’ drop or have it made up to your specifications. The bespoke service starts with a consultation; you’ll receive progress images to review, adjustments can be made as needed, and you finish up with a backdrop that’s perfectly suited to your requirements.

So what do I get from Hand Painted Backdrops when there are other choices available? First and foremost, I always receive products that are amazingly made for the job they are designed to do. Secondly, the attention to detail at every stage of the process—planning, manufacture and shipping—is just consistently excellent. The results speak for themselves in my work and allow me to put my portrait clients front and centre, where they should be. - David Shoukry If you’d like a free consultation to discuss backdrop options for you, please contact Hand Painted Backdrops at hello@handpaintedbackdrops.co.uk or call 07883 341365—Slav will be glad to talk you through the process and show you potential designs. Alternatively, you can check out current stock and previous commissions by going to our website:https://handpaintedbackdrops.co.uk

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: September | October 2021 - Issue 44

ECNARUSNI Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

Jo Bradley Panel Member | Judge “ I’m excited to begin the journey with new mentees and hopefully we can add a few more Craftsman and Master Craftsman achievements to the Guild.”

“ There are times in everyone’s career when having someone there to support you can be empowering and career

changing. I’ve been lucky enough to have had some great mentors in my life, that have given me the push I have needed to move forward. I am now in the amazing position to be able to teach and mentor myself and hopefully inspire others photographers in the pursuit of their goals. Before becoming a photographer I was a teacher for over 10 years, working in both the UK and the Middle East. I’ll never forget my first headteacher; a strong and determined leader who took me under her wing and encouraged me to work hard to become the best teacher I could. I guess she was my first mentor and her lessons have really stuck with me through life. Like many people, when I started my own business I loved that sense of freedom and not having to answer to a boss or have targets to reach. However, I soon missed the direction and support that working with others can give you. I realised that I could not move forward any more by myself and decided to reach out to experts in both business and photography. In 2016 I won a place on the Essex Innovation Programme and was given a business mentor for a year. His input was certainly career changing, forcing me to look at my business model and make some bold changes. With his support I had the confidence to outsource parts of my business to experts freeing me to concentrate on the creativity of my work. I also began to receive mentoring with The Guild and was able to start to look more critically at my photographs. Mentoring gave me the confidence to move through the qualification stages, enter IOM regularly and eventually train to become a judge. I can honestly say that without the input I received at this stage in my career I would not be in the position I am now. Now I love being able to go back to my teaching roots and combine it with my love of photography. Teaching certainly has a “feel good” factor to it and inspiring others is incredibly rewarding. I enjoy working with both new and experienced photographers, finding out exactly what each person needs to progress. Sometimes this is learning new Photoshop skills or going back to the basics of lighting images correctly. Sometimes it’s helping mentees to develop their style or help them to clarify ideas for a panel. A lot of the time it is about giving people the confidence in themselves and their abilities. Teaching also helps me to become a better photographer myself. It helps me to clarify lessons myself and put into practice what I am teaching others. I also learn a lot from my own mentees; a different way of doing something in Photoshop or something they find successful when running their business. Mentoring makes me realise how much I have learnt over the years and I draw on both my successes and failures when teaching others. Whatever challenges mentees are having it is likely I have experienced the same issues and emotions at some point in my career. I have had images not do well in Image of the Month, I’ve had times where I couldn’t get my work to reflect my vision and I have certainly had moment where I have been unsure of how to move forward. Using this experience helps me to bring new perspective to a situation and empathise with emotions and frustrations. I love the ‘light bulb’ moments when mentees realise what they have been doing wrong and the happiness when they achieve something they didn’t believe they could. This might be achieving their Qualification or gaining a bronze in image of the month, or feeling pleased with a gallery they have delivered to clients. Standing at the Guild headquarters alongside a mentee about to present a panel to the judges has to be among one of the most rewarding and nerve-wracking experiences of my photography career, possibly even more nervewracking than when I presented my own Master Craftsman panel! To get to this point will have taken years, they will have worked through different ideas, different layouts, variations on edits and trialled different papers for print. It is a long and emotional experience and to play even a small part in someone’s journey and to be there as they achieve their goal is just incredible. So I’m as hooked on teaching and mentoring as much as I am photography! “ - Jo Bradley MCrGPP

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Sarah Smith Master Craftsman “

My appointment was at 11.30 am, but I arrived two hours early as I was a complete mess and wanted to ensure I didn’t miss my slot. I had taken a cocktail of calms, rescue remedy and paracetamol, and I still couldn’t control my nerves; achieving my Craftsman was a total dream come true, let alone being upgraded to Master Craftsman. It still doesn’t feel real!! Pushing yourself to achieve something beyond your wildest expectations is one of the best feelings in the world, and I would highly recommend the journey to anyone looking to better themselves. I want to apologise to the judges for my emotional state but thank them for taking the time to judge my panel. You are an inspirational bunch, and it was an honour to present to you. I would also like to thank Lesley & Steve Thirsk for the warm welcome that I received yesterday and all the support you have given me over the last few years to get to where I am; I cannot thank you guys enough. I would also like to thank the Digitalab team for the most beautiful prints and wall art to display my panel. They looked awesome! A few words about the wonderful Joanna Bradley: Jo isn’t just my mentor, but a very special friend of mine, and I have been so fortunate to have her by my side throughout my journey. Not only is she an incredible photographer, but one of the nicest people in the world. Jo puts everyone else first, and the help and confidence that she has given me to achieve my dream have been incredible. If anyone is looking for a newborn or baby mentor, I would highly recommend her. Thank you so very much, Jo, you’re the best! Here’s my panel in which I am so very proud of ....... “ Sarah Smith Master Craftsman Website [click here]

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STAY INSPIRED " NEVER STOP CREATING. " Multi award-winning Photographic & Fine Art printing, Framing, Wall Art & Albums. All hand-crafted here in the UK. As a proud Brand Partner of The Guild we are thrilled to offer all members a permanent 10% discount on all printing including same day prints and a huge 50% off all studio samples. Check your guild membership benefits page for info on how to redeem your exclusive discount offers

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www.thenewbornphotographyshow.co.uk

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Roberto Aguilar

Photographer

Born in El Salvador and raised in the United States, Roberto discovered a love for photography when his

father gifted him a 35mm camera. At the impressionable age of ten, his curiosity about the photographic process led him to the darkroom, and saw him joining photography clubs in school. Thinking from strength to strength Roberto’s talent was evident and he soon landed the title of contributing photographer and later the photo editor for his university newspaper and yearbook. Whilst assisting several photographers in Miami, Roberto discovered fashion and realised his potential to push images and creativity on another medium. Drawing from his knowledge and experience Roberto took a visionary approach to capitalize on steady income working for many multinational clients in the Central American region. In 2000, he decided to take a year off and go to Paris where he attended Spéos. A year later saw him teaching photography at Parsons Paris; dividing his time between teaching, assisting fashion photographers and testing for several model agencies. Roberto’s move to London happened in 2004 where he was quickly recruited by the Tigi brand to shoot their advertising, making him responsible for photographing all of their major world-wide campaigns, including the multiple internal brands. Roberto continues to sell evoking, moving, inspirational and journalistic stories by documenting these through his images and moving images on location or in studio. His work has been featured in Vogue, W Magazine, Another Magazine, and L’Officiel, amongst other international titles. He has collaborated with Jimmy Choo, Unite Haircare, British Hair, Cadence London, The London Barber, Tigi Haircare, Bed Head, Toni&Guy, Levi’s Dockers, Ponds, Dove, Axe, Unilever, Budweiser and Coca Cola; working for the advertising giants McCann, BBDO, Young and Rubicam, Ogilvy and Mather, Grey Advertising, Ammirati Puris Lintas.

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Q: As a commercial photographer for over 30 years; how and where did your photographic journey start? My journey started when I was about ten years old. There was a photography club in school, and I wanted to learn how to use the darkroom. I remember taking some negatives into school, which my parents had shot, to see if I could make some prints. Then one day, my parents had a party, and it must have been a great party because someone left behind a Canon AE-1 35mm camera and never claimed it. I decided to take it apart to find out what all the buttons and dials did. Needless to say, I ruined that camera. I then convinced my father to buy me a 35mm camera. We went to a camera store in Miami, and I distinctly remember it was a Saturday. There was a nude photography workshop happening to which I was too young to enter. However, my father did go in for about ten minutes, and I waited outside. After that, I walked out of the store with a Canon T50 and a cheap zoom lens. To this day, I think I owe my photography career to that nude seminar… hahaha! My interest peaked, and I decided to pursue photography further. I took many photography courses in high school, and at university, I became the photography editor for the university newspaper. After graduating, I began assisting other photographers. In 1994 my father convinced me to move to our home country of El Salvador. Within a few months, unfortunately, he passed away suddenly from heart failure. Being the oldest of the family, I decided to stay in the country where I started to work with some of the biggest advertising agencies in the world, shooting campaigns for the entire Central American region. In El Salvador, the market is quite broad, and I could not specialise in one particular field. A typical week could include the interior of a bank and a shoot on the beach with girls in bikinis. In January of 2000, I got the chance to help out on production for “W” Magazine with an amazing team. This encounter made me realise that I wanted to specialise in fashion and beauty. So I decided to go abroad, and I ended up in Spéos School of Photography in Paris doing a ten-month degree program in photography. After the program ended, I was offered a job as a darkroom lab technician at Parsons School of design. I took the job parttime and, at that time, started assisting other photographers and doing some testing for some of the larger modelling agencies in Paris. In 2004 I met the owners of a worldwide beauty brand, and they offered me a job in London. I ended up working with them for over a decade, photographing all their campaigns and travelling extensively.

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Q: When and how did you become interested in Platinum Palladium prints? In 2016 I was invited to a gallery opening in Paris by one of the photographers I used to assist. He had two prints there, and the whole exhibition was platinum palladium prints. After over two decades of doing photography and printing, you can figure out how things are done. These prints mesmerised me. A platinum palladium print draws you in and keeps you there. The image is embedded in the fibres of the paper as opposed to “floating” on the paper as the emulsion is brushed on. I wanted to know how the technique was done. Immediately upon my return to the UK, I started doing some research and found out that not many people do this kind of printing. However, I did find a workshop and a whole new world of what is referred to as “alternative processes” opened up. It was the darkroom that first drew me to photography; the magic of the chemistry, you could say, seduced me. I still get a kick seeing the image come up. It is pure alchemy.

Q: What motivated you to change direction from commercial photography to setting up your specialist printing lab, RJ Print Lab? I have not changed direction; I have merely added to the services I can provide. The lab was created several years ago to print my personal work. The pandemic put a halt to the commercial work, I am hoping temporarily, and made me realise how much I enjoy the darkroom. My commercial work is starting to come back slowly, and now it is about finding a balance. Q: Your dedication to Platinum Palladium prints (museum quality) and how you create them. These alternative processes are historical photographic processes from the beginning of photography itself. Nowadays, we can incorporate the new with the old, which means I can take a digital image captured with the latest technology or a negative scan and create a digital negative to be used in any alternative process.

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Steps to produce a Platinum Palladium print: 1: A negative is made to the final size of the print from a digital file or a scan. This means that if you want an 8x10 print, we need to make an 8x10 negative. 2: Once the negative has been created, tested and approved, a light-sensitive emulsion is mixed using a cocktail of platinum and palladium salt chemicals. This mix is used to hand coat the acid-free cotton rag paper using a synthetic bristles brush. The paper is then left to dry for about 20-40 minutes. 3: Once the paper is dry, the negative is placed on the paper and placed into a vacuum frame to be exposed to UV light. 4: The exposed paper is then passed through a few trays of chemistry for development and clearing. It is then washed for thirty minutes to an hour and hung to dry to remove the excess water. 5: The print is then set on a flat screen for its final drying overnight. The next day the print is checked and, if necessary, spotted. Q: One piece of equipment that you cannot do without? I am going to say a computer. I use a computer for everything nowadays. Q: Best buy for under £50? A V-60 Coffee Dripper and a hand held coffee grinder all for under £50. Never underestimate the power of a freshly ground speciality cup of coffee. Q: As a commercial photographer, what area did you specialise in? I still do! I specialise in fashion and beauty. I love photographing people. Q: Your limited edition prints that you create are printed on Hahnemuller Platinum Rag as standard. Can you explain why this particular paper works for your printing processes? Platinum palladium prints will never fade due to the chemical composition of the emulsion. The noble metals are platinum, palladium and gold. It is said that these do not fade over time. As you can imagine, the chemistry prices fluctuate depending on the demand for these precious metals; therefore, you want to have a paper that will last. Although you could technically print on any paper, a few papers are made specifically for the process. Hahnemuehle Platinum Rag is one of them. I do print on this, but I do find that it is not only beautiful but also very dependable and readily available. This paper is 100% cotton paper. It is acid-free and does not contain any alkaline buffers. Q: What motivates you to get up in the morning? Photography. I am still obsessed with photography!

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Q: Henry Fox Talbot invented the Salt Print in 1839 can you explain the processes involved in creating this type of image? I think you mean creating this type of print. Salt prints were the first time in history where a negative was made and could be used to create multiple copies of an image. The process begins with the preparation of the paper. A weak salt solution is brushed on the paper and left to dry prior to any light-sensitive emulsion. This allows the silver nitrate to be fixed on the paper. The process is quite simple; once the salt solution has dried, you can coat the paper with a solution of silver nitrate and expose it to ultraviolet light (the sun). The exposed print is then submerged in a few chemical trays and washed for about 30 minutes. This is very similar to regular silver gelatine (wet) darkroom print.

Q: Your favourite image that you have created, captured and printed? I can’s say that I’ve gotten there yet. This year I have set myself a project of printing 100 of my images using different alternative processes. I will let you know if one of these becomes my favourite. Q: What advice can you share for people interested in taking up darkroom work, processing and printing Q: Cyanotype Printing, what is involved in creating this their own images? type of image? Come and do a workshop with me in County Durham; Cyanotype Prints are some of my favourites because it will change your photographic path forever. As a of their versatility. These were commonly referred to photographer, I believe it is of utmost importance to as blueprints because, in effect, they are Prussian Blue. print your images. As they say, “the big eye doesn’t They are probably what I would recommend anyone lie”, and a print leaves nowhere to hide any mistakes. to start with. You can buy the chemistry already made It doesn’t have to be a handmade print; any print will in places like Amazon. The chemistry comes in two do. Just print your images! bottles marked solution A and solution B. You add the Q: How important is the use of today’s digital same amount from each bottle and coat your paper. technology in the creation of your printing services I believe you can even buy pre-coated paper. They today? can be done on any paper, and they develop in plain Digital technology allows us many freedoms today. I water. The ease and low cost of making these prints have clients from all over the world who send me files allow for experimentation. If you ever get a chance via the internet. to go to the V&A Museum, you will get to see some of Anna Atkins cyanotypes. She was the first one to Also, most of us nowadays walk around with cameras create the first book of photographs, and these were on our phones. I have a few clients who send me cyanotypes. (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/annafiles taken on their phones. Digital technology is what atkins-cyanotypes-the-first-book-of-photographs.html) makes my business possible today. 44

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Q: What is your favourite place in the world and why? I can always escape to the darkroom. I am in my own cocoon there. Q: Typical day at your lab? How long does it take to create a print for a client? There is not a typical day at the lab. All prints come with different challenges. A typical printing day will include checking the humidity first. Usually, between 45-55% is perfect for platinum palladium printing for me. If it’s too low or too high, I need to make some adjustments to exposure and coating. I will usually run a small calibration strip before I do any prints to make sure I don’t need to make any adjustments there, and then I will check the negatives I’ve done the night before. Once all that is done, I will pick the paper, mark it accordingly and mix some chemistry. A typical print will take about an hour once all the set-up is done, not counting the waiting times for emulsion to dry and the actual print to dry(usually overnight). I will say up to two days if you include prepping the file, negative printing, processing and drying times, and spotting. Q: Who inspires you? I think someone like Irving Penn has always been an inspiration. Not only was he a great photographer but also a great platinum-palladium printer at a time when very few could afford to print in the medium. I am also very inspired by the work I see on social media. There is some amazing work out there being produced.

Q: If you were to be on a desert island and only take one item, what would it be? I watch many of these “Naked and Afraid” survivor series on TV, and they are given a choice of one item. I always think to myself either a mosquito net to keep all the bugs away or a fire starter kit to keep warm and boil water… although I don’t think this is the answer you want to hear…haha. I could say a camera with many rolls of film… a digital camera would need a charger and electricity. Tough question! Q: How do you relax? I’ve been asked this question before, and people laugh when I tell them that photography is my job and as a hobby, I do photography... I mean... I have three degrees in photography. When I am not shooting for work, I am at the lab printing my own work. When I am with my partner and daughter, I photograph them! Q: Three individual words that describe you? Passionate, Creative, Dedicated Q: Favourite food? I don’t have one favourite food… I love sushi, pasta and steak, not necessarily in that order. Q: Where next? I am open to all possibilities as long as it involves photography. - Thank you Roberto for sharing an insight into your photographic journey and your specialist printing. Inspiring. Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

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Successful Qualified Panels August | September 2021

“An excellent reason for joining the Guild is to submit your work for assessment and progress through our membership levels. It is a way to measure and evidence your skill level, as well as show your customers that you are committed to providing them with the very best service. Whilst photography-related qualifications have always been a controversial issue, how do you judge an art form? Our ‘Qualified’ status aligned to the standards of competence that reflect a level where the customer should be ‘pleased with the results’ when employing the services of a skilled tradesman (the photographer). In other words, ‘Qualified’ indicates professional ‘competence’ to a level where the Guild is willing to recognise the photographer as an ambassador of the association, so those who achieve that level should be proud of doing so”. - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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Rob Hill Rob Hill is a life-long photography enthusiast with a product / commercial photography business – Marketing Shotz as well as a successful technology marketing consultancy. He qualified as a Master Craftsman with the Guild of Photographers and is also a member of their judging panel. His commercial work can be seen at www.marketingshotz.com and his personal work is found at www.robhillphoto.com

Too busy running your business to grow it? Most small business owners realise the value of planning, yet relatively few manage to do it, very few do it well and even fewer actually execute those plans. But, if we recognize the value of planning, why does it always seem to fall to the wayside?

The world of a modern business owner is busy with many tasks to do. Each morning as you open your computer there are emails to respond to, social media to attend to and a myriad of other things to do – calibrating your monitor, charging batteries – not to mention actually doing the work that pays the bills, whether that is going out and photographing or perhaps a paid training session. Yet, all of these small tasks are seemingly urgent – but are they the most important things to be doing? They are all good in the sense that they keep the business ticking over but they are all very tactical and affect short term revenue, but won’t change your business for the better. Each of us should have a ‘vision’ for how our business will develop – what we want it to look like next year, in three years, maybe in five years. Some may achieve these visions exactly but even if you don’t they are invaluable in making our day-to-day decisions. Make the decisions in a way that takes you closer to these goals – every business journey is the combination of many of these small steps. We know we have to do things to promote our business to grow it – advertising, attending networking events, making and cultivating contacts, writing a press release – any one of a hundred things that we need to do. However, without a proper business plan it is all-tooeasy to deal with that short-term issue and forget about the important tasks that relate to growing.

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This is why business plans are so important. Clearly there will always be urgent issues to deal with; a customer complaint, a supplier messing something up, a faulty camera. These have to be dealt with – and it is right that less urgent (but more important) tasks are delayed – having a proper plan means that these are only delayed and not forgotten. Many businesses, especially larger ones, have formal planning cycles. As a small business owner you can decide how complex or sophisticated your plan is to be. At the simplest level, it could be writing key things on a calendar, right through to a fully written plan with descriptions of each task – or somewhere in between. The process of planning should start with the ‘vision’ mentioned earlier. This will outline how want your business to change – maybe it is to be bigger in the same format, maybe you want to diversify into different genres or market sectors or something else. The next steps are to identify the things you want or need to do to move the business towards achieving those goals. This is most likely to be a combination of things including finding more or new customers, marketing tasks (advertising, PR, website, social media), training, seeking new business partners, upgrading or buying equipment. Each of these tasks can be entered in the plan with as much detail as you wish – but each one will have a date / timeline – and this is the most important aspect. By giving each plan item a date, it becomes harder for them to be continually ‘shuffled’ along as you deal with the dayto-day tasks. Even finding the time to plan can be a task in itself. In larger companies they may take key executives ‘off-site’ for a couple of days, so that they can focus on the planning activity. The team would be cut off from email and phones for most of the time to ensure minimal interruptions. Small businesses can take a similar approach – why not book a weekend away somewhere and take a trusted family member to help you work on the plan? You could even go with another photographer friend and use the time to both build your marketing plan. Running your business and managing the day-today is important, but it is arguably more important for you to have a clear plan of where you want the business to go and how to get there. In the same way as writing down personal goals makes them easier to achieve and more likely to happen, businesses with a defined plan are more likely to be successful.

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Lorraine Dale

Awarded Craftsman September 2021 52

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Peter Farrington Craftsman My “Photo Essay” of the ‘Scars of War and the Beauty of Nature’ Those of us that are old enough will remember the Falklands War back in 1982. And if you don’t remember the war from 1982, you will probably have heard about it. A little island down the South Atlantic, which has gone from different hands over the years from the French to the Spanish to the British and Argentina had a claim on the island and decided to take action by invading them. Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher sent down. A Task Force to protect the islands. And we effectively went to war to take back the islands, and regain the Government House in Port Stanley and raise the British flag once again. Since then, the islands have been peaceful, but the Argentinians continue to make claims on the island, and we are there. All these years later, to protect it. And we continue to protect it to this day. Now, on my various tours, down to the islands I have seen loads of wildlife and the nature, all that the beauty of the islands white sandy beaches or turquoise sea are amazing. But on my last tour in 2019. I decided to go and do two things really one the battlefield tours to see for myself, where the men and women of the military had gone to retake the islands. And also I decided to do what was called the three peaks challenge. Doing a Yomp with all kit on my back in boots in the horrible weather over the three big hills Mt Longdon, Mt Tumbledown, and the Two Sisters that the Parachute Regiment, Marines and other two Scots fought to retake the Islands. So, from that point of view, it was an amazing experience. It was hard, it was tough. I found it hard going and that’s in the kit that were issued today, which is so much better from what they had back then it really is, the weather wasn’t quite as bad, the boots are far better. The kit keeps you waterproof and keeps you warm, which as I said they didn’t have back in 1982. So although there was pain, and it felt like it was never going to end. I did get to the end of it, and it was quite humbling to retake the footsteps of soldiers, airmen and Navy personnel that have gone before me. So when I say “scars of war and the beauty of nature.” What I mean by that is, in the Falklands the scars are there for everyone to see. As you will see from the pictures that I have taken. There are gun placements still in place there are footwear that the Argentinian had left behind. They were conscripts. These were people that were forced to go. And in order for them to stay up on the hill the Argentinians Officers would take away their footwear and make them wear the sandals to stop them running away. And to this day, up on Mount London and tumble down you will still find in the crevices of the rocks, a lot of these remains the boots and sandals still in place and some of the rusty old rasers and things like that. Also on Mount Harriet there’s a certain point where there’s like an old gas ball spade. Everything’s been left as a sign of respect, and as a sign of not ever wanting to forget what has happened. And so yeah, you get to see all The scars of war the planes that went down the racks. Just the other side of Mt Kent. There is a Puma and Chinook crash site, where the British took out both the Puma and the Chinook that were lifting with Argentinian Special Forces, and a Harrier a Sea at the time, took them out and the wrecks are still there. So it’s a poignant reminder, all the time that you know the war happened there and we should never forget that the sacrifice that was made on both sides, as well as the Argentinian cemetery and the cemetery for the people of Britain, that were, unfortunately, taken too early from us. Beauty can and does come from war. Today, the Falklands Islands are at last mine free, finally given the all clear in 2019. But now at long last, the islanders have the free run of that beach. After so many years, and to see the pleasure on their faces when they were able to you know, grandparents that were, you know, the mothers and fathers and kids that are now, grandparents themselves able to walk on those beaches. After so many years it was a real delight and something great, that has come out of the war. Something else that good has come out of the war is the Falklands Islands has been put on the map. And what I mean by the map I mean, nature, the wildlife and the uniqueness of the islands. - Peter Farrington Craftsman 54

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JULY & AUGUST 2021

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Gary Hill

Photographer | Trainer Gary has been a photographer for the last 11 years, following a career change. He is based in the North West where he specialises in bespoke portraiture for individuals and families. He is a Master Craftsman with the Guild as well as a Fellow of the Societies, and he has numerous awards to his name. Gary is a brand ambassador for Digitalab, Click Props and Backgrounds, a Friend of Graphistudio and a Sony Alpha Creator. He is however probably best known as an educator, being an exceptional trainer, especially in the areas of Lighting and Posing.

PART 1 | AN INTRODUCTION TO MODIFIERS Softboxes, reflector dishes, umbrellas, and beauty dishes. Just some of the modifier that we have available to us as photographers to attach to our lighting to change the way it works for us. In this article I will go through the basics of modifiers and the how and why they are used. Before we talk about actual modifiers, we perhaps need to check that we totally understand how light is affected by simple rules when it comes to the quality of the light. Now, the word quality is an interesting one as, what do we mean by quality and the quality of light needed for one situation may be different to another situation. When I discuss quality of light to my mentoring students, I usually split it into two main characteristics with another secondary one as well. The first part I talk about is hardness of the light, this relates to the edge of the shadow and how that presents itself. If the light source is small relative to the subject, then the edge of the shadow will be a more solid line, and clearly defined so we call that light hard. If the shadow is diffuse at its edge due to the light source being large compared to the subject then the light is usually referred to as soft. Obviously there are different levels of hardness all dependant on the light size to the subject. The next characteristic I talk about is contrast, this relates to the difference in stops between the highlight side and the shadow side in a portrait, the bigger the difference, the more contrast there is. Now people often call the combination of contrast and hardness as harsh light but contrast is often influenced by light position and closeness to subject and a little by the modifier, you can have soft light that is both contrasty or not and hard light that is also contrasty or not, all depends on positions and the modifier. The third characteristic that modifiers affect is the specularity or shininess of the highlights. In simple terms the lining of the modifier if silver will give off shinier highlights than if it is matt white. Bare flash – the design of most studio lights is to use a round flash tube to throw the light as evenly as possible in all directions in front of the head. This is great as it helps get it more evenly spread but a nightmare to control as it does indeed go everywhere. So, bare bulb has the odd use but generally not what we use as portrait photographers. continued... Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine : 67

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Next up is reflector dishes, these go from tiny to fair sized. Form little 5 inch spill kills to 18 inch maxi reflectors. They are usually silver on the inside and fit direct to the head with no diffuser, their job is to control the spill of light and funnel it all straight forward. They are very efficient and give great output to the light but unless the largest ones they are small sources and produce very hard light when used in portraiture, Great for putting spots on backgrounds but I would rarely use for normal portraits unless recreating the hard light looks of Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s or punchy fashion images with models. They are great for maximising the power of the light if used with low powered lights. (Image 1 and Image 2 – shot with 7 inch reflector dish). A beauty dish is a modification of the reflector dish, comes in various sizes and with a central deflector which prevents the flash coming straight out, it hits the deflector then bounces back into the dish to then come forward again, the point being to reduce the hot spot in the middle. Used a lot in fashion and beauty photography they can provide beautiful semi hard light with crisp edges to it. They work well with good make up and clear skin but can, being semi hard show up blemishes and skin defects a lot. For general portraiture I find personally I use mine very little though I know others that do. I prefer, using my Elinchrom system to use a 70cm deep Octabox with deflector disc and single layer of diffusion to give a similar but more gentle effect (Image 3). In short reflector dishes can be useful but they are hard light unless used really close with the larger ones. Umbrellas come in many sorts, sizes and finishes. In short they are often either shoot through where the fabric is diffuse and the flash is fired directly though the umbrella towards the subject and the umbrella acts as a diffuser. The other type is indirect where the flash fires into the umbrella and bounces off the inside before coming back out. They can be white or silver or even gold to give different effects to the light, as previously stated, the silver or gold will give a punchier more specular light. The white inside of a bounced umbrella can be a really useful modifier as it is easy to transport, put up and position. Some come with an outer diffuser which adds another layer of softness due to diffusing the light some more. I use these a lot in particular the Elinchrom Deep white 125cm and outer diffuser, it’s easy to get a beautiful quality of light from it in close to the subject. ( Image 4 and Image 5) The only downside to umbrellas at times is they are not as easy to control as a softbox and have more spill. Once mastered they are a great modifier.

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Softboxes are what most people think of when they thing of modifiers. They come in all shapes and sizes from small to huge and their purpose is to increase the size of the light source to soften and spread it. The shape affects the spread and the size affects the softness ( though you can make them softer or harder by moving closer or further away). The ones I use the most are large Octaboxes and strip boxes. As you can guess Octaboxes are octagonal in shape and strips are long and narrow. The strips allow me to precisely control the spread of the light prevent spill. ( Images 6 and 7). The big Octabox or similar is a really versatile source, it can be pulled back a little to light a family or big group or brought in really close to get super soft light, bringing it in close makes it bigger relative to the subject and bigger is softer when close. ( Image 8) This is an introduction to modifiers, next time I will show some set ups and real world examples of how and why I have used a particular modifier. - Gary Hill

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Editors Choice Helen Trust Awarded Silver - August 2021

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Gaille Gray

Awarded Craftsman February 2021 74

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Loupedeck CT is a powerful, adaptable and custom console that puts the best of all your design, music, and editing tools and software at your fingertips.

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MEET THE EDITING CONSOLE DESIGNED TO ENHANCE EVERY PART OF THE EDITING PROCESS. Loupedeck CT is designed to save you time without sacrificing creative integrity, and can be used to edit your photos, videos, music, and designs. Loupedeck CT is an addition to the Loupedeck product-lineup. When compared to its predecessor Loupedeck+, Loupedeck CT takes customization and adaptability to a whole new level.

PREMIUM BUILD.

TRULY SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE.

With its Nordic, minimalistic style, the user interface

We at Loupedeck understand how versatile and

is perfectly organized for a more natural and intuitive

complex the creative editing workflow can be, which

experience. Loupedeck CT’s high-quality aluminum

is why we made sure Loupedeck CT works in sync

cover and dials, touchscreens, LED backlighting and

with your favorite software and editing tools and can

machine-quality ball bearings provide a premium

be customized to match your own personal style of

haptic feel for precision control over your work.

editing. Loupedeck CT provides a seamless experience

Lightweight and portable, Loupedeck CT is the perfect

with your software and will display the tools you use

companion for creatives, allowing you to edit wherever

across each working environment. You can easily go

and whenever.

from pen to brush, photo to video, or jump between software, all with one sleek console.

ORGANIZATION & CUSTOMIZATION

WHO IS LOUPEDECK CT FOR?

To keep you organized we have introduced the concept of “workspaces”, which are a collection of actions

The Loupedeck Creative Tool is a premium grade tool

or functions grouped together for quick and easy

that meets the demands of professionals who work

access. With Loupedeck CT, we have provided default

within an array of creative environments and software.

workspaces broken down by editing stage or project

This is a console for someone looking for complete

type depending on the software you are editing in.

customization and deeper control of their software. If

You can use these default workspaces to get started

you’re a pro editor and find yourself doing the same

editing right away!

editing tasks for hours at a time and working with a variety of software and editing tools, Loupedeck CT

For a truly personalized editing experience, you can

is for you.

customize almost any touchscreen, wheel or dial on the Loupedeck CT. You can create as many custom workspaces as you want that match your unique style of editing, which can then be assigned to Loupedeck CT’s color coordinated buttons and touchscreens.

The £469 Loupedeck CT is available for purchase on Loupedeck.com and Wex Photo and Video. www.loupedeck.com

Loupedeck CT is compatible with Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro X, and Ableton Live.

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

Stuart Waugh

Awarded Craftsman September 2021 82

: September | October 2021 - Issue 44

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

TIP SHEET #6 Using a 50% Grey Layer for Flexible and Non-Destructive Dodging and Burning

Dodging and Burning has been around since, well…Photography but I never ventured into the world of film so never experienced mixing chemicals in my own dark room, developing pictures and using them to Dodge and Burn. Now although we’re now well into the age of Digital Photography the art and process of Dodging and Burning is still as important as ever BUT nowadays with Photoshop, Lightroom and so on, there are many ways to do so.

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In this tutorial I’ll take you through a technique that makes use of Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn Tools but in a Non-Destructive way so as to give much more flexibility, so here goes…

Step 1: 50% Grey Layer Add a New Layer to the top of the layer stack by clicking on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel. Rename this layer ‘dodge and burn’. The go EDIT > FILL and choose 50% Grey from the Contents Menu and click OK.

Note: Another way to add a 50% Grey Layer is by holding down the Alt / Option key and clicking on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel. This brings up a dialog box. In here name the layer ‘dodge and burn’, in the Mode choose Soft Light and then place a tick in the Fill with SoftLight Neutral Color (50% Grey) checkbox and click OK

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

Step 2: Dodge & Burn Tools From the Tool Bar choose the Dodge Tool and then in the options bar at the top of the screen leave the Range set to Midtones (makes no difference as we’re going to be working on a 50% grey layer anyway) but lower the Exposure (strength) to around 5% and keep a tick in the Protect Tones checkbox.

Tip: It’s best to keep the Exposure setting fairly low so that you gently build up the effect because when dodging and burning, before you realize it, you can very easily do too

Step 3: Dodge and Burn Now you’re all set to start Dodging and Burning. Now there’s so much can be said about how but let’s keep it simple and say that the main objective here pretty much is to brighten the bright parts and dark the dark parts. Check out the screen grab to see the areas I worked on.

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Tip: To only see the grey layer you’re working on simply hold down the ALT / Option key and click on the eye icon of the Grey (Dodge and Burn) layer. This will turn every other layer off. To go back to normal view just hold down the ALT / option key and again click where the eye icon for the Grey (Dodge and Burn) layer would be. Step 4: Flexibility of Grey Some people choose to dodge and burn on the grey layer using a combination of black and white brushes and this works just fine. However the reason I choose not to is so that I can set up my foreground to 50% Grey by clicking on the foreground colour and setting the HSB to 0, 0, 50. Then when I’m dodging and burning, if I need to remove or reduce an area I can quickly dive over to a brush and paint with this 50% grey colour at whatever Opacity I choose.

www.glyndewis.com

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

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Step 5: Blending Another great reason to dodge and burn on a 50% Grey Layer is how we can blend areas together. The real skill with dodging and burning is making it look natural how the highlight and shadows areas you’ve enhanced blend into each other. On this Grey Layer we can do that after the fact by selecting the area we want and using Gaussian Blur.

Dodging and Burning can make such a difference to your pictures by highlighting specific areas to guide the viewer and adding much more depth and dimensions. But if I was to offer one final tip here it would be to take your time; do a little then step away from your picture and return a few minutes later. When you do this you’ll see your picture with fresh eyes and will instantly know if you need to do more or you went too far and need to reduce the effect; and that’s easy now when working on the 50% Grey Layer. 88

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www.glyndewis.com

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CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE PAGE FOR 100’S OF FREE TUTORIALS WWW.GLYNDEWIS.COM

Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

Peter Li is an award-winning photographer based in London. His architectural artwork received 1st place in the Architecture Category at the Epson International Pano Awards 2018 and was Commended at the Sony World Photography Awards 2018. His work has been featured in The Times, Time Out London and in various photography and art publications.

How did you get your start in photography? I started shooting with a DSLR camera back in 2013 when my first child was born. Like many dads out there, I wanted to document my growing family. Having a wife who studied art, she has a very artistic eye and I am very lucky to have someone who would give me an honest critique. In the early days, I was independently studying/self-teaching photography every day and practising on a daily basis.

What type of photography are you shooting and what motivated you to focus on that genre? In 2015, I met two aspiring photographers who shared their passion for architecture photography with me. Through their inspiration, I have learnt to be attentive in achieving symmetry and am mindful in my composition and line work. Living in London, we have all sorts of architecture; we often find a classic gem nestled amongst modern skyscrapers. I owe London for fuelling my passion for this genre.

What has been your biggest achievement or obstacle along the way? One of the biggest challenges is to photograph a space completely empty, and often it’s the hardest thing to do, so to prep for the best conditions I try to plan my visits on the days that are least busy, and getting up early to be the first person there. In London, interiors can be tricky because often they would not allow the use of tripods. But on the positive side, photographing around London I had trained myself to have a steady hand for a slow shutter exposure. 90

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‘Megamind’ Royal Albert Hall, London. The auditorium of London’s Royal Albert Hall during lighting preparation for an upcoming show. It is fascinating to see the hall from floor to ceiling in such flying colours. The stage spotlight cast such dramatic shadows across the seating area and transforms the space into something quite otherworldly. It is a difficult scene to photograph, but challenging conditions often make great photos.

Who and/or what inspires you most? I often look for inspiration from paintings, movies and games. I started gaming from a very young age, and I think it has impacted my photography more so than any other art form.

What is your approach? Is there anything in particular you try to achieve during a shoot (for example triggering certain feelings, etc.) or are there any specific techniques you use? My work sits between realism and fantasy. Historical buildings such as Cathedrals or music theatres are often reminiscent of our history - they are intrinsically timeless and, in many ways, otherworldly.

‘Chessboard’ St Paul’s Cathedral, London. St Paul’s Cathedral is one of London’s finest Classic architecture gem, a masterpiece from Christopher Wren’s creations. My St Paul’s series has 3 parts, each section of the Cathedral has its very own style but marries seamlessly together. The chandeliers brighten the space evenly across the Nave, while the lack of deep shadows creates a minimalistic elegant scene.

With vertical panoramic photography (Vertorama), we are able to observe a three-dimensional space in its entirety, giving us a view/perspective beyond what the eye can see. It breaks us from reality, plays with our perception of shape and form and creates a sense of another world. Through my photography, I hope to impart fragments of fantasy to the viewer and encourage them to take a momentary step out of their reality

Why is accurate color important within your workflow? I print my work regularly, colour accuracy is very important, having a screen that could accurately render the colours will make the process much easier to manage. The subtle tonal difference of an image can convey a very different mood and message. https://amzn.to/2wDin8e Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine : 91

THE GUILD’S PARTNERS + MEMBERS BENEFITS ALAMY The leading online photographic library for stock images. Guild members earn the first £500 commission free. www.alamy.com APPLESTORE Save up to 10% in store or online, as well as on refurbs and offers. www.apple.com/uk CEWE The largest European producer of photobooks is now available in the UK pro market. Guild members get an exclusive 20% off any CEWE photobook and wall art. www.cewe-photoworld.com COLORWORLD IMAGING A full product range and sample deals available, plus a special schools photography service. www.colorworldimaging.co.uk DATACOLOR SPYDER Computer display colour calibration solutions. Guild members receive 20% savings. www.spyder.datacolor.com DIGITALAB Digitalab delivers high-quality printing, frames, and presentation products. Guild members - 50% OFF any sample products. www.digitalab.co.uk EPSON One of the largest manufacturers of printers, projectors, and much more. www.epson.co.uk GURUSHOTS Join the daily photo challenges, improve your photography and get rewarded. www.gurushots.com HAHNEMUHLE FINE ART One of the oldest paper companies in Europe that live and breathes paper. 10% discount for Guild members. www.hahnemuehle.com HANDEPAY Guaranteed savings for Guild members on card processing fees. Discounted quotes for Guild members. www.handepay.co.uk INFOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY INSURANCE Unique savings for Guild members with this highly respected insurance company. www.infocusinsurance.co.uk LOUPEDECK 10% discount on The Photo & Video Editing Console for photographers and videographers, for faster and more creative editing. www.loupedeck.com 92

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LOXLEY COLOUR Scottish professional imaging lab with a worldwide reputation. www.loxleycolour.com nPHOTO Special deal exclusively for Guild members of up to 60% discount. www.nphoto.co.uk ONE VISION IMAGING 30% OFF your first order. Special offers for Guild members. www.onevisionimaging.com PIXSY - ACT AGAINST COPYRIGHT Special Guild member offer worth £350 per year. www.pixsy.com PHANTOM FLIGHT DRONE SCHOOL Brilliant Guild discounts of up to 20% OFF Drone courses, lessons, and holidays. www.phantomflightdroneschool.co.uk PHOTO-SENSORY Pre-School Education Service offers five different class types. Guild members can be official photographers to Photo-Sensory. Contact Guild HQ PROFOTO LIGHTING 10% Guild discount for members from Wilkinson Cameras. www.profoto.com SIM IMAGING Guild members only discount 10% www.simlab.co.uk SHUTTERTAX The online accounting option for photographers with a 20% discount for The Guild. www.shuttertax.co.uk UK PRINTED PENS Special discount for Guild members of 20% www.ukprintedpens.co.uk VISION MEDIA DESIGN UK Websites that Work for You. Guild Members - SAVE £95 off your new website. www.visionmediadesign.co.uk WILKINSON CAMERAS Large range of photographic equipment and Guild members exclusive retail offers. www.wilkinson.co.uk 3XM Guild Members receive double points on every product order. www.3XMsolutions.com ( Trade discounts/offers are subject to change )

THE GUILD OF PHOTOGRAPHERS “No other photographic body offers what the Guild does... get an incredible package of business support, training and mentoring by some of the most respected names in the industry, insurance, legal protection and the rights to use our respected membership logos”

Professional Membership costs £129 and Regular Membership costs £99 www.photoguild.co.uk

Let the Guild help you with your photographic journey like it has done for many others! The Guild is suitable for those in business, contemplating a career in photography, undertaking photography related courses, or even those who simply love using their camera. EMAIL info@photoguild.co.uk CALL 01782 970323 / 07982 613985 Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine :

DEMYSTIFYING COPYRIGHT The value of registering with the US Copyright Office - regardless of where you live When a photographer clicks the shutter button on their camera, they instantly become the copyright owner of the image created. Plainly put, owning the copyright means that the photographer has the exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original work (the image). An image used on or offline is, therefore, a copy of the original and requires the explicit approval of the photographer prior to use, typically through a licensing agreement or contract. To non-photographers, this concept is typically quite foreign. 94

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Many, including businesses, wrongly assume they are able to simply reuse an image they find on Google or Instagram, or the internet. As a result, image theft today is rampant across the internet, threatening the sustainability of the professional photography industry. Pixsy believes that every photographer should decide when and how their images are used, empowering photographers to protect their intellectual property rights through an AIpowered image monitoring and copyright infringement resolution service.

Pixsy currently monitors over 100 million images and has partnered with a network of over 25 law firms worldwide to handle over 100,000 copyright infringement cases for their photographer clients. As part of the protection and resolution process, Pixsy assists its photographers to register copyright ownership with the US Copyright Office (USCO) including bulk registrations of up to 750 images per registration. It is often believed that USCO registrations are limited to US-based photographers, however, registration is open to anyone and serves to protect photographers internationally against US-based infringements. With over 70% of the matches and infringements handled by Pixsy taking place in the United States, USCO Registrations are an integral part of any photographer’s toolkit. Not only does registration protect your work, it also increases the legal recourse available and increases the eventual settlement value in the event of an infringement. In order to file a lawsuit in the US for example, a USCO Registration is a requirement.

In order to file a lawsuit in the US for example, a USCO Registration is a requirement. If the registration was completed in a timely fashion, that is within the first three months of an image’s publication or before the date of infringement, then a photographer may be entitled to statutory damages of up to $150,000.

During the month of March, Pixsy will be offering a free consultation to Guild members with a Copyright Specialist. All GOP members have access to a special free partner plan, and access to all the protection tools and services Pixsy has to offer.

WIN A FREE COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION For your chance to win a FREE bulk copyright registration (uphttps:/ to 750 images), share /www.pixsy.com/ Issue 44 - Creative Light Magazine : 95 an image that you would like registered on your Instagram profile with @pixsy_hq at

BACK PAGE BRONZE - Sally Masson -

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