Viewfinders Newsletter April 2021

Since 1994 Next meeting: 21 April - online

©Neil Causey

Newsle�er 277, April 2021

www.viewfinders.be

newsletter@viewfinders.be

INTRODUCTION

By Alun Foster

©Alun Foster

M

aartse buien, aprilse grillen” as they say in Dutch.

April’s weather certainly has been fickle (not seen snow like that in a long �me) but s�ll has been conducive to some lovely spring�me photography, judging by the posts so many have made on our Facebook group recently.

But what to do with all these photos? I’ve been struggling for a while because I’m frankly very poor at cataloguing all the hundreds and thousands of picture I take, but a birthday resolu�on I made (yes, that happened recently too) is to at least try to set up some useful keywords. Capture One Pro has very good asset management features, so I really should get down to doing this.

But, neatly sorted and catalogued images share the same lack of visibility as the unsorted variety. Pos�ng them on websites and social media is one solu�on, and sending them in for publica�on in this deligh�ul Viewfinders Newsle�er is certainly worth it!

And why not look more closely into making some Really Nice Prints? With some new print services opening up which I’d like to try, certainly worth doing. And colour management? I have been looking into that more closely lately too.

But on the other hand, the output of most cameras these days is WAY good enough to get fantas�c results without so

much ado. So, let’s make the best of the nice bits of these capricious clima�cs and just get out there and take photos, shall we? Oh, and be sure to show people what we’ve been taking!

Preview of the April mee�ng Come and join us at our next Viewfinders club mee�ng on the evening of Wednesday, 21 April, star�ng at 20:00. The login informa�on for our online Zoom mee�ng will be sent to all members by e-mail several days prior to the mee�ng.

Alun will open the mee�ng with his announcements. This will be followed by a short tutorial by Philippe Clabots on “Enhancing Contrast and Dynamic Range”.

The main event of the evening will be the showing of the images and the selec�on of the winners for the photos submi�ed to our second semi-annual Challenge, this �me on the subject of “Texture”. Informa�on about the Challenge can be found here. Members will have received the submission details by e-mail on 12 February.

Please note that only paid-up members can par�cipate.

Looking forward to seeing you at the mee�ng, Richard Sylvester

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VIEWFINDERS MEETING March 17

By Richard Sylvester

T

he Zoom mee�ng was well a�ended, with some 47 different par�cipants. In his announcements at the start of the mee�ng, Alun men�oned the ac�vi�es that are planned for the rest of this season which include the Texture Challenge in April, the Nega�ve Space project in May and a possible return to photo walks in the near future. Members were polled to get their opinion about the content of the Newsle�er, the frequency at which they read it, and were asked to fill out the Feedback form.

The next item on the agenda was the “Image to Edit” project. Choosing from four different photos, 11 members presented their edits of one or two of the photos through their imagina�ve post processing. The edits not only included cropping, increasing contrast and/or satura�on, and conversion to monochrome, but also some innova�ve and exo�c techniques, one of which was based on the Exif data stored in the jpeg file.

The main event of the evening was our external speaker, Simon Pugh. A former Viewfinders club president, Simon lives in Maastricht, The Netherlands, with offices in both Maastricht and Brussels. Simon is a freelance photographer with more than 20 years professional experience, specializing in Commercial, Editorial, Portrait, and Event photography.

Simon started by presen�ng his event related photography, including his work as an event photographer for the European Commission and Parliament, and for various trade events, including hotels and restaurants, that he has covered.

Mixing with the local people, Simon gave his take on the people who he featured in a very impressive collec�on of photos. One of my favorite photos was the photo of tourists showing the Mona Lisa on their smartphone screens, as if capturing a photo on a smartphone was more important than what was being photographed.

More informa�on about Simon can be found at: www.simonpugh.com www.flickr.com/photos/simonpughphotography/albums www.facebook.com/SimonPughPhotography There is something for everyone’s tastes!

All images this page ©Simon Pugh

The most interes�ng and inspiring part of his talk was that which followed on “Street Life”. Simon presented “people photography”, the photos that he has taken showing life on the street in many different European ci�es and in various countries including the USA (New York) and South Africa.

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WHY STREET PHOTOGRAPHY?

By Kevin Scarle�

All images ©Kevin Scarlett

I

regard myself as a Street Photography (SP) purist, but there Basically, you are in control, you have the lights if you need are as many ways to describe SP as there are people who them, you have the lens perfect for the subject, you have the prac�ce it. loca�on and �me you choose, you have chosen the subject/ object if you need one.

It is probably easier to say what it is not... (IMO) With SP you are in a way at the mercy of your own luck. The It’s not posed or retouched. type of camera or lens combo does not ma�er really, the light is what you find on the day/moment. You can choose to shoot it’s not staged in anyway. with a flash but even with a flash you are not in total control.

You only have one shot, there’s no retake, no “sorry can you it’s not taken in a private se�ng or studio. walk by again please and do that li�le thing with your hair”. SP is importantly CANDID and REAL! It is not necessarily shot on the street!

SP (I know I’m going to make some enemies here) is probably the most difficult genre of photography (to get right!) while being at the same �me, the easiest to prac�ce. Why the most difficult? Because you are not in control, and that “not being in control” part is the most exci�ng yet in�mida�ng factor.

Most other genres of photography depend to some degree on technical knowledge/experience, the quality of your camera...

Technical knowledge can be learnt, either in the classroom or self-study. The best equipment you can buy if you are rich enough.

SP could be described as more of a lifestyle then a genre, because it can be prac�ced at any moment of the day. It reflects your life or the people and places around you. SP is a ‘living in the moment’ style of photography, wai�ng for the precise point that you decide is important or unique, trying to capture it as skilfully as possible, o�en in a frac�on of a second. While being the most challenging it is also the most rewarding when you get it right: you feel it with a real WOW moment! I got it!

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There is s�ll one shot for the Julien project that evades me. It is an imagined scenario involving a pigeon. I’ve tried several �mes but un�l now I have not caught the perfect shot and probably never will.

The thrill of SP is in the surprise when all the chaos of ordinary life comes together for a microsecond to present itself in a composi�on that says something about the �me we are living in. SP can be even called Life Photography for that reason. But let’s s�ck with SP for now.

So why do it if all the odds are against you? This is some�mes the best reason... When I started the Julien project, I knew trying to create something unique would be difficult, I’d shot there before, it was messy, chao�c, or too obvious. I just felt is could be possible to make something new with the subject, and that’s what I set out to do. Eventually I was rewarded but only a�er pu�ng in the groundwork and many hours standing in front of the famous statue.

A seasoned street photographer obviously accumulates a lot of experience under his/her camera strap. You have to see, feel, hear, even smell the streets/places you walk to an�cipate your next move or shot. Experience teaches you, a good SP’er will repeat their walk �me a�er �me to the same places to increase their chance of a good shot. Time of day/light can be important factors. Also, the type of subject changes during the day/year, think of rush hours, events, markets, etc...

Then comes the legal �ght rope. Luckily in Belgium you s�ll have the right to shoot in public. This is not the case in some countries around the world... For example, I’ve read that in Hungary, simply ge�ng your camera out in a public space without permission is almost an illegal act. For me, it depends much on your inten�on and mo�va�on, an ar�s�c argument stands in most countries as an acceptable pursuit. Just shoo�ng recognisable people for no reason and then publishing them on social media will offend some members of the public, this is quite understandable. This is why you see a lot of shadows and silhoue�es of people instead of closeups of faces in SP. At the moment it is interes�ng because everybody is wearing a face mask. Like it or not it opens an opportunity to SP’er’s to take advantage of the situa�on while not offending anyone, because nobody can claim they are recognisable. It is an interes�ng thought that I will leave you with... maybe in a few months/years we will have another point of view.

At a certain point during my Julien project, I could an�cipate when the next bus load of Chinese tourists would arrive, or which celebra�ons would be the most interes�ng to a�end.

This is typical SP homework; ge�ng to know your subject in�mately and knowing why you are there and what you want.

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HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

By Philippe Clabots

H

igh-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging is a technique used in photography to reproduce a greater range of luminosity than what is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques.

Standard techniques allow differen�a�on only within a certain range of brightness. Outside this range, no features are visible because in the brighter areas everything appears pure white, and pure black in the darker areas. The ra�o between the maximum and the minimum of the tonal value in an image is known as the dynamic range. HDRI is useful for recording many real-world scenes containing very bright, direct sunlight to extreme shade. High-dynamic-range images are o�en created by capturing and then combining several different, narrower range, exposures of the same subject ma�er.

All images ©Philippe Clabots

When is it, and when is it not, useful to use HDR ?

HDR is useful when the ligh�ng condi�ons will make impossible to capture details in the highlights and in the shadows at the same �me.

The histogram on your camera is key to detect such a situa�on. If you cannot adjust the exposure to avoid clipping in the highlight and in the shadow at the same �me then HDR will probably help you to get an image with details in all the tonal range.

Dynamic Range (in EV)

Tone Mapping When we create an HDR image we take a range of brightness that’s beyond what can be displayed using conven�onal display equipment. Producing an image file where the image can’t be seen is of li�le value so a process is required where we turn this into an image that can be displayed.

Keep also in mind that, If your camera is quite recent and you’re using RAW, the dynamic range of your digital image is larger than the medium used to show your image whatever it is. A typical usage is a sunset on the sea having the sun in the frame.

This is where tone mapping comes in as it will take the extended dynamic range and compress it into a range that allows it to be displayed, or printed. If you’re pushing the tone mapping too far you will end up with an unnatural (and, for me, ugly) picture. This kind of pictures has given a bad reputa�on to HDR imaging.

As HDR means taking mul�ple shots of the same scene and combining them together in post-processing it’s really not appropriate for moving subjects. The deghos�ng op�on helps but this is defini�vely not for shoo�ng sports. Mostly it will be used for landscape photography.

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Crea�ng a HDR photograph Do not change the aperture, as it will change the depth of field, but only the speed to adapt the exposure. The exposure bracke�ng mode of most cameras allows to take between three and seven pictures varying the aperture. Personally I am taking three pictures with a 2,0,+2 exposure compensa�on.

But in this case, as shown below, Lightroom was perfectly able to recover the shadows and highlights from the RAW file of the balanced exposure. So no need for HDR here ;-)

As the pictures must be blended together you must be quite stable between the shots. A tripod is ideal but post-processing so�wares are making wonder aligning the shots. Most of the �me I’m shoo�ng HDR handheld.

Postprocessing During the post-processing process (in camera or with your computer) you will have to merge the pictures taken at different exposures into a single picture.

In some complex cases I process my HDR in Photoshop that offers a lot of control over the final result. For fun you can try some of the extreme presets …

Most image processing so�ware can do it and some of them are even dedicated to this process. Long �me ago I started HDR with LR/Enfuse, a free plugin for Adobe Lightroom. Now I’m relying of the standard func�on of Lightroom for doing it (Photo > Photo Merge > HDR).

You can even create a panorama (mul�ple pictures) of HDR pictures (mul�ple exposure).

As you can see in this illustra�on the balanced exposure (middle) is clipped in the shadows and at the same �me is correctly exposed for the highlights. This is a typical case where the dynamic range of the subject is exceeding the capability of your camera.

Conclusion HDR can be very useful in some complex ligh�ng situa�ons, when you have very bright and very dark areas in the same scene. But even if this is really quite easy to achieve, my advice is to use it sparingly as it can give an unnatural aspect to your pictures, and most of the �me you really don’t need it anymore, thanks to the dynamic range of modern sensors, to get details in the highlights and in the shadows from a single picture.

As usual less is more!

The final picture combines (Lightroom HDR process) the three exposures into a single one with a balanced histogram. You have details in the highlights and in the shadows.

Sources : • wikiwand.com/en/High-dynamic-range_imaging • wallpaperflare.com/landscape-photo-of-mountains-nearriver-nature-hdr-ugly-wallpaper-wallpaper-palfz • lenscra�.co.uk/photo-edi�ng-tutorials/tutorialunderstanding-tone-mapping/ • thehdrimage.com/why-dynamic-range-is-not-tonal-range/ • researchgate.net/figure/Dynamic-range-of-various-sensors

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All images ©Neil Causey

MEET Neil Causey

M

y interest in photography started whilst studying art at high school in the UK where I was lucky to have free rein of the school’s darkroom. I enjoyed capturing and processing images and integrated them into my projects. I moved away from studying art at University and didn’t take up photography again until my children were born and I received my first DLSR to capture them as they grew-up.

Living in Belgium allows me to combine my two favourite hobbies – cycling and photography. The quantity of cycling and the enthusiasm for the sport in Belgium offers many opportunities to capture the spot. Cyclocross in particular (a form of cycling that takes place partially on an off-road circuit) offers a great chance to photograph a sports event.

You are able to get extremely close to the action and the crowds and setting offer a great atmosphere. At the Druivencross in Overijse I was fortunate to meet and get to know a team of American cyclists who allowed me to shadow them at one of their races. I was privileged to capture their whole day as they prepared and raced.

Through this experience I was able to make contacts at other teams and have covered races for professional teams in Belgium. I’ve also been fortunate to meet some of cycling’s best photographers who have been very generous providing advice.

My cycling photography to date has focused on trying to capture action and the riders. I would like to expand this in the future to capture the scenes, settings and atmosphere of the races more widely.

I mainly shoot with my Nikon D850 and Sigma Art prime lenses (50mm and 35mm). I prefer to use prime lenses due to the depth of field and speed they offer, whilst also allowing you to focus on the composition.

You can find more of my cycling photography at: neilcausey.myportfolio.com/portfolio

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EXHIBITION: Au coin de la rue

By Diego Naranjo

B

etween 5 March and 16 May 2021 you can visit the exhibi�on “Au coin de la rue” at See U Brussels, the temporary occupa�on project in Ixelles. The ‘par�cipatory’ exhibi�on, organised in partnership with the ASBL Espirito Mundo and with the support of the Ixelles Commune, shows the work of 200 par�cipants that have shown different parts of Ixelles: A woman applauding essen�al workers, a closeddown bar reflec�ng the sky bringing hope in lockdown, surrealist scenes (a�er all, this is Belgium) or a fun moment with friends, all of these photographs fit well together and recreate the mel�ng pot that Ixelles represents with the diversity of na�onali�es, social classes and personali�es.

Two of our members, the Andalusian Diego Naranjo (Sevilla, 1980) and also Hélène Cook have their works exhibited.

Diego got two of his photographs selected for “Au coin de la rue”. In fact, one of them was his third photograph taken with his new mirrorless camera back in October 2020, when he decided to pursue photography as a new passion/hobby.

The exhibi�on is free of charge, and open air (so covid-free), and it is open every day of the week between 8 and 22h.

There are two main entrances: Rue Fritz Toussaint 8 and Avenue de la Couronne 227. You can get there by train (Gare E�erbeek is 2 minutes walking distance), Bus 95 and Trams 7 and 25. Don’t miss it!

All images ©Diego Naranjo

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FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ansel Adams

By Dagmara Jakubowska

A

nsel Adams (1902-1984) was an American photographer, whose strongly contrasted black and white images are icons of landscape photography.

He was born in San Francisco and ini�ally wanted to be a pianist, but photography prevailed. He would spend a substan�al amount of �me in the Yosemite Na�onal Park, where he made his best known images. He became a member of the Sierra Club – a nature conserva�on organisa�on – at age 17, and remained a member for the rest of his life.

Adams ini�ally followed the prevailing 1920’s photographic trend of pictorialism, where photographers sought to imitate pain�ngs with so� focus and diffused light, but by 1925 he rejected this for an approach involving sharp focus, heightened contrast, precise exposure and darkroom cra�manship. His first por�olio of images appeared in 1927 and included Monolith, the Face of Half Dome – an image taken using a dark red filter to heighten tonal contrasts; this type of manipula�on was a departure from previous photography techniques. It was also at that �me that Adams formed his concept of visualisa�on, i.e. visualising an image and its effect before taking the photograph; this became a fundamental principle in his photography.

During the 1930’s Ansel Adams became more involved in nature preserva�on efforts, a�ending mee�ngs and wri�ng le�ers in support of environmental causes. However, the greatest influence came from his photographs, taken at Yosemite and other na�onal parks in the US, which came to be seen as symbols of wild America.

Adams had a�ained a high level of mastery of the technical side of photography and served as principal photographic consultant to Polaroid and Hasselblad, as well as other photographic companies. He developed the “zone system” – a complex method of controlling and rela�ng exposure and development enabling photographers to visualize an image; the system provided a calibrated scale of brightness, from Zone 0 (black) through shades of grey to Zone X (white). This system, though developed for black and white sheet film, can be used for roll film and for digital photography. The photography manuals he produced are the most influen�al books ever wri�en on the subject.

He helped to establish the US’ first Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1940, and founded the Department of Photography at the California School of Fine Arts in 1946.

The cameras Adams used include a Zeiss Ikonta B and a Hasselblad 500 c.

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WHAT’S UP?

EXHIBITIONS Traunstein - Julie Gasemi / Nicolas Dufranne Traunstein is a fic�on. The characters are caught up in a narra�ve which seems to repeat itself indefinitely.

A rela�onship is woven between them, a fine thread, mainly composed of stories told.

Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi – un�l 16 May 2021

Silence dans la ville - Eric Ostermann Eric Ostermann is a well-known local photographer taking pictures ... of Brussels! The exhibited pictures show a somehow different Brussels which is much quieter due to the current circumstances. You have to register beforehand if you wish to visit.

Maison des Arts, Uccle - 20 April – 2 May 2021

“Au coin de la rue” Open air photo exhibi�on organised by the Commune d'Ixelles. Photos from our club members Diego Naranjo and Hélène Cook are exhibited there. You will also find pictures from Eric Ostermann, see above. It's also an opportunity to discover the huge area of the old casernes in Ixelles which is becoming a cultural mee�ng place.

Access from Avenue de la Couronne and Rue Fritz Toussaint 8, Ixelles - un�l 16 May 2021

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DISCOVERY

Interested in exploring portrait photography?

• Find here 7 Quick Tips for Beginners to create more interes�ng portraits

• High key portrait with window light and LED (Lindsay Adler, 4 min, YouTube)

Klaus Lenzen, a German photographer who started photography as an autodidact. With mostly minimalist pictures, he wants to capture structures, shapes and colors in urban space in par�cular. He is also trying to find and create art in his everyday environment.

“I am a self-taught photographer, so I try to find and create art in our everyday surroundings.”

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VIEWFINDERS CALENDAR 2020-2021 DATE

EVENT

DETAILS

21 April

Club Meeting

Challenge: Texture

19 May

Club Meeting

Negative Space Photo project

09 June

Club Meeting

AGM & members photos

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2020-2021 President

Alun Foster

0496 572 402

alun@dafos.be

Vice President

Miguel Angel Vilar

0477 942 743

mavg30@gmail.com

Secretary

Richard Sylvester

0474 300 086

rsybru@gmail.com

Treasurer

Caroline Hendry

0494 089 098

caroline.hendry@mecar.be

Membership Coordinator

Dagmara Jakubowska

0485 796 565

jdagmara@yahoo.co.uk

Newsletter Publisher

Tine Stausholm

0468 062 875

tine@stausholm.uk

Newsletter Editor

Sabine Posdziech

0497 122 236

sabine.42@hotmail.fr

IT Support Coordinator

Miguel Angel Vilar

0477 942 743

mavg30@gmail.com

Publicity Coordinator

Martin Schmid

0498 945 083

martin.schmid@hp.com

Programme Coordinator

N/A

AssociateCommittee members:

Philippe Clabots

0477 264 681

pclabots@gmail.com

Hector Epelbaum

0495 128 128

hectorVF@veqtor.com

Robert Paridaens

0475 203 524

paridaensrobert@hotmail.com

Alun

Miguel Angel

Richard

Caroline

Tine

Sabine

Martin

Philippe

Robert

If you are on Facebook,connect to the Viewfinders Group! It’s an informal group for sharing news on events, ‘for sale’items,interesting websites and news stories, or just to share some of your recent photos. newsletter@viewfinders.be

Bank account: BE133101 2440 7539

Any items from members for publication are welcome. Images are particularly welcome. Pleasesend them in as separate attachments (not embedded in emails or documents) in JPEGformat, with no less than 2000px on the long side and minimal compression. Please be aware that, in accordance with the layout, some cropping may occur. Pleasesend submissions to newsletter@viewfinders.be.

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PHOTOS FROM MEMBERS

©Kaim Merali

©Endre Sebok