NZ CameraTalk-October 2022

PRESIDENT

Paul Whitham APSNZ

m: 021 644 418 e: president@photography.org.nz

SECRETARY

Chryseis Phillips m. 021 0277 6639 e. secretary@photography.org.nz

EDITOR & ADVERTISING

Richard Laing m. 03 327 0485 c. 021 0248 0157 e. rlaing@mac.com

SUBEDITOR

Lindsay Stockbridge LPSNZ t. 06 348 7141 or m. 027 653 0341 e. dilinz@actrix.co.nz

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Ana Stevens APSNZ m. 022 193 1973 e. anci.stevens@gmail.com

NEXT CAMERATALK DEADLINE

25 November 2022

Email your contributions to the Subeditor. Editorial should be sent as Word or .txt files. JPEG images generally should be saved at 300 dpi, compressed to high to medium quality. Include return postage if you wish material to be returned.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Council of PSNZ.

On the Cover: "Thinking" - Newell Grenfell PSNZ FPSNZ FNPSNZ (full photo on the page xx)

In this issue

The October 2022 issue of CameraTalk features another diverse range of topics. For this issue members were asked to submit photo sets or stories behind their images. Annette Johnston FPSNZ answers the “Why” about her photography, and Paul Bryne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP takes us to Smash Palace in Horopito.

We have an update on the PSNZ Council’s mid-term meeting, detailing some important changes coming in 2023 and introducing some new faces on Council. Sponsored by Epson, we have a piece from Richard Young on fine art printing. We are sure this will appeal to all members who print their work.

We highlight successes at the CR Kennedy Honours dinner in Hamilton, and then Trish McAuslan FPSNZ EFIAP/b FAPS AV-AAPS takes us through her successful Fellowship set.

In addition to the regular President’s article, Paul Whitham APSNZ has submitted a piece on how he incorporated the feedback received in a failed 2021 APSNZ set to success this year. Paul Willyams APSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP reviews the 2022 NZIPP Iris Awards and New Zealand Photography Show held in Nelson in August.

We have two reviews of the recent Astro workshop, as well as a report on the North Shore Salon and the Trenna Packer Salver. Also included are reports from Tauranga Photographic Society and Whanganui Camera Club on recent projects.

A Note from the President

I am sure it is no understatement that members felt great shock and sadness about the tragedy that unfolded in Kaikōura on a Nature Photographic Society of New Zealand field trip. New Zealand is such a small and connected country, and many people will have known at least one of the five individuals who lost their lives. Two were from the camera club I belong to, although one had only just joined. I had met the other one on several occasions, both relating to the club and PSNZ. It was therefore poignant to attend her funeral.

A number of family members have mentioned that their loved ones died doing what they loved and in some ways that is a small consolation.

PSNZ ran a very similar workshop in October 2021. As we are mindful that there are risks inherent in all activities, Council has been working on health and safety guidelines for

activities. This is will be deployed in all 2023 events.

As we are all painfully aware, Covid continued to cause

and the

was made to take the Christchurch event online

than in person. It has been reported that this was quite successful, and therefore the Dunedin event will also be held online. While we recognise that face-to-face brings a lot of benefits over online, the fact remains that online is a viable option

deliver PSNZ

... A Note from the President

Over the weekend of 16 to 18 September, the PSNZ Council gathered in Hamilton for our mid-term meeting. It was nice to have everyone in the same room as in 2021 our Auckland members were in lockdown and had to join via zoom.

The meeting’s main focus was planning for the year ahead and a number of key decisions were made. These are outlined in two separate articles that appear on pages 6 and 10 of this issue.

Council also had to deal with a serious complaint about the behaviour of a member while judging a club event. While I am not going into any details on that issue, one outcome of the discussion is that we have asked the Judge Accreditation Panel (JAP) to develop a “code of conduct” for all judges. This will enable us to ensure that certain standards are being adhered to.

We are going to develop one for PSNZ members as well. We currently have a small code but it is focused mainly on nature. Such a code is an essential part of the disputes resolution procedure that we need to incorporate into the constitution next year. This will be a requirement of all incorporated societies once the new Incorporated Societies Act comes into force in October 2023.

The meeting approved the appointment of three new members to Council, following the announcement that Jane Muller wished to stand down. Caroline Ludford LPSNZ LRPS is joining Council and will be looking after salons, while Sandy Odell LPSNZ will be replacing Jane in the Club Liaison portfolio. Finally, Lee-Stuart Boddington will be joining Council, initially without a defined portfolio while he undertakes an intensive learning programme aimed at him becoming Vice-President in 2023 and President in 2024. I welcome all those people on Council.

As a result of Caroline’s move to Council, she has had to relinquish her role as chair of the Judge Accreditation Panel.

Council approved unanimously that Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP be appointed chair. I look forward to working with Paul in this new capacity.

I want to personally thank Jane for the work that she has done on Council, especially in the Club Liaison role. It is a real disappointment to me that part of the reason that she is stepping off Council is that she was subjected to unacceptable levels of negativity towards PSNZ. Now I know that Council has implemented some changes over the last twelve months that certain members do not agree with, but it is unacceptable to take that out on Council members who are giving up their time for the betterment of the whole organisation. I ask people to think about the impact that general negativity to change has on the people who are trying to implement it. In most cases, the changes have been brought about because Council had no option if the events were to continue.

The reason that the Council met in Hamilton was because the first of the C R Kennedy honours dinners was being held there. We had a great evening, with 51 in attendance. It followed an afternoon workshop, also supported by C R Kennedy. The second dinner will be held in Christchurch. It was great to celebrate success and show off the sets. It was a pity, however, that we could not see the prints.

Finally, spring is here, the clocks have gone forward and we won’t be cooped up inside.

Go out and take great photos!

Paul Whitham APSNZ

Club News

Key Dates for the Dairy

October 22 to 24 Novice Landscape with Graham Dainty FPSNZ - Buller

October 25 Canon Online Round 5 closes

November 26 ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) workshop with Judy Stokes APSNZ - Miranda

December 25 Canon Online Round 6 closes

2023

8-9 April South Island Convention - Lincoln

6-7 May North Island Convention - Whangarei

By Annette Johnston FPSNZ

Highlights from the September PSNZ Council

Digital Circle

We are going to trial an online Digital Circle, using a private Facebook group. This is seen as a way of extending the opportunity, particularly for those members who are not part of clubs, to have their images critiqued.

While we recognise that not all members are on Facebook, the platform does provide the simplest means to get a group in place quickly. We had previously looked at other providers but they all had additional complications with them. We had also examined the concept of an online critique, similar to the way clubs assess salons, but this has been put on the back burner due to a shortage of suitable judges.

If you are interested in taking part in the trial circle, please send your email to president@photography.org.nz

Judge Feedback on Clubs

At present clubs can provide feedback on judges who assess club salons. For judges in training this is an invaluable resource as it lets both the Judge Accreditation Panel (JAP) and their mentors know how they are performing. The feedback form can also be used to provide feedback on accredited judges. Any issues raised will be discussed with the judge concerned, should the club wish that to happen.

It was recognised, though, that there was no equivalent that allowed a judge to comment on their experience when dealing with the club. We know that ultimately those experiences can influence whether judges continue to be available as a resource. It was important for the JAP to know if clubs were not fulfilling their side of the relationship.

As a result, we have asked the JAP to prepare a feedback form for judges to record their experiences. Should we see elements that could be detrimental to the availability of judges they will be taken up with the club involved.

New Members Zoom

Council was made aware that some new members do not feel that they had received all important information when they join the Society. While the database system does send out automatic emails, we felt that a personal touch was necessary. Commencing in October we will be holding a monthly zoom meeting for new members who have joined in the preceding month. Hopefully, this will provide the opportunity to meet other photographers as well as ask any questions.

Image Standards

There is a separate article in these pages about the change to the maximum image size for salons. In addition, Council discussed issues around what was and was not allowed to be entered. Members will be aware that AI-generated images, from text prompts, have received a lot of attention recently. Council believes that such images are already excluded, as most rules do not allow 100% computer-generated images. It is not quite so clear in terms of our rules where they are incorporated into an image such as a composite.

We are working on clarifying how non-photographic elements are dealt with. We will also be clarifying the current allowance for post-processing to be essentially outsourced. This allowance existed when photography involved a darkroom and we did not contemplate the opportunities that are available now.

When there has been discussion about image compliance with the rules (particularly around post-processing) the answer has often been that we can ask for the raw files. You may be surprised to learn that such a provision doesn’t actually exist in many of the salon bylaws.

As part of an overall bylaw review, we will be incorporating such requirements, but the mechanics of how such checking takes place needs more consideration. For example, in the NZIPP Iris awards, all photographers are required to submit both RAW files and layered Photoshop files at the time of entry.

We need to consider whether such a move is appropriate or, alternatively, the files are only requested should there be some questions about the image. Ultimately PSNZ operates a high trust model and we expect photographers to adhere to the rules that have been set.

Advertising in CameraTalk

Following comments that the advertising rates in CameraTalk were too high, especially for low-volume activities, Council has agreed that the member rates will be dropped so that they are 50% of that charged to non-members.

If a member supplies an article to CameraTalk an accompanying advertisement will be free of charge.

Council Changes: New Members Welcomed

The mid-year PSNZ Council meeting saw a number of new members welcomed on board. Here are some brief bios on them.

Caroline Ludford LPSNZ LRPS – Councillor for Salons

Born in Lancashire, United Kingdom, Caroline moved to New Zealand with her husband almost 17 years ago. She completed 30 years of service in the Police, in both countries, and retired four years ago as a Police Forensic Photographer based in Auckland. She has been accredited as a PSNZ Judge since 2017, in both open and nature categories. Until taking up the Council role she acted as chair of the Judge Accreditation Panel and assisted in the PSNZ Judge Training Weekends (now held on zoom). She gained her LPSNZ and LRPS (UK) in 2016.

Whilst living in the Auckland area she was a member of both the Hibiscus Coast Photographic Society and the North Shore Photographic Society. During that time she assisted in the running of the hugely successful North Shore Salon. She now lives on the Kapiti Coast and is a member of the Kapiti Coast Photographic Society.

Beyond PSNZ she is a photographer for Heartfelt, a volunteer organisation giving the gift of photographic memories to families who have experienced stillbirth or have children with a serious or life-threatening illness at the Wellington and Hutt Valley Hospitals. She is on the Council of the Wellington Justice of the Peace Association and holds the positions of both Court Panel Manager and Judicial Educator. As a Judicial JP she sits on the bench of the District Courts at Wellington and Porirua on a regular basis.

She says that she is at peace in nature and finds photographing birds very therapeutic. She looks forward to the challenge of Councillor for Salons.

Sandy Odell LPSNZ – Councillor for Club Liaison

Sandy has been involved in photography for many years. She was a member of the Christchurch Photographic Society followed by the Hutt Camera Club and more recently the Dunedin Photographic Society. Sandy is passionate about her photography and joined PSNZ in 2001.

Sandy comes from a defence background as a civilian staff member and has served on several committees the last being Hutt Camera Club as membership secretary. Sandy is enthusiastic about joining PSNZ Council and giving back to the Society by helping the PSNZ achieve its goals for the members.

Lee-Stuart Boddington – Councillor

Lee was born in Zimbabwe and grew up moving from safari lodge to safari lodge throughout his childhood. His parents were in the tourism industry, running, managing, and owning safari lodges all over southern and western Zimbabwe. He is the eldest of four brothers and a sister, all of whom have spread out all over the world.

He has been in New Zealand for just over twelve years and has made it home. He is married to his gorgeous wife Tamlyn, and they have three beautiful girls. Earlier this year, he felt prompted to start his own business (Lee-Stuart Creations), doing web design and photography.

He has enjoyed art and creativity from a young age. He found photography when about 15 but only dived into it more seriously in the last ten years. He currently shoots with a Canon R6, having recently upgraded from a 7D and 50D pairing. He loves photographing animals and birds but they, unfortunately, don't pay him anything yet. He shoots portraits, families, weddings and product photography to fund his passion.

Lee only joined PSNZ in November 2021 but is prepared to step up and help the organisation.

Off-Council Appointment

Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP – Chair, Judge Accreditation Panel

A member of the Tauranga Photographic Society since 2008, he became a PSNZ accredited judge in 2012 and frequently evaluates club competitions and mentors trainee judges. He has judged the Regional and National Salons and in October 2022 he will be one of the judges for the inaugural New Zealand National Portrait Salon. In January 2016 he achieved recognition from the Federation Internationale de L’Art Photographique [FIAP] when he was awarded an Associateship. In May of the same year, he was awarded a PSNZ Associateship for his humorous panel of caricature prints.

In 2018 he gained a Fellowship of the Society for his documentary panel of monochrome images depicting the lives of Cambodians. He enjoys making short AVs and has been one of the Tauranga AV Competition judges for many years.

Paul is an Associate member of the Royal Photographic Society and has contributed to their Documentary Group magazine. He was appointed to the PSNZ Honours Board in 2020.

His photographic passions are portraiture, street photography, action photography and documentary. During the Covid period, he took up bird photography and also wrote a book concerning the assessment of photographic images.

Change to Maximum Digital Image Dimensions

One of the many decisions that Council made at its September mid-term meeting was to increase the maximum size allowed for digital images from the current 1620px x 1080px to 3840px by 2160px

This brings it up to 4K resolution. For portraitoriented images, the maximum height will therefore be 2160px. The following is an explanation to support this change.

Why was the change made?

The previous standard was based on the maximum resolution available in the technology that PSNZ and many clubs were using, particularly projectors. In recent years we have received many requests to either eliminate the maximums or increase them to recognise that technology has changed significantly. The constraints that set those sizes are no longer relevant.

All submissions in the major salons are now assessed using high-resolution televisions rather than projecting them. These mainly operate at 4K, so there is no question that we cannot operate at a higher standard than we currently set.

Although there are televisions and projectors that operate at 6K and 8K, they are not in widespread use; therefore we do not propose to move to those sizes yet. Equally, we do not propose an open standard, as the consistency of a maximum size makes assessing considerably easier.

Please note that these are maximum sizes and there is no plan to introduce minimum sizes, meaning that photographers are free to create images at smaller sizes should they wish.

What does it affect?

The change will be introduced in 2023 and will apply to all images entered into the PSNZ Sony National Exhibition, the North Island and South Island Regional Salons, the two digital Interclubs

and entry into the 2023 Canon Online Competition, commencing with Round 1.

It will not affect the Jack Sprosen Memorial Trophy as that already uses a different sizing, reflecting that they are generating videos, and not still images.

Does it affect club salons and club-run events?

The change will only apply to PSNZ-organised salons. All other national salons are run by clubs and while they may choose to change their own image sizing, there is no requirement for them to do so. PSNZ will not be requesting them to make changes.

Each club is autonomous and can choose whatever terms and conditions it wants to set for its own events.

What about digital Honours sets?

The sizing of digital images submitted as part of Honours sets is set by the Honours Board, not by Council. We have advised the Honours Board of our intentions to make the change. Should the Honours Board wish to make any changes for digital submissions, members will be notified through normal communication channels. Until further advice from the Honours Board, the current maximums in the Honours Guidelines remain the same.

Will it affect my ability to take photos?

Simply, we would say No. However, the full answer is that it depends on whether you shoot to fill the frame or rely on cropping. A 4K image at the maximum size is only the equivalent of an eightmegapixel image. Most modern cameras and phones shoot well above this size anyway.

An Introduction to Fine Art Printing

By Richard Young

A quality fine art print is a thing of beauty, a creation that takes time and skill — where the expressive approach of the photographer marries with the art of printing to produce a representation of a work that cannot be experienced in the same way in any other form. The process of its creation — the printing workflow — should not be rushed, it should be enjoyed and guided with the same intent as the capture of the original photograph.

Printing has always been a hugely important part of my photography, right from the beginning of my journey as a landscape photographer. When I started to print my work, it quickly turned into the end goal for most of my photography in the form of fine art prints for exhibitions and gallery sales. Printing is often considered a bit of a dark art, and over the last few years, I have helped many people simplify the process in my printing workshops along with focusing even further time on refining my hand in the art of printing. In this article, I will share with you an introduction to the art of printing.

The importance of printing

I feel a digital image never truly becomes a “photograph” until it is in a printed form, and neither is the creative process complete until it is printed. Yes, I share my work with others via a variety of digital platforms — we must nowadays! Alas, one of the biggest problems with these platforms is the lack of consistency

when viewing digital images. Often images look very different depending on the device they are displayed on, or a differently edited version of the same file.

When I print an image, it is final. It will stay in that form (as long as the right archival substrates are used). I can share it with others, safe in the knowledge that they are seeing my image being represented in the way that I intended. When I sign a finished print, it is my way of saying that I am happy with this finished piece of work, or at least I was at the moment I signed it! Over time my vision of the photograph may still change, and I could still return to the digital file to make further edits to the master print file or reprint on an alternative paper to achieve the look I desire. This is part of the process that enables a constantly evolving photographic vision and growth as an artist.

The trend toward sharing our images on digital devices and via social media platforms has taken over from the printed image as a finished photograph. However, due to the digital world we now live in, there has never been a more important time to print your work. Today we see so many images in our day-to-day lives that we don't spend enough time properly appreciating them — flicking through Instagram posts, a split second per image.

When you hand someone a printed image, they will take the time to look at it in detail. Having more time to reflect on one photograph allows us to fully appreciate its beauty, composition and the story the photographer was trying to tell. Subtle images alongside ones that rely on small details within

the photograph often work great as prints. These images can hold our attention and make us look deeper into the photograph and appreciate its fine details. This is something which is very hard to achieve when sharing images via social media, since every photo requires a strong initial impact to gain attention on the tiny generic screens they are presented on.

Fine Art Printing

A (digital) fine art print is an image printed from a digital file, using the best archival pigment inks onto acid-free fine art paper to ensure its longevity as a piece of artwork. It is printed with the latest printing technology, using a fine art printer which will likely have an ink set of eight or more inks, which provides a large colour gamut and offers the finest reproduction of the digital image as a printed work.

Printing is often considered a dark art, requiring indepth technical knowledge to achieve. With terms like colour space, ICC profiles, resolution, both PPI and DPI (which are not the same thing!) it is easy to see why. However, printing doesn’t require as much in-depth knowledge as one may presume. Frustration might come from your first printing experience, with your prints initially coming out too dark or with incorrect colours. Try not to stress; often these issues are easily fixed by a good colour management workflow — sing a calibrated screen and the correct ICC profiles for your printer and paper. If you get setup right, you should be able to accurately proof the image before printing it, thus saving you time, money and frustration.

An Introduction to Fine Art Printing

Printing with labs

When starting out to print your images, printing labs can offer a great introduction to the process, with the lab taking care of some of the end settings. Be aware, though, that they are only going to print what you give them. If you don't set up the file correctly, you will run into the same issues as you would printing at home. If you do print with a lab, choose wisely! High-quality labs do a great job. Cost-effective online printing or from large chain stores might seem a cheap option, but their prints are not likely to be fine art quality prints due to the budget inks and paper used. At large chain stores, the printer might also be operated by someone that knows less than yourself about printing! If you send a file to a high-quality lab or print it yourself with a good colour-managed workflow, and the colours look different on the print versus your screen, the chances are that the print is correct and the screen is inaccurately displaying the colours.

Printing at home

Printing at home can offer much more control and a full understanding of the printing process, allowing the ability to experiment. For me, I love the creativity of experimenting with different paper types and being able to fine-tune a print to perfection, which is extremely challenging if you are not doing the whole process yourself. I have an Epson SureColour P906 set up at home that I use for all of my smaller work (up to A2 sheets/17” rolls). These modem pro-consumer printers are easy to operate with basic printing knowledge and produce the same results — in terms of quality and colour — as their larger 24”/44” cousins. One software improvement that has transformed the ease of home printing for photographers is the print module within Adobe Lightroom Classic. Compared to Photoshop, it has made setting up print files much easier, automating a lot of the processes like file size, colour space, and sharpening, allowing you to print directly from your RAW file.

Displaying prints

A print is a tangible object: something we can hold, put into a beautiful portfolio or get framed for our wall. People always think they need to print big to get impact, but most of the printing I do these days is done at A3+ or A2 sizes. For portfolio prints, I feel A3+ offers the perfect size print, both in terms of handling and viewing at arm’s length. A collection of these presented in an attractive case is a beautiful way to share your photography with friends and family. Embracing your work in such a manner offers a deeper connection to the viewer.

Framing is another great way to display your photography as a piece of artwork. While there are many alternative framing methods available today, I think that classic traditional framing still offers one of the best options. An A2 print framed with a nice matt board offers a finished size of 800m x 600mm, which makes a really nice medium-size print for the home. Choosing to display two or three of these on a large wall space can create a classic look. Of course, if you have huge wall spaces, a single large print or possibly giant panorama print will work well.

An Introduction to Fine Art Printing

Printing papers

Your choice of paper will have a profound effect on how your final print looks. Different paper types offer a unique way of expressing ourselves in our fine art prints. Every paper has different qualities, and testing which is right for you is a long but worthwhile process. With so many different fine art papers available on the market today, paper choice can be quite confusing. For all of my work, I use Epson’s Signature Worthy Paper. Each paper has a designated different look, and while I have a few favourites, the selection of each paper really comes down to the individual photograph and what look I wish to express in the finished print. Over the next few pages, I’ll share four photographs and the paper I selected and why.

Richard Young is a full-time nature & landscape photographer based in Wanaka. His work can be viewed at www.richardyoung.co.nz. He is a Fine Art Printing Ambassador for Epson and has 18 years of experience producing, selling and exhibiting prints as a professional photographer. He teaches printing on one-day workshops and online.

Epson Premium Luster Paper

For a long time, I have printed my images on Luster paper. I love it for my traditional landscape work as the lustre finish is very well-suited for framing behind glass. While this Winter Landscape is not a heavily saturated image, it still features some deep blue tones, which are reproduced well by the very wide colour gamut of this paper.

Epson Traditional Photo Paper

For this black and white photograph I made on the West Coast, I chose to print it on Traditional Photo Paper. This paper offers a really high d-max to render deep blacks beautifully. The semi-gloss finish doesn't reflect like a full gloss, but offers a nice sheen to the sliver midtones.

Epson Hot Press Natural

One of my favourite Epson signature papers is Hot Press Natural. For landscape images like this one in Central Otago, I will often choose it for its smooth surface which renders details very well, without adding any extra texture. Also, the warm tone of the paper really helps enhance the golden grass and the autumn rowan tree.

Epson Cold Press Bright

Epson Cold Press paper has a lovely texture to it which can enhance the fine-art look of more abstract photographs like these winter birch trees. For this photograph, I selected the bright version of this paper (as opposed to the natural) for a pure white that nicely complemented the cool feeling of the snowy landscape.

Hamilton CR Kennedy Workshop & Honours Dinner

For many members, the highlight of the convention is the CR Kennedy Honours Banquet, particularly for those who have achieved their PSNZ Honours. There is something special about receiving these recognitions in front of your fellow photographers.

In 2020, when Covid first disrupted our activities, the convention was cancelled and the Honours Board had to postpone its meeting until late July. Rather than simply mailing out the certificates, it was decided to hold them over to the 2021 National Convention at which both the 2020 and 2021 would be acknowledged.

Then, earlier this year, history repeated itself with Covid once again cancelling the convention and postponing the Honours Board meeting. But this time the decision to defer the presentation was not so simple, as the 2023 National Convention had been moved from April to October. Council concluded that as the gap was effectively 16 months, an alternative had to be found.

It was therefore decided that PSNZ would hold two dinners and locate them close to where the maximum number of recipients lived. This was to maximise the number of people willing to attend, recognising that even when they were presented at the convention only around 50% of recipients were there in person to collect them.

As a result of this Hamilton and Christchurch were chosen. Because some people would need to travel and pay for accommodation we also organised a workshop during the day. We were limited in space for both events, so invitations were only sent to those who had been successful and had indicated that they would attend a dinner.

PSNZ Platinum Partner CR Kennedy once again came to the party and supported both the dinner and workshop. Ilford Master Rachael Smith presented a session on printing and papers and was received very well.

The dinner was a fantastic event with a great vibe and everyone enjoying themselves. In total 20 of the 67 2022 recipients were in attendance, including all three of PSNZ’s new Fellows.

Fellowship: Trish McAuslan FPSNZ EFIAP/b FAPS AV-AAPS

For several years I had seen images of the terns and their chicks on Hairini bridge. Each season I thought I should go down and take some photos but it didn’t happen, usually because I was overseas at the critical time. Then there was Covid, and with it came the opportunity to photograph these fascinating birds.

Normally terns nest in large flocks on gravel river beds, stony or shell banks above the high tide mark, or on cliffs along the New Zealand coast or offshore islands. This small group of about 26 pairs of white-fronted terns have chosen to nest on the piles of the original Hairini bridge. This is unique in NZ, in that they are nesting within a few metres of the traffic, cyclists and pedestrians who use the adjacent busy bridge every day.

In the beginning, I planned to take sufficient photos to create an audio-visual to tell the story of this group of white-fronted terns. However, it wasn’t long before I realised that it might also be possible to tell the story in 18 images, suitable for a Fellowship submission.

I knew I would have to make regular visits to the bridge because the birds’ behaviours change during the breeding season. During the 2020 season, I experimented. I quickly decided that a composition with water rather than part of the old bridge in the background was more interesting. This limited my photography to those birds which were at the far end of the higher piles. In the 2020 season, there were several pairs of birds but in the 2021 season, only three pairs chose to nest in a suitable location.

I chose to photograph in the morning when the sun was behind me. Because the low early morning sun threw annoying shadows from the railings of the current bridge across the piles of the old bridge, I did not begin photographing before about 9 am. If possible I chose bright overcast days to limit any shadows. Days which were either calm or with a gentle breeze were preferable because the rippled water created a softly textured background which was interesting without being intrusive. All the photos were hand-held because the vibration caused by traffic, particularly trucks, made using a tripod on the footpath impossible.

During the second season, I was more selective in the photos I took but I also learnt to take as many photos as I could each time because New Zealand weather is very fickle. Last year, during the spring months we had many good photography days. However, that changed at the beginning of December. From then until late January we had a pattern of several days of clear blue skies and bright sun followed by a few days when it was very windy and wet. Consequently, I took very few useable photos and had to rely on images I had taken the previous year to tell that part of the story.

The birds arrive back in mid-spring and, to begin with, they sit around as if recovering from a long flight. After a few days, rituals around attracting a partner for the season begin. It is at this time that long, noisy squabbles can break out, maybe over partners or possibly nesting sites. Sometimes a male will present the gift of a fish to his chosen mate and, if it is accepted, the pair will mate. One or two eggs are laid and incubated for about 23 days by both parents, each taking turns.

The tiny fluffy hatchling is closely guarded by both parents for the first few days. As the small chicks become more adventurous, one parent remains while the other goes fishing for the small fish which is their food. As the chicks grow, their fluffy down is gradually replaced by juvenile feathers. To satisfy the food demands of the growing youngster, both parents are eventually kept busy finding fish. The youngster becomes increasingly adventurous, while it also strengthens its wings by stretching and flapping them vigorously. After about a month the fledgling will suddenly take off on its first flight, often with one parent in concerned attendance. The parents continue to feed the growing fledgling for about three months, regardless of where it happens to be. By mid-February, most of the fledglings have left the Hairini bridge and a few weeks later any remaining adults also leave. Some of the birds, particularly the fledglings, will fly to the southeast corner of Australia for the winter while the remaining birds disperse to other parts of New Zealand.

I really enjoy printing my own photographs and decided to present my Fellowship submission as a set of 18 prints. I chose to print on Ilford Galerie Premium Lustre paper. I made enquiries about having these prints professionally mounted but when I received the quote, I very quickly decided that, since I had the matting equipment and mat board, I would do all the printing, mounting and presentation myself.

The

of Hairini Bridge

From Failure to Success!

By Paul Whitham APSNZ

This article is intended to demonstrate how I incorporated the feedback given on my failed 2021 APSNZ submission into a successful one this year. I hope that people will not think me arrogant in this regard, but I believe that the feedback given and the changes made helped me elevate the set to the “advanced photography” level that is demanded at the ASPNZ level and, by showing what the Board was looking at, helping other photographers. Please note: this tracks my experience as an individual member of PSNZ and not as President.

I have written before about the love/hate relationship I had with going for APSNZ. I had started and pulled out three times before finally committing in 2020 to submit in 2021. I had examined previous successful sets, studied the guidelines, and held discussions with the Honours Board chair, Bruce Girdwood FPSNZ. I also had people, including recently retired members of the Board, to evaluate my suggested images. So, I was fairly confident of success with the set I had chosen.

Sadly, that was not to be and, by virtue of my position on Council, I knew I had failed before the letter came out. I just had to wait for the feedback. Fortunately, in 2021 the feedback came in the form of a video, enabling me to see where things had gone wrong. Basically, of the 12 images submitted the Board had issues with seven of them as outlined below.

The Fortune Teller

While they appreciated the strong storytelling in the image, they found that the lighting was not authentic in that it was too bright, and coming from one side, whereas the candles shown would have lit both sides.

Sian by candlelight

As with the previous image, they found the lighting incompatible with what they were seeing in the image. They also could not understand the story being told.

Kate at the Waterfall

They could not understand the story being presented in the image and how the subject related to the space.

Fresh from the oven

While they acknowledged that this was a strong environmental portrait they felt that it was too posed. They said that there appeared to be no connection between the man and his work, which compromised the authenticity of the image.

Selling everything

They recognised that this man operated in a very cluttered space. However, to better create him as the focal point of the image he would have been better placed, more central in the doorway.

Wilf

While they said that the image had a strong story it was overexposed on the left-hand side and was made worse by the post-processing.

Reflection

This was another image where they said it had a strong story but had been let down with the halo appearing around the person.

From Failure to Success!

They also said that the overall flow of the set worked well through the first eight images as we moved through the shades, but then it broke apart in the last two by moving from a light to a dark image. They felt that the diversity was not as strong as it could have been, with many of the shots taken from similar angles.

While I was disappointed, I consoled myself that three of the images could be potentially fixed with more post-processing, and one could potentially be reshot. Therefore, I only needed to replace three images. Now, anyone who has put a set together will know that it is not a simple matter of replacing one image with another, because you need to keep the flow right.

I started looking at the three images that could be fixed. With my “Fortune Teller” one I agreed that the lighting was inconsistent, so I worked in Photoshop to achieve something that better displayed what I was wanting. I even recreated the set with candles in the shown position and then photographed it without flash so that I would see where the light would have fallen.

Fixing the blown highlight in my image of Wilf turned out to be fairly simple. However, the fix to my “Reflections” image was not producing an image to the standard that I knew was needed, so I decided to not pursue this image any further.

I also revisited the shop where I had taken the image of Gordon and that confirmed what my recollection of the location was like. It was physically impossible to shoot from a position to place him in the doorway.

That meant that five new images would have to be found. I also needed to ensure that the new images added to the diversity in the set. As I went back to the catalogue, I was looking for images that were different to what I already had. Fortunately, I had quite a few new shots to incorporate and I had been focusing on storytelling in them.

To organise the images, I continued what I had done with the failed set in that I had created a separate Lightroom catalogue and dragged chosen images into their own folder. From these, I chose the ones that I thought were real contenders and added them to a collection. Then I displayed the collection in the book module. This let me play with the order of images without having to change their filenames.

One thing I did know was that it is a good practice to seek other people’s opinions on your work. I used the private APSNZ Facebook group to look at options for post-processing. In one case this also looked at the matting to be used on the image.

I also submitted images to my print circle and club salons so that I would get feedback from them. I would then incorporate that feedback in edits; for example, with my “Welder” image, it was recommended that I remove the join in the tarpaulin at the back and tone down the colour as it was distracting.

The major advantage of a different set of eyes is that they will be objective when viewing the image, much in the same way that the Board will be. They will also pick up defects in images that you may have missed or are deliberately choosing to overlook. From previous experience, I know that while it may hurt, it pays to seek objective advice.

From Failure to Success!

One tip that former Board member Tracey Scott FPSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP (Dist.) IV gave me was that the best way to test flow is to turn your images into a slide show with a transition between each image. If the transition is smooth then you know that the flow is good, but if the transition jars then there are issues with the flow.

In all, I think I generated six slide shows with images shuffled and replaced. I also tested by viewing the slideshows on my 65” television, as this would more closely represent how they would be portrayed to the Board.

By January 2022 I had what I thought was the final set which I again asked Tracey to review. She said that they were at the advanced level needed but picked up two issues with the set.

First, there was no consistency in the framing of the images, with ovals, squares and rectangles all present. While there is no requirement for all images to be the same, the Board will look for deliberate framing choices as a way to demonstrate that the set was put together with thought.

The second issue she picked up was that there was an object coming out of Wilf’s head. As I had been posting my most recent work to Instagram in a square format, I decided to use that for all images. It did mean some selective cropping and in a couple of cases, extra elements had to be added.

While this worked fine on the majority of the images it did create an issue with Wilf’s image, in that the removal of a lot of environment focused the attention more on the head, and by nature the object that Tracey had picked up. Therefore, it had to go.

Fortunately, around this time I had done a shoot in which I had recreated Brian Brake’s Monsoon Girl and that provided a good alternative.

By now it was late January 2022 and I decided that it was time to submit the set, as the longer I looked at it, the more I was doubting myself. I bit the bullet and sent them in and, just in case the Board had trouble seeing the diversity, I gave each image a title that also included the method used, such as “Beauty Multiplied – in-camera double exposure”.

As it turned out, the effort was worth it. In summary, the following tips may help to achieve the standard that the Board is looking for at the Associate level.

• Your images must be free from technical issues.

• Your lighting must be consistent.

•Each image must have a good story to tell, or will engage with the viewer.

• The set must hang together (prints) or flow (digital).|

• Seek external comments on your image from photographers whose opinions you trust and, in the process, be prepared to leave your subjectivity at the door.

For those on Facebook, here are links to the three private groups:

• LPSNZ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1522543621430444

• APSNZ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1149036418838865

• FPSNZ https://www.facebook.com/groups/366074604997503

Framed by Annette Johnston FPSNZ

NZIPP 2022 Iris Awards and New Zealand Photoshow

Paul Willyams APSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP reviews the Iris Awards and New Zealand Photoshow and addresses questions for PSNZ members – should I enter? Should I attend?

Haumi e, hui e, taiki e

I have been to several NZIPP conferences but skipped the last one or two. This year I took the early bird plunge, blocked out the time, dodged the bad weather and drove up to Nelson with Mike White for NZIPP’s annual Iris Awards and Photoshow. Some PSNZ members are interested in these events but might not be sure if Iris and Photoshow are useful or even open to non-NZIPP members. I hope to help you to make a decision for next year.

PSNZ and NZIPP have been working together more closely and provide a range of shared events and cross-discounts to members. PSNZ members are generally welcome at Photoshow and to observe Iris judging, but might not be eligible for Iris entries. PSNZ member discounts are offered.

The Iris Awards and the NZ Photoshow run consecutively at the same venue (the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson). Entry to watch the Iris judging is free. You have to register for the Photoshow conference but it is not too expensive, and the early bird random draw prize was jaw-dropping. You can visit the trade shows for free and there are some free public seminars.

Several PSNZ members competed in the Iris awards, with considerable success. I might well have missed some, apologies in advance, but they include

• Mike White APSNZ

• Kurien Koshy Yohannan

• Tracy Perrin

• Evan Davies LPSNZ

• Brenda Pinfold

• Rachel Spillane.

• Tracey Scott FPSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP (Dist.) IV won the Travel Category.

• Louise Knight APSNZ was a finalist in the student category

• Chris Helliwell LPSNZ won a Gold medal and took out the Nature Photography category.

• Simone Jackson APSNZ was a Nature and Wedding in-camera finalist.

I didn’t enter Iris this year, but I did vicariously enjoy Mike White’s successes – maybe next time. For information about the Iris Awards, visit www.irisawards.com.

Judging takes place over three days. I sat in on several categories, flitting between three judging rooms. The sessions are long as each image gets several minutes’ consideration but the Chair and organisers keep things moving along. It is a pretty sick operation, albeit with the occasional glitch.

The awards are open to all professional photographers, nationally and internationally. “Professional” means you are making an income from photography, but maybe not yet a living. This year there were a lot of Australian entries, as the Australian equivalent of NZIPP has closed. There were lots of aerial shots of dramatically coloured landscapes, from Western Australia I think.

There are several categories and entries can be prints or, currently, digital is allowed. Some categories are for in-camera work only (raw originals required) but in Creative almost anything goes. All elements must be current – this rule is getting tighter every year. Old professional work doesn’t count. You must be bold, innovative and different.

There is also a Student category which always has some amazing and original work – worth viewing. If you are doing a photo diploma you might want to enter.

Entry costs a lot compared to PSNZ Sony National Exhibition. You can enter up to ten images.

NZIPP 2022 Iris Awards and New Zealand Photoshow

You pay a “per image” fee, plus a handling charge per box, which you also have to buy as a first-time entrant. Add printing and matting costs; many photographers use a boutique printing service to get the best possible results. Depending on your membership status and number of entries, I estimate the cost would be around $70 to $120 per image.

Some of the new Washi papers used cost $30 per A4 sheet. But for that you get a chaired panel of five judges who independently examine and consider every image, invoking complex procedural rules to reach a consensus score via debate. Every image receives a comment, even if the judges agree without debate.

The judges come from different backgrounds and often have totally different views about images. They are chosen on the ability to articulate their assessment and to listen to their colleagues and their debates are most informative and entertaining.

You can watch the judging live-streamed or after the event, but I found being there made a huge difference, especially for prints. Some images that look like “nothing” in the digital version burst into life as a print. Although all mats must be 40cm by 50cm, some entrants use extreme matting styles to provide that point of difference the judges are looking for. Presentation is important.

The scoring and awards system is quite different to Natex. A 100-point scoring system is used, but most images will score 60 or better. A score over 75 is awarded a Bronze medal, over 80 a Silver, and over 90 a Gold. A high Silver or Gold is awarded Distinction. There are prescribed criteria for each level and they are shown in the terms of entry.

Many Bronze medals are awarded. Fewer receive Silver, and only the very top images are awarded Gold. In some categories, no Golds were awarded. Only the awarded images are displayed – there is no Acceptance category.

To a PSNZ member, it might appear they are giving out medals like candy, but this works for professional photographers who can use the awards for marketing and display the prints in their studios. Having said that, the criteria for Bronze were notched up recently. Below 75 you have a High Professional Standard, which is good work but what is expected of a professional photographer in their day-to-day business. A lot of perfectly fine images receive that score. You have to climb to the next level, then the next, then the next.

I found that Bronze and Silver are achievable by talented PSNZ photographers, like Mike White and Kurien Yohannan. Gold is really hard. The bar becomes higher every year. Everyone is in it for medals, or better because aside from medals there are also high profile category winners, regional winners, overseas photographer winners etc, all announced at a formal Gala evening on the last night of the Photoshow with some sore heads next morning!

Each Iris medal earns merit points, which accumulate to gain NZIPP distinctions – Associate, Master, Grand Master, with various levels in between. However, you have to be NZIPP accredited to gain a distinction. Accreditation is a separate process which is based on a portfolio review.

Overall I would only enter Iris to further my professional work in photography, as it gives you an indication of your professional standing, and the medals and distinctions can help with marketing. I would only enter work I am very confident about. I don’t recommend it to everyone, but it is worth popping in or logging on to listen in to the judging and see the awarded images – and that is free.

The two-day Photoshow, viewed at https://nzphotoshow.co.nz/, follows the Iris Award judging and has a large audience. Trade stands are available to the public with all the major camera brands and some paper suppliers, insurance brokers and other equipment. The trade stands didn’t have the variety of suppliers that I remember

from PSNZ National Conferences. For example, I thought I might pick up a backpack or a cheap flash unit, but no. The range of cameras and lenses was huge!

The main event was a series of one-hour presentations, with decent breaks between. I enjoyed every speaker. There was a mix of local and international content, with a couple teleporting in. No technical issues, everyone kept to time and was well rehearsed and MCed – fantastic!

The emphasis was on the life and business of photography, not technology or techniques. You could say “inspirational”, but there was an underlying practicality and challenges were acknowledged.

Nicole Dove is a stills photographer for movies – providing images used on posters and marketing –notably including the latest Bond movie. It is another world, working with actors and directors and keeping out of the frame while getting great shots. Her humble beginnings, as a photographer for the Nelson Telegraph, allowed us to connect with her journey which was full of technical, practical and personal challenges. Living the dream maybe, but not for the faint-hearted! Visit https://nicoladove.com/film-stills.

Billy Plummer, https://billyplummer.com/, is a creative commercial photographer based in Sydney. His advice for getting great commercial work is to not submit your standard portfolio to agencies showing you can do the job; instead, show your personal work in your own unique style. Aim to be “surprisingly relevant”, as was his presentation. I think it was Billy who also raised the spectre of AI for the creative photography industry. This was seemingly borne out, at least in part a few days later, with this story: https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/us-canada/300678414/ he-used-ai-to-win-a-finearts-competition-but-was-itcheating

Tony Stewart has the mana of a twenty-plus year photography career and has done the hard yards, building a successful business in Christchurch. However, when he said he had 22 points to make, based on his experience, I inwardly groaned – death

by PowerPoint! But, all the points were delivered with clarity, insight and great humour and were particularly relevant to the audience. And, like the other presenters, he finished right on time. https://www.photoshots.co.nz/

Summer Murdock is a commercial photographer based in Utah. She talked about using light, mainly natural light, for her portraits. She said photos are “light + story + composition”. She was a bit flummoxed when asked about shooting in overcast conditions: We don’t get much cloud in Utah. https://www.summermurdock.com/ Simon Runting is a bird photographer, well known to many PSNZ members. This genre is not so familiar to professional photographers, and Simon showed how it should be done with a variety of captivating images. His core advice – eye in crisp focus, get close, get low, take a change of clothes, get close but never disturb a bird, let the bird get used to your presence – all good stuff, but the results are inspiring. See interviews at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIooqyABsjU, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuZofof5ZFw.

Zhou Ya is a destination wedding photographer based in Christchurch. His work is spectacular and cinematic with flowing gowns in epic landscapes. He delivered a humorous presentation outlining the evolution of his business. He emphasised that your portfolio should show the work you want to get. Your best work might not be repeatable or commercially viable. You need a repeatable concept to sell and deliver. He cautioned against having too wide a scope, likening it to a “food court with one chef”. https://www. zhuoya.photo/

Janyne Fletcher is a landscape photographer with a gallery in Ranfurly. She described the challenges of operating a business like hers in a remote location. She and her husband also frame the prints. Her presentation was focused and expertly delivered. A key point was to maintain consistent pricing across all channels and over time. If you are passing through Ranfurly you should pop in for a chat and a browse. https://www.janynefletchershop.co.nz/

Kris Anderson was the final presenter and was the one I took the most notes from. Too much to go into here, as he went into principles of composition, well illustrated by his own work. He finished with a message that echoed other presenters: take courage, be vulnerable, let “you” show in your work – viewers will respond. https://krisanderson.art and a great resource at https://www.imagesbyanderson.com/presentations-2022/.

During breaks we had other quick stand-up seminars, including Charles Brooks’ amazing work photographing the inside of musical instruments without pulling them apart! https://www.charlesbrooks.info/, https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/standing-roomonly/audio/2018830345/pictures-of-musical-instrumentsfrom-the-inside

And Craig Turner-Bullock, taking some very cute dog photos! www.furtography.co.nz, https://www.unleashed. education/

I found that everyone was friendly and open to talking about photography (of course). It is a small community but there is no sense of rivalry or snobbery, just a lot of support. The focus of the conference is on the business and the mental side of photography the photographers know how to use their cameras, so you need to consider that. In this case, there might be such a thing as a “stupid question”, at least at the formal presentations.

Go to the NZIPP website: www.nzipp.org.nz

Paul Willyams, https://www.paulwillyams.photo, writes as a member of both organisations and was not involved with setting up or running either event.

Links to related resources are not always provided by the presenters.

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The “Why”of My Photography

By Annette Johnston FPSNZ

In the words of the great landscape photographer Joe Cornish, ‘Photography is a formative process, and it takes practice!’

Just recently I have been challenged about the “why” of my photography. I am not a professional photographer in terms of making a living from photography. Nor am I a hobbyist, or a casual photographer. I am a student of photography. I think about and study photography. The techniques, the gear, the craft, the before an image and the after. I love post-production, not because it “fixes” my in-camera attempts, but more because it is the instrument that unleashes the potential, the make-up artist that like grander contemporaries, the sculptors, and painters, lends disguise to the unwanted and highlights the wanted. It is my vehicle for communication, both communication to my inner self and hopefully to others as well.

As I read the above paragraph I wonder if this is actually the “why”? Is there more to it? I do know that I cannot paint or sculpt, but why am I driven to capture moments, scenes, action, inaction? Why do I look at the world in terms of form, shape, space? Why do I constantly measure tones, luminosity, darks, shadows, and lights?

Diving a little deeper into my psyche I can see that my desire for perfection challenges everyday reality. Within my images I strive for visual quiet; for the complete separation of elements, clean edges, perfect tonal range and yet, often it is the imperfect that makes an image speak. The ripple on still water, the unexpected twist of a tree trunk, one divergent curve of a flower’s petal, or a singular specular highlight twinkling like a diamond in the light. I realise that perfection and imperfection sit hand in hand within this beautiful, flawed world we inhabit; and that is the delight.

As I look through my years as a photographer, I can see a pattern has emerged; I am a seeker of beauty and a storyteller. My images have become my constant friends, permanent records of spaces I have inhabited, and those odd little things, both little and large, that I have noticed. They are the conduit between the present and the past, literal storekeepers of memories. Within them, I am prompted to relive the excitement of perfect human action, those moments when a sportsman or woman moves in synchronised harmony, or when a dancer leaps or spins, or stays perfectly still, whilst eking out the harmonics of a symphonic note. I can see again the final vestiges of a dying flower, its luminescence dimmed, and yet the ghosts of its perfection lingering. I think also of the beauty of landscapes some picture perfect with gentle curves and snowy peaks, others jagged, scarred, etchings in relief of a violent past. I can hear the thunder of a waterfall, the faint whisper of wind in a bush. I can feel the sun on my face and relive the sense of being safely cloaked within a foggy, tree-filled scape; I shiver in memory of a frosty morn and note the silence of dawn.

Poetic contemplations aside, I watch another inspirational YouTube, I try a new technique, I Google another post-production tool. I think again; I am curious, and questioning, again. I stop and look and listen, again. I consider how a space feels, I measure the energy that it dispenses, or consumes. I look for echoes of form, for potential metaphors, for balance, and more reluctantly, for imbalance. I conclude that photography, the mere capturing of light, is for me a joy; it is a passion, at once a frustration at my own inabilities, satisfaction with my ability. It is a purpose, a challenge, a source of future mystery and a renderer of wondrous memories. I am beginning to understand that I am being formed by photography, as much as I am forming my photographic images, and therefore I persist in the practice of this wonderful, crafted art. Photography is my spirit’s voice, and my soul’s canvas.

Falls For no particular reason

in a crowd

Be Prepared! An Astro-Report

David Morley

Recently, I attended a two-day Astrophotography Workshop with Greg Stevens FPSNZ. Although it could be said that I didn’t come away with any “keepers” I learnt a lot.

Preparation is key for capturing good images in every genre of photography; however, I believe this has never been truer than when hoping to capture great nightscape images. Not only do you need to do everything you normally do, you’ll need to do it in the dark!

Simple tasks like setting up a tripod were tricky when I couldn’t see the ground beneath my feet. Or trying to attach my camera to a ball head, with one hand, because the other hand is holding a torch. Simple tasks become awkward very quickly in the dark.

Preparation Item One – get comfortable with your kit. Greg spent time in daylight, demonstrating problems we might face in the dark. He shared his experiences to explain how some simple steps performed during daylight hours could help a night shoot go more smoothly.

Preparation Item Two – get to know your intended location. Whether you can visit in daylight or use online resources to “see” where others have been, it will be time well spent. Greg encouraged us to look around our intended locations. To help my shoot I took pictures with my phone to serve as markers for when we returned in the dark. This allowed me to plan my compositions and check out the terrain where I planned to shoot.

Preparation Item Three – take advantage of technology. None of us can control the weather but there are a lot of Apps out there that aim to help us understand what might happen. When shooting (please excuse the pun) stars, we particularly need to know what cloud cover we might face. High cloud can add atmosphere (please excuse the pun) to a shot, whereas heavy cloud makes it almost impossible to shoot.

Greg demonstrated how specialist Apps like PhotoPils can provide useful information to help plan a shoot, from shutter speeds for a given camera and lens combination through to an augmented reality picture of the night sky at a time of our choosing. These Apps are great tools for nightscape preparation.

All in all, although the weather was against us for the workshop (Greg has offered everyone the opportunity to join him in September), what I learnt was invaluable and improved my chances of getting the nightscape images I want to capture.

PSNZ Astro Photography Workshop, Patumahoe

Feedback from Sean Campbell

I attended the above workshop as a complete novice, never having made any Astro exposures, apart from a few shots of the moon. Before the workshop took place, we were provided with a detailed list of relevant sites and applicable equipment.

My logic for attending was to cut to the chase with a dedicated Astro photography workshop, rather than flounder with lots of conflicting information from a variety of sources.

The presenter, Greg Stevens FPSNZ, was extremely knowledgeable about the subject and brimmed with enthusiasm and passion about Astro. He presented many background images, supporting documentation, direction to relevant websites and apps such as Photopils. (I was ambivalent until I was won over by the power of what you can do with this app.)

People were at all different levels of experience, but I declared my total non-familiarity with not only the Astro subject but also Lightroom and Photoshop.

Greg put me at ease and gave plenty of guidance without being condescending or disadvantaging others. He was ably assisted by Geoff Beals APSNZ and Isaac Khasawneh; they shared the same passion for Astrophotography. Greg set up his telescope and we were able to observe Saturn’s rings and four of Jupiter’s moons. A marvellous sight I can still see them!

The weather was not favourable for photographing the Milky Way, with almost total cloud cover on both nights. Nevertheless, we went out to the preferred shot location (an old wooden church in Pollok) to photograph the Milky Way. We were able to work through the process for panoramas, although we did not obtain any workable images. We were presented with previous panoramic shots of the Milky Way and were able to process them in Lightroom and Photoshop. Again I was provided with plenty of assistance.

This was not an expensive workshop but it was a very valuable one. I would have no hesitation in attending any workshop Greg produced. He went beyond my expectations, and I was more than happy with this PSNZ workshop.

PSNZ Members' Webpages

Charlotte Johnson ARPS, APSNZ

Charlotte E Johnson is a photographic artist, educator, and freelancer available for hire. A selection of artworks can be viewed at her website. There, you can also read all of her technical help articles, as published in NZ Photographer Magazine, for free. Book private tutoring and mentoring, order prints, follow social media, and enquire about exhibited works at Railway Street Studios from her website. www.cejphoto.com

Helen McLeod FPSNZ GPSA ARPS

Information regarding workshops and courses that I run, photographic services I provide, photographic art that I supply and my (about) monthly blog regarding all things photographic in nature. www.2-galleries.com

John Hawkins

My personal web site showing some of my work clanhawkinsnz.com

KAREN MOFFATT-MCLEOD APSNZ

I specialise in creative portraiture with my website showcasing my award winning work as well as my general portraits. Information on my packages and charges can be found for those interested in booking my services.

www.karenmcleodphotography.com

Maryjane Hillier

Sitting at the very top of the South Island of New Zealand, this is one of the most beautiful and pristine parts of a country, renowned for its natural beauty. This website shows landscape and wildlife.

throughthelens.co.nz

Shelley Harvey BPSA

Find my galleries and workshop information and upcoming dates, and a place to book zoom tutorials with me.

shelleyharveyphotography.com

Stephen Long

I shoot landscape and travel photography for pure enjoyment, but I also shoot weddings and events and specialise in food photography.

www.stephenlongphoto.com

Toya Heatley FPSNZ AFIAP

My website is my photographic hub including my photo blog, collections of my bird images, tutorials and more. My latest addition to the site is a 12-page ebook giving insight into how I achieve my bird images and a blog about my Fellowship journey. Worth a look! I also offer website design and build for those who want somewhere to display their images.

https://digitalpix.co.nz

North Shore National Salon of Photography

By Diane Costello, organising committee Chair

The 2022 North Shore National Salon of Photography committee decided to break with tradition and offer its entrants and the public a different experience the opportunity to view the same images the judges were seeing, hear their comments and scores, and be privy to incredibly constructive and valuable feedback.

On Saturday, 9 July a panel of eight judges, who had viewed and assigned scores over a number of weeks to 2,172 images entered by 225 entrants from around New Zealand, convened on Zoom and YouTube. They awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals,Honours, Highly Commended and Acceptances in six categories. .

This was a day-long process, and judges were rotated so that five of the eight judges were always “in session”. Excitement built to the final round when those in the audience were able to view the debate on the merits of the final 18 medal winners and from these, select the Supreme Salon winner for 2022. The final judging can be seen at https://youtube/lt7S4R3C7Yg.

A virtual Awards Presentation was set up to congratulate our medal winners.

Geoff Beals APSNZ, representing the judges, provided some feedback on the 18 medal-winning images and offered an opportunity for the medal winners to provide some insight into the making of their images. Their comments can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LalZhv7zQbw.

Well done to the 2022 entrants and congratulations to Tracey Perrin who achieved the Supreme Award, the Salon Trophy, with her image, Into the Light.

Our eight judges Lynn Clayton PSNZ APSNZ EFIAP ESFIAP, Sarah Caldwell APSNZ, Jackie Ranken GM II NZIPP GMPhotg PB. AIPP, Mike Langford GM NZIPP GM AIPP, Geoff Beals APSNZ, Johannes van Kan, Tracey Scott FPSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP (Dist.) IV and Smita Upadhye showcased their expertise and each brought to the table their own unique set of skills.

The Salon’s 18 medal winners’ prints, and a digital display of images from Acceptance upwards, were shown in the Takapuna Library. The 18 medal-winning prints were on display at the Tauranga Photographic Society and the YouTube virtual awards were presented to the Christchurch Photographic Society and the Porirua Photography Club.

With the Salon committee’s endorsement of this new project and combined with the ability and many hours of preparation of our software design engineer Phil Thornton and live judging organiser, Ilan Wittenberg FPSNZ FNZIPP, the North Shore National Salon set the bar higher than ever before, and we were pleased with the results.

We are grateful to those who give their time freely to make an event like this happen, with hours of preparation and planning. Our thanks to our committee Helen Moore (secretary), Tim Nilson (treasurer), Kerry Stenhouse (entries/awards), Libby Hitchings APSNZ (catalogue) and Anna Arrol (Facebook editor). Many thanks to our sponsors Photogear, Print Art, Fujifilm and Post Haste for their continued support of this national salon.

We look forward to seeing your work next year.

No Vacancy, Ilan Wittenberg FNZIPP FPSNZ

Skycube, Dianne Kelsey LPSNZ

Urban Blue, by Dianne Kelsey LPSNZ

Can You See Me, by Robert Beckett LPSNZ

Into the Light, by Tracey Perrin

Nature's filigree, by Noelle Bennett APSNZ

Make an eBook!

By Annette Johnston FPSNZ Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

Let’s face it, photography is a real challenge for most people. It matters not if you aspire to be a professional or you just want to improve your personal photographic skills. We all have the urge to progress. And we all do that at different speeds.

Like most other camera clubs, Tauranga Photographic Society was forced to make changes during the Covid pandemic period. Our meetings were cancelled, and physical involvements were reduced to an absolute minimum. We were able to keep our digital competitions going but, sadly, print competitions had to be suspended. When we restarted meetings, masks were mandatory, and are still worn by members voluntarily.

There is little doubt that our membership has decreased. In part, this is due to the lockdown periods which caused a lack of community involvement. Some people will have drifted away as their lack of involvement waned to a point of personal disillusionment. For those members whose primary source of photographic assets came

from travel, this recent period has been particularly trying. On the upside, we are now experiencing an increase in new member applications. At the current rate, we anticipate a return to former numbers within a short space of time.

During this period of flux, the executive committee tried to encourage online activities to stimulate and encourage members to remain informed, focused, and interactive with their photographic hobby. Many of our members joined PSNZ’s A-Z challenge which kept people engaged. It became something of a talking point, as well as allowing people of all abilities to submit images without the need for feedback or criticism.

One TPS initiative was to ask members to submit a single image of their choosing, to be featured in an online photo book. The first book was themed “Monochrome”. Members of all grades were invited to submit images, with particular encouragement aimed towards novice photographers and new members.

A Tauranga Photographic Society Initiative

The images were collected, curated and published by Annette Johnston FPSNZ who, for the past three years, has been a member of the New Zealand Camera book team. The TPS book was made available to members only via Issuu. (The same method is used by PSNZ’s CameraTalk.)

To our delight, 33 members made submissions to the first eBook. Each member was allowed two pages, one for their image, and the other to provide any relevant information about it. They could explain why the image was chosen, they could add a poem, just provide technical data, or simply just give the image a title. It was their page to use as they wished. The process was deliberately simple; there was no feedback or critique, it was purely an opportunity to showcase work. Both the members who submitted an image, and those who did not, had enormous pleasure in viewing the work. Additionally, they were able to share the eBook with friends and family,

becoming another point of human connection for many.

The feedback from members to the executive committee about this informal approach was overwhelmingly positive. It quickly became apparent that members really enjoy seeing their own work, as well as the work of their peer group. The published eBook images have become quite a talking point and clearly members are happy to open dialogues on what they achieved, how they went about it, and any techniques they may have used. As a result, two further books have appeared. The second book was themed “Autumn”, and the third a “Photo Essay” challenge.

Make an eBook!

The rules for the “Photo Essay” eBook required members to submit six images on a theme of their own choosing. Again, each member was given two pages: one for their images and the other for any text/story/content the member wished to include in their photo essay. This time, however, we added in a different descriptor based on different expectations relating to the TPS grade of a member:

PHOTO ESSAY CHALLENGE

The aim:

To present six images that tell a story The story could have A narrative Express an idea

Portray an emotion Show an object, a space, or an occasion.

There is only one rule:You must capture new images!

(Although if you have RECENTLY been working on something that fits, you may use it.)

Expectations:

C Graders: Simply capture and submit your six images.

B Graders: Ask the question, do your images tell a story? Do they flow, one image to the next?

A Graders: Can you add a level of sophistication to your six images?

You could think about their visual balance, individually and collectively. You could try a new technique or further hone one you already have. Do your images make a complete set? Do they tell a story, or communicate an emotion, well?

We were determined that no barrier be in place that would prevent a photographer from submitting their photo essay. Photographers needed to simply give their images an order and Annette then fitted these images onto the page.

This latest eBook proved to be equally popular, and in fact attracted the largest number of submissions. Additionally, we became aware of some real potential as submitters “grew” in their competency throughout the process, with some photographers

demonstrating that with a little further training and development, their essay images were embryonic Licentiate material.

After a little thought and adaptation, Annette and I feel that within our camera club, this method of making eBooks could become a great incentive for members who might eventually wish to consider tackling a Licentiate Honours set. The potential to learn by playing is not new, and there is simplicity within the process which needs to be turned to the advantage of those taking part. With only minor adaptation, the process really should become something of a subconscious learning tool, an opportunity where participation very naturally inspires growth, development, competency and, most of all, confidence.

SMASH PALACE: New Zealand’s Iconic Car Yard

By Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

One of my favourite genres of photography is Documentary. Once I have found a topic, I turn my mind to concentrate on making images that combine to make a visual story of the chosen subject. I’m convinced that doing this has helped me to understand how to group photographs so that they complement each other as they tell the story. The images here, together with the text, provide part of an ongoing project about Smash Palace, New Zealand.

One weekend in 2013, I travelled with friends to Mount Ruapehu. The plan was to photograph the snow-capped mountain from high up on the ski fields. As we descended the mountain that evening, one of our group asked if I had visited the car yard at Horopito. From the conversation that followed, I just knew that I couldn’t leave the area without taking a slight detour to view this particular venue.

The next morning we drove to Horopito. The garage that stood at the entrance looked like many other rundown buildings in rural New Zealand, except that the forecourt had a number of 1950s vehicles parked under a lean-to, immediately in front of reception. These included a somewhat dilapidated Austin Princess Vanden Plas, many of which were built to order and were the “go-to” limousine of their time. To my mind, the gold metallic paint finish was a much later addition which did not suit the timeframe of this particular beauty.

I met the yard owner and requested permission to visit the rest of the yard. He readily agreed and then returned to his workshop where he and another mechanic were working on customer vehicles. The workshop looked tired. There was a heavy smell of engine oil and the floor was stained with grease, indicating years of constant usage.

The yard is a photographer’s paradise and my problem was how to capture the essence of the place when there were so many images to be made.

Later in the day, I returned to the garage to thank the owner. In parting, he asked me if I had visited the storeroom. ‘No,’ I replied. I was then told to make my way up a set of rickety stairs to the first floor where I discovered a treasure trove of spare parts for just about any make of car built between 1920 and 1980. Several rooms and corridors were laden with motor vehicle parts and vintage memorabilia from headlamps to shock absorbers, spark plugs, steering wheels, hubcaps, and oil pressure gauges the list is endless. Unfortunately, my time was short but I promised to return to the Aladdin’s Cave at Horopito to continue compiling my photographic record of this rare site of vehicle antiquity.

In the meantime, I continued to research the operation to discover its history. It transpires that one Bill Cole started the business in the 1940s. The company is currently owned by his daughter Barbara and her husband Colin Fredricksen.

In the early 1980s, the Horopito car yard was the focal point for a movie, Smash Palace. The film was a crime drama and something of an iconic New Zealand production. The signboard from the film still hangs above the reception entrance door. Colin has developed a museum on site. It hosts a small number of restored vintage and post-vintage vehicles.

I look forward to a return visit to “Smash Palace” so that I can add a few more images to complete my photo documentary of this iconic New Zealand business. There are so many opportunities, from landscape to macro. It’s just one of those locations that need to be recorded for posterity. Every step through the paddock opens up another image opportunity.

Whanganui Domestic Houses Project 2022

By John Smart APSNZ

Having the time to walk and bike around our deserted streets during lockdown in 2020 led to a greater appreciation of the fantastic architectural heritage we have in Whanganui, with houses exemplifying the progression from Colonial Cottages, Victorian Villas and Californian Bungalows to the Post Modern and Contemporary dwellings of today. We felt photography has an important role to play in capturing this heritage as a record for the future. The Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust agreed and this public service project was born, with the aim to capture a snapshot of houses existing in Whanganui in 2022 and create an archive to be hosted by the Alexander Heritage Library for future generations. Over 20 club members were actively involved and we have photographed over 800 houses across Whanganui, representing the changing architectural styles as well as the character of our different suburbs.

Sharad Kumar and John Smart using a drone to capture a selection of the houses

Our Heritage Trust colleagues categorised the houses for us and described the main architectural periods over the past 170 years in Whanganui.

With a grant from the Whanganui District Creative Communities fund we have been able to print and matt 101 of the images, representing the best exemplars of each style, which will form the basis of a public exhibition during Whanganui Heritage month in October.

The Whanganui Camera Club has an annual exhibition of Members’ Framed Prints which is usually held over two galleries in the Whanganui Arts Centre. This year we held two separate exhibitions with the “Whanganui Homes” matted print exhibition in the back gallery and the members’ framed prints in the front gallery.

Tylee Cottage 1853 (currently the Sarjeant Gallery Artist in Residence home)

Trenna Packer Salver Nature Competition

By James Thompson

Results of the 50th Anniversary Trenna Packer Salver Nature Competition

This competition has been running since 1972 and the Nature Photography Society of New Zealand has hosted it since 2007. The competition is adjudicated by one judge, alternating between the North and South Islands each year.

This was the 50th anniversary of the competition, with entries from a record 26 clubs around the country 16 from the North Island and 10 from the South. The judge was Roger Thwaites APSNZ who came down from Blenheim and announced the winners at the NPSNZ monthly meeting on 18 July.

Club results

1st Pukekohe-Franklin Camera Club

2nd Hibiscus Coast Photographic Club

3rd Whakatane Camera Club

4th NPSNZ

Individual Honours

Mandy Hague APSNZ Whakatane Camera Club

Mark Burgess APSNZ Auckland Photographic Society

Deborah Martin APSNZ Hibiscus Coast Photographic Club

Bas Cuthbert LPSNZ Hibiscus Coast Photographic Club

Geoff Beals APSNZ Pukekohe-Franklin Camera Club

Robert Weir Manawatu Camera Club

Congratulations to all the winning entries and Honours recipients. The results can be viewed on the NPSNZ website at https://naturephotography.nz/trenna-packer-2022-judge-roger-thwaites/ and there’s an AV presentation of the results at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXV9d3x2eYE.

Thank you to all clubs that entered and to Roger for judging the competition. Next year’s competition will open on 1 May so begin taking and organising your images. I will be keen to hear from any South Island nature judges interested in working on next year's competition.

Pukekohe-Franklin Camera Club

Hibiscus Coast Photographic Club

Whakatane Camera Club

NPSNZ

FIAP Snippets

Ann Bastion Hon PSNZ FPSNZ EFIAP MFIAP

The latest copy (No.19) of the bi-monthly FIAP NEWS publication is out now and has some stunning photography from around the world, including images from the Masters sets of the latest MFIAP recipients. You can find it and previous issues here: https://www.fiap.net/en/fiap-news. This year’s FIAP distinctions, from seven PSNZ members, have been sent to FIAP for approval, and the results should be out before November.

As of next year, the criteria for obtaining the various levels of distinctions change quite a lot so, if you are interested in going for FIAP distinctions or want to know a little more about them, contact me at ajbastion@ gmail.com. I will lay out the new rules in a later edition of CameraTalk when I have more information on when they will be implemented next year.

Spring is upon us so get those cameras out and indulge in some photography!

Judge Accreditation

As Chairman of the PSNZ Judge Accreditation Panel, I am delighted to announce that at its recent meeting the PSNZ Council ratified the decision to appoint James Gibson APSNZ EFIAP/b to the current PSNZ Accredited Judges Register. James is now available to be contacted for club evaluations and assessments. His details, and those of all available judges, can be found in the PSNZ database. Congratulations James. Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP, Chairman, Judge Accreditation Panel

Northern Regional Convention

By Toya Heatley FPSNZ AFIAP, Councillor for Events

Speaker Profile: Sean Aickin

For many of us, our journey in photography started with a trusted film camera. Those were the days when we thought long and hard about what we photographed, all the while thinking of the cost to develop the film. Fast forward a few decades and most of us now use a digital camera.

But film has made a comeback and Wellingtonbased photographer Sean Aickin is one photographer who has never made the full move from analogue to digital, although he admits to having a "keen interest in both formats".

In fact, some years ago Sean created two retail stores that specialise in analogue photography – Splendid Photo in Wellington and The Film Lab in Auckland. At the Northern regional convention, Sean will share his love of analogue photography as well as his professional tips for making film photography work for you.

Sean spent many years photographing musicians and bands as they travelled around New Zealand and Australia. Today, his time is more limited so he shoots whenever he can but still maintains shooting analogue works best for his workflow.

Sean has been around photography from a very young age. His father was also a photographer and opened one of Auckland’s leading photography and printing retail outlets many years ago. He has worked in photo shops since the mid-90s and witnessed first-hand the photographic industry move from film to digital.

Digitise your old photographs! During his presentation(s), Sean will also offer tips on how to digitise all your old printed photographs and negatives. It doesn’t need to be a costly exercise and Sean will focus on using the bare minimum of equipment and highlight some items that make it easier and offer a cleaner capture.

The beauty of monochrome! Sean will discuss the beauty of monochrome and talk through some of his tips when shooting black and white and also when converting a colour image to black and white. He will use Lightroom and also discuss the built-in monochrome features that are present in most digital cameras. Sean will also allow time for a Q&A section on monochrome photography.

PSNZ Canon Online Photographer 2022 Round 4 Results

By Paul Willyams APSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP, Canon PSNZ Online Coordinator

The Winner! Congratulations to Newell Grenfell PSNZ FPSNZ FNPSNZ, the winner of the Canon Online round 4 for 2022. There were 120 entries in this round.

About Newell some history! If my 83-year-old memory serves me correctly, this is the first time I've won a round of the Canon Online. I am thrilled. I have had minor placings from time to time, and one year was runner-up in the annual aggregate, but never before have I secured top place.

By way of background, I was born in England of Kiwi parents and finally moved to New Zealand in 1977, after 14 years in Malaysia. My Kiwi father, a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in the United Kingdom, inspired my particular interest in photojournalism. By 1978 I had joined the Christchurch Photographic Society, becoming an APSNZ in 1991 and a Fellow in 1994. I served 12 years on the PSNZ Honours Board from 1996 to 2007, the last three as chair.

The winning image! Thinking was made on a Waitangi Day visit to Okains Bay, several years ago. I felt it captured the quieter, more thoughtful aspect of the day, and shortly afterwards entered it in the Portrait Section of the Southern Regional. It was not accepted! My 12 entries in that particular Southern Regional included two Honours and five Acceptances. I put away my unsuccessful Thinking image and forgot about it until John Hawkins, the latest coordinator of Canon Online, helpfully sent out his reminder that the next round was about to close. It so happens that I was reviewing some of my older Waitangi Day images at the time. ‘This one has never been anywhere, aside from the Southern Regional,’ I told myself. ‘Let’s give it a whirl.’ So I did.

Our judge for this round was Karen Lawton who introduces herself. I started my accredited judging journey in 2016 in stills and audiovisuals, after two years’ tutelage by Bruce Girdwood FPSNZ and have really enjoyed the different perspectives that critiquing has brought to my own way of thinking about images. I enjoy the full range of genres and – while shifting cities and building a house has distracted my photography to the stage of needing to blow dust off my camera – have been very pleased to keep in touch with the wonderful creativity shown in competitions, such as this, through judging assignments. I was a member of Auckland Photographic Society until 2019, and while I have not yet signed up with a local Christchurch club, continue as a member of PSNZ for whom I served on Council for several years, two as Vice President.

My typical judging process is to do a relatively quick review of the images and note any that make me stop and wonder about the story behind them. Canon on Line was no different. Undoubtedly, the top 10 images made themselves known to me immediately, but the order of merit of those images took longer to settle in. That is where the joy of literally walking away and subconsciously contemplating the images works its magic. On repeated viewing, those images that combined purpose, communication and visual design proved the driving force for my final selection. Please remember – this selection will always be a subjective one. Thanks to PSNZ for the opportunity to review this marvellous and often innovative collection of images.

1st - Thinking by Newell Grenfell Hon

I kept returning to this image and that is why it is my choice for Number One. This subject clearly has a lot of history to share, and the incongruity of the watch – such a symbol of societal time-keeping kept bouncing around with the dreadlocks, the rasta colours, jewellery and tattoos. I especially appreciate the contemplative nature of the stance and think this is an ideal example of a portrait that finds its power without eye contact.

2nd - Seen by Roger Ball

What a pivotal moment captured here! To me, the low perspective that has the child at eye level adds to the casual intimacy of the story, as does the adult's apparent lack of observational awareness. I am pleased there is a greater weight of wall on the left as to me this gives their walk a destination and opens up the “unseen” street.

3rd - Change of Season

by Barbara Lee APSNZ

The compositional simplicity of this image had an immediate appeal to me. I feel the photographer has worked cleverly with DoF and a very limited colour palette to tell this story of spring. Care has been taken to position the elements to lead the eye to the focal point of the impending blossom, yet still allow me to explore the interesting spiral and curve that reverses my eye back to the blossom. Well seen.

This image spoke of mood and mystique to me. Compositionally I think the light on the central tree creates an interesting point of focus and the branches lead the eye into the intriguing misty spaces beyond. I find both the colour palette and the sense of space and solitude restful.

I found myself returning to this image, each viewing offering greater enjoyment of the unfolding story. The composition draws me in; the angle of the light has put everything into textural relief and despite the effectively placed vanishing point, to me, the story is still about the sunrise making its gentle way into the scene from the left. Compositionally I think the emphasis given to the extended foreground is unexpected and shows a unique view by this photographer commended.

4th - The Lakeshore by James Gibson APSNZ EFIAP/b

5th - Beachside Morning by Margaret Jones LPSNZ

6th - For Sale by Ian Yeoman LPSNZ

The lighting on this image works to accentuate all of the intended features of the mannequin and, yes, I did have to look twice to make sure this was not live. I found the image to be simple and stark, and the choice of monochrome certainly reinforced that for me. It speaks to me of vanity and the social illusion of a perfect body.

7th - For the Love of Books by Karen Moffatt-McLeod APSNZ

I found myself exploring both the primary and secondary elements of this image (including the lighting) which in turn told me that it was constructed with exquisite care. I love the look on the model’s face – almost arrogance (or petulance at being disturbed) –yet she is also totally engaged with the photographer. To me, that association is the key story this image shares.

8th - Monsoon by Lia Priemus

Brilliantly colourful and a story full of life told – in contrast – from a totally observational point of view, this image appealed to me as the photographer’s personal expression of imagery on a rainy day. Clearly, life continues despite the rain; the colour and people are still out and about, with vibrancy.

I really appreciate the clarity of this image, all the more so as the bird is far from a static subject. To me the clear blue sky allows the muted tones of the feathers and the physical structure of wings and legs to show us their complexity.

I found this triptych to be immediately arresting and full of dynamism. The mirroring of the water appears to work seamlessly and adds to a feeling of overwhelming force to me.

10th - Hydro Thunder at Karapiro by Brian Turner LPSNZ

9th - Grey Warbler Riro Riro by Sue Henley

PSNZ Membership Benefits