P h o t o n e w s Summer 2015
Photonews Welcome … … to the Summer issue of Photonews, the journal of the Postal Photographic Club. A new feature this issue is “Opening Shot”, a full-page image to start the magazine with a visual “bang!” And YOU could be the next member featured. All that you need do is send me a highresolution file, tell me where and when it was taken and I will do the rest! Once again, I would like to extend my very grateful thanks to everyone who has helped with this issue, especially Geoff Leah who has contributed to every issue I’ve edited thus far!
This issue will arrive in your Inboxes just a week or two before John sends out the annual Travelling Exhibition entry forms and related information. One thing that Competitions Secretary Jon Allanson will be keen to highlight is the requirements in terms of image size, particularly the digital images. This year also sees a change to the maximum number of images that individuals can submit and of course the removal of the intercircle competition which has now been moved to the Founders Cup as you will have seen in the two recent result sheets that John sent out as PDFs. In this issue we present the main winners from the 2015 Founders Cup which should give you all some inspiration as you start to prepare and print your TE entries. Congratulations again to all the Winners and Commended images, the standard was as ever very high as the Projected Image judge, Ian Whiston DPAGB AFIAP BPE4* commented: “I enjoyed judging the competition … I found the entry of a very high standard which consequently did not make my task of selecting the awards an easy one. It was a pleasure to see an entry with such a good set of mono images, not the norm for many of today’s exhibitions”. The Autumn issue will hit your Inboxes towards the end of August and whilst quite a few of the pages are spoken for there is always a need for more content so how about getting in touch with your ideas? For those who prefer I will happily write the article using your notes or even a telephone conversation and of course you will need to let me have some of your imagery to grace these pages. Enjoy this latest edition of Photonews.
Photonews is published four times a year. All rights reserved. All materials copyright The Postal Photographic Club and/or the authors. Any opinion or statement expressed by the author of any article published in this magazine does not necessarily reflect the views of The Postal Photographic Club, the editor, or its members. Cover photo: Dunstanburgh Castle © Graham Snowden 2
Opening Shot Taken from the road-side whilst driving through The Trossachs on one of those days where the light changed every few minutes so you just needed to be ready.
Š Dave Whenham
Photonews
Contents
The journal of the Postal Photographic Club
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The Founders Cup 2015
Featured Articles
Founders Cup - DPI Best Portrait - Gary Barton I’ve got my eye on you p25 Best Image - Bob Rawlinson Red Squirrel p8 Best Landscape - Peter Henry The Tree p32
9 - A Love of Landscapes and Railways with Graham Snowden 16 - Where I Live
Founders Cup - Print Best Print/Best Portrait - Ken Ainscow No Place for an Old Man (left) p7 Best Landscape - Alan Edwards Early morning on the Blackwater p33 Best Wet Processed - Bill Martindale Maurice p15
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Summer 2015
16
Barry Roberts
20 - North Wales Monochrome Group Who is Geoff Leah? with Geoff Leah
27 - The B&W World of Eric Ladbury Eric Ladbury
36 - The Best Camera Dave Whenham
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27
19
Regulars
http://www.postalphotoclub.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Postal-Photographic-Club/ 227877620675501
Editorial - 2 Opening Shot - 3 Club Matters - 5, 26, 38 PPC Website - 23 PPC Forum - 24 Classic Cameras - 34 Erics Corner - 39
Club Matters I am in two PPC postal circles and I was interested to see an entry in the CP2 notebook from Keith Hughes, our Circle Secretary, commenting that you now needed to ‘upgrade’ your camera every 4 years or so, in order to keep up with the advances in technology and performance. There is little doubt that many people now buy cameras like they do their computers, use for 4 or 5 years and replace; probably because modern cameras are computers - with a lens on the front! However a state of the art digital camera from 10 years ago may seem slow now, with a small viewing screen and a low MP sensor, but at least it can still be used – try using the same age PC running on Windows XP! As I recall, when I bought my first DSLR (Canon 350D) I fully expected my next camera to be a full frame DSLR but 4 years later, when I did get a second Canon body, they were still far too expensive. Fast forward by 6 years and virtually all of the camera manufacturers now have full frame sensor models, some at prices that an advanced amateur can justify to the Exchequer they share their home with. So is now the time to go to a 20-odd MP full frame camera?
John Kay, General Secretary
35mm cameras were still referred to as miniature cameras when I took up photography as a hobby and most of today’s DSLR cameras have become weighty giants compared to the much loved Olympus OM series cameras I used for many years – and OM’s had large bright viewfinders that no current DSLR can match. Yes, let’s use the advances in technology to get high quality results in cameras that are about the same size as an M series Leica. I have a birthday coming up; must make a printed copy of this Photonews and leave it on the coffee table. New members A warm welcome is extended to: Nicola Anderson (IC2), Paul Robinson (CDP & IC6), Ian Thomson (C1 &CP2) and Peter Jarvis (IC7). Successes and Awards I know that our esteemed Photonews Editor, Dave Whenham, is too modest to mention that he has been awarded an LRPS, so I will do it for him. Those of us familiar with the quality and range of Dave’s photography will not be surprised of his success. Congratulations Dave. Adding another circle
Based on the cameras that the members of my two circles use, the answer is no. True there are a couple of them using full frame Sony and Canon DSLRs, but both often submit photos taken on other cameras and there is a noticeable swing to using high quality mirror-less cameras such as Lumix and Fuji.
There is no increase in subscription if you belong to more than one PPC circle - postal or Internet. Print circle members receive a pack of folders when they pay their subscription, so it does mean that an extra pack of print folders needs to be purchased if a second print circle is added, and of course there is the cost of postage. Of course, if you live near enough to another member of the circle you can pass the folios on by hand.
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Club Matters - Competition updates
John Kay, General Secretary
Founders Cup Competition The Founders Cup Competition is now held for print and for screen image circles, with all of the circle entries that gained a top 3 place during the last year being passed to an independent judge. Our thanks are offered to Graham Johnston ARPS EFIAP for judging the Print Competition and to Ian Whiston DPAGB AFIAP BPE4* who judged the DPI Competition this year. Congratulations to everyone that featured in the awards. Two e-mails were sent out during April, showing the winning and commended pictures. Larger size reproductions of some of the most successful photographs in the competition are also included in this magazine. The Ellis Martin Trophy is now awarded to the winning circle in the Founders Cup Print Competition and this year it was CDP taking first place. IC2 took top honours in the DPI Founders Cup – sorry folks no trophy organised yet.
Annual (TE) Competition (Prints and Projected Images) As previously advised, we have changed the rules for the maximum number of entries that you can enter into the Annual Competitions; it is now 4 prints and 4 Projected Images for each circle that you participate in. The submission period will be the same as last year - 1st July to 19th July. Please do not send in your entries before then. Entry forms and the rules will be sent out by e-mail at the end of May. Jon Allanson looks after all of our competitions and it is a big job, particularly compiling the entries. Once again we are asking everyone to send their entry forms (print and DPI) via the Internet. All entries for the Projected Image Competition should also be submitted by e-mail. A dedicated competitions e-mail address has been set up and there will be a folder system for each circle you belong to. It worked well last year, with only a few people having problems. It is quite straight forward and full instructions will be given in the e-mail message I will send out.
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The Founders Cup 2015 Best Print and Best Portrait Print No Place for an Old Man by Ken Ainscow.
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The Founders Cup 2015 Best Overall Projected Image Red Squirrel by Bob Rawlinson
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A love of landscapes and railways
The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
Despite only joining the club three years or so ago Graham Snowden has enjoyed considerable success in both his Circle folios and the Club’s annual competitions. I was delighted therefore that after a small amount of arm twisting he agreed to let me feature his work in this issue. Here, in his own words and pictures is a little about Graham who admits to doing “reasonably well”.
I am seventy-one years old and live in Hythe, Kent with my wife Lynda, who is a Yorkie by birth but left the county nearly fifty years ago. We have lived here six years having moved from Goodmayes, Essex, London Borough of Redbridge although it hasn’t been in Essex since 1965. I have lived and worked generally in NE London or Essex. I ventured South of the Thames for five years in the early 1970s, it is a different world, a bit like Yorkshire versus Lancashire.
Dunstanburgh Castle
I started my working life as a Heating and Ventilating Draughtsman but after several generally clerical jobs joined Essex Police (which is in Essex) in 1968. I started at Grays, which was very aptly named and shared its connection with the rest of Essex as Calcutta did with the Empire. The area was square bordered on the North and West by the Metropolitan Police, who received a considerably higher take home pay, and on the South by the Thames. I saw the light and in May 1970 transferred to the Met. I served 5 years in South London, part as a Traffic Motorcyclist covering South London and the West End. I then moved to NE London, having purchased a house there, for the rest of my service in various roles. I retired in 1998, had the best part of a year off, then became a consultant Traffic Engineer for the People’s Republic of Newham until 2008, when despite their overtures to stay, I stopped working. I was heavily involved with the Olympics at its early stages, which was very interesting but I didn’t want to work until I was nearly seventy. I told them that if they wanted me to stay on, they would have to bring the event forward to 2010 at the latest. They didn’t do it, so they couldn’t have wanted me that much.
Jaislamer Desert
All images © Graham Snowden
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The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
Glencoe
Image Š Graham Snowden
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A love of landscapes and railways
The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
I started photography, as opposed to holiday snaps, in the early 1970s. Starting off with an Olympus OM10, then to Canon FDs before branching out into mono and Medium Format. I once had a Mamya RB67 and lenses - the tripod weighed 7kg but I still carried it all halfway up Snowdon (with an “o”) once. I did quite a lot of Infra Red mono, which I enjoyed but only really proved the point that odd isn’t necessarily good. I then went to Canon EOS (auto focus) and from there to digital. I am these days a convert to Lumix G5, a quarter of the weight. I also have one of these converted to full spectrum and can put various IR filters on the front.
Dungeness Beach
My favourite camera, of all time, was a Leica M6 and lenses. I certainly proved that it’s not the camera that counts, as I still managed to take some rubbish with it. I got rid of the M6 when I went digital; I still miss it but know that I would never use it. The good thing was that I bought all of the Leica kit second hand and when I sold it through a dealer, I still received £5 more for it after his commission than I originally paid. You certainly can’t do that now. I take pictures of almost anything but love Railways and Landscapes. The black and white image of the wind farms at Morecambe Bay (left) was deliberately processed with a nod to the film noire aesthetic and with the intention of producing a sinister impression of the farm.
Morecombe Bay Wind Farm
All images © Graham Snowden
When this image was used in an IC3 folio one member commented: “Just got to love this one, those white wind machines brought out to perfection against such a background. I doubt if I would have even seen a shot there, excellent work. You have definitely given a sinister impression.” [Ed]
I really enjoy the competitions and folios although mainly to gain the comments from judges and members My best moment was getting Mono Print of the Year at Upminster CC, it was traditionally won every year by the same person, whose prints were excellent. What was nice was that he was the first to congratulate me. I did get a City and Guilds in Photography although last year I failed miserably to get a DPAGB but will try again this year. I might then join the RPS and go for the LRPS, sadly my C&G is too old for an exemption. 11
A love of landscapes and railways
The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
Roof Waves
Glenfinnen Viaduct
Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel.
All images Š Graham Snowden
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The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
Morning Mist
Image Š Graham Snowden
A love of landscapes and railways
The photography of Graham Snowden. CPC/IC1/IC3/IC6
I’ve been in the PPC for about 3 years. I am currently in The Digital Slide Circle, IC2 (Open), IC3 (Mono) and IC6 (Infra Red) circles. I do reasonably well. The only tips I would give to a newcomer are:
Bottles and junk in window
• Enter competitions at any level, it doesn’t matter how bad the judges comment or mark you won’t die, become ill, or become bankrupt, • Look all round the edges before you press the shutter and do the same when it’s on the computer - get rid of anything that’s not a benefit, • I was given some very good advice for club competitions, “If you agree with the judge’s comments, take heed, if not ignore them. If every judge says, for example, your images are too dark, decide if they are right and change or whether it’s your style and press on and hope that one day you will prevail”.
All images © Graham Snowden
We have fortunately travelled a fair bit since I retired. If asked where I consider are good places for photography I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend India for people and Scotland, New Zealand and Iceland for scenery. My time apart from photography is spent with my Wife, Freemasonry, Railway Modelling, and being the Assistant Secretary for the local division of SSAFA Forces Help. A huge thank you to Graham for allowing me to feature him in this issue - why not suggest a member for Photonews to profile or better still nominate yourself? I can supply as much or as little support as you need so it will be a very painless experience! editor@postalphoto.org
The SSAFA provide practical, emotional and financial support to anyone who is serving or has ever served and their families. To find out more visit https://www.ssafa.org.uk Bluebell 2Ps 323, 178 Getting Ready 14
The Founders Cup 2015 Best Wet Process Print Maurice by Bill Martindale.
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Where I live
Barry Roberts ARPS. CPC1
I call this “where I live” rather than “where I am from” because I am from Birkenhead but my wife is from our current town of Great Harwood located in East Lancashire. Formerly a mill town with at least 17 cotton mills, the last one closing in 1977. The town was owned by the Lords of the Manor, the TrappsLomax family from 1177 until 1925 and was, basically, a farming community until the industrial revolution when the damp Lancashire weather was recognised as being good for weaving. The town then grew with houses being built, in the traditional style of terraces in steep streets well known across Lancashire, for the increasing labour force. It is now just an ordinary town with small industrial units and shops and a farmers (?) market every month. But we still have the industrial heritage of grand sandstone architecture. In the town square is “the clock” (left) a memorial to John Mercer FRS, FCS, MPhS, the inventor of the mercerisation process as follows :Mercerisation is the treatment of cotton with a strong caustic alkaline solution in order to improve the lustre, hand and other properties. It also increases the ability to absorb dye, improves the reactions with a variety of chemicals and the strength and elongation of the fibres and also improves the stability of form. Whilst other solutions are available, in practice caustic soda is generally used.
This clock also gives Great Harwood its local name of “Snuffy Arrod” from the shape of the top of the clock looking like a snuff box. This is better than the local name for the adjoining town of Oswaldtwistle (pronounced All images © Barry Roberts ARPS
Mercer Hall
St Bartholomew’s Church 16
Where I live
Barry Roberts ARPS. CPC1
Osaltwisl) its name being “Gobbinland”, goodness knows why. Anyway, apart from the clock we have what is now a very grand swimming baths / gym, built with money left by John Mercers daughter, originally as a meeting hall for community events. The oldest building is St Bartholomew’s Church (see previous page) which has origins traced back to 1335. We also have Our Lady and St Hubert’s RC Church (left) 150 years old , a listed building designed by E.W.Pugin whose father A.W.Pugin designed other churches and part of the Palace of Westminster. A place to stroll on a summers evening or to attend one of the open air concerts is the War Memorial Park (below, right) with huge horse chestnuts trees, cherry and maples and a small wood.
Queen Street, the main shopping centre.
All images © Barry Roberts ARPS
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Where I live
Barry Roberts ARPS. CPC1
We now have a Tesco supermarket 200 yards from the existing Morrisons supermarket (was Co-op ) and across the road from a smaller mini-market and an Aldi!!! all of which has caused the closing of the weekly open air market at the other end of the town, although we do have the monthly "Farmers Market". The main attraction for Gt Harwood is its location on the edge of the Ribble Valley, an area renowned for its natural beauty with the Ribble, Calder, Hodder and other rivers running through it. We are also overlooked by Pendle Hill, famous for the notoriety of the Lancashire witch trials of 1612 where 10 people were hanged for alleged witchcraft. They were Alice Nutter, Mother Demdyke, Alison and James Device, Anne Whittle (alias Chattox), Anne Redfern, Katherine Hewitt, John Eulcock, Jane Bullock and Isobel Robey. The surrounding villages of Sabden, Roughlee and Newchurch still tell the tales of these unfortunates. A good book on this subject is “Mist Over Pendle” by Harrison Ainsworth. Pendle Hill is now out of bounds on Halloween night due to the “goings on” up there. The climb to the top of Pendle up the “big Light on Pendle Hill end” is not for the faint hearted but is worth the effort on a fine Image © Barry Roberts ARPS day, but do not stray from the paths as the ground is treacherous and it is easy to get lost on top. When snow falls the last of the snow to clear forms the shape of a witch on a broomstick on the side of the hill. Creepy. Nearby is the lovely village of Whalley which has the ruins of Whalley Abbey, dismantled by Cromwell, and Spring Wood, a wonderful place for bluebells in the spring. A bit further along the A59 is Clitheroe with its castle on top of a hill. Clitheroe is a lovely town with good shops in the centre, a large market and a distinctive character. The supermarkets of Sainsbury’s, Booths, Homebase etc... are all within walking distance of the town centre but are not intrusive. Our favourite place is the Emporium, a real coffee house with old leather settees and a wonderful nick-nack /household goods/ gallery in the basement. Within easy driving distance of Gt Harwood we have Townley Hall and Gawthorpe Hall in Burnley, Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington, Blackburn and Preston for the really big shops, even Manchester for a free bus ride if you are that certain age. An hour away we have Blackpool, Morecambe, Southport, Martin Mere WWT reserve, Leighton Moss RSPB reserve, Arnside and Silverdale AONB, the Forest of Bowland and in just over an hour we are in the Lake District, just up the M6. Then travelling east we have the Yorkshire Dales. On a photographic note we are well supported by camera clubs in Gt Harwood, Accrington, Padiham, Bury, Burnley, Blackburn and no doubt others. The only thing we are short of is decent camera shops, we did have a Jessops in Blackburn but that closed, the nearest is now the Big Jessops in 18 Manchester ( is that still there ?). Thank goodness for the internet !
Through The Thistle - Barry Willcock. Special Award, New Shoots, IGPotY 2015 Sony Nex 5N camera with a Sony E PZ 16-50mm lens at 34 mm. I placed the camera on its back on a card lying on the ground inside the plant, looking up through the stems. flowers etc. I used a small HDMI monitor screen to choose the position and check the focus. Post production was minimal - just a slight adjustment of curves to balance the tonal range and a touch of unsharp mask sharpening. 1/2000 sec at f 5.6, ISO 400.
Garden Photographer of the Year was set up by five members of the Garden Photographers' Association in 2007, it added 'International' to the title in 2008. Its first exhibition took place at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in May 2008 and quickly established itself as the world's premier garden and plant photography event. 19
I have noticed that most PPC members include more traditional “bricks and mortar” clubs in their photographic agenda. Being a life-long avoider of such organisations I was recently pondering if it wasn’t time to be a little more sociable and so I started to research what was available in the big, wide world outside of the PPC. Whilst it is probably too far for me to attend, one group caught my eye simply because I recognised the name of the organiser - our very own Classic Camera contributor Geoff Leah. The North Wales Monochrome Print Group was formed by Geoff around 12 years ago as I found when I visited the groups website at: http://www.northwalesmonochrome.co.uk/index.html The group was, and is, a forum for photographers who love the medium of black and white. Here they can show their work, disseminate information, and generally share all aspects of their craft. One of the primary objectives of the group was, is, and Geoff asserts, will remain, informality. He takes care of booking the location and notifying members of meetings, so all they have to do is attend on the day. The aim is to ensure that those who attend can relax, and show their work (or simply look at the work of others), without being involved in the politics that can plague other clubs and organisations. As Geoff states. “we are a very friendly group with no ‘inner circle’; we do not hold competitions, and hopefully avoid any kind of pressure or conflict”. Numbers attending usually range from 20 to 30, and levels of expertise range from beginner to expert. Both darkroom and digital workers attend, and consequently there is a huge bank of experience that members can draw from – help is always available.
Pump House, Dorothea Quarry
Image © Geoff Leah
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Who is Geoff Leah? “ I’m a landscape photographer in the main, with a bit of close-up work. I've always used film to some degree, and currently shoot with a Bronica Rangefinder + 3 lenses, a Nikon F100 + various Nikkors, and my 5x4" Tachihara + 2 lenses. I do all my own b/w processing in my darkroom, which is equipped with an LPL 5x4 enlarger and an RHD Analyser Pro. I still shoot slide film in 35mm, 120 roll film and 5x4" (getting very expensive now, but the results are amazing). My digital equipment consists of a Nikon D700 (still one of the best cameras Nikon ever made in my view) plus Nikkor prime lenses and their 70/300mm (hell of a lens). Recently I bought a Fuji XPro 1 plus the 18mm and the 60mm macro lenses. The results from the camera are incredible, and it's small enough to fit in a pocket. The NWMG is still going strong with a membership of around 25 and I recently started a Slide Group which operates on similar lines. We have a membership of 15 who still use slide film. We all think that a good projected slide still has a certain magic that digital doesn't possess. Llyn Ogwen
Image © Geoff Leah
I print my own digital stuff on an Epson 3000, fitted with the Fotospeed Inkflow system, Fotospeed paper and their printing profiles. As members will know from my Classic Cameras column I collect old interesting cameras, some of which I still use. “
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Nant Ffrancon
Clapper Bridge, Croesor
Images © Geoff Leah
The group meet every 6 weeks at Betws y Coed in the Capel Curig Community Centre. Meetings start at 2pm and finish around 4.30pm and details, including the dtes of forthcoming meetings are published on the website. Geoff says that “We would very much like you to visit us, where you will be assured of a warm welcome in a relaxed atmosphere”. 22
The Postal Photographic Club Website
Graham Dean
Your website needs you! As some of you will have no1ced, there have been periods when the website has been unavailable recently – due partly to server issues and partly to the complexi1es of the pla;orm the club has been using to author the website. I am therefore in the process of moving it to a different pla;orm. This has meant that progress has not been as rapid as I had hoped (for instance – the page of links has not been updated as promised in the last Photonews). I’ve been using this new pla;orm for the monthly galleries since the start of February. The February, March and April galleries all feature a random selec1on of entries to last year’s Travelling Exhibi1on (DPI sec1on). They have included not just accepted entries and award winners, as I feel the website should display the work of all members, not just the award winners (although it will obviously be used to showcase winning entries – May’s gallery features some of the best images from the Founder’s Cup). I’m hoping to also feature collec1ons of images on one subject/theme, such as the Scalber Foss images supplied by David James (these also appeared on the site at the start of May) and the W J Stokes archive (which was on the old website and will shortly appear on the new one).
Cwm Orthin
Image © Geoff Leah
If you would like your images to appear, please email (webmaster@postalphotoclub.org.uk) or upload them to the website gallery submissions area of the forum at hQp:// forum.postalphotoclub.org.uk/index.php? board=93.0
Graham
For further information, please email Geoff at: leahmonochrome@aol.com or ring 01745 730714. http://www.postalphotoclub.org.uk
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Clive Piggott
The Postal Photographic Club Forum
A forum is commonly defined as 'a meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged'. An Internet forum is such a discussion area on the web. Members can start discussions and read and respond to discussions started by other members. A forum can be focussed on nearly any subject and holding a common interest means that a thriving online community often develops. The PPC Forum has two main areas which relate to: the Forum Community and to the PPC. The Forum Community area comprises a number of member-oriented discussions. For example, there is a discussion area where members chew over any photography related subject, technical, artistic or otherwise. There are spaces which offer members unlimited opportunity to share their photographs for appraisal or simply to show their work to other members. There are also general non-photography conversations and Forum news updates. The PPC area contains a number of club-related sections. For example, there are discussions and news items relating to the club Circles and their operation. There is news and updates about the club's Website developments and about the club magazine, Photonews. There is also comprehensive general news and reference information about the club e.g. the Annual Rally, Committee members, annual competitions and results etc. It is worthwhile to emphasise that we have taken steps to ensure that the forum is as safe as we can make it. It is set up as a totally private online space, accessible only to those members who have registered, and the only way to join the forum now is by emailing your details to us. Note that we do not keep members' addresses and phone numbers on the forum. We have full name and email address and that's it. However, most of our members do post a little more than that, e.g. 'I'm in sunny Yorkshire' etc. Also, any material placed on the forum (for example: biography, journal, personal website link, posts etc.) will not be published outside, e.g. on the Website, without the express permission of the member concerned.
An interesting current thread on the forum is 'Up for Discussion' which is about 'getting it right in the camera' versus 'computer manipulation' ultimately leading into 'is photography art?' type discussions and critiquing. It is a fascinating discussion spanning a wide spectrum of views. Another popular discussion is entitled 'Guidelines for Marking', again a wide range of experiences and opinions raised on this perennial issue. In a more practical vein the thread titled 'HELP WANTED - Printing' offers lots of good advice on the subject of digital printing. There are many other threads and posts on the forum. At time of writing we now have 200+ topics and over 1100 posts.
The forum is only open to PPC Members At the end of April 222 topics, 1,284 posts, a total of 50,216 page views and an average of 324 page views per day
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The Founders Cup 2015 Best Portrait Projected Image I’ve Got My Eye On You by Gary Barton
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Club Matters - housekeeping Print Folders If you are in more than one print circle you will need to order some extra folders at some stage in the year. Additional packs of twelve folders cost £4.50; including second-class postage. You can save the cost of a stamp by paying for them via the club’s PayPal facility - access it from our website. Your payment and details will go to our Treasurer and he will advise Martin Short, our Storekeeper. If you prefer to send a cheque, make it payable to THE POSTAL PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB and post it to Martin, his new address is shown in the Committee List. Martin often works away from home, so he may only be able to deal with requests for folders at weekends. John Kay can supply folders if you require them urgently. Club website and the PPC Forum Graham Dean looks after and updates the club website and Clive Piggott is our Forum Administrator. Contact details for both are given in the Committee List in this magazine. See other sections of Photonews for more details of both. Travelling Exhibition David James our Print Exhibition Secretary is the club contact for The Travelling Exhibition. It is well worth seeing if you cannot make it to the Annual Rally. The 2014/15 TE has nearly completed its tour of the UK; does your Camera Club take the TE? Why don’t you ask the Programme Secretary at your club to get in touch with David?
John Kay, General Secretary
Annual Rally 2015 – Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October Bookings for places at this year’s rally have gone really well and we have exceeded the number of rooms that we initially reserved, I understand that we can still add to the guest list but I will need to check room details and availability if you do want to join us. The venue is The Snowdonia National Park Study Centre, Plas Tan y Bwlch, Maentwrog, Blaenau Ffestiniog; where we held the very successful rally in 2012. Their website is: www.plastanybwlch.com The cost for the weekend with an en suite room, including meals from Friday evening to Sunday lunch is £140 per person (Saturday lunch NOT included). Deposits of £25 per person are required. Quite a lot of people have added extra days at a cost of £61.50 per person, for dinner, bed and breakfast. John Kay, General Secretary
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The Black and White World of Eric Ladbury
Creating a grey scale picture can be achieved in several ways. The simplest involve desaturation of colour, or converting to “Grayscale” . One method, found in Adobe products is to go to the top bar and select Image > Mode > Grayscale. These approaches give a basic but often low quality conversion by simply dumping the colour information. A slightly more complicated multi step process, using a series of procedures for a high end finished image can however make for far more subtle and pleasing conversions. Before going into two of my preferred methods of generating a mono image, I would like to mention a couple of tips to employ in the “taking” stage of this creation.
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The Black and White World of Eric Ladbury
First, my preferred mode of capture is “RAW” rather than jpeg files, which gathers full colour informa1on; which saves the largest amount of detail in the file, thus an aid to beQer quality in the processing of the picture to a monochrome version.
Second, bearing in mind the shoo1ng mode is RAW, select to view in “black & white” on the camera and when this mode is chosen engage “live view” if available on the camera as this will help by showing the tones and contrast along with the ligh1ng, and of course composi1on, but s1ll record full colour informa1on. There is an advantage in visualising the scene in monochrome as “seeing” in black and white whilst viewing a colour scene, which comes with experience, as the Balloon pictures show (figs 4 & 5).
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The Black and White World of Eric Ladbury After capturing that award winning picture there are several ways to process it. In deciding to convert to monochrome many photographers use either Photoshop or Elements from Adobe. When I use one of these I‘ll import the file into “Adobe Camera Raw” (ACR) this gives the best options for changing to mono in the initial stages. Go to your chosen file in Adobe Bridge and double click on the file or right click and select “open” from the dropdown menu which appears. This should automatically open the picture in “ACR” (fig. 6). This is also similar to the “HSL / Color /B & W” (Black & White) menu found in the right-hand Panel in the DEVELOP module of Adobe Lightroom. In ACR (or Develop Modules basic tab etc), do all the usual basic adjustments to the colour image such as exposure, contrast, and saturation etc., in the “Basic tab”, with emphasis on the saturation and/or Luminance, which is also found under the same tab “HSL” (Hue Saturation luminance) as is the one required for mono (Grayscale), but do this work prior to clicking on the “Convert to Grayscale” box. Adjustment and fine tuning can be made by switching back to HSL but you will loose any alteration made in Grayscale, however you can return to the colour mode where adjustments are saved as previously set. When pleased with the monochrome conversion, single click the “Open Image” button, bottom right of the screen. This takes the picture into the main body of Adobe Photoshop (or Elements). Now further adjustments and modifications to the image can be applied, be sure to make “sharpening” your final task prior to saving any work.
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A second, more interesting, and in my experience little used, method is via the Gradient Map in Adobe to locate it go to Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map (figs 6a), (NOTE: this is not the Gradient Tool from the “Tool Box”). Click on the down pointing arrow (right) to open the alternative presets (fig 6b) and select the first square on the top left named “Foreground to Background”, and providing the foreground colours at the foot of the tool box are set to default this should display a smooth tone across the colour bar. A single click inside this colour bar reveals the Gradient Editor (fig 6c). In this window click just below the tone bar to add a new colour stop - ! Repeat this four times, or more, spacing along the bar as in the diagram; don’t panic as the screen goes black. The next move is double click on the first new color stop, (that’s the second from left), this displays the “Colour Picker” (fig 6d), go into the large coloured square left centre and place a selection with a mouse click (indicated by a cursor shaped in a small circle) of colour/tone of your choice. As we are producing a mono image here keep to the left margin of the square, when the right tone is selected click the OK button to transfer the colour. Repeat this for each new stop that’s been placed moving up the left side of the colour square choosing a lighter grey each time. When a color stop is made active (seen by the tip turning black) a small diamond shaped symbol (color midpoint) appears on either side of the stop, this can be “clicked and held” to slide the diamond (now solid black ) left or right to modify the gradient change. Also the color stops can be moved across the bar in a similar manner to alter the tone transition. Adjust the stops and diamonds until a pleasing effect is achieved in the desired photograph, and when satisfied click the OK button to close the palettes, and “Save As” renaming the file with a new name.
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The Black and White World of Eric Ladbury As an alternative, once in an Adobe, or any other host program, there is the opportunity to import the file into a “plug-in� program such as Silver Efex Pro 2 (one of the Nik programs which was originally sold as stand alone program, now taken over by Google and available as part of a full suite of programs). Another well known plug-in is Topaz BW Effects 2 also part of a suite of modification tools, however with Topaz Labs each unit can be purchased separately, building to a tailor made group as funds and needs are met. See the screen shots for both programs (figs. 7 & 8).
Either of these plug-ins is good value if you intend doing an enormous quantity of modified imagery and both go into greater depth and more control over the adjustment of the picture. I hope you enjoy trying these methods of working, as with any task in photographic programs, there are many ways of achieving the final goal, and these have been but a few.
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The Founders Cup 2015 Best Landscape Projected Image The Tree by Peter Henry
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The Founders Cup 2015 Best Landscape Print Early Morning on the Blackwater by Alan Edwards.
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Classic Cameras - Hasselblad with Geoff Leah The Swedish Hasselblad family had been in the marketing business for 100 years before Victor established a camera company. The shop was originally founded in 1841, with a photographic department opening in 1887. This proved very successful, so in 1908 a completely new business called Hasselblads Fotografiska Aktieborg was formed. This sold various makes of camera, and also became Kodak’s main Swedish agent. The start of the Hasselblad Company as we know it was in 1941. The manufacture of aerial cameras for the Royal Swedish Airforce, as well as ground reconnaissance cameras, became their staple products. After the end of the second World war, all the staff were retained, and they started designing the 1600F S.L.R camera. This was first sold in 1948, and was the World’s first 6x6 SLR with inter-changeable film backs and lenses, and a focal plane shutter. Initially a Kodak Ektar lens was fitted. In 1952 the 1000F was introduced. This still had the focal plane shutter, but Zeiss were the chosen lens manufacturer, and have remained so for all their film S.L.Rs. Between 1954 and 1959 the Super Wide camera was made. This differed from existing models by having a non-reflex body. Instead, a separate viewfinder was mounted on top of the body. It was fitted with the famous Zeiss f4 38mm. Biogon. The results from this camera are still classed as superb, and prices remain high. The two S.L.R models used mostly today are the 500C and 500CM. The C was made from 1957 to 1980. It had a Zeiss 80mm. f2.8 Planar as standard, with a Compur shutter in the lens. The CM was made from 1970 to 1980, and is a refined C model. It has the same lens as standard but as well as the Compur shutter, it has a focal plane shutter at the back of the body. This means that the lens can be changed even if the dark slide has been removed from the back. It has interchangeable screens and magnifiers, and the back cannot be removed if the darkslide is not in place. Around 1998 the Arc and Flex tilt and shift bodies were introduced, allowing many of the movements associated with a large format camera. They can be fitted with non-Hasselblad lenses (a first), and look like no other Hasselblad. When new they cost around £3,000, and still fetch £2000/2,500. 34
In 2002 Hasselblad combined with Fuji to produce the Xpan Mk.1 and Mk.2 cameras (a re-badged Fuji which sold in Japan for half the price of the Swedish version). It produces the standard 24x36mm frame, or a 24x65mm. panoramic. It is a superb camera, but no longer made. Second hand prices are still high. Also in 2002, Hasselblad again combined with Fuji to produce the H1 camera. This is a modular 6x4.5 SLR of futuristic design, that looks and handles like a top-end 35mm. camera. The H2 followed couple of years later, Used cameras still cost £1,200 upwards. The next development saw Hasselblad ceasing production of film cameras, and aided by Fuji, producing the H3 digital camera. It still looked like the H2, but had a high resolution digital back. The Company have progressed to the current H4 model, available with various backs, and costing up to £34,000 for the body. The first b/w film through my recently acquired 500CM (left) has shown excellent contrast and amazing resolution from the Planar lens, even on an FP4 film (not the highest resolving film!). The camera itself can be seen on the first page of this artticle. Test shot from the newl;y-acquired Hasselblad 500CM © Geoff Leah
Classic Cameras - Hasselblad
Prices of a complete 500CM range from £600 for a tired one, (bear in mind it was the favourite camera of the Pro photographers), to £1,100 for a mint example. By the way, if you want a free Hasselblad, there’s one still on the Moon!
Geoff Did you know that according to PetaPixel.com there are 12 Hasselblad cameras currently sitting on the surface of the moon? The cameras that shot those iconic images of the moon’s surface between 1969 and 1972 were left there to allow for the 25kg of lunar rock samples that were brought back instead. Only the film magazines were brought back. There is an interesting article online at https://120pearls.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/space-filmtheres-12-cameras-on-the-moon-right-now/ for anyone interested in following this up further. Some more information regarding the lunar Hasselblad’s can also be found at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/ a11-hass.html
Image by NASA/Charles Conrad [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 35
The best camera …
A personal view - Dave Whenham
… we are often told is the one we have with us. Which for many of us, like it or not, sometimes means a mobile phone.
“The death of photography: are camera phones destroying an artform?” Headline from a Guardian online article from December 2013.
Out of the dark into the light
Hands up from the start then – I am a bit of a snob when it comes to using my phone as a camera. In addition to my DSLRs and film cameras I have a couple of compact digital cameras but far more important than owning them is the fact that I routinely carry one of them with me when I go out even if I’m only taking the wife to work. I would estimate that I take a camera around 90 percent of the time when I leave the house.
But unlike my ever-present mobile phone I do not always take one of the cameras when I go out so there are times when the best camera I have … is a mobile phone, as happened a few months back. Taking a short cut down a typical Halifax snicket (within a few hundred yards of Bill Brandt’s much imitated 1947 snicket) I was struck by the sense of moving from the light into the dark, a feeling that intensified when I got to the bottom of the snicket and stopped to look back up the way I’d just walked. The desire to capture the moment was so persistent that my snobbery was hastily pushed aside whilst I made three exposures using my mobile phone’s camera (above left - I shot the right hand view twice, changing the point of focus slightly). 36
Images © Dave Whenham LRPS
The best camera …
A personal view - Dave Whenham
Back at home I processed each file separately in Photoshop, converting each to monochrome in Silver Efex Pro (SEP) before the two files were brought together on one canvas and returned to SEP a final time for some finishing touches. According to the file data I would be able to print this comfortably at A4 - a claim I tested using the Permajet Oyster paper Barry recommended with very impressive results. For the record I do have an Instagram account, that favourite of mobile phone photographers, with 36 images uploaded last year although many of which were taken with a Fuji X100, transferred to the iPad and from there processed and uploaded to Instagram. When you consider the number of images I have taken with my digital cameras though these 36 fade into insignificance. Except, I rather like this pair from my HTC smart phone - which sadly met the pavement face down recently and has now been replaced by a shiny new Sony Xperia. However, I digress. The whole experience rather got me thinking about how ubiquitous camera phone imagery now is. An online article in the Wall Street Journal discusses the democratisation of photography via the new technology and goes on to lament that despite so many images being captured every day, so few are being looked at (it doesn’t tackle the latest hot topic of how few are being printed and preserved for future generations). The article is US-centric but I suspect that there is a direct correlation with people around the so-called civilised world. The Guardian article also reminds us that Annie Leibovitz once described the iPhone as the “snapshot camera of today”. The internet is awash with articles on how to get the best from your phone’s camera and what the latest must have add-ons and gizmos are. Photography-related Apps for smart phones proliferate in such numbers that it is hard to keep up with them all. Even the big names in photo-imaging software are in their scrapping for a share of the financial pie; Nik Software, the Google-owned makers of Silver Efex Pro, also produce Snapseed which was awarded Best Mobile Photo App 2012 (TIPA). So, I probably need to embrace my mobile phone, it may not offer the quality of even an entry-level DSLR but if its all you have to hand it will make the best picture possible for you at that time. By coincidence I was reading a back issue of Black + White Photography last night. In an article about using Lightroom to process mobile phone images Tim Clinch states: “It’s a whole different discipline and, whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay …”. That impulsive detour down a Halifax snicket not only produced a pair of images I really like but made me think about my phone in a different light. It won’t lead to me ditching my “proper” gear but I do have a better appreciation of what these mobile phones are capable of. Dave Whenham C1 / CPC1 / IC1 / IC6 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303560204579248123722291000 http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/13/death-of-photography-camera-phones
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Having been on restricted photography for the past six months, due to an operation back in September last year, I decided, after a few local walks with the camera to venture further afield. The reason for this rather bold decision was to boost my slowly depleting stock of images for entry into club circles. Now step back several years and some more, to when I entered the world of photography in the late 1970s. I was (and still am) a keen outdoors person following passions for walking, cycling and natural history. I had just purchased my first “real” camera, an Exacta single lens reflex using 35mm film. Previously I had only used the odd point and shoot style camera for purely memory and nostalgic reasons. Up until then I had, as many other beginners in this wonderful hobby of imagery, thought the capture of photos were of holidays, birthdays and high days; not as a pastime in its own right.
NEWARK CASTLE: Photographed using a Canon 40D converted filter to 590nm Infrared. Processed in Photoshop 5.5 – channel swapped, levels, vibrance. Moved into Nik Silver Efex Pro2 (SEP) converted to monochrome
As I said I started with 35mm film and having a strong interest in nature, in particular (at that time), butterflies. I choose to begin by using colour slides. Not the normal route into this mysterious realm of picture making. Most started in black and white with progress being made by using a darkroom to process film and create prints with an enlarger. Anyway to cut a long story slightly shorter; this outing to Newark for the day was to concentrate on infrared photography. Being a fairly recent interest of about six years when I had a Canon 30D converted to infrared by the “hot” filter being replaced by a narrow band width IR filter. My only previous experience with infrared was in the days of film only. Now being a “Canon” man the problem arose with later Canon bodies using an infrared beam to count the film sprocket holes in order to number the frames remaining. With this in mind I was limited to using Ilford’s SFX film, a “near” infrared film recording in rose pink for black and white reproduction, using this much lower end of the spectrum of infrared. Back to Newark; being late February there was little hope of trees full of foliage, one of infrared’s best subjects, but with some grass and a few early flowers, crocus and snowdrops, I was mildly hopeful of a few frames. My memory of Newark, from past visits, was the river Trent with the ruins of a castle on its banks. Also the town had a good number of “old” historic buildings and alleys; but would this prove advantageous for IR work? Plus it was Saturday and Newark has a thriving large market bustling with people, both purveyors and shoppers! Seeing these difficulties prior to my visit I decided to pack one IR converted camera and one normal body.
THREE to LAUNCH: Photographed using a Canon 40D converted filter to 590nm Infrared. Processed in Photoshop 5.5 – channel swapped, levels, vibrance, cropped. Moved into Nik SEP converted to monochrome and toned Blue
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As I entered the area on the edge of the river Trent on its east bank, just upstream from the castle I wandered around the locks at the head of a short canal bypassing the weir. Having taken a number of distant photos of the castle I meandered further upstream along the west bank. I soon met a small group of canoeists unloading their craft in preparation for a days paddling. I moved on, and whist shooting general views of the town and river I was soon past by three paddlers heading to a launching spot beyond the town. The opportunity to grab a few frames of these adventurers portaging their boats and setting off along the river was irresistible. I had in mind the colourful clothes they dressed in and the brightly decorated canoes. Just how would these tones react to IR treatment? Still, the back-up plan was, the images would easily convert to monochrome once back in front of the computer. Half an hour later I was facing the castle across a slow flowing river. The light now improving peeping through fast scudding clouds giving bursts of winter sun lit the scene. Knowing the interior of the ruined castle has a number of attractive corners I crossed over the river via Trent Bridge and entered the castle grounds. Opportunely being not too busy with visitors (they were all shopping across town), the pleasing shapes of trees and stone built walls and towers were at my mercy. Many pictures later I headed for the bus station and started the return journey home. The day had lots of interest, and I didn’t shoot any conventional frames at all. I sat quietly in a corner of the over crowded bus wondering why so many people were travelling to Nottingham? Oh, of course, “Forest” were playing at home that day, and once near the football pitch the bus almost emptied of all life. See you round the Corner….
PORTAGE (right) : Photographed using a Canon 40D converted filter to 590nm Infrared. Processed in Photoshop 5.5 – channel swapped, levels, vibrance, cropped. STANDS in the GROUNDS (far right) Newark castle bandstand, photographed using a Canon 40D converted filter to 590nm Infrared. Processed in Photoshop 5.5 – channel swapped, levels, vibrance, cropped. Moved into Nik SEP converted to monochrome and toned Sepia. 39