6x6 four Swiss CHapter
6x6
A Quarterly Swiss CHapter eMagazine
6x6 four
December 2021 Publisher: The Royal Photographic Society, Swiss Chapter Editor: Richard N Tucker ARPS tucker42@bluewin.ch Editorial Assistants: Urs Albrecht LRPS, Rob C Kershaw ARPS Design & Layout: Timo Lehto contact@timo.photo Submissions are open to all Swiss Chapter members. Detailed submission guidelines on the last pages of the magazine.
© 2021 All rights reserved on behalf of the authors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The Royal Photographic Society, Swiss Chapter and the Editor accept no liability for any misuse or breach of copyright by a contributor. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Royal Photographic Society or of the Swiss Chapter.
EDITORIAL NOTE Richard N Tucker ARPS When we started 6x6 we were aware that with a small group of photographers some people would be shown more than once. With all that has happened in the last two years it has been difficult to get enough new submissions. Since the object was to show photography which we as a Chapter thought worthy, we make no excuse for publishing more work by the same members.
Cover: Timo Lehto Candia Peterson ARPS Back cover: Timo Lehto
EDITORIAL Urs Albrecht
LRPS
You will notice that some of the contributors have already featured in previous issues (see editorial note). Hopefully, more members of the Swiss chapter will be encouraged by this issue to profit from this platform to present their work to a larger public. Putting together six images that convey a message that is close to the heart of the photographer is not easy, but the result is even more gratifying than attracting attention with a single image. Issue 4 of 6x6 is full of contrasts. Richard Tucker's images beautifully celebrate the harmonic co-existence of the old decaying past and nature putting its green blanket over it. Candia Peterson’s black and white flowers remind us of purity, innocence and beauty, in contrast with the boxer images of Timo Lehto standing for respect, discipline and patience. The paired images remind us of a dance between the ying and the yang spiritually complementing each other. Thomas Kähr’s people, mostly immigrants, blend into the environment of their new homes soothing the viewer that they integrated well in society. On a more humorous note Jill Taylor shows humans during recreational activities which contrast with their ordinary environment producing a smile. In the last sequence by Urs Albrecht, close-up images of flowers show focus and blur competing with each other and finally guiding the viewer to follow his/her imagination, rather than guessing what kind of flower may be depicted.
Richard N Tucker Candia Peterson Timo Lehto Thomas Kähr Jill Taylor Urs Albrecht
Entrophy Flowers Body and Soul Portraits The Bains de Paquis Imagination and Reality
Rich ard N T u ck e r
ARPS
Entrophy Cars have become not only essential but also objects of veneration. They gleam with chrome, sparkling lacquer, badges, all designed to shout a message of style, function, importance. Yet in the end the processes of decay are stronger. Cars are eaten away by rust and microbes. Nature takes them and is polluted in the process. They give us a fading beauty but at a terrible price.
C an dia Pe t e rso n
ARPS
Flowers My flowers project of 2021 began as an exercise in recording flowers from my garden throughout the year. I was drawn to BW because I was more interested in the form and structure of the flower than its colour. They were all shot in a west facing window with only the evening sun to light them.
T imo L e h t o Body and Soul The pulsating Thai beat can already be heard in the courtyard, and it only gets louder as I walk up the stairs to the gym and open the door. The rather small space with low ceiling is surprisingly filled not with strong men in their prime only, but with people of different ages, including several women. It is noisy both from the music and from the shouts when the people exercising kick the heavy bags or punch the pads the coaches have on. The activity is very dynamic and energetic, and no wonder, Muay Thai, the traditional Thai boxing is intense, even hard, fierce, and brutal - one of the toughest martial arts. Despite of the rough physical force which is apparent in the training, I don’t feel it possessing any hostility or violence. The focus is on dedication and discipline, and I also soon learn that respect, commitment, courage, and a strong mindset are the real key factors in Muay Thai. It is not merely the body which needs to be trained, the heart and mind are equally important. Respect – discipline – patience are the guidelines written on the gym’s wall. I have had the privilege to follow my friend’s training and his preparation for fights, and the following images contribute to express the spirit of a Muay Thai fighter. The sweat on the skin does not come from the physical exercise alone - the mind must be strong too.
Between the starkness of white flowers and the sweat on shining boxers’ bodies there are resonances of light and form, amplified by the apparent delicacy of the flower against the resilience of trained muscles and minds. The isolated flower heads are set against the tightly cropped images of the fighters, both are whole and beautiful. Rabindranath Tagore wrote “By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.” Here both photographers show that the beauty can be seized in regarding parts for the whole. Richard N Tucker ARPS
T h o mas Käh r
Unknown, Ridley Road Market, Dalston
Portraits Street portraits from the photographer’s project “Hackney Faces” shot in the Royal Borough of Hackney.
Cypriot car body repair shop owner, Hackney Downs
This portrait has been shot in an old cement factory by using available light and flash through the window of an elevator door.
Uppercut barber shop owner on Amhurst Road, Hackney Downs
Afghan convenience store owner at Baselstrasse, Lucerne.
Street cleaner at Cambridge Heath, immigrated from Malta to London in 1965
J ill T aylo r
LRPS
Bains de Paquis The Bains de Paquis is where the locals go to not only swim in the lake of Geneva but also to relax, attend the dawn concerts, do their exercises and have fun celebrating. The resident swans don’t seem to mind the human intruders and happily coexist with these visitors. It’s an attractive, quirky place with a Bauhaus architectural style of simple concrete and metal in a setting surrounded by mountains. It’s a joy to be there as the people who use it provide quite a contrast to the fairly conservative town of Geneva.
U rs A lbre ch t
LRPS
Stellar
Imagination and reality In this selection of photographs I aim to illustrate the narrow fin between reality and imagination. What is real? What is imagination? Is reality just a figment of our imagination? Or is imagination the result of the subjectively perceived reality? Where is the border between the two? Or do they just blend into each other? Any way you put it they need each other.
Randen
Droplets
Snailpath
Lupe
White Drop
the
Jill Taylor LRPS Jill Taylor’s interest in photography started in the darkroom of her cellar or in a cupboard under the stairs during the days where film cameras were the only choice. This included both monochrome prints and coloured slides. The prints made from that time are still appreciated today for their rich blacks and bright whites. Working full time professionally as an Optometrist then took over until retirement which saw a renewed enthusiasm develop. Now it’s all digital for her and she possesses a mirrorless micro 4/3 camera plus a full frame DSLR. The learning continues.
Urs Albrecht LRPS Born 1962 in Mexico City and growing up in Switzerland he is a scientist and self-taught photographer, keen to explore the world to uncover hidden relationships between organisms and their environment. His work has been exhibited in various national and international exhibitions including the Nikon Gallery, Zürich (1982), Fabriggli (1987), Salaj, Romania (2018), Atoud Sud, France (2019,2020), Shangtuf Exhibition, China (2019), Chemin de Photo, France (2020). ursalbrecht.photography
Candia Peterson ARPS Born in London in 1961 and graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Spent some 18 years as an investment banker in London though specialising in the Tokyo stock market which necessitated much time spent in Japan. After leaving the City in 2001, began working for the family business full time and is now the sole owner and manager of Lutyens Furniture & Lighting. Lived in the French Alps from 2003 to 2019, hence membership of the Swiss Chapter. Since moved to the US but continue close involvement with the chapter. Was part of the chapter exhibition in Switzerland and have recently exhibited and sold work in Upstate New York.
Timo Lehto A self-taught photographer in a continuing search for forms and emotions. His images may not immediately reveal their true nature but require the viewer to delve further and examine the images more closely. What at first glance may appear to be skin deep only will, on closer inspection, prove to be a profound interpretation. Originally from Finland, but after working in the UAE found his way to Switzerland, where he has lived since 2000. timo.photo photogarp15
Thomas Kähr Thomas Kaehr (Aarau, Switzerland) is a brand & communications consultant and passioned photographer. He concentrates on documentary photography and portraits on location. His works are an investigation into the human condition and into our natural or man-made environment. kaehrphoto.com
Richard N Tucker ARPS Became photographer with the Yorkshire Evening Post before going to University. Postgrad study in Film and Television at Bristol University and then taught that course for three years. Then Scottish Film Council, The Netherlands Institute for Audiovisual Media, Dutch Students Library for the Blind and finally The Force Foundation. Photography has been part of my working life. Now retired and living in Switzerland since 2007. richard-tucker-photography.com
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS Entries are accepted from all Swiss Chapter members. Please send images and text to the editor: tucker42@bluewin.ch
Pictures: Send at least six and no more than ten pictures from which six will be chosen. Images should be in JPEG and sRGB colour space, and 2500 pixels on the longest side. A portrait in portrait format and a 3/2 ratio, should also be included. Text: Word Document. Optimum length between 100 and 240 words, and should not exceed 1500 characters with spaces included. Biography: Should have maximum 700 characters (spaces included); which means about 110 words, the optimum being between 60 to 95 words.
6x6
PR EVIOUS ISSUES
6x6 zero
6x6 one
6x6 two
6x6 three
6x6 four
January 2021
March 2021
June 2021
September 2021
December 2021
Timo Lehto
Candia Peterson
Michael Qvortrup
Rafael Rojas
Richard N Tucker
Rob C Kershaw
Hakim Boulouiz
Sergio Figliolia
Francesco Pennacchio
Candia Peterson
Richard N Tucker
Chris Jenkins
Urs Haeberli
Max Robinson
Timo Lehto
Urs Albrecht
Urs Albrecht
Ulrich Ackermann
Timo Lehto
Thomas Kähr
John Norris
Neil Dodd
Jaqueline Alexandre
Jill Taylor
Rob C Kershaw
Jill Taylor
Jane Weinmann
Urs Albrecht
6x6 four
The Royal Photographic Society Swiss CHapter eMagazine December 2021
