Royal Photographic Society Digital Imaging Group News September 2019

DIG News - September 2019

‘Seed Heads’ by Dennis Russ LRPS Winner of the DIG monthly competition for August

Digital Imaging Group

DIG ANNUAL PI COMP

September 2019

Your Free to enter DIG Member annual PI Competition is now open and entries are arriving daily. With three classes of Open colour, Open mono and Altered Reality there has to be a section that suits your work – so do get entering if you have not yet done so as there are only a few days left to do so.

You can enter up to 6 images, with no more than 3 in any one section.

For full information and to read the rules go to the DIG web page HERE If you are ready to submit your images then THIS is a direct link to the submission page. Have your RPS membership number handy.

Closing date is Friday 7th September at 23.59 (GMT) Size of your images – this seems to be causing a little bit of a problem for a few of you who have already entered. The images will be projected on a 4k projector and the size we need is 4096 x 2160 px but you do not need to make it precisely that size; some of you have obviously adjusted your images to make it precisely that size and distorted the composition of your work by doing so.

If your image is a landscape format then the widest it can be is 4096px but that height can be any size you wish but not exceeding 2160px. If it is a portrait mode composition then the height must not exceed 2160px.

Don’t forget we have tutorials on the DIG web page for Elements, Photoshop and Lightroom if you are in any doubt how to prepare your work.

Do revisit the submission web site and replace your image if you think 2

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you may have distorted your image trying to make it a precise fit. Any image may be deleted and replaced right up to the closing time/date.

Watch the competition selection For the first time we are offering seats in the RPS House theatre OR if you cannot make it to Bristol then you can pop in any time during day using Zoom video conferencing.

TO BOOK YOUR SEAT go to the RPS Events page HERE

ONLINE VIEWING - If you would like to view from the comfort of your own computer via video conferencing then please email digchair@rps.org and include your RPS membership number.

DIG RECRUITMENT 3

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This month we are relaunching the DIG Recruitment programme.

Membership numbers continue to fall so to remain a thriving Group then we need to take some action in this last 6 months of our year.

The draw for the £300 WEX voucher will take place at the AGM 2020. For every new member you recruit your name and theirs goes into the draw. You can have more than one chance of winning if you recruit more than one person! It doesn’t matter if the new member joining DIG at £16 p.a. or DI Online at £8 p.a. And better still the new member can quickly recoup their membership fee by attending any DIG meeting as tickets at Centres are always discounted for DIG Members.

Click the ad above to take you to the DIG Membership page for full info.

DIG MONTHLY ONLINE COMPETITION 4

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Another cracking set of images were entered into the August DIG Monthly Competition on the web. We were even pleasantly surprised at how many of you took the trouble to vote too. All very encouraging but still room in the future for more entries and more voting !

You will already have seen the delightful front page image of ‘Seed Heads’ from Dennis Russ LRPS. Congratulations Dennis. Here is what he had to tell us about his work.

‘SEED HEAD’. by Dennis Russ To be honest, I have not got a clue as to how I did this image as I do things on the fly these days. If I like the first finished image I then do a few the same or similar whilst I remember how I did it.

My Early Alzheimer’s does not help and I don’t always remember to write things down. My Photography & PC keeps me going.

What I can remember is this— I taped my triple seed heads to a white sheet of card and took a few shots with my OMD1 Mk2 & 60mm Macro lens. I then used Lightroom then opened in PSCS5 as a TIFF. I then used one or two of my textures over the top. Then put it through various programs attached to PSCS5 like Filter Forge-Frames-Watercolour Frame on default; then Nik Collections ‘Analogue Efex Pro 2’ Classic Camera-Double Exposure.Layers ‘Soft Light’ 50%. I then mess around to change the colours a bit so I end up with about 4 to 5 different looking images with different colours. The last part is a White Background-Soft Light – opacity about 50% more or less.

It is trial & error with me as I am no artist & have no vision of what the end product will look like.

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What I do find with my PSCS5 and Analogue Efex Pro 2 is that if you like the double exposure you got you might not get it when you close down and restart as you can get a different effect. Not sure if I got a bug in my PSCS5 but don’t use CC as some of my Favourite add ons do not work with it.

I do all this when I am fed up of Facebook & internet.

I must try to remember to write it down each time I do a change.

Don’t think we agree with the ‘no artist – no vision’ statement Dennis. We are seeing some lovely work from you on the DIG Facebook and this is certainly one of them. Well done.

In joint second place we have two very contrasting but both interesting images

Paper Lite by Paul Bather ARPS

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Watching by Rob Palmer ARPS

AN OVERSEAS MEMBER Each month we like to include some work from members who are overseas and this month David Coombes ARPS kindly agreed to show us some of this work. Welcome David.

My joy of photography David Coombes ARPS I have always had a passion for being outdoors and in recent years for walking in the mountains and travelling to see some of the spectacular sights we are privileged to still have in the world.

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My interest in photography grew when the Digital era started and I was encouraged by Eddie Sethna and Barrie Thomas in the very early days of digital printing becoming viable! I owe a great deal to Kingswood PS and Philip and Roger Antrobus, and the team at Fotospeed who helped make sense of the developments that were happening and gave their time freely to guide me.

I believe that if you have a keen interest in Photography then this heightens your awareness of what is happening around you and if you are lucky, you have the chance to record lighting, colour and textures that are unique. Also if you have the time then you can afford to wait for nature to do its thing (or not sometimes!) , this was the case with the Calving image from Puerto Moreno, I waited over 4 hours in the same place to get this and was fortunate enough to capture the whole sequence!

Calving at Puerto Moreno glacier 8

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We left the UK in 2012 and now live in South West France and we get some incredible Storms as you can see from the Storm cloud image.

There are times however when it is prudent to be indoors and not getting too close up‌.when this passed through it was very violent and threatening, I took this from inside a garden shed taking shelter from the winds and rain!

Storm over Sauviac 9

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Torres Del Paine

Pre Dawn light Pic Du Midi Bigorre

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Autumn colours in Sin

St Elix Theux Church

A UK MEMBER Not all our members are in easy reach of DIG Centres so again, rather like our overseas members, we want everyone to feel they are included in DIG activities. So this month we invited our long time member whom many of you will remember from the DIG Forum days – Mike Cowdrey, to show us what he has been up to. He always was innovative and he still doesn’t disappoint….

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GO WITH THE FLOW Mike Cowdrey ARPS Nowadays I tend to go with the flow and experiment with random techniques to see what results.

I use Photoshop Elements. (Yes, I know it is generally frowned on, but it is cheap and with a few plug-ins it contains more than I will ever use). I occasionally strike lucky with this approach, and below I will describe some of the processes.

NEW DAY 7 The original is of Hunstanton beach. I used Elements Speed Effect with brush size set to maximum, and swiped the whole image from left to right. It took less than 3 minutes to achieve this result.

MIRROR CROSSROOF The original is Birmingham’s Grand Central roof. I simply copied the image, reversed the original horizontally, and pasted the copy on top at 50% opacity. This simple operation works well on many architectural shots, and to date I have over 30.

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WAY OF THE DEER I discovered that using Topaz Impression 2 – Da Vinci filter on any mundane image (even in one case a puddle), creates a useful background, of which I keep a stock. The fallow deer from our local park was pasted into one of these at 90% opacity, with Move Tool to position as required. A section of the bottom left background was then cut and pasted in front, to hopefully make it appear that the deer was positioned within the bushes.

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MORNING RAYS This was early in the same local park. I used Nik Collection Silver Efex Pro 2 to convert it to mono, which I decided I liked more than the colour version. The walker was added via copy and paste from another shot taken on the same morning.

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PETAL SPIRIT this was a Hollyhock flower. For fun on a wet Sunday, I threw everything at it to see what would result. I kept no record, so can’t repeat (you will probably be pleased to know). Seeing a face, I added Grandson Toby’s eyes and mouth.

Hopefully, if there is something above that you haven’t yet tried, you might be inspired to go with the flow.

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WELCOME to our new members this month…

Lilian Hobbs LRPS Sheelagh Davidson LRPS Shelagh Allen Regina Manso De Zuniga Gloriana Morehead LRPS Wendy Akers LRPS Valerie Jenkins Martin Raskovsky Stewart Levy Jeffrey Lynch Roy Appleby LRPS Richard Martin Chris Watts

Chandlers Ford Huddersfield Worcester Uckfield Darlington Twickenham East Grinstead Weston-Super-Mare Northampton Dallas Manchester Shepton Beauchamp Wraxall

DIG ACCOLADE Accolade 5 will be published and online shortly. This is the DIG online magazine that celebrates our members Distinction successes, features a Blog of a member’s journey to his Distinction. Plus some useful information from the HQ Distinctions team.

Those still on their own journey towards a Distinction at all levels will find this a very useful, enlightening and inspiring magazine. Just knowing that others hit bumps on the road to success and have to work hard to achieve their end goal, helps to make each of us realise that whilst it isn’t easy it is well worth aiming for.

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DIG MEMBER GALLERIES

September 2019

Andre gives us more information with the online album

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DIGIT ARCHIVE This month’s look in the archives is from Ian McIntosh LRPS from Dareham, Norfolk.

DIGIT No. 50 p. 6 “Fine Art Images Using Texture Overlays”

By Viveca Koh A self-confessed, self-taught photographer all be it from an artistic family, Viveca Koh has produced some memorable images.

Here she describes how she works – shooting images in Manual mode and raw capture for maximum image quality. Her Photoshop work is done using a Wacom graphics tablet and pen, which enables finer details to be obtained than using a mouse.

As a keen photographer of abandoned buildings (Urban Exploration or UrbEx), Viveca has a stock of images of various textures, such as peeling paint, wallpaper and rain-streaked windscreen.

In Image 1, “A Blindness That Touches Perfection” two exposures, one for the interior and one for the exterior were layered up and masking enabled the window detail to show through. Overlaid on to this was the wallpaper image and a border.

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Image 2, “Room with a dog” shows the effect of adding the texture of peeling paint with its layer set to Blend Mode>Multiply. The overall impression which Viveca wanted to create was of a very old painting with cracked and flaking paint.

For me, the addition of textures can transform the emotional feel of an image.

EDITORIAL NOTE – remember to view the DIGIT archives you need to be logged on to My RPS and then navigate to www.rps.org/DIG page and down the RHS list you will find it says THE FULL DIGIT ARCHIVE. Click on that and each magazine is listed by issue number.

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DIG CENTRES

September 2019

Meetings resume from September 1st and remember all Centres offer discounted seats for DIG Members. Thames Valley Centre even offers an annual season ticket.

For more information on each Centre go to www.rps.org/DIG and at the bottom on the right hand side you will find a list of all Centres. Each gives additional information there.

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HAVE YOUR SAY IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE RPS Determining the future direction of the RPS is the solemn responsibility of its Board of Trustees, but it is you, the members, who elect those Trustees every other year. Casting your vote in the election of Trustees, which takes place this summer, is how YOU can shape the future of the Society.

Having had a few emails from members saying they were finding it a little difficult to vote we decided to put together an easy guide to help.

How to vote in the RPS 2019 elections Have your RPS membership number ready and go to www.mivote.com/rps At the bottom of this page it looks like this…

The lower red tab is to vote for the individuals you wish to be the next Council.

The upper one is where you can read the various proposed resolutions and either vote for them or appoint a Proxy. A ‘proxy’ needs to be an individual who will be attending the AGM in person and will use your vote for you on the day. Sometimes there is discussion around specific resolutions and this can sway the vote. You therefore either need to instruct your proxy how to vote for you (in which case you might as well do it now for yourself) or you need to be confident that you would be 22

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happy with their decision on your behalf on the day. A ‘Proxy’ can only be appointed for the Resolutions – you need to vote in person for the Council members and before the closing date of noon on Sept 23rd.

First let’s look at the lower tab. Enter your membership number and surname. Click on the lower red tab.

Do read all the candidate statements (click to read) and decide for yourself which will best represent you and your views on the Council.

First choose between the two President Elects. Remember the individual who becomes the President Elect for 2019-2021 automatically goes on to become the President in 2021-2023. So you are effectively choosing a future President.

With only one nomination for Treasurer it is up to you whether you bother to vote or not.

But for the ordinary Trustees you have a choice of 11 individuals for 4 posts. This is where you need to make doubly sure you vote for an individual who best represents you and how you wish the future direction of the Society to be.

Having made your votes (4 only for the ordinary Trustees) click the green NEXT button at the bottom. This takes you to the next page where it lists who you have voted for and invites you to click the red tab to confirm your votes. There is a green ‘previous page’ tab if you wish to change your vote prior to confirmation.

Now start again and go through to vote on the Proposed Resolutions (top red tab) 23

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First you have the chance to say if you will attend the AGM or wish to Appoint a Proxy. Read the information carefully.

Scrolling on down you will find there are 10 Resolutions for you to vote on – Number 4 being in two parts, 4A and 4B. Read each resolution carefully and place your vote FOR / AGAINST / ABSTAIN When you come to Resolution 4 then you need to vote on both A and B. If you vote FOR in 4B you need to remember to vote AGAINST in 4A – or visa versa.

If you have read them all through prior to voting and feel totally confused because you do not usually bother with following the various ramification within the Society, then find yourself a Proxy who is au fait with the rules and by-laws and ask them to take your vote to the AGM on your behalf. Several DIG Committee members are attending the AGM. Don’t waste your vote by simply opting out.

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Digital Imaging Group

DIG CENTRE MEETINGS

September 2019

All DIG Centre meetings are open to everyone. Each puts on a minimum of 4 meetings p.a., offering varied and inspiring content. All welcome to every DIG meeting; members and nonMembers alike.

DIG Eastern Centre

DIG N W Centre

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DIG Southern Centre

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DIG Thames Valley

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DIG Yorks & NE

By clicking on any of the Ads it will take you to the RPS Events pages where more information can be found about the meetings.

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SIG LINK Visual Art

Landscape Group

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A&H

HISTORICAL

By clicking on any of the Ads it will take you to the RPS Events pages where more information can be found about the meetings.

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AN ONLINE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION FOR OS MEMBERS The RPS has launched a special web page for international members. http://www.rps.org/regions-and-chapters/chapters/international It is appreciated that not all overseas members can join a Chapter so often find themselves rather isolated and maybe feeling forgotten. We hope that over time we will be able to add more to this area and even maybe special events for our overseas members.

To launch the site there is the opportunity for any overseas member, whether you belong to a Chapter or not, to submit your favourite image to the online exhibition gallery. Use the link above to take you to the page where you will find the information you need about image size etc.

We are seeing some good work on there from members in so many different countries, so do please join in and let us see your work and tell us which country you live in. >>>>><<<<< We seem to be in a particularly busy period for DIG so my apologies for all the emails I have been sending you. Keeping you updated on the PI Comp dates was important. Add to that DIG News, Accolade, the relaunch of the membership recruitment incentive and finally, towards the end of the month, DIGIT coming out I have had little choice but to bombard you.

However look at it on the bright side â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DIG is an active group who provide so many different and stimulating ways for you to engage with us. We represent such great value for money and do our upmost to keep things fresh and inspiring for our members.

Enjoy all the content â&#x20AC;&#x201C; join in the activities. And above all have fun with your photography.

Regards

Janet Janet Haines ARPS DIG Chair digchair@rps.org

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