RPS Digital Imaging News July 2022

DI TUESDAY PROCESSING GROUP

By Holly Stranks FRPS

Currently sporting nine members, the DI Tuesday Processing Group meet up via Zoom on the first Tuesday of each month at 5pm.

Co-Ordinated by myself we have a good mix of people, experience, knowledge of software and types of software used.

I have always been interested in other people’s workflows and often learn from that, so personally I find it very interesting and stimulating. I am a firm believer that you never stop learning.

The remit of our group is to share a RAW file from one member between the group and edit the image to our own interpretation and individual preferences.

For the first month I volunteered my own RAW file of a sunrise taken on 7th November 2020 at 7.15am at Southwold Pier. I took it on a Sony A7R3 with a Sony 24mm f1.4 GM lens. Also used a Lee reverse ND grad to cut out the brighter light from the sun. Exif data: f11, ISO 100, 0.8 sec exposure.

My intent for this image was to create a beautiful sunrise image using a longish exposure.

I was happy to leave the group to any interpretation of what they wished to do it.

This is the original RAW file:

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My own edit and what I visualised when I took the image.

Group members interpretations:

John Knight

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Lorraine Grey

Alison Small

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Sue Grief

And the last two are from Trevor Litherland who couldn’t decide which one of these two to share with the group, so we agreed he should submit both – particularly as they are so different from the rest of the group’s edits.

Here’s what Trevor had to say about his editing choices:

“With first image I chose to flip the image horizontally as I believe some images benefit from this as it concurs with the direction that we read from. As the image was of a sunrise, I thought it should have the sun flaring in the background with sun rays and lens flare to make a dynamic image.

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With the second image I wanted to create a more impressionistic image.

This I did by using Photoshop's art history brush. I brushed over the image with a large brush that distorted the image but left the general tones in, then brought back the salient features with a finer brush.”

The first meeting went very well despite some technical problems with Zoom (the members assured me it was fine and actually broke the ice!).

We have since had our second meeting where we were joined by the other members Barbara Sheldrake, David Loxley-Blount and Mark Woods. It is nice that everyone has now had a chance to meet up and get to know each other and get an idea of what the group can do and the various skills of one another. We have also set up a private Facebook group where we are sharing images and asking questions of one another.

Personally, as the co-ordinator I am really pleased that everyone is so enthusiastic and wanting to put in and get out of the group more than we visualised when it was first proposed by the DI Committee.

However, don’t just take my word for it – here is what the others have to say….

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John:

“It’s great to see how others interpret the same image. It’s even better to learn from their work and employ some of those different actions into my own workflow. All in a friendly, and sympathetic environment”

Trevor:

“I'm interested in what other photographers see in their images and how that influences their processing in post. Prior to joining this group I'd never used Zoom and the idea of sharing my desktop seemed alien but the whole group seems to have taken to it like ducks to water”

Lorraine:

“I joined the Peer-to-Peer Group, as I felt it would be a great way to interact with other photographers on a regular basis. It was a little daunting, but it worked out very well with a group of photographers who are all willing to discuss their edits and answer any questions you may have. After just two meetings we are already forming a very interactive group”

Sue:

“A great opportunity to hear how other members approach processing and to discover how they achieve particular effects”

So all in all going very well at present. If you are interested in joining any of these Peer support groups please contact Jean Robson at jrobson1957@sky.com

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