The Magazine of The Royal Photographic Society Creative Eye Group
CREATIVE EYE
September 2023
No. 91
EDITOR WELCOME to the Creative Eye Magazine, September 2023 No. 91. We have a particularly varied and attractive set of photo articles for you in this edition. Landscape photographer, Gill Moon has an eye for detail and explains about the art of observation, incorporating smaller elements of nature into her images. Simon Ciappara is known for his handmade photo books, using paper made from plants from his garden. On page 8 he talks about a chance experience with fractured light. A door-off flight and a requirement to tilt the helicopter as close to 90 degrees as possible enabled Honey J Walker to photograph patterns in wet sand; shapes and colours of the water; light and shade in the glacial ice; and to create magnificent landscapes within landscapes. Athena Carey talks about the history of cyanotype printing, the process and affordability, which has resulted in beautiful blue images of flora. Many of us have experienced some kind of difficulty in our lives. Linda Bembridge tells us how photography found her the balance she so desperately needed. Modifying a lens enabled Annemarie Farley to capture garden flowers in a unique and beautiful artistic interpretation of flower photography. Through her daughter’s enjoyment with photography, Morag Forbes was stimulated to think – ‘I’d like a go at that’ – a decision well made. Nur Tucker demonstrates how she photographed the Lusitano horse and how it brought her an Associateship. Her work displays exquisite images reminiscent of the Great Masters.
Moira
COMMITTEE Chair Clive Watkins LRPS creative.comms@rps.org Secretary Graham Lingley LRPS cegsecretary@gmail.com Treasurer Nigel Rea ARPS creative.treasurer@rps.org Digital Exhibition Coordinator David Rutter FRPS creativeimage@rps.org Membership & Communications Coordinator Clive Watkins LRPS creative.comms@rps.org Webmaster Steve Varman LRPS creative.publications@rps.org Editor (co-opted) Moira Ellice ARPS moiraellice1@gmail.com
CREDITS Cover Evening Glow by Gill Moon Design Steve Varman LRPS Editorial Assistant Dr Patricia Tutt ARPS
CONTENTS 4
AN EYE FOR DETAIL Gill Moon
8
LIMINALITY Simon J G Ciappara FRPS
12 HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT Honey J Walker ARPS 16 THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE, DISRUPTED Athena Carey ARPS 20 FINDING BALANCE IN THIS CRAZY WORLD Linda Bembridge FRPS 24 BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER Annemarie Farley ARPS 27 CREATING CHAOS Morag Forbes LRPS 30 MAJESTY OF THE LUSITANO HORSE Nur Tucker ARPS
Printed by PFP Print Elder House, The Street, Chattisham Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 3QE
CONTACT
Facebook facebook.com/groups/rpscg Flickr flickr.com/groups/3510780@N20/pool Website rps.org/ceg
34 OBITUARIES 35 DIARY
© 2023 All rights reserved. Apart from storage and viewing in its entirety for personal reference, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior permission of the copyright holder. The Royal Photographic Society, The Creative Eye Group and the Editor accept no liability for the misuse of any content or for any breach of copyright by a contributor. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Royal Photographic Society or The Creative Eye Group. Unless otherwise indicated, all images are copyright of the photographers. The Royal Photographic Society, RPS House, 337 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol, BS4 3AR, UK t +44 (0)117 3164450 www.rps.org VAT Registration No. GB 753 3057 41 Registered Charity No. 1107831
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September 2023
No. 91
FROM THE CHAIR I wish to welcome back
particularly useful for those thinking about
former Chair, Moira
aiming for higher distinctions. Thank you
Ellice ARPS, who has
to Jan Harris for all the hard work she puts
taken over the role of
in to introduce us to fantastic speakers
magazine Editor from Dr David Cooke
such as Linda.
FRPS and to thank David for his significant
Traditionally we have our Members’
contribution during his term as Editor. I
Day in June, but this year we are trying
know that Moira’s enthusiasm and love
something a bit different by moving it to
for creative photography will be reflected
November. These online days are always
in future editions. Previous Editor, Steve
great fun, entertaining and educational.
Varman LRPS, will also be involved as
We have lined up a varied selection of
magazine designer. Steve also continues
speakers, all drawn from our talented
to do an excellent job of running our
membership. I hope to see you there!
website, which contains a wealth of useful
As you know, I am very keen that we
information including news, events,
engage more closely with our members
publications, documents, exhibition
across the country, and indeed the world.
slideshows and links to members’
We have run many successful joint events.
websites.
However, apart from photo walks, for
I would also like to welcome Dr
which we are looking for new volunteers
Patricia Tutt ARPS and Ray Duffill to our
to arrange, they have tended to be with
team of volunteers. Patricia has taken
the RPS East Anglia Region and with
on the role of Editorial Assistant and Ray
the Smethwick Photographic Society. If
has agreed to help look after our Flickr
you would like guidance on arranging a
group which continues to be a popular
photo walk in your area, please contact
photo-sharing platform.
Moira Ellice. If your region or chapter
I was thrilled to see that several of our
would be interested in collaborating
members had work selected for this year’s
with an event, please contact me at
RPS Summer Exhibition. Congratulations
creativecomms@rps.com
to Anne Bryson LRPS, Athena Carey
I am very sad to report that Barry
ARPS, Julie Cowdy ARPS, Matthew
Freeman, long-time member, and Editor
Gammon ARPS, Dr Martin Parratt FRPS
of the Creative Magazine for some 15
and Dan Waller LRPS. Well done - it’s an
years, recently passed away. Barry will be
achievement to be very proud of.
sadly missed, and my thoughts are with
As you will see in the diary section of
his family.
the magazine, entries will be invited for
I hope you have had a great summer
submissions to our Digital Exhibition.
and that you’ve also had the opportunity
I encourage everyone in the Group to
to get away for a bit of R&R. We are always
submit work so that we can celebrate the
aiming to make sure that the Creative Eye
creativity and skill of all our members.
gives you the content and value you are
Entries will be featured in an edition of the
looking for, but we can only do that if you
magazine, so please don’t be shy.
let us know what you want. I’m always
Following her excellent talk for us last
open to any feedback or suggestions, so
year, I am delighted that Linda Bembridge
please don’t hesitate to contact me with
FRPS decided to join our Group and I am
your thoughts.
very much looking forward to her next talk on Saturday 7 October. Linda’s talk will be all about developing projects which is a subject many of us are interested in and is
Enjoy the light.
Clive
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AN EYE FOR DETAIL GILL MOON
A
s a landscape photographer, I have spent a long time learning how to perfect the art of observation. I think it is one of the most important talents a photographer can have: after all, if you can’t see something you can’t photograph it. For me, observation is not just about noticing what is around me, it is about forging a connection and understanding with the environments I work in. I live on the Suffolk Coast and spend much of my time photographing the natural landscape around my home. I love the sea and the wide, open skies that Suffolk is known for, but I also love the beauty that I see in the natural world. I am drawn to the wild and enjoy incorporating flowers, geology, and smaller elements of nature into my images. I also love colour and light and often use these to evoke the dream-like landscapes that are typical of my images. I may be known for my landscapes, but I also love exploring more intimate scenes and enjoy playing with light and depth of field to create beautiful bokeh and ethereal images of nature. My work is not confined to the east coast and I enjoy exploring other parts of the United Kingdom, with the West Country and Scotland being my favourites. I have always loved landscape photography, but the way I create images has changed over time as my creativity and way of seeing has developed. I love photographing complex landscapes that I can distil into more simple scenes and I am typically drawn to flowers and geology to create foregrounds in my images. The mixture of images shared here are indicative of how my photography has developed.
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Flower Line
Sunrise is my favourite time of day. The light has such a lovely quality to it with soft tones and pastel colours. I also enjoy the conditions that go with dawn photography, mist and dew being some of my favourites. Shots such as Glittering Dawn, Flower Line and Woodland Glade are typical of the compositions that inspire me. In these environments I also
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like to experiment with my depth of field, as in Camascoille Cotton Grass, where I used a 105 mm macro lens to shoot through the grass. This has allowed me to create a painterly effect with a timeless feel. Away from the land, the coast provides me with a constant source of inspiration and I enjoy the creative opportunities that
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Woodland Glade
It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer... In photography everything is so ordinary, it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary. David Bailey
Wells Beach Colour Pairs
Camascoille Cotton Grass 6
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moving water and reflected light present. I often work with slightly longer exposures to create texture in my seascapes, but I also enjoy looking for more intimate and abstract compositions such as Sandtrees. I spend a lot of time reading about other artists and photographers and am constantly inspired by the work of others. A few years ago, I was given a copy of a book by photographer Ian Lawson called From the Land Comes the Cloth: Haris Tweed. It is a book about the Hebrides - the land and the product that is synonymous with the Island of Harris. The thing that struck me when looking at the book was the way Ian had used colour to layout and combine the images in the book. Each landscape shot has an accompanying shot of some Harris Tweed. The colours of the landscape fitted perfectly with the colours of the tweed. This is a concept that I have explored within my own photography and I have started a small project mixing landscape shots with more intimate scenes. I call them colour pairs, and the images from Wells Beach are a good example of how I combine two compositions from the same location using colour, tone and physical shape. My photography is inspired by the landscape but it is not the iconic locations that appeal, it is the smaller details that define my work and make the ordinary much more exciting.
Glittering Dawn
I have self-published three books from individual projects Grounded, Rooted and At the Edge of Permanence. I was runnerup in the Classic View category of OPOTY 2021 (Outdoor Photographer of the Year), Highly Commended in SLPOTY 2023 (Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year) and awarded a Silver–Gilt medal in the RHS Photography Portfolio Competition in 2021 with my Enchanted Forest panel. gillmoon.com Sandtrees RPS Creative Eye Group Magazine
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LIMINALITY SIMON J G CIAPPARA FRPS Liminality is a state of transition between one stage or place and the next – a sensual threshold.
A
s a passionate photographer, I find myself consciously and constantly framing my everyday world with or without my beloved camera. As a child, my mother described me as ‘full on or not at all.’ In other words - engaged or not, no middle ground. This is still true of me to this day. In some respects, I am a world champion at sitting still with both feet on the floor, but with my mind a maelstrom of playful and ‘what if I tried that’ thoughts that occasionally result in images, prints and books that fully express those ideas. The Liminality series is just that - an idea manifest and, once done, finished. It all started with a phantom of fractured light on our sitting room wall emanating from a quartz crystal hanging in the porch: the winter sunshine expressed as its constituents in a rainbow prism. That splash of colour was the entrance to a rabbit hole of thought experiments. Light, its absence, rhythm and flow… and how to express them as photographic images. Step one was having my Leica beside my chair and sitting still, waiting for the appearance of rainbows on the wall. The result was two or three dozen RAW images in the iPad. Much pleasure ensued with developing, blending, intensifying and enhancing, the
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result being twelve to fifteen iterations that pleased me. The next conundrum - how to express the absence of light? Creating shapes, rhythms, patterns; warping, sizing, duplicating, etc on the iPad with just black and white took an inordinate amount of time, but was both hugely frustrating and, when satisfactorily realised, massively rewarding. I then had a set of colour, and a set of black and white
images that I knew I wanted to combine, but had no idea how. Experimenting on my iPad, whilst the TV droned drearily on left me continuously disappointed. Often at such moments of impasse, to step back is the only way forward, and that’s what I did. I don’t recall the exact lightbulb moment except to say that when I saw someone dragging their finger along a piano keyboard, the flow of
black and white keys triggered something as the notes filled the air. Then, with renewed enthusiasm, began vast amounts of experimentation with black shapes, sizes, angles and frequency. Huge amounts of fun ensued combining spectra, black shapes, and rhythms. At that stage I felt I was missing something… temperature. Looking back at the original photos, I instantly saw warmth and coolness and
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there was a sharp depiction of both, dividing the pictures neatly into two halves. To create tonal depth within the spectra, I experimented and created many layers of differing sizes and intensities until the composites pleased my eye. There was a moment when just how to depict my vision came to my consciousness, and the realisation of the first one took less than half an hour one Sunday morning (before coffee!).
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The complete series took a little longer to finish but, as soon as it was, the discovery and idea were manifest - the journey from my conception to the perception of the viewer complete. There are now some 60 images or, more correctly, 30 positives and 30 negatives. I discovered that simply inverting the colour images resulted in an entirely different emotional response to both the negative space and the content.
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Anyone who knows me will tell you that I adore prints and that, for me, printing my work is the moment at which it becomes real. Book-making has also become my preferred way of sharing my work. Photobooks have a unique way of engaging the viewer. You cannot only view a book, you have to physically engage with it. This fact means that senses other than sight are at work. Book structures can intrigue as they unfold and reveal the content.
Subtle nuances of light and shade will play over images as the pages are turned. My books are seldom straightforward and invite tactile discovery, with the texture and tone of paper playing a significant role in the enjoyment of my work. I like to think that my books take on a life of their own in each person’s experience of my work, and that everyone who opens one of my books is a participant, not just a spectator. I joined the RPS during a
very difficult year, following the death of my Dad. Working towards my Licentiate gave me a focus and an escape ‘down the lens’ - unparalleled in my experience. To my amazement and joy, I achieved my LRPS on November 7th 2018. I’ve since indulged my passion further with the acquisition of the Leica and disappear down my lens every day. A casual Zoom conversation with Tony Bramley FRPS, during a break in
his Pictorialists talk, set me on the path to attempting a Fellowship Distinction. The Handmade Photobook and my handmade paper were a match made in heaven. Thus, the concept of The Incomplete Circle was conceived, created and submitted to the RPS for consideration. Failure in the first round in April 2022 and the invitation to resubmit in the October resulted in the award of my Fellowship for this handmade photobook.
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HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT HONEY J WALKER ARPS
Kimono Mountain
O
ur planet is an amazing place, which we generally view from a vertical or horizontal position because, after all, we are human and are either standing up or lying down. We see our world three-dimensionally, and that is how we make sense of it. Birds, on the other hand, can access a completely different view which reveals a landscape of infinite possibilities because it is seen from above. Patterns, textures, details, that are hidden from us are accessible from this two-dimensional, flattened perspective. I first became interested in aerial photography about 12 years ago when I saw some images by Tom Hegen.1 They were mind-blowing - a cacophony of abstract colours and shapes. I was completely mesmerised, and knew that I needed to get into a helicopter and experience earth from an alternate view. My first opportunity was just outside of San Francisco, which had the most incredible salt pans by Palo Alto. I was on a family holiday and happened to notice rectangles of bright colours as our incoming flight came in to land.
1
tomhegen.com
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Procuring a small helicopter proved remarkably easy and the ex-Vietnam pilot was very relaxed about a door-off flight and a requirement to tilt his passenger as close to 90 degrees as possible. The experience was incredible, and I was immediately hooked. That first aerial experience morphed into what was to become a five-year project to understand and photograph the glacial ice-melt in Iceland. So much planning went into the execution of what I hoped to achieve, but, ultimately, I was at the mercy of the weather and what Mother Nature was doing. My vision was always to photograph the icemelt and black beaches in an abstract way. I was interested in colour, form, pattern and texture - the landscape within the landscape - small details or patterns that could be easily missed. Seeking an abstracted, two-dimensional view that is no longer about where you are but is about the balance of form, the balance of light and dark, the sensuality of shape and colour. The day of the flight had been organised several months in advance after much research of weather patterns, ice flow, light, geographical maps, equipment requirements and so on, even down to travel sickness pills. I used two camera bodies (Canon 5D Mark 4) and a 24-105 lens and a 70-300 lens. Because I was interested only in pattern and form the longer lens was the most useful. The actual day of the flight was the only day in that entire month when the weather behaved:
Veins
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Fairy Forest
no rain, no clouds, perfect sunshine. I was beyond lucky. It was also the only day that my pilot had available for me as he had been booked by another photographer for the rest of the month! It took over an hour’s flying time to get to the first point I had highlighted on the map. Everything worked out with precision timing, with fifteen minutes shooting at each location, not a second more! (Anyone who knows me well is probably rolling around laughing at reading this, I am generally considered to be rather scatty. Precision-anything is not my forte). Of course, this was so difficult because however good Google maps are, Mother Nature suddenly reveals some fantastic surprise, and I was begging my pilot for an few extra minutes in a location that was completely unplanned. There was one location we chanced upon that even my pilot had never seen before. It was incredible. An inland lake with black sand, tinted blue by the glacial melt and cream sand, side by side, with the water carving strange shapes. It felt completely magical, more so knowing that it was transient - a second, a minute, an hour and it would have disappeared completely, or shifted, changed, re-birthed itself only to disappear again. We flew from the black beaches where I concentrated on the beautiful patterns the waves make as they crash onto the sand, pull Fans 14
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back and recede. Every second the patterns change - the wet to dry ratio of the wet sand, the froth of the receding wave, the shapes and colours in the water. As we flew up to the highlands I concentrated on the light and shade in the glacial ice, the patterns that appear and disappear as the ice moves, melts and carves its way through the landscape. Between these two locations we followed the path of the glacial melt and un-braided rivers as the ice and water formed intricate patterns akin to human veins, tendrils of hair, ghostly trees and question marks up-ended. People have asked why, given the cost of a helicopter, I don’t use drones? For my Iceland shoot and a subsequent shoot of salt pans in Australia, the distances to travel are too vast and the areas too remote. The other reason is that by actually being in the air myself I am connecting emotionally to the visual, to the patterns and shapes that speak to me. It is as if I become part of the fleeting landscape, simply by moving through the air myself. I become as transitory as the landscape. There for a matter of minutes, then, like the patterns I seek, gone. The only constant - the images captured.
honeyjwalker.com Instagram: honeyjwalkerphotography A Strange Conversation
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THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE, DISRUPTED ATHENA CAREY ARPS
I
n 1842, Sir John Herschel, an English mathematician, astronomer, and chemist discovered that a light-sensitive solution is formed when ferric salts are combined with water. This solution can be used to create detailed blue photograms called cyanotypes. Anna Atkins created cyanotypes of British algae and in 1843, published them in a book called Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions.1 This was the first book to be illustrated with photographic images. Beyond this though, the cyanotype process was primarily used as a method for copying technical drawings blueprints. My first exposure to cyanotypes came during my Masters of Fine Art at UCA Farnham. I was rushing down the hallway with an armful of prints when an enthusiastic BA student popped out of the darkroom. Excitedly, she said she was participating in World Cyanotype Day and asked me to please come in and make one. I was offered a small piece of yellow paper and told to place something I had with me on it. I offered up my keys. The two went under a UV lamp to be exposed and then the paper was washed in water. When finished, the paper had turned a beautiful Prussian Blue and in the middle was a white blob where my keys had been. Visually unimpressed, I smiled politely, said thank you, and hurried off to scan my prints. Suffice to say, my interest was not piqued and I didn’t think about cyanotypes again for several years. Fast forward to 2020. I was View online facsimile edition at nhm.ac.uk/discover/anna-atkinscyanotypes-the-first-book-ofphotographs.html 1
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Clover
on the cusp of launching two big photography projects, one in the Baltics and one in rural America. Between aligning contacts and making travel arrangements, I was entertaining myself at home with cyanotypes. I was determined to do better than a white blob. I had done my research and launched into experimentation. I tested different papers and chemical variations, did film tests,
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strip tests and monitored the pH level of my tap water. I learned about wavelengths and built a UV exposure unit from a tattered tea trolly. I was in pursuit of a perfectly detailed botanical print with every vein in every leaf tack sharp. And then Covid hit. The long-distance travel required for my photography projects
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became impossible. Flights, accommodation and arrangements with local guides were cancelled. Heavy restrictions came into force regarding what we could do, where, and with whom. In this atmosphere, all the rigidity of my cyanotype mission now irritated me. I didn’t want to follow rules or make perfect things. I needed some (safe) chaos in my life. I started looking for ways to disrupt the cyanotype process. Knowing that the required pH is a delicate balance, I started there. I added acids and alkalines to see what would happen. Then I bleached finished prints and toned them with tannins. I painted cyanotype solution into white areas on prints and exposed them a second time. I drew patterns on vellum and exposed those over botanicals. I cut abstract stencils from cardstock and exposed those. I painted cyanotype solution onto darkroom paper to mix the two processes. I added paint, spices and soaps – anything to get a reaction. None of it was exceptionally novel, but it provided me with a much-needed ripple in the enormous silent pool of lockdown. Thankfully, we are well past those times now, but I am still making cyanotypes and still disrupting the process in various ways. The cyanotype process is simple, affordable, and safe – I encourage you to try it too!
Field Maple
Rebellion (sketchbook) 18
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The Basic Process 1
Cyanotype solution is made from potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate. They are each dissolved in water and then the two solutions are mixed together in equal parts. You can source the chemicals and measure them yourself, or premeasured kits are available from providers such as Jacquard, The Photographer’s Formulary and Bostick & Sullivan.1
2
Once mixed, the solution is used to coat paper or fabric.
3
The coated paper or fabric is left to dry in the dark.
4
Once dry, objects or negatives are placed on top and then it is exposed to UV light. Very often this is simply sunlight. Where the objects block the light, the solution is not activated. Those areas will be white. Where the light hits the paper fully, the solution will be fully activated producing a beautiful Prussian Blue colour. In between you will have a gradient of blue tones.
5
After exposure, the paper is washed in water to remove any remaining solution. All solution must be fully washed out to avoid any further exposure, which will cause blue staining in the whites.
6
The final step is to dry the finished print.
Lilac
1
UK:
jacquardproducts.com fotospeed.co.uk cyanotype.co.uk
USA: photoformulary.com bostick-sullivan.com
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FINDING BALANCE IN THIS CRAZY WORLD LINDA BEMBRIDGE FRPS
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y relationship with photography is complicated. My camera has been both my best friend and the horror in the attic! Now, however, photography has helped me regain equilibrium in my life when my crazy career had shot my work-life balance to smithereens. I first picked up a camera about 15 years ago and the bug started to bite soon after. Landscape was my initial focus, with a developing interest in abstraction. This became my happy space. During this time, my career in the financial sector was ramping up, but at home, things weren’t so good. A rocky marriage plus desperate family illnesses resulted in endless tension and stress. Time rolled on. The family illnesses steadied themselves, but my marriage disintegrated. Divorce is expensive: I was happily single again, but had no financial stability. I immersed myself in my career and allowed it to take over, not realising the implications until it was far too late. My role was global, meaning lots of travel through multiple time zones during which I completely lost sight of normal, trying to hang on and stay afloat. It had to stop, but how? There was no time for photography, and eventually, the camera bag was consigned to the attic. Any free time or energy needed to be directed towards family and friends. By 2018 there was almost nothing left. An amazingly good friend invited me to a music festival with her.
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Bamboo Cutter, Mount Horai
Chemical Extravaganza, Iron Crackle No. 91
Bamboo Cutter, Mount Fuji
I remember walking across a muddy field checking emails on my phone and opening a photographic newsletter which had as its header an abstract image, full of life and vibrancy. I stopped in my tracks. That image spoke to me. I can still visualise where I was standing, what my friend was saying and that I was halfway through my cup of tea. That tiny trigger was the start of my very embryonic (second) photographic journey. Once home I dug out my dusty camera equipment and my heart sank at the thought of carrying a heavy bag: I needed to remove some barriers. I dragged everything I could sell
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to a camera shop in London and exchanged it for a new camera body and a 28-300mm zoom lens. Time was still a problem, so my new toys went straight into the attic until I was ready. Later that year I grabbed a cancellation place on a photographic trip. It was five days, the longest vacation I’d had in 4 years. It would be a struggle, but something had to give. Photography was Plan-A… there was no Plan-B. By the end of the trip, I was excited. I knew that my escape route was through my camera, and I felt a sense of freedom. My career was probably Believe, Forever Feel
Believe, Brightness Learned 22
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killing me slowly, but it was also a powerful drug. A life coach helped me carve out small periods of time for ‘me.’ She also gave me strategies to deal with guilt when I did put myself ahead of my work. I made the switch to part-time work at the start of 2020. Within about a week it became clear that part-time wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t (wouldn’t?) go back to how things were, so I stopped working completely in February 2020. COVID-19 changed the world for us all and I found myself on my own, with no job, with nothing really to do. I was so completely exhausted I just rested. I remember a lockdown photography project: ‘What does lockdown mean to me?’ Others took images of barred windows. I photographed my bed as I was finally able to sleep in it every night. The novelty soon wore off and I felt an overwhelming sense of loss. My purpose, and maybe my identity, had gone. I struggled. I needed a sense of purpose something that I could own. I decided to teach myself how to build a new website for my abstract images and start a monthly photography blog. The rationale behind the blog was simple: if I had nothing creative to write about, what had I been doing? I had no subscribers, so I added my Mum and sister to the distribution list for my first blog. My Mum (bless her…) tried to unsubscribe. She didn’t recognise me as I was no longer using my married name. Finding photography again has been that catalyst for change I so badly needed. Standing in that field in June 2018 and having that tiny spark light up again probably saved me from goodness knows what. I am happier now than I’ve been for a very long time. As they say, it’s been a journey...
Poppy Field
Poppy Crystals
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BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER ANNEMARIE FARLEY ARPS
I
am a professional fine art photographer specialising in flowers, with 30 years of experience working in the photographic industry. Awards include Category winner and Finalist in the International Garden Photographer of the Year, BIPP Northwest Photographer of the Year, and Silver Gilt medallist awarded by the RHS. My work has been featured in many books and magazines including Black and White Photographer and Digital Photography Magazine. I’m also a judge and mentor. Flower photography is a captivating art form that allows us to appreciate the beauty of nature. From vibrant petals to intricate details, capturing the essence of flowers requires skill and patience. One tool that has gained popularity among photographers is the Helios lens. However, despite its ability to produce stunning images, some viewers fail to fully grasp the unique qualities it brings to flower photography. Helios lenses are vintage lenses originally manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1999. Their distinct characteristic lies in the swirly, dreamlike bokeh effect they produce. This is achieved by the lens’s specific optical design, including the utilization of curved aperture blades. When shooting with a Helios lens, the out-of-focus areas surrounding the subject twist, creating an ethereal atmosphere. This effect can be further enhanced by taking the lens apart and reversing the elements. There are three options here, reverse the front, the back or both elements. Luckily there are YouTube videos that explain the whole process
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and, as the lenses are relatively cheap, you don’t have to worry too much about it going wrong. After modification, you are left with a lens that at f/2 can only focus in the centre of the frame. It creates flare and bubble-like blown out highlights; every flaw that was originally on the lens like scratches, fungus and dust
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can be seen; and its colours are softened because of its lack of definition. So why do this? The answer is simple: photography ‘rules’ like the rule of thirds can be broken. With today’s modern cameras and lenses, it’s difficult to take an out-of-focus image and, if we do make so called ‘mistakes’, there is
always the magic of Photoshop to come to the rescue! I could use Photoshop to crop these images so the subject isn’t in the centre. I could make a composite image using two exposures, one at f/2 to get the soft swirls and another at f/22 to get the subject sharp. I could take out the flare, make the background less prominent, take out the marks - but that’s the ‘signature’ of my 50-year-old lens. The ‘flaws’ are what makes these images mine. Predictably, the images have been received in very different ways. The RHS loved them and they are currently being displayed in the Saatchi gallery, but some photography judges have pointed out every ‘mistake.’ That’s fine, but what they fail to comprehend is that a Helios modified lens offers a unique artistic interpretation of flower photography. They capture the essence of the subject in a way that modern lenses cannot replicate.
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The images displayed here are from a series called ‘The Secret Garden.’ They have been taken with a Helios 44M 58 mm modified lens with the front element reversed and a 20 mm extension tube. If I was to offer any advice to someone that wants to take images like these, I’d firstly say to practice. Aperture is the key so try f/2 to f/16 to get an idea what the lens can do.
Art is subjective; its meaning and impact vary from person to person. What moves one viewer may leave another indifferent. The beauty of art lies in its ability to evoke individual emotions… Anonymous The background is just as important as the foreground, it’s amazing how different an image can look with a background of trees as opposed to a plain sky. Strong sunlight gives an increased effect but is harder to control the exposure over-all. Try to move the centre subject away from the background, otherwise it can be one confusing swirl with no depth! Bracket your exposure, as the lens will pick up every tiny highlight, so the difference between the highlights and shadows can be quite extreme. Edit if you wish but it’s more fun relying on how it comes out of the camera!
For more information about how to modify a lens, please join ‘Modified Camera Lenses’ at facebook.com/ groups/350065552756732/ flowerfoto.com
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CREATING CHAOS MORAG FORBES LRPS
British Museum, London
I
came to photography later in life when my children had grown up. My daughter enjoyed photography and I found myself looking at her work and thinking, I’d like to have a go at that. I went to a photography night-class and something the teacher there said resonated with me - that people generally take pictures of things they like already. For me, I love being in the city, and I love being in the hills or at the coast, so it was these things I gravitated towards in my photography. I found I loved looking for symmetry in cities and buildings, for clean precise uncluttered images, and I love that Photoshop can help me bring my vision to reality. I started creatively editing my images a couple of years ago, while at home recuperating after an operation. Prior to this, lockdowns had allowed me the time to learn photoshop via YouTube and online tutorials. My camera club at Dundee did a few Zooms that helped, and being a member of the Guild of Photographers, I was in a buddy group where members generously shared their skills. The image British Museum, London, was the first in this style I created. I called it ‘Creating Chaos’, and it led to a series in this name. The base image had been taken on a trip to London a day or so after the first lockdown was lifted, and London was still very quiet. Lady luck often plays a part in image making and, on that day, she was on my side, in that I had a brief moment when there were no other visitors in this beautiful room, bar the one
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Top of the Rock, NYC
person in the middle. I was struck by the beautiful architecture of the room, the high windows with the light streaming in, the symmetry throughout, and my one perfectly placed person. The final image was created from one single image and all work carried out in post. It’s a fairly laborious labour of love, and I most likely couldn’t create the same image twice, but in general this was created by copying, pasting and transforming the single base image, creating layers and brushing through the parts I wanted to see, using radial filters within Adobe Camera Raw to enhance, or create, the light and shade in the areas I wanted. This is probably my most successful image in terms of competitions and a personal favourite of mine. The image Top of the Rock, NYC was taken from the Rockefeller Centre. I found this viewing platform the best for photography, as it’s possible to position the camera through the glass frontage and get an unobstructed shot. I stood at this spot for several hours until the sky was completely dark, and found this time of sundown my favourite for image making, the buildings with their lights on and the sky with a lovely golden glow. The Radio City, NYC image was a melange of people, buildings, lights, signs, Radio City, NYC 28
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Rialto Bridge, Venice
taken over the few days we were there, and merged together in Photoshop using layers, the brush tool and blend modes. Sometimes it’s only once I get home that I notice smaller details. In this case, it was the sign in Times Square that said, this is a gun free zone. Yikes. Princes Street, Edinburgh was from my back catalogue and re-edited in my period of recuperation. This was taken from Edinburgh Calton
Hill looking down Princes Street on a typically dreich day, made busy with shoppers, buses and home-going traffic. The images from Venice were taken in October, from two of the most famous and photographed viewpoints in the city, my goal being to create something different. I used the motion blur filter in Photoshop to create the upwards motion in the buildings. The pastel-
coloured image I left the main focal point without blur, and in the mono image I used other Venice buildings to build up the layers. The light was mostly strong and harsh during our short visit and a mono conversion worked here to soften and simplify the image.
moragforbesphotography.com
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MAJESTY OF THE LUSITANO HORSE and how it brought me an Associateship Distinction NUR TUCKER ARPS
I
am an underwater photographer and I travel around, diving the world’s most amazing dive sites in search of elusive images below the surface. This creates a dilemma, as I have to leave my husband and children, whom I adore, behind. A friend suggested I pursue another genre, somewhat closer to home. She was talking about equine photography, and this was to start another passion for me. Beginning with the wild horses of the Camargue, I quickly followed up with a
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trip to photograph the famous Lusitanos of Portugal. Living in a country famous for bad weather, I looked forward to a nice change in Portugal. I imagined a fresh breeze on my face while photographing in lush green pastures with the sun shining above. How wrong was I? Arriving in Portugal, the forecast indicated rain every single day – and this was in May! Naturally, I imagined that this was going to ruin all my plans, with the money
I spent going there wasted. The promised bad weather did arrive, forcing us to stay indoors, shooting only in dark and old pens. When the owner of this famous horse breeding establishment brought me the first of his Lusitanos, it was an amazing moment which still gives me goose bumps. This grey stallion, sporting a beautiful blue ornamental cape, was fully prepared for a photo shoot, shampooed,
and brushed. In many ways, he resembled a supermodel commanding the catwalk. Stunningly beautiful – and he knew it. As the cape came off and he was let loose in the pen, he knew what was expected of him – performance - and he gave it. While we did not want to turn the lights on, risking all manner of weird reflections and artificial tones in our images, we started scratching our heads in desperation. The
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pen was dark, with the only light beaming through small, dirty windows. Moreover, the horse would run fast around the room. Shifting to a second horse only made the situation even more difficult, as it was a black one. I always favour manual mode. Using a 70-200mm zoom lens, the meter reading was changing rapidly every millisecond as the horse galloped around the large pen, and the camera was puzzled, starved of light. I opened my aperture to f/3.5 and I used a reasonably high ISO. However, I could not reduce the shutter speed further than 1/750th as the horse was running fast, nor could I push the limits of my camera further without creating too much noise. Since it was impossible to follow the horse around a circle and get the exposure right at every click, I decided to choose a corner where the light fell, momentarily, perfectly on the horse. My right eye glued to the viewfinder, I would choose the moment when the mighty Lusitano would pass through a beam of light, highlighting its tail or magnificent mane. Directional light also
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Statement of Intent Though I have photographed different breed of horses around the world, no other breed fascinates me more than the Portuguese Lusitanos. I like taking photos in dark pens, where the only light source is from a small window. This creates images with natural, earthy colours - almost like a painting. I often ask myself - what fascinates me about them? Is it the power they emit? Or, is it the agility they display? I struggle to choose where or what to focus on. Should I be looking at their muscular chest? Or their powerful hind legs? Or shall I focus on the arrogant swing of their tail? Is it the derriere, or the mane; the power in a turn; or the gentle and elegant swoop of the neck backwards? In the end, no matter what I take, I know that what I will be showing is - the majesty of the Lusitano horse.
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accentuates the muscles of the horse and the textures of its coat. Time passes very quickly photographing horses. You can easily take a thousand images in an hour. I spent a week in Portugal visiting different breeders every day and photographing their most prized assets. The dreaded moment of being forced to take photos indoors quickly turned into a delight for me – truly a blessing in disguise. Dark rooms, natural directional light, and low depth of field created images reminiscent of oil paintings. Very frequently viewers think that these photographs are oil paintings, even though I do not resort to post-processing techniques to create this impression. This is now my preferred style and technique. I prefer photographing horses indoors. After I started taking equine images, I managed to shoot many different breeds of horses: Icelandic horses, wild horses of the Camargue, Spanish PREs (purebred Andalus), Warm Bloods, Heavy Irish Horses, Arab Horses, and Welsh Ponies among them. To me, the most beautiful of the breeds are the Lusitanos. Sometimes I cannot decide where to focus on this horse. Is it the muscular and powerful chest; it is the long and charismatic face; is it the hind legs and tail; or its elegant scooped neck? No matter where you focus, this horse radiates power coupled with elegance, strength, agility, beauty, and spirit. My love of the Lusitano also brought me my Associate Distinction, even though I had to get rid of my best images from my portfolio of 15 as they did not sit well with the rest.
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OBITUARIES Diana Evers 1952 - 2022
Diana was born in Colombia to a
accomplished artist in many mediums,
Colombian mother and a German father.
which included photography, painting,
She graduated from Bogota University
drawing and sculpture, always pushing
with a First-Class Honours degree in
the boundaries of convention. She was
Psychology. She originally trained as a
an active member of the RPS Creative
ballet dancer before a knee injury ended
Eye Group and the Victoria Works Studio
her ballet career.
in Gloucestershire.
Diana developed her skills, dedicating
In 2017 she was awarded The Wright
her life to all forms of art, music, dance,
Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition
and expressionism. She became an
at The Mall Galleries in London.
Kevin Maskell FRPS MPAGB EFIAP/b BPE4* 1954 - 2023
Kevin was an accomplished photographer,
and doing his own developing and
specialising in creative and wildlife
processing. Kevin gained his Licentiateship
photography. We will remember him with
in 1989 and in 2000, his Associateship
his wife, Margery, taking an active part in
in Visual Art, followed the next year by
many of the RPS Creative Eye Group events
a Fellowship.
and competitions, and visiting camera
We will remember him for his courage
clubs, nationally, and internationally to
and his determination to not let his cancer
talk about their photography and to judge
get in the way of his photography. On days
exhibitions.
he was confined to his home, he produced
Kevin’s photography started during the days of film, using large format cameras
his stunning images of Flowers in Ice and a series of Water Droplets on Iris Leaves.
Barry Freeman ARPS DPAGB APAGB 1932 - 2023
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Barry’s involvement with photography
joined the Creative Eye Group (formerly
started in the 1950s. Keen on black and
the Creative Group) Committee to
white film photography, he used his
become Vice Chairman and Editor of the
mother’s bathroom as his darkroom,
Group’s magazine. When he stepped
developing films and making prints.
down in 2018, he remained a loyal and
His first camera was a Paxette 35mm
dedicated volunteer, looking after the
and after a couple of years he saved up
Group’s archives. Enthusiasm with his
enough money to purchase a Wrayflex, a
photography continued to be strong,
British made single reflex camera.
entering exhibitions, meeting up with
During his engineering career, he kept
friends for discussion days and photo
up his photography, but mainly of colour
walks. As his health started restricting
slides, and later, when his work took him
his mobility, he joined the Creative
abroad, he bought a Minolta GMX.
Eye online Portfolio Group where he
He joined The Royal Photographic
remained an active and enthusiastic
Society in 1990 and, in 1994, he was
member until his final illness in May
awarded an Associateship. In 1995 he
this year.
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DIARY RPS Creative Eye Group Members’ Digital Exhibition 2023 Selectors:
Linda Chapman Linda Marshall FRPS Chris Palmer FRPS
Entries:
Open for entries from Saturday 16 September to Sunday 8 October 2023
Selection Day:
Sunday 15 October (closed)
Entry Details:
rps.org/ceg-docs
Digital Exhibition Coordinator:
David Rutter FRPS creativeimage@rps.org
Responding to Light A Celebration of Contemporary British Photography A programme of exhibitor events, including talks, multidisciplinary workshops, and masterclasses. Curator: Susan Brown FRPS When:
16 September to 4 November 2023
Open:
Tues – Sat, 10.00 – 17.00
Where: MAKE Southwest Riverside Mill Bovey Tracey Devon, TQ13 9AF Events will be available to book at makesouthwest.org.uk/all-activity/respondingto-light-the-diversity-of-modern-photography
Linda Bembridge FRPS Make Believe – The Story Behind the Project Linda shows how she approaches projects, which start with a single image. When:
Saturday 7 October 2023
Time:
15:00 (BST/UTC+1)
Cost:
Free
Where:
Online
Booking: rps.org/ceg Linda Bembridge
Fellowship Photobook Presentation ‘The Incomplete Circle’ Simon Ciappara FRPS
RPS Creative Eye Group Members’ Day
Delve into the world of handmade photobooks and witness the exquisite craftmanship that goes into creating these works of art.
Join us on a day filled with a variety of presentations, including Creative and Experimental Photography; Glamour Photography; iPhone/Mobile Photography; Eyes and Your Health; Creative Street Photography.
When:
Friday 6 October 2023
Time:
18:00
Cost:
Starting from £10
Where:
The Royal Photographic Society, RPS House, 337 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol BS4 3AR, UK
Booking:
rps.org/what-s-on
When:
Sunday 19 November 2023
Time:
10:25 to 15:15 (GMT)
Cost:
Free
Where:
Online
Booking:
rps.org/ceg
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