Volume 1 | 2020
New slet ter WELCOME
Rape field near Stockbridge by Sandy Chestnut
Hello and welcome to our Spring Newsletter. Our event programme for 2020 is firming up with a full schedule of Distinctions Advisory days across the region, as well as photowalks and a series of technique workshops. The new RPS website was launched at the end of last year. If you hasn't visited it yet, have a look. To head straight to the Southern Region Event Page click here. In this newsletter, our Q and A is with award winning equine photographer, Luke Parkinson. We look forward to catching up with you soon at one our events. Best wishes, Paul Cox ARPS, Regional Organiser 1
2020 EVENT PROGRAMME Keep an eye on the event page on the Southern Region website to book the following events. Events will be published when dates and venues are confirmed.
Advisor y Days
Locat ion
Dat e
Licentiate Only Advisory Day
Brownsword Hall,
March 1st
Dorchester Associate Only Advisory ? Travel & Contemporary
Hamworthy, Poole
May 10th
Licentiate Only Advisory Day
Birdham Village Hall,
June 7th
Chichester Associate Only Advisory ? Applied & Documentary
Salisbury
August 2nd
Licentiate and Associate (Fine Art) Advisory Day
IoW
September
Licentiate Only Advisory Day
Old Basing
December 6th
Photoshop Layers Workshop
TBA
April
Introduction to Studio Lighting Workshop
Hamworthy, Poole
May
Introduction to Architecture Photography Workshop
TBA
June
Introduction to Documentary Photography Workshop
TBA
July
Introduction to Landscape Photography Workshop
TBA
September /
Wor k sh ops
October Introduction to Infra-Red Photography Workshop
TBA
October
Kingley Vale ? Yew Tree Wood
Chichester
March 25th
Street Photography
Winchester
May 29th
Langford Lakes Nature Reserve
Steeple Langford
July 19th
Ph ot ow alk s
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Technique Workshops presented by Dave Peckham ARPS Dates and locations will be released shortly for two technique workshops presented by professional photographer, Dave Peckham ARPS. The workshops will be avalable to book through our event page on the Southern Region website.
St u dio Ligh t in g Studio portrait by Jana Murray
There has always been a certain mystique to studio lighting and flash lighting. Many photographers believe they can?t achieve good results unless they have the use of three or more lights.
Ph ot osh op Layer s
Others believe studio lighting is costly, yet today it is surprisingly affordable.
Layers are the backbone of Photoshop, possibly the most important ?Tool?in the software.
This event will attempt to dispel such myths and introduce you to the use of flash in a studio or home setting.
This event is an introduction to Layers and will cover the ?Layers Panel, ?what Layers are and how they work, Adjustment Layers, Layer Masks, an introduction to the Blending Modes most useful for photographers, and an introduction to compositing.
Through demonstrations, Dave will present the lights themselves, light modifiers and positioning of lights.
Sout hampton LCE Photo-Video Show The RPS Southern Region will be attending the London Camera Exchange Photo-Video Show at the Novotel in Southampton on Sunday 3rd May 2020. If you are visiting the show, come on over and say hello at our stand and find out the latest news on what's happening in the Southern Region and the RPS. We would love to hear from you; all suggestions and feedback are welcome. For more information about the show click here. Dave Peckham ARPS at last year 's show
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Kingley Vale Photow alk, near Chichester The Southern Region is planning a photowalk in Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve on the 25th March . The reserve is a very special place as it is the largest yew wood in Europe. It was designated one of the country?s first National Nature Reserves in 1952. Kingley Vale is known for its twisted and ancient yew trees and includes a grove of veteran trees which are among the oldest living things in Britain. Several are at least 500 years old, with the oldest measuring more than five metres in girth. It also has superb chalk grassland with an abundance of chalk-loving plants like birds foot trefoil, kidney vetch and fairy flax. You can also find 11 different species of orchid in the Reserve including bee, common spotted and frog.
Photo by David Ashcroft LRPS The Reserve is signposted from there and is about a 15 minute walk along an all access footpath from the car park to the main entrance. Here there is a small field centre with permanent displays and more information about the Reserve, beyond this point the terrain is more challenging.
The Reserve also contains one of the most important concentrations of well-preserved archaeological sites in Southern England, including 14 Scheduled Monuments of which the Devil's Humps and Goosehill are the most prominent.
We will be confirming details of the event on the Southern Region website in the very near future.
Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve (NNR) is 5km north west of Chichester.
Int roduct ion to W ildlife Photography If you are interested in photographing wildlife and want to take stunning photos like this, join Paul Rigg ARPS at Langford Lakes, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Site, on July the 19th. During this practical afternoon workshop, Paul will introduce wildlife photography and share his expertise in this field. Details will be available shortly on our wesbite. Langford Lakes by Paul Rigg ARPS 4
VOLUNTEERING AND VOLUNTEERS Request from Paul Cox, Regional Organiser Have you ever considered volunteering with the RPS? The Southern Region volunteers are a skilful and committed set of individuals without whom we wouldn?t be able to achieve what have. And I am very grateful to each and every one for their help and dedication to the region. However, to continue to improve our reach and engagement levels we need more volunteers. So, if you are at all interested in helping the region (and the RPS) through giving up a little (or more) of your time to assist in the management and/or organisation of events and activities then please do get in touch. My contact details are: Email: southern@rps.org Phone: 07748 115057
REQUEST FOR PHOTOS
Stormy night by Sandy Chestnut
The RPS website was recently updated along with the Southern Region site. We are seeking photos from members to feature on the new site. If you'd like to see your photos published online, please send your favourite images as jegs to our web editor, Chris Tank, at southernweb@rps.org 5
Chopsticks by Mark Sheldon FRPS
MEMBER Q & A Luke Parkinson LRPS Interview by Jana Murray Luke Parkinson is an equine photographer based in Lymington in the New Forest, Hampshire.
Q. Wh en did you f ir st becom e in t er est ed in ph ot ogr aph y an d h ow ? A. I became interested in photography when I spotted some kingfishers on our village pond in the New Forest. I started out with a Canon 300 film camera and 28-90mm kit lens. It was disappointing to see a small blue speck in the centre of my prints when they came back developed, but it made me want to get better equipment to get better results. Over time I was able to upgrade to a Canon 350D with a 70-200mm f4 lens.
Q. You gr ew u p ar ou n d h or ses an d ar e k n ow n f or you r beau t if u l equ in e ph ot os. Wh at m ak es h or ses su ch a f ascin at in g su bject f or you an d w h at ar e t h e ch allen ges of f ilm in g an im als (t h ey say n ever w or k w it h an im als or ch ildr en !)?
I continued to photograph kingfishers, with my father, Lyndon Parkinson, and Dean Mason. We would drive to Dorset and be riverside before first light and leave after dusk, sitting just a couple of metres away from the birds. It?s one of my most enduring memories.
Q. How did you f in d t h e LRPS jou r n ey?
A. Living in the New Forest all my life, and having ponies in the family, it was natural for me to be drawn to photographing horses. Feeling a connection between with the horse helps produce the best results. Working around the horse, I need to be sure I have their full trust and they have mine.
A. I was fortunate enough to receive my LRPS through my Level 5 HND qualification. I worked hard to achieve a standard of work equivalent to LRPS and I've had two exhibitions in Lymington and at Southampton City Art Gallery.
Each horse I photograph is different. A dressage or showjumping horse, for example, would stand tall and proud - here I could focus on some close ups of the muscular features of the show horse and the curvature of the dressage.
It?s so rewarding to see your hard work in print and displayed for the joy of others to see.
The horses can get quite bored during the shoot, however it?s amazing how inquisitive and alert they become when you have a bucket of nuts or a packet of polos. When photographing BE90 champion, Wayland Timberry, and owner, Sophie Albury, we even used my Collie?s squeaky toy!
In 2012 I was shortlisted for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year and British Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
I would encourage anybody to apply for a Licentiateship through the Royal Photographic so that you go through the process of selecting your work and displaying your images in a professional format. 6
Q. Can you t alk u s t h r ou gh som e of you r beau t if u l h or se ph ot os.
The RPS also offers bursaries for MA and BA (Hons) courses for those who want to top up their photographic qualifications.
A. The two images above are very similar, however I just love their eyes! Both were taken on my Nikon D810 with the Sigma 105mm Art lens. I like the simplicity of the images, but they also leave the viewer wanting to know more; they doesn?t give any clues away about the horses' professional careers.
Q. Wh at ?s n ext on you r ph ot ogr aph ic jou r n ey? A. I am going to continue pursuing my dream of photographing horses professionally in the studio, . I previously photographed Birds of Prey in the studio and this is also something I would like to do as a project in the background.
The photo on the previous page tells a different story; the horse is tacked up with a tight rein which means that it must be mounted. The lines of the image all lead to the head of the horse. The lights are perfectly positioned to light the face and neck, but also the other side of the horse, giving a rim light on the mane. Without those, the dark mane would probably just blend into the background.
I also plan to continue where I left off with my wildlife photography. Kingfishers are what made me start this journey and what have given me some of the best memories, so hopefully, when I am not editing and photographing horses, I will be spending time relaxing with my camera by a river.
Q. I u n der st an d you ar e a big f an of t h e RPS. How can t h e societ y at t r act m or e you n ger m em ber s lik e you r self ?
To find out more about Luke's work visit his website. For a private commission, email Luke at luke@lukeparkinson.com
A. The RPS is an internationally recognised organisation and the fee for the membership is very good - in fact one of the very best. I would encourage anybody of any age to join the RPS for any of the many benefits offered to members. 7
CONTACTS Sout hern Region TITLE
NAM E
EM AIL
Regional Organiser
Paul Cox ARPS
southern@rps.org
Southern Secretary
David Ashcroft LRPS
southernsecretary@rps.org
Southern Treasurer
Bhupinder Ghatahora ARPS
southerntreasurer@rps.org
Basingstoke
David Ashcroft Bhupinder Ghatahora
Emails as above
Bournemouth & Dorset
David Peckham ARPS
davepeckham@mac.com
Channel Islands
Eric Ferbrache ARPS
rpsciorganiser@gmx.com
Portsmouth & East Hants
Martin Silman
southernevents@rps.org
Salisbury & South Wilts
Paul Rigg ARPS
paulrigg@outlook.com
Southampton & South Hants
Paul Cox ARPS
southern@rps.org
Web Editor
Chris Tank
southernweb@rps.org
Publishing Editor
Jana Murray
southerneditor@rps.org
Social Media Editor
Position vacant
Ar ea Coor din at or s
Specialist Volu n t eer s
Volu n t eer s Salisbury & South Wilts
Anthony Topham
atopham9@gmail.com
Documentary Group (main)
Mark Philips
doc@rps.org
Documentary Sub Group (Chichester)
Janey Devine FRPS
docse@rps.org
Digital Imaging Group
Barry Senior (Hon FRPS)
digsouthern@rps.org
Landscape Group
Jim Souper
landscapenews@rps.org
Region al Special In t er est Gr ou ps
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