Newsletter RPS LANDSCAPE GROUP November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
First light at Bamburgh By Phillip Dove
Submissions The copy date for submissions to the next newsletter (January) is Friday 7th January 2022. Please note that it may be necessary to hold some submissions for a future newsletter. If you have an idea for an article, please send a brief synopsis (up to 50 words) of the purpose and content of the piece. Please submit your images as jpeg attachments, sized to 72 dpi with 1200 pixels along the longest edge and borderless. Do not embed images in an email. Please send all submissions to: landscapenews@rps.org
Front cover image: First Light at Bamburgh By Phillip Dove winner of October’s RPS Landscape Competition (see Page 24 for more details about the winning entries)
RPS Landscape SIG Committee Richard Ellis ARPS (Chair) Mark Reeves ARPS (Vice Chair & Pro Events Manager) Dave Glenn (Member Led Events Manager) Diana Wynn (Treasurer) Andy McLaughlin (Secretary) Sue Wright (Web Editor) Peter Fortune (Newsletter Editor) Robert Brittle ARPS (Magazine Editor) Fiona McCowan FRPS (Member Without Portfolio)
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CONTENTS
Editorial by Peter Fortune, RPS Landscape SIG Newsletter Editor…...4 Chair Chat by Richard Ellis RPS Landscape SIG Chair………….….….6 Quick links to RPS Landscape Website…………………………...…..….7 Costal Abstacts at Paddy’s Hole By Iain Kitt..........................................8 Letters from America By Candia Peterson Part 2 Little Known NYC......................................................….….14 Instagram Advert…………………………………..……………………….19 The Birks of Abberfeldy Workshop 18/10/21 by Colin Balfour..............20 From the Circles article by Diana Wynn...............................................22 RPS Landscape Group Monthly competition Winner Announcement……………………………….….........……..24 Landscape Group Events……………..……………….………………….28 Apeal for Articles..................................................................................29
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EDITORIAL Peter Fortune, Newsletter Editor
As someone who does not follow the Camera manufacturers in any detail except Nikon, I read with interest the other day, the announcement of the Nikon Z9 camera. This is Nikon’s first truly professional mirrorless camera and a really impressive device. Years ago when I was using a Nikon D5, I was always surprised that it had only 20 megapixels! Having seen members of the paparazzi using this heavy beast so it must sell into the professional market. However amongst pages of technical innovations of which I understand only about one third, I note that the Z9 mirrorless has over 47mp as do the D850, and the Z7s. When the Z9 is in the stores (unlikely to be before Easter), I will certainly go and have a look and a play although at an RRP of a £1 under 6K I feel I am unlikely to be tempted to switch from my Z7. (In my style of photography I don’t use more than one third of all those extra features.
I looked at the results of the Landscape Photographer of the Year (LPOY) competition in the Magazine of the Sunday Times of 17th October and what a tremendously varied and attractive lot of photographs were there. My first reaction was to put away my camera and record more music on my iPod! Could I ever achieve such perfection? No! But then I realise that the fun is in the trying and my photographs do get better so dumping my camera is a bit unnecessary.
The River at Ludlow
Richard wrote in his Chair Chat about the Landscape Group AGM which as last year will be on Zoom. I remember the first AGM I attended - it was in Malvern I think - and it struck me how friendly everyone was and how there were some late night drinking for those of us who were daft enough to indulge. For my part I couldn’t keep up and was a long way from being the last to go to bed. In my mind I hope that in 2023 we can get back to an event like that one.
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Editions of the Newsletter in 2022 will be in:-
January March May June July September October November
Copy deadline Friday 07/01/22 Copy deadline Friday 25/02/22 Copy deadline Friday 29/04/22 Copy deadline Friday 27/05/22 Copy deadline Friday 24/06/22 Copy deadline Friday 26/08/22 Copy deadline Friday 30/09/22 Copy deadline Friday 28/10/22
A limited amount of flexibility can be entertained if absolutely necessary. Like Richard Ellis I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and best wishes for New Year which will, hopefully see the wretched Covid decline in its impact on daily life and enable us all to do what we have always done. Regards Peter
Honfleur Harbour
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Chair Chat
Richard Ellis ARPS, Chair
“There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it” American actress, Mindy Kaling
When I read this, it struck me as a somewhat jaundice view of the world and from someone who clearly has not done many sunrises. Despite the difficulty of getting out of bed on some occasions I always enjoy being out there even if I am not treated to a golden dawn. With the autumn colours also coming to the fore and the possibility of mist now is a great time to be getting up and making images. Returning to my perennial theme of the lack of volunteers we are still looking for someone who would like to take on organising an outdoor exhibition for the group and getting it to tour around the UK. London region did one for their region and it was very successful so it can be done. A positive can-do attitude and good project management skills are more important than technical skills for this so if you think it could be you please get in touch (landscape@rps.org). As a committee we were delighted that Fiona McCowan (member without portfolio and circles coordinator) was awarded a fellowship in the photobook genre. Her work is really beautiful with a timeless calm quality. Well done Fiona. Mark Reeves (Pro Events Manager) has been awarded the Fenton medal in recognition of his service the RPS not only in the Landscape Group but also in the environmental area. Well done Mark on this well-deserved award. We are starting preparations for the AGM which will be held by zoom on March 5 2022. The format will be to have speakers and the AGM business in an integrated program during the morning. Please save the date on your calendars. This will be my last chair chat before Christmas so it just remains for me to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2022. Best wishes Richard
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Advancing the Art of Landscape Photography
CREDIT: Steve Baldwin LRPS
RPS Landscape Group
Q ui ck L i n k s t o t h e R P S L a n d s c a p e Gro u p ’s We b s it e The Landscape group website features photography submitted to the Landscape group’s monthly competitions. Member’s images are proudly displayed throughout the RPS Landscape Group website. Click on the image links below to open pages on the RPS Landscape Group’s homepage or go straight to the homepage from here, www.rps.org/groups/ landscape/. You will find information on how to take part in the Landscape group’s Events, Circles, Competitions, read informative articles written by Landscape Members and more!
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C os t a l A b s t r a ct s a t Pa ddy ’s Ho le By Iain Kitt
When I mentioned to my partner that I was going to Paddy’s Hole to take some photographs her response was “that doesn’t sound like a very attractive location”. And at first sight I’m sure many people would agree with her. Paddy’s Hole is a small harbour at the end of a long breakwater on the mouth of the River Tees. It is named after the Irish navvies who built it using slag from the nearby Redcar steelworks. Outside of the harbour, large ships slip in and out of Teesport but inside is a safe haven for a motley collection of small boats which are left high and dry in the mud at low tide. On the banks are a collection of what are best described, with no disrespect to their proud owners, as shacks, the whole area may not be beautiful, but you sense there is a strong community amongst the people who frequent it. The site has numerous possibilities. The contrast between the small harbour with its small boats and the cranes and chemical works on the opposite bank of the Tees has formed a subject for several photographers. However, I was there to take part in “Coastal Abstracts”, an RPS workshop run by Mark Banks. We were going to look through the other end of the lens, so to speak, and focus down on some of the small details, picking out interesting features from amongst the fishing paraphernalia. One of the challenges Mark set us was to dispense with our zoom lenses and instead just use one of fixed focal length, as a way to focus our attention much more on getting the composition right. I use an Olympus EM1, Mk II so I chose a 60mm macro lens, giving an equivalent focal length of 120mm. Our first exercise was simply to photograph a flat feature. The weather to start was rather bright and sunny which made choosing a suitable subject slightly tricky as many of the surfaces were quite reflective. An umbrella to cast some shade turned out to be a useful accessory (and would also come in handy later when it rained). Images one and two were my best attempts.
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After lunch the weather improved, in photographic terms, becoming overcast with the occasional heavy downpour. Our focus moved on to looking at how to ensure images of subjects with depth were pin-sharp throughout by using focus stacking. As a technique focus stacking sounds simple enough. Take a photograph focussing on the nearest point to the camera then take several more focusing progressively further away but in practice I found it to be quite tricky requiring considerable concentration. A rock-steady tripod is essential as is being careful with your feet, so you don’t inadvertently knock it, not always easy when wearing wellingtons and standing in slippery mud! After several attempts, I produced this image which shows the value of the technique. I really like the way that using focus stacking highlights the texture of both the chain and the wood.
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Co s t a l A bs ta c ts a t Pa ddy ’s Hole
The area abounds in objects which can provide significant opportunities for homing in on interesting features as the next images demonstrate.
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Co s t a l A bs ta c ts a t Pa ddy ’s Hole
A location like Paddy’s Hole shows the potential of sites that are unlikely to feature in any tourist guidebook, but which hold endless fascination for photographers who are willing to look beyond the routinely picturesque and see beauty in the seemingly mundane and everyday. Practicalities: Paddy’s Hole is on the South Gare breakwater on the south side of the Tees estuary. The road from Warrenby along the breakwater, round the back of the now disused steelworks, is marked private but it is fine to drive along. There is plenty of parking off the road towards the end. The postcode is TS10 5NX and What3words location is ///zealous.foot.ankle. The harbour is very muddy at low tide, so wellingtons are recommended. There are no restrictions on access (contrary to what it says on some websites) but it is a working harbour so please respect the people who work (and some may even live) there. Thanks to Mark Banks for running the workshop and his expert tuition which helped me produce the images in this article.
All images © Iain Kitt
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Street scene Bushwick
Letters from America By Candia Peterson
2. LITTLE KNOWN NYC When I arrived in Upstate New York in December 2019, with “The City” (as the locals call it) a mere two-and-a-half hours away, I saw myself being down there constantly for culture, photography, shopping, you name it. Not quite what happened – at least yet – but I did manage to get down there in early October for a street photography workshop. New York City is, of course, a photographer’s paradise although it is also a city of great photography cliches: Cityscapes from on high, Liberty Island from the water, the Empire State Building from many angles and very much more. As of November 8th (latest intelligence, may change) the borders for tourists in from all the banned countries are open once more and I imagine many of you may have a long-postponed trip in mind. Not all the photos in this article are from my most recent trip but it did give me a good excuse to refresh my mind, particularly for paths less well trodden which, in my view, can be far more interesting. However, if wide cityscapes is your thing, then I can think of no better advice than to leave the island of Manhattan (and don’t bother with the expensive boat trips) and hop over to Brooklyn. If you are staying anywhere in Midtown the F train on the subway is a good, safe and easy bet and will speed you down to York Street station in the middle of the wonderfully named DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass obviously!). Brooklyn Bridge Park does what it says on the tin and is a large and largely pedestrianised area which runs from the piers west of Brooklyn Bridge to a little cove just east of the Manhattan Bridge. Head left with the river in front of you and you will pass the famous carousel that has featured in many movies, encased in a glass box (which itself makes for interesting photographs) and you will find yourself at Pier 1 with fabulous views back over the Manhattan skyline fronted November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
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by the remains of the pier, the famous Brooklyn groynes. It is worth having a tide app with you as you ideally want to catch them with the tide as low as possible but the scope for compositions is endless, no matter what the water happens to be doing. The other vantage point is a ten-minute walk under the two bridges to the little stony beach at the east end of the park where you get the Manhattan Bridge in your frame. If you get there just before sunset, (get there early to get a spot for your tripod as it is always busy) you are likely to pick up some lovely skies and, as the lights go on, it is a magical sight.
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Manhattan Bridge blue hour
However, this letter is really about the New York the tourist doesn’t know about and I have chosen two locations that are a photographer’s paradise. The first remains in Brooklyn, this time the L train to Jefferson Street. When you get out you will find yourself in Bushwick, once a working class, industrial area and now a hip home to avant garde art and music, eclectic bars and clubs and, above all, graffiti (for which it is famous). If you get there early morning, the streets are quiet and free to wander through without distractions. You will find so much to photograph and enjoy – a very easy way to pass a couple of hours getting deep into a very different sort of New York.
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Letters from America
Under the Queensboro bridge from Roosevelt Island November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
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Letters from America
The second area which is an absolute must visit – and one I found completely by accident a few years ago having got on the wrong subway train and needing to get off and turn around – is Roosevelt Island. The island sits in the middle of the East River and is only accessible from Manhattan by subway (F train) or, bizarrely, by cable car (they call it a tramway). The few cars belonging to residents on the island have to come in on a small bridge from Queens on the other side. You can walk from one end of the island to the other in less than an hour and it is only the width of a city block. The southern end passes under the span of the Queensboro Bridge and the tip is home to the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park for which the island is named. Roosevelt Memorial The memorial park itself is a marvellous piece of urban sculpture designed by Louis Kahn in 2012. The vistas here are innumerable as are the views under the bridge. At the northern end of the island, there is a lighthouse. This was closed for renovation when I was there with my camera but I’m planning another visit in the Spring. “New York City is a photographer’s gift and I haven’t even touched on the high Line, the new Little Island Park or the fabulous Vessel building in Hudson Yards. Another Letter from America for next year I suppose!”
Graffiti Bushwick
All images @ Candia Peterson November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
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The Birks Of Aberfeldy Workshop 18/10/2021 By Colin Balfour
“I have always been a keen photographer and I joined the RPS in February this year on the recommendation of a friend”
I have been very impressed by the range of talks and workshops available. Naturally everything has been online until very recently and Zoom has proven to be an extremely capable platform for various events from six to several hundred participants. I sincerely hope that the RPS continues to offer this wide range of online events going forward as it provides world class training and learning without having to travel large distances. However, like everyone, I have missed meeting people in real life so when I saw this in person workshop advertised on the RPS website, I immediately signed up for it. As I live in Edinburgh, Aberfeldy is quite accessible, being around a 90-minute drive away. I decided that I would make a weekend of it, so I booked a guest house which just happened to be only a few minutes’ walk from the Birks of Aberfeldy. Perthshire is a beautiful part of Scotland, but I wasn’t familiar with the Birks of Aberfeldy before this workshop. November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
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On the morning, I arrived at the appointed time in the car park and saw several other photographers gathered around a car with tripods laid out on the ground. Surely this was my group? But no, it was another group of keen photographers about to set off. It turns out that the Birks is quite popular! I wasn’t the only one of my actual group to make this mistake. However, I soon met my group for the day and our excellent workshop leader, Annette Forsyth. Although, I have attended several RPS online workshops, this was my first in person workshop, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I needn’t have worried as Annette was an excellent teacher with a very relaxed approach. After brief introductions, it transpired that there was a good range of skills and experience in our group of five. We started off quite gently at the start of the walk just by the Moness Burn which offered several interesting angles to capture the tumbling waterfalls and wonderful autumnal colours. Annette was very good at circulating around the group and offering individual advice on technique and new angles to try. Even the occasional rain didn’t dampen spirits, so after lunch we started our trek up to the very top of the Birks. This proved to be a bit steeper than expected but it was well worth it at the top. The falls were very spectacular indeed. To finish the day, we drove 15 minutes to Kenmore on Loch Tay to take some photos of the sunset. Unfortunately, it was quite overcast and drizzly, so the photos turned out to be rather moody. We wrapped up around 6pm after a full day. It was a great day out. I learned a lot and met a nice group of people. I thought Annette struck a good balance of letting us try a few shots and offering guidance and suggestions.
“I can thoroughly recommend these workshops” All Images © Colin Balfour November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
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An Introduction to the Group’s Print Folios By Diana Wynn (The Circles) The vast majority of people feel that a photograph is not complete until it has been printed, so it can be physically felt, and viewed in glorious detail; even hung on the wall if it is especially good or meaningful. Even then, there is only a limited number of people who are going to be lucky enough to see the masterpiece, often only yourself or your immediate family. To widen the number of viewers a little, you either have to take part in an exhibition, or one of the many competitions, either at camera club level, or nationally, or indeed internationally, but again there is very little feedback from any of these options, unless of course you are a winner. So, what other options are there? One is the Landscape Group print folio groups (The Circles). At present there are three circles running, two of which I curate, and the third is run by Doug Lodge. In each of the circles there are approximately eight members, just below the optimum number of ten. A brief explanation on how they operate is that each member adds a new print to the round when it arrives with them, moving the existing one in the “new prints” folder into the “old prints” folder, and removing the one of theirs which is in this “old prints” folder. They then review the other’s prints in the “old prints” folder, which will have been commented on by all the other members by this time. This is both a matter of interest, to see what others have said about each print, and also a learning curve for less skilled photographers, as many hints and tips can be picked up. As an example, I have added one of my images from a round that has returned to me.
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I have picked a selection of parts of the comments that this image got are:
“I’m impressed with how level your ICM is – you must have been using a tripod. The sky is lovely and the ICM has enhanced the cloud, giving an impressionist feel” “Interesting abstract feel to this image. The reflections in the sea are lovely and being on the diagonal help to lead the eye into the picture” “I’m starting to like ICM more and more. I like the colours and the movement in the sky” “I think the ICM and long exposure work well together, although maybe a little more movement would have looked more deliberate in the promontory”
Having enjoyed the images and comments, it is now time to give your comments on all the prints in the “new prints” folder, and complete the cover sheet with the details relevant to your entry for this round. I have added the cover sheet that I completed below.
There are not many rules involved within the folio groups. We ask that the round is completed and passed on to the next member within two weeks, or exceptionally three, so this means that a folio will arrive with each member approximately 4 or 5 times a year, as there are two rounds on the go in each folio at any one time. Probably most important is the request to always think about what you are saying about an image. It does not do to say “rubbish print”, but you can say “this is not to my taste, however…” Because each folio is below the optimum number of participants, anyone who would like to join is very welcome. However, you do have to live in the UK, as the cost of sending the pouch to and from abroad would be prohibitively expensive. It is sent by 2nd class small parcel post, and currently costs £3.20.
If you would like more information, you can email me at landscapetreasurer@rps.org (yes I do that as well!), or to request to join a folio please contact landscape2@rps.org in the first instance.
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RPS Landscape Group Monthly Competition October 2021
Winners Announcement Members submitted another stunning collection of images to the Landscape Group competition during October.
1st Place - First light at Bamburgh by Phillip Dove
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I remember commenting to a fellow photographer as we left the beach that morning (you are never alone on Bamburgh beach) that even if the images didn’t live up to our expectations, that the opportunity to be there and experience the spectacle of the sunrise would be adequate compensation. Fortunately I did have some satisfying images from the visit too. This was a journey, albeit just a couple of hours from my home on the North Yorkshire coast, that was designed to ease some of the frustrations of the many months where restrictions have prevented us from travelling freely. It was quite apt that it was on this beach twelve years ago that my interest in photography had been rekindled. On the three days that I spent there the weather and the light could not have been better and although I have photographed most of the locations many times before, I never tire of visiting this area as on each visit the weather, the tides and the light will produce different images. In the making of this image I decided that focus shift would give me the extreme depth of field that would be required to produce front to back sharpness. The use of graduated filters meant that a few tweaks in Lightroom and stacking in Photoshop were all that was necessary. View more of Philip’s photography on his website www.phillipdovephotography.com and on Instagram
Comments made by RPS Landscape Members when voting for Phillips’s image •
Atmospheric, lovely colours and textures like the composition.
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I like the leading lines of the rock and the pool taking your eye to the castle. I also like the way the early light catches the rocks on the right and the cracks in the foreground rocks.
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Excellent composition, appropriately large depth of field, and beautiful light.
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The light is just right and helps to lead you from the detailed foreground, across the bay to the castle, which is set in that striking sky.
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Personal favourite.
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RPS Landscape Group Monthly Competition
2nd Place - The Old Drove Road by Ian Iles
View more of Ian’s photography here www.instagram.com/ian.iles/ Comments made by RPS Landscape Members when voting for Ian’s image •
Very atmospheric in black and white, the line of the path leads the eye through the image and the darker foreground tones add a sense of mystery.
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Careful tones evoke a strong sense of place and atmosphere.
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Has such a wonderful feeling about it, pulling us into the image and works superbly well in black and white.
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You feel the passing of time. The drove is no longer used functionally and is therefore laid to rest so beautifully.
• • •
Very atmospheric, with the light gradually fading in to the mist and the distance. It tells a story of a cold winters day where you can imagine men driving cattle on this route, excellent black and white image. Peter Butler
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RPS Landscape Group Monthly Competition
3rd Place - If You Go Down To The Woods Today by Mike Lloyd
See more of Mike’s photography on his website www.mikelloydphotography.co.uk and Instagram mlloyd4075 Comments made by RPS Landscape Members when voting for Mikes’s image •
My 1st place selection was because I was impressed by the atmosphere of the image.
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Encapsulates a misty autumn morning for me, my favourite time of year.
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Beautiful use of light falling through the path and onto the trees, its a misty walk in the woods.
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Landscape Group Events Listed below are the events coming up that are not sold out, cancelled or postponed at the time of writing. Go to the Landscape Events page to view all events organised by the Landscape Group here or click on the linked images below.
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