The RPS Journal April 2015

THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK

ODYSSEY TO THE EAST

MARTIN PARR UNEARTHS A WEALTH OF ORIENTAL GEMS

APRIL 2015 / VOLUME 155 / NUMBER 4 / WWW.RPS.ORG

ALEXANDER BASTA

PHOTO LONDON

‘I AM A BEING PHOTOGRAPHER. I WANT SOUL’

CAN THE CAPITAL RISE TO THE OCCASION?

© YERVANT

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OPENING SHOT

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GET INTO THE SWING OF SPRING

I COMING UP

IN FUTURE ISSUES Images from the Visual Art Group, the best shots of humanitarian photographer Giles Duley HonFRPS and member Yan Preston on her latest project, following the Yangtze from source to sea

was doing my annual clear-out at the weekend, and came across a pile of A4 prints, taken on Ilford HP5 in France during a blissful student summer as I began to learn the basics of photography. I was pretty proud of the images back then; looking at them now, they’re not quite as stunning as I’d thought at the age of 21! But it was a wonderful insight into the mind of a nascent hobby photographer … and I think I might even promote a couple of them from the cupboard to the wall.

My monochrome images are, of course, not a patch on the striking portraits of musicians taken over the last decade or so by German photographer Alexander Basta. We’ve had his images on file for a while now, and it’s great to finally get them in the Journal (page 288) – as well as to hear his philosophy on capturing the often unpredictable energy of creative types.

Creativity is blossoming everywhere at the moment. In London, May will signal a burst of activity on the photography front, with the hotly anticipated Photo London. It’s been 10 years since the capital had a dedicated photography

fair, so there’s more than a little pressure on organiser Michael Benson to pull this one off.

The signals are good, however – there’s a new venue, Somerset House, and a roster of top galleries from the capital and around the world taking part. Our writer Lucy Davies met Benson, along with other leading lights in the industry, to see if this could be our very own Paris Photo. Read more on page 282. If you don’t make it to the capital for Photo London, make sure you do something photographyrelated near you. Turn to our Member Guide, from page 309, to find out what’s being organised in your area by one of the myriad Regional and Special Interest Groups.

Now, I’m going back to my spring cleaning.

Who knows what else I’ll turn up?

CLARE HARRIS Editor

MIKE WILKINSON

PATRON AND SPONSORS

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 241

242 | APRIL 2015

IN THIS ISSUE The Royal Photographic Society Fenton House, 122 Wells Road Bath BA2 3AH, UK www.rps.org reception@rps.org +44 (0)1225 325733 Incorporated by Royal Charter Patron Her Majesty the Queen President Derek Birch ASIS HonFRPS Vice-President Walter Benzie ARPS Treasurer Geoff Blackwell ARPS Director-General Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS Published on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society by Think Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA thinkpublishing.co.uk

282 Harry Cory Wright is among the photographers at Photo London next month

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Editor Clare Harris rpsjournal@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0141 375 0504 Deputy editor Andrew Cattanach andrew@thinkpublishing.co.uk

276

Contributing editors Gavin Stoker, Geoff Harris LRPS

Chris Steele-Perkins HonFRPS heads to the country

Design Matthew Ball, Alistair McGown, Katherine Pentney Sub-editor Sam Bartlett

FEATURES

Advertising Sales Daniel Haynes daniel.haynes@thinkpublishing.co.uk 020 3771 7200 Publisher John Innes john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk

276 | MANOR FROM HEAVEN? Chris Steele-Perkins HonFRPS spends a year behind the scenes to capture life on a Norfolk estate

© 2015 The Royal Photographic Society.

All rights reserved.

Every reasonable endeavour has been made to find and contact the copyright owners of the works included in this newspaper.

However, if you believe a copyright work has been included without your permission, please contact the publishers. Views of contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the policy of The RPS or those of the publishers. All material correct at time of going to press.

282 | CAPITAL INVESTMENT We meet the movers and shakers behind the Photo London fair

ISSN: 1468-8670

288 | PORTRAITS OF NOTE Alexander Basta's quickfire work

Cover Images from The Chinese Photobook (Aperture, 2015)

294 | MEMBER SHOWCASE Fenton House exhibitor R Keith Evans FRPS, chairman of the Archaeology and Heritage Group

288 American composer Philip Glass as captured by Alexander Basta

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ALEXANDER BASTA; © HARRY CORY WRIGHT, POOL AT DAWN, COURTESY ELEVEN FINE ART, LONDON; © CHRIS STEELE%PERKINS/MAGNUM PHOTOS

270 | GREAT HAUL OF CHINA A glimpse inside a fascinating new volume of photobooks

TRACEY ELVIDGE LRPS, FEMALE OTTER &OUT OF THE WATER'

THE CRAFT

EVERY MONTH

299 | MUST TRY * LATEST KIT The Canon 5DS/5DS R in-depth, plus our pick of the best gear

244 | BIG PICTURE Kadi at home as captured

by Ray Spence FRPS

302 | IN DEPTH/MASTERCLASS Our three-page guide on how to set yourself up in business

247 | IN FOCUS News from around the country

307 | MY FAVOURITE CAMERA Art Wolfe HonFRPS's choice

257 | BOOKS Photography Visionaries, and more 258 | DISTINCTIONS John Caton's Travel ARPS and Tracey Elvidge LRPS 309 | MEMBER GUIDE Events, talks, workshops, shows 320 | TIMES PAST A three-colour Society pioneer

264 Tracey Elvidge LRPS with her Distinctions Panel VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 243

244 | BIG PICTURE |

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Kadi at home

By Ray Spence FRPS

THE SHOOT For years I’ve lectured in art colleges and photographed the nude. I wanted to create a body of work which had more to say about the life model as an individual, so I decided to create my series Life at Home, where I photograph models posing in their own domestic environments. I also wanted to add an element of incongruity, such as Kadi’s husband reading with their daughter at the dining table.

APPROACH The key to this kind of work is to be totally honest with your model as to what you want to achieve and how the work is going to be shown.

With digital cameras it is easy to show the images at the end of a session and get the model’s approval.

TECHNIQUE This image was taken on a Nikon D700 with a wide-angle zoom set at 24mm. I used a Benbo tripod and natural light, with the lens stopped down to about f/11 to give a good depth of field, because all the elements of the environment need to be in focus.

TIPS As with any type of photography, integrity and planning are important, but allow serendipity to flourish where possible. When working with people, talk to them as individuals. I see the work as a collaboration.

See more work at rayspence.co.uk VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 245

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THE JURY’S IN International Print 158 selectors 250

WHAT NOT TO MISS Herbert List, plus other must-sees 252

PAUL HILL MBE The enduring influence of Bill Brandt 255

INFOCUS NEWS, VIEWS, EXHIBITIONS AND MEMBER INSIGHT

Southport Pier, Merseyside, 2011,

by Simon Roberts HonFRPS

COLLECTION DONATION STANDS OUT FROM ITS PIERS

Honorary Fellow gifts print

© SIMON ROBERTS

SIMON ROBERTS HonFRPS, one of the most exciting British photographers of his generation, has donated a print from his Pierdom series to the Society’s Collection, housed in the National Media Museum in Bradford. ‘The

INSIGHT

museum already holds work from my We English [2009] series,’ Roberts told the Journal. ‘Curator Greg Hobson and I decided it would be interesting to chose a piece from Pierdom [2013] that could have a dialogue with this previous selection of prints.’

CHRIS STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS

‘We felt the chosen photograph, Southport Pier, Merseyside, 2011, echoed the themes of leisure in landscape and had a similar figurative-style composition to We English. It’s a huge honour to have work in one of the world’s great photography collections.’

For more information visit simoncroberts.com and the National Media Museum at nationalmedia museum.org.uk

Simon Roberts HonFRPS

A YEAR BEHIND THE SCENES ON A COUNTRY ESTATE WITH THE ACCLAIMED PHOTOGRAPHER, ON PAGE 276 VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 247

248 | IN FOCUS | BLEEDING LONDON TO GO ON SHOW Prestigious venue to host Society group’s capital captures An exhibition of the London Region’s project to photograph every street in the city – Bleeding London – will be held at City Hall in the capital in July. ‘The private view will be on 8 July and the exhibition will run for a month,’ said Del Barrett ARPS, London Region organiser. ‘We are thrilled to have such a prestigious venue for the display of the superb compendium of images that the Bleeding Londoners have collected over the last nine months.’

For details on how to get involved in the project, email london@rps.org

‘Excessive image manipulation’ leads to disqualifications IT’S IRONIC that, with the 25th birthday celebrations of Adobe Photoshop in full swing, the organisers of the World Press Photo 2015 competition have announced that 20 per cent of entries in the penultimate round were disqualified because of excessive software manipulation. Due to the number of images removed from the Sports Stories Category because of heavy post-production, the judges couldn’t award a third prize, said managing director Lars Boering in February. The level

The winner of 2014 Wildlife Photographer of the Year – definitely NOT a Photoshop job

of manipulation came to light when the raw images were scrutinised as the contest progressed.

Other major competitions, such as Wildlife Photographer

248 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

of the Year, face similar issues. ‘WPOTY began accepting digital submissions in 2004 and, since then, 10-15 per cent of images are withdrawn from the final-

round judging process each year for reasons of excessive manipulation or failure to supply original capture,’ a spokesperson told the Journal, adding that some cloning and image combining is allowed.

Other competitions seem to take a more relaxed stance.

‘Within our rules, we don’t disqualify images that have been Photoshopped,’ said Jill Cotton of The Sony World Photography Awards. ‘It’s a question of context, and if somebody enters the photojournalism category they need to be clear in their description about what the piece is and what their intention is.’

© MICHAEL ‘NICK’ NICHOLS; SE4 BARTRAM ROAD BY JONATHAN TAYLOR

TOP COMPETITIONS WRESTLE WITH PHOTOSHOP

| IN FOCUS | 249 FROM THE TREASURER

GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE Look forwards, and backwards, with interest NEWS IN BRIEF

ONLY IN ENGLAND TO KEEP TOURING

Only in England: Photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr HonFRPS is to tour venues around the UK after the Science Museum Group secured a National Lottery grant of almost £70,000.

The exhibition opened the museum’s Media Space in September 2013, attracting 43,968 visitors.

Only in England is showing at National Museums Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery until 7 June. Venues and dates to follow

BLACKPOOL, BY TONY RAY JONES; LOUIS ( GETTING TO KNOW DAD, © JUSTIN QUINNELL

MEMBER OFFER

Dewi Lewis Publishing is offering Society members a discount of 20 per cent off all publications. Just use the code RPS20 when you select one or more of their 200 titles, including books by Martin Parr HonFRPS and John Blakemore. Valid until 30 June.

Visit dewilewis.com

THROUGH THE PINHOLE If you’re looking for a creative alternative to a conventional camera, check out the 15th Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day (WPPD), celebrated on Sunday 26 April.

All photographers are being invited to take a picture with a pinhole camera and upload it to the gallery. For more information and to upload your pinhole camera image visit pinholeday.org

I

n a break with tradition, our President has asked that his monthly column be used by the other Officers to say something of their role in the Society.

Walter Benzie has written about his role as VicePresident and I have been invited to write a note from the Treasurer’s perspective.

Charities are a very important part of the social environment, some fulfilling roles previously undertaken by public bodies. While this has led to an increase in the number of charities, it has also led to new opportunities for misconduct, which have been seized on by a few fraudsters.

The consequence of this is a tightening of the general supervision of the sector by both the Inland Revenue and the Charity Commission. As a result all charities have had to review their financial controls and this has made the burden of financial management that bit heavier. As a Society we are fortunate to have professional and supportive staff at the Society’s headquarters and they too have had to take on some of the extra workload.

At the time of writing we are finalising the annual

accounts for last year and getting ready for the external audit. Last year was a strong one for Society finances. As well as balancing income and expenditure, we were the beneficiaries of a large legacy, which makes it possible to start preparing for more suitable premises.

We have a strong balance sheet. Our investments are managed by professional advisers and serve two purposes: firstly, we aim to conserve capital and generate growth to provide security for the future; secondly, we use the income from investments to support the Society’s day-to-day activities.

I have been involved in photography since the age of 12, when I was taught to develop and print by my uncle. Photography has played an important part in my life ever since. After retiring, I completed a Certificate in Professional Photography and achieved a Licentiate and Associate.

On top of Society duties, my time is almost exclusively devoted to research and writing about the history of photography.

I also volunteer at W W Winter Photographers in Derby. You can read more about my work there in The Photo Historian, the journal of the Historical Special Interest Group.

GEOFF BLACKWELL ARPS Honorary Treasurer of The Royal Photographic Society

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 249

250 | IN FOCUS | NEWS IN BRIEF

Boy on Cliff Top

by Sian Davey, from IPE 157

McCULLIN ON CANVAS A new painting of Don McCullin HonFRPS by Charlotte Sorapure has been unveiled at the The Holburne Museum in Bath.

THE RPS JOURNAL AWARDED Last month, The RPS Journal received three awards, including Best Membership Publication, Best Rebrand and Best Use of Imagery and Design, at an event organised by the Institute of Internal Communication. The team were there to pick up the honours at a celebratory dinner.

IMPRESSIVE SELECTOR LINE!UP International Print Exhibition 158 selectors include Turner Prize nominee MEDAL WINNERS and finalists of the Society’s International Print Exhibition 158 will be selected by an impressive panel of photographers and industry professionals, including Turner Prize-nominated artist Richard Billingham.

The competition, which is open for entries until 1 June, invites submissions from all genres of photography.

Also on the panel will be the co-founder/artistic

director of FORMAT, Louise Clements, Guardian picture editor Bridget Coaker FRPS, publisher Dewi Lewis HonFRPS, and photographer Simon Roberts HonFRPS, under the guidance of the Society’s Roy Robertson HonFRPS. The exhibition will be on show at the Old Truman Brewery, London, from 9–14 October as part of PHOTOBLOCK 2015 before touring the UK. Everyone who registers for the International Print competition and uploads their images before 15 April

will be entered into a prize draw to win a signed copy of Steve McCurry HonFRPS’s The Iconic Photographs. All entrants will receive a special offer for printing from exhibition supporters Metro Imaging.

The International Print Exhibition 157, meanwhile, will be on display at Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford, until 10 May, before moving to Titanic Belfast, from 19 May to 16 June, as part of the Belfast Photo Festival.

For information on how to enter, visit rps.org/ipe158

theimagefile.com/try 0208 166 5688

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CHARLOTTE SORAPURE, PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER STONE ARPS; SIAN DAVEY

DIGITAL IMAGING GROUP EXPO The Society’s Digital Imaging Group will hold a one-day event at the University of Warwick on 20 September. Attendees will be able to select their own six-event agenda from a choice of 16, including three keynote speakers – Joe Cornish HonFRPS, Steve Caplin and Eddie Ephraums.

For more information and tickets, visit rps.org/DIGExpo

| IN FOCUS | 251 365 WINNERS

CREATIVE TECHNIQUES Online competition successes from March

TEHRAN Nahal Rostami I took this on holiday back home in Tehran. At that moment I was thinking about my home town as being the world to me – I had missed it so much.

So, I got the idea from that feeling. The photo was taken on a Nikon D90 with an 18-200mm lens and a tripod. I used the Little Planet app and Photoshop to edit the image.

WILD FLOWERS Steev McAlister LRPS This was taken on a Canon 5D MkIII, using the multi-exposure function.

I wanted to capture an image that gave a sense of the time and place

without being totally representative. To have done it in Photoshop I felt that I’d lose the feeling of being in the location at the time of creating the composite – and so did it all in camera.

ANGEL FISH David Symonds FRPS The original image was taken some years ago in Florida, where a lot of dead fish were washed up on to the beach due to a phenomenon known as red tide. The method is similar to the old photogravure etching process, but using modern-day materials, such as acetate and a photopolymer plate.

The camera was a Minolta X-700 with 50mm lens.

ENTER NOW Submit photos for the next competition at rps-365.org

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 251

252 | IN FOCUS | WHAT NOT TO MISS HERBERT LIST: FORM TO PHOTOJOURNALISM Magnum Print Room, London UNTIL 30 APRIL

SIMON ROBERTS: THE ELECTION PROJECT Photofusion, London

This is the first solo exhibition of List’s work in the UK, featuring vintage and posthumous photographs from his estate. List left his native Germany in the 1930s and embarked on extensive travels through Greece and Italy, stopping in London and Paris. Upon meeting Henri Cartier-Bresson after the war, List concentrated on photo-essays, while the male form was a unifying subject throughout his career. magnumphotos.com

10 APRIL # 22 MAY 2015

In 2010, Simon Roberts HonFRPS became the first photographer to be selected as the official British Election Artist. He travelled the country in a motorhome for the official 24 days of electioneering, photographing political parties in a variety of constituencies. A timely exhibition. bit.ly/simonroberts

SOUTHBOUND Brighton Photography, Brighton UNTIL 1 MAY

APRIL ONWARDS

ALSO SHOWING

SALT AND SILVER: EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY 1840 % 1860 Tate Britain, London UNTIL 7 JUNE

This is the first exhibition in Britain solely dedicated to one of the earliest forms of photography, salted paper prints, which was unveiled by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1839. These innovations helped transform how we understand the visual language of photography today. bit.ly/saltandsilver

PONTE CITY: MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY AND PATRICK WATERHOUSE Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh UNTIL 26 APRIL

A remarkable document of Ponte City in Johannesburg, the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa. Once a luxury dwelling for the white elite during apartheid, it has become a refuge for township leavers and other African migrants. bit.ly/pontecity

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THE FOCUS GROUP PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION FOR 2015 Assembly Rooms, Chichester 18 # 25 APRIL 2015 (NOT SUNDAY 19*

The Focus Group was formed by photographers in the south of England in 2006.

Each year they travel to a new area of the UK to unlock its visual secrets. Members include Fellows Iain McGowan, Janey Devine, John Bradshaw and Peter Bamforth. focusgroupphotography.com

Revelations: Experiments in Photography Media Space, Science Museum, London Until 13 September A History of Photography: Series and Sequences V & A London Until 1 November Karen Knorr BP Spotlights, Tate Britain, London, until 4 October We Could Be Heroes The Photographers’ Gallery, London, until 12 April The Modern Lens Tate St Ives, Cornwall Until 10 May

PETER BAMFORTH FRPS; MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY ) PATRICK WATERHOUSE, UNTITLED III, PONTE CITY, JOHANNESBURG *0339-, 2008; WILLIAM HENRY FOX TALBOT, PLASTER BUST OF PATROCLUS, BEFORE FEBRUARY 1846 © WILSON CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY; © HERBERT LIST/MAGNUM PHOTOS; © SIMON ROBERTS; FINN HOPSON

See landscape photography from the south-eastern corner of England, featuring work

by Valda Bailey, David Baker, Terry Gibbins and Finn Hopson. Their aim is to capture a sense of place, ignoring landmarks and honeypot locations in order to develop a more intimate knowledge of a landscape. brightonphotography.com

254 | IN FOCUS |

TRIBUTES PAID TO HOLOGRAPHER

CORRESPONDENCE THE RPS JOURNAL / MARCH 2015 WWW.RPS.ORG

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MEMBER BENEFITS

HOW MY LIFE CHANGED WITH THE SOCIETY

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HonFRPS PHOTOGRAPHIN G GLACIERS 00 COVER

NIGHY_V2.indd

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19/02/2015

Unit where he was a visiting lecturer for ten years.

Saxby’s original career was with the Royal Air Force, including seven years as OC Photographic Science Flight at the RAF Joint School of Photography. He later joined the staff at what is now the University of Wolverhampton, teaching educational technology to trainee teachers and, later, modern optics in degree courses in applied sciences..

In 1998 Saxby endowed

the Royal Photographic Society Saxby Award for achievement in the field of three-dimensional imaging.

The award, and Practical Holography, provide a wonderful legacy to the wider world but, to those who knew him, Graham Saxby’s kindness and sense of humour are what will endure.

JONATHAN ROSS

To read a full obituary, please go to rps.org/news

THE SOCIETY’S Western Region Group has issued its biennial photobook, which this time celebrates members’ achievements during 2013– 2014, including Distinctions and regional competition wins. ‘Not only does our book record these successes, we hope it will serve as an inspiration for others,’ said editor David Bathard FRPS.

11:38

YOUTH MEMBERSHIP I spent 15 years teaching A Level photography as head of department in a grammar school. I was disappointed very few with A or B grades bothered to apply to join the Society. Cash problems perhaps?

The ways in which young people can get on the basic LRPS rung of the ladder suggests we should take them on board at the lowest possible fee.

Peter Hancock WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY I was delighted to get the February issue of the Journal [Women in photography special focus]. I remember once hearing that more than 80 per cent of the Society’s membership was male. This flew in the face of the brilliant record of many female photographers. By not actively promoting photography among girls and women, photography and the Society are robbing themselves of a huge intellectual resource.

I don’t know what the gender balance is now, and I hope it has become more equal.

Raphael Shevelev FRPS WRITE TO: The RPS Journal, Think, Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA or email rpsjournal@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Turtles by Paul Colley – one of the images from the group’s photobook

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GRAHAM SAXBY, COURTESY JONATHAN ROSS

One of Graham Saxby’s holograms. In 1998 he endowed the Society’s Saxby Award

WESTERN REGION LAUNCHES NEW BOOK

The coffee table book is available from blurb.co.uk at £58.85 plus p&p, or as a PDF for £9.99

MARCH 2015

EXTREME ICE

CHASING A GLACIER WITH JAMES BALOG

HARRY BORDEN

Graham Saxby: a man of many talents

HEROES

/ VOL 155 NO 3

Graham Saxby HonFRPS recognised by peers GRAHAM SAXBY HonFRPS, author of the landmark book Practical Holography and leading light in the Society’s Holography Group, has died aged 89.

Saxby was one of the great holography educators. His book Practical Holography, first published in 1988, is certain to remain the standard work on the subject for years to come.

His ability to communicate and his enthusiasm for holography made him the perfect advocate for the medium. He edited The Royal Photographic Society Holography Group newsletter for over 30 years. Many remember his generosity as a teacher and he is considered instrumental in the formation of the Royal College of Art Holography

PORTRAIT OF HARRY BORDEN A CARE FROM BIG&SCREE N STARS TO EVERYDAY ER

| IN FOCUS | 255 DG’S DIARY

PROTECT MEETING I met Hannah Weller from Protect: The Campaign for Children’s Privacy, which is looking to limit the publication of images of children. It was a constructive meeting and the impact on amateur and most professionals is likely to be minimal. The Society will keep an eye on the detail if legislation is put forward after the May general election. There are some good comments being made about this topic on the Society’s Facebook page.

I WISH I’D TAKEN

A SNICKET IN HALIFAX, 1937, BY BILL BRANDT

© BILL BRANDT ARCHIVE LTD

Paul Hill MBE reveals how he learned to be bold Why do you love this so much?

I love the dynamic thrust of the snicket’s cobbled incline, its sensuous smoothness accentuated by the reflected light off the wet stone sets.

The wet handrails become interrupted silver strands rather than physical aids for pedestrians, and the impenetrable black of the gable end of the factory looms ominously. Brandt was influenced by surrealism, with its tendency to subvert the ordinary into the weird and scary.

Has it influenced your work?

I tried to create similar contrast ranges and to react to the light receptors I was seeing in ‘ordinary’ subject matter, like wet roads and metal surfaces. The most important effect this image, and others by Brandt, had on my early black and white work was to be bold, and to never be content to play it safe. His book Shadow of Light (1966) had a great influence on me.

You met Brandt, right?

Yes, two or three times – most memorably when he visited an exhibition of my Prenotations work in the

late 1970s. He spent over an hour looking at my photographs. I asked if I could use one or two of his images for my upcoming book, Approaching Photography, but we both got distracted and he disappeared into the gallery lift. A few days later, I got a letter from him saying please use anything you like from Shadow of Light.

PROFILE PAUL HILL MBE Paul Hill is a teacher and visiting professor at the University of Derby and De Montfort University, Leicester

EXHIBITION OPENINGS I have been to some great exhibition openings over the past month. The Photographers’ Gallery’s Human Rights Human Wrongs was powerful and almost too much to take in at one view, while Tate Britain’s Salt and Silver was an intelligent and well-curated exhibition of salt prints from the 1840s-60s.

ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST TIE!IN The Society is developing an exciting project with the Royal Collection Trust and I met curator Sophie Gordon to discuss this. We’ll be announcing the outcome a little later this year.

DR MICHAEL PRITCHARD FRPS Director-General of The Royal Photographic Society VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 255

BOOK REVIEWS

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AN ERA WITHOUT MEMORIES Edited by Jiang Jiehong Thames and Hudson (£29.95) This book’s authors talk of a ‘memoricide’ being inflicted on Chinese society through the systematic eradication of neighbourhoods, streets and alleys. This illuminating book has more than 130 images that serve as a response to this memoricide and spans documentary work to more abstract and conceptual approaches. The photography is fascinating and upsetting, and serves as a timely record of the latest seismic change to transform the Middle Kingdom.

GEOFF HARRIS LRPS

Train by Peter Magubane, an award winner jailed on more than one occasion for his work in his native South Africa

THE VISION THING

Ambitious anthology of greats succeeds where others failed PHOTOGRAPHY VISIONARIES Mary Warner Marien Laurence King (£24.95) Setting out to produce an anthology of the most influential photographers from the mid-19th century to the present day is an ambitious task. You need to tell their stories, illustrate their work and put them in an historical context, so it’s a massive job – not one to be undertaken lightly. There have been many attempts to do it over the years, and most have failed.

Mary Warner Marien, a professor in the Department of Art and Music Histories at New York’s Syracuse University, has very sensibly stuck to a chronological order with this book, so that we can see what was happening in different branches of photography during a single period. Marien describes a photography visionary as ‘a dedicated experimenter, whose ideas and pictures enlarge the medium while expanding the scope and range of human understanding’. So, this book features 75 of the greatest photographers of all time, including Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Man Ray, Cindy Sherman and Annie Leibovitz HonFRPS. All

of them are represented by good photographic examples, a mini-essay, and a timeline of their life. The essays are concise yet insightful, giving a good feel of what drove the subject to produce their work. Indeed, the individual timelines are a masterpiece of clarity, not only noting significant events, but often emphasising the scale of a lifetime’s work. There is even a list of suggested further reading, as even a book as ambitious as this one cannot hope to cover everything.

Of course, there are always editorial constraints. Notable omissions in this book are Fenton’s Crimean photographs, Elliott Erwitt HonFRPS’s singular take on life, and the 1960s London fashion photographers whose work defined a time of massive social change. That apart, Photography Visionaries could well be the one-stop work on great photographers which we have needed for so long. Whether you are a newcomer to photography or an old hand, you cannot fail to be impressed by the breadth and accessibility of coverage on offer here. I came away from this book inspired anew.

Photography Visionaries is good value and I highly recommend it.

NIGEL CHEFFERS!HEARD LRPS

T: A TYPOLOGY OF T SHIRTS Susan Barnett Dewi Lewis Publishing (£25) Barnett chose to shoot her subjects from behind, focusing on the messages on the backs of the subjects’ shirts – which vary from the sublime to the ridiculous. Barnett’s images say a lot about the interests, anxieties and aspirations of our age and while I can’t imagine the general reader working through A Typology of T Shirts more than a couple of times, it will be of sustained interest to anthropologists and students of fashion.

JOHN FLEMING ARPS

THE PANDA’S TALE Nigel Hicks £5.36 (Kindle edition) Hicks spent two years in some of the remotest and wildest corners of China, taking images for a book about the country’s landscapes and wildlife, at a time when the country was beginning to open up and develop economically.

The Panda’s Tale is an engrossing chronicle of some epic and sometimes dangerous journeys. It’s a great read at this price, and from an extremely gifted photographer who continues to lead workshops and overseas trips.

DARRAGH MASON FIELD

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258 | APRIL WHAT ARE DISTINCTIONS?

Distinctions are standards of achievement recognised throughout the world

LRPS Applicants need to show good photographic competence in five key areas

John Caton ARPS Travel

You needn’t go to the ends of the earth to find exotic locales I’VE BEEN INTERESTED in photography for about 30 years, and it was at my current photo club in Amersham that I was encouraged to pursue a Society Distinction.

My travel panel records the interaction of local people and tourists with the vibrant environment of Shoreditch, London, and in particular the graphic street art of the iconic Brick Lane area. I wanted to submit a travel panel sourced in the UK, something that would be a crossover between travel, visual art and contemporary work.

I’d originally been to the area on an outing with my

photo club. It’s a very graphic and colourful environment that, with its abundance of shape and form, also lent itself to monochrome work.

I returned three more times on solo expeditions until I thought I had the material I needed.

In the past, I’ve just concentrated on single images. Building a panel forced me to take an overall view and look at focal points, starts, lead-ins, continuity and progression – but also a full stop.

It took about three months to put the whole thing together. I felt that perhaps one or two prints could have

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ARPS Evidence of a creative ability and personal style, plus complete control of the technical aspects of photography

FRPS Our highest Distinction is given for excellence and a distinguished ability in photography

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CATON ARPS TRAVEL 260 | DISTINCTIONS | JOHN

been improved but in Shoreditch you don’t get many second chances.

If you return two weeks later, much of the compelling backdrop has completely changed or been painted over.

For the panel, I packed away my digital kit and rolled out my aging Olympus OM-4 and shot everything on five rolls of monochrome film, Ilford FP4 and HP5.

I used available light, and

three lenses: a 24mm f/2.8 Miranda, a 50mm f/1.4 Zuiko and a 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko zoom. One problem I had was unfamiliarity with the classic equipment, so occasionally I would forget to wind on or focus – not good when you’re looking to capture a decisive moment.

The film was scanned and edited in Lightroom and Photoshop then printed on PermaJet Smooth Art Silk paper.

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CATON ARPS TRAVEL 262 | DISTINCTIONS | JOHN

FACTFILE

John Caton ARPS has been taking photos for 30 years and is a member of Amersham Photographic Society.

His image People of the 3rd Dimension was selected for the Society’s 2015 International Members’ Biennial

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ASSESSOR’S VIEW

LEO PALMER FRPS TRAVEL PANEL CHAIR

HANGING PLAN

‘The images showed a thinking photographer with a good sense of image design’

Travel photography does not need to involve journeys to the four corners of the planet to capture images of exotic places. Excellent, successful projects can be done on your own doorstep. This is the case with John’s panel.

John’s objective was to record the environment and people of Shoreditch.

It provided a compelling backdrop for multicultural residents and visitors.

John’s statement of intent clearly defined his objective without overelaboration; the assessment panel were left in no doubt as to what he intended to show them.

A statement of intent based on the ‘what’ and the ‘where’ focuses not only the assessment panel but also the candidate on the job in hand. Too many candidates can get lost in the ‘why’ and the ‘how’, which add little to the submission.

The images showed a thinking photographer with a good sense of image design or composition – many showed a ‘fly on the wall’ approach. They were not just pictures achieved by pointing the camera at the subject and pressing the shutter.

There is an individual vision, and a selection that shows photographer input or design – that’s what separates an accomplished photographer from the happy snapper.

John shot his panel on black and white film which he scanned and printed digitally on fine-art paper.

The panel had no hesitation in recommending him for the Associate Distinction.

Read more from Leo Palmer FRPS on the art of travel photography on page 268 VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 263

ELVIDGE LRPS 264 | DISTINCTIONS | TRACEY

Tracey Elvidge LRPS

‘Inspiration often happens when I’m out with my camera’

I FIRST PICKED UP A camera at 10 years of age, through an uncle who had a darkroom. At 11, I had my first 35mm camera. In the 1990s I worked for a photographic studio, and in 2007 I joined Orpington Photographic Society when I bought my first DSLR. I chose this set of images

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to demonstrate my style and the spectrum of subjects I regularly photograph – nature, landscapes, people and townscapes. I tried to look for pairs of images with similar tones, and used a mix of colour and monochrome to add a further dimension.

Inspiration often happens while I’m out with my

camera, seeing a potential image and imagining how I want the finished photograph to end up in print. I use the lens to emphasise leading lines, angles and light, and I especially favour using wide-angle lenses.

The photographs were taken over four or five years.

They didn’t start out as

deliberate selections to be used toward a portfolio, but they did linger in a file with the thought of being included in a panel. The process of grouping the images started in around March 2014, when I put together a folder of images to be considered.

Achieving a Distinction had been in my mind for

several years and was something for me to strive for. A friend from Orpington Photographic Society mentored me through the process. The images were whittled down to 15.

In the end you can only go with what you feel in your heart says the most about you as a photographer.

Left: Portrait (Barry) A group of us were taking one another’s portraits in late summer evening light.

Only the one shot was taken, and I liked it immediately. The wide angle shows the subject’s character, and the image was cropped to greater effect. Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO 320, focal length 20mm.

Above: Red Roof, Rye With changeable lighting, and a blue sky with black clouds fast approaching, I used the diagonal of the rotting wooden structure to point to this little shed in the distance. Nikon D200, Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6L, 1/160 sec, f/11, ISO 250, focal length 58mm.

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ELVIDGE LRPS 266 | DISTINCTIONS | TRACEY

Top left: Foxes (Mother & Cub) Wildlife often involves a long wait for the image you want. This cub had been playing and rushed over to its mother to beg for food.

Canon 50D, Canon 70-200 f/4L, 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 93mm.

Left: Bexhill-on-Sea (Pavilion) This was shot in beautiful late afternoon light. I saw the shadows fall from the promenade and could see that the image would work well in both colour and monochrome. Nikon D200, Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6L, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, focal length 35mm, Hoya UV filter.

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FACTFILE

Tracey Elvidge, based in Kent, started taking photos as a child and has since worked for a photographic studio.

She is a member of her local photographic society in Orpington

ASSESSOR’S VIEW

VANESSA SLAWSON FRPS LRPS PANEL CHAIR This panel is a good example of how a photographer can demonstrate a variety of techniques and approaches but at the same time display them as a cohesive body of work. Each individual image shows imagination, creativity and a strong understanding of how to use light effectively.

The design and composition elements have enhanced the panel, with excellent use of lines and a clear narrative.

Tracey has controlled the backgrounds in the images appropriately and avoided any unnecessary clutter or distractions.

This panel shows great camera craft and technique.

There is excellent tonal control throughout, despite choosing some challenging situations. The bold close-up portrait as a central image compliments the animal studies and highlights the range of skills she has used.

Left: Millennium Bridge (Lovers In London) I was standing waiting for the right people to cross ahead, when this couple passed by and I could see the shot I wanted. The post-processing, in Nik Software, really brought this image to life.

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO 200, focal length 20mm.

HANGING PLAN

‘I tried to look for pairs of images with similar tones, and used a mix of colour and monochrome’

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268 | DISTINCTIONS |

Traveller’s tales Chelin Miller LRPS talks to Leo Palmer FRPS about what it takes to make a great ARPS Travel panel

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THERE ARE MANY MYTHS and controversies surrounding Travel Associate Distinctions.

I asked the chair of the Travel Distinctions Panel, Leo Palmer FRPS, to clear up some common misconceptions.

How does the Distinctions panel define travel photography?

A travel image captures a sense of the time and place, and shows a land, its people or culture in its natural state. All good photography is where a sense of vision and interpretation is evident, and where the photographer has not just pointed the camera and pressed the shutter button without considering the design of the image, the best camera settings, or the quality and direction of the lighting, for example. Without these considerations, more often than not, what is produced is a holiday snap.

Does size matter? Are big photos better than smaller ones?

Print size depends very much

on mount size. If you are using a 20x16inch mount (50x40cm) in general terms a full A3 print is too large and will give the appearance of “pushing” the sides of the mount. A good size for prints in a panel is A4, mounted on 20x16inch white mounts. Many times I’ve heard it said, when viewing large prints: ‘If the prints were half the size, they would be twice as good.’

Can I process my photos in HDR? HDR is acceptable as long as the results do not look false.

How far do I have to journey for the panel to be in the Travel category?

If you capture a sense of time and place in your local village, town or city they are all travel images. You do not need to travel to the four corners of the world.

Chelin Miller LRPS is editor of the Travel Group’s newsletter, Travel Log

ATTEND A DISTINCTIONS ASSESSMENT DAY For the latest dates for Distinctions Assessment Days, please visit rps.org/events, email distinctions@rps.org or call 01225 325733 EXPERT ADVICE Turn to our member guide on page 309 to find dates for Advisory Days, where you can gain expert advice on your portfolio

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CHINESE 270 | EXHIBITION | THEPHOTOBOOK

CHINA IN YOUR HAND

W

hen I was preparing the first volumes of The Photobook: A History with my colleague Gerry Badger, we knew we wanted to include some books from China. I knew there could be interesting examples of propaganda books from the heady days after the 1949 revolution when Mao took power, and the subsequent rise of this Communist superpower. So in roughly 2002 I found myself in Shanghai and learned that there was a secondhand book market on at the weekend. There, I came across a tatty copy of Long Live the Glorious May 7 Directive, an extraordinary book published during the Cultural Revolution. A few years later the search continued at Panjiayuan, Beijing’s biggest flea market, where an amazing number of Communist publications could be found. However, with no Chinese on my part, and virtually no English on the part of the dealers, it was 270 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

The Great Hall of the People 1959 "RIGHT% The year 1958 marked the start of China’s Great Leap Forward, a campaign led by Mao Zedong that was intended to transform the country into a modern Communist society through rapid industrialisation and collectivisation. The commemorative preparations greatly influenced the architecture of Beijing’s centre and resulted in the enlargement of

Tiananmen Square.

The so-called Ten Great Buildings— including the National Museum of China, Beijing Railway Station, and the Great Hall of the People — were constructed around this time.

Long Live the Glorious May 7 Directive 1971 "ABOVE% An insight into the relationship between Mao Zedong and his number two, and the head of the armed forces, Lin Biao.

The Chinese Photobook From the 1900s to the Present Compiled by Martin Parr and WassinkLundgren, with texts by Gu Zheng, Raymond Lum, Ruben Lundgren, Stephanie H. Tung, and Gerry Badger

very difficult to find out more about the books on sale. This changed when my co-author on The Chinese Photobook, Ruben Lundgren, and I visited the same flea market together.

For both of us, it was that visit to the market that got us hooked. A whole world of hidden photobooks began to reveal itself, and we became more and more excited as the scale and quality of our discoveries sank in.

We decided to build the collection together. It was then that the first, vague outline of a possible publication on the history of the Chinese photobook began to take shape.

As the project grew over the years, it became a challenge to define the terms “Chinese” and “photobook” in any straightforward way. The latter (English) term has solidified in meaning through recent scholarship and the evolution of collecting protocols over the last decade. However, the common Chinese word for photobook, huace (literally, “picture book”), can also refer

COVER OF LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS MAY 7 DIRECTIVE "PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY PICTORIAL PUBLISHING HOUSE, 1971%. COVER FROM THE GREAT HALL OF THE PEOPLE "BEIJING: PEOPLE’S FINE ARTS PUBLISHING HOUSE, 1959%. ALL FROM THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK "APERTURE, 2015%

Research for a book project unearthed an unexpectedly rich photographic legacy, reveal Martin Parr HonFRPS and WassinkLundgren

to non-photographic publications that incorporate drawings, ink paintings, or other forms of illustration.

Adding to the challenge, we became interested in books published by the Japanese to commemorate their invasion of China, and in particular those featuring the puppet state of Manchukuo [formed by Japan from the Chinese region of Manchuria]. We began to understand how these books could help to define, and perhaps offer a new perspective on, the history of China over the last century.

We also found brilliant photobooks by Chinese photographers, such as Lang Jingshan, dating from the 1920s onwards that indicated a broad field of book production and a rich photographic 272 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

culture in Republican China that have largely been neglected until recently.

The death of Chairman Mao in 1976 did not bring to a halt the publication of captivating books, by the state or by individual photographers, foreign or Chinese. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the cultural renaissance was under way, and of course photography was an integral part of this movement.

Ever since those slow beginnings, the Chinese photobook has flourished, and now China produces many contemporary photobooks. We are pleased to have played a part in uncovering this small corner of the country’s unexplored history — one which allows us new insight into the ebb and flow of its past.

The Chinese Photobook, edited by Martin Parr and WassinkLundgren, is published by Aperture in May. The travelling exhibition will be at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, from 17 April – 5 July

Gli Impressioni di Manciu-Cuo (Impressions of Manchukuo), documenting the visit of an Italian 1938 "ABOVE% To ‘consolidate the (Fascist) defense against Communism,’ Fascist Italy, under Benito Mussolini, dispatched friendship envoys to Manchukuo in 1938, which is documented in this ChineseItalian bilingual photobook, issued by the Manchukuo Imperial Government.

The book calls for ‘cooperation toward the extermination of the Communist Party’.

INTERIOR SELECTION FROM GLI IMPRESSIONI DI MANCIU)CUO "IMPRESSIONS OF MANCHUKUO%, DOCUMENTING THE VISIT OF AN ITALIAN DELEGATION SENT COURTESY OF BENITO MUSSOLINI "LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA: MANCHUKUO IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT, 1938%. FROM THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK "APERTURE, 2015%

CHINESE 272 | EXHIBITION | THEPHOTOBOOK

INTERIOR SELECTION FROM BURTYNSKY , CHINA BY EDWARD BURTYNSKY "GÖTTINGEN, GERMANY: STEIDL, 2005%, FROM THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK "APERTURE, 2015%

THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK

Burtynsky – China, by Edward Burtynsky 2005 Beginning in 2002 the Canadian Edward

Burtynsky made a number of trips to China, photographing the country’s industrialisation.

Working through

diplomatic channels, he was able to document important moments in this unprecedented

growth. He photographed different facets of the boom – including the enormous expansion of China’s

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urban infrastructure.

These are big subjects, and Burtynsky duly uses large-format cameras, in

the manner of Carleton Watkins documenting America’s similar economic explosion in the 19th century.

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Palace Lanterns 1960 "ABOVE% This book was compiled by the architectural engineering department at the Institute for Architecture and published by the Cultural Relics Press in Beijing in 1960.

According to the book’s preface, Chinese palace lanterns are ‘well-known in the world as a distinctive kind of arts and craft’.

As a reference for architects, the book selected 39 palace lanterns from new products produced in Beijing, as well as the Beijing Palace Museum’s collection of 17th and 18th-century lanterns. As a book on decorative architectural art, it is specially bound using a Chinese folded accordion technique.

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China Traffic Police 1989 Published to celebrate 40 years of successful administration by China’s traffic enforcers, this book of colour photographs sports a title and preface in

Chinese and English and features bilingual text throughout. The photographs depict the white-gloved police happily directing traffic that is less chaotic — perhaps partly because of their presence — than is

experienced today on the streets of Chinese cities.

Photos depict scenes along roads during a variety of situations, and examples of people being assisted by the traffic police.

INTERIOR SELECTION OF ACCORDION)STYLE PAGES FROM PALACE LANTERNS "BEIJING: CULTURAL RELICS PRESS, 1960%. COVER AND INTERIOR SELECTION FROM CHINA TRAFFIC POLICE "SHANGHAI: TRAFFIC ADMINISTRATION BUREAU, PUBLIC SECURITY MINISTRY AND SHANGHAI JOINT PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1989%. ALL FROM THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK "APERTURE, 2015%

CHINESE 274 | EXHIBITION | THEPHOTOBOOK

THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK

PREPUBLICATION ‘SAMPLE’ COVER AND INTERIOR SELECTION FROM THE LIVING CHINA: A PICTORIAL RECORD "SHANGHAI: LIANG YOU PUBLISHING CO., 1930%; INTERIOR SELECTION FROM NO. 223 BY LIN ZHIPENG "TAIPEI: REVOLUTION)STAR PUBLISHING AND CREATION CO., LTD., 2012%. ALL FROM THE CHINESE PHOTOBOOK "APERTURE, 2015%

The Living China: A Pictorial Record 1930 "RIGHT% China comes alive in The Living China, which is not limited to black-and-white photographs, but employs a number of different styles to express the sense of a dynamic, vibrant place and of daily life there in 1930.

Hence, we see the genre photographs

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of people that one might expect in such a book, but there are other images – of the modern Chinese woman in winning poses, and of children in western clothing doing what children everywhere do. The modernity of the China projected here is the modernity of international Shanghai.

No.223, by Lin Zhipeng 2012 "LEFT% In 2003, 24-yearold Lin Zhipeng started a blog titled North Latitude 23.

He published short texts and everyday photographs, and adopted the nickname 223, from a character in Wong Kar-wai’s cult film Chungking Express.

Gradually the blog attracted more visitors. This retrospective book, No.223, with graphic

design by Aaron Nieh, was published in Taiwan in 2012 and made available online in mainland China. The edgy photographs convey a search for freedom that is wider than the world of 223 and his friends.

FOOTNOTE The images and text used in this feature do not appear in the same order as they do in The Chinese Photobook

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STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS 276 | BEST SHOTS | CHRIS

UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS Chris Steele-Perkins HonFRPS talks to Gemma Padley about how he got behind closed doors at Holkham Hall

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CHRIS STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS

I

n his 44-year career as a documentary photographer, much of Chris Steele-Perkins’ work has focused on England. So it makes sense that the Magnum photographer’s latest project is in keeping with this tradition. A Place in the Country, published by Dewi Lewis, documents life inside the north Norfolk estate of Holkham Hall. Images from the book go on display this month at the hall itself. Far from being a staid,

HOLKHAM HALL FROM THE SOUTH Thomas Coke, the first Earl of Leicester, built Holkham Hall between 1734 and 1764. It is an impressive place.

Driving through the gates, down the oak-lined road, past indifferent deer to the

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estate offices, I could not help but be intrigued. The estate extends far beyond its 3,000 acres of walled grounds, stretching to 23,000 acres, which includes coastline and farmland. It is a forward-thinking, modern place.

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STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS 278 | BEST SHOTS | CHRIS

conventional portrait of the English gentry, it is alive and engaging. Most interesting of all, the series gives a rare glimpse of the reality inside one of Britain’s best-known stately homes.

Steele-Perkins joined Magnum in 1979, and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society in 2014 for his work. His is a career driven by the insatiable curiosity of a photographer; and as he writes in the introduction to his latest book, the idea behind the Holkham Hall project was no different: ‘Whenever I am in the countryside, driving along by a long excluding wall, or past closed, proud gates, I inevitably wonder who lives there and what goes on in these walledoff worlds … I decided that one day I should spend time within one.’

Peter Sinclair of the Historic Houses Association introduced the photographer to Viscount Coke, who lives in part of the estate with his wife, and the couple’s four children. With his interest piqued, Steele-Perkins set out to offer a ‘rounder view of life on an estate’. He was keen to avoid photographing stereotypes and clichés, which he refers to as ‘a lazy shorthand that masks understanding … I wanted to look at the reality of Holkham, and explore where that reality and cliché overlapped. Ultimately, I wanted to discover unexpected realities rather than reinforce stereotypes’.

In his images we see activities such as hunting and shooting, but Steele-Perkins also strives to capture the modern aspects of the estate – events and weddings, for example – and the businesses the estate runs, which include the rental and sale of holiday caravans.

The multiple award-winning photographer, who was born in Rangoon but moved to the UK with his family in 1949, has photographed in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, central America, and Japan, but has always had a deep affection for England. In 2009, he published what he refers to as a personal retrospective of work – images of England taken over the previous 40 years – titled England, My England.

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‘I WANTED TO LOOK AT THE REALITY OF HOLKHAM, WHERE THAT REALITY AND CLICHÉ OVERLAPPED’

HOUSEHOLD STAFF TAKING BREAKFAST Here, household members of staff eat breakfast together in the kitchen – the hub of the house – run by cook Maria Rodrigues. Only a

handful of workers ‘live in’. I got to know the key people who would tell me what was going on.

You always need to have a contact person, and Jane, who works in the office, was this

person; she knew everything that was happening. Given that I was shooting over a long period of time, I was able to build trust, which was crucial for the project to run smoothly.

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STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS 280 | BEST SHOTS | CHRIS little on the outside of things, and this is something I’ve been examining my whole working life,’ he says.

Steele-Perkins began the Holkham Hall project in September 2011 and continued to make photographs at the 18th-century estate until January 2013.

He would come and go in between work commitments, he says, capturing the estate as the seasons changed.

Describing himself as a sort of ‘occasional artist-in-residence’, he impressed upon the Coke family that he wanted to retain his independence as a photographer, but also made it clear to them that it was not his intention to

misrepresent the family in any way. ‘I wanted to make as full a record of a key British cultural institution – the country estate – as honestly as I could,’ he says.

‘An estate is more than an old house: it is a farm, a business, an ecosystem, a community, a venue, and a confluence of history. It is a world in microcosm.’

A Place in the Country, by Chris SteelePerkins, is out now (Dewi Lewis).

An exhibition of the work contained in the book is at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, until 31 October, with a talk on the project by the photographer on Wednesday 15 April.

For more details see holkham.co.uk

GAMEKEEPERS On one side, there were pheasant shoots and tradition at Holkham Hall, and on the other, pop and classical concerts, entertainment and events. I wanted to capture both aspects.

Sometimes I’d go out with the shooters and at other times I would go with the beaters, who drive the birds out of the forest. It’s not my personal form of entertainment, but it’s interesting to watch.

BUILDING MAINTENANCE TEAM AT RED HOUSE It dawned on me that I should make a series of photographs about the people who live and work there, to provide a visual anchor around which the activities on the estate take place.

I have a series of posed portraits of the different working groups and of the family members.

Taking these images was quite hard as I had to drag people away from their jobs and set them up in rather elaborate tableaux, as here.

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ALL IMAGES © CHRIS STEELE%PERKINS/MAGNUM PHOTOS

A JANUARY WOODCOCK SHOOTING PARTY WITH BEATERS My final visit was triggered by snow in January 2013. I also came to say goodbye to the project and thanks for the chance to do it. I am pleased with the work; it could always be better, but I hope I have created beauty beyond the simple record …

Documenting a year in the life of a living, breathing estate was completely new.

CHRIS STEELE! PERKINS HonFRPS

| BEST SHOTS | 281

VISCOUNT AND VISCOUNTESS COKE WITH THEIR CHILDREN From left: Elizabeth, Edward, Hermione and Juno. One has to be careful about judging people in simple terms such as ‘toffs’ or what have you. I got on with the family – they were nice people. The estate runs a bit like a large ship – people pull together and take pride in it. It’s part of English history, and I think it’s important; hopefully some of this comes across. What I liked is that you have everyone from the aristocracy through to the working people.

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LONDON 282 | EVENT | PHOTO

Next month the UK capital hosts its first major photography fair for a decade.

Lucy Davies finds out why the city is getting back in on the act

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F

ROM 21 MAY, Somerset House on the Strand is to host the first photography fair in the capital for 10 years.

Photo London will feature vintage, modern and contemporary work by around 70 international galleries, alongside screenings, panel discussions, presentations, portfolio reviews and a learning programme designed to educate attendees in collecting photography.

The brains behind the enterprise

is Michael Benson, director of cultural consultancy Candlestar, which earned its photography stripes with the Prix Pictet. ‘Over the years we’ve become more and more involved in photography,’ says Benson, ‘and we’ve come to hear more and more galleries, photographers, curators and publishers asking why London didn’t have its own photography fair. We’ve always thought it was a good idea, and now seemed a good time to take the plunge.’

Setting up a venture on the scale of the fair is a potential risk, not least because memories of the last Photo

FROM LEFT: COURTESY CAMERA WORK, BERLIN; 2014, COURTESY FORMENTO & FORMENTO AND ROBERT KLEIN GALLERY, BOSTON; 2014, COURTESY BEN BROWN FINE ARTS, LONDON.

LONDON

PHOTO LONDON

| EVENT | 283

CALLING

1998, COURTESY GALERIE POLARIS, PARIS; 2014, COURTESY THE LITTLE BLACK GALLERY, LONDON; 2005, COURTESY YOSSI MILO GALLERY, NEW YORK

Clockwise from far left: Bonkers by Bettina Rheims; Mai VI by Formento & Formento; Postcards from Nowhere by Vik Muniz; Water in Face II by Nigel Rolfe; The Chrysler by Anja Neimi; Dayaba Usman with the monkey Clear, by Pieter Hugo

London at Billingsgate, in 2005, still weigh heavily on the capital’s photography community. Produced by Reed Exhibitions, the fair was a lacklustre affair, with poor footfall, and suffered greatly from being held in the City rather than central London.

‘There was a marked discrepancy between the small number of people in the fair looking at the displays and the huge number of people that wanted to get into the panel discussions. It made me think that there was thirst for knowledge about photography; a real interest in it, but there wasn’t quite the

willingness, then, for people to buy a photograph,’ says Martin Barnes, senior curator of photographs at the V&A, who was awarded the Society’s J Dudley Johnston Medal in 2013.

Since the 2005 event, Barnes has only seen that interest grow – ‘an event I took part in at Photo50 last year [part of the London Art Fair] had people queuing around the block to get in. If London can combine this passionate interest in photography with a market for sellers, then there’s something really exciting to be had.’

‘I’ve had to work very hard to

convince people that London is a very different city now,’ says Benson. ‘We’re making huge strides, but it’s a serious concern and I appreciate that the galleries are making an investment, it’s a serious business.’

Confidence in photography has, as we know, grown remarkably over the last 10 years and London’s major institutions have come to embrace the medium with gusto. In 2009 the Tate appointed its first dedicated photography curator and in 2012 there was the launch of Media Space at the Science Museum, which VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 283

LONDON 284 | EVENT | PHOTO

showcases the National Photography Collection. Alongside meaty shows from the already photographycognisant National Portrait Gallery, Hayward, Barbican, V&A and Whitechapel, even the National Gallery hosted its own photography exhibition in 2012.

‘If it wasn’t for those like the Tate and collectors like Michael Wilson,’ Benson says, ‘we wouldn’t be having this conversation, because there wouldn’t be even the chance of a fair in London.

It’s through the great efforts that they’ve made over the last few years that we’re able to contemplate an event like this.’

At the galleries, too, photography is picking up. ‘We’ve just had our best January ever in terms of revenue,’ says Ghislain Pascal, co-director of The Little Black Gallery, London. ‘We sold 284 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

70 prints in one month – it’s been bonkers. But I think we’re still taking a huge risk with Photo London. I’ve said from day one that they need to make sure this event works for the galleries which are selling there. It’s all very well having all these extra exhibitions and the public programme, but we’re the ones paying for that to happen, and if we don’t make money, there’s no point in us coming back.’

The feeling within the photo community as a whole was that London needed its own photography fair, in order to have some kind of ‘critical area’, says Brett Rogers, director of The Photographers’ Gallery. ‘We need a critical point of the year where we can all make sure that we are working together to raise the profile of photography. Billingsgate created a real

dip in people’s confidence in London as a photography market, but I think Somerset House is the right place to try again – the organisers have certainly given us the confidence that it’s going to look good there.’

As part of his due diligence, Benson has engaged the support of those who have worked on the some of the most successful photo fairs and festivals worldwide – François Hebel for example, who last year resigned after 13 years as director of the Rencontres d’Arles festival, and curators Bill Ewing and Wendy Watriss, who founded Houston’s FotoFest. Maja Hoffmann’s non-profit LUMA Foundation is also on side, supporting the public programme.

In terms of audience, the organisers are aiming for ‘a mix of people who are very active, the photography

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 2013, COURTESY THE LITTLE BLACK GALLERY, LONDON; 2012, COURTESY LA GALERIE PARTICULIERE, PARIS; 1971, COURTESY NAILYA ALEXANDER GALLERY, NEW YORK; 1936, COURTESY NAILYA ALEXANDER GALLERY, NEW YORK; 2014, COURTESY PAULETTE TAVORMINA AND ROBERT KLEIN GALLERY, BOSTON

Clockwise from top left: Untitled #32, Bulletproof by Vee Speers; #10275 by Tod Hido; Pear by Denis Brihat; Portrait of Kirghiz Woman by Max Alpert; and Still Life with Quince and Jug, after LM

by Paulette Tavormina

PHOTO LONDON

| EVENT | 285

‘THERE’S A BIT OF A BUZZ’

Jane Hilton HonFRPS will be showing work at Photo London, and is excited at having an event on her doorstep ‘I was fortunate to have a lunch at Arles with Michael Benson, the director of Photo London, and from the sounds of it everyone’s got high hopes. The ingredients are right, there are lots of events going on alongside it – and yes, it’s exciting.

‘There’s a bit of a buzz. People are doing things to take advantage of all the galleries coming to London – and normally it’s us old English people travelling around the world to go to them. I live in London, so all of this is just an Oyster card ride away.

‘For photographers, any event like this is a consolidation. You get to see work you’ve never seen before, and mix with people you haven’t seen for a long time. It’s about sharing thoughts and ideas because sometimes being a photographer can be quite a lonely business.

‘There’s a general upsurge of interest, and no longer a question about whether photography is art. The floodgates are open. Lots of people are interested in photography, more than ever before – everyone’s got a camera now, it’s more accessible.

‘There are so many photo festivals around the world. But Photo London is a city thing, and to have it in the capital can only be good.’

Jane Hilton’s work is being represented at Photo London

by Eleven Fine Art

Above: Shiprock, New Mexico Left: Ruby, Wild Horse Ranch.

Both by Jane Hilton HonFRPS, courtesy of Eleven, London

‘WE NEED A CRITICAL POINT IN THE YEAR WHERE WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF PHOTOGRAPHY’ cognoscenti, if you like, alongside people in the middle who might be wanting to become more involved in the photography community and, of course, the general public, who will enjoy seeing all this great work in a beautiful location,’ explains Benson.

‘They can watch work being installed or they can come and do a course on collecting – the intention is to try and keep people here a bit longer than they ordinarily would at an art fair.’

In tandem with these aims, The Photographers’ Gallery is running its own collecting course designed to finish with a guided visit to the fair.

‘I think people still find walking into a white-cube gallery context a confounding experience,’ says Rogers.

‘They feel they can’t ask questions and it’s all very detached. Our course is

designed to be the opposite of that, very inclusive and welcoming. When you visit the fair with Alex [art advisor Alexander Montague-Sparey, who is leading the course] you’ll be able to ask him specific questions, like why is that Koudelka £3,500, and that one £500.’

Other London photography institutions are putting on special events, too. Tate Modern will host the photobook fair Offprint, and both the Whitechapel Gallery and Christie’s are planning their own contributions. The V&A was invited by Candlestar to show work from its archive, ‘and we were very open to that idea,’ says Barnes. ‘The collection is so huge and the gallery space we have to show it so small that it’s exciting to be able to do this.

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LONDON 286 | EVENT | PHOTO

GALLERIES AT THE GRASSROOTS

Society’s London Region plans event for photographers at all levels

‘OUR BENCHMARK IS HIGH. WE ALL LOOK WITH ENVY AT PARIS PHOTO. BUT THESE ARE AMBITIONS, FOR NOW … ‘ realised that the windows of the room were almost at river level, if not slightly below it. That gave me the idea of going beneath the surface, both in terms of our archive and about London, the depth of its history.’

Barnes began by looking for images of water surfaces and the river, moving on to London’s architectural detail.

‘There is a thematic logic that connects the things we’ve chosen. And none of these images has been seen or exhibited before, either because it’s really old, or because we’ve only just added it to the collection – there are as many contemporary works as those from the 1860s – a typology of manhole covers, street signage from the sixties, and images of the docs at Wapping and Old Lambeth from the 19th century that are as beautiful as an Atget.’

The intention from all involved is to make Photo London an annual gathering, building up to a week-long programme of events. ‘Our benchmark 286 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

is high,’ says Benson. ‘We all look with envy at Paris Photo. They’ve managed to successfully combine the commercial side of things with an excellent take-up in terms of complimentary fare from museums throughout the city … and Frieze Masters, of course, which is of such high quality. But these are ambitions, for now, we can’t be that big to begin with, and I think there’s something to be said for small and intimate that doesn’t have the oppressive, grid-like feel of the major fairs such as Art Basel.’

Candlestar had more applications for stalls than there were places – ‘we capped it at around 70, but there’s a waiting list of more than 20,’ Benson adds. ‘It’s going to be the biggest installation Somerset House has had bigger than Fashion Week. I’m actually a bit scared when I say that, but it’s true.’

Photo London runs from 21-24 May. For details see photolondon.org

Capital Exposure takes place in November. See the London Region page on the Society’s website, on the RPS London Facebook page or on Twitter, @The_RPSLondon

FOUR TO SEE DURING PHOTO LONDON 1. FRIDA BY ISHIUCHI MIYAKO AT MICHAEL HOPPEN GALLERY 13 May – 12 July Photographs of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s archive of dresses and personal belongings.

2. STAYING POWER: PHOTOGRAPHS OF BLACK BRITISH EXPERIENCE (V)A* Until 24 May Delightfully varied images by black photographers or which document the lives of black people in Britain.

3. CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS AT THE WHITECHAPEL GALLERY Until 21 June The unexpected beauty and cultural resonance of commercial, industrial and instructional photography.

4. HARRY CORY WRIGHT ‘ANGLIA’ AT ELEVEN FINE ART 14 May – 18 July Timeless and sometimes visionary English landscapes.

1973, COURTESY CAMERA WORK, BERLIN, COURTESY OF GRIMALDI GAVIN, LONDON

Above: Cala Mariolu by Massimo Vitali Left: David Bowie ‘Aladdin Sane’ by Brian Duffy

Later this year, the Society’s London Region will be organising Capital Exposure – aimed at photographers who want to get their images shown in the capital, but don’t have the backing of the big galleries. Del Barrett ARPS, organiser of the London Region (pictured), tells us more.

‘One of the things photographers are always saying is that they can’t exhibit their work in London because galleries are so expensive – it can cost up to £1,200 a day.

But all the while there are sites where people could show their work, if they thought more laterally.

‘So we’ve decided to challenge our members to come up with ideas – to talk to their libraries, find a phone box or a shop window where someone could display their work, and to send them in. We’ll put together a programme and an app so that anyone with an hour to spare could look up which mini exhibitions are nearby and visit one or two on the spot.

‘If the owner of the space wants to charge you, we’ll pair you up with other photographers you might like to exhibit with so that you can split the cost. We want to show everyone you don’t have to have a big flashy gallery with huge framed prints to get your work seen.’

BASTA 288 | INTERVIEW | ALEXANDER

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ALEXANDER BASTA

| INTERVIEW | 289

Left: Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, 2000

MINUTES*

*That’s how long it takes Alexander Basta to shoot his enigmatic portraits

BY LUCY ANNA SCOTT WHEN GERMAN photographer Alexander Basta traces the beginnings of his passion for portraiture he’s carried back to his five-year-old self, flicking through the pages of an encyclopaedia, in awe of the black and white photographs of personalities long since dead.

‘I asked my mother: “Why are these people in this book when they lived so long ago?”,’ remembers the self-taught artist. ‘It was then I realised that I would

not stay five years old forever, I would become older, and that living is a process. It was then I felt I wanted to seize, for others, a moment in their time. My interest in portraiture came from a deep interest in humanity.’

While the 52-year-old has captured numerous well-known faces – from Isabella Rossellini to Marianne Faithfull and Sir Peter Ustinov – musicians have served as his most artistically lucrative subjects. They are what he describes as

his ‘life’s work’, and over the last 20 years he has met and photographed 250 of them in his quest to portray what he perceives as the rhythm of the true human spirit and experience.

‘Musicians are special people, and a completely different type of human being. They are all really inside their music,’ says the Düsseldorf-based photographer, who includes portraits of American composer Philip Glass, violinist Nigel Kennedy and the VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 289

BASTA 290 | INTERVIEW | ALEXANDER

BEHIND THE CAMERA Alexander Basta’s approach is to photograph his subject as close to a performance as possible, in order to capture the energy that comes with creating live music. He uses a large-format Plaubel

camera and 4x5-inch film. The technique of taking his photos from under a cloth serves, he believes, to put the subject more at ease. His only other equipment is a Balcar umbrella to soften the light.

Left: Singer Marianne Faithfull, 2000 Right: Conductor Seiji Ozawa, 2000

‘I AM NOT A THOUGHT PHOTOGRAPHER. I AM A BEING PHOTOGRAPHER. I WANT TO SEE SOUL’ English soprano Dame Emma Kirkby in his portfolio.

Thirty two images from this career-defining project have been displayed as of 165 x 127cm prints on the interior columns of the Tonhalle concert hall for more than a decade.

The venue, on the banks of the River Rhine in Düsseldorf, hosts more than 300 concerts a year, which gives Basta – who says he’d like to have been a pianist or conductor if not a photographer – an extensive audience that’s as passionate about music as he is. ‘If the hall is full of an evening then almost 2,000 people see my exhibition,’ he says.

Focusing his art on this intimacy between musicians and their music, Basta aims to depict beings living as their truest selves, not as contrived personalities.

This love of human honesty is why actors, so often portraying a persona, 290 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

have not held his imagination as intently.

‘I am not a thought photographer. I am a being photographer. I want to see soul,’ explains the artist from his studio.

To witness this energy at its most tangible, Basta photographs his chosen musicians before their performances, during the interval or after they have taken their bow. This way he finds them ‘as close to the music as possible’.

The photographer shuns shooting in colour, believing it to draw the eye’s focus away from the model. ‘In black and white the picture becomes timeless. Like a marble monument or sculpture, nothing takes your gaze away from the intensity of the emotion being expressed.’

For the same reason, he has ‘little interest’ in whether musicians bring their instruments to the shoot or not.

Timing the sittings so close to a performance, he stumbles upon myriad moods: ‘With conductors and soloists it

is amazing what their face portrays, almost like they’ve run a marathon.’

So it was with Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who sat for Basta following his performance of Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Cologne.

‘I had chance to take Ozawa’s picture after he’d conducted the symphony.

The show consisted of 90 musicians and 90 choir singers – that is a lot of people to have under your control.

It is a demanding piece in all senses.

Afterwards he was so exhausted, because he had given everything.

But his eyes were full of sparkle, he was full of life,’ says the artist, who lives and works in the studio once occupied by contemporary sculptor Thomas Schütte.

His encounter with the Grammy award-winning Israeli-Argentinean pianist and conductor Daniel

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| INTERVIEW | 293

WWW.KALLEMEDIA.DE

ALEXANDER BASTA

Left: Composer and musician Sir Michael Nyman, 2000 Above: Alexander Basta in front of his portraits of Kent Nagano and Tan Dun, the latter taken in 2014

‘I DID TWO EXPOSURES AND HE SCREAMED AT ME … THAT BECAME ONE OF MY MOST INTENSE PORTRAITS’ Barenboim was quite different. When Basta met the then music director of La Scala in Milan following a concert, he found him agitated. ‘All he wanted to do was go to bed. I did two exposures and he screamed at me and said “how many do you need to do? I form a note and then it is gone.” I promised him: “This is my third and last exposure.” That became one of my most intense portraits.’

Barenboim’s sitting was brief but Basta believes only by working quickly do you capture the essence and ‘uniqueness’ of a subject. It wasn’t always that way: ‘Twenty years ago I would use up so much energy trying to get that true moment that I was soaked wet. I’m much more relaxed these days – the best shoots are mutual meditations.’

A large-format Plaubel camera aids that meditative process. With this he practises a ‘non-confrontational’ technique by disappearing under a black cloth to take the picture, on 4 x 5-inch film. ‘When you put a camera in front of your eye it is like a

rifle, it is aggressive. You have to be a really smart guy to soften a model’s gesture like that. So I go under my cloth to find the view and focus, that way the person is confronted with only the single eye of the camera itself.’

He uses just one Balcar umbrella to soften the light. ‘Modern lighting equipment can cost thousands and I don’t need it: I want a relaxed environment,’ he says.

Basta finishes all shoots inside 12 minutes. He never directs subjects either, preferring them to find their own way into the picture. ‘I don’t ask them to look this way or that way, or look angry or sad – to me, that’s a gimmick.

I want them to become themselves.

The result is the condensed essence of what is specific to that person, their inner core.’

As the Tonhalle is a magnet for contemporary musicians, Basta feels lucky to have been able to scoop so many opportunities with some of the best known the world over. Most recently he was able to shoot the portrait of Tan Dun – famed for his

score for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and for composing the music for the medal ceremonies of Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games.

The classical composer is now slated to feature on the cover of Faces of Music, his forthcoming book about his work with musicians. The choice, says the artist, is a nod to the ‘universality’ of music.

Tan Dun told Basta he considered it a ‘great honour’ to be included in what the composer considered a collection of the most outstanding performers in the culture of music today.

What better compliment? And perhaps proof he has achieved what he set out to do all those years ago, to capture for people ‘their moment’ in time: ‘These days photography has to be loud, it is about undressing people, standing them on one leg and splashing colour all over them. That is not my cup of tea. That kind of image is interesting only for a moment. But then next week, who cares?

‘I want to make pictures that are intense in 100 years’ time.’

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KEITH FRPS 294 | SHOWCASE | REVANS

Glories past and present This month’s exhibition at Fenton House reveals two sides to photographer R Keith Evans FRPS LIVING IN NEW YORK in the 1960s, R Keith Evans FRPS came to appreciate the Americans’ sense of history.

He realised they took great care in preserving the churches and stately homes in the regions first colonised

by English, French and Spanish settlers. This sparked Evans’ interest, and he decided to photograph as many of these buildings as possible.

Since returning to Britain, Evans has continued to document properties all over England, with examples dating from the Tudor period up to the 20th century. In August last year, Evans wrote a feature for the

Journal that focused on his heritage interiors, exploring some of the techniques he most commonly uses.

In 2007, Evans spent two weeks in Jordan where he photographed many of the country’s most important historical relics, including Roman temples and amphitheatres and Nabataean tombs and carvings. This month at Fenton House, Evans exhibits photographs that demonstrate his two distinct approaches to documenting the heritage of these contrasting cultures.

‘The exhibition looks at two different themes in my work,’ says Evans. ‘The first, entitled

294 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

Top: Wadi Rum, Jordan, provided a safe hiding place for ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ during his desert campaigns Above: Entrance hall to Boston Manor, West London

R KEITH EVANS FRPS

| SHOWCASE | 295

Left: Al-Khazneh, ‘The Treasury’ tomb, in Petra, Jordan Top right: Meissen porcelains are heirlooms in many great houses Above: Palladian stairwell and lantern, Stone House, Lewisham Below: Nabataean obelisk on the High Place of Sacrifice above Petra

Interior Motives, lets viewers get a glimpse inside some of Britain’s best-known stately homes. The photos were taken over a 20-year period.

Some of the properties are in the care of the National Trust or English Heritage, while others are in private hands.

‘The second, The Art and Heritage of Jordan, illustrates that kingdom’s rich history, and includes images of traces left by the Nabataeans, Romans and Christian crusaders. We see their tombs, sculptures, temples and castles, spanning more than 2,500 years; and even traces of Lawrence of Arabia’s desert campaigns in the First World War.’ VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 295

KEITH FRPS 296 | SHOWCASE | REVANS

Left: 12th-century Crusader fortress, al-Kerak Above: Carved newel post at Godinton House Below: Roman amphitheatre, Petra

Are these images part of a larger project?

I continue to take stately home pictures, some of which are used in guidebooks and magazine articles. As far as Jordan is concerned, I may never visit this fascinating kingdom again, but I’ve always enjoyed overseas travel and still add to my collection of heritage-related pictures. Most recently I photographed some of the Native American buildings and artefacts in the southwestern United States.

Do you use any specific techniques when taking pictures?

Photographic techniques vary over time as new technologies become available. For example, my photos of house interiors have been made on both film and digital cameras. When photographing these spaces, I need to balance daylight and artificial lighting and, where possible, introduce a “lived-in” look by including books, bowls of fruit and flowers, for example.

For the Jordanian pictures, which were all taken on Provia 100F transparency

VISIT!

film, I had to rely on natural lighting, and to take care to avoid harsh contrast.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR R KEITH EVANS FRPS Documenting historic buildings since the 1960s, Evans is also Chairman of the Archaeology and Heritage Group

THE SOCIETY HEADQUARTERS

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ABOVE: An Elizabethan chimneypiece dominates this great hall

What equipment do you use?

Until five years ago, my cameras were a Rolleiflex 6x6cm, a Mamiya 645 and a Nikon High Eyepoint F3 – all using film of course. I then started to use a Nikon D300 and Fuji digital cameras.

I almost always use a tripod and, when shooting room interiors, I carry some form of portable tungsten or LED lighting equipment.

THE EXHIBITION FROM R KEITH EVANS FRPS WILL RUN DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL AT THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, FENTON HOUSE, 122 WELLS ROAD, BATH BA2 2AH

THE MUST TRY

CRAFT APRIL 2015

THE L ATE S T TECHNOL OGY, TECHNIQUE S A ND SK ILL S

Canon 5DS/5DS R

How many pixels do we need? For pros, Canon’s answer seems to be 50 million, finds Gavin Stoker

T

en years ago it was pixel count that mattered. Five years ago it was how the camera resolved detail.

Since Nikon has had its 34-megapixel D800/D810 for a while now, a new 50-megapixel Canon can’t help but feel a little like a return to those days of one-upmanship. Achieving the sort of pixel count that would until recently have required spending £20,000 on a medium format, from a 35mm camera body, is still a “wow”, however.

At least the 5DS and ‘R’ variant

offer the physically largest sensor to be found in their camera class in a full-frame chip, with the latter seeking to eke out a tad more detail via a low-pass cancellation filter.

To avoid the bugbear of image noise, sensitivity has been pegged at a core 100-6,400, although this is manually expandable to an ISO50-12,800 equivalent. More interesting for creative types is that three in-camera crop modes are visible via the viewfinder: 1.3x, 1.6x (still delivering 19-megapixel

PRICE: £2,999.99 SRP for the 5DS or £3,199.99 for 5DS R SENSOR: 36x24mm (full-frame) CMOS LENS: Optional, but new EF 11-24mm f/4L USM released in tandem SCREEN: 3.2-inch, 1,040K-dot LCD display WEIGHT: 845g body only MORE: canon.co.uk IN BRIEF: Promising the ultimate in resolution from a body based on a trad 35mm SLR, this is a thoroughly professional tool at a price that will tempt the enthusiast

shots) and lifelike 1:1. This is a robust workhorse of a camera too, with a weather-resistant magnesium alloy build, 61-point autofocus system with 41 cross-type points, five-frames-per-second burst shooting, and a larger than average fixed 3.2-inch LCD. With numbers this big at this price, for current Canon users the 5DS and 5DS R are a “must try”. Your only downside is that you will have to wait until the June on-sale date to get to grips with either of these big hitters.

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300 | THE CRAFT | LATEST KIT 1 3

2

Lowel GL-1 Power LED £499

‘Hollywood-style’ lighting via a device resembling a palm-sized power tool lowel.tiffen.com

1 Yes, it looks like something

more at home in a shed. But don’t be fooled; the draw of the Lowel GL-1 Power LED is that, with the high ISO capabilities of current DSLRs and CSCs allowing them to be utilised in lower-light locations, it purports to place ‘Hollywood-style’ lighting in your hand, while a tripod mount is built into its base.

Output is comparable to a 100W tungsten halogen lamp at the same beam angle and it is focusable and dimmable, via a trigger-locked wheel. Its obvious role is as extra illumination for location portraiture, while its size suggests usefulness for making light paintings after dark.

Fujifilm X-A2 £449.99

GEAR SPY

Affordable, premium interchangeablelens compact with flip-up screen. fujifilm.co.uk

2 This is the most affordable

option within Fuji’s X series of interchangeable-lens cameras and, particularly in its brown leather-like iteration (a silver version also available), the X-A2 a bit of an eye catcher too.

It delivers 16.3 megapixels via a larger APS-C sensor than the Olympus Pen and Panasonic Lumix G and, for those adopting the X system for the first time, there’s a bundled 16-50mm MkII kit lens in matching silver, suitable for both landscape and portraiture. While lacking a built-in eye-level viewfinder, the compositional LCD screen does tilt through 175 degrees to offer some creative flexibility.

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Samsung NX500 £599

A 4K-shooting compact-series alternative to the bulkier flagship NX1 samsung.co.uk Fujifilm’s latest roadmap reveals new X-mount lenses for its compact-system camera family (pictured) on the way, while Pentax/Ricoh has let slip details of a full-frame DSLR under development for launch before the end of 2015. Promised this summer from Olympus is a new 7-14mm lens. A ‘pro- class’ 8mm f/1.8 fisheye lens is also in development which, when released, should be the fastest around.

3 More portable and compact

than its NX1 predecessor, the Samsung NX500’s backilluminated APS-C sensor offers 28-megapixel stills and 4K video at 24 frames per second (fps) – the latter further setting it apart from equally portable rivals – although maximum burst speed is a slightly slower but still pretty impressive 9fps.

Pitched at photographers and cinematographers alike, with updated connectivity, the NX500 aims for seamless ‘shoot ’n’ share’ capability, while its adjustable tilt-and-flip-up threeinch AMOLED backscreen delivers deeper blacks and better contrast than a standard LCD.

MEMBER TEST 4

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Sport) £1,599.99 Launched at last year’s Photokina, I had the chance to test the Sigma Sport lens on a two-week winter trip to Yellowstone. I used it as my sole long lens, leaving my prime 500mm in the UK.

5

Lowepro ProTactic From £170

Discreet kit bags aimed at pro street photographers and photojournalists lowepro.co.uk/protactic

4 A robust camera bag that

doesn’t obviously resemble one. Security and ruggedness aside, it offers on-the-fly access to gear, via four access points.

Interiors feature a patentpending MaxFit System to help maximise roominess, plus there’s a dedicated laptop compartment and organisation panel on the inside of the lid.

Comfort is another key factor, with a harness-type system including a removable waist belt.

Touted as pro-grade packs, pricing starts at around £170, rising to £210 SRP for the 450 AW which can hold up to two pro DSLRs with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens fixed to a camera body.

Pentax K-S2 From £549.99 body only

A small yet perfectly formed SLR equipped to take on the UK’s weather ricoh-imaging.co.uk

5 Pentax/Ricoh’s K-S2 is

the smallest dustproof and weather-resistant digital SLR on the market. It comes with a vari-angle LCD – a first for a Pentax-branded DSLR – wi-fi and near-field communication (NFC) functionality, plus a choice of several body colours for SRP £549.99 body only, with various lens kits running up to £879.99 total. Arriving with the camera (and included in the £729.99 twin lens kit) is a Pentax-DA L 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE standard zoom, also weatherproofed and with a retractable mechanism – and which is otherwise £229.99 when sold separately.

CRISP AND BRIGHT First impressions were good. It looked well constructed, with a robust metal lens hood that reversed on to the barrel for carriage which was easily and quickly fitted in place.

Along the barrel of the lens were a series switches to control its functions, and the lens comes with a tripod mount that can be rotated into any position.

The lens weighs 2.86kg and feels solidly built, with weatherproof sealing and low-dispersion glass. In practice the autofocus (AF) works well even in flat light, with crisp and bright images in the viewfinder. While the minimum aperture of f/5 rules out AF with x2 converters, in practice using

a Canon 7D MkII I had plenty of pulling power using the lens coupled to the x1.4, where AF was fast and precise.

FOCUS ON FLEXIBILITY The lens delivered stunning image quality, with and without the matched x1.4 converter. It offered more flexibility than a fixed 500mm, allowing me to capture images that would not have been possible with a fixed telephoto. Using the lens in the steam and bitter cold of Yellowstone was a real test which it passed with flying colours.

Its performance and image quality make it a very serious contender when one considers that similar lenses from the main camera manufacturers cost as much as five times the price. It offers a very affordable quality telephoto option, and a selection of images taken on this test can be viewed at Facebook. com/photoventurestours.

Bald eagle in snowy pine, Mud Volcano REVIEW BY ROGER REYNOLDS HonFRPS

Former Society president and professional travel photographer, Reynolds runs a company that organises specialist photography tours

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IN DEPTH 302 | THE CRAFT | TECHNIQUE

‘An online presence should be central to a photographer’s marketing plan,’ says Mishaal

Get down to business

Ria Mishaal ARPS tells how she went from working in a science lab to setting up as a successful wedding photographer

I

consider myself one of the fortunate ones, although it has taken resolve and focus to get here. It’s my fourth year as a full-time wedding photographer and the most popular dates in the calendar are usually booked up 12 to 18 months in advance. This gives me the freedom to limit my work to 20 to 25 weddings a year, about the right number for getting that precious work-life balance.

A scientist by training, it was a slow process for me to make the shift from a relatively secure, structured scientific career to working full-time as a freelance photographer. On the way, I’ve learned a lot about how to run a successful business, making sure my work is appealing to the sort of client I’m looking for.

Getting started

I have always taken pictures as a way of exploring the world and capturing how I feel. While studying for my PhD at Cambridge University,

I was asked to photograph a friend’s wedding. Reluctant at first, I agreed after being told I was free to photograph the occasion in my own style.

The experience was really enjoyable, and I was proud of my results. One of the couple’s friends saw the wedding album and wanted to hire me, leading to other word-of-mouth commissions.

When I started my first postdoctoral position in a lab, I set up my photography business alongside but wasn’t looking actively for freelance work. By the time I started my second postdoctoral position three years later, I found that my photography business had become more personally rewarding than my job, and although leaving academia was a very difficult decision I have no doubt it was the right one. I became a full-time photographer in September 2011.

Developing a style

Early on I discovered that being true to yourself in your

302 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

It’s key to develop a distinct, recognisable style

TECHNIQUE IN DEPTH

| THE CRAFT | 303

LEFT Mishaal captures a guest’s view ABOVE Personal and authentic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR RIA MISHAAL ARPS An Associate of the Society, Ria Mishaal is also a Licentiate of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers.

Various magazines have published her work and she was a regional finalist in last year’s Wedding Industry Awards.

artistic and business decisions is the best way of setting yourself up as someone different in the market place. Being truly passionate about every aspect of what you do will set you apart. Wedding photographs should be personal and authentic.

Working with a limited number of couples allows me to offer a really personal service. I want to shoot images that capture what it feels like to be at the wedding, which is reflected in my approach to candid moments and portraits.

Brand awareness

It is really important that the focus of my brand – artistry and authenticity – comes across in every aspect of my business. Other key aspects, such as attention to detail and the beauty of the natural world, influence the identity

WORKSHOP

of the brand. It has taken constant refinement, but every year I get closer to an identity that reflects who I am and what I do. I want to work with couples who like the way I see and interpret the world, and who appreciate attention to detail and fine production. I offer sustainably sourced albums made in the UK. I have also designed my own fine-art print box, made by a local artisan, in which I present fine-art reproductions, printed myself. Developing an individual product such as the print box has helped set me apart, while reconfirming what my brand stands for.

Marketing strategy An online presence should be central to a marketing plan. At the core is the website, supported by different ways of sharing

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS

Mishaal captures candid moments

one’s work and communicating through blogs and social media. I work constantly to improve the clarity of my message and refine the website navigation, making it easy and intuitive to use. I’ve learned that ‘less is more’, both in terms of my portfolio and the simplicity of the

information I share.

Having a blog has been a great way of allowing me to showcase my most recent work and connect with ideal clients through the stories I tell. Bear in mind, though, a successful blog requires regular posting, something I struggled with in the past.

By making it part of my workflow and using scheduling tools, I am now following a much more consistent pattern.

Word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing, and social media is a free way of connecting with different people from different backgrounds. I have accounts on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It’s been hard to keep on top of all the social media streams, so I tend to concentrate on those I love the most, such as Instagram. I use Facebook to connect with clients, and Twitter primarily to connect with my industry peers.

For me, the best marketing strategy has been forming relationships with venues and other wedding suppliers who recommend me to couples. I have been careful to connect with venues that have a similar ethos to my own, who treat their clients with care and attention – that way, I know we will attract the same sort of couple.

To see more of Ria Mishaal’s work go to riamishaal.com or find her on Twitter @riamishaal

RIA MISHAAL ARPS AND GEOFF BLACKWELL ARPS ON MAKING PHOTOGRAPHY YOUR BUSINESS, 13 AND 14 APRIL. FOR MORE INFO GO TO RPS.ORG/LEARNING/WORKSHOPS VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 303

MASTERCLASS 304 | THE CRAFT | TECHNIQUE

Your 12-step guide to setting up in business

Ria Mishaal ARPS and Geoff Blackwell ARPS share their top tips to get the ball rolling

1

IDENTIFY YOUR SKILLS AND YOUR PRODUCT Become a specialist in one area. Develop a distinct and original style to set yourself apart from the competition.

2

ESTABLISH YOUR IDEAL CLIENT Discover who you want to work with and why. Identify what kind of service they’re looking for. Your business effort should be targeted at your ideal clients.

3

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH Investigate your potential clients, the market, the price and demand for the service, as well as your competitors.

4

CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN Develop a guide to how you intend to run your business. See it as a business tool that allows you to measure your progress against your aims.

5

PREPARE A YEARLY BUDGET Calculate your financial requirements, including recurring expenses, and personal needs. Consider this, and your competitors, in determining your price.

6

KEEP RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS IN ORDER If records are kept up to date they will feel less of a burden. Record all income and expenditure as soon as you can. Obtain and retain receipts where possible.

GETTING STARTED

ONWARDS, UPWARDS

11

SHARE WORK ONLINE A blog lets you connect with potential clients. Key social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.

Enable share buttons for these on your site and blog.

304 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

10

BUILD A WEBSITE Make your site easy to navigate. Display only the most salient information, and your best portfolio.

Ensure it is compatible with mobile devices and different web browsers.

9

DETERMINE A BRAND Design a logo and colour scheme that reaffirms what your business stands for. Use templates for your marketing material, with the brand colours, logo and fonts.

8

CREATE A MANUAL Write down every process involved in your business, simply and concisely. This will give you something to refer to and help you make decisions quickly.

7

ESTABLISH GOOD PROCESSES Invest in good client-management and back-up systems that will keep your work safe. Back up all your data and keep a copy of the software itself.

SHUTTERSTOCK

12

BUILD A REPUTATION Publish your work on blogs and in magazines.

Take part in events with your peers, enter competitions and form alliances with other suppliers in your industry.

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| THE CRAFT | 307 M Y FAV O U R I T E C A M E R A

Canon EOS-1D X

Art Wolfe HonFRPS on how his Canon helps him see the world in an inspiring new light Choosing a favourite camera at this moment is not all that difficult.

I recently published Earth is my Witness, and couldn’t have done it without my Canon EOS-1D X. Witness covers 40 years of my career (so far, I’m not done yet) and when I started delving into my archives and pulling out transparencies of what I remembered to be my best work and favourite shots, they just didn’t hold up. The quality wasn’t there compared to what I have been shooting in the last 12 to 18 months with the 1D X. Armed with that knowledge I set out to some old and familiar locations, as well as some I’d always wanted to try to shoot. I travelled to Brazil to the Buraco das Araras where macaws flit past like sparrows so fast you can’t move your eye from the viewfinder or you’ll miss everything. I never could have frozen these birds in motion without the advancements in autofocus tracking in the 1D X. Also in Brazil is the Pantanal, one of my favourite destinations, with a density of avian species like no other, but I was after jaguars hunting along the riverbank. I travelled the river in a small boat looking for telltale signs while hand-holding the camera, as a tripod was useless in this situation. I could never have imagined attempting such shots a few years ago — the only way I could have hoped to get a sharp image was to bump the ISO up into the 1,000 range and higher. The 1D X was made for this situation. Even without any noise reduction at those numbers I was getting betterquality, sharper-focused images than I ever have before.

I went back to Alaska, too, to photograph brown bears. Sharp, fast shutter speeds froze every hair and drop of water as they charged the spawning salmon in the river, and I felt like a kid again.

EARTH IS MY WITNESS Filled with images from the past that are either inaccessible or no longer exist, the book is a document of the world’s fastdisappearing wildlife, landscapes and cultures, and aims to inspire those who want to preserve them. See more at artwolfe.com AUTHOR PROFILE ART WOLFE HonFRPS Awarded his HonFRPS in 2005, Wolfe is a recipient of the North American Nature Photography Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 307

Photography in Iceland with Frank Bradford

September 2015 10 or 14 days

Explore this magical island with Frank Bradford, specialist in northern European photography; from the volcanic craters & fumaroles of the south to the eastern fjords & glacier canyons of the north.

www.ammounvoyages.co.uk info@ammounvoyages.co.uk +44 (0)330 223 2213

JOURNEYS TO BEAUTIFUL PLACES ATOL PROTECTED. Images courtesy of www.frankbradfordpix.com

MEMBER Our life and times

| GUIDE | 309

GUIDE

YOUR RPS EVENTS ! COURSES PROGRAMME

APR!MAY!JUN

Above: From Flogging a Dead Horse, by Paul Reas

GO TO RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

Below: From The Altogether,

by Chris Coekin

Event has great line-up of photographers capturing how we live today

T

he Contemporary Group hosts its sixth annual weekend, Concerning Photography, next month in Sheffield. The event features a roster of seven high-profile speakers who will talk about everything from documentary photography to digital media.

Paul Reas, senior lecturer and course leader of documentary photography at the University of South Wales, Newport, led the field in colour documentary photography in the 1980s. At the event, you can hear about how he captured the spirit of Britain at a time of great change. ‘The

pictures are more about systems people find themselves in,’ he has said. ‘Everything I photograph is as it happens.’

Other speakers include Chris Coekin, who documents contemporary Britain, Melanie Manchot, who will talk about her film and video work, and Zelda Cheatle, a gallerist and a judge of the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards.

The event also includes a chance for attendees to formally show and discuss their own work, in a two-hour session.

For details see page 314 VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 309

310 | GUIDE |

REGIONS

GO TO

Meet photographers and view work in your area

RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

CENTRAL MIKE SHARPLES ARPS, 07884 657535 MIKES.SHARPLES(VIRGIN.NET

ADVISORY DAY AND AGM

MULTIMEDIA DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY

RALPH BENNETT ARPS, 01636 651277

SATURDAY 30 MAY / 10:30$16:30

RALPH.EMRPS(GMAIL.COM

`` £10/£7.50/£3 spectators `` With panel members Richard Brown

FRPS ADVISORY DAY

FRPS and Howard Bagshaw ARPS `` Smethwick Photographic Society, Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Richard Brown and Howard Bagshaw, distinctions@rps.org

EAST MIDLANDS

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$16:30

`` £31.95 members `` See online for details `` Radisson Park Inn Nottingham, Mansfield Road, Nottingham NG5 2BT

`` Ralph Bennett, as above

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:00$16:00

`` £20/£15 members `` Visual Arts with Leigh Preston FRPS and Malcolm Kus ARPS

MIDLANDS SALON SPECIAL EVENING VIEWING

DES CLINTON FRPS, 0035 341 983 7824

FRIDAY 19 JUNE / 19:30$22:00

DESCLINTON(EIRCOM.NET

`` £2.50 members `` Smethwick Photographic Society,

`` Smethwick Photographic Society, Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Mike Sharples ARPS, as above

Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Mike Sharples ARPS, as above

ANNE SUTCLIFFE FRPS WITH SMETHWICK PS

EAST ANGLIA

THURSDAY 23 APRIL / 19:30$22:00

IAN WILSON ARPS, 07767 473594

`` £2.50 members `` View ‘Happy by myself’ by Anne

IAN(GREENMEN.ORG.UK

JOHN HOOTON FRPS

Sutcliffe FRPS

`` Smethwick Photographic Society,

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30$16:30

`` Hooton captures images of Ireland’s

Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Mike Sharples ARPS, as above

Atlantic coastline. The Society Members’ Biennial exhibition will also be on display `` Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0RE `` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above

ADVISORY WORKSHOP TUESDAY 19 MAY / 19:30$22:00

`` £10/£8/£5 spectators `` Visual Art, LRPS, ARPS with Roger

KEN PAYNE, GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR IMAGES USING LIGHTROOM AND PHOTOSHOP

Parry ARPS and Anne Sutcliffe FRPS

`` Smethwick Photographic Society,

Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Mike Sharples ARPS, as above

LONDON DEL BARRETT ARPS LONDONEVENTS(RPS.ORG

FIRST TUESDAY ! APRIL MEETING TUESDAY 7 APRIL / 19:00$21:00

`` £5/£3 members `` Shooting for stock `` Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS

`` Del Barrett ARPS, as above ADOBE LIGHTROOM LIBRARY AND ORGANISATION WORKSHOP SATURDAY 11 APRIL / 9:45$16:15

`` £55/£45 members `` Learn to utilise the organisation and library part of the workflow solution with Julian Rouse LRPS `` Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Road London E1 1BU `` Del Barrett ARPS, as above

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:15$16:30

`` £16/£12/£8 group members `` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road,

PETER CLARK FRPS WITH SMETHWICK PS

Foxton, Cambs CB22 6RN

`` John Margetts ARPS,

events@rpseasterndigital.org.uk

THURSDAY 21 MAY / 19:30$22:00

`` For details see DI Group

`` View ‘My Life in Monochrome’ by Peter Clark FRPS `` Smethwick Photographic Society, Churchbridge, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Mike Sharples ARPS, as above

EIRE

The North West region will hear from award-winning photographer Laura Pannack Image: Jacob by Laura Pannack

REGIONAL EXHIBITION SELECTION AND AGM

SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 9:45 $16:15

`` £55/£45 members `` A complete workflow solution for the digital photographer

`` The Idea Store, 321 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BU

`` Del Barrett ARPS, as above

SUNDAY 10 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton, Cambs CB22 6RN `` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above

TRAVEL GROUP FIELD TRIP TO STAMFORD SUNDAY 31 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £15/£10 members `` Spend a day in this beautiful and historical market town `` Casterton Church Hall, Casterton Church Hall, Stamford PE9 4AP `` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above

STEVE CAPLIN: HOW TO CHEAT IN PHOTOSHOP SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 10:00$16:30

`` £16/£12/£8 group members `` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN `` John Margetts ARPS, events@ rpseasterndigital.org.uk `` See DI group for details 310 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

ADOBE LIGHTROOM DEVELOP WORKSHOP

EASTERN THAMES CROSSINGS SATURDAY 9 MAY / 10:00

`` £10/£5 members `` First in a series of walks `` Fresh Beverages, 275 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BY

`` Del Barrett ARPS, as above ADOBE LIGHTROOM BOOK PUBLISHING WORKSHOP SATURDAY 16 MAY / 09:45$16:15

`` £55/£45 members `` Learn to utilise the book publishing part of the workflow solution

`` Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Road London E1 1BU

`` Del Barrett ARPS, as above NORTH WALES DON LANGFORD LRPS, 01758 713572

DONCHRISLANGFORD(BTINTERNET.COM

DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY "

| GUIDE | 311 CELEBRATION OF DISTINCTIONS SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$17:00

`` £20/£15/£10/£5 spectator half-day `` Craig-y-Don Community Centre, Queens Road, Llandudno LL30 1TE

`` Christine Langford,

donchrislangford@btinternet.com NORTH WEST DR AFZAL ANSARY ASIS FRPS, 07970 403672 AFZALANSARY(AOL.COM

PHOTOGRAPHING MUSICIANS SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 11:00 $14:00

`` £5/£4 members `` Photograph musicians in action `` Wilmslow Guild, 1 Bourne Street, Wilmslow SK9 5HD

`` Alan Angel FRPS,

aandjangel@btinternet.com

LAURA PANNACK !

RPS#SPONSORED SPEAKER SUNDAY 10 MAY / 10:30 $16:00

`` £15/£10 members `` Hear from award-winning photographer Laura Pannack `` Hough End Centre, Mauldeth Road West, Manchester M21 7SX `` Afzal Ansary FRPS, as above

Don’t miss the Special Interest Groups conference, hosted by the South East Region Image: Narrow Boats, Dudley Branch Canal by Mike Sasse

VISUAL ART GROUP SPRING WEEKEND: PERTH THURSDAY 16 APRIL $ MONDAY 20 APRIL

`` See website for cost `` Mercure Perth Hotel, West Mill Street,

SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 10:30$13:00

`` £15/£12.50 members `` We will have models dressed in Victorian costumes

`` Tabley Hall, Knutsford, Cheshire

VISUAL ART GROUP AGM 2015

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS CONFERENCE SOUTH#EAST

`` Mercure Perth Hotel, West Mill Street,

btinternet.com

Perth PH1 5QP `` David Wood ARPS, wood.david.j@virgin.net

NORTHERN J.BLACK70(BTINTERNET.COM

DI GROUP SCOTLAND CENTRE MEETING

DISTINCTIONS WORKSHOP/ ADVISORY DAY

`` £8/£7 group members `` Bridge of Allan Parish Church, Keir

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 13:30$16:30

Street, Bridge of Allan FK9 4NW Doug Berndt ARPS, digscotland@rps.org `` See DI Group for details

SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:00$17:00

`` £20/£15/£10 spectators `` Workshop with Rikki O’Neill FRPS, Peter Patterson FRPS and Leo Palmer FRPS `` Backworth Hall, Backworth, Nr Newcastle, Tyne and Wear NE27 0AH `` Brian Pearson ARPS, 0191 2575051, brianpearson41@btinternet.com NORTHERN IRELAND DAMIAN MCDONALD ARPS, 07902 481691 DAMIANMCDONALD(OUTLOOK.COM SCOTLAND JAMES FROST FRPS, 01578 730466 JAMES.FROST11(BTINTERNET.COM

PHOTO FORUM ! LASSWADE SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 11:00$16:00

`` £10/£8 members `` Informal day to meet members for constructive feedback on all levels of work

`` Midlothian Camera Club, 7 Polton Road, Lasswade EH18 1AB

`` James Frost FRPS, as above

YOUR EVENTS To ensure inclusion of your events in The RPS Journal please post them on the RPS website six weeks prior to publication. For a list of deadlines, cancellations or lastminute amendments please contact Emma Wilson on 0141 375 0504 or email emma.wilson@ thinkpublishing.co.uk These listings are correct at time of going to print

SOUTH EAST TERRY MCGHIE ARPS, 01323 492584

WA16 0HB

JANE BLACK ARPS, 0191 252 2870

Larkhall ML9 2BL

`` James Frost FRPS, as above

wood.david.j@virgin.net `` See Visual Art Group for details

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 17:30$19:00

`` Alan Angel FRPS, aandjangel@

on your work

`` Cameronian Hall, Victoria Street,

Perth PH1 5QP

`` David Wood ARPS,

VICTORIAN EXTRAVAGANZA

`` A day to have constructive feedback

DUNFERMLINE SPRING WEEKEND SATURDAY 16 MAY $ SUNDAY 17 MAY

`` See website for costs `` Our once every two-year weekend event of photographic celebration

`` Carnegie College Conference Centre, Carnegie College, Dunfermline KY11 8DT

`` James Frost FRPS, as above

SOUTHEAST(RPS.ORG

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30$17:00

`` £15/£10 concessions `` Joint Special Interest Groups Conference: Creative, Imaging Science, Archaeology and Heritage, and Digital Imaging `` Beechwood Sacred Heart School, 12 Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3QD `` Terry McGhie ARPS, as above

AV PRESENTATION BY HOWARD BAGSHAW ARPS SUNDAY 3 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £10/£7.50 members `` Consider applying for a Society Distinction in the Multimedia category by the submission of AV sequences `` The Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane, Crawley Down RH10 4LJ `` Terry McGhie ARPS, as above SOUTH WALES MIKE LEWIS, 07855 309667, 01446 710770 MIKEGLEWIS101(BTINTERNET.COM

DI GROUP SCOTLAND: JUNE 2015 MEETING

SOUTH WEST

SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 13:30$16:30

MARTIN HOWSE ARPS, 01326 221939

`` £8/£7 members `` Bridge of Allan Parish Church, Keir

MGHVKH(BTINTERNET.COM

Street, Bridge of Allan FK9 4NW

FIELD TRIP TO PREDANNACK AIRFIELD

PHOTO FORUM LARKHALL

`` £5 `` Fully booked `` RAF Predannack, Predannack Airfield,

`` Doug Berndt ARPS, digscotland@rps.org

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30 SUNDAY 28 JUNE / 11:00$16:00

`` £10/£8 members

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 311

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| GUIDE | 313 The Lizard TR12 7AU

`` Vivien Howse, 01326 221939, vivien939@btinternet.com

DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:30$16:30

`` £20/£15/£10 spectators `` The Dolphin Hotel, Station Road, Bovey Tracey TQ13 9NG

`` Martin Howse ARPS, 01326 221939, mghvkh@btinternet.com

WEST CORNWALL GROUP MEETING TUESDAY 19 MAY / 19:30$21:30

`` Chacewater Village Hall, Church Hill, Chacewater, Truro TR4 8PZ

`` Vivien Howse ARPS, 01326 221939, Vivien939@btinternet.com

A WALK AROUND STOVER COUNTRY PARK SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 10:30$16:00

`` Explore a number of nature trails and photograph wildfowl on the lake `` Stover Country Park, A382, Newton Abbot TQ12 6QG `` Mick Medley, 01626 824865, michael.medley@btinternet.com SOUTHERN

South West Region is hosting a photography walk around Stover Country Park in Newton Abbot on 14 June Image: Mick Medley

SUNDAY 24 MAY / 10:00$15:30

SUNDAY 17 MAY / 10:00$16:00

`` £12/£8 group members `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview

`` £8/£7/£5 group members `` Chris Rourke demonstrates his

Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA

`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org `` For details see DI Group DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY

PETER HARTLAND ARPS, 07774 184120

SUNDAY 28 JUNE / 10:00$16:00

SOUTHERN(RPS.ORG

`` £20/£15/£10 observers `` Lacey Green, Millennium Hall, Main

DI GROUP SOUTHERN CENTRE: PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS OF A PHOTOJOURNALIST SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$16:00

`` £8/£6 students and group members `` Greyfriars Community Centre, 44 Christchurch Road, Ringwood BH24 1DW

`` Barry Senior HonFRPS, 01425 471489, digsouthern@rps.org

`` See DI Group for details THAMES VALLEY

MARK BUCKLEY,SHARP ARPS, 020 8907 5874 MARK.BUCKLEY,SHARP(TISCALI.CO.UK

DIG THAMES VALLEY: PHOTO MEDLEY SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:00$15:30

`` £12/£8 group members `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview Close, Wokingham, Surrey RG41 3DA

`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org `` For details see DI Group FELLOWSHIP ADVISORY DAY SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:00$16:00

`` £30 `` Small group workshop with two advisors (TBC) from the Distinctions Advisory Board or Fellowship Board `` Lacey Green, Millennium Hall, Main Street, Lacey Green HP27 0QN `` Mark Buckley-Sharp ARPS, as above

DIG THAMES VALLEY: INTRODUCTION TO ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PLUS PDI COMPETITION

Road Lacey Green HP27 0QN `` Mark Buckley-Sharp ARPS, as above

infra-red photography techniques

`` Merryfield Village Hall, Ilton, Nr Taunton TA19 9HG

`` Glenda Colquhoun, digwestern@rps.org WESTERN REGION MEMBERS’ MEETING IN HIGHNAM SUNDAY 17 MAY / 10:00$13:00

`` £5 `` Parish Rooms, Highnam Community Centre, Newent Road, Highnam GL2 8DG

WESTERN TONY COOPER ARPS, 01225 421097

`` Bob Train, 01 452 521 424, bobtrain@tiscali.co.uk

TONY(PHOTOSCOOP.CO.UK

WESTERN REGION MEMBERS’ MEETING IN BATH SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:00$12:30

`` £2 `` Prints for display and discussion `` RPS HQ, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH

WESTERN REGION MEMBERS’ MEETING IN BATH SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 10:00$13:00

`` £2 `` Members’ digitally projected images, panoramas and AVs

`` RPS HQ, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road Bath BA2 3AH

`` Tony Cooper ARPS, as above

`` Tony Cooper ARPS, as above

WESTERN REGION MEMBERS’ MEETING IN ILTON

MARY CROWTHER LRPS, 07921 237962

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:00$13:00

PHOTOBOX50(GMAIL.COM

`` £5 `` Presentation by Pauline Rook `` Merryfield Hall, Ilton TA19 9HG `` Mick Humphries LRPS, 01823 443955, mick@somersite.co.uk

WESTERN REGION MEMBERS’ MEETING IN BATH SUNDAY 10 MAY / 10:00$13:00

`` £7 `` Lecture by Andrew Burns on astronomy and its photography `` RPS HQ, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH `` Tony Cooper ARPS, as above

DI GROUP WESTERN: INFRA#RED PHOTOGRAPHY !

CHRIS ROURKE

YORKSHIRE

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$10:45

`` £2/£1 members `` See committee members for nomination forms

`` Carleton Community Centre, Carleton Road, Pontefract WF8 3RJ

`` Mary Crowther LRPS, as above LOOK AND LEARN SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$16:00

`` £10/£7 members `` Geoff Blackwell ARPS reveals all about his three passions of photography, photographs and postage stamps `` Carleton Community Centre, Carleton Road, Pontefract WF8 3RJ `` Robert Helliwell, bobhelliwellclara.co.uk VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 313

INTEREST GROUPS 314 | GUIDE | SPECIAL

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

KEN PAYNE: GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR IMAGES USING LIGHTROOM AND PHOTOSHOP SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:15$16:30

`` £16/£12/£8 group members `` Create maximum impact and improve images for club and other competitions

`` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN

`` John Margetts ARPS,

Explore more about aspects of photography and imaging

events@rpseasterndigital.org.uk

3D(RPS.ORG

DI GROUP SOUTHERN CENTRE: PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS OF A PHOTOJOURNALIST

TIME LAPSE MACRO STEREO PHOTOGRAPHY

`` £8/£6 students and group members `` David Shaw creates in-depth photo

3D IMAGING AND HOLOGRAPHY PETER FREEMAN LRPS, 01462 893633

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:30$16:00

SATURDAY 9 MAY/ 18:00$20:00

`` Joint meeting with the Stereoscopic Society. Hear from Dr Robert Pryce

`` St Pancras Church Hall, Lancing Street, Camden NW1 1NA

`` Peter Freeman LRPS, as above ANALOGUE DAVID HEALEY ARPS, 07968 746 211 ANALOGUE(RPS.ORG

Meet the Stereoscopic Society and the Holographic Society in Camden Image: Primroses by Peter Freeman LRPS

AV PRESENTATION BY HOWARD BAGSHAW ARPS SUNDAY 3 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £10/£7.50 members `` The Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane,

essays and articles focusing on human rights and social issues `` Greyfriars Community Centre, 44 Christchurch Road, Ringwood BH24 1DW `` Barry Senior HonFRPS, 01425 471489, digsouthern@rps.org

DI GROUP SCOTLAND CENTRE MEETING SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 13:30$16:30

`` £8/£7 group members `` Hear from Malcolm McBeath ARPS

RODNEY.THRING(NTLWORLD.COM

Crawley Down RH10 4LJ `` Terry McGhie ARPS, 01323 492584, southeast@rps.org `` See South East Region for details

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS CONFERENCE SE REGION

MULTIMEDIA DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY DAY

`` Doug Berndt ARPS, digscotland@rps.org

ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE RODNEY BERNARD THRING LRPS, 01276 20725

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30$17:00

SATURDAY 30 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £15/£10 concessions `` Beechwood Sacred Heart School, 12

`` £10/£7.50/£3 spectators `` Smethwick Photographic Society,

Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3QD `` Terry McGhie ARPS, 01323 492584, southeast@rps.org `` See South East Region for details

Churchbridge, West Midlands B69 2AS `` Richard Brown and Howard Bagshaw ARPS, distinctions@rps.org

BROOKLANDS MUSEUM OF MOTORING AND AVIATION

WORDSNPICSLTD(GMAIL.COM

`` £11/£10 senior citizens `` Birthplace of UK aviation and motoring `` Brooklands Museum, Brooklands

CONCERNING PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKEND SATURDAY 16 MAY $ SUNDAY 17 MAY

Road, Weybridge KT13 0SL `` Mike Sasse, 01892 531179, mike.sasse@btinternet.com

`` £135 `` Sheffield Hallam University,

CHURCHES IN LONDON

avrilrharris@blueyonder.co.uk

Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB

`` Avril Harris, 020 8360 7996,

`` Shoot in three local churches `` St Mary Abchurch, Abchurch Lane,

DI GROUP WESTERN: INFRA#RED PHOTOGRAPHY ! CHRIS ROURKE SUNDAY 17 MAY / 10:00$16:00

`` £8/£7/£5 group members `` Chris Rourke demonstrates his infra-red photography techniques

`` Merryfield Village Hall, Ilton, Nr Taunton TA19 9HG

`` Glenda Colquhoun, digwestern@rps.org

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS CONFERENCE SE REGION

`` £12/£8 group members `` With Danny Thomas, from Farnham

BARRY COLLIN LRPS

SUNDAY 24 MAY / 10:00$ 15:30

AGM AND ANNUAL PRINT DAY

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30$17:00

`` £15/£10 concessions `` Beechwood Sacred Heart School, 12

SATURDAY 6 JUNE / 10:00$16:00

`` Find out more about the group `` Leatherhead Institute, 67 High Street,

314 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org

CREATIVECHAIR(RPS.ORG

CREATIVE

EC4N 7BA `` Garry Bisshopp ARPS, 01323 891146, gb.photo@btinternet.com

HANDJAF(VIRGINMEDIA.COM

SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:00$15:30

`` £12/£8 group members `` With Colin Trow-Poole FRPS `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview

DIG THAMES VALLEY: INTRODUCTION TO ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PLUS PDI COMPETITION

WEDNESDAY 6 MAY/10.30$15.30

AUDIO VISUAL

DIG THAMES VALLEY: PHOTO MEDLEY

PETER ELLIS LRPS, 07770 837977

WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL / 10:30$14:00

HOWARD FISHER LRPS, 0115 9372898

Street, Bridge of Allan FK9 4NW

Close, Wokingham, Surrey RG41 3DA

CONTEMPORARY

Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8AH `` Mike Sasse, 01892 531179, mike.sasse@btinternet.com

and Doug Berndt ARPS

`` Bridge of Allan Parish Church, Keir

Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3QD

GO TO RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

`` Terry McGhie ARPS,

01323 492584, southeast@rps.org

`` See South East Region for details DIGITAL IMAGING JANET HAINES ARPS, 07779 728844 DIGCHAIR(RPS.ORG

Astronomy Society, and PDI competition judge Amanda Wright `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA `` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org

STEVE CAPLIN: HOW TO CHEAT IN PHOTOSHOP SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 10:00$16:30

`` £16/£12/£8 group members `` Caplin is an expert on manipulation

| GUIDE | 315 and photomontage using Photoshop

MEDICAL

`` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road,

DR AFZAL ANSARY ASIS FRPS, 07970 403672

Foxton CB22 6RN

AFZALANSARY(AOL.COM

`` John Margetts ARPS, events@

Street, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1AZ

`` Keith Pointon LRPS, as above IMAGES OF MYANMAR

rpseasterndigital.org.uk

NATURE MARGARET JOHNSON LRPS, 01159 265893

DOCUMENTARY AND VISUAL JOURNALISM

M.JOS(BTINTERNET.COM

TUESDAY 26 MAY $ THURSDAY 4 JUNE

`` £1,750 `` Keith Pointon, as above

MO CONNELLY LRPS, 01590 641849

AGM, SPRING MEETING AND EXHIBITION

DVJ(RPS.ORG

SYMPOSIUM ON WAR PHOTOGRAPHY

SATURDAY 11 APRIL, 10.30$16.30

`` Includes presentation by Jill Pakenham FRPS and opening of the 2015 exhibition

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 11:00$16:00

`` To commemorate the Great War `` The Discovery Centre, Jewry Street,

`` Smethwick Photographic Society, The Old Schoolhouse, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 2AS `` See Society website for details

Winchester S023 8SB `` Mo Connelly LPRS, as above

RESIDENTIAL WEEKEND

HISTORICAL JENNIFER FORD ARPS, 01234 881459

FRIDAY 5 JUNE $ MONDAY 8 JUNE

JENNYFORD2000(YAHOO.CO.UK

`` See website for costs `` Preston Montford, Montford Bridge,

VISIT THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST (AM OR PM)

`` View images collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

`` Windsor Castle, Windsor SL4 1NJ `` Geoff Blackwell, gblackwell@fastmail. fm, 0114 266 8655

`` £10/£6 `` Curator-led visits to Manchester Central Library and the Museum of Science and Industry `` St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD `` Gilly Read FRPS, readgilly@hotmail.com

`` £2,169 `` From Calgary to Vancouver, through

FIELD MEETING TO THE AINSDALE DUNES

`` Aline Hopkins,

SATURDAY 29 AUGUST , SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER

some of the west’s remarkable scenery

alinehopkins@btinternet.com

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS CONFERENCE SE REGION

`` £15/£10 concessions `` Beechwood Sacred Heart School, 12

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER $ SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER

`` £140 members/£36 meeting and

FIELD MEETING TO LAKENHEATH RSPB RESERVE

bosrowynek@btinternet.com

dinner only

`` Guided visits to places of interest `` The Falmouth Hotel, Castle Beach, Falmouth TR11 4NZ

`` Margaret Hocking, 01872 561219, VISUAL ART VIVECA KOH FRPS, 07956 517524 VIVECA.KOH(GMAIL.COM

Fen, Nr Lakenheath IP27 9AD

MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION 2015

ann@pin-sharp.co.uk

`` Landmark Arts Centre, Ferry Road,

`` Ann Miles FRPS, 07710 383586,

SUNDAY 12 APRIL / 10:30$17:00

WEEKEND IN FALMOUTH

Promenade, Shore Road, Ainsdale-onSea, Nr Southport PR8 2QB `` Trevor Davenport, 01704 870284 or 07831 643844, trevor.davenport@ virgin.net

`` £4 parking `` Photograph the abundant bird population `` Lakenheath RSPB Reserve, Lakenheath

TONYKAYE(HOTMAIL.CO.UK

southeast@rps.org

and contribute to Book Bus literacy project

`` Liz Rhodes, lizrh@tiscali.co.uk

or 07810 306365, jamesfoadlrps@inbox.com

SATURDAY 13 JUNE / 9:00$17:00

IMAGING SCIENCE DR TONY KAYE ASIS FRPS, 020 8420 6557

`` See South East Region for details

FRIDAY 3 JULY $ SUNDAY 19 JULY

`` £3,479 `` Photograph wildlife, rural and fishing life,

WESTERN CANADA

`` Photograph dune flora and wildlife `` The Ainsdale Discovery Centre, The

FRIDAY 29 MAY / 9:00$17:00

Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3QD

TRIP TO ZAMBIA AND MALAWI

SATURDAY 6 JUNE / 10:00 JUNE

A DAY IN MANCHESTER

`` Terry McGhie ARPS, 01323 492584,

SUNDAY 31 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £15/£10 members `` Casterton Church Hall, Stamford PE9 4AP `` Ian Wilson ARPS, ian@greenmen.org.uk `` For details see East Anglia Region

Shrewsbury SY4 1DX

`` James Foad LRPS, 01843 580295

TUESDAY 28 APRIL / 10:15$12.30 OR 14:15$16.30

FIELD TRIP TO STAMFORD

UNTIL MONDAY 6 APRIL

Teddington TW11 9NN

TRAVEL

Enjoy the scenic delights of Ainsdale Beach with the Nature Group Image: Shutterstock

KEITH POINTON LRPS, 01588 640592

`` Jay Charnock FRPS, jaypix@hotmail.co.uk

BAGPOINT(AOL.COM

NEW MEMBERS’ MEETING FRIDAY 15 MAY 2015 / 14:00$18:30

`` A chance to meet the committee and discuss the benefits of being a member

SPRING WEEKEND: PERTH + AGM THURSDAY 16 APRIL $ MONDAY 20 APRIL

`` See website for cost, AGM on Sunday `` Mercure Perth Hotel, West Mill Street, Perth PH1 5QP

`` Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1AZ `` Keith Pointon LRPS, as above

`` David Wood ARPS,

SPRING WEEKEND ! 2015

PATRONAGE

SATURDAY 16 MAY 2015 / 9:00$15:00

`` Two inspiring days of presentations by guest speakers and members `` The Assembly Rooms, 1 Mill Street, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1AZ `` Keith Pointon LRPS, as above

TRAVEL GROUP AGM SUNDAY 17 MAY 2015 / 15:15$17:00

`` To be held immediately following the group’s spring weekend `` The Assembly Rooms, Ludlow, 1 Mill

wood.david.j@virgin.net

Society patronage has been granted to the following exhibitions and salons 3RD BANGKOK PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION CLOSING DATE: 2 APRIL 2015

`` bpsie.com `` Ref: 2015/24 VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 315

316 | GUIDE |

WORKSHOPS

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE / 10:00$17:00

`` £135/£110 members `` A workshop for experienced wedding

Hear from the experts and hone your skills

pros and the beginner

`` Workshops take place at The Royal

`` Thrumpton, Nottingham

Photographic Society’s headquarters and other venues around the country `` The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH `` For further information, go to rps.org/events and search under ‘Workshops’ or call 01225 325733 or email reception@rps.org

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH CHILDREN AND BABIES SATURDAY 6 JUNE / 10:00$17:00

`` £95/£71 members Lacock, Wiltshire

DIGITAL MONOCHROME PRINTING SAT 6 JUNE$SUN 7 JUNE / 10:00$16:00

`` £175/£145 members `` Get the best out of your digital

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

camera

MON 13 APRIL $ TUE 14 APRIL / 10:00$16:00

`` £190/£165 members

EXMOOR IN EARLY SUMMER

THE DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE ! CROMFORD MILL

`` £95/£71 members `` Somerset, Porlock Weir

SATURDAY 6 JUNE / 14:00$21:00

SATURDAY 18 APRIL / 9:00$18:00

`` £130/£105 members `` A fantastic location with historical buildings and wonderful countryside

`` Cromford Mill, Derbyshire

ONE#DAY INTRODUCTION TO YOUR DIGITAL SLR SATURDAY 18 APRIL / 10:00$17:00

`` £85/£63 members WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SAT 18 APRIL $ SUN 19 APRIL / 10:00$16:30

`` £95/£71 members WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES

Join The Different Landscape workshop at Cromford Mill in Derbyshire on 18 April Image: Shutterstock

WET COLLODION NEGATIVES AND PRINTS FRI 12 JUNE$SAT 13 JUNE /9:30$18:00

`` £135/£110 members `` Thrumpton, Nottingham

`` £195/£170 members `` A two-day workshop `` Photo Parlour, Monk Street, Derby

ONE#DAY INTRODUCTION TO YOUR DIGITAL SLR

DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE !

ILAM HALL

WEDNESDAY 6 MAY / 10:00$17:00

SATURDAY 9 MAY / 10:00$17:00

SATURDAY 13 JUNE / 9:00$18:00

`` £85/£63 members

`` £130/£105 members `` Eighty four acres of beautiful parkland

SHOOTING FOR STOCK

`` £160/£135 members `` Lacock, Wiltshire

`` £65/£48 members

INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOSHOP

LIGHTROOM WORKSHOP

on the banks of the River Manifold

`` Peak District, Ilam Hall, Ashbourne

MONDAY 11 MAY / 10:30$16:30

ONE#DAY INTRODUCTION TO YOUR DIGITAL SLR

SUNDAY 19 APRIL / 10:00$17:00

SATURDAY 16 MAY / 10:00$16:00

SATURDAY 13 JUNE / 10:00$17:00

`` £95/£71 members

`` £95/£71 members

`` £85/£63 members

ART NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY

STUDIO PORTRAITURE

SATURDAY 25 APRIL / 10:00$16:30

SAT 16 MAY$ SUN 17 MAY / 10:00$16:30

`` £115/£90 members `` Lacock, Wiltshire

`` £160/£135 members `` Lacock, Wiltshire

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

PLANT AND GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY

PRINTING WITH LIGHTROOM

SATURDAY 25 APRIL / 10:00$17:00

`` £155/£130 members `` For those who love photographing plants and landscapes and may be considering it as a profession `` The Walled Garden, Selwood St, Mells, Somerset

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH CHILDREN AND BABIES SUNDAY 26 APRIL / 10:00$17:00

`` £95/£71 members Lacock, Wiltshire

INTRODUCTION TO THE CREATIVE EYE SATURDAY 2 MAY / 10:00$16:30

316 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

SAT 13 JUNE $ SUN 14 JUNE / 10:00$16:30

`` £160/£135 members `` Lacock, Wiltshire AMBROTYPES WORKSHOP

SUNDAY 17 MAY / 10:00$16:00

`` £95/£71 members

SUNDAY 14 JUNE / 9:30$18:00

`` £120/£95 members `` Learn how to make ambrotypes,

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

which you can take home with you

MONDAY 18 MAY / 10:30$16:30

`` £155/£130 members `` Colerne near Bath

`` Photo Parlour, Monk Street, Derby ART NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY

TWO#DAY PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP

SATURDAY 20 JUNE / 10:00$16:30

`` £115/£90 members `` Lacock, Wiltshire

SAT 30 MAY $ SUN 31 MAY/ 10:00$17:00

`` £165/£140 members

GO TO

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

MON 1 JUNE $ TUE 2 JUNE / 10:00$16:00

`` £190/£165 members

ONE#DAY PLANT AND GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP SATURDAY 20 JUNE / 10:00 $17:00

`` £155/£130 members `` Mells, Somerset, The Walled Garden, Selwood St, Mells

| GUIDE | 317 92ND SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SALON 2015

`` printsalonvarna.org `` Ref: 2015/30

LIGHT WORKS ! EDINBURGH UNTIL FRIDAY 17 APRIL

CLOSING DATE: 4 APRIL 2015

`` scottish-photographic-salon.org `` Ref: 2015/25

14TH INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL IMAGE EXHIBITION 2015

3RD DANUBIUS INTERNATIONAL PHOTO ART SALON ‘BEST OF CF’

`` fotoclubba.org.ar/virtualimage2015 `` Ref: 2015/32

CLOSING DATE: 25 MAY 2015

CLOSING DATE: 5 APRIL 2015

EH2 1AY

INTERNATIONAL IMAGES FOR SCREEN EXHIBITION !

DEVIZES SCREENING TUESDAY 28 APRIL / 19:30$22:00

`` photoclub.voltin.ro `` Ref: 2015/20 10TH INTERNATIONAL SALON !

CIRCUIT OF ART PHOTOGRAPHY ‘WITH LOVE TO WOMEN’ 2015

45TH HKCC INTERNATIONAL SALON OF PICTORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY CLOSING DATE: 28 MAY 2015

`` maitlandsalon.org `` Ref: 2015/31

`` galleryprostir.com `` Ref: 2015/27

8TH INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SALON VARNA

3RD CHELTENHAM INTERNATIONAL SALON OF PHOTOGRAPHY 2015

`` fotosalonvarna.org `` Ref: 2015/26

CLOSING DATE: 10 JUNE 2015

2ND INTERNATIONAL SALON REFLECTIONS SERBIA 2015

`` edinburghphotosalon.org `` Ref: 2015/18

CLOSING DATE: 17 JUNE 2015

CORSICA 2015

CLOSING DATE: 20 APRIL 2015

`` midland-salon.com `` Ref: 2015/19

SALON INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIQUE LE CATON 2015

Churchbridge, West Midlands B69 2AS

INTERNATIONAL PRINT EXHIBITION

`` perpignanphoto.fr `` Ref: 2015/29

CLOSING DATE: 21 APRIL 2015

LESLEY GOODE, EXHIBITIONS MANAGER

`` pca-exhibition.com/balkandream `` Ref: 2015/17

01225 325720, LESLEY(RPS.ORG

1ST INTERNATIONAL SALON OF PRINT AND DIGITAL ART PHOTOGRAPHY VARNA CLOSING DATE: 19 MAY 2015

Lane, Fatfield, Tyne & Wear, NE38 8AB

for Screen

UNTIL SUNDAY 10 MAY

`` Shire Hall Gallery, Market Square, Stafford ST16 2LD

EXHIBITIONS

BALKAN DREAM 2015

THU 25 JUNE $ SAT 8 AUGUST / 12:00$17:00

`` Arts Centre Washington, Biddick

`` Smethwick Photographic Society,

CLOSING DATE: 22 JUNE 2015

66TH MIDLAND SALON

The Old School House, Churchbridge, West Midlands B69 2AS

FRIDAY 8 MAY / 19:30$22:00

`` pca-exhibition.com/corsica `` Ref: 2015/34

CLOSING DATE: 19 APRIL 2015

Research UK, Cambridge Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0RE

`` £3.50/£2.50 members `` Also showing the International Images

CLOSING DATE: 21 JUNE 2015

`` sydney-harbour-international.org.au `` Ref: 2015/09

`` ArtCell Gallery, Cancer

MEMBERS’ BIENNIAL PRINT EXHIBITION: SPECIAL VIEWING

CLOSING DATE: 12 APRIL 2015

SYDNEY HARBOUR INTERNATIONAL

MEMBERS’ BIENNIAL PRINT EXHIBITION

TUESDAY 5 MAY $ SUNDAY 31 MAY

`` cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk/gallery `` Ref: 2015/05

`` srbijafoto.rs `` Ref: 2015/35 2015

Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 2DL

`` Smethwick Photographic Society,

153RD EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY

CLOSING DATE: 12 APRIL 2015

`` Devizes Sports Club, London Road,

UNTIL THURSDAY 30 APRIL

CLOSING DATE: 8 APRIL 2015

TUESDAY 19 MAY $ TUESDAY 16 JUNE

`` Belfast Photo Festival, Andrews Gallery, Titanic Belfast, 1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Belfast BT3 9EP

INTERNATIONAL IMAGES FOR SCIENCE: EDINBURGH

DRAWN BY LIGHT: THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY COLLECTION

WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL $ WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL

UNTIL SUNDAY 21 JUNE

`` Edinburgh Science Festival, 2 Market

`` The National Media Museum,

Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DE

Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ

OVERSEAS CHAPTERS

Royal Photographic Society members around the world

`` AUSTRALIA Elaine Herbert ARPS, eherbert@ alphalink.com.au `` BENELUX Stephen Johns, Steve_johns@me.com `` CANADA John Bradford, jb.rps@cogeco.ca `` CHINA BEIJING

`` St Andrew Square, Edinburgh

Yan Li, yanli88@yahoo.com `` CHINA CHONQING `` CHINA SICHUAN Wei Han (Richard), oolongcha@ hotmail.com `` CHINA SHANGTUF Guo Jing,

shangtuf@ yahoo.com.cn `` CHINA QUANZHOU Xiaoling Wang, hgudsh@163.com `` GERMANY Chris Renk, info@chrisrenk.de `` HONG KONG Shan Sang Wan FRPS, shansangwan@ yahoo.com.hk `` INDIA Rajen Nandwana, rajennandwana@ gmail.com

`` INDONESIA Agatha Bunanta ARPS, agathabunanta@ gmail.com `` ITALY Olivio Argenti FRPS, info@rps-italy.org `` JAPAN TOKYO Yoshio Miyake, yoshio-raps@ nifty.com `` MALAYSIA Nick Ng, nickng6208@ gmail.com `` MALTA Ruben Buhagiar,

info@rubenbuhagiar. com `` NEW ZEALAND Mark Berger rps@moothall.co.nz `` SINGAPORE Steven Yee Pui Chung FRPS, peacock@ sandvengroup.com `` SOUTHERN SPAIN Mike Naylor, mike@mikenaylor.es `` SRI LANKA Romesh de Silva, romesh@access.lk

`` SWISS CHAPTER Richard Tucker ARPS, tucker42@bluewin.ch `` TAIWAN Joanie Fan Hui Ling ARPS, djpassionfoto@ gmail.com `` USA ATLANTIC CHAPTER Carl Lindgren, lindgren.carl@ gmail.com `` USA PACIFIC CHAPTER Jeff Barton, rps@vadis.net

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 317

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| GUIDE | 319

JOURNAL COUNCIL REPORT ! JANUARY 2015 Minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2014 were approved SOCIETY FINANCE

`` Walter Benzie reported that the Distinctions Advisory Board had discussed revised Distinctions charges. There were questions remaining over the separation of member and non-member rates, and views on charges for overseas members. Council approved the new rates. `` Geoff Blackwell reported that The Society’s cash reserves were ahead of the same period in 2013, and that Nick Rogers had started work on the annual accounts, forecasting a break-even position for 2014. He proposed an increase in the Regions capitation from £1.30 to £1.40 per member, with the minimum amount remaining the same. This was approved.

SOCIETY PREMISES

`` Robert Albright gave a presentation on a meeting held with a museum and the possibility of sharing premises.

After extensive discussion Council decided against taking this any further based on a number of concerns. `` Geoff Blackwell reported that he, Roy Robertson and the Director-General had visited a property in Bath which appeared to fulfil most of The Society’s requirements. Council would view the building later in the day.

Subsequent to the visit Council agreed that further detailed work should be undertaken to assess the financial viability of the building for The Society. `` The Director-General reported that there had been a number of discussions relating to Bristol and Birmingham and opportunities for The Society.

MEMBERSHIP

`` Membership stood at 11,092 at the end of December 2014.

Vanessa Slawson reported that the new member and exit surveys were being completed. Simon Bibb presented a summary of the initial results. Much of the feedback appeared to be around the Distinctions and communication.

GROUPS/REGIONS/ OVERSEAS CHAPTERS `` Mike Lewis’s appointment as regional organiser for South Wales, based in Cardiff, was approved.

The Director-General was asked to provide website and financial access to him and his committee as required. Vanessa Slawson would discuss the idea of coordinating activities across Wales with Don Langford in North Wales. `` The Director-General and Derek Birch reported that Ian Wilson, Terry McGhie and Mark Buckley-Sharp had raised no objection to the change of boundaries affecting their Regions.

Council approved the revision of the London Region boundary to the Greater London administrative area. All members affected by the change would be contacted. `` Council noted that Tony Cutler had stepped down as the German Chapter organiser.

A replacement would be sought.

Council approved a request to form a Sichuan Chapter. `` Walter Benzie noted that the Groups meeting would take place on 14 February, with the elected advisory board members running the day. The agenda would be similar to the regional organisers’ day. `` It was suggested that consideration should be given to forming a Landscape Group as the genre was a popular one and not specifically catered for, although a number of groups did include landscape photography in their journals and programmes. A proposal would be made and the response reviewed.

been replaced and bookcases installed in the meeting room. The security and fire alarms had also been tested and some sensor replacements were required. `` The Society had been made aware of a proposal by Protect the Child and Hannah Weller to lobby for a change in the law relating to the photography of children. A meeting was being sought to present the views of photographers. `` The Society had coordinated a letter in support of the Library of Birmingham’s photography archives which had been published in The Times newspaper.

DISTINCTIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS `` At the request of the CIQ Board, Council approved a group of recipients for CIQ. `` The subject of when Fellowship applicants should be notified of unsuccessful submissions occupied an extended discussion.

It was proposed and agreed that unsuccessful applicants should be informed after the initial panel meeting that they would not be forwarded to the Fellowship Board; that the process be better explained; and that Council would accept the DAB suggestions once new wording had been brought to Council.

EXHIBITIONS

`` Robert Gates gave a summary of

reviewing the number and balance of The Society’s awards to ensure that they were representative of current photography. The intention would be to have Council approve any changes so that they were in place for the 2016 awards.

The Society’s exhibitions. The Members’ Biennial had opened in Bristol. Light Works, The Society’s exhibition for the International Year of Light, would open officially on 30 January in the Royal Academy Courtyard in London, moving on to Belfast and Edinburgh.

A further £10,000 had been received from the STFC to support the exhibition. `` A potential venue had been identified for the International Print Exhibition, at the Old Truman Brewery in London, and negotiations were in hand.

STAFF AND MANAGEMENT MATTERS `` The Director-General reported for Fenton House that the reception area had been redecorated over Christmas.

Its external security lighting had

EDUCATION, WORKSHOPS AND TRADE SHOWS `` David Cooke reported that work on the online course was continuing with a likely launch date of the end of May. A draft affiliation scheme had been

AWARDS

`` A subcommittee would be

positively received by universities and this needed finalising for Council’s approval.

RPS JOURNAL

`` The Journal had been shortlisted for a number of awards at the Scottish Magazine Awards.

John Innes from Think Publishing had won Publisher of the Year.

Think would be meeting the staff for planning at Fenton House on 2 February.

WEBSITE

`` The website statistics had been circulated and showed significant increased use by members and the public.

NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM

`` The Director-General reported that Drawn by Light had been well received and was attracting strong visitor numbers. The catalogue had been selling very strongly through The Society’s web shop. A joint RPS/NMeM meeting was scheduled for 30 January.

ADVISORY BOARD

`` Walter Benzie agreed to circulate Council with the agenda when available.

EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS

`` Robert Albright would be

attending the next PAGB executive meeting. Andy Finney would be representing The Society at the British Copyright Council meeting on 20 January.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

`` Derek Birch and the DirectorGeneral asked that a decision be made as to whether The Society wished to proceed with Portfolio Four, which should be published in September 2016. Council agreed to take a decision at the next meeting. `` Geoff Blackwell proposed and Council agreed to fund a joint project with the Royal Collection Trust. The Director-General was asked to progress this. `` Council considered a proposal from the Contemporary Group for The Society to run the photobook competition piloted by the group in 2014. Council agreed that it should remain with the group, which had the experience to run it, but it consented to it being opened up to non-members of The Society.

VOL 155 / APRIL 2015 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 319

THE RPS COLLECTION 320 | TIMES PAST | FROM

Violet Blaiklock’s Lead Kindly Light

S

unsets have been a symbolic and inspirational for artists and writers for centuries, and for photographers as technology allowed.

They are believed to be the most photographed subject.

Working as a professional photographer, Miss Violet Blaiklock (c1880-1961) was no exception.

Blaiklock was elected as a member of The Royal Photographic Society in 1920, admitted as an Associate in 1925 and a Fellow in 1927.

At around the time the photograph was taken, circa 1920, Blaiklock was an active member of the Society’s Pictorial Group and aspired to exhibit unique ‘artistic’

photography. Titling her threecolour sunset photograph Lead Kindly Light suggests that Blaiklock had intended to exhibit and possibly sell her print via Pictorial exhibitions.

Her move away from monochrome was intended to demonstrate her technical skills and her prowess in three-colour photography.

Lead Kindly Light was made by the Raydex print process.

Her use of a soft-focus lens to, as she said, ‘optimise the vibrant effect of sunlight’, gave fuzzy edges which made the process of registering colours in the print more forgiving.

Living and working in Battersea, less than half a mile from the River Thames, Blaiklock frequently reflected her locality in her work. She

320 / THE RPS JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 / VOL 155

became recognised for her cityscapes taken near the river and her urban landscapes of parks and private gardens.

The composition of Lead Kindly Light deliberately reduced the urban skyline to a thin sliver in the foreground to allow the colourful, luminescent skies to dominate. The sunset appears to be taken from a high viewpoint, possibly from Battersea Bridge facing west towards the Chelsea Creek.

Although there were sunset photographs in colour prior to this – in transparencies, Bromoil or pastel – Blaiklock’s photograph of a sunset is probably one of the earliest examples of a three-colour print.

JANINE FREESTON

DID YOU KNOW?

Violet Blaiklock, along with Agnes Warburg, established the Society’s Colour Group in 1927 Early colour methods, such as the Raydex print process, were labour intensive and expensive, and would have been pursued by mainly wealthy amateurs MORE TO SEE

DRAWN BY LIGHT View images from The Royal Photographic Society collection at the National Media Museum, Bradford, until 21 June

COPYRIGHT © ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY/ SCIENCE AND SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY; GATHERING WATER LILIES, PETER HENRY EMERSON, 1886, COPYRIGHT © RPX/ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY/ SCIENCE AND SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY

One of the earliest three-colour prints was taken by a joint founder of the Society’s Colour Group

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