WONDERLAND
STEP INTO THE VISIONARY WORLD OF KIRSTY MITCHELL
FEBRUARY 2016 / VOLUME 156 / NUMBER 2 / WWW.RPS.ORG
BEST SHOTS
OPINION
HOW I CAPTURED THE JET SET BY TERRY O’NEILL
WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE USING INSTAGRAM
Š JARED PLATT
You will find us on Stand G71 Join us at this years Photography Show to experience the full range of Profoto products You will find our complete OCF system which includes the hugely popular B1 & B2 Also on stand will be the D1, the legendary Pro-8 and the amazingly fast Pro-B4 For product information visit www.profoto.com/uk There will be product demonstrations and informative talks on Light Shaping A selection of photgraphers will also be on stage sharing their work and shooting live For a full on-stand schedule please see The Photography Show website www.photographyshow.com
Profoto Ltd | Unit 21 Mcdonald Business Park, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7EB| PHONE 01442 204919
| FEBRUARY 2016 | 81
OPENING SHOT
DREAMS, AMBITION AND ALL THAT JAZZ
T COMING UP
IN FUTURE ISSUES We hear from a range of contemporary photographers who have been influenced by Paul Strand and Nadav Kander HonFRPS selects his best shots
he work of Kirsty Mitchell, who is this month’s cover artist, has been on my radar for more than a year now. By the time I encountered her images she had nearly completed her magnificent Wonderland series, and so when I heard that she was marking the end of the project by crowdfunding a photobook, I jumped at the chance to get her in the Journal. The story of how she went from being an amateur photographer taking artistic self-portraits to become an in-demand professional with gallery representation should be an inspiration to us all. And although I’m not prone to fall back on clichés, I really do love the fact that she followed her dreams to create Wonderland, despite the amount of effort and money it must have taken to produce such an ambitious project. To read all about how and why she did it, turn to page 110. Starting on page 130 we hear more compelling stories from the photography coalface when we ask the terrific Terry O’Neill HonFRPS to pick his best shots. Oddly, it was by pure chance that he found himself working as a photographer in the first place and only happened upon the career while trying to fulfil his ambition to become a jazz drummer.
I’m sure he manages to make it sound easier than it was. Indian photographer and Society member Sipra Das has taken a different path. Born into a tough financial situation, she was required to start earning early in life. But that hasn’t stopped her becoming a first-rate photojournalist and completing an impressive photobook that documents the lives of people with visual impairments in India. Read all about it on page 122. Also in this issue I’ve written a short feature looking at the history of British Vogue, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year with an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery; and we hear from Society members about why we should all be on Instagram.
ANDREW CATTANACH Acting editor
PATRON AND SPONSORS
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 81
82 | FEBRUARY 2016
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 Walter Benzie HonFRPS Vice-President Robert Albright FRPS Treasurer Geoff Blackwell ARPS Director-General Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS Published on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society by Think Red Tree Business Suites 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA thinkpublishing.co.uk
146 Matilda Temperley tips her hat to her favourite camera
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Acting editor Andrew Cattanach andrew@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0141 375 0481 Contributing editors Gavin Stoker, Geoff Harris LRPS, Fiona McKinlay, Kathleen Morgan, Jonathan McIntosh Design Matthew Ball, Ross Daniel Russell
FEATURES
Sub-editors Sam Bartlett, Andrew Littlefield
110 | LABOUR OF LOVE From loss to discovery – the extraordinary world of Kirsty Mitchell's Wonderland project
Advertising sales Daniel Haynes daniel.haynes@thinkpublishing.co.uk 020 3771 7200 Account director Helen Cassidy helen.cassidy@thinkpublishing.co.uk
© 2016 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 policies of The Royal Photographic Society or those of the publishers. All material correct at time of going to press.
122 | BLIND FAITH Indian photojournalist Sipra Das's illuminating look at the lives of people with a visual impairment 128 | MODERN LOVE Nine reasons why aficionados feel we should all be using Instagram
ISSN: 1468-8670
Cover The White Queen by Kirsty Mitchell
144 An in-depth look at the wet-plate collodion work of Borut Peterlin
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130 | BEST SHOTS Starry-eyed: Terry O’Neill HonFRPS shares candid insights into his life and career
MATILDA TEMPERLEY; BORUT PETERLIN; ANTHONY WRIGHT
118 | PAGE TURNER Sparkling gems go on show as the National Portrait Gallery hosts Vogue 100: A Century of Style
Group account director John Innes
104
Anthony Wright LRPS's Distinctions panel
THE CRAFT
EVERY MONTH
139 | MUST TRY * LATEST KIT The Fujifilm X-Pro2, this month's new gear, plus member test
84 | BIG PICTURE New Year’s Day revellers by Joel Goodman
143 | MASTERCLASS/IN DEPTH Monochrome printing using Lightroom and Borut Peterlin's guide to wet-plate collodion
87 | IN FOCUS News, shows, awards and more
146 | MY FAVOURITE CAMERA Which model is most tempting for Matilda Temperley?
97 | BOOKS This month's fantastic foursome 98 | DISTINCTIONS Valerie Elliot ARPS Pictorial and Anthony Wright LRPS 136 | SHOWCASE The issue of homelessness as captured by Nigel Tooby FRPS
SIPRA DAS
149 | MEMBER GUIDE Society events both near and far
122 Society member Sipra Das explores the world of visually impaired people in India
160 | TIMES PAST A Julia Margaret Cameron lens VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 83
84 | BIG PICTURE |
New Year’s Day revellers By Joel Goodman
COMPOSITION Any photographer will instinctively try to compose an image, whether they’re thinking it through for 10 minutes and setting it up or just reacting spontaneously. I wanted to capture the fight with the cops in the street, showing the guy in the blue in the background. RECEPTION The response to the image has been largely positive, which has been really overwhelming. Usually, this sort of photography can be contentious and can lead to negative responses and hostility. The fact that people are looking at the image photographically rather than just for its content, or as some sort of devious comment, is the most rewarding aspect. PASTICHE The more ridiculous the parodies are, the funnier they get. That’s very much the way these memes evolve: they take on a life of their own. I really like the Statue of Liberty version. It’s an approach that just works well with the original image. The meme incorporating the Fibonacci spiral is really flattering. I suspect its use is as much to do with the fact that you can overlay it on a lot of pictures that are just pleasingly composed.
Joel Goodman is a freelance photographer whose image of New Year’s Day revellers in Manchester went viral last month 84 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 85
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87
IN NEWS, VIEWS, EXHIBITIONS AND MEMBER INSIGHT
FRAME ACADEMY Our pick of the best exhibitions 92
BACK TO THE FUTURE The Historical Group in focus 94
LIKE A HURRICANE? New weather image competition 88
FOCUS
SOCIETY IN A SHOW OF FORCE Hear inspiring speakers and get Distinctions feedback at Britain’s biggest photography event This year’s Photography Show is taking place at the Birmingham NEC from 19-22 March and the Society will be there in force, with a large stand at C91.
BOOK NOW!
There will be some inspiring speakers at the show, including Society Honorary Fellows David Bailey and Nick Danziger. The Society has also arranged sessions by underwater photographer Paul Colley ARPS and landscape and travel expert Tony Worobiec FRPS. The ADVISORY DAY ! ARPS
Underwater expert Paul Colley ARPS will give a talk on 19 March
title of Colley’s talk is Oceans to Chalk Streams: Adventures in Underwater Photography, and it takes place on Saturday 19 March from 1-1.40pm in the Behind the Lens Theatre. ‘I’ll highlight what underwater photography has in common with our CONTINUED ON PAGE 88
South East Region is hosting an ARPS advisory day on 6 March in The Haven Centre, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4LJ. For more details turn to page 151 VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 87
88 | IN FOCUS |
COME RAIN OR SHINE Weather Photographer of the Year competition announced
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 87
more familiar above-water environment, but stress some big differences that present tough challenges,’ Colley explains. ‘I’ll also show how I’m bringing more discipline to composition and art in underwater photography; something I have written a book about – indeed, my ARPS Distinction came from it.’ Meanwhile, Worobiec will be revealing how he takes landscape photography, whatever the weather, at the same venue on Sunday 20 March, from 11-11.40am. If you are planning to go for your LRPS Distinction, you can get one-to-one feedback on your proposed images at The Photography Show. Bob Gates ARPS, one of the chairs of the Licentiate panel, will be available for bookable 25-minute sessions on the Sunday and Monday. Make sure you bring unmounted A4 prints or digital images on an iPad/laptop (a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 for both).
A new competition, Weather Photographer of the Year, has been launched by the Society and the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS). The contest is looking for the best photographs from around the world that depict weather in its widest sense. These could range from phenomena such as clouds, lightning, rain, fog or snow to the impact of weather on humans, cities and the natural landscape. There are two main categories: 16s and under and over-16s. The judging panel includes BBC weather forecaster Peter Gibbs. ‘Weather presenting is all about storytelling, so I’ll be looking for a picture that tells a tale, taking the viewer to that moment,’ Gibbs explained. You can enter at weather-photo.org and the closing date is 26 May.
Sound + Vision: David Bowie performs in 1990
To book a session, please email lrps@rps.org, specifying your preferred day. The cost is £15 for members and £20 for non-members
The Society has arranged a series of events over the show’s four days 88 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
REMEMBERING BOWIE Graham Wiltshire FRPS recalls the versatile pop singer’s 1990 tour I photographed David Bowie, who died last month, in 1976 and 1983. His 1990 Sound + Vision tour was keenly awaited by fans and I took the chance to take his photo once more when I went to see him perform at the London Arena in the then undeveloped Docklands area. I used my 200mm ELD lens, whose f/2.8 aperture meant I didn’t have to uprate the ISO 400 transparency film. The position given at the side of the stage allowed me to reveal the mime influences still evinced in Bowie’s stances.
© STEVE BLY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; GRAHAM WILTSHIRE FRPS
LRPS hopefuls can book a feedback session with Bob Gates ARPS, above
| IN FOCUS | 89 FROM THE PRESIDENT
THE NEXT GENERATION
Time to focus on potential membership
W
Fork focus: the new competition’s subject is ‘weather in its widest sense’
ANNE CLEMENTS
COMING SOON
RPS INTERNATIONAL PRINT COMPETITION Entries for the Society’s 159th International Print Competition will open on 1 March. Look out for more details in the March Journal and on the Society website. Visit rps.org/ipe159
ith the improvements in image quality delivered by the latest generation of mobile phones and tablets, almost everyone has the means to be a photographer. The ability to capture a well-exposed and pin-sharp image (at least in suitable lighting conditions) can now be taken for granted. Technology today is moving very quickly and the opportunity to master it becomes an essential part of everyday life. As most of us are aware, technical competence alone does not equate to the making of a captivating image. The artistic or creative shortcomings of a picture could be due to many reasons such as poor composition, a lack of a focal point of interest or because the photograph was not taken at ‘the decisive moment’. Such deficiencies may well not be obvious to the average photographer and only by a process of education can we – the Society – make people aware of their limitations and assist them to take better pictures. Awareness is the first step to self-improvement. We have never had such a large potential audience. Almost since its foundation, the Society has tended to attract members from an older age range. The population as a whole is living longer and many people only have the time to devote to photography when they have retired, but we are
always keen to attract younger members to the Society. Many of our longstanding members were interested in photography from an early age, and the Society would like to encourage today’s young enthusiasts to join us. The Society is all inclusive and welcomes everyone, young and old. The Society’s remit is to promote photography and, while technology may have tamed many of the more difficult aspects of good image making, the artistic aspects remain a constant challenge. This should encourage us to look at ways of taking a greater role in educating and supporting the younger photographer. We may not see immediate benefits in our current membership statistics but, for the longer term, we could be building our base for the future.
WALTER BENZIE HonFRPS President of the Royal Photographic Society
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90 | IN FOCUS | NEWS IN BRIEF
SOCIETY WORKSHOPS The Society continues to offer a wide range of workshops aimed at photographers of all abilities. To find out about the classes, go to the Society website: rps.org/learning Society president Walter Benzie HonFRPS presents Gered Mankowitz with his Fellowship certificate
FELLOWSHIP FOR GERED MANKOWITZ Acclaimed photographer pledges to ‘promote the Society at every opportunity’
PHOTO CREDIT: CLIVE R. HAYNES FRPS WWW.CRHFOTO.CO.UK CAMERA MODEL: ACS CONVERTED NIKON D70IR 720NM
Photographer Gered Mankowitz has been awarded the Society’s Fellowship Distinction. Having spent the last 54 years photographing some of the biggest names in the music industry, including the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix (main image) and Kate Bush, Mankowitz was last month presented with the Society’s most coveted Distinction. ‘I am overjoyed with the award of my Distinction and I look forward to the opportunity of promoting the Society at every opportunity,’ Mankowitz said.
Qrt hoz.indd 1
The son of playwright and film writer Wolf Mankowitz, Gered became a professional photographer in 1962, working as an assistant to Jeff Vickers HonFRPS before opening his own studio in Masons Yard, London. He has since worked in the areas of fashion, advertising and editorial, but is best known for his music photography, and generations of pop fans
will be familiar with his iconic portraits of their favourite artists. In April, Mankowitz will be the guest editor of a special edition of the Journal that will focus on the links between music and photography. He will also be the subject of a substantial feature in the same issue written by The Guardian music critic Jude Rogers.
LETTER FROM DOROTHY BOHM Thank you very much for the article about my work. I would be grateful, if you could publish the following amendment: Sue Davies OBE HonFRPS founded The Photographers’ Gallery in 1971. I have the greatest admiration for what she achieved. I worked at the gallery for fifteen years, and became its Associate Director.
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JEFF VICKERS HonFRPS; GERED MANKOWITZ FRPS
OU COURSE REMINDER The Society, in collaboration with the Open University, offers a 10-week online course called Digital photography: creating and sharing better images. The course will develop participants’ technical and visual skills as they learn the principles of digital photography and image editing. Registration for the first course, beginning on 5 March, closes on 19 February. The full details are at bit.ly/oucourse
| IN FOCUS | 91
REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2015
December’s online competition winners
365 WINNERS
HOO MARINA SUNSET By David Jenner Hoo Marina, near Rochester, is a place I’ve visited many times but I’ve never witnessed such a dramatic sunset.
SALTY U BEND By Kevin Lajoie LRPS This was taken on the last day of a trip I took to California specifically to take aerial photography.
The sky lit up as daylight was gradually replaced by dusk, and as the sun went down over the decaying vessels the magical light created a scene straight from the
The salt flats near Palo Alto provide great opportunities for abstracts. Using a drone allowed me to cover a large area and the live video feed enabled me to
pages of a Dickens novel. This was shot on my Nikon D810 with a 24-120mm lens, f/13, 24mm, 31 ISO, using a Lee 0.6 ND filter, which gave me a fivesecond exposure.
precisely frame a composition. A group of fellow aerial photographers are to meet up later this year to explore the region; I’m definitely going back for more.
MONOCHROME ! KAILA By Leigh Eros I took this image of Kaila in an indoor swimming pool with a black sheet as a backdrop and natural light coming from a wall of glass doors to the left. It was shot with my
Nikon D750 and Nikkor 85mm 1.4 lens in a Dicapac waterproof camera bag. I asked Kaila to pose before getting down to the water line and taking the shot. I converted the image to black and white, extended the black background
upwards to create a square frame, and processed the image using Photoshop and Alien Skin Exposure. ENTER NOW Submit photographs for the next competition at rps-365.org
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92 | IN FOCUS | WHAT NOT TO MISS TAYLOR WESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE National Portrait Gallery, London UNTIL 21 FEBRUARY
It’s the final month to be able to see selected images from this leading
competition, which celebrates and promotes the best in contemporary portrait photography from around the world. The exhibition features the overall winner, Five Girls 2014 by David Stewart. Alongside informal
images of friends and family, this year’s exhibition includes revealing portraits of famous faces including actor Benedict Cumberbatch, and US president Barack Obama and the First Lady. bit.ly/twpshow
SAUL LEITER: RETROSPECTIVE The Photographers’ Gallery, London UNTIL 3 APRIL
Saul Leiter (1923-2013) was pivotal in the emergence of colour photography. He worked for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and became known for his impressionistic street scenes. thephotographersgallery.org.uk
EDWARD RICHARDS Batemans Bay Library, New South Wales, Australia 1#21 FEBRUARY
Edward Richards ARPS has been a street photographer since the start of his photographic career in Canberra in the 1960s. This exhibition discusses whether graffiti can ever be an artform, or is it always just vandalism. FEBRUARY ONWARDS
JERWOOD/PHOTOWORKS AWARDS 2015 Impressions Gallery, Bradford UNTIL 19 MARCH
The first national Jerwood/Photoworks Awards recognises emerging talent, featuring the work of three awardees: Matthew Finn, Joanna Piotrowska and Tereza Zelenkova. Support has come from 13 mentors including Alec Soth and Gillian Wearing. impressions-gallery.com
CALIFORNIA DREAMING Lumas Gallery, London ONGOING
New prints of some of Hollywood’s most famous residences by Stephanie Kloss go on sale. The buildings include the Sheats-Goldstein Residence, as featured as a location in the Coen brothers’ film The Big Lebowski, and Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms home. lumas.co.uk
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TRAVELLING LIGHT Art Bermondsey Project Space Gallery, London 8'13 FEBRUARY
Monochrome and colour landscapes taken by the award-winning Steve Gosling. Locations include the Lake District, Northumberland, Yorkshire and the west of Scotland, along with Iceland and the Faroe Islands, California and Colorado. stevegoslingphotography.co.uk
Shot at Dawn The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. Until 7 February Centenary of the Widnes Partnership (Dr Ferdinand Hurter and Vero Charles Driffield) Castle Park Arts Centre, Frodsham, Cheshire. Until 21 February My Life ... My World Beyond the Image Gallery, Suffolk. Until 28 March Document Scotland: The Ties that Bind Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Until 24 April Lee Miller: A Woman’s War Imperial War Museum, London. Until 24 April
HECTOR, ANOUSH ABRAR; STRAW HAR, SAUL LEITER; EDWARD RICHARDS ARPS; STEVE GOSLING; STEPHANIE KLOSS; JOANNA PIOTROWSKA
ALSO SHOWING
94 | IN FOCUS | GROUP FOCUS
HISTORICAL We speak to Group chair Janine Freeston and treasurer Geoff Blackwell ARPS
Maasai Mara, Kenya, 2011 by Mike Cullis ARPS
WANDERLUST COMPETITION SUCCESS FOR MIKE CULLIS Mike Cullis ARPS has been named a finalist in the wildlife section of the Wanderlust Travel Photography Competition. Ten finalist prints will be on display at the Adventure Travel Show at Olympia in
London on 5 February, with the results announced in the theatre at 4pm. The first prize is a commission in Western Australia, so good luck Mike … See mhcphotography.co.uk
OBITUARIES
ROBERT JOHN GRAY HAWKESWORTH FRPS FRPS Robert Hawkesworth FRPS died suddenly on 29 October, just a few days after his 80th birthday. A member, and later the chairman, of the Society’s Nature Group, he was an excellent photographer who would try his hand with most natural history subjects. He achieved his Fellowship in 2000 with a slide submission of plants and was invited to sit on the Nature Distinctions Panel in 2005. Hawkesworth was awarded the Nature Group Silver Medal for service to the group in 2009.
John Gray FRPS has died in Cardiff at the age of 83. He will be remembered in the photographic world for his highly creative images which enjoyed success in the 1980s and 90s and for which he has awarded a Society Fellowship. He developed his own techniques of copying slides through textured plastic to create ‘impressions’ and of projecting slide images into puddles of water, which led to their distortion and the creation of many unusual effects.
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IN A NUTSHELL The Historical Group aims to promote the history of photography in all its aspects, inventions, scientific and technical developments, artistic uses and aesthetic advances. The Group focuses on the social and cultural implications of the medium, and how it has contributed to the advancement of human knowledge, by preserving visual images of the past and present for the future. GROUP AIMS We also encourage the conservation and preservation of photographs, photographic equipment and documents pertaining to the history of photography and photographic industrial machinery. We support and encourage the assembly and maintenance of formal archives and the development of archival and curatorial skills. WHY JOIN? The Group organises a programme of activities including lectures and workshops, and members are able to join curator-led tours of exhibitions and visits to archives, both nationally and internationally. In addition, the Group organises research days where members can discuss
their research in a friendly and supportive environment. NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS The Group publishes its journal, The PhotoHistorian, three times a year and this is free to all Group members. Details of the activities for the first quarter of the year can be found on the Group’s pages on the Society website. All events are bookable in advance and many are free to members. Visit rps.org/special-interestgroups/historical
DISTINCTIONS REVIEW The Society’s Council seeks comments from members As part of its responsibility as trustees to ensure that the Society is properly managed, the Council has agreed that it will undertake a review of
the Distinction processes. The Council has appointed a committee, the Distinctions review team, which will look into current procedures. The committee would like to hear about positive aspects of the process as well as
| IN FOCUS | 95 DG’S DIARY
ALL SYSTEMS GO This year, versions of the Society’s competition website are being used, in partnership, by the Royal College of Nursing and Royal Meteorological Society for two exciting photography competitions; we are revising the Society’s strategic plan and the trustees are reviewing aspects of our work to ensure they remain relevant; and we continue to search for new premises that will help support the Society’s activities and membership. CHOSEN FEW Just before Christmas I was a judge for the Travel Photographer of the Year competition. The judging was anonymous but after it was complete it was good to see members’ work among those selected. Look out for the exhibition at the Museum of London in the summer. I have also been asked to be a judge for the HIPA awards.
Cwmorthin, above, and Pebbles in water, left, by Iain McGowan
suggestions of how it might be improved. Comments should be sent by 28 February to comments@rps. org, with the subject line ‘Distinctions review comments’, or by letter to Distinctions review
comments, The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH. Find out more at rps.org/ news/2016/january/ distinctions-review
DISTINCTIONS SUCCESSES
COMMERCIAL CALL Commercial relationships help support the Society’s activities and can provide direct benefits for members. In the current economic climate it has been more difficult to secure partners so if you know of a company or organisation that would like to support our exhibitions or other activities please put them in contact with me at Fenton House.
11/15 ASIS % FELLOWSHIP Mark Richardson, Wiltshire 08/15 LRPS (REAP)
David Ross, Cheltenham
DR MICHAEL PRITCHARD FRPS Director-General of The Royal Photographic Society
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 95
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BOOK REVIEWS
| IN FOCUS | 97
PHOTOGRAPHY AND SEPTEMBER 11TH: SPECTACLE, MEMORY, TRAUMA Jennifer Good Bloomsbury Academic (£49.50) A brilliantly researched analysis of the psychological impact of the visual coverage of 9/11, drawing on trauma theory, Dr Good asks whether the prolonged exposure of audiences to photographs was cathartic or damaging. She explores how the culture industry created a dangerously simple 9/11 metanarrative. CHELIN MILLER LRPS
Moving pictures: ‘the images reveal the everyday humanity of the cabbies and their passengers’
HIRE PURPOSE
Life in Mumbai’s old-school taxis is captured in all its glory
ROAD WALLAH Dougie Wallace Dewi Lewis Publishing (£35) Dougie Wallace, aka Glasweegee, is one of the most idiosyncratic and exciting street documentary photographers of his generation, celebrated for shooting bawdy stag and hen parties in Blackpool and rich shoppers in Knightsbridge. In this latest collection, Wallace focuses his Hogarthian eye on Mumbai’s iconic black and yellow taxis, their drivers and passengers. Most of these taxis, known locally as kaali peelis, were taken off the road last year as a result of pollution laws, so this collection has a valedictory feel. His approach was to hang around busy junctions and traffic lights, then jump out to ambush the drivers and passengers, catching them before their selfconsciousness kicked in. Natural light is favoured, and Wallace was careful to shoot in the gorgeous final hour of the Indian sun. He also captures the eccentrically decorated interiors of the cars, with their Hindu deities and animal-print upholstery. While the subject matter might seem a bit limited to some travel photographers
eager to shoot local landmarks or markets, Wallace realises that a city’s taxi system tells you a lot about the place and the culture. The images reveal the everyday humanity of the cabbies and their passengers, whose expressions range from surprise and irritation to amusement, weariness and boredom. Shooting in the city’s golden hour gives a strong visual consistency to the collection and, although the light is lovely, you can really sense the sweat, grime and pollution. It’s also a testament to Wallace’s skill that while there is a lot going on in the images, especially the background, the subjects never become overwhelmed (the judicious use of a wider-angle lens also helps here). Road Wallah is a quirky, hugely entertaining tribute to Bombay’s oldschool taxis, and while it’s a shame that these vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, Wallace reminds us of the hard lives of the drivers – many worked 24-hour shifts and ended up sleeping in the cabs. This collection will further cement Wallace’s reputation as one of the distinctive British documentary photographers today, and I strongly recommend it. GEOFF HARRIS LRPS
SOVIET BUS STOPS Christopher Herwig Fuel (£19.95) From Estonia to Kazakhstan, Herwig has photographed a fascinating variety of – as the Soviets called them – ‘bus pavilions’. In a Stalinist system better known for its stultifying drabness, bus shelters somehow offered a space for originality and diversity, with art deco and Gaudi influences, producing some surprising results. This is an absorbing collection and a quirky gem for any documentary photographer. SIMON MADDISON LRPS
MARC RIBOUD Introduction by Marc Riboud Thames and Hudson (£9.95) This latest in the attractive Photofile series is dedicated to the veteran French documentary photographer. It’s a great introduction to his exquisite black-andwhite work from all over the world, with a fascinating essay by Riboud himself. A delight for documentary and travel photography fans, it’s a shame there are not more images from Vietnam, a country with which Riboud is strongly associated. GEOFF HARRIS LRPS
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 97
98 | FEBRUARY WHAT ARE DISTINCTIONS?
Distinctions are standards of achievement recognised throughout the world
LRPS Applicants need to show good photographic competence in five key areas
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
Valerie Elliot ARPS # CREATIVE
I had just gained my Licentiate when I visited Santorini in May 2014 and was ready for a new challenge. I found myself entranced by the Aegean light on the white walls, uneven steps and unusual corners. I enjoyed the lines and curves of the cubist church and loved the tones of blue, a colour which has always been a favourite. But what inspired the portfolio was the sense of peace and uplift of spirit that I experienced in this environment. This work was produced especially for submission. After my first visit to the island, reviewing my images at home, I wondered if some might be of Associate standard and sought advice from an FRPS panel member. Some images were deemed to be of the quality required so I decided that ‘light on white with touches of blue’ should be my theme. I was not in a hurry; I wanted to learn a lot and enjoy the process. Having chosen the theme, I found that my ‘seeing eye’ developed. On subsequent visits I knew what I was looking for. I found myself noticing the lines and angles, the shadows, the textures … creating the pictures in my mind and composing them in the camera. There is hardly any cropping in my portfolio. I learned about the correct exposures for shooting whites in different situations and light conditions. I spent a lot of money repeatedly printing each image and trying several textured papers until I was sure of the best tonal balance of whites and blues. The whole thing took me 17 months, including three trips to Santorini. 98 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
Clockwise, from above: Church near Akrotiri; On the caldera, Imerovigli; Pyrgos
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Above: Oia 3 Left: Oia 5
ASSESSOR’S VIEW
ANN MILES FRPS, CREATIVE DEPUTY CHAIR As the images of Elliott’s panel were being put up for assessment, the first thought was ‘Another set of images from that Greek Island’. But it quickly became apparent that this was very different from the bright, high-contrast images that were the norm in transparency days. Here we have subtlety in the tone, shape and texture of the images, with a great deal of thought having been put into the subject matter – both in content at the taking stage and in the processing. Elliott’s statement of intent clearly defines her objective without overelaborating details of technique or location. Unlike some other categories, Creative asks the question ‘why?’ rather than
how, where or what. Her intention is to share with us images that show her spiritual experience of the location and I feel her panel fully achieves this aim. A good panel is the result of personal vision (knowing what you are hoping to achieve) and having the skill to achieve your aim. This panel has that
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individual sense of design and composition. The hanging plan resembles a building with vertical images forming a strong central column radiating out but held in at the corners by strong images. There is good balance to the panel, with the different depths of blues carefully located in symmetrical pairs.
The danger of such a panel is always repetition but we felt that there was sufficient variety in the shapes and textures. Elliott’s panel is a cohesive body of work showing an individual approach in style and technique to a well-photographed subject. It is well up to Associate standard.
TREVOR CRAIG LRPS
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On the caldera towards Firostefani
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Clockwise, from above: Exo Gonia cemetery; Megalochori; On the caldera, Oia 4
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WENG SANG WONG ARPS
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HANGING PLAN
‘There is good balance to the panel, with the different depths of blues carefully located in symmetrical pairs’
FACT FILE
Valerie Elliott’s interest in photography deepened when she retired from working in education in 2003. She enjoys photographing a variety of subjects and is a member of Shillington and District Camera Club VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016/ THE RPS JOURNAL / 103
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Anthony Wright LRPS After a talk by Richard Walton FRPS at Ashford Photographic Society (APS) on LRPS submissions I felt encouraged to apply for my Licentiate. I’d been taking pictures since I was 13 but did not seriously consider photography professionally until I was no longer able to participate in sport – my former hobby – due to knee injuries. I work for a large fine fragrance company and spend much of my free time running my photography business with my wife Karen. While it is mainly weddings, my love of gardening and the outdoors can be seen in many of my photographs. The images for my panel reveal more of my personal passions, such as insects in my garden and holiday destinations. I included a wedding image and studio shot to demonstrate a varied skill set. The images were taken between 2012 and 2015 and were chosen from thousands, each picked to complement the others. It took three months to refine my panel. Having spoken to other APS members about their successful submissions, I consulted Richard Walton FRPS about presentation. His advice was to think of the arrangement of the panel as the 11th image.
My garden pond provided me with a damselfly. I discovered two mating on a hosta flower stem and thought they made a perfect heart shape loop. Canon EOS 5D MkII, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. 1/100, f/13, ISO 1,000, handheld 104 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
CATEGORIES ! REGULATIONS
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ASSESSOR’S VIEW
TREVOR GELLARD FRPS, CHAIRMAN OF THE LRPS PANEL When a panel is first displayed, the five judges and the chair view the images from a distance to get an overall impression of the panel. The consistency and panelling of the prints should be cohesive, and the printing and colour saturation are taken into account at this stage. There should be a good variety of subject matter showing a wide range of photographic skills. Anthony has shown skill in his close-up photography, with neutral backgrounds giving emphasis to the main
subject matter. Wedding subjects are often a controversial area but his study shows an original idea, retaining the delicacy and detail of the wedding gown. The three coastal scenes are well captured, with excellent lighting and a good knowledge of exposure, all of them positioned in the correct part of the panel. The broken bottle works well with the textured background and the dog in the basket shows he can work in studio conditions. In all, this is a worthy collection of images, all showing imagination and a wide range of photographic skills. Well done Anthony.
We created a pond in the garden, which attracts wildlife. I set up the camera on a tripod with a cable release to capture macro images of insects and flowers. When this damselfly landed, I had
enough time to adjust my tripod and camera settings before it flew away. Canon EOS 5D MkII, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. 1/25sec, f/7.1, tripod, ISO 100, cable release
This image was taken in Spain. As the weather was unusually cloudy, my wife and I decided to explore the area and discovered this quiet bay. When I look at this image I remember feeling very
relaxed and being able to take my time to capture the scene. Canon EOS 5D MkIII, EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens at 17mm. 4.5sec at f/16, ISO 50, mirror lock-up, tripod, cable release, ND filters
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I arrived in Broadstairs by dawn. The tide was out, leaving seaweed-covered rocks and beautiful ripples in the sand. I knew instantly that it would be ideal for the
central position of my panel. Canon EOS 5D MkIII, EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens at 17mm. 10sec, f/16, ISO 100, mirror lock-up, tripod, cable release, ND filters
I positioned the couple on the steps so to display the dress at its best. As it was a sunny day it was important that I did not overexpose the dress and
thus lose the detail of the fabric. Canon EOS 5D MkII, EF24-105mm f/4L USM lens at 50mm. 1/200sec, f/8, ISO 100, handheld
HANGING PLAN
‘The coastal scenes are all positioned in the correct part of the panel’
FACT FILE
A Kent-based photographer, Anthony Wright LRPS runs a wedding photography business with his wife. He enjoys taking images while on holiday and of nature in his garden VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 107
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Creative credentials
MEDIA
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We speak to Associateship chair Peter Paterson FRPS to find out about the Creative category How popular is the category in terms of Associate applications? It is probably the most popular of all ARPS applications, likely due to our digital age which allows people to produce creative images using the respective software much more easily.
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What kind of photography does the Creative category include? Images taken out of the usual pictorial record-style shot, where the photographer expresses his or her ideas in a more creative way, putting their stamp on the subject, often using post-processing and sometimes introducing other elements to the image. Is there any kind of photography not included in this category? Traditional documentary, nature or scientific approaches. Where would someone go to find out under which category they should be submitting their work? They should consult the Distinctions guidelines which can be downloaded from the Society website, seek advice at an Advisory Day or upload their images for online advice. Can someone ever use too much post-processing?
In this category, the work must have a photographic origin, and all elements should be the photographer’s own work. During post-processing, it is best not to overdo the use of high dynamic range or have too many elements, as this risks obscuring what the photographer is trying to get across. Also, remember that photography is all about light and shade. Do you have any advice for someone applying for their ARPS in Creative? Have your panel or images checked for suitability, either through the online system or attend an Advisory Day. It is very important you get advice from a panel member who has knowledge of the current standard. Common mistakes that applicants should watch out for? Some of the most common mistakes are: overprocessing of the images; no shadows added under elements; light coming from more than one direction; and disproportionate scaling of the elements within the image.
Peter Paterson FRPS is the Pictorial and Creative chair. His main subjects of interest are landscape, still life and abstract EXPERT ADVICE
Turn to page 150 to find dates for Advisory Days, where you can gain expert advice on your portfolio
Photography Tours and Workshops.
To the best in the world with the best in the world. Winter in the Lofotens Islands 27th Feb - 5th March 2016 with David Ward
The Peak District 14th - 17th March 2016 with Doug Chinnery
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New York City
1st - 4th April 2016 with Norman McCloskey
14th - 19th April 2016 with Paul Sanders
Isle of Sark
Isles of Scilly
20th - 27th April 2016 with Phil Malpas and Clive Minnitt
22nd - 26th April 2016 with Carla Regler
Plus many more tours! You will be working with some of the most respected photographers in the world. They include: Charlie Waite • Joe Cornish • David Ward • Antony Spencer • Phil Malpas • Clive Minnitt • David Clapp and many more.
Light and Land. T +44 1747 824727 E admin@lightandland.co.uk www.lightandland.co.uk
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THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Initially a solitary escape from grief, Kirsty Mitchell’s project Wonderland grew into a six-and-a-half-year series that changed her life, hears David Clark 110 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
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K
irsty Mitchell’s Wonderland project is one of the more extraordinary photography stories of recent years. Fuelled by escapist fantasy and a very real journey through grief, it’s an intensely personal series which has taken six and a half years to complete. When she began it, Mitchell's work was virtually unknown, but she’s now an award-winning fine-art photographer represented by a prestigious London Mayfair gallery. The popularity of her work is indicated by the response to the Kickstarter campaign to publish a book of the Wonderland photographs, launched in September 2015. Within 28 days it had raised more than £330,000 to become the most successful photobook project in Kickstarter’s history. Two months after securing the funding, her life was ‘complete chaos’. As well as supervising every detail of the book’s production, she was giving her studio a major overhaul, and was heavily pregnant with her first child – Finch, who was born on Christmas Eve.
PREVIOUS PAGE The Beautiful Blindness of Devotion (left) The Pure Blood of a Blossom (right) 112 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
However, far from buckling under this pressure, she was thriving on it. Mitchell, 39, is intriguing: like her work, she’s very open and emotional, yet full of strength and determination. Passionately driven and, she says, ‘an unbearable perfectionist’, she has been uncompromising in pursuing her vision and has been rewarded with greater success than she could have imagined. After studying fine art, photography and the history of art from the age of 16 she focused on fashion, undertaking an honours degree in fashion design and textiles at Ravensbourne College of Art. She worked as an intern for Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan before spending 10 years as a senior designer for Karen Millen. It was during this period, in 2007, that she began to experiment with street photography.
'SOMEHOW, TAKING PICTURES OF MYSELF AND POSTING THEM ONLINE WAS A BIZARRE RELEASE'
THIS PAGE The Queen's Armada (above) The Stars of Spring Will Carry You Home (right)
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However, the real turning point in Mitchell’s life came in 2008, when her mother, Maureen, was diagnosed with brain cancer. ‘The situation was such a trauma that I just completely shut down,’ she remembers. ‘My only way of dealing with it was through the camera. I wanted to create pictures and had these ideas, but was too scared to approach a model, so I used myself.’ Mitchell posted a sombre series of selfportraits, titled Nocturne, on Flickr. ‘Somehow, taking pictures of myself and posting them on the internet was kind of a bizarre release,’ she says. ‘Some of them are extremely hard to look at, but it was the beginning of me wanting to experiment and tell stories in photographs.’ Maureen, an English teacher for 30 years, died from cancer in 2008 in a small French village, where her funeral took place. Due to the location, it was only attended by a small group of people. Mitchell felt it hadn’t reflected the impact she’d had on so many young people’s lives. Six months later, in memory of her mother, she started Wonderland. It was directly inspired by the fairy tales Maureen had told her as a child. ‘I was doing an important and demanding job in London, but I was 114 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
'I WAS DRAWN TO RUNNING OFF TO THE WOODS, CREATING A MORE BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE THAN I HAD IN REALITY' falling apart,’ she says. ‘I had depression and was becoming more and more reclusive, so I was drawn to running off to the woods and creating a more beautiful experience than I had in reality. Then I started releasing the images on Flickr and created a little blog which two people would read if I was lucky.’ However, Mitchell’s imaginative images of characters such as the White Queen and the Lavender Princess, combined with her soul-baring blog, touched a nerve with an increasing number of people. Its popularity quietly snowballed as the images became increasingly elaborate. In 2011, she gave up her fashion design job to concentrate on photography. Throughout the making of the pictures, she was determined that they showed real things she had created, rather than being assembled digitally. ‘Like everyone, I use Photoshop to process and retouch my photographs,’
she says, ‘but it’s important to me that I physically make the costumes and props myself by hand, which can take up to five months for one shot. ‘I worked with a really tiny team, usually my husband, a hair and makeup artist and a model. I might also have a couple of assistants. We went through extraordinary days where a monumental effort went on for hours to get one shot. If I’d just sat in a room and made it all up on a computer, I wouldn’t have had those incredible experiences.’ Wonderland’s popularity moved to a new level in 2012, when it was featured on the Daily Mail website. Virtually overnight, the story went viral and Mitchell was deluged with emails from all over the world. ‘It went completely insane,’ she says. ‘A lot of those messages were from people pouring out their hearts about the people they had lost – their child, their mother, their father. Some of them were incredibly hard to read but they said they saw beauty in the photographs and the diary entries meant so much to them.’ Mitchell’s personal relationship with her audience is a key part of her success. However, although this relationship has been developed via social media, she’s adamant that this
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ON MY RADAR Three visionaries who have inspired Kirsty Mitchell’s work
Alexander McQueen ‘I worked with him for a year in 1999, when he got his second London studio. He was incredibly intense and driven, and to me he was such an unspeakable genius. He took fashion and turned it into an artform and made huge stage productions with everything real. That idea has stayed with me.’
Gregory Crewdson ‘I really admire his work. I met him last year and I just think he’s an incredible artist. He will dedicate months to creating an image and put himself through hell to make it. He’s so deeply emotional about his work and everything about it has to be right and perfect. I love the scale of what he does.’
Clockwise, from facing page: The Ghost Swift, Gaia's Promise and a Wonderland self-portrait
Nick Cave ‘Nick is an artist who creates extraordinary and bizarre sculptures, which he calls ‘soundsuits’. They are worn by people but are also living, breathing pieces of art. His idea is to use the human body in a fine-art form and his work takes clothing way beyond anything seen before.'
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kind of popularity in itself is not a passport to success. ‘You can’t magically create a fan base,’ she says. ‘If people like your work, they relate to it. It’s as simple as that. You have to be who you are, but most of all you have to engage with people. Social media is wonderful, but it doesn’t get you into galleries and it doesn’t get you book deals. At the end of the day, it’s the work that matters.’ The last Wonderland photograph was made in November 2014 and although she already had a publisher for the project, she decided to walk away from that deal and self-publish. She says it was ‘a terrifying decision’, but was determined to make the book exactly as she wanted. Once the highly rated designer Stuart Smith was on board, the book began to take shape. The finished Wonderland book, which runs to 480 pages and weighs 5kg, includes the stories behind the 74 images in the series and a colossal 65,000 words of Mitchell’s personal diary. Every aspect of the book’s presentation and production has had to
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reach the highest professional standards. ‘I wouldn’t accept anything unless it was the best it could possibly be,’ Mitchell says. ‘I wanted a book that felt like an extension of the series and not a commercial afterthought. After all these years, I wanted the people who have supported the series to own something that felt precious and valuable to them.’ In the final stages of completing the book, Mitchell and her husband went to a location she had used previously. There they took one final symbolic self-portrait for the end of the book, showing her heavily pregnant. ‘This book is a circle of life, love and loss, and in the final pages there’s me ready to go on to a new stage,’ she says. ‘It’s the perfect end. The timing is extraordinary. You couldn’t make it up if you tried.’ Now Wonderland is complete, Mitchell is also going on to a new stage in her work. ‘I will do other projects and other books, but this is my one huge emotional outpouring for a very special person,’ she says. ‘I won’t do anything like this again, not on this scale, no way.’ Her next project is linked to storytelling; the pictures she has in mind will ‘absolutely blow people’s socks off’. Motherhood will clearly be her priority and her legions of fans will have to be patient, but if these images are anything like her Wonderland creations, they will be worth the wait.
DARE TO DREAM
Kirsty Mitchell on her most challenging image ‘This image, She’ll Wait For You in the Shadows of Summer, was one of the biggest productions I’ve ever done. I wanted it to look genuinely overgrown, so in February 2013, six months before the shoot, I took the boat to the location. Every month or so, I went back to check on it. I would try to guide ivy in a particular direction, or spray bleach on to the sails. Slowly but surely it bedded down. The model is about nine feet high and the dress, which I designed, took 20 people one month to make. Then, on the day, it took around 16 hours to get everything tied around her and linked to the boat. It was also the first time I’d ever used a proper lighting rig on set. All these terrifying elements came together and I’d never felt so out of control. That one definitely nearly killed me.’
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YEARS 118 | EXHIBITION | 100OF VOGUE
100 YEARS OF VOGUE A National Portrait Gallery exhibition shows how Vogue’s innovative use of images set an industry standard. By Andrew Cattanach 118 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
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his year, British Vogue celebrates its 100th anniversary. Over the last century, as well as setting the standard in both the fashion and the magazine industries, Vogue has played a central role in the creation of that now well-known archetype, the superstar photographer. David Bailey HonFRPS, Lee Miller, Cecil Beaton HonFRPS, Irving Penn, Mario Testino HonFRPS, Albert Watson HonFRPS and Tim Walker HonFRPS are just a few of those who have produced career-defining commissions for the fashion magazine since its launch in 1916. And to help celebrate the publication’s birthday, the National
ANNE GUNNING IN JAIPUR BY NORMAN PARKINSON, 1956 ©NORMAN PARKINSON LTD/COURTESY NORMAN PARKINSON ARCHIVE
Anne Gunning in Jaipur by Norman Parkinson, 1956
100 YEARS OF VOGUE
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‘REST HIT, IL ES DESEQUE NUM DOLENIHIT, OFFICIENITE NUM EX EUM ESERRUM ACEATEM IUM ETUR? ETUR, VOLUPTIBUS’
DAVID HOCKNEY, PETER SCHLESINGER AND MAUDIE JAMES BY CECIL BEATON, 1968 ©THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS LTD
David Hockney, Peter Schlesinger and Maudie James by Cecil Beaton, 1968
Portrait Gallery is hosting a major exhibition that will bring together original works by all these photographers and more, making it one of the most comprehensive fashion photography exhibitions since the V&A’s 2014 show Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography. Vogue 100: A Century of Style looks at how the photographic image has been central to the magazine’s success, playing a key role in building its long-held reputation as the arbiter of style and good taste. But the story of how British Vogue became the trend-setter it is today begins 107 years ago when, in 1909,
‘VOGUE USED THE GREAT NAMES OF 20TH$CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY ITSELF’ American businessman Condé Nast bought the then US-only magazine. He revolutionised the publication, introducing colour covers and emphasising the importance of photography throughout. It was a big hit, and not only in America – imported copies were selling well in Britain too. But there was little necessity for
introducing a British edition until the outbreak of the First World War. The shipment of non-essential items, such as fashion magazines, was limited during this time, and so in September 1916, while Europe was in a state of war, Nast decided to set up across the Atlantic in London, and British Vogue was born. As with the American edition, British Vogue was aimed at a cultural elite – the upper middle classes and beyond. Nast knew that the people who wanted to buy Vogue, who would want to buy the things that it advertised on its pages, were those with money. It was never a democratic pursuit aimed at a broader public. Besides, at a shilling per issue, the VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 119
YEARS 120 | EXHIBITION | 100OF VOGUE
Above: Kate Moss at the Master Shipwright’s House, Deptford, by Mario Testino, 2008
‘IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF THE KIND OF QUALITY CONDÉ NAST STROVE FOR THAT WOULD MAKE VOGUE STAND OUT’ magazine was beyond the price range of most Britons during this early period. Charging a higher rate, however, allowed Nast to create the very best publication possible; one that would include the most exceptional photography around. And so when it came to picking photographers, Nast was not about to choose some hackneyed snapper to do the job. The Luxembourgish American photographer Edward Steichen was one of Condé Nast’s regulars. And, as a one-time frequent contributor to the fine-art publication Camera Work, there was nothing workhorse about Steichen’s approach to photography. ‘Edward Steichen, who’s well represented in The Royal Photographic Society’s Collection, was, for want of a 120 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
better expression, an art photographer before he took the coin of commercialism,’ explains the exhibition’s curator Robin Muir. ‘It gives you a sense of the kind of quality Condé Nast strove for: he wanted people like Edward Steichen, Charles Sheeler and Baron de Meyer to make his fashion photographs. Only quality, he knew, would make Vogue stand out.’ And, says Muir, this is a trend that the magazine has upheld for the past 100 years. ‘Man Ray, Schiller, Steichen, Beaton, Bailey, Penn …’ he reels off, ‘are not only the great names of fashion and portrait photography, they are the great names of 20th-century photography itself. It gives you an idea of the kind of photographer that worked for Vogue.’ Nowadays, as well as continuing to
produce a high-quality print publication – one with a broader readership than the more elitist editions of old – British Vogue regularly commissions online video content. And it is here, with the moving image, that the National Portrait Gallery begins its exhibition. ‘Because Vogue is living and breathing and alive, we thought we’d start in 2016 and work our way backwards through history,’ says Muir. ‘We’re going to start with a room of fashion film and go back to 1916, when it all started.’ To help mark the passing of time, the exhibition will include one issue from each of the last 100 years, displayed in a specially designed vitrine. ‘It’s really lovely to see Vogue as an object, because these magazines are arguably as rare as the photographs that you see in them,’ says Muir. Likewise, the curator is adamant that the photographs on display be viewed as objects too. As with the magazines, the original vintage images will show all the wear and tear of age and handling. ‘We decided very early on that we’ve got to concentrate on the actual photographs – or as near as we could get to the ones that went in the magazine – because these are the tools of Vogue’s trade,’ says Muir. ‘We wanted all the tears and cuts and whatnot on show – so you see all the marking-up for reproduction – because these are the objects that made the magazine. Vogue was never really about pristine, estate prints. It’s all about photographs as things to be used.’ Vogue 100: A Century of Style is on at National Portrait Gallery from 11 Feb-22 May
LINDA EVANGELISTA BY PATRICK DEMARCHELIER, 1991 ©THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS LTD; KATE MOSS AT THE MASTER SHIPWRIGHT’S HOUSE, DEPTFORD BY MARIO TESTINO, 2008 ©MARIO TESTINO
Left: Linda Evangelista by Patrick Demarchelier, 1991
DAS 122 | THE LIGHT WITHIN | SIPRA
BEYOND THE SHADOWS
Sipra Das’s photobook The Light Within is an exploration of Indian life with a difference, explains Andrew Cattanach
A
t a glance, you might assume that Sipra Das’s photobook The Light Within simply documents the daily activities of people – housewives, actors, dancers, shopkeepers, a bank manager, a coconut picker, and many more – in India, each captured in exquisite monochrome. For many, an insight into people’s lives in Das’s home country would be enough to sustain their interest in a book of some 203 pages. But its subjects are bound by more than a common nation and quotidian pursuits – every one has a visual impairment. For over a decade, Das photographed and interviewed sight-impaired men and women, travelling the country to find out how they live their lives in spite of whatever setbacks they might have encountered due to their disability. She began the project in 2000 after visiting a school for blind people, and feels those featured should be held up as an example to us all. ‘The visually impaired teach us that life is a great blessing and cannot be frittered away at the doors of hopelessness and complaints,’ she says. ‘They try to be the best they can, and that is something we all can set out to do in our everyday lives.’ Das was born into a humble middleclass family in Jadavpur in West Bengal, where life was tough. She had to start earning money at a young age to help support her parents and younger siblings. With seven mouths to feed, much of the responsibility fell to Das. Work as a sound editor for All India Radio gave Das her first experience in the media, and she picked up some of the nuances of journalism before going on to prepare scripts for AIR and Doordarshan, the radio and television arms of the government. Soon after, Das began to write feature 122 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
Anand was born sightless and makes a living from collecting coconuts
SIPRA DAS
| THE LIGHT WITHIN | 123 Jharna is a member of the Blind Opera and has two children with her husband Shamin, who is also visually impaired
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DAS 124 | THE LIGHT WITHIN | SIPRA
Above: Billamangal, 14, is a mimic and tabla player who performs in public shows Right: Amit has 90 per cent vision impairment but takes a drawing class in Delhi
‘WHEN I STARTED THERE WERE UNSPOKEN DEMARCATIONS, LINES THAT HAD BEEN DRAWN FOR FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ articles for The Telegraph in Kolkata. Frustrated at the constant difficulty in finding a photographer to document her work, Das picked up a camera and began to take pictures as she reported on stories in and around the city. ‘Getting a photographer to accompany me for assignments was tough, especially as I was one of the juniors,’ she says. ‘I channelled my frustration through learning photography and becoming a photojournalist of some quality.’ But her subsequent career has been 124 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
far from plain sailing. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Das has faced discrimination. ‘When I started working as a photojournalist, there were unspoken demarcations, lines that had been drawn for female photographers,’ she says. ‘While at India Today, harassment reached such extreme levels that I was asked if the male colleagues who had harassed me should be sacked. I said no. I didn’t want to hurt the breadwinners in their families.’ Now, Das regards photojournalism as more than just a job. ‘It is my life,’ she
explains. ‘It is all I have done for the better part of it.’ To illustrate her dedication Das recalls that while covering the funeral of the film actor, politician and overall Indian megastar N T Rama Rao, she worked a 60-hour shift, getting little to no rest or food. When she finally handed over her last film roll at the airport for dispatch to Delhi, she fainted. ‘I lose myself in the moment,’ Das says. ‘And if I am emotionally troubled, I go out with my camera and it takes very little time before I am transported
SIPRA DAS
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THEMACALLAN.COM P L E A S E S AV O U R R E S P O N S I B LY
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DAS 126 | THE LIGHT WITHIN | SIPRA
Above: Students in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, play cards during a break Far right: Vishal, seen here knitting a fisherman’s net, is a political science graduate who also plays the flute and the violin Right: Boys from the Devnar School for the Blind enjoy a live Ashes test match
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SIPRA DAS
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‘MOST PEOPLE SEE WITH THEIR EYES, BUT DO NOT LISTEN TO THEIR HEART’ into another world, a world of creativity and life.’ It is this that makes The Light Within so compelling. You get a real sense of her thoroughness, consumed by the desire to show the range of people who live their lives with visual impairments. At the All-India Confederation of the Blind in 2000, she visited the bathroom and looked around for a mirror – before realising that a mirror is something blind people don’t need. ‘It was an awkward moment,’ she says. ‘I spoke to the head of the institution, Mr J N Kaul, and asked him how the visually impaired feel when they cannot see themselves. He said: “I cannot see with my eyes, but I do see with my heart. But most people see with their eyes, but do not listen to their heart.” It was a moment of great truth, and I knew that I had to take the story of the blind forward. My work gained momentum at that very point.’ The Light Within is full of fascinating and often inspirational stories. Take Gujarat-born engineer Pradeep Mirani, blinded by the blast of the 1993 Bombay bombings, which killed more than 250 people, injuring 1,400 more, in 13 explosions. ‘When I came back to my senses, I couldn’t see anything. My eyeballs were in my hands,’ he recalls. Mirani, a father of two, spent a year in hospital followed by nearly three years of further treatment. But he later returned to work and was posted to the Bandra-Dahisar water supply station, where he monitors the reservoir level. His return to health and work has kept Mirani optimistic, despite the horror of the attack and its consequences. ‘There is a day after every night,’ he reflects. ‘After darkness there is light.’ And it is this optimism that Das refers to when she claims that we can all learn from visually impaired people. ‘They are hope for the hopeless, light for those who live in darkness,’ she says. ‘Their story is not just for the challenged, but for normal people who are fighting daily battles.’ VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 127
FOR PLATFORM 128 | INSTAGRAM | ATHEPRIMER
9 REASONS TO USE INSTAGRAM Three Society members share their advice for making the most of the photo-sharing site
RIA MISHAAL ARPS A wedding and environmental portrait photographer based in Hampshire and Somerset, Mishaal’s passion is to create personal, sensitive and sincere images
STRENGTHEN BONDS Build relationships with clients and vendors using hashtags, comments and mentions. Choose a striking image from a shoot or event, or one taken with a supplier you are due to work with, and credit those involved by linking to their profiles. Support and publicise those you love to work with. Being supportive and kind is important in business and life.
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TELL STORIES Instagram allows you to showcase your best photography and engage followers by telling a story about an image. Choose your best image, the one that represents what you want to
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‘I posted this image from a shoot for a bridal accessories supplier’
shoot again, to encourage more of the same kind of clients. Post what you love about the image, or use a quote that draws the viewer to your message. If you get comments be sure to reply and open up a discussion with your followers.
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DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG When you publish on your blog, choose a representative image from the post and share it on Instagram, letting your followers know in the caption that your post is up. Describe
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the post briefly in an interesting way that will entice them to have a look. You cannot post links directly in the caption, but you could add a link to your blog in your profile and write ‘link in profile’ in the description of your image.
A PRIMER FOR THE PLATFORM
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RUPERT HITCHCOX LRPS A professional who specialises in music and documentary photography, Hitchcox has shot images of Shaun Rider, The Bluetones and Adam Ant, and contributes to Getty Images
This G8 protest shot was a finalist in Canon’s iconic image competition
PERFECT FOR DOCUMENTARY Instagram complements my documentary work as it is instantaneous. I capture and post images on the go, showing the location and time the image was taken. Some companies have then clocked that I shoot in their area and have approached me, which has led to commissions.
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PROMOTE YOUR WORK I upload a cropped version of an image which links to the gallery on my website, where the whole project can be viewed. I was a top-10 finalist in Canon’s iconic image competition with a shot from the G8 protests in London in 2009. I used Instagram to promote my success.
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USE MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS I set up separate Instagram accounts to complement each of my projects. For a fashion show I recently photographed, Instagram offered a very quick way of spreading the word about the designer’s clothes, promoting the
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latest image through a specially set up account. The different accounts can also work in conjunction with one another. For instance, I can promote more ‘finished’ images on one account while showing ‘behind the scenes’ shots on another, the one linking to the other. INSTANT GRATIFICATION I’ll post an image and within a minute the ‘likes’ are coming through, making it easy to tell which images are the most successful. People searching for certain images can search by ‘keywords’ so make sure your image is tagged correctly. Knowing the best tag keyword can require consideration, but the more you use this tool the more you get the hang of it.
8 JON SEARS LRPS Having spent 15 years working in insurance, Sears returned to full-time education in 2014 to study photography, and is now garnering professional commissions for his work
ENGAGE WITH A YOUNGER AUDIENCE While studying an HNC in photography as a mature student, it became clear early on that social media is very important as it’s widely used among the school-leaver generation. When holding my final exhibition back in the summer, I was surprised by the number of requests I had for my Instagram page, particularly from fellow students. So, if you want your images to appeal to, or be seen by a younger audience, then Instagram is certainly the current ‘in trend’ place to publish them.
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GET KNOWN INTERNATIONALLY When I started using it, I was surprised at its global reach. I get likes from all over the world with every post. If prospective clients see good feedback from an international audience this is a great avenue for exposure. I hope to step up my photography on a more commercial scale this year, so putting my work on Instagram can only be good for business.
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‘This one was popular with my classmates, simply because it contains one of them’
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O’NEILL HonFRPS 130 | BEST SHOTS | TERRY
RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
Terry O’Neill went from knowing nothing to become one of the best photographers of his generation. Damien Love finds out how
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FAYE DUNAWAY, THE MORNING AFTER THE OSCARS, 1977 I’d been to a few Oscars, and knew the real picture was the next day, as it dawned on them their money had gone from $1m to $10m, and they’re in a dazed state. When Faye was nominated, I said: ‘If you win, I’ve got this idea ...’ She won. I got her up at 6:30 next morning to meet me at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I put down the papers – the headline about [Dunaway’s Network co-star] Peter Finch’s posthumous Oscar was a real stroke of luck. I totally built the shot, and she just sat in it. THE RPS JOURNAL / 131
O’NEILL HonFRPS 132 | BEST SHOTS | TERRY
FRANK SINATRA ON BOARDWALK, LADY IN CEMENT, 1968 Sinatra was great to me. I worked with him 30 years on and off. I used to photograph him singing and all that – but this is the one for me, the first I ever took of him. It’s just before I
first met him. I was waiting to meet him, a bit anxious, and he came round the corner with his bodyguards and body double for the movie [Lady In Cement]. I thought, my god … I pressed the shutter, and thank god I did, because it never happened again.
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ike others among the greatest photographers of his generation, Terry O’Neill HonFRPS began without any professional training. Unlike many, he also had absolutely no interest in photography. In fact, before his first job, he’d never even picked up a camera. ‘I was a jazz drummer,’ says O’Neill who, at 77, remains passionate about the music. ‘I was just out the army, and I wanted to go to America and play jazz. And I found out that if I got a job as an air steward with British Airways – or BOAC as it was then – it would mean I’d fly 14 hours from London, then have three days off in New York, fly back 14 hours, and then have three days off in London. And I saw this as perfect for my future jazz career. But when I applied at
BOAC, they said, “You’ll stand a better chance of becoming a steward if you’ve already got a job with us.” So, I took a job in their photographic unit for three months, just glazing prints, and one thing led to another.’ He credits a colleague in the airline’s photography unit, Peter Campion, as the man who opened his eyes. ‘Peter brought in annuals, started showing me what pictures could be. I began asking questions: what lens took what shot, and slowly I picked it up. But I really wasn’t interested before. I always thought it was for clever people, photography ...’ It was in 1959, while taking pictures in the Heathrow departure lounge (‘they wanted people crying saying goodbye and all that’), that he got the shot that changed his career, almost entirely by accident. ‘I spotted a man who’d fallen asleep amongst a load of African
TERRY O’NEILL HonFRPS
chieftains, and I took it, because it made a good picture. But the man turned out to be Rab Butler, who was then British foreign secretary.’ Picked up by Fleet Street, the picture led to a place on the Daily Sketch where, as 1960s youth culture began to explode, O’Neill found himself in the right place at the right time. ‘The paper said: “You’re the youngest photographer Fleet Street’s ever had” – I was 20, the next youngest was 32 – “so you’re young enough to mix with all these pop groups.” And the first job they gave me was The Beatles. I got sent down to Abbey Road, while they were recording Please Please Me. That picture was published and two days later, the phone goes, and it’s the Rolling Stones’ manager. I was off and running. But I didn’t really know what I was doing the first few years, I just did it by instinct.’
His instinct, his eye and his energy quickly led to him becoming one of the key celebrity photographers of the era. O’Neill – named an Honorary Fellow of the Society in 2004, and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2011 – always kept his jazzman’s sense of timing: his best work blends the iconic with the unexpected in a manner that never feels contrived. Some of his most famous shots, such as his 1977 portrait of future wife Faye Dunaway the morning after her Oscar win for the film Network – a definitive artefact of 1970s Hollywood – were meticulously planned, yet his inherent knack for disarming his subjects renders them candid and fresh. He credits another icon with teaching him the secret: Frank Sinatra, who O’Neill photographed over three decades. ‘When I met him, I’d only been
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BRIGITTE BARDOT, THE LEGEND OF FRENCHIE KING, 1971 This was the last frame on a roll. I’d suddenly got into this position where I had a great closeup of her, but then the wind started blowing, and I had to think – take the picture or not? I
took it before I’d really even had a chance to think. It really summed her up. You know, my ultimate aim with this picture is to get it on the tail of an Air France aircraft. It would make a great image for the back of an aircraft. And call the plane Brigitte.
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O’NEILL HonFRPS 134 | BEST SHOTS | TERRY
‘I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING THE FIRST FEW YEARS, I JUST DID IT BY INSTINCT’ a photographer for seven years. Ava Gardner had written a letter of introduction for me. I’d met her, we became friends, and I said: “I’ve got a chance to photograph your ex ...” She said: “Oh, I’ll write you a letter.” So I gave it to him: and then for the next three weeks he totally ignored me. ‘And I didn’t understand it. But after the three weeks was up, I realised: he’d given me the greatest gift he could, which was just not to acknowledge me, just let me be there and not complain. That’s when the penny dropped. Once I realised this, it really helped me. I always work around the edges – often they don’t really realise you’re there. That’s the secret to a lot of this photography. If you can blend into the background and just take pictures, that’s the ideal way.’
O’Neill’s book Two Days that Rocked the World: Elton John Live at Dodger Stadium is now available. Breaking Stones: 1963-1965 A Band on the Brink of Superstardom, with photography by O’Neill and Gered Mankowitz, is out in April 134 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
ABOVE: AUDREY HEPBURN, TWO FOR THE ROAD, 1967 I worked with her a few times. You couldn’t get a bad picture of her. Just such a delight. But this is my favourite. It was on the set of the movie Two For The Road, 1967, in Saint-Tropez, just after the scene was finished. After the take, she’d just been slung in the pool and she’s laughing about it. She didn’t like the water, by the way, she hated being chucked in that pool. So that made it a doubly great shot. ELTON JOHN, 1975 Elton hated being photographed. I know it sounds strange, when you
think about all the outfits he’d wear. This was at the Dodgers stadium. Such a memory – we’ve actually just done a book on this concert (Two Days That Rocked The World …). It was the largest outdoor concert of its kind ever. He was at the height of his career, in great form – and the funny thing was, he’d tried to top himself just a couple of days before this picture.
I only found that out afterwards. PAUL NEWMAN AND LEE MARVIN, POCKET MONEY, 1972 (RIGHT) I got sent to do a poster for the film [Pocket Money] and when I arrived, Lee Marvin had fallen out with everybody. I said to Paul Newman: ‘What am I going to do?’ He said: ‘Well, if you can talk him into it, we’ll do it ...’ So I went up to
Marvin and said: ‘Hi, I’m Terry O’Neill, I’m here to do the poster …’ He said: ‘Are you English? I love the English.’ He shook my hand, and I could feel the whole set rising behind me in appreciation. The pose is natural, that’s just them. After that, any film I went on with Lee Marvin – he used to go off and have a drink at lunchtime – I became like his unofficial minder.
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TOOBY FRPS 136 | SHOWCASE | NIGEL
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
This month at Fenton House, Nigel Tooby FRPS examines homelessness
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This month at Fenton House, Nigel Tooby FRPS presents his project Eye Spy. Made over a total of nine months for homeless charity Simon on the Streets (SotS), with which Tooby was artist in residence, Eye Spy presents images from the perspective of some of SotS’s service users who, as well as being homeless, often suffer other social problems, including drug and alcohol issues. Tooby set out to present work that was hard-hitting and at times distressing, avoiding the usual cliché of men in doorways by forcing viewers to see the world through the eyes of the homeless individual, placing the viewer in the role of the SotS service user. Tooby also sets out to go beyond the confines of two-dimensional photographic artwork, venturing into the realm of sculpture to help him
NIGEL TOOBY FRPS
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Far left: End of Beginning Left: One of Tooby’s sculptural works Above: I was normal once
explore ideas of rehabilitation and social rejection. Photography, however, remains a central part of that process.
Could you tell us how long you took to complete this project? The first 18 pieces were made between February and September 2014 and the final work, Jamie Ross, was produced between July and August 2015. What inspired you to create these works? I was approached by the charity to participate in the project, but I quickly realised that I had little understanding of the subject. After a great deal of research, I recognised the absolute value in supporting the essential work that they do by telling a story of
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homelessness in a unique way, thereby raising money for the cause and helping publicise the organisation. I wanted to do the subject matter real justice and decided to create a series of images that could take the audience into the lives of homeless people. Creating artworks, I was able to provoke deeper thought and discussion around the subject, which was incredibly rewarding.
What do you hope the audience will get from the exhibition? Three things: an alternative to the norm which will encourage people to think differently about photography as art; an appreciation of contemporary work by a member of the Society’s Contemporary Special Interest Group; and the shocking truth about homelessness which – contrary to the opinions of rather too many – is rarely a life choice. When I was researching the work I was shocked to learn of the things that homeless people often have to endure. I need to show those aspects to other people. It is a sad reflection of our society, that people can be abandoned and ignored on our streets – the streets of the fifth richest country on earth.
Nigel Tooby FRPS’s exhibition of his Eye Spy project will be on show until the end of February at The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 137
THE MUST TRY
CRAFT FEBRUARY 2016 THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY, TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS
Fujifilm X-Pro2
Gavin Stoker tries out the update to Fujifilm’s X-Pro rangefinder-like compact system camera
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ore manufacturers are pitching the idea that, even at pro level, a compact system camera is a serious alternative to a DSLR. The appeal is easy to understand: a CSC’s smaller format better lending itself to reportage, travel and street photography. Fujifilm, in updating the fouryear-old X-Pro1, is the latest to make such a claim. The X-Pro2 incorporates a new, swifter sensor in the 24-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS III, plus an ‘X Processor Pro’ image-processing engine, delivering what’s claimed to be a 4x faster performance.
It’s also the only autofocus rangefinder-style camera with an optical viewfinder – in fact, it’s a hybrid that aims to give the benefits of both optical and EVF alternatives – namely the same view as the naked eye, with no time lag. We can switch between the OVF and 2.36 million-dot EVF, or there’s a fixed 3-inch LCD below. The camera’s outward appearance is very close to the original X-Pro1, while the four-section magnesium moulding and solid weight lend it a premium feel. A potential pitfall with a CSC when compared to a pro-grade
IN BRIEF: Second-generation model addresses performance issues of the first while maintaining rangefinder-like design and solid-feel build Price: Expected £1,300 body only Sensor: 24MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS III sensor Lens: Fujifiim X-mount LCD screen: 3-inch, 1.62 million-dot resolution Weight: TBC More: fujifilm.co.uk
DSLR is battery performance. The X-Pro2 offers three power management modes in an attempt to counter this: high performance, standard and economy. In the latter the frame rate of live view is slowed down to preserve power and enable 330 shots instead of 210, for example. But we feel there is still work to be done. That said, the weather-resistant structure, dual SD card slot and top-plate exposure compensation and shutter speed dials, featuring an inset ISO dial, will appeal to the top-tier audience its price tag targets.
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LATEST KIT
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Leica M (Typ 262) £4,050
Latest ‘M’ series digital rangefinder with full-frame sensor Uk.leica-camera.com
1 With its full-frame
24MP CMOS chip, plus a wonderfully named latest-generation processor (the ‘Maestro’), this brings Leica’s ‘M’ series line-up to four models. Lacking video capture or a live-view facility, this is for purists who want to focus on the time-honoured essentials. The on-screen menus – accessed via the 921K dot-resolution 3-inch LCD – are just two ‘pages’ long. Maximum light sensitivity of IS06,400 is modest within this price tag and class, although the barely audible shutter makes it ideal for street or portrait photographers seeking to be discreet. ‘M’ lenses compatible with its bayonet mount run the gamut from 16mm to 135mm, and an all-metal body wraps up this professional feel package.
360fly 360° camera £429
GEAR SPY
Shoot in the dry or underwater with this versatile action camera 360fly.com
2 This 360°-capture ‘action
camera’ resembles an executive toy fashioned for Darth Vader, but apart from the ability to shoot 360° horizontally or 240° vertically key features include image stabilisation and remote control via a free app. With the built-in microphone locked, the unit is waterproof to 35m and dust protected. The obvious allure is achieving imagery and angles otherwise unavailable. That said, it offers a lens aperture of f/2.8, while a 2.26MP CMOS sensor supplies 1,504x1,504 resolution. For video, up to two hours of recording time are achieved via the integral 32GB memory. A 16:9 panorama or still can be clipped from a video. Included is an adapter compatible with ‘almost any’ common mounting.
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Pentax FA 645 35mm From £1,549.99
Wide-ish angle lens for Pentax’s 645 medium-format digital models ricoh-imaging.co.uk Samsung has confirmed it is pulling out of the camera market, something we highlighted two months ago. Rumours were swirling at the time of writing that either Canon or Nikon are possible buyers for its sensor technology. Panasonic, meanwhile, is introducing its revolutionary ‘post-focus’ functionality to its GX8, G7 and FZ330 cameras, launched last year.
3 Owners of the high-end
Pentax 645Z or 645D cameras are directed to a new wide-angle lens that provides the equivalent focal length of 27.5mm when mounted on either of those medium-format bodies. Minimum focusing distance is 0.3m, with a maximum magnification of 0.25x. Up close to your subject beautiful bokeh is possible, thanks in part to a construction that includes a nine-blade rounded diaphragm. Flexing its pro-level ‘muscle’, the front lens element has been coated to repel water and grease when out in the elements. Naturally there is the facility to attach various filters to the front end to further boost creative possibilities.
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MEMBER TEST
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 ‘It comes with outstanding specifications’
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Leica D-Lux ‘Solid Gray’ PermaJet Titanium Lustre £825 £25.95 for an A4 pack Most affordable Leica gets a silver and grey enamel overhaul Uk.leica-camera.com
4 If you view Leicas as
small objects of desire then this latest D-Lux compact will strengthen that impression; its appeal over alternatives from the likes of Panasonic is arguably largely cosmetic. Its silver controls and lens barrel sit upon a newly grey-enamelled body that oozes class. Its 16.8-megapixel Four Thirds sensor means this is a cut above your average 1/2.3-inch snapshot, thankfully, given its asking price, as does the fast f/1.7 maximum lens aperture. Along with an all-encompassing 24-75mm focal range in 35mm terms, matters are brought up to date with 4K video shooting and integrated wi-fi. The camera comes with a Leica CF D flash unit and a leather carry strap with embossed branding.
Inkjet media that claims to deliver a true metallic surface permajet.com
5 Seeking a new way to
present work to maximum effect? Enter PermaJet’s Titanium Lustre fine-art 280gsm inkjet paper which, due to its silver resin-coated base, promises a metallic-looking surface on which to print. Named ‘Best professional paper of the last 12 months’ at the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers awards, it is compatible with dye and pigment-based inks. PermaJet claims the paper base looks like silver, meaning images jump off its surface. The tonal range is such that the paper works well with images that have vibrant colours, deep blacks or contain reflective metal surfaces such as chrome, silver or gold. It comes in 25-sheet packs of A4, A3, A3+ and A2, and wide-format rolls.
The first thing that grabbed me about the FZ330 is that it has an extremely high-quality look and feel. Thanks to fine modelling and the substantial rubber wraparound handgrip, the camera is well balanced and allows easy access to all the controls. The handbook is easy to read, with easily navigated menus. It has extensive video recording capacity that the handbook explains in depth. From a specification point of view, the most impressive part of the camera is the lens. A Leica 25-600mm with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture (in 35mm terms) is the stuff that dreams are made of. The optical viewfinder is clear and bright, and focusing is very fast and efficient.
Zooming throughout the range is smooth, quick and accurate. Pressing the shutter button is satisfying, and the image that you just recorded can be seen in the viewfinder for a couple of seconds, which is a useful feature, removing the temptation to check composition in playback mode. Image playback is a pleasure to use. The zoom button being linked to the cursor buttons is one of the most intuitive systems I’ve seen. I tested the camera at the short and long ends of the zoom and was pleased with the images from both. If I wanted to travel light, I would have no hesitation using the FZ330. It comes with outstanding specifications and produces great results.
Beach huts, Blyth REVIEW BY LEO PALMER FRPS In September 2015, Palmer was awarded an honorary life membership and the Fenton Medal for his outstanding contribution to the work of The Royal Photographic Society
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TECHNIQUE MASTERCLASS
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Lightroom monochrome prints Pay close attention to the polar extremes of highlights and shadows, says Tim Daly empty black areas of your image with a bright blue colour. All areas under this blue marker colour will print solid black with no visible detail. If no blue appears, then your blacks aren’t hitting their maximum value. If, however, you see lots of blue patches then you’ll need to decrease the black slider to minimise them, but still retain some element of pure black.
WORKING WITH SHADOWS 1 Empty black shadows are the enemy of all photographers, as we’d rather see detail in every area of the print. When shooting in lighting extremes, you’ll be drawn to rich black shadows as these define the full dynamic range of tones in your image – but you need to be wary of their extent. Lightroom’s excellent ‘shadow clipping’ tool is set in the top left-hand corner of the histogram, and when editing in the develop module this needs to switched on. Do this by clicking the tiny triangle, as shown, until you see a thin white line around its box. Once switched on, the shadow clipping tool marks
WORKING WITH HIGHLIGHTS 2 Extreme light intensity can cause highlight burn-out, especially if working on jpeg rather than raw files. If in doubt, use Lightroom’s ‘highlight clipping’ tool, found in the top right-hand corner of the histogram dialog box. Click the tiny triangle icon until it has a thin white line around it, then you should see some areas of your image rendered with a red
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR TIM DALY
A photographer, Society workshop tutor and author of books including The Digital Printing Handbook, Daly teaches at the University of Chester and manages www.photocollege.co.uk, an online imaging learning centre
marker colour. If this is the case, all areas lying under the red patches will print pure white without any visible details – which is usually a very distracting thing in a print. It’s essential to have a little bit of pure white in a print (unless it’s deliberately low-key or flat in contrast). If this is the case, increase the highlights slider until you see some red patches appear, as shown.
INTRODUCTION TO LIGHTROOM
USING PRINT PROFILES 3 All black and white photographs should be printed with profiles as this does an excellent job of remapping the tones of your image into the available dynamic range of your chosen paper. Remember when printing on soft, cotton art papers you won’t get the same full-on black as you’d get on glossy
media. In Lightroom’s develop module chose the ‘soft proofing’ option, as shown, then select your paper profile from the profile pop-up in the soft proofing dialog, installing this beforehand if you haven’t done so already. Once selected, the profile will change the way your image appears on screen and do a better job of mimicking how it’ll appear on your chosen paper.
On 16 April, Society headquarters plays host to a workshop – suitable for beginners – that introduces Lightroom’s organisational, editing and printing tools. For details see page 152 VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 143
IN DEPTH 144 | THE CRAFT | TECHNIQUE
Time traveller
Slovenian photographer Borut Peterlin explains why he has adopted 19th-century printing techniques as his way of life
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n the summer of 2010, I went to The Photographers’ Gallery in London to revisit original prints by one of my favourite photographers, Sally Mann. Blown away by her exhibition Immediate Family, in Bratislava in 1994 as a 19-year-old student, I wondered if, as a professional photographer, I would still appreciate her work as much. Needless to say, in the first room I got everything I came for. On entering the next room my career changed forever. After studying photography in Prague and London, then enjoying a career as a professional for around 12 years, I felt I was becoming more of a businessman and less of a photographer. I was serving others, using only a fragment of my creativity to deliver my assignments. That numbness changed in that second room, which exhibited Mann’s work using the wet-plate collodion process from the 19th century. I had never seen contemporary fine-art photography done that way, and decided on the spot that I must learn the process. I became obsessed with
‘THE MAGIC WHEN YOUR IMAGE ON GLASS IS APPEARING IS INDESCRIBABLE’
handmade processes and went on to take workshops with the teacher Mann had studied under, Mark Osterman. With his help, I learned all sorts of interesting processes: ambrotype, dry and wet-collodion negatives, albumen printing, salt printing, carbon printing … 19th-century photographers could choose from around 40 different processes, each with its own aesthetic. The wet-plate collodion process was invented in 1851 and, as the name suggests, is a messy process, dealing with chemicals and water. Collodion is basically a nitrocellulose dissolved in ether and alcohol, with different salts of iodine and bromine. A wet-collodion plate is sensitive to light only while it is wet – and it dries quickly. You have around 15 minutes to complete the process before weird artefacts and fog start to appear at the corner where the collodion layer is the thinnest. The magic when your image on glass is appearing is indescribable. If the result is good, there is nothing more rewarding. Nineteenth-century negatives demanded about 100 times more light than the typical modern-day ISO 100. In wet-plate collodion, I’d say the ISO ranges between 1 and 5. It cannot be directly compared, because collodion photography is not sensitive to most of the visual spectrum and is oversensitive
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Top: Borut Peterlin’s wife and children; albumen print toned with gold-chloride toner Above: From the series The Great Depression; a tintype, taken with a 110-year-old ‘snap camera’ – a Kodak Folding Brownie 3A
to blue and UV light. For this reason, wet-plate collodion is not the best photographical medium to do stellar or wildlife photography and, in fact, is unfit for many modern photographic subjects. Handmade photography requires many different skills, not only in image making but in constructing cameras,
darkrooms and other tools. Because images must be processed immediately, it is crucial for me to be mobile – to have a car with a darkroom inside – so I bought an old Land Rover Series III. I had to learn how to mend brakes, fuel pumps, oil filters … but after the suffering, creativity sprang into action and a
TECHNIQUE IN DEPTH
world full of possibilities opened up. My mobile darkbox has running water, a sink, adjustable LED lights, a red window, wet and dry work places, and a sinkable silver bath. After I stop, it takes just a minute of preparation before I can begin my routine. Slovenia is a great country for raising my children, but the worst to make a living out of wet-plate collodion photography. So I have a blog, make tutorial videos, and have become something of a minor celebrity on social networks. I auction prints on eBay and have made as much as £566 for one print. I also have a Patreon.com account and am supported by monthly donations. I host workshops too, and have welcomed participants from all over the world. In December, I ran wet-plate collodion portrait sessions, and these sold very well. I still do some commercial photography, but
just a fraction of what I used to do; my income from wetplate collodion photography is growing every year. My 2013 project, The Great Depression, has been shown in Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland and Slovenia. It was even nominated for the Arendt Award in Luxembourg. I’m now working to revive and modernise another 19th-century process: woodburytype. The first photomechanical process, it was invented in 1864 and, in my opinion, is still the best printing process. It does not have any of the dots or raster that characterise ink-based printing. Woodburytype uses pigmented gelatine that is half translucent, which offers amazing continuous tonality. Of course, the process is very demanding, but I hope with the help of robotics and computers that its demanding stages can be made easier, and we can revive it again.
| THE CRAFT | 145
Clockwise, from above: a portrait of illustrator Milan Erič, scratched and scanned; an image from The Great Depression series, ambrotype; an image from the We will remain part of this landscape, its beauties and its pain series, taken with a Petzval lens from the 1860s, contact copy on silver-chloride paper, split-toned with sulphide toner
FACT FILE
Borut Peterlin is a fine-art photographer specialising in the wet-plate collodion process and other 19th-century techniques. borutpeterlin.com VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 145
146 | THE CRAFT |
Leica Q
MY TOP CAMERA
Matilda Temperley relishes the simplicity and creative challenges a fixed lens offers I recently bought the Leica Q to use as a high-quality compact camera in the hope it would train me to take more observational images on a daily basis. I felt that the fixed 28mm lens would be beneficial as it removes decision making from the creative process and forces me to concentrate solely on framing. The viewfinder on the Leica is much clearer than most compact cameras, which was one of the main reasons for buying it. However, the screen on the Leica is so bright, sharp and distinctly representative of the final image that I have begun to use the live view for framing an image. I’ve really grown to love the flexibility that framing with the screen offers. As the Leica Q produces such highquality images and is smaller than any of the cameras I routinely used on jobs before, ditching the heavy camera bag in favour of its lightweight portability on documentary jobs is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence.
It’s very liberating to not get bogged down with kit. The simplicity of a single small camera is refreshing. I also love its ability to instantly send pictures to my phone via wi-fi, as well as the option to use my phone as a remote control. If you embrace the limitations of a fixed lens, the Leica Q is a brilliant documentary camera for everyday life. Despite this, it remains limited in a studio setting and I still rely on my Canon 5DS.
In 2015, I relied on the Leica Q when photographing the biggest apple harvest in my lifetime at my family’s farm in Somerset and I also used it to document the West Country carnivals. I’ve never been a photographer that has a camera round my neck at all times – mostly because I never found a compact I liked. This has all changed thanks to the arrival of the Leica Q, which is now, most definitely, a permanent fixture.
Masqueraders during the Shepton Mallet Guy Fawkes Carnival in November 2015
FACT FILE
Temperley’s personal work is inspired by marginalised societies and in September 2015 she won the Society’s Vic Odden Award for her sell-out book Under the Surface – Somerset Floods. An accomplished fashion photographer, her work has appeared in Love magazine and Elle. matildatemperley.com 146 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
beautiful bespoke photography print portfolios & boxes
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Roll fed paper in the Frontier-S DX100 allows a wide range of prints sizes based on paper widths from 3.5 to 8.25 inches. The printer is economical and very portable at ‘suitcase weight’ 23kg.
MEMBER It’s showtime Hear from burlesque and boudoir imaging specialist Tigz Rice
T
he Thames Valley Digitial Imaging Group is to host a session with burlesque, haute couture and post-production specialist Tigz Rice on 17 April. Rice’s photographic style is inspired by fairy tales, film noir and the golden age of Hollywood portraiture. These themes are reflected in passion projects as well as commerical work – clients include Betty Bridal, Benefit Cosmetics, What Katie Did and the London Burlesque Festival. Rice is a highly skilled retoucher, and technological experimentation plays an
Above: Haringtons Soho campaign
| GUIDE | 149
GUIDE
YOUR RPS EVENTS ! COURSES PROGRAMME
FEB!MAR!APR
Below: Aurora Galore
important role in her postproduction style. Her work has been recognised in the creative community, garnering Wacom and Adobe influencer status. On the day, Rice will dissect a selection of images to identify styles and post-production effects. In the afternoon, she will share some of her favourite tricks in Photoshop and Lightroom to enhance boudoir and portraiture images using a Wacom tablet. Booking is essential to be sure of a space. For more details, see page 153 VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 149
150 | GUIDE |
REGIONS
Meet photographers and view work in your area CENTRAL
SUNDAY 10 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
GO TO
RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
MIKE SHARPLES ARPS, 07884 657535
`` Fully booked, contact for waiting list `` The Hythe, Maldon, Essex CM9 5HN `` Ann Miles FRPS, ann@pin-sharp.co.uk EAST MIDLANDS
`` See website for costs `` Whatton Jubilee Hall, Church Street, Whatton, Notts NG13 9EL
`` Ralph Bennett ARPS, as above LONDON
RALPH BENNETT ARPS, 01636 651277
DEL BARRETT ARPS
RALPH.EMRPS!GMAIL.COM
LONDONEVENTS!RPS.ORG
P H Emerson: presented by the author
First Tuesday meeting
MIKES.SHARPLES!VIRGIN.NET EAST ANGLIA IAN WILSON ARPS, 07767 473594
THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY / 13:45%15:45
IAN!GREENMEN.ORG.UK
`` An opportunity to visit this excellent exhibition in the company of the curator, Federica Chiocchetti `` Nottingham Castle, off Friar Lane, Nottingham NG1 6EL `` Geoff Blackwell, 0114 266 8655, gblackwell@fastmail.fm
East Anglia Region exhibition TUE 2%SUN 28 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
`` The Apex Art Gallery, Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3FD `` Moira Ellice ARPS, 01473 720928, moira.ellice2011@btinternet.com
A day with … Paula Davies FRPS and Guy Davies ARPS (change of speakers)
Fellowship advisory day SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:30
TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY / 19:00%21:00
`` £5/£3 Society members `` Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS
`` Norman, londoncave@rps.org RPS London, street event SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY / 9:45%15:00
`` Details to be confirmed `` londonevents@rps.org The Bookworm Club WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY / 18:30%21:00
`` The Crusting Pipe, 27 The Market,
`` £25 ARPS members only `` No observers `` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road,
`` £10 `` Whatton Jubilee Hall, Church Street,
`` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above
`` Ralph Bennett ARPS, as above
London, Naturally – Walk
Regional sponsored lecture
Come and chat coffee morning
`` A circular walk around five ponds on
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
Whatton NG13 9EL
Foxton CB22 6RN
Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RD
`` londonevents@rps.org
SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY / 11:00%13:00 SUNDAY 13 MARCH / 10:30%16:30
SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:15%12:15
`` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road,
`` Nottingham Contemporary Cafe,
`` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above
`` Ralph Bennett ARPS, as above
A Distinctions day for nature photography
Ladies’ day: Anne Suttcliffe and Ann Miles, both FRPS, and short EM AGM
Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB
Foxton CB22 6RN
SATURDAY 2 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
`` See website for costs `` Run by David Osborn FRPS, chair of the RPS Nature Panel `` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN `` Ian Wilson ARPS, as above
Trip to Maldon and on the Thames barge, Kitty
the Hampstead side of the heath. We meet at Hampstead Heath Station (London Overground) and return there at the end of the walk `` Hampstead Heath Station (Overground), London NW3 2QD `` London Naturally, London-naturally@rps.org
SUNDAY 20 MARCH / 10:15%16:00
East Anglia is hosting a nature photography Distinctions day. Image: David Osborn FRPS www.davidosborn photography.co.uk
`` £10 `` Whatton Jubilee Hall, Church Street,
LRPS 1:1 Distinctions review SATURDAY 5 MARCH / 10:00%16:30
Whatton NG13 9EL `` Ralph Bennett ARPS, as above
`` £50/£40 Society members `` With Richard Walton FRPS and
Advisory Day LRPS ARPS VA Creative and Pictorial
`` The Nikon Centre for Excellence,
SUNDAY 17 APRIL / 10:30%16:00
Roger Force FRPS
63-64 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SW `` Lorraine Grey, Londondist@rps.org NORTH WALES DON LANGFORD LRPS, 01758 713572 DONCHRISLANGFORD!BTINTERNET.COM
AGM and members’ afternoon SUNDAY 28 FEBRURARY / 14:00%17:00
`` Craig-y-Don Community
Centre, Queens Road, Llandudno LL30 1TE `` Christine Langford, as above NORTH WEST DR AFZAL ANSARY ASIS FRPS, 07970 403672 AFZALANSARY!AOL.COM
AGM & fine art printing in mono and colour with Mike McNamee SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 11:00%15:00
`` Hough End Centre, Mauldeth Road West, Manchester M21 7SX
`` Afzal Ansary FRPS, as above 150 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
| GUIDE | 151
Hurter and Driffield centenary exhibition SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 14:00%15:30
`` £10/£5 group or regional members `` Dr Ron Callender FRPS will explain the significance of the work of Hurter and Driffield `` The Castle Park Art Centre, Castle Park, Frodsham WA6 6SE `` Geoff Blackwell, 0114 266 8655, gblackwell@fastmail.fm
Members’ print exhibition SAT 13 FEBRUARY%SAT 30 APRIL
`` RPS Gold, Silver and Bronze medals
and RPS certificates will be issued to the 1st, 2nd & 3rd-placed prints chosen by the judge(s). Entries are invited from fully paid-up members in the North West Region `` Pyramid Gallery, Palmyra Square South, Warrington WA1 1BL `` Nina Agnew, ninaagnew@yahoo.co.uk NORTHERN IRELAND DAMIAN MCDONALD ARPS, 07902 481691 DAMIANMCDONALD!OUTLOOK.COM
The South West region will hear from Sue Bishop and Vanda Ralevska. Image: Anemone centre by Sue Bishop
Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4LJ `` Terry McGhie ARPS, as above
SCOTLAND JAMES FROST FRPS, 01578 730466, 07881 856294 JAMES.FROST11!BTINTERNET.COM
Scottish Members’ Print Exhibition 2015/16 – Aberdeen MON 1 FEB%SUN 28 FEB / 10:00%17:00
`` An opportunity to see a selection of
our regional members’ work in various venues around the country `` Aberdeen Arts Centre, 33 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5AA `` Andy Hayes ARPS, andyhayes@btinternet.com SOUTH EAST
Visit to Brede steam engines WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL / 10:00%15:00
`` £15/£10 Society members `` The Brede heritage site is a special
place that tells the story of the water supply for the Hastings area from the steam days of 1904 `` Brede Heritage Site, Waterworks Lane, Brede, East Sussex, Rye TN31 6HG `` Garry Bisshopp, gb.photo@btinternet.com
TERRY McGHIE ARPS, 01323 492584 SOUTH WALES
SOUTHEAST!RPS.ORG
MIKE LEWIS, 07855 309667, 01446 710770
AGM South East Region
MIKEGLEWIS101!BTINTERNET.COM
SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 10:00%11:00
Fotospeed workshop
`` Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane, Crawley Down RH10 4LJ `` Terry McGhie ARPS, as above
SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
`` St Francis Millennium Hall, Porth-YCastell, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan CF62 6NX `` Mike Lewis, as above
`` Members’ day South East Region SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 11:00%17:00
NORTHERN GERRY ADCOCK ARPS, 01661 830882 GERRY!GERRYADCOCK.CO.UK
Contemporary North East meeting SATURDAY 19 MARCH / 14:00%17:00
`` TBA, York YO26 5SG `` Patricia Ruddle, 01904 783850, patriciaruddle@btinternet.com
`` £10/£7.50 regional members `` Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane,
SOUTH WEST MARTIN HOWSE ARPS, 01326 221939
Crawley Down RH10 4LJ
MGHVKH!BTINTERNET.COM
`` Terry McGhie, as above
South West Group Contemporary Group meeting
ARPS advisory day in the South East Region
SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
SUNDAY 6 MARCH / 10:30%17:00
`` £20/£15/£10 spectators `` The Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane,
`` Carol & Graham’s house, 42 Hunters Moon, Dartington TQ9 6JT
`` Rod Fry, rod@rodfry.eclipse.co.uk
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 151
152 | GUIDE |
WORKSHOPS
Art and macro photography WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16.00
`` £45/£33 Society members `` Buckinghamshire Creative eye SATURDAY 6 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:30
`` £95/£71 Society members `` RPS HQ Photographing landscape, whatever the weather – Tony Worobiec FRPS SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY/ 10:30%16:00 SATURDAY 30 APRIL / 10:30%16:00
`` £45/£33 Society members `` RPS HQ Art nude photography SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY/ 10:00%17:00 SATURDAY 23 APRIL/ 10:00%17:00
`` £120/£95 Society members `` Lacock Digital monochrome printing SAT 20%SUN 21 FEBRUARY/ 10:00%16:00
`` £170/£145 Society members `` RPS HQ How to photograph children and babies SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:00%17:00 SUNDAY 24 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
`` £95/£71 Society members `` Lacock
Hollywood-style beauty lighting
Introduction to Lightroom SATURDAY 16 APRIL / 10:00%16:30
`` £95/£71 Society members `` This course provides an
SATURDAY 12 MARCH / 10:00%17:00
`` £115/£90 Society members `` Top professional model
introduction to Lightroom’s organisational, editing and printing tools and is suitable for a beginner `` RPS HQ
Jon will be showing you how to create interesting but simple beauty lighting techniques `` Leigh
Printing with Lightroom
Night shoot
SUNDAY 17 APRIL / 10:00%16:00
`` £95/£71 Society members `` Learn how to get the very best
SATURDAY 12 MARCH / 18:00%22:00
`` £35/£26 Society members `` Explore the wonders of night-time
results from your printer and Adobe Lightroom. Suitable for beginners `` RPS HQ
photography during this creative, hands-on and revealing evening photography workshop `` Bath
Product photography FRIDAY 22 APRIL / 10:30%16:30
Studio portraiture (two days)
`` £155/£130 Society members `` Enhance your photographic skills in shooting products for publishing on the web or other promotional material. No prior experience needed `` Colerne
SAT 26 MARCH%SUN 27 MARCH / 10:00%17:00
`` £165/£140 Society members `` Lacock Creative dance lighting photography
Environmental portraiture
SATURDAY 9 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
SATURDAY 23 APRIL / 9:00%18:00
`` £115/£90 Society members `` Learn how to create multi-image
`` £155/£130 Society members `` This workshop is about approaches
and strobe effects as well as getting the opportunity to work alongside a top model and professional ballet dancer `` Surrey
Two-day Photoshop workshop SAT 27%SUN 28 FEBRUARY/ 10:00%17:00
`` £165/£140 Society members `` RPS HQ Wedding photography (two days)
Learn how to approach portraiture on location on 23 April. Image: Shutterstock
to portraiture on location. There will be plenty of practical photography, going out into the old market town of Wirksworth in small groups with Paul Hill, Nick Lockett and Martin Shakeshaft `` Derbyshire
Coastal landscapes SATURDAY 23 APRIL / 13:00%20:30
`` £95/£71 Society members `` North Devon Introduction to Photoshop
SAT 27%SUN 28 FEBRUARY / 10:00%17:00
SUNDAY 24 APRIL / 10:00% 17:30
SAT 9 APRIL%SUN 10 APRIL / 10:00% 17:00
`` £95/£71 Society members `` RPS HQ
`` £165/£140 Society members `` Learn the fundamentals of lighting, subject positioning and more
Business seminars for photographers (two days)
Shooting for stock
`` £190/£160 Society members `` Essential for those photographers
`` Lacock
TUE 26 APRIL% WED 27 APRIL/ 10:30%16:30 MONDAY 29 FEBRUARY/ 10:30%16:30
`` £65/£48 Society members `` RPS HQ From shutter to print
who have recently started out in business or are aspiring to do so on a full or part–time basis `` RPS HQ
WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH / 10:00%15:00
`` £45/£33 Society members `` RPS HQ
Close-up and macro photography
Beginners’ introduction to your digital camera
`` £95/£71 Society members `` The detail of insects, flowers and
THURSDAY 28 APRIL / 10:00%16:30
SUNDAY 6 MARCH / 10:00%17:00 SATURDAY 23 APRIL / 10:00 / 17:00
`` £85/£63 Society members `` RPS HQ 152 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
even everyday objects presents the potential for creating beautiful images showing texture, pattern and colour `` Buckinghamshire
| GUIDE | 153 Regional AGM and panel showing
the issues facing photographers, followed by an Adobe workshop tutorial on how to protect your online images `` New Greenham Arts Centre, 113 Lindenmuth Way, Greenham Business Park, Newbury RG19 6HN `` David Ashcroft LRPS, 07710 302684, dashcroft9@me.com
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
`` Dolphin Hotel, Station Road, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AL
`` Martin Howse ARPS, 01326 221939, mghvkh@btinternet.com
A day with Sue Bishop and Vanda Ralevska
THAMES VALLEY
SUNDAY 10 APRIL / 10:30%16:00
MARK BUCKLEY,SHARP ARPS, 020 8907 5874
`` £13/£10/5 group members `` Dolphin Hotel, Station Road,
MARK.BUCKLEY,SHARP!TISCALI.CO.UK
`` Linda Wevill FRPS,
DIG Thames Valley: Tom Way – wildlife through a lens
Distinctions advisory day
`` £12/£8 group members `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview
Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AL linda.wevill@btinternet.com.
SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY / 10:00%15:30
Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA
SUNDAY 24 APRIL / 10:30%16:00
`` £10 `` Fully booked, waiting list avaliable `` The Dolphin Hotel, Station Road,
`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org
DIG Thames Valley: Adrian Lines ARPS and Jane Lines LRPS
Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AL `` Martin Howse ARPS, as above
SUNDAY 13 MARCH / 10:00%15:30
`` £12/£8 group members `` ‘Altered reality...better than the
SOUTHERN
real thing’
PAUL GILMOUR LRPS, 07899 042372 SOUTHERN!RPS.ORG
First meeting of Documentary Group South
Distinctions advisory day (LRPS/ARPS/FRPS) – Guernsey
MONDAY 1 FEBRUARY / 19:30%21:30
SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
`` The first meeting of the
`` £20/£15/£10 `` Introduction to Distinctions and
Documentary Group South
`` The Fryern Pavilion, Greenways, Chandlers Ford SO53 2LE `` Mo Connelly, doc@rps.org
DIG Southern Centre: Photoshop Elements workshop with Barry Senior HonFRPS
advisory day for LRPS/ARPS/FRPS and categories of Creative, Travel and Natural History `` Les Cotils, St Peter Port, Les Cotils, Christian Holiday, Conference & Retreat Centre, St Peter Port GY1 1UU `` Paul Gilmour LRPS, as above
Ian Day FRPS will speak to the Yorkshire Region on 26 February. Image: The Prince of Wales samples some cheese during his visit to the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes by Gary Longbottom/ Yorkshire Post
Christchurch Road, Ringwood BH24 1DW `` Barry Senior HonFRPS, 01425 471489, digsouthern@rps.org
Distinctions advisory day
SATURDAY 13 FEB 10:00%16:00
Le Cercle des Voyageurs, Rue des Grands Carmes 18, Brussels Richard Sylvester LRPS, richard.sylvester@skynet.be `` CANADA John Bradford, jb.rps@cogeco.ca `` CHINA BEIJING
DIG Thames Valley: Tigz Rice – boudoir photography and post-production SUNDAY 17 APRIL / 10:00%15:30
`` £12/£8 group members `` An insight into burlesque photography `` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview
Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA
WESTERN
Copyright issues for photographers
KEVIN SCHWAEZLER, KEVIN!SCHWAERZLER.AT
SUNDAY 6 MARCH / 11:30%15:00
DI Group Western – Simon Redgrove, online
`` £15/£10 Society members `` Learn about how copyright works and
OVERSEAS CHAPTERS `` AUSTRALIA Elaine Herbert ARPS, eherbert @alphalink.com.au `` BENELUX
Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA
`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org
`` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
`` £7/£5 group members `` Greyfriars Community Centre, 44
`` Woosehill Community Hall, Emmview
Royal Photographic Society members around the world
Yan Li, yanli88@yahoo.com `` CHINA CHONGQING `` CHINA WESTERN Wei Han (Richard), oolongcha@hotmail.com `` CHINA SHANGTUF Guo Jing, shangtuf@yahoo.com.cn `` CHINA QUANZHOU Xiaoling Wang, hgudsh@163.com `` GERMANY
German Chapter, first quarter 2016 photo competition UNTIL THURSDAY 31 MARCH
Chris Renk, germany@rps.org 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
`` 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 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 153
154 | GUIDE | papers and Clive Tanner FRPS
his services to press photography
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:30
`` £8/£7/£5 group members `` Demonstrating digital printing
technique options as well as bringing along a selection of prints on different paper. Simon and Clive are willing to review the prints you bring along `` Ilton Village Hall, Ilton, near Taunton TA19 9HG `` Dennis Knowles, 01884 254775, dennisknowles123@btinternet.com
GO TO
RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
`` University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 9JT
`` Robert Helliwell, 01904 500231, bobhelliwell@clara.co.uk
Distinctions advisory day SUNDAY 6 MARCH / 10:30%16:30
`` £20/£15/£10 advice `` For Licentiate Distinctions (LRPS) `` Starlight Theatre, National Railway Museum, York YO26 4XJ `` Robert Helliwell, 01904 500231, bobhelliwell@clara.co.uk
MARY CROWTHER ARPS, 07921 237962
`` Regional AGM and Insight tour
PHOTOBOX50!GMAIL.COM
SUNDAY 17 APRIL / 10:15%11:45
A Talk by Ian Day FRPS
`` £3/£2 Society members `` The Yorkshire Region annual general
YORKSHIRE
FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY / 19:00%21:00
`` £7/£5 Society members `` The most recent recipient of
a Society Fellowship, Ian joins the elite group in recognition of
Visit Lichfield Cathedral with the Archaeology and Heritage SIG on 3 March. Image by Jim Tonks ARPS
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Explore more aspects of photography and digital imaging ANALOGUE DAVID HEALEY ARPS, 07968 746211 ANALOGUE!RPS.ORG ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE RODNEY BERNARD THRING LRPS, 01276 20725
meeting will precede the Insight tour
RODNEY.THRING!NTLWORLD.COM
Bradford BD1 1NQ
Visit to Lichfield Cathedral
bobhelliwell@clara.co.uk
`` This venue has a rich history,
`` Insight, National Media Museum,
`` Robert Helliwell, 01904 500231,
THURSDAY 3 MARCH / 10:00%15:00
reflected in its architecture and treasures `` 19a The Close, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 7LD `` Ken Keen FRPS, 01735 886036, ken.keen.333@btinternet.com
Visit to Brede steam engines WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL / 10:00%15:00
`` £15/£10 Society members `` The Brede heritage site is a special
place that tells the story of the water supply for the Hastings area from the steam days of 1904 `` The Brede Heritage Site, Waterworks Lane, Brede, East Sussex, Rye TN31 6HG `` Garry Bisshopp, gb.photo@btinternet.com CONTEMPORARY PETER ELLIS LRPS, 07770 837977 WORDSNPICSLTD!GMAIL.COM
South West Contemporary Group meeting SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
`` Carol & Graham’s house, 42 Hunters Moon, Dartington TQ9 6JT
`` Rod Fry, rod@rodfry.eclipse.co.uk Contemporary North East meeting SATURDAY 19 MARCH / 14:00%17:00
`` York, TBA, York YO26 5SG `` Patricia Ruddle, 01904 783850, patriciaruddle@btinternet.com CREATIVE BARRY COLLIN LRPS CREATIVECHAIR!RPS.ORG
RPS Creative Group Print & PDI exhibition selections & AGM SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY / 10:30%17:00
`` £8/£5 `` Whittlesford Memorial Hall, Mill Lane, Whittlesford, Cambs CB22 4NE
154 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
| GUIDE | 155
`` David Jordan, 01603 866475,
daveandjoanjordan@yahoo.co.uk DIGITAL IMAGING
`` St Francis Millennium Hall, Porth y Castell, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan CF62 6NX `` Mike Lewis, 01446 710770
DENNIS KNOWLES DENNISKNOWLES123!BTINTERNET.COM
DIG Thames Valley: Mike McNamee FRPS – Photoshop SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY / 10:00%15:30
`` £12/£8 group members `` Details being finalised `` Woosehill Community Hall,
Emmview Close, Wokingham RG41 3DA `` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org
DI Group: AGM, print selection and guest speaker SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
`` £7.99 exhibitor return postage `` Smethwick Photographic Society club rooms, The Old School House, Churchbridge, Oldbury B69 2AS `` Janet Davies, digsecretary@rps.org
DIG Thames Valley: March event SUNDAY 13 MARCH / 10:00%15:30
DI Group Western – Simon Redgrove, online papers & Clive Tanner FRPS SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:30
`` £8/£7/£5 group members `` Demonstrating printing and various paper options
`` Ilton Village Hall, Ilton, near Taunton TA19 9HG
`` Dennis Knowles, 01884 254775,
dennisknowles123@btinternet.com
`` £12/£8 group members `` Details being finalised `` Woosehill Community Hall,
Emmview Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA `` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org
DIG Thames Valley: Tigz Rice – boudoir photography and post-production SUNDAY 17 APRIL / 10:00%15:30
DIG Southern Centre: Photoshop Elements workshop with Barry Senior HonFRPS SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
`` £7/£5 group members `` Greyfriars Community Centre,
44 Christchurch Road, Ringwood BH24 1DW `` Barry Senior HonFRPS, 01425 471489, digsouthern@rps.org.
Fotospeed workshop SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:00%16:00
`` A print workshop with Fotospeed
`` £12/£8 group members `` An insight into the world of boudoir and burlesque photography
`` Woosehill Community Hall,
Emmview Close, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3DA `` Laurie Pate, digthamesvalley@rps.org DOCUMENTARY
Visit an exhibition on P H Emerson with the Historical Group on 4 February. Image by P H Emerson with permission from the Nottingham Castle Museum and Gallery
MONDAY 1 FEBRUARY / 19:30% 21:30
`` The first meeting of the Documentary Group South
`` The Fryern Pavilion, Greenways, Chandlers Ford SO53 2LE
`` Mo Connelly, doc@rps.org Advanced documentary photo essays SATURDAY 12 MARCH
`` £65/£60/£55 group members `` This workshop is intended for those
who have attended a previous documentary photo essays workshop with Ali Baskerville. Places are limited to 10-12 and priority will be given to DG members `` The Impact Hub Birmingham, Walker Building, 50 Oxford Street, Birmingham B5 5NR `` Mo Connelly, doc@rps.org HISTORICAL JENNIFER FORD ARPS, 01234 881459 JENNYFORD2000!YAHOO.CO.UK
P H Emerson: presented by the author THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY / 13:45%15:45
`` An opportunity to visit this excellent exhibition in the company of the curator, Federica Chiocchetti `` Nottingham Castle, off Friar Lane, Nottingham NG1 6EL `` Geoff Blackwell, 0114 266 8655, gblackwell@fastmail.fm
Hurter and Driffield centenary exhibition
MO CONNELLY LRPS, 01590 641849
SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY / 14:00%15:30
DOC!RPS.ORG
`` £10/£5 group or regional members `` Dr Ron Callender FRPS will explain
First meeting of Documentary Group South
the significance of the work of Hurter and Driffield
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 155
156 | GUIDE | `` The Castle Park Art Centre,
Castle Park, Frodsham WA6 6SE `` Geoff Blackwell, 0114 266 8655, gblackwell@fastmail.fm
Burton Bros of Dunedin WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY / 14:00%15.30
`` £10 non-group members `` See a small but important collection
of work by Burton Brothers of Dunedin `` Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PP `` Geoff Blackwell, 0114 266 8655, gblackwell@fastmail.fm
Bromoil and bromoil-transfer workshop SATURDAY 5 MARCH / 10:00%16:00
`` £50
`` Learn how to make bromoil prints with this workshop arranged by the Bromoil Circle of Great Britain `` The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH `` Brian Iddon, 01248 853283, brian@brynteg53.fsnet.co.uk
IMAGING SCIENCE DR TONY KAYE ASIS FRPS, 020 8420 6557
GO TO
RPS.ORG/EVENTS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
TONYKAYE!HOTMAIL.CO.UK MEDICAL DR AFZAL ANSARY ASIS FRPS, 07970 403672 AFZALANSARY!AOL.COM LANDSCAPE
AGM (with speakers after lunch)
TIM PARISH LRPS LANDSCAPE!RPS.ORG
SATURDAY 5 MARCH / 11:30%16:00
`` £5 non-members `` Formal notice and nomination papers will be circulated by the secretary in the normal way nearer the date `` National Media Museum, Pictureville, Bradford BD1 1NQ `` Janine Freeston, 01865 516136, janinefreeston@aol.com
Landscape Group inaugural event SATURDAY 2 APRIL / 13:00%19:00
`` Details to come `` TBA, Chichester PO19 8DH NATURE RICHARD REVELS FRPS, 01767 313065 RICHARD.REVELS!TALKTALK.NET
COUNCIL REPORT ! NOVEMBER 2015 MATTERS ARISING
`` Vanessa Slawson reported that
the staff had held a productive strategy/marketing meeting on 16 October. Paul Bullock would be meeting with the director-general on 19 November and would be facilitating the joint Council and staff follow-up meeting on 15 December. `` The director-general reported that the connectivity issue the website had experienced had been the subject of an investigation by Box UK which identified the Society’s database server as the source of this. The server had been due for replacement in summer 2016 and this would now be brought forward to January. The replacement had been budgeted for. `` Council noted that Gerry Adcock ARPS had been elected as Northern Region organiser. The president on behalf of Council was asked to thank Jane Black ARPS for her service to the region. DISTINCTIONS ADVISORY BOARD `` Walter Benzie read a statement summarising the recent meeting between the DAB, himself and two Council members, chaired by Douglas May. The meeting had highlighted some differences in views between Council and the DAB which both would be working to resolve. COMMITTEES `` Del Barrett expressed the view
that the Society should be making use of expertise from within or outside the membership on its specialist committees. Such expertise would support the Society particularly in technical areas such as investments. Vanessa Slawson asked whether trustees needed to chair committees or whether staff or representatives from the advisory board could do this, with trustees sitting on committees. FINANCE
`` Geoff Blackwell circulated
management accounts for the third quarter and the draft 2016 budget. The Society’s position at the end of September showed a small deficit against budget. The overall position had not changed significantly from June. `` Geoff Blackwell recorded his thanks for the work put in by Nick Rogers and the director-general on the 2016 budget. This showed a break-even position. He was proposing an approximate two per cent increase on subscriptions. There were a number of assumptions which included no increase on Distinctions fees and no additional staff headcount. The DAB had been consulted and had accepted that an increase in fees was necessary. `` David Cooke noted that the budget made no provision for any of the staff increases which would allow it to deliver an expanded range of offerings, including educational and online services the Council had
156 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
discussed. Council approved the budget as presented. SOCIETY PREMISES
`` The director-general gave a
presentation on a building in Bristol which he, Geoff Blackwell and Nick Rogers had visited. It largely met the Society’s original brief. After discussion Council agreed unanimously that further work should be undertaken to assess the feasibility of the building and the costs and potential revenue streams. The aim would be to have something developed for January at which point a visit for Council and staff would be arranged.
A Distinctions day for nature photography SATURDAY 2 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
`` See website for costs `` With David Osborn FRPS,
chair of the RPS Nature Panel
`` Foxton Village Hall, Hardman Road, Foxton CB22 6RN
`` Ian Wilson ARPS,
ian@greenmen.org.uk
Trip to Maldon and on the Thames barge, Kitty SUNDAY 10 APRIL / 10:00%17:00
`` Fully booked, contact for waiting list
`` The Hythe, Maldon, Essex CM9 5HN `` Ann Miles FRPS, ann@pin–sharp.co.uk TRAVEL KEITH POINTON LRPS, 01588 640592 BAGPOINT!AOL.COM
MEMBERSHIP
Japan – cherry blossom tour
Council approved a request to make an emblem available to current members on an annual basis.
`` £3,020 per person excluding flights
`` Membership stood at 11,276.
ADVISORY BOARD
`` Four members of the advisory
board – Jay Charnock, Mike Cullis, Paul Gilmour and Liz Rhodes – joined the meeting. After introductions a discussion took place on the role of the advisory board, the relationship between the board and Council and whether a subgroup of the full advisory board could make a contribution to redefining the role and composition of the board to support Council and the Society. The group agreed to meet again before the March 2016 advisory board meeting with the objective of running the March meeting.
WED 23 MARCH%THU 7 APRIL
and single supplement
`` Includes ancient and modern
Japan, national parks and riding the ‘bullet train’ `` Aline Hopkins, alinehopkins@btinternet.com
Cambodia overland photo tours – May/November 2016 SAT 21 MAY%THU 2 JUNE SAT 12%THU 24 NOVEMBER
`` £950 group members `` Highlights include Phnom Penh, the
temples of Angkor and Tonle Sap lake
`` Keith Pointon, as above
Special Travel advisory day SATURDAY 4 JUNE / 11:00%16:00
`` £18/£15/£12/£10 Society members/spectators
`` An opportunity to hear from the
Travel panel chair, Leo Palmer FRPS, about the Travel Distinction
| GUIDE | 157
`` Bridge of Allan Church Hall, Keir
Street, Bridge of Allan FK9 4NW `` James Frost FRPS, 07881 856294, james.frost11@btinternet.com
EXHIBITIONS
LESLEY GOODE, EXHIBITIONS MANAGER 01225 325720, LESLEY!RPS.ORG
Travel Group tour to Soria and Old Castile TUE 27 SEPTEMBER%MON 3 OCTOBER
`` £1,875 group members `` Six-day tour to a little-visited region
of north-east Spain with opportunities for landscape, architecture and village life photography `` Hotel Las Nieves, Salduero del Duero, Soria `` Colin Howard, colin.howard@mac.com VISUAL ARTS VIVECA KOH FRPS, 07956 517524 VIVECA.KAOH!GMAIL.COM
Rollright Visual Art Group winter meeting
Worcester WR1 3PD
PCA Salon 2016
RPS International Print Exhibition 158 – Warrington
CLOSING DATE: 21 FEBRUARY
`` pca-exhibition.com/pcasalon/ `` Ref: 2016/20
SAT 2 APRIL% SAT 30 APRIL
`` Warrington Museum & Art Gallery,
Museum Street, Warrington WA1 1JB
SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY / 10:30%16:00
Sonar Bangla International Salon – 2016
`` Andreas Klatt ARPS, rpsva@klatt.co.uk
`` sonarbangla.org.in `` Ref: 2016/31
A day with Sue Bishop and Vanda Ralevska
103rd Southampton International Exhibition
CLOSING DATE: 1 FEBRUARY
SUNDAY 10 APRIL / 10:30%16:00
CLOSING DATE: 7 FEBRUARY
`` £13/£10/£5 group members `` We are delighted to welcome Sue
`` southamptoninternationalexhibition.
Bishop and Vanda Ralevska to show us their stunning work `` Dolphin Hotel, Station Road, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AL `` Linda Wevill FRPS, linda.wevill@btinternet.com
CLOSING DATE: 21 FEBRUARY
`` The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts,
The following salons/exhibitions have Society-approved patronage:
co.uk/
`` Ref: 2016/02 Fotosalon Strom CLOSING DATE: 8 FEBRUARY
`` fotostrom.eu `` Ref: 2016/34
CLOSING DATE: 14 FEBRUARY
`` zonephotocircuit.com `` Ref: 2016/26
`` spr-photo.fr `` Ref: 2016/17
TUE 16 FEBRUARY%WED 23 MARCH
PATRONAGE
Zone Photographic Circuit
Salon Photo de Riedisheim
RPS International Print Exhibition 158 – Worcester
`` £8/£5 lunch `` The Village Hall, Main Street, Long Compton CV36 5JS
Join the Travel group in Spain this September. Image: Cloister of San Juan de Duero Monastery in Soria (Shutterstock)
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 last-minute 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
German International DVFPhotocup 2016 Salon Baden-Wurttemberg/Hessen/ Niedersachsen CLOSING DATE: 13 MARCH
`` germanphotocup.de/ `` Ref: 2016/21 Cheltenham International Salon of Photography CLOSING DATE: 10 APRIL
`` cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk `` Ref: 2016/30 1st International Salon Simonida Kosovo CLOSING DATE: 12 APRIL
`` simonidaphoto.com `` Ref: 2016/33 2016 Sydney Harbour International CLOSING DATE: 17 APRIL
`` sydney-harbour-international.org.au/ `` Ref: 2016/08
VOL 156 / FEBRUARY 2016 / THE RPS JOURNAL / 157
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£1399/1799
£1499/1699
100-300 F4/5.6 USM ........£129 100-400 F4.5/5.6 L IS U ................................£699/899 135 F2 M- box ....................£599 200 F2.8 LII U ........................£449 200-400 F4 box.................£7499 300 F2.8 LI IS U..................£2999 300 F4 L IS USM box ......... £699 400 F2.8 L IS U.......£3799/3999 400 F4 DO II Mint unused£5999 400 F4 DO ...........................£2699 400 F5.6 L box ..................... £699 500 F4 L IS U ..........£3499/3799 1.4x extender MKIII ........... £259 1.4x extender MKII ............ £199 2x extender MKIII............... £259 2x extender MKII ................ £199 Teleplus 2x DG conv ..........£89 Kenko ext tube set DG ......... £89 Jessops ext tubes ...............£69 LC-4 wireless kit ..................£89 PB-E2 drive ............................£99 PB-E1 drive ............................£69 Tripod mnt adapt A (W)...£59 SIGMA CAF USED 8-15 F4.5/5.6 DC box...........£399 10-20 F4/5.6 HSM box .£199 15-30 F3.5/4.5 EX DG .......... £199 17-70 F2.8/4 DC OS HSM...£239 17-70 F2.8/4.5 DC ....................£149 18-35 F1.8 DC M-......................£469 18-50 F2.8/4.5 DC OS ............£149 18-50 F3.5/5.6 DC box ........ £49 24-35 F2 DG Art box..........£649 24-70 F2.8 HSM....................£469 24-70 F2.8 EX DG mac ..........£349 50 F1.4 EX DC........................£249 50-150 F2.8 DC HSM........... £299 70-200 F2.8 EX DG HSM...£429 120-300 F2.8 EX DG .........£799 120-400 F4/5.6 DG OS ......£449 150 F2.8 macro.....................£429 150-600 DG Sport..............£1179 180 F3.5 EX macro................£399 300-800 F5.6 EX DG ..........£2999 600 F8 mirror...........................£249 1.4x EX DG conv ....................£149 2x EX DG conv ........................£149 Kenko Pro 300 1.4x conv..... £99 OTHER CAF USED TAM 18-270 DiII .................£179 TAM 28-300 box ................£199 TAM 70-200 F2.8 Di VC USD £549 TAM 70-300 F4/5.6 ............... £99 TAM 90 F2.8 Di......................£249 TAM 150-500 F5/6.3 VC....£599 TAM 180 F3.5 Di...................£369 TAM 200-500 M- box........£479 CANON FLASH USED CP-E3 .......................................£49 SB-E2 bracket .......................£99 ST-E3 box .............................£199 ST-E2 transmitter ................£89 ML3 non digital ...................£49 430EXII..................................£149 430EZ non digital ...............£39 580EX box ...........................£179 600EX RT box .....................£329 CONTAX MF USED 40-80 F3.5 AE .....................£199 FUJI DIGITAL USED X-T1 body graphite box .£799 X-E1 body silv box ............£199 X-M1 body blk box...........£189 16-50 F3.5/5.6 XC M- .........£179 18 F2 M- box ......................£199 18-55 F2.8/4........................£279 27 F2.8 XF ............................£249 35 F1.4 box .........................£299 55-200 F3.5/4.8 OIS..........£379 Samyang 8 F2.8 .................£199 X-T1 vertical grip...............£129 X-E1 grip box........................£39 X100s silver box ................£449 X20 black box ....................£229 X10 black box ....................£179 FUJI MED FORMAT USED GSW690 III ...........................£649 HASSELBLAD XPAN USED 90 F4 M- .......................................£299 Centre filter 49mm.................£129 HASSELBLAD 6x6 USED PM5 prism 45°....................£149 PME prism box...................£149 45° Prism late .....................£149 45° Prism early .....................£69 NC1 prism..............................£69 WLF late ...............................£110 WLF chrome late.................£99 WLF early ...............................£49 A12 chrome latest ............£299 A12 late blk/chr .................£129 40 F4 FLE...........................£1199 50 F4 blk T* .........................£349 60 F2.8 chrome..................£249
250 F5.6 chrome ...............£199 Vivitar 2x conv .....................£69 Polariser - 60mm.................£79 LEICA M COMPACT USED 35 F2 M- box (M39) .......£1999 50 F1.4 M-.........................£1999 50 F1.4 6 bit .....................£1199 90 F2 black E55 .................£799 LEICA SLR USED R6.2 body chr box .............£449 70-200 F4 (3 cam) .............£249 250 F4 (3 cam) ...................£399 Angle finder R ....................£149 LEICA BINOCULARS USED Trinovid 10x40 ...................£749 Ultravid 8x42 HD................£849 LIGHTMETERS USED Minolta Flashmeter V ......£199 Minolta Spotmeter M......£199 Sekonic L308 ........................£99 Sekonic L558 ......................£249 MAMIYA 645 MF USED Plain prism (645 Super) ....£39 WLF 645N/1000S/J.............£49 WLF Pro TL etc .....................£79 Polariod Back HP401 .........£29 Polaroid back .......................£29 120 Insert...............................£20 HA401 120 RFH Box...........£49 120 Back.................................£39 Winder ....................................£79 50 F4 shift ............................£399 55-110 F4.5 box.................£299 150 F2.8 A............................£249 150 F3.5 N .............................£79 210 F4 N M- ..........................£79 Ext Tube 1, 2, 3S each .......£29 Teleplus 2x converter ........£49 Vivitar 2x converter............£39 MAMIYA TLR 6x6 USED C330 F Body + WLF ..........£149 55 F4.5 ..................................£199 65 F3.5 box late .................£199 65 F3.5 serviced.................£149 80 F2.8 late serviced ........£139 180 F4.5 ................................£149 250 f4.5 late serviced.......£249 250 f4.5 early serviced .£179 Prism .......................................£99 Paramender ..........................£49 MAMIYA 7 RF 6x7 USED 50 F4.5 L + VF .....................£699 80 F4.5 L M- box................£699 150 F4.5 M- .........................£399 210 F8 + VF box M- ..........£499 Panoramic kit .......................£49 MAMIYA RB 6x7 USED Pro SD + 127 KL + RFH + WLF .......................£549 Pro SD comp M- ................£649 Pro S body ...........................£149 Pro S body scruffy ..............£99 WLF ..........................................£79 120 645V back .....................£99 90 F3.5 KL ............................£249 127 F3.5 KL..........................£299 Ext tube 2.................................... £49 MAMIYA RZ 6x7 USED RZ ProII + 90 + WLF + 120 RFH ............................£499 RZ Pro body ........................£149 120 RFH Pro II.......................£99 120 RFH Pro I ........................£49 Chimney. ..............................£199 WLF ..........................................£79 FE701 AE prism .................£179 Winder II.................................£69 50 F4.5 W .............................£199 65 F4 box M- ......................£399 90 F3.5 W M- box ..............£299 127 F3.5 box .......................£299 180 F4.5 W box ..................£199 Pro shade...............................£49 MINOLTA/SONY DIGITAL USED Sony RX10 MKII M- box... £899 Sony RX100 MKIII............... £399 Sony A7 RII body box.....£2199 Sony A7 body...................... £639 Sony A99 body box ........£1099 Sony VGB30AM .....................£79 Sony VGC70AM .................. £139 Sony VGC99AM box ............ £169 Sony HVL-F58AM .................. £199 Sony HV56AM ........................ £199 Sony HVL-F32X .........................£79 Sony F20AM...............................£59 SONY NEX USED FE 16-35 F4 ZA OSS..............£899 FE 24-70 F4 ZA OSS..............£599 FE 35 F1.4 ZA M- box ..........£999 FE 70-200 F4 GSS ..................£799 FE 90 F2.8 G OSS M- ............£699 MINOLTA/SONY AF USED 9000 body .............................£79 800Si body ............................£69
Used Sony
Used Hasselblad
FE 35mm f1.4 ZA Mbox
£999
40mm f4 FLE
£1199
Used Nikon
D4 body box
£2499 700Si + VC700 ......................£69 700Si or 7xi body ea ..........£49 Dynax 5 body...........................£39 505Si Super ............................ £25 300Si or SPXi body ea .......£19 11-18 F4.5/5.6 box ...........£269 20 F2.8 ..................................£299 20-35 F3.5/4.5 M- box .....£249 24 F2.8 ..................................£169 24-50 F4 ...............................£149 28 F2.8 ....................................£99 28-80 F4/5.6..........................£39 28-85 F3.5/4.5 ......................£99 28-100 F3.5/5.6 D ...............£49 35-70 F4 .................................£39 35-70 F3.5/4.5 ........................... £25 35-80 f4/5.6 ................................ £25 35-105 F3.5/4.5 ........................ £99 50 F1.7 AF ................................... £89 50 F2.8 macro .........................£169 75-300 F4.5/5.6 ........................ £99 85 F1.4 box...............................£599 100-300 F4.5/5.6 APO£169/179 500 F8 mirror...........................£349 VC9 grip......................................£149 VC700 grip.................................. £49 RC1000S/L cord ....................... £15 AW90............................................. £49 MD90 + BP90-M ...................... £79 SONY LENSES USED 16-35 F2.8 ZASSM box ......... £899 16-50 F2.8 SSM.......................£349 16-70 F4 ZA OSS M- box ....£599 16-80 F3.5/4.5 ZA box.........£399 18-55 F3.5/5.6 SAM ................ £59 18-200 F3.5/6.3 DT ...............£199 18-250 F3.5/6.3 DT ...............£299 24-70 F2.8 ZE SSM ......£799/899 50 F1.4 box...............................£249 70-300 F4.5/5.6 SSM box...£549 1.4x conv M- box...................£249 SIGMA MIN/SONY AF USED 28-135 F3.8/5.6 ......................£79 28-300 F3.5/6.3 mac ......... £149 50 F1.4 .................................... £149 50 F2.8 EX DG mac............ £149 55-200 F4/5.6 .........................£69 70-300 F4/5.6 DG OS ......£189 600 F8 ...................................£299 1.4x EX DG conv ................£149 TAM 18-270 F3.5/6.3 DiII PZD box ........................£199 TAM 70-300 F4.5/5.6 Di box......................................£89 TAM 90 F2.8 .............. £199/249 TOK 17 F3.5 ATX Pro ........£299 Teleplus 1.4x conv ..............£69 Teleplus 2x conv .................£79 Kenko 1.4x Pro 300DG ....£149 Min 3600HSD .......................£39 Min 5400HS ..........................£69 Min 5600HSD M-.................£99 NIKON DIGITAL AF USED D4 body box....................£2499 D3s body box ..................£1799 D3 body box...........£999/1299 D2Xs body box ..................£399 D2X body box ....................£299 D800E body box ...£999/1199 D800 body box......£999/1199 D700 body box........ £599/699 D600 body M- box . £699/799 D300 body box..................£299 D200 body box..................£199 D7200 body box ...............£599 D7100 body box ..... £399/479 D7000 body ........................£349 D5200 body ........................£249 D5000 body ........................£169 D3100 body ........................£149 D90 body .............................£199 D80 body .............................£169 D70s body .............................£79 MBD-15 M- box .................£169 MBD-10 grip M- box ........£149 NIKON AF USED F4 body ................................£349 F4E body ..............................£299 F4S body .................... £249/399 F801s body ...........................£39 F801 body ...................... £29/59 F601 body .............................£29 12-24 F4 DX............................£449 14-24 F2.8 AFS ................£999 16 F2.8 AFD M- box ............£529 16-35 F4 AFS VR ...................£699 16-85 F3.5/5.6 AFS VR ...£299 17-35 F2.8 AFS ......................£849 17-55 F2.8 AFS ......................£449 18-55 F3.5/5.6 VRII..................£99 18-70 F3.5/4.5 AFS ..............£119 18-135 F3.5/5.6 AFS DX ....£149 18-140 F3.5/5.6 VR DX M- £299 18-200 F3.5/5.6 AFS VRII...£399 18-200 F3.5/5.6 AFS VRI ....£279
Used Hasselblad
50mm f4 CF FLE
£799
Used Nikon
Used Nikon
D3 body box
D3s body box
£999/1299
£1799
20 F2.8 AF...................... £299/329 24 F1.4 AFS G M- box ........£899 24 F2.8 AFD ............................£299 24-50 f3.5/4.5 AF..................£129 24-70 F2.8 AFS box ... £799/999 24-120 F3.5/5.6 AFS VR ......£299 28-70 F2.8 AFS........................£299 28-80 F3.3/5.6 G....................... £69 28-85 F3.5/4.5 AF ..................£119 28-100 F3.5/5.6 AF G ............. £69 28-105 F3.5/4.5 AFD box...£149 35 F1.8 AFS G M- box..........£119 35 F2 AF .....................................£149 40 F2.8 AFS DX M- box.......£149 50 F1.8 AFD...........................£99 50 F1.8 AF ..............................£79 60 F2.8 AFD.........................£249 70-200 F2.8 AFS VRI ..........£749 70-300 F4/5.6 VR M- ........£329 70-300 F4/5.6 AFD ...........£149 80-200 F2.8 AFD N ...........£599 80-200 F2.8 early .... £249/329 80-400 F4.5/5.6 AFS ......£1399 80-400 F4.5/5.6 VR ...........£599 85 F1.4 AFS M- box ..........£999 85 F1.8 AFD M- box .........£269 85 F1.8 AF ............................£169 105 F2.8 VR .........................£479 105 F2.8 AFD ......................£399 180 F2.8 AFD M- box .......£499 200 F2 AFS VRI ................£2499 200-400 F4 AFS VRI .......£2999 200-500 F5.6 ED VR box .£999 300 F2.8 AFS VRI ............£2699 300 F4 AFS M- box ...........£699 300 F4 AFS box..................£599 400 F2.8 AFS E FL ED VR £6999 400 F2.8 AFS non VR Grey£3399 500 F4 AFS VR .................£4699 500 F4 AFS Mk1.. £2699/2999 600 F4 AFS VR .................£4999 TC14EIII.................................£389 TC14EII box .........................£239 TC17EII ..................................£269 TC20EIII M- box .................£279 TC20E box ...........................£149 Kenko MC7............................£69 Teleplus Pro300 1.4x..........£99 SIGMA NAF USED 12-24 F4.5/5.6 DG box.......£399 18-50 F2.8 EX DC Mac.........£199 18-250 F3.5/6.3 box............£199 28-300 F3.5/6.3 early..........£129 50 F1.4 DG Mint ......... £199/239 50 F2.8 EX ............................£119 50-150 F2.8 EX OS M- box £399 50-500 F4/6.3 DG OS .......£649 50-500 F4/6.3 DG..............£499 70 F2.8 EX Macro ..............£149 70-300 F4/5.6 Apo DG ......£99 120-400 F4/5.6 DG OS ....£449 1.4x EX DG M- .........................£139 1.4x EX conv .............................. £99 2x EX DG conv ........................£159 TAMRON NAF USED 17-35 F2.8/4.............................£169 17-50 F2.8 XR Di.....................£199 18-250 F3.5/6.3 ......................£169 18-270 F3.5/6.3 ......................£189 70-300 F4/5.6 ............................ £79 OTHER NAF USED TOK 11-16 F2.8 ATX Pro..£349 TOK 12-28 F4 ATX DX ......£399 FLASH / ACCESSORIES USED SB-24 ...............................................£49 SB-25 ...............................................£49 SB-28 ............................................. £69 SB-800 box ...............................£169 SB-700 M- box ........................£199 SB-900.........................................£269 SB-910 box ...............................£279 SD-8 batt pack.......................... £49 DR-6 angle finder..................£149 DR-3 angle finder.................... £69 MB-16 M- box ........................... £89 MB-23 (fits F4)........................... £79 MC-30 remote .......................... £39 MF-23 (date back F4) ............ £79 NIKON MF USED F3HP body...........................£199 F3 body ................................£149 FM2n body chr ..................£179 28 F3.5 AI ...............................£99 28-85 F3.5/4.5 AIS.............£199 35 F2.8 AI ...............................£99 35-70 F3.3/4.5 AIS.............£149 35-105 F3.5/4.5 AIS ............£99 45 F2.8 E silv M-.................£269 50 F1.8 AIS.............................£89 50 F1.8 AIS pancake.........£139 50 F1.8 E.................................£59 85 F2 AI ................................£149 180 F2.8 AIS ED scruffy ...£199 200 F4 AIS macro ..............£279 200 F4 AIS............................£149
Used Leica
35mm f2 M39 Mbox
£1999
Used Nikon
D800 body box
£999/1199
200 F4 AI ................................£99 500 F8 ...................................£299 TC14A....................................£129 TC14B ....................................£149 TC200 ......................................£49 TC201 ......................................£69 TC301 ....................................£199 PN-11 box..............................£99 SC-17 TTL lead .....................£25 DW-4 6x mag find fit F3 ...£99 PK-13/PK-12 ext tube ea ..£29 OLYMPUS DIGITAL USED E3 body box........................£349 E520 body ...........................£149 11-22 F2.8/3.5 M-..............£399 12-60 F2.8/4 SWD .............£399 14-42 F3.5/5.6 ......................£49 14-45 F3.5/5.6 ......................£89 14-50 F3.8/5.6 ....................£199 14-54 F2.8/3.5 ....................£179 35 F3.5 ....................................£99 40-150 F4/5.6 .......................£49 50 F2 macro ........................£299 25mm ext tube....................£79 Sigma 105 F2.8 EX DG M_ £249 OLYMPUS PEN USED OMD-EM1 body M- box .£599 OMD E-M5 body box.......£349 OMD-EM10 body ..............£329 Pen E-PM1 + 14-42 M- ....£149 Pen E-PM1 body..................£99 Pen E-P3 body ...................£169 HLD-6 grip.............................£99 PANASONIC DIGITAL USED LX100 compact .................£399 LX5 compact ......................£129 LX5 viewfinder.....................£99 G3 body box .......................£129 GF1 body ................................. £79 7-14 F4 box .........................£549 14 F2.5 .......................................£169 14-42 F3.5/5.6 ......................£79 14-45 F3.5/5.6 ....................£149 20 F1.7 ...................................£179 25 F1.4 ...................................£299 100-300 F4/5.6...................£349 BG-GH3 grip .......................£149 PENTAX DIGITAL AF USED K5 II body box ....................£399 PENTAX 35mm AF USED 16-50 F2.8 ................................. £499 17-70 F4 SDM M- box ......... £349 18-55 F3.5/5.6 ......................£29 18-135 F3.5/5.6 WR ..........£299 20-35 f4 box ...........................£269 28-70 F4 AL ................................ £59 28-80 F3.5/5.6 ......................£49 28-90 F3.5/5.6 FA ................£69 40 F2.8 Limited M- ............£249 50-135 F2.8 SDM...............£499 55 F1.4 SDM M- .................£499 55-300 F4/5.8 ED box......£229 70 F2.8 Limited ..................£349 70-300 F4/5.6 .......................£79 SIGMA PKAF USED 10-20 F4/5.6 EX DC ..........£239 12-24 F4/5.6 EX DG Mint ..£499 35 F1.4 Art box ..................£499 70-300 F4/5.6 DG................£79 105 F2.8 EX DG M- box ...£329 TAM 17-35 F2.8 XR Di ......£199 PENTAX 645AF USED 645N body ..........................£399 120 insert...............................£49 PENTAX 645MF USED 645 + 75 F2.8 ......................£249 645 body + insert .............£199 45-85 F4.5 ............................£299 55 F2.8 ..................................£249 150 F3.5 EX++ ....................£149 200 F4 ..................................£149 120 Insert M- box................£49 PENTAX 67 USED 45 F4 ......................................£249 165 F4 leaf latest ...............£249 200 F4 latest .......................£169 200 F4 early .............................£99 300 F4 early scruffy ............. £99 Pentax rear conv 1.4x ........ £249 2x rear converter...............£179 Auto ext tubes .....................£49 Vivitar 2x conv .....................£49 ROLLEI USED 2.8F + case......................... £POA SAMSUNG USED NX30 + 18-55 blk ..............£329 NX10 + 18-55 .....................£199 30 F2 pancake M- box .....£129 50-200 F4/5.6 III M- box ..£119 60 F2.8 SSA M- box...........£289 VOIGTLANDER USED 15 F4.5 + VF M- box .........£269
Used Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 AFS
£999
Used Nikon 24mm f1.4 AFS M- box
£899
Used Nikon 80-400mm f4.5/5.6 AFS
£1399
Used Nikon
85mm f1.4 AFS M- box
£999
Used Nikon 200mm f2 AFS VR!
£2499
Used Nikon
200-400mm f4 AFS VRI
£2999
Used Nikon
300mm f2.8 AFS VRI
£2699
Used Nikon 300mm f4 AFS
£599/699
Used Nikon
400mm f2.8 AFS E FL ED VR
£6999
Used Nikon 500mm f4 AFS VR
MORE ON WEBSITE
MORE ON WEBSITE www.mifsuds.com www.mifsuds.com
Used Leica
£4699
Used Nikon
50mm f1.4 M-
500mm f4 AFS MKI
£1999
£2699/2999
Mail order used items sold on 10 day approval. Return in ‘as received’ condition for refund if not satisfied (postage not included - mail order only). E&OE.
THE SOCIETY’S COLLECTION 160 | TIMES PAST | FROM
Brass eye
Cameron’s lens, made by French optician Alphonse Darlot in around 1860
O
ne of the highlights of the RPS Collection is a lens which belonged to Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879). The brass-bound lens by the French optician Alphonse Darlot is approximately three inches (eight centimetres) in diameter, has rack-andpinion focusing and a central lens element which can be adjusted independently and locked by a brass screw. It has a maximum aperture of f/8 and dates from around 1860. Cameron began making photographs in 1863 and wrote to Sir John Herschel in
February of that year: ‘endless failures, at last came endless successes!’ Cameron’s lenses – she also used Jamins and Dallmeyers – were key to the look of her work. Some were too small to cover the collodion plates she used, giving vignetting. The chromatic aberrations of her French lenses, plus their wide aperture and shallow depth of focus, made it difficult for her to secure sharp images at the close distance at which she photographed. Writing in Annals of My Glass House (1874) she explained: ‘My first successes
160 / THE RPS JOURNAL / FEBRUARY 2016 / VOL 156
‘MY FIRST SUCCESSES IN MY OUT!OF!FOCUS PICTURES WERE A FLUKE … ’ in my out-of-focus pictures were a fluke. That is to say, that when focusing and coming to something which, to my eye, was very beautiful, I stopped there instead of screwing on the lens to the more definite focus which all other photographers insist upon.’ She deliberately produced photographs with soft focus
for artistic reasons. As she grew more proficient, Cameron was better able to control focus to support the effect she wished to achieve. After moving from Freshwater back to the family estate in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in 1875, Cameron took few photographs, but her legacy is an artistic body of photographs that still resonate today. DR MICHAEL PRITCHARD FRPS
Julia Margaret Cameron’s images are on show at the V&A, London, until 21 February and The Science Museum, London, until 28 March, where you can see her lens
ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY/NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM/SCIENCE ! SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY
This Darlot lens gives a glimpse into Julia Margaret Cameron’s first forays in photography