A month by month summary of the Society activities.
December 2021: ‘Photographing Gigs and Concerts’ – Carol Henson
Carol Henson, a local Northamptonshire photographer, was invited by her brother to photograph his band and it started a passion for standing in a music pit and capturing a moment at gigs and festivals. We learnt that the most important pieces of equipment were good noise cancelling earplugs as well as a fast lens and a camera that works well with low light. Lighting can be a real challenge. Carol now has her own media company (We bleed music media) to gain access to the front row to enable her to get those special action shots. Some musicians play to the camera whilst others totally ignore it. It was interesting to learn that most amateur photographers are only allowed to stay for three songs before having to move away from the stage. It sounded like quite hard work, the bands and artists always want to see the results and have the editorial decision for circulation, and very few pay for the images even if they use them for PR later, but it was obviously fun, and the results certainly portrayed that. Look on www.webleedmusicmedia.com for some super images.
Our topic ‘In memoriam’ showed a breath of interpretation and artistic ideas from a hymn sheet taken at a Remembrance Day gathering at Brackley to many different shots from the recent photoshoot at the National Memorial Arboretum. All portrayed a reflective and challenging look at this most profound subject. Do look at the images on the website if you missed the Wednesday meeting.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
November 2021: ‘Photographing Wiltshire’ – Robert Harvey ARPS
Our engaging speaker Robert Harvey, ARPS gave us an inspiring look at Wiltshire. During his talk Robert gave us a glimpse of the history, geology, geography, architecture, and art of the county. He began with a look at the landscape of the chalk downs and the vales of clay pasture. He highlighted the icon beech clumps along the chalk downs his favourite being the Charlton Clumps at the edge of Salisbury Plain all illustrated by gorgeous images. Of course, the unique Stonehenge was featured but it wasn’t Robert’s favourite place for capturing the mystery of ancient times preferring Silbury Hill and Devil’s Den at Avebury. A particular shot of a ‘White Horse’, famous in Wiltshire, took Robert thirteen years to achieve with the right weather and lighting conditions.
His images are truly unique and painstakingly researched and observed. Robert uses a tripod for all his shots so that he can include more detail and alter aperture settings and exposures times. An entertaining shot of an enormous moon illustrated the story of a Moonraker; when smuggling was rife in the 1700’s a group lifting stored French brandy barrels from a pond were visited by the law. They explained they were raking for the round cheese, the reflected moon being the foil. Anyone can take at look at Robert’s work in his newly published book ‘Photographing Wiltshire’; a possible Christmas present perhaps? His website for those interested is https://www.naturalworldphotography.net
Do remember to check out the website to view the topic images based on’ Banburyshire’. There was a varied selection with some great compositions of the familiar sights we know and love
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
October 2021: ‘The Yorkshire Dales in the 1950’s’ – Paul Brewerton ARPS
At our last meeting we were treated to a very special look at Yorkshire in the 1950’s by Paul Brewerton, ARPS. During lockdown Paul used the time to look through his archive of negatives. After investing in a scanner, he transferred his old film images into pixels and produced a series of stunning black and white images. It was interesting to see the landscapes of Yorkshire and the Lake District and to hear the fond accompanying stories with each image. They show a much simpler life with very little traffic, horses working the land and all the textures that black and white can create. The main collection was of landscapes, including clean snowy fields with drifted snow against dry stone walls. Paul also showed the contents of run-down tithe barns where old wagons were illuminated by brilliant shafts of light as well as atmospheric stations with steam trains. A truly black and white delight.
Based on the evening the topic was ‘Social Documentary’ we were treated to a range of images depicting many different moments in time, many of them involving food! Do take a look at the selection on the website.
Sunday 19th September saw members celebrating together the 15th anniversary of the foundation of the society. Miggy Wild organised a ‘Photo Safari’ around a circuit of villages and venues including a visit to Hinton in the Hedges for the sky diving. Inspiration for image ideas came from titles such as lines and curves, rural life, and transportation. There were some excellent photo opportunities along the route and especially at the airfield. All the participants then met at North Aston House for a sunny picnic, a perfect end to a great day. We saw a mixture of shots from the day as part of the second half of the evening. Photographs are on the website.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
September 2021: ‘Yunnan’ – Andreas Klatt ARPS
Our first meeting together after all these months of ‘Zooming’ gave us an opportunity to welcome friend and member of the society, Andreas Klatt, ARPS who gave a visual trip to Yunnan Province, China. In true Andreas style there was an eclectic mix of genres from street and portrait photography to even a few wildlife images (not normally a choice for him). Andreas is an enthusiast of architecture, especially walls (with mould and rising damp) which give super abstract images because of the colours and contrast. He and his wife explained their road trip went from the North to South of the province with a guide and government driver as a chaperone.
Images covered local people with a view of their life, evocative buildings that showed a level of decline as well as those with intricate decorations and detail. A stunning set of shots featured the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze River, where the tributary runs fast and furious. The mountains created heavenly images of dramatic clouds and almost unreal sunsets which, Andreas agreed, was almost impossible to capture the true beauty in a photograph. He finished the evening off with a series of images showing bird’s nest collectors in a vast cave complex. These bare-foot, agile young men would give an Olympic climber a run for their money. Astounding.
It was so great to see members back together even if it was wearing masks and with the traffic thundering past the open door for ventilation. As autumn approaches remember to bring your coat; it could get cold. This presentation was recorded for members who couldn’t attend. Contact Neil Grantham for more details. Also check the website for the different images submitted for the monthly topic ‘Oriental’.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
August 2021: ‘The Magic of Long Exposure’ – Harry Wheeler-Brand
Harry Wheeler-Brand spoke enthusiastically about the ‘Magic of Long Exposure’ at our last meeting. A young professional photographer Harry runs workshops and promotes all things landscape around the East Coast counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. He published his own guidebook to photography around the East Anglian coast during lockdown. He spoke at length about his techniques, his equipment, and his love of drama in long exposed landscapes. What Harry did stress was doing homework to plan and check the location for weather, position, and composition. He also emphasized how many images he took to achieve the final shot that he was pleased with. Long exposure achieves those dreamy seascapes and cloudscapes; it can be a good foil, along with filters, to eliminate people who might wander into the shot. Harry also introduced us to infrared photography that in post-production can be turned into intense black and white images. One of his tips was to buy good quality filters since expensive camera equipment deserves a quality engineered filter to maintain the image superiority. Do check out www.harrybehindthelens.com for his images and because this presentation was recorded you can contact Neil Grantham for the link to be able to watch this fast-paced talk again. Finally, members can receive a 10% discount on Harry’s guidebook by entering the code HARRY at checkout.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
July 2021: ‘Photographing the National Trust’ – Peter Greenway LRPS
We welcomed Peter Greenway, LRPS in July for an interesting talk about his voluntary work for the National Trust (NT) taking photographs of local properties such as Waddesdon Manor, Ashdown House and his favourite Chastleton House, which are often used in promotional literature. As a lover of heritage and all things historical it is his love of objects that fascinates Peter and of course the teashop. Volunteering for the NT involves meeting standards, guidelines and following the law on the dreaded GDPR. Any new photographer has an 84-page document to digest on NT branding emphasising the attractions for a range of different visitor groups. Blue sky, family fun and links to the place for the viewer ensures an image is accepted into the NT database. Peter explained how his NT photography has diversified his picture taking and pushed him out of his comfort zone both on composition and the technical stuff. The advent of social media has increased the likelihood of one of Peter’s photographs being viewed by a wider audience so do look out for his work when you are looking through the NT handbook, website, or Instagram. He has even had an image displayed on the roadside hoarding for Waddesdon Manor.
Our topic evening focusing on ‘Wild’ again produced a diverse range of images that really challenged the interpretation of the word; it wasn’t just lots of wildflowers or creatures. Do check the website if you missed the meeting.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
June 2021: ‘Greenland: A land of icebergs and Inuits’ – Richard and Janet Burdon
Greenland – A land of icebergs and Inuits presented by Richard and Janet Burdon was a travelogue of a 2017 trip to Greenland; a place they knew extraordinarily little about but were keen to know more. They were fond of bleak areas and found a land-based trip organised by Wild Photography Holidays. The three-hour flight from Iceland introduced them to the colourful highlights of Greenland. The breath-taking views were tempered by the -30-degree temperatures, where everything soon began to freeze up. Equipment whether it be a tripod, or the camera suffered in the biting cold but ‘warm hands’ were invaluable to keep equipment warm in camera bags; it could be an expensive trip if camera bodies died due to the cold.
The skyline of the ‘modern’ town of Ilulissat gave opportunities to show the colourful, timber properties positioned in small groups; when the land is covered in snow and ice there is little need for conventional roads. The traditional sled dogs created lots of photo opportunities. Sunsets produced amazing light for images of sky-scraper sized icebergs, but the best prospects proved to be the Aurora Borealis which, Richard decided would include one of the local houses in the foreground if the Aurora appeared. Stunningly it did and the images were amazing in their intensity. The key to the capture, in the dark, was setting up the camera before the appearance to ensure that the focus would be on infinity and a manual exposure of 15 seconds at f2.8. There was nothing bleak about the Greenland landscape because the light was so special.
Our topic night based around Poetry proved to be a diverse collection of images curated by members based on a variety of well loved and newly discovered poems. The efforts were different and thought provoking. Have a look on the website to judge for yourself.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
April 2021: AGM and “What Is It?”
After a second lockdown AGM, via Zoom, we welcomed a new Treasurer, Nick Hardwick and Colin Lamb as Programme Secretary. Huge thanks went out to the retiring officers, Diana Saville and Maureen Robinson who have done an excellent job during exceedingly difficult times. All voting on the resolutions was completed online and there was a 67% turnout which, was remarkable so a huge thankyou to the membership. Sticking with tradition, we then had the ‘What is it?’ competition. Thirty-nine entries meant great concentration was required to try and decide what the close-up image depicted. Miggy Wild came out as a super sleuth correctly guessing twenty-two objects. If you want to see if you can beat that score, check the website for the slide show; some images are extremely tricky. Anyway, we had a good natter and catch-up discussing the results.
Do have a look at our website www.addphoto.co.uk .
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
March 2021: “Ask The Panel”
We haven’t been meeting together, other than on screens, but an interesting evening was held to ‘Ask the panel’ any burning questions about all thing’s photographic. The panel of experts were Wendy Meagher (WM), John Cavana (JC), Colin Lamb (CL) and Jim Muller (JM). Members were invited to submit questions, which are detailed below. Next, followed a critique of submitted images for advice on any changes or improvements the panel might consider.
Nick wanted to know:
What features of an image make you think that it would be better in monochrome, and how do you achieve the best results? (Apart from running it through Silver EfeX Pro)
Answers included: Just try it but specific characteristics in an image lend themselves to monochrome such as strong lines, shapes, and symmetry. Heavy shadows and lots of detail or texture can be enhanced by mono. Always start with colour and convert in Lightroom but the image may need attention. JC never goes out intentionally to shoot in monochrome but feels an image could become presentable with conversion.
Meriel asked:
During his talk on Wednesday, Nathan Barry mentioned that if he had to choose only four adjustments in Lightroom he would have whites, blacks, highlights, and shadow adjustments. If you had to choose which would your four be and why?
CL agreed with Nathan on his top four adjustments. JC felt his choices depended on the image subject e.g., architecture he would transform the verticals first, then shadows, decrease highlights and finally look at temperature. WM usually looks at highlights (especially with clouds), shadows, texture and clarity but urged caution with the last two. JM admits to cheating a little by using lens correction, auto/white balance, auto/tone and the transform and graduating filters.
Maureen T wanted to know:
Whose work has influenced you most. Among all the equipment you own, is there something you wish you hadn’t bought and why?
WM- coming from an art background has been influenced by Ben Nicholson, Matisse, Nicki Gwynn-Jones as well as Ansel Adams and Walker Evans. Wendy would not buy so many camera bags; she has too many she doesn’t .
JM- Landscape photographers John Gravett and David Noten as well as Ansel Adams. Jim found a trek pole that doubled as a monopod was the thing, he wished he hadn’t bought as it did neither job well. Also, he didn’t enjoy his Fuji mirrorless equipment so sold it.
JC- Thomas Heaton because his approach to landscape photography is so different to mine, Robert Harvey for his landscapes and night- time photography and Harold Davis for his flowers.
CL -Whilst not being influenced directly he admires the work of Robert Harvey and Clive Nichols. Colin enjoys membership of the RPS nature group for inspiration.
Nicky asked:
Could someone please explain to me how you use the Spot Removal tool in Lightroom. More specifically, how do you enter or accept the change made?
JM shared his Lightroom screen and demonstrated how the spot removal tool works. He stressed the opacity must be 100% to clone or heal using the tool. Once the area had been removed, click close or reset to change the result again.
Anne:
Could you explain about depth of field (DOF) in photography and any tips you use when taking images?
JC – As a compositional tool, the size of the aperture depends on the subject. A shallow DOF will give a diffuse background needing a wide aperture (a lower number) to give a sharper focus on the subject. A deeper DOF gives more detail from the front to the back of the image.
CL – Portraiture – for a strong image, a diffuse background is usually better. Landscape – a smaller aperture to give sharpness from front to the back of the image.
WM – Using a Nikkon, recommends shooting in aperture priority and finds F5.6 gives a sharp image with a diffused background and finds everything is sharp in landscapes using F7.1.
JM – Definition is the zone of what appears to be in focus based on the aperture. Never set the focus point to infinity for a landscape. The best way to try out DOF is to use a tripod and keep changing the aperture to take a series of shots to see the results of differing focal lengths.
Miggy and Wendy both wanted to know:
How do you add frames on images?
JC – It can be done in Lightroom or Photoshop. JC uses PS, setting the canvas size on the image drop down in the menu bar. Highlight a box in the middle of the screen setting the pixel height and width. Using colour options chose the colour border; it can be colour matched to the image by using the eye dropper tool. There are so many borders and textures available with many online training sessions available.
JM – Uses Lightroom in the print area and finds the border option, setting the colour and again can be customised using the eye dropper tool.
Maureen R asked:
What is white balance and why is it so important?
JM – Colour temperature. Light at a low value is shades of red, at high value is blue. So, aiming to get colours to appear natural depends on the light source. Processing in Lightroom gives the ability to change the white balance; to warm up the image pulling the slider up will add orange/red. To cool the image moving the slider down will add blues.
WM – Using aperture priority when shooting means the camera automatically sets the white balance. Any adjustment is then done in LR. Good tutorials online – ‘Cambridge in Colour’
CL – Agrees auto setting achieves good results but it can become tricky when there are mixed light conditions.
JC – Modern cameras handle white balance well and any adjustments are easily done in Lightroom.
Richard asked:
Should the automatic image stabiliser be switched off when using a tripod?
The Panel agreed it should be switched off in case the lens is confused by being fixed, which can cause blurring of the image. In body stabilisation can be left on.
Miggy and Lindsey asked:
Can you explain the different types of photopaper and how they affect the image?
JM – There are three basic finishes: glossy, matt and silk. Quality is dependent on it being archival and fade proof. Cheaper paper has a cast coating finish that allows the ink to sink into the paper so colours aren’t as vibrant, and they will fade. More expensive papers have micro or nano pores where the ink sinks into the pores, dries quickly and will not fade as quickly.
JC – Likes Pinnacle Premium Lustre and Baryta paper (the paper of choice of photographer John Swanell).
WM- Uses Pinnacle Premium Lustre 300g.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
March 2021: ‘Natural achievements through Lightroom’ – Nathan Barry
March saw a return visit from Nathan Barry, to speak to us about achieving a natural result with Lightroom. Nathan is primarily a landscape photographer who aims to achieve a natural affect when in post-production with an image. During the interactive evening Nathan explained his thought process, by demonstrating within Lightroom, the variety of changes he might make to a photograph. Whether it was making the sky brighter in a reflection, using a graduated filter to make the sky darker or a crop to focus the eye to move through the image. It was interesting how a little movement of the sliders made a difference to the results. Nathan emphasised the importance of the tone curve and how effective tweaking the curve could be. Members bravely submitted a selection of their images for a makeover by Nathan with the subtle changes improving the photograph even more. Regardless of the members’ expertise everyone found the evening interesting including the use of the lens correction button for a subtle vignette. Nathan Barry’s images can be seen at The Image Project Clever software can enhance an image; everyone was encouraged to build on the skills workshops previously delivered, pre-pandemic, by Jim Muller. So, more tweaking of the sliders will be the order of the day from now on.
Our next meeting will the AGM on 7th April at 7.30pm followed by the “What is it?” slideshow. You are welcome to join us by Zoom; go to the website to find the links. Who knows it might not be too long before we can meet in person?
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
February 2021: ‘Night and Low Light Photography – Tony Worobiec, FRPS
“Don’t be frightened or intimidated by the dark” was the advice from Tony Worobiec, FRPS. During his Night and Low Light Photography presentation Tony gave us a wealth of tips and advice to encourage and inspire us to go outside in the dark and accomplish some amazing images. He displayed images taken pre-dawn and post sunset, all stunning. An interesting tip was to turn 180 degrees to the sunrise or sunset to accomplish a softly illuminated landscape where colours bloom rather than being drown out by the intense sun. Of course, pre- dawn there are opportunities to capture those wonderful mists and fogs that lie in fields and valleys during high pressure. It would appear the early riser catches the proverbial worm by setting up and having an exposure of at least a minute to capture the detail whilst it is still dark. The same is true of dusk where, waiting for forty minutes after sunset the image colours will improve considerably. Tony explained he often uses a torch as a filler light when using a 15 second shutter speed to fix stars in the sky at 400 iso but if star trails are needed, he will use a 15-minute shutter speed, remembering the moon can be a great illuminator too. Tips for focusing, in the dark, were to pre-focus but if you wanted to have totally manual focusing was to use the bulb setting where exposures can vary from 20 second to 20 minutes.
Tony gave us a series of ideas for future night-time photography topics including fireworks, fairgrounds, piers, bridges, shops, industrial sites, and buildings at night and explained about crossover lighting. So, inspired we are off to try taking some night-time images for our workshop on 17th February; look out for them on our website. Also check Tony’s website www.tonyworobiec.com to see his remarkable images.
Our topic evening for January featured members’ interpretation of the Covid-19 year. The variety of images ranged from the poignant to the amusing to the every-day with a twist. Look in the gallery for the full selection of images to find out how the pandemic affected our society members
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
January 2021: ‘The Magic of Macro’ – Colleen Slater, ARPS
What a feast for the eyes after the festive break; members were treated to “The Magic of Macro” delivered by Colleen Slater ARPS, a Brighton based full time photographer and lecturer. Lockdown has many downsides but being able to talk to a multitude of experts and enthusiast from around the country has really enhanced the experience and inspired our photography. Macro is the art of extreme close-up photography, capturing minute detail within an image. Colleen had lots of tips and ideas about equipment and the way her images were composed and lit. Her body of work is mainly focused on insects, plants, and flowers but recently she has branched out into photographing things she finds on Brighton beach. All her images are beautifully composed, with exquisite colours and a gentle feeling of shape that she tries to simplify as much as possible. Colleen suffers for her art; spending many hours laid in fields or damp bogs capturing a shot of a grasshopper or butterfly which, she makes look effortless. I am sure it is not with many rejected shots relegated to the delete bin. Do explore her website where the images we saw are displayed. www.colleenslaterphotography.co.uk
The topic evening Zoom will be on the subject of “Images of the Covid year” on Wednesday 20th January at 7.30pm. Images can be submitted via WE transfer as usual. Our next Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday 3rd February at 7.30pm. Tony Worobiec FRPS, will give a presentation on “Night and Low Light Photography”
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS