A month by month summary of the Society activities.
December 2020: ‘Chasing The Light’ – Kieran Metcalfe
“You can always tell you’re with a photographer, they keep banging on about the light” says Kieran Metcalfe who gave an excellent presentation all about ‘Chasing the light’. He professes to be a ‘sunburst junkie’ and went on to entertain us with a wealth of excellent landscape shots featuring New Brighton on The Wirral, Snowdonia and predominantly The Peak District. Kieran is a sucker for a sunrise and sunset and is a weather watcher too because it helps in his planning for a destination and a shot. Using apps such as clearoutside.com and the Skyfire app he can estimate the light opportunities for a particular image. During the evening Kieran gave members lots of tips and technical details about shooting into the sun, dealing with high contrast scenes, sidelight and shooting after dark. Photographers talk of the ‘golden hour’ and the ‘blue hour’ and Kieran showed great examples of images that reflect those times of day. Recently, due to travel restrictions during lockdown, he has focused on local trees and woodland capturing some impressive images with mist and fog to enhance the atmosphere. An inspiring evening encouraged members to visit his website www.kieranmetcalfephotography.co.uk where many of his images can be seen.
The Society is always looking to encourage new members of all different skill and experience levels. You do not need lots of fancy equipment, some of the best images are taken on phones. We wish to promote a fun and friendly atmosphere and whilst, currently, we cannot meet in person there have been advantages in that we have been able to have presenters based around the UK talk to us about photography. So, if you want to consider a new hobby in the new year do look us up on our website. Our next ‘Zoom’ meeting on Wednesday 6th January 2021 at 7.30pm is by Colleen Slater, ARPS – The Magic of Macro. We wish you all a happy Christmas and a wonderful new year.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
November 2020: ‘A nostalgic journey to Ghana’ – Vince Harris, ARPS
Ordinarily, I would have been pointing you in the direction of our annual exhibition held at the Adderbury Institute and Deddington Church. Instead I thoroughly recommend you visit our website, after 18th November, to view an impressive selection of images selected by our members to show the range and depth of photography that they enjoy and excel at. Do take the time to have a virtual visit.
This month our visual treat was delivered by Vince Harris ARPS. ‘A nostalgic journey to Ghana’ was an evening of images, all taken in 2004 on Vince’s return to his previous home where he had taught in the 60’s. All the photographs were taken using film and had a soft quality that added to the atmosphere and clarity of the observations. Vince gave us a glimpse of a simpler way of life showing the housing, work, and youth of the many villages he visited. He explained he always approached the chief of the village first, giving him a ‘magical’ Polaroid image of himself, before exploring the area further. The composition of many of the images was pleasing but thought-provoking because of the cultural differences within the villages. Vince’s nugget of advice was ‘get close, then get closer still’. Do seek out, on www.vinceharris.me.uk ,his image of Abosomfie at Boduase, Ashanti Region which, was the runner-up in a 2006 National Geographic competition. As a country of contrast Vince also illustrated the many castles along the Gold Coast of Ghana where wealth had been previously established through the gold mines and slavery. The architectural styles were evidence of the many different countries involved in Ghana’s past. The evening was real evidence of photographing life in the raw.
Our next ‘Zoom’ meeting will be on 2nd December at 7.30pm presented by Kieran Metcalfe – ‘Chasing the light’. If you would like to join us, please visit our website to find contacts and details. We can’t wait until we can all meet again but, in the meantime, ‘Zoom’ keeps us going.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
October 2020: Scott Hurd’s Namibia
For October we welcomed an ex-member Scott Hurd, who lives in Namibia, to give a ‘Zoom’ presentation. It was a whistle stop tour of the country using Scott’s archive photographs of the different and diverse areas; vast desert areas as well as unspoilt beaches and the green Caprivi Strip where the rivers Okavango, Zambesi and Kwando flow through to neighbouring countries. We saw fascinating street shots showing everyday life as well as stunning wildlife shots from meerkats and hippos to all manner of birds. The lack of cloud cover ensured stunning sunsets and Scott would usually shoot with a subject in the foreground to create an interesting silhouette. For the wildlife shots he used aperture priority because of the movement and light exposure thus allowing him to concentrate on the animal’s behaviour to create an appealing image. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane for some members who had visited five years ago for a photographic tour. It was a great evening with lots of banter and discussion from members about life in Namibia and the wonderful locations. It was a fantastic escape from rainy Oxfordshire. Scott’s delightful images can be viewed on www.h4urd.co.uk; well worth a look.
Scott supports a charity ’Snap Africa’ that supplies camera equipment and training to Namibians. The society donated and spoke about donating unwanted camera equipment to ‘Snap Africa’.
Do keep checking our website for the latest information about the upcoming presentations, how to join us and members’ workshops that run during the month. Following Covid 19 guidelines some members have taken part in a variety of workshops on portraiture at Broughton Castle, the Milky Way at the Rollright Stones, and a fun session in a field at Cropredy making light trails with torches and glow sticks.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
September 2020: ‘Feel the Land – Photography and Emotion’ by Astrid McGechan, LRPS
‘Feel the Land; Photography and Emotion’ by Astrid McGechan, LRPS was our September presentation by a photographer who started off sorting out her own wedding photographs and graduated on to creating artistic, emotion laden images using her mobile phone before moving onto an Olympus camera. Her philosophy is to give the viewer an opportunity to ask questions about what is happening in the image. So, whilst the work she displayed was a mixture of street, landscapes, and people Astrid is not afraid to push the boundaries and go against recognised techniques. By chance Astrid took a photograph, that was over exposed, of a decaying boat. She liked the result because it captured the idea of a faded past and went onto create a series of faded images.
Another idea that impressed was her work using reflections in glass and water, a most colourful image of the windows of Coventry Cathedral was created using reflections giving an abstract impression of the building. Throughout her work Astrid has been adventurous to try different techniques either in post- production or on the camera. By adding texture or an overlay to an image, it can change the feeling for a viewer making it moodier or adding warmth and calm. Astrid has also experimented with camera movement to capture waves and sand to great effect. She loves skies, especially clouds and sunsets, feeling that they can portray a range of emotions from funny to moody. Her message was there were no right or wrong ideas and to have fun and experiment to discover and enjoy the freedom to create an image for a viewer.
I would definitely recommend visiting www.astridmcgechan.com to view her work. For those inspired www.lightandland.co.uk organise workshops in the UK and Europe. Astrid generously donated one of her prints, that was raffled to raise funds for the society; the lucky winner was Colin Lamb.
Our next presentation is by Scott Hurd about Namibia and wildlife on October 7th at 7.30pm. We are still meeting on ‘Zoom’ and therefore please check the website for details if you wish to join us. Members will receive the joining details by email. There are a number of outdoor workshops available to attend over the coming months so do check emails or the website for details
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
August 2020: ‘Small is Beautiful’ by Robert Harvey ARPS
Our August ‘Club night’ meeting took us close up and personal into the world of macro photography with Robert Harvey in his zoom presentation titled ‘Small is Beautiful’. He shared his collection of images of butterflies, bugs and orchids that were outstanding as well as sharing what camera settings he used and how he took them to encourage us to have a go. Robert was able to give other technical advice including composition and lighting. Robert demonstrated that finding subjects to photograph and then taking images of their life cycle and behaviour in their own habitat could produce some amazing images – as can be seen on his website www.naturalworldphotography.net
Our next Club night is on Zoom on Wednesday 2nd September at 7:30 pm when we will have a presentation by Astrid McGechan on Landscape Photography titled- ‘Feed the Land’. If you’d like to join in please contact the Society through our website.
Miggy Wild, ADDPS
July 2020: ‘Approach to Photography’ by David Keep ARPS
Zooming is the ‘new normal’ and so it was great to have our July presentation given by David Keep ARPS, a retired engineer who has been a serious photographer for five years. Visit his website www.davidkeepphotography.co.uk to see the stunning images he achieves.
His approach centres around the question “are you a photographer or an image maker?” He believes he is the latter. David invests a lot of time researching and contacting organisations that can yield images with impact. He has concentrated on underwater, sporting and dancing projects but always has an idea of the image he wants to create before he starts. He invests much time presenting his ideas to organisations to give him enviable access to key players. By planning thoroughly, he can communicate his ideas to the prospective subjects and build relationships. Once the shoot has taken place, from boxing to ball room dancing, he works his magic in ‘Lightroom’ and ‘Photoshop’ to tell the story.
David’s slideshow explained the process involved in making a finished image that yields such impact. A simple boxing photograph emphasized the post-production effects that can enhance and improve the image to elevate it to a competition level picture. His biggest tip was to ‘crop, crop, crop’ and to choose backgrounds that compliment rather than compete. He also uses an editor who will give an objective critique. For his dance project, ballroom dancers pictured during a competition, he wanted to present a dream-like image expressing emotion. The image was a meticulous composite of the dancers, a chateau shot and misty water and can be viewed on his website.
Our next evening ‘Zoom’ presentation will be ‘Small is Beautiful’ by Robert Harvey ARPS on Wednesday 5th August at 7.30pm. To join us contact the Chairperson, Martyn Pearse or Meriel Flux, Membership Secretary. Whilst your there have at look at last month’s images presented as a slideshow on Urban/Street.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
June 2020: ‘Urban/Street and Social Documentary Photography’ by Stewart Wall ARPS
Lockdown has affected the photo opportunities for many members but it has given more time, for those at home, to practise techniques such as using a macro lens or ‘Lightroom’ post production techniques. Our website has many new images and the latest slideshow entitled the ‘Wow Factor’ shows the level of commitment of all members whatever their photographic experience. Have a look at the ‘News’ page.
Our June ‘Zoom’ club night was a presentation by Stuart Wall, ARPS on ‘Urban/Street and Social Documentary Photography.’ Stuart, previously a press photographer, is now a photography lecturer. He enjoys ‘wandering around looking for stories.’ His ‘stories’ have been printed in books the first of which was submitted as an associate panel to the Royal Photographic Society. ‘The Stonemason’ was centred around a craftsman in Caistor, Lincolnshire. The monochrome images of the man at work and his tools were very atmospheric as well as a historic record of a vanishing skill. Next came ‘Park Hill; Street in the Sky.’ A 2015 curated record of the listed flats in Sheffield by a group of twelve photographers. The brutalist architecture was represented in a series of slides as Stuart explained his choice of images. Incidentally, the area was revisited in February 2020 and a new book has now been produced documenting changes to the buildings. Stuart finished with an explanation of images entitled ‘From the Kasbah to Central Hall’ based in the East Marsh area of Grimsby. Once again, a collection of photographs that relay a bygone era and decay as well as a heritage site that is used by a multitude of different groups. Buildings were juxtaposed with images of people in a myriad of activities which convey the diversity of Grimsby and its people.
Our next ‘Zoom’ club night will be at 7.15pm 1st July. The speaker is David Keep and his website has some impressive images (www.davidkeepphotography.co.uk) The subject is ‘Approach to Photography’. Everyone is welcome to join us, check the website for details. We also have a link to our ‘YouTube’ channel where you can see our ‘Zoom’ presentations. Finally, congratulations to Miggy Wild and John Cavana who having submitted images for the ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year’ Special Award division – ‘Beautiful Blenheim’ received a third place and highly commended, respectively. Whilst we are not a competitive society it is wonderful to have images recognised amongst a wider audience.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
May 2020: ‘Bringing the ‘WOW’ factor to your Photographs’ by Anne Sutcliffe FRPS
Our first ‘Zoom’ meeting was a presentation by Anne Sutcliffe, FRPS, about having fun learning to assess your own images to find the ‘Wow’ factor. We gathered in various settings; some members even had sunny backdrops including The Maldives. Much hard work had gone into preparations for the event and a special thanks was extended to Neil and Maureen R for making it such a success.
The evening was split into two sections, just like a normal club night, with a slideshow presentation of the main points to consider when assessing your images and then a look at Anne’s photographs that she felt had the ‘Wow’ factor. Anne thought that judging the images of others was easier than assessing your own and that reviewing your images after a year was always a help to be objective. Revisiting was a way to look at what you saw in the scene rather than imagining, with emotion, what you thought you were photographing at the time. Anne often judges competition entries at a variety of clubs and tries to be sympathetic and encouraging according to the skills of the photographers but is honest to comment on weaknesses and always suggests improvements. She promoted the idea of competition, something that does not happen at ADD, but did encourage members to enter British open and international competitions.
Moving onto her images Anne explained the story behind each photograph and how older images were often ‘fashion’ leaders i.e. the techniques had not been seen before in competition. There was a great variety of genre including wildlife, in a wintery North America, the Venice Carnival and a barber shop in Istanbul. The superb image of a grand but grungy toilet in Cuba came with a story about the discovery of the bathroom after a couple of Cuba Libre cocktails. In Anne words ‘images should tell a story’ and this one certainly did.
The next meeting, by ‘Zoom’, will take place on Wednesday 20th May at 7.30pm and will be a slideshow of entries with a ‘Wow Factor’. Photographs should be submitted by the 18th May.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
April 2020: AGM & “What Is It”
We live in very strange times and it was with regret that the AGM on the 1st April was cancelled. However, the Committee began working away and held a virtual AGM presenting all the necessary reports to members and then requesting votes to fill the relevant vacant officer positions. The results of the twenty-five proxy votes were circulated to all members and the membership year was extended to May to take account of the lockdown. The members all voted for the resolutions, with none against any resolutions. The new committee for 2020/21 comprises:
Martyn Pearse (Chairperson)
Diana Saville (Treasurer)
Miggy Wild (Minutes and Social Secretary)
Maureen Robinson (Programme Secretary)
Lindsey Smith & Meriel Flux (Workshop Co-ordinators)
Meriel Flux (Membership Secretary)
Neil Grantham (Website and Technology)
Anne Hunsley (Public Relations Officer)
Diana Saville (Facebook Co-ordinator)
Normally at the AGM the topic is ‘What is it?’ where members try to bamboozle each other with photographs of odd everyday items taken at different angles or close-up. So, if you want a frustrating half hour guessing have a look at our website and click on the ‘Lockdown Challenges, 2020’ for the ‘What is it?’ challenge. The answers are available in a separate folder. You might also like to scroll through the individual members’ galleries section where you will find stunning images in a range of genres.
The club will continue to have monthly photography topics so do keep checking the website for the latest contributions and see how resourceful our photographers can be in lockdown. Finally remember to stay at home and stay safe. Wishing everyone well until we can meet again.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
March 2020: ‘Creative Portrait Challenge’ by Donald Maclellan
The renowned portrait photographer Donald MacLellan spoke about his life and work. Hailing from West Highland Scotland a move to London set him on a future career path in the area of medical photography but he used day release education opportunities to focus on portraiture. After a spell as a photographer’s assistant Donald realised, he wanted to work for magazines and newspapers. Hard work and persistence enabled him to secure images in The Evening Standard and Maire Claire.
Donald’s first solo exhibition ‘Black Power’ for the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in 1998 was a look at role models, for young black people, in politics, the arts and science. The two-year project included stunning portraits of Lenny Henry, Sir Trevor Phillips and Bill Morris and began to redress the lack of diversity represented in the NPG. Subsequently the images have been used in race awareness campaigns and are timeless in their simplicity. His next studio-based commission,’ Tartan Army’, was for Empire magazine focusing on Scottish actors including Tilda Swinton, Ewan Macgregor and Robert Carlyle. The UK Film Council’s ‘Want to see more of me?’ exhibition, photographed in colour, gave a cross section of well-established black actors and those at the beginning of their careers, highlighting the range of talent in the field but questioning the availability of roles for black British actors. Bringing his work up to date Donald’s latest project ‘My Class # 50’ retraced his classmates and photographed them at work. So, shots of a shepherdess appeared alongside a fisherman in the Mallaig Heritage Centre.
Donald uses a Hasselblad camera, prefers black and white and in the early days shot with film and very few accessories except two soft lightboxes, a black cloth and for ‘Black Power’ a black roll-neck jumper. The onset of digital photography means he misses meeting other photographers at the film processing labs. His adopted working method, whether with film or digitally, includes a quick check of the content before ‘parking it’ returning two to three days later to make his portrait choices.
The fascinating end to the evening was a look at members’ portraiture efforts with Donald suggesting simple lighting and composition enhancements. There was an interesting selection of portraits including a black and white WWII veteran in France which, Donald highly commended. A very inspiring evening.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
February 2020: ‘Landscape Thought Process’ by Nathan Barry
Our February presentation by Nathan Barry entitled ‘Landscape Thought Process’ was a thoroughly engrossing wander through the creative process to achieve a stunning landscape photograph. Nathan uses the local area for inspiration but ventures further afield to Snowdonia, the Dorset coast and the Lake District. So why landscape? Nathan explained how calming he found this genre, how challenging it was to capture a view to treasure and the delight of discovering nature even on the wettest, most dull day.
Planning was the foundation for a good photograph; from ensuring a comprehensive kit bag was always in the car to researching the destination for practical considerations such as distances to walk, the terrain and the weather. Nathan felt by taking care of the practical stuff it allowed him more time to think and find synergy with his surroundings thus maximising the results. In a large rucksack he minimised his choice of camera and lens but did have a host of batteries, filters, rubber lens hood (for those rainy moments), the essential many micro fibre cloths for cleaning the lens and always a trusty tripod.
Whilst displaying some stunning photographs Nathan discussed the process he employed to compose and refine a shot, with the emphasis being on ‘less is more’, by minimizing the number of elements in a picture as well as considering the colour palette he wished to achieve. He advocated moving around rather than zooming when composing a shot and to look behind you because the better image might be there.
Nathan finally showed what post- production magic he used in ‘Lightroom’ to enhance the final picture by showing us before and after shots. Members felt that ‘a cracking presentation’ should be followed up by a Nathan run landscape workshop.
The topic of ‘Book Titles’ caused I great scratching of heads as well as hilarity with photographs showing a range from the ubiquitous ‘The 39 Steps’ to great ‘Lightroom’ compilations such as ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. There was even a ‘Papillon’. It proved to be an intriguing topic choice that was really interesting to see and to try and guess the title.
Donald MacLellan with talk about portrait photography on Wednesday 4th March at 7.30pm at the Cartwright Hotel, Aynho – everyone is welcome.
Anne Hunsley, ADDPS
January 2020: ‘Interactive session – RPS distinction Image Selection’ by Andreas Klatt ARPS
In January, Chairman of the Royal Photographic Society Visual Art Group (RPS VAG) and member of our Photographic Society, Andreas Klatt ARPS gave a presentation, with audience participation, on how he approached working towards his RPS Distinctions. There are three Distinctions – LRPS (Licentiate), ARPS (Associate), and FRPS (Fellowship). For the Licentiateship, a panel of 10 photos is presented on Assessment Day, which is an assigned date by the RPS. A cohesive panel is required, being mindful that the panel as a whole is to make the ‘11th image’.
For this evening, Andreas proceeded to lay out a set of some 30 unmounted prints on a table and asked those present to select 10 to make up what he might have done for his panel. It was clear that they found it as difficult as he did. He advised there are at least three key items to bear in mind for making up a panel – symmetry; a need to know how your camera works; and purpose or direction of flow. After about 10 minutes, and much interaction, Andreas put everyone out of their misery and set out his successful ‘L’ panel on to a print stand. Symmetry in choice of landscape and portrait images was demonstrated, as were colour and subject matter. Andreas advised to not stint on print quality for the final result. He took about two years to arrive at his successful panel.
From his ‘L’, Andreas went on to work on his ‘A’ panel, which was based on what he termed ‘architecture to the glory of God’. This time, 15 images are required, to be accompanied by a Statement Of Intent, which is as important as the panel of images. Andreas’s consisted of 38 words out of a 150 word-allowance – not required for the ‘L’ – and is to be read out at the assessment. Andreas attended an Advisory Day, where panels are scrutinised and judged, and at which you are not told what to do but what is not going to work. Andreas put up his first proposed ‘A’ panel, mounted on black foam, and asked which images would people consider to change. He then then changed out the panel to present a beautiful and cohesive panel of images taken in the Middle East. With gentle humour, Andreas gave us an inspiring insight into achieving Licentiate and Associate Distinctions, which everyone greatly appreciated.
January’s photo topic was ‘My Best Three Images of 2019’, which produced a varied and interesting set of images.
Wendy Meagher LRPS for ADDPS