SEPTEMBER What s on this month: What we did in August. Page 2. Page 7. Presentation Report

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1 SEPTEMBER 2012 The Blue Mountains Photography Group aims to support our shared love of photography, by providing a forum in which to learn, develop skills, discuss images and encourage each other. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday nights each month at the Presbyterian Church hall, Macquarie Road, Springwood, 7.30 for 8pm. Visitors welcome. What we did in August. There were two meetings in August, both highly interesting and stimulating: PROJECTS OF PASSION Eleven members who had been working over a sustained period of time presented their projects 10 as printed images and one audio-visual presentation. A BIG THANK-YOU to Geoff Beatty for mentoring the group, and Len Metcalf for his insightful appraisals of the projects. Project Report THE BEAUTY OF BLACK & WHITE Another big thank you to Geoff Beatty for his presentation. Geoff explained and demonstrated his love of the medium in a most inspiring way. Presentation Report Also inside.. Out & About (page 5) head on photography festival (page 6) Braemar Exhibition (page 8) Page 2 Page 7 What s on this month: Monday 3rd: Committee meeting Saturday 8th: Photography Workshop Special speakers include Peter Eastway and June Andersen. Sunday 9th: Outing 7 for 7:30am - meet at Leura Cascades carpark. Monday 10th: Exhibition Night - NATURE + OPEN. June Andersen, acclaimed wildlife photographer, will be appraising images. Monday 10 th - Friday 14th: Submission of images for Braemar Exhibition Monday 24th: Club night cancelled due to busy month! Have a rest.

2 Project of Passion This year s Project of Passion group who wanted to improve their knowledge and skills through exploring a theme / project. There were regular meetings to share and discuss progress, and mentoring by Geoff Beatty to give insight and ideas for improvement and development of the photographic journey. Presented at club on 13 th August, this was an opportunity to show and discuss the development of a sustained body of work in a way that is not possible at regular club exhibition nights. Len Metcalf provided expert feedback and discussion so that not only the individual photographer gained from the experience, but all present had the chance to learn from and appreciated the process. Thanks to Geoff, Len and all who participated in the Project. Shayne Cocks This series of flying birds against the softness of the colourful sky created a wonderful calm mood. All photographed in the early morning or late afternoon, they were presented in a square format with the birds subtly small encouraging you to explore at the whole image. Greg Farmer This project explored the realm of professional photography, creating posters, business cards and a facebook profile presence for his son s band. The challenge was to get 9 young people together for 2 photo shoots, to consider composition and learn about lighting. His advice was to ask for help to increase your knowledge. John Martin These very small images of a sculpture in the Botanic Gardens create very personal and intimate objet d art from a very public object. By using a similar tonal range for each, they work as a group. John reported that it took many visits and a new camera to achieve this project. 2

3 Project of Passion continued Jeannie McInnes These landscape images were taken in the Kimberleys, shot in RAW and converted to B&W to emphasise form and mood. John Mulquin A sequence of images taken over a short time at a railway station provided a story and social commentary. Shutter speeds were chosen to emphasise movement of both train and passengers. John also faced the challenge of photographing people in a public setting with their questions and objections! Robin Murray The Botanic Gardens ibis population provided the theme for a series of images of subject and reflections. They also presented the challenge of contrast of white body and black head, and how to balance this using Photoshop. 3 Colin Purser By exploring the intricate forms through a series of 3 images of each of 2 flowers, a moody portrait was created. Colin created his own camera parts to produce these beautiful images adding a tube and attaching an old lens to the camera with masking tape.

4 Project of Passion continued Dot Radley This slideshow, set to the soundtrack Perfect Storm, centred on the theme of water including surf, waterfalls, bubbling river, frost and dewdrops. This timed presentation forces the viewer along the journey together with the creator. Hopefully, Dot will make a book of these beautiful images. Ted Szafraniec These works were unique in being created with B&W film, requiring effort to learn film & darkroom skills. Images were about trees in the local landscape, used the element of repetition of vertical lines, and invited the viewer to wander in the bush behind. Margaret Taylor This series of yellow-orange autumn leaves against the blue-grey sky was an excellent display of how colour affects composition to make the subject sing. As you get closer, there is more involvement with texture, pattern and detail. Judy Thistleton-Martin This series of images taken on one day in the city, feature sculptures inside the glass walls of the building. Concentrating on the inside, the glass and the reflections, they challenge the viewer to think about which is reality and which reflection, thus making a visual riddle. There was minor digital development to create photo pop. 4

5 EXHIBITION REVIEWED out and about Light Works. NGV Internaional, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne. Daily 10am-5pm, closed Tue. Until 15. Free. Drawn from the NGV s Collection the 15 works exhibited show how photographers have exploited the creative potentials of natural and artificial light in their works. Most of the work does not look like typical photography imagery and many happy snappers would say that it even is not photography! But still worth a visit not just for the creativity involved but trying to work out how the images were made. The contemporary Australian and overseas photographers represented are Mike and Doug Starn, David Stephenson, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Bill Henson, Adan Fuss, Simone Douglas, Park Hong-Chun, Eugenia Raskopoulos, Sam Shmith, Christolp Dahlhausen and Patrick Bailly-Maitre-Grand. Very different and thought provoking. SHOWING Eugene Atget: old Paris. Over 200 original prints of 19 th & early 20 th Paris by the person who is generally regarded as the founder of documentary photography. This is an international travelling exhibition involving the Fundacion Mapre (Madrid), Nederlands Fotomuseum (Rotterdam), Art Gallry of New South Wales (Sydney), Musee Carnavalet (Paris) and Paris Musees. Rudy Komon gallery, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, The Domain Sydney. Open daily 10am-5pm, Wednesdays until 9pm. Entry fee $7-$10. Winners of the ABC TV Photo Finish Programs. Results of the 8 show reality-type TV series involving amateur photographers using photography. Each show involved eight different genres and used different imagery equipment and processing. Prints of all the program winners are on display. Also check out the series and other interesting photography information on Display at The ABC, Ground Level Foyer, ABC Building, Harris Street, Ultimo. Business hours, daily. Free. Flashback: 160 years of Australian fashion photos. This display shows the evolution of Australian fashion photography through the State Library s collections. Level 1 Macquarie Street, State Library of NSW. Weekdays 9am-5pm; weekends 10am-5pm. Until Free. OUT OF TOWN Close to Home [various member photographers of APS Contempory Division]. Part of APSCON in Canberra where 20 photographers from around Australia interpret the title theme. The exhibition includes prints, 3-D and audiovisual work. Until 8 September at The Q Exhibition Space then at the 50 th Annual conference of the Australian Photographic Society (15-21 September) being held at Southern Cross Club, Corinna St, Canberra Act. Check out the APS website for the APSCON program at The Q Exhibition Space & Southern Cross Club. Until 21. Free. GOING Jacky Redgate: The Logic of Vision. An AGNSW collection of 15 of Redgate s mainly photographic work. She was interested in conducting analyses of systems, mechanics and the production of vision. According to assistant curator Vigen Galstyan, Redgate s work is Informed by conceptual methodologies of the 1960s and 1970s drawn upon various disciplines from history and cultural studies to physics and mathematics. It sounds and looks interesting. Photography Gallery, Lower Level 2, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain. Free. Until 09. Compiled by Ted Szafraniec 5

6 head on photo festival SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE 2012 head on photo festival AND RECENT PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTICE IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS PART 1: AN OVERVIEW OF THE FESTIVAL I realise this title is a little ponderous but this year s head on photo festival 1 held in Sydney and its surrounds provides an opportunity to reflect on the Festival and as well as recent photography practice in the Blue Mountains region that I have encountered over the last year or so. This article will be presented in parts over the next few newsletters and this first part will provide an overview of the Festival. The official Festival program ran from 4 May to 3 June but many exhibitions continued on to mid June. The Festival had a nifty printed program (a double sided A3 information sheet folded in half 3 times into A6 size allowing it to fit into a shirt pocket) but it understandedly contained only the basic of information on venues, addresses and opening days (but no times), the photographers exhibiting and the period of the various exhibitions. Also programed were seminars, workshops and other special events such as lectures, presenations and slide shows. I attended 27 of the 101 listed program events/exhibitions (27%) over roughly a six week period. However I am not going to attempt a detailed review of the Festival or of the exhibitions that I saw as time and space does not allow me to do it properly or adequately. So in this article I have only listed and highlighted the exhibitions and the photographers that I saw, as well as the venues. It was physically impossible to see all the exhibitions in the time the Festival was held (and remain sane!) or not be overwhelmed so I had to be selective in what I wanted to see and do, and then plan the visits well (as mostly all were done by public transport). Even then I missed out on some of my choices but more on that together with the reasons for it in a future part of this article where I will attempt to outline my survival guide to photo festivals! In the end I got to see 5 exhibitions in the Inner West (Camperdown, Ultimo and Chippendale), 9 in the Eastern Suburbs (Paddington, Bondi, Woollahra and Darlinghurst), 7 in the CBD and Suroundings (The Domain, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Sydney and Millers Point), 5 in the West (Blackheath, Kingswood, Penrith and Werrington), 1 in the Southern Suburbs (Gymea) but unfortunately did not make it to the North region where there were 5 exhibitions scheduled. The Festival included images (such as film, digital, B&W and colour work), lectures, workshops, books and portfolios (on sale), specialty photo publishers by a variety of professionals, teachers, curators, students and amateurs. It included individuals and groups (both local and international), clubs, product manufacturers, book and portfolio publishers, professional groups such as Australian Commercial Media Photograpers and sponsors (heaps of them!). There was a variety of venues ranging from the traditional art galleries (Art Gallery of NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Sydney, The Rocks Discovery Museum, Sydney Jewish Museum & Powerhouse Museum); teaching institutions (TAFE Sydney Institute of Photography); cultural institutions (Instituto Cervantes in Chippendale, IstitutoItaliano Di Cultura Sydney in the CBD);and in less formal areas such as cafes, pubs (The Arthouse Hotel), public places like parks (Paddington Reservoir Gardens) and railway stations (Kingswood Station). Overall the Festival program that I encountered was broad in scope and wide in nature. It was an eclectic mixture that constantly surprised. And I discovered many new very good photographers, lots of creativity, the embracement and sheer joy of the photographic/imaging process, and most unexpectedly, numerous exhibitions proved to be absolute gems. So truly there was something for everyone. The next part of the article will deal with most of the exhibitions I saw during the Festival. Compiled by Ted Szafraniec [ 1 See website at 6

7 The beauty of B&W Geoff Beatty very generously gave a most informative and inspiring presentation on his use of black and white in photography. Coming from a professional journalistic background where producing photos in a darkroom was the norm, he still thinks in terms of the darkroom with burning, dodging and contrast as the main elements to play with. Geoff highlighted the advantages of B&W: - gets rid of distractions - emphasises form and shape - lets the composition be read more easily - it lets viewers know you are serious about your photography, with the question the photographer has taken a step away from colour why? - B&W seems more real, making it easier to read emotions - it allows him to inject more of himself and personality into the image (Geoff s B&W processing is more aggressive than colour processing) Is there a different technique in shooting for B&W? In film there are technical variables of film, developer, and paper. In digital, all the information is captured onto the sensor (particularly in RAW), then processed after shooting. Geoff suggests setting the camera to give the lowest contrast flat images with the greatest information and detail which can then be processed. Also to review images in B&W to more easily see their composition. A series of his own images, Geoff demonstrated the power of the B&W conversion. Holiday snapshots became intriguing images through conversion and added contrast. A photo of rats in a Paris shop window in colour became an intriguing image with a sense of timelessness; a sculptured head which was easy to dismiss in colour became a strong image about the subject and emotions it evoked when converted to B&W, with darkened edges, increased contrast and duotone; a Greek island at dusk, while interesting in colour, was stunning in B&W; a man on a bike wearing an orange shirt allowed us to view the sense of the image in without the colour distractions. Geoff s conversions were done in Photoshop. His technique was to use channels and to keep merging these layers. As a B&W film professional, he is able to pre-visualise where he wants to take the image, and has created a lot of actions for these channels. He asks himself which areas he wants dark, which light, and what he wants to do with the contrast. He demonstrated how to darken a layer, then use the paintbrush to lighten areas equating dark to the burning in used in the darkroom. Several books were highly recommended to explore what other photographers have created in B&W in the photo-journalist style: Koudelka Gypsies by Josef Koudelka Revelations by Diane Arbus Outside / Inside, Bruce Davidson s Journey of Consciousness Indian Circus by Mary Ellen Mark Workers and Africa by Sebastiao Salgado Geoff s presentation was really interesting and instructive, giving not only a lot of information but also challenging and inspiring us to give black and white a serious go. Thanks, Geoff. PS I know at least one member who has been experimenting since seeing some of the possibilities. Have you tried Geoff s suggestions? 7

8 Braemar Exhibition Why are we having an exhibition? It is great to be able to show our work at club exhibition nights and get the feedback from fellow enthusiasts, but it is a whole different and exciting challenge to show our work publicly and in a professional setting. Being able to do this in a supportive club group makes the experience a wonderful chance to share your passion for image making and to learn about finishing images and presentation. There are few opportunities for non-professionals to be able to do this. Because it is such a wonderful opportunity, it is open to EVERYONE in the club who wishes to participate. How do I enter images for consideration? Each member is asked to submit up to 6 images. These must have been photographed during , may have been shown at club or not, and of any subject or theme you wish. Images are to be submitted DIGITALLY, using club requirements of 500kb size with file name of title_your_name. The reason for this is to minimise printing costs in this initial stage. Images need to be given to Jeannie during week of September. Either bring them to club on Monday 10 th on a stick drive - they will be copied from your stick on the night, or them to jemci@me.com by Friday 14 th. What support can I ask for? Ask anything and everything! If you are new to this experience, there are others in the club happy to sit with you to choose images to submit. The selection panel may also give advice on tweaking images to make improvements. How are images being selected? There is a small selection panel being formed including outside support from a professional photographer and a FCC judge. Our aim is for everyone who submits images to have at least one image included in the exhibition. Depending on the number of participants, each person will have probably one or two included. The gallery has space for between 50 and 60 images to be hung. Images will be chosen according to quality of image, variety of subjects and overall flow of the exhibition as a whole. What happens after selection of images? Everyone exhibiting will be advised which images will be included. It is at this point you will need to print the selected images. Sizes will be advised so images will fit the frames. There will be a get-together at club one night (probably late September) to explain and discuss how to prepare your images and how the exhibition will be hung. How do I prepare images for the exhibition? Images are to be printed to fit the range of frames advised. All images are to be hung is simple black frames with black or off-white mats. The working group is getting quotes for the most economical frames, but you will need to keep this cost in mind. Continued next page 8

9 How much will it all cost me? We are trying to keep costs to a minimum. The club committee believes this to be such an important opportunity for members, that the club has budgeted to pay the cost of using the gallery. This means that the costs of preparing images needs to be met by the exhibitor. The costs to each exhibitor will be: Printing of the image or images chosen by the selection panel Framing of these images (we have a very good quote from Sonja at Emu Plains) so approximately $30- $40 for each frame kit, including mat. Contribution to exhibition cost catering for opening, printing of advertising material and catalogue, expected to be about $10 per image, depending on how many exhibitors we are able to share this amongst. Anything else about the exhibition? The opening will be on Saturday 3 rd November, so invite your family and friends to join you. Exhibitors will be encouraged to do a shift on the roster at the gallery a great way to gauge public interest in and opinions of the images on display. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY TO ADDITIONAL VIEWERS PLEASE TAKE THE CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE! From our BMPG library DIGITAL NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY by John and Barbara Gerlach. John has been a professional nature photographer since 1980 and has been published in every major magazine, in books from National Geographic Society, Time-Life and the Smithsonian, and is associate editor of Nature Photographer. Barbara is a skilled and artistic nature photographer, and colour printer for NASA. Published 2007 Digital Nature Photography is a how-to guide for photographers who want to take their work to the next level. Written by professionals with over 20 years experience, the Gerlachs reveal enlightening techniques for shooting nature images in the field. The combination of artistic approach and impeccable technique will help you capture your next great image. Learn what equipment works best in the field, and why, as well as tips for superb shots Create sharp images at capture with detailed instructions for digital exposure Master the three factors that lead to excellent images: technique, subject and situation (Review from Amazon) 9

10 From your BMPG committee. After much fund-raising, deliberation, research and discussion, the committee has finally decided on new equipment to be purchased to support club nights and special events. We are purchasing a new laptop, data projector and speakers to make it easier to display digital images and for guest speakers to make their presentations. Thanks to all those in attendance on the 27 th August who completed our survey. It s purpose was to help the committee in planning so that the club meets the needs of members. If you missed out on having your say, ask for your copy of the questionnaire to complete. The 2013 program will be organised in the near future (after the workshop). If you have any ideas of good speakers you would like to hear, topics you would like covered, ideas for outings or themes for exhibitions, then please let the committee know, Workshop Our major workshop is being held on Saturday 8 th September. With keynote speakers Peter Eastway and June Andersen, and workshops covering topics from getting off automatic, macro, Photoshop (both CS5 and Elements) to travel photography and using your smartphone, the day will be amazing. There will also be guided bushwalk photoshoots, display of images and stalls. If you have not yet booked, there are still a couple of places available. Bookings have officially closed, but if you get in quickly you can come (though lunch bookings have closed). Get onto the website as soon as you have read this if you want to join in this fabulous event. BMPG we are: Blue Mountains Photography Group The Secretary BMPG P.O. Box 352 Springwood 2777 Phone: (02) info@bmpg.org.au Web Site Newsletter Jeannie McInnes jemci@me.com articles, information, photos are very welcome