Little Print Show by Jonathan Vaines
This presentation was billed on our website as 'one man's artistic approach to photography, stepping out of the club mainstream'. This description proved to be true as Jonathon explained to us his methodology, his craft and his extreme enthusiasm for his subject matter.
So, is he a photographer or is he an artist?
Not my question but his, and we were left to decide.
He invited us to think inside the box he explained his deep interest in shapes, colours multiple exposures and with the image - reduce, reduce, reduce. But follow that by build back! He led us through his treatment of work by Henry Moore and his love of light flowing through stained glass. He follows his heart and his eye. He told us of his visit to Great Yarmouth (Premier Inn on the promenade) and getting up at 4.15am to photograph the outer harbour. His shots did not show the real look of the harbour but their desaturated colours and the overall composition certainly produced images which were eye-catching and beautiful.
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Two new Annual Photographic Exhibitions from NDPS
Norwich Cathedral's decision in April 2023 to discontinue the use of the Hostry exhibition space for Arts in Norwich and Norfolk, including the Norwich & District Photographic Society, meant the abrupt loss of our Annual Photographic Exhibition's home for over 25 years.
Despite this setback, we have diligently worked to resume our programme of photographic exhibitions. Fortunately, we will now in the future host not one, but two annual exhibitions in the centre of Norwich.
Firstly, in August 2024 at the Anteros Art Foundation on Fye Bridge Street, we will present MOMENTS 24 - an intimate exhibition showcasing the exceptional work of our members. This new event will be held annually in honour of Mike Trendell, a Past President who, prior to his passing in 2021, dedicated nearly 50 years to the Society as a stalwart and a giant…!
Each year, the member whose print is judged to be the best exhibit will be awarded the Mike Trendell Memorial Trophy.
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Review of this Season's External Competitions
Norwich and District Photographic Society has shown consistent improvement since 2019, particularly evident in our performance in the traditional photographic competitions we engage in. This season has been no different:
In January, we participated in the prestigious Cambridge Camera Club Inter-Club Digital Competition, where the strongest clubs from across East Anglia compete. The competition, comprising Monochrome, People, Landscape, Nature, and Open categories, challenges each club to submit their best image per category. With only the finest images showcased, the competition is fierce. This season, we achieved a commendable joint 7th position.
February marked the commencement of the East Anglian Photographic Federation’s Annual Championships, starting with the PDI Championships. Clubs submit 15 images in the initial round, with the top 12 clubs advancing to the subsequent round, featuring 10 additional images. This season marked a significant milestone for NDPS as we progressed to the second round for the first time, securing 9th place overall.
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The Photography of David Morris
Last evening's presentation was by the internationally known photographer David Morris. David, who lives in Cromer, began by talking about how his career in photography began. He called the opening part of his presentation 'Made in Hull'. He told of how he studied graphic design at Hull College of Art in the early seventies and how this course taught him something but at the time of his graduation he found that he knew more about photography than graphic design! This because of a good photography tutor.
We saw some pictures taken at the time of his studies in and around Hull, the streets, the bomb damage, demonstrations and pub interiors often featuring Hull fishermen.
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Photography on the Dark Side - the Gateway to Urban Nightscape Photography
This was a shared evening with our colleagues of Sheffield Photographic Society projected into the Academy by Zoom.
Peter describes himself as a 'very keen urban nightscape photographer' and the tone and delivery of his presentation certainly bore out this enthusiasm and commitment to night-time image capture.
Peter began with a short history of photography beginning in the nineteenth century up to the present moment and he tied this history into the lives of his family in Germany from his Great Grandparents through to himself today. He described his kit of tripos, camera and lenses and how he bracketed shots and made much use of luminosity masks in Photoshop.
After this technical information he took us on a tour of London. Beginning with the Pool of London. He said that September to April was the best period to take these kinds of images and he explained how he used Google Street View not only to give him a taste of viewpoints but also as a way of choosing safe places to be.
We saw stunning night -time views of Tower Bridge, the Shard, the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral before he ushered us down to the West End. His top tips were to drive to Mile End Road, station car park and use public transport from then on, and making sure that the Thames was at slack water with no craft spoiling the reflections.
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NDPS retain the Alan Taylor Memorial Trophy
Norwich & District PHotographic Society has successfully retained the Alan Taylor Memorial Trophy after the completion of the Annual Three-way Battle with Ciné - Photo Club Nivernais (CPCN)) in France and Foto-Club Koblenz (FCK) in Germany.
After the three rounds during which the same 20 images entered by each club were scored by a judge in each country NDPS had an aggregate score of 508.0 points with FCK second on 468.0 and CPCN third on 443.5. The judge for the UK leg of the competition was Paul Radden DPAGB, EFIAP/s, PSA4*.
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The Green Road Between Two Woods - an evening with Andrew Rafferty
Andrew Raffety; photographer, head teacher, and polymath. He may disagree with that last adjective but Andrew's knowledge of ancient history, presenting and photography is immense.
He began his presentation by sketching out his childhood where cameras were extensively used by mum and dad and his brothers and sister. An early lesson in understanding camera technique, film work and getting film developed by Boots the Chemist! There are too many things to photograph - what you need is a project.
He trained to be a teacher, he fell in with a 'witch', she had divining rods, so together they visited megalithic spiritual sights, and he began to build a body of work. He felt that a series of images should form a narrative and could be accompanied by words. This belief led to an association with Kevin Crossly-Holland, an author and poet, who eventually wrote the words for Andrew's publication The Stones Remain, now both available as a printed book and an ibook.
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Landscapes of Victorian Alpine Regions (Australia) by Mieke Boynton
Last evening NDPS hosted a special presentation by the landscape photographer Mieke Boynton, from Bright, Australia. The presentation was shared with members of the Sheffield Photographic Society.
At eight o'clock about forty members of NDPS settled into their seats in the studio of Norwich Academy and a similar number from Sheffield logged in to watch on Zoom. Mieke is no stranger to NDPS, this is her third presentation to us, and it was good to share the work of such an outstanding practitioner with our colleagues from Sheffield. For Mieke it was six o'clock on a hot, summer morning, hence her summer dress, and for us it was winter with gales and rain.
Mieke took us on a landscape photographer's tour of the Australia where she lives - the Victorian High Country. She began by reminding us of the size and scope of Australia, a huge continent with an incredibly diverse geography, animal and plant life. Throughout her presentation she showed us beautiful captures of deciduous trees in autumn colours, apparently brought from England!
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Flowmotion by Rob Witworth
Well! There it was. The opening scene for the latest Planet Earth III programme with David Attenborough. On the screen at this evening’s NDPS meeting. And the man who took the film operating his laptop and presenting his flowmotion technique.
A packed house of members and guests watched in awe as Rob showed us examples of his finished work and examples of how the film was first shot. It’s difficult to find enough superlatives to describe his enthusiasm for his art, his attention to detail and his ability to capture scenes in an unforgettable way.
This was an evening of action and drama filmed in a style that could only be Rob’s. We were treated to many examples of this wonderful technique, not just Planet Earth footage but commercial footage for companies who have something to sell – now I want to fly to Greenland! I want to work in that centre of commerce in London!
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The ‘Incomplete Circle’ bu Simon Ciappara FRPS
NDPS is a long established Society. Over the last few years, we have been able to raise our profile in the photographic world thanks in large part to our programme of events. Special Presentations delivered in person or via Zoom from experts around the world. So how will an ordinary member of the Society stand up alongside our normal Special Presentation experts?
Simon, our Vice Chair, and long standing member, proved to be easily up to the task. Presenting and explaining something very close to his heart. Enthusiasm, tenacity, and commitment to his art shone through.
Of course, he began by talking of the time, long, long ago in Jamaica, where he discovered how paper was made from plants and how he began small businesses producing handmade papers which continue to thrive today.
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Fishermen to Kings - the forgotten photographs of Olive Edis
A renowned and very accomplished photographer of the early twentieth century, who took portraits of nobility including politicians, prime ministers and kings was the subject of the talk at last night’s NDPS meeting.
What is surprising (for that time) is that the photographer was a woman and her work had been largely forgotten until recently. Olive Edis set up her first studio in Sheringham, her childhood holiday “home” but she quickly became recognised as a photographer of note by high society in London.
Clive Dunn, NDPS member gave an inspiring illustrative talk of Olive’s life and followed up with the film, “Fisherman to Kings, The Forgotten Photographs of Olive Edis”. The film, written and directed by Clive Dunn, featured Rankin, the renowned fashion and portrait photographer, tracing back the history of Olive Edis and some of her work, her design and patent of the Diascope and her innovative use of Autochrome printing based on red, green, and blue potato starches to produce colour images.
Olive not only produced portraits of the rich and famous but loved taking images of fisherman back in Sheringham. All subjects were treated with the same respect and attention to detail which brought out the personality of the sitter in the photograph.
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Tales of a Storm Chaser by Chris Bell
Chris is Chief Communications Officer and Forecaster at Weatherquest Ltd, a commercial weather forecasting and analysis company based in Norwich. He is also a Lecturer in Meteorology at the University of East Anglia, lecturing on meteorological topics across Year 1 and Year 2 modules in Environmental Sciences at UEA, specifically the Atmosphere and Oceans, first year module, and Weather and Weather Applications modules in second year. He is a part time weather presenter for BBC Look East and a public speaker for Meteorology and Climate related topics.
Chris came originally from Houston in the American south but now lives in Norfolk at Foxley.
He is a 'storm chaser' and weather photographer and it is those trips to the Great Plains of America which formed the kernel of his talk. There is no doubt that he is addicted to understanding and analysing the weather, he was quick to explain that as a child of 4 he can remember being fascinated by storms and vowing that he would spend his life working with meteorology!
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Wildlife and Landscape Possibilities in Epping Forest by Peter Warne
Peter began his inspiring talk by describing the Forest which covers an area of 6,000 acres and is 12 miles north to south, 2.5 miles wide and represents the remains of an ancient royal hunting forest.
He began with descriptions of water features. First up was Highams Park, accessed from a train line from Liverpool Street or parking on the road. The drain from the lake provided photo opportunities with lots of water birds: black headed gulls, moorhens, coots, cormorants and herons. Lots of colourful birds also; parakeets and green woodpeckers. There are even lots of rats living in the area.
Then Connaught Water, on the River Ching. This area you have to drive to and it is very, very popular and there is a charge for car parking. Again, there are interesting birds - nuthatch, tree creeper, kingfishers (who fish the ditches), green and great spotted woodpeckers and grebes. In addition there are 5 pairs of breeding herons and, oddly, terrapins!
The third pond was Wake Valley Pond. From the Wake Arms roundabout the Wake Valley car park in Lodge Road is accessible. Here Peter mentioned dragon flies, the Downy Emerald, emerging in May/June. These form food for ducklings and wagtails. Also in this area is a piece of heathland, a great backdrop for dawn landscapes, grass snakes, adders and lizards.
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Undiscovered Essex by Justin Minns
Justin, a well-known photographer, long-time friend of NDPS and now a Society member, opened our 2023/24 season with a brand new presentation. Undiscovered Essex was based on his experiences gaining Licentiate and Fellow qualifications from the Royal Photographic Society.
Justin began with a short biography going back in time to when he began his career as a professional photographer. Interestingly he said that initially he wanted the qualifications only for him to be able to add letters after his name and thus gain not only kudos but an aura of professionalism which could, perhaps, further his career as a photographer. He described how ten years ago he put together his submission for a Licentiate qualification and how he achieved this through taking lots of advice. But now, with the qualification in the bag and the letters after his name, his view of the RPS qualifications changed. He found that the exercise had made him scrutinise his work more carefully. He saw that his photography was benefitting from his careful examination - there were added benefits to be had from those letters after his name!
Having achieved Licentiate he discovered that he could leapfrog the Associate level and go straight into Fellowship. And so he did. His Fellowship panel was entitled 'Undiscovered Essex'. The title of his presentation this evening.
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It's Good to Share...
Edward Russell has become the third NDPS member to have a photo selected to be Amateur Photographer’s Picture of the week (Tuesday 25th July 2023 edition) so far this year.
To take part in the competition readers simply have to post their photos on AP’s social media channels from which the editorial team selects their weekly favourites.
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Special Presentation by Inaki Hernandex-Lasa
This was the final Special Presentation for this season, and it was
delivered by Inaki Hernandex-Lasa, via Zoom, to 40 members in the Academy Studio. Inaki has been with us before, three years ago but this was a new presentation.
Inaki divided his lecture into two halves, the first about his style,
approach, and equipment and the second was a very practical
exposition of his post production techniques. It's always interesting to hear an expert talk about his tools and methodology but without doubt the post production demonstrations were riveting.
Get it right in camera! Inaki's first rule. Which means careful planning not rushing, understanding what you want the final result to be. Understand the hyperfocal distance. If you are taking several photographs set the Kelvin value to maintain consistency.
He then showed 20 examples of his work and used them to explain his processes up to the point of pressing the shutter button. Then post production using Lightroom. He began with RAW images and carefully demonstrated how he reached his objectives. A remarkable masterclass in small adjustments and short time spans to produce stunning finished images.
Perhaps the biggest lesson to learn here was: "if you get it as right as possible in camera, then the post part of the process will only take a few minutes”.
Everyone came away from this presentation with new ideas and new techniques to try.
Our thanks to Inaki
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Photographer of the Year 2022/2023
In last Tuesday night’s final, the members of the Society elected Pat Stebbings Photographer of the Year 2022/2023.
In the first part of the evening all six finalists: Dave Balcombe, David Jordan, Joan Jordan, Clive Matthews, David Powley and Pat Stebbings - each showed and talked about the 10 images they entered in the five pre-qualifying rounds that took them to the final.
After the break, the finalists presented three new images in print format and Dave Balcombe (in digital format). A members ballot was then held to select the champion photographer.
We congratulate all the finalists on the quality of photography on display at the final and throughout the season. The high standard of photography presented by our members is increasing year on year, adding to the experience of how tough this competition is to succeed.
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Light Sensitive and Landscape of Towers
This evening our presentation was from a comparatively new member of NDPS
Clive Dunn. Clive is an award-winning photographer from Norwich, specialising in creatively processed digital imagery for publishing, multi-media applications or as stand-alone fine art.
He began his working life as a Cartographic Draughtsman for the Ordnance Survey, which gave him the foundation for an enduring passion for topography and landscape. He then trained as a photographer before moving into television production, spending many years as a documentary filmmaker.
Clive's photography explores remote and under-visited areas of our countryside; forgotten, rarely trodden landscapes off-the-beaten track and beyond the obvious. He seeks out ruined dwellings and half-buried remains decayed with the passage of history while still retaining a magical atmosphere and an air of secrecy or mystery. His work also encompasses many techniques and abstract textures, shapes, and light dances. By adding distressed overlays and scratches, Clive attempts to achieve painterly digital impressions that awaken remnants of memory or fleeting glimpses of past experiences.
Clive devoted the first half of his presentation to his photographic journey and explained his love for black and white mono images which sprang from his early training in a wet darkroom and leading to an almost urbex existence seeking subject matter. All this leading, via an appreciation of the work of other photographers, such as Fay Godwin and Raymond Moore, to a book and a film about redundant churches in Norfolk - Landscape of Towers.
It was this Landscape of Towers that brought Clive to the end of his presentation. He was received with enthusiasm by members who were quick in showing their appreciation. Our thanks to Clive for allowing us to peep into his atmospheric world of images and history.
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Project Photography by Stewart Wall
This evening at the City Academy we were privileged to receive a special presentation of Stewart Wall, Project Photography.
Stewart's antecedents are impressive, MA, ARPS, a degree in photography, a Post Graduate Certificate in teaching and he is in the midst of working on a doctorate researching The Design of Documentary Photography and Community resilience. In 2021 he was awarded the Fenton Medal and was made a life member of the Royal Photographic society. All this from his beginnings as a press photographer in the 1970s.
"What I feel, not just what I see".
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Namibia by Bob Johnson ARPS
On Tuesday evening Bob Johnson presented his Namibia talk at our regular venue, the City Academy. This was Bob's third visit to NDPS but his first in person. His two previous presentations, Kingdom of The Ice Bear and Carnivores of the Serengeti, were delivered via Zoom during the pandemic.
How nice to have him in the room for the first time. He briefly mentioned that he had by now spent a year in Africa photographing wildlife, the landscape, and the people. He said that he now had a small fleet of drones as well as his usual cameras and lenses.
This was a travelogue of the visit made my Bob and his wife Peggy. A journey through the driest country in sub-Sahara Africa, Namibia. The country is named after the Namib desert, and that name, Namib, means vast place. Bob hired a land cruiser and driver for his trip and travelled from South to North in the country visiting not only the inland sand dunes and bush but also the coast, the Atlantic Ocean. And all the time he photographed amazing wildlife - enormous, fearless pelicans, colonies of seals (you could smell them before you saw them), Cape Sparrows, Egrets and Flamingos! But Bob also managed to capture lots of elephant, giraffes and took photos of both black and white Rhinos.
Not content with the wildlife he recorded the sand filled old diamond mines, the sand dunes in the light of dawn and some spectacular shots of people walking on the rims of the dunes and some lovely shots of local people from the villages with their lack of concern at not wearing much clothing and their rain dance.
A wonderfully entertaining evening of wildlife, nature, and community photography. We are once again indebted to Bob Johnson for a wonderful evening.
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