DI News April 2022
Lossit Bay by Kirsten Bax LRPS
Winner of the Digital Imaging Monthly Competition for March
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES 'Learn and develop together, having fun'
Dear DI members Spring is here; flowers are blooming and trees in bud. Easter will soon arrive. The attached picture " Gentle Spring (1865)" by Frederick Sandys was painted 12 years after the founding of the RPS; it was given to the Ashmolean by Captain Langton Douglas in memory of his son who was killed in action. The background context is a timely reminder of Spring in war ravaged countries. The painting was lent to the Royal Academy which currently also celebrates Whistler's " Woman in White ", Joanna Hiffernan, the artist's muse and lover. HRH Prince Charles was shown the exhibition by Rebecca Salter, PRA. I mention this because Whistler's work was not well received initially; he submitted it to the RA annual exhibition in 1862, where it was rejected. The following year it was exhibited in the Paris Salon and again rejected. This experience of rejection is akin to that of many on their artistic journeys. DI therefore organises popular mutually supportive online peer-to-peer groups for photography. More about this in later pages. Happy Easter Avijit Datta ASIS FRPS Chair, Digital Imaging digchair@rps.org 2
DI News April 2022
MONTHLY ONLINE COMPETITION The winner of our March monthly online competition was ‘Lossit Bay by Kirsten Bax LRPS, and featured on the cover. (For more information about the friendly monthly competition, including how to enter, visit www.rps.org/DIGMonComp. Keep an eye out for video slideshows of monthly competition entries on our YouTube channel.) Kirsten Bax LRPS I was very surprised and delighted to get the email telling me I had won the monthly competition. I enjoy taking seascapes and beach images particularly, although I don’t live near the sea. I had a week’s holiday on the Isle of Islay last May as we emerged from lockdown. It was wonderful to be able to spend time wandering about the island’s beaches in glorious weather, without crowds of people, taking loads of photographs. This image was taken during a beautiful warm day on a totally deserted beach. I sat in the sun, explored a bit and had a paddle. I took some straight landscape images and then put an ND 64 filter on and had a play about with ICM. I took a lot of pictures, but this was the one I liked best, to the extent I have a print on my living room wall. Its a lovely memory of a great holiday. Taken with Nikon D750, 28mm, 1/3 sec at f2.8, with some post processing in Lightroom to tweak the colours and contrast. I was lucky that the timing was just right to catch hints of the waves rippling into the shore. Thanks to everyone who voted for it. I appreciate the honour." Gobsmacked to win as I have entered this image into various competition and it hasn't got anywhere. Kirsten
Melanie Chalk DI News Editor dignews@rps.org (Many thanks to Robin Claydon and Lois Wakeman for their assistance compiling this newsletter.) DI News April 2022
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Second Place was ‘Grasses in a Vinegar Bottle’ by Cherry Larcombe ARPS
Third Place was‘Meltdown’ by Mike Cowdry 4
DI News April 2022
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS Michel
Claverie
Berkshire
Lachlan
French
Essex
James
Gifford
Surrey
David
Graham
Somerset
Jenny
Hodd
Douglas
Kenyon
USA
Mallory
Mercer
Nottinghamshire
Vignana
Ravuri
India
Patricia
Ruddle
Barbara
Sheldrake ARPS
West Yorkshire
Ross
Slade
Italy
Anthony
Wilkinson
Gloucestershire
LRPS
Cambridgeshire
ARPS
Yorkshire
MEMBER DISTINCTIONS Congratulations to members who were recently awarded Distinctions. All will be invited by Holly to submit their work and story to Accolade. David Pearson
FRPS
Visual Art
Christine Cormack Roger Newark Trish Roberts Mic Warmington
ARPS ARPS ARPS ARPS
Documentary Visual Art Documentary Visual Art
Samantha Buchanan Kathryn Hall Shing Kit Lee Stephen Purdy Aart Van Deutekon
LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS LRPS
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A CONVERSATION WITH AVIJIT We are only just getting to know our new Chairman Avijit Datta ARPS so here is a brief conversation I had with him, my aim was to find out his interests and his inspiration, photographically speaking. The impression I came away with was, of a well travelled man, with a breadth and depth of knowledge, of art, of art history and photography. And seemingly 48 hours in his days rather than our 24! ‘Good Afternoon Avijit’, ‘Hello Melanie !’ Thanks for interviewing me for the DI Newsletter, and thanks for taking over as editor and doing such a great job. Your questions have stimulated me to reflect on approaches to photography. Q. I am interested to know, when did you first pick up a camera? I first picked up cameras as a child. My late father had an Exakta with a Zeiss Tessar lens and we used to develop and print pictures together in the evening in a home darkroom. A family friend had a Rolleiflex and I can recall him projecting marvellous 120 colour slides of travels. I did quite well at university and as a reward, I was given my first Leica – a M4 with a 35 mm summilux lens, which I treasure. Summer holiday jobs meant that I was able to buy a Pradovit projector to display Kodachrome slides.
‘Fountains Abbey’ by Avijit Datta ASIS FRPS
Q. What camera is in your bag today? Is your bag heavy or light? I’m a camera (and lens) nut, Melanie – I have a variety of DSLR bodies with lenses from 8mm fisheye to 600mm telephoto, ultra macro plus tilt shift lenses. I love travelling including up mountains and have enjoyed taking pictures on the Himalayas and Andes. 6
DI News April 2022
Here is a picture of shy Vicuna grazing on the high altiplano on Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, its summit (6,263 m) is the furthest point from the centre of the earth, due to the equatorial bulge. It was worth lugging a telephoto lens and tripod. I also love scuba diving and so enjoy underwater photography. Sssh don’t tell anyone but I also have a variety of analogue cameras from a 5x4 Sinar , a Fuji GX680, both with rise and tilt mechanisms and the Leica. In mitigation, I have a drum scanner to digitise film. Q. There are many photographers out there with secret stashes of cameras that others are unaware of! Your secret is safe with us! So my next question, ‘Which genre of photography do you favour?’ That’s a hard question to answer, Melanie as like many members of DI I like to engage in different genres from wildlife to portraiture, landscape, performance and dance to macro.
‘Moonlight Dance’ by Avijit Datta ASIS FRPS DI News April 2022
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Professionally I’ve been part of teams which helped GB Olympians take part (and succeed) in the Beijing Olympics, Antarctic scientists, round the world single handed racing sailors , Everest summiteers and also the writer and comedian David Walliams swim the channel for Sport relief – still and AV photography have been instrumental in all those endeavours. Much of my work has been recorded in photobooks over the last ten years, in part stimulated by Brian Steptoe FRPS who has been a great protagonist of the medium for over a decade. Q. I think you are going to show us how well travelled you are but what are your favourite destinations for photography? First near to home… I love the human condition – I enjoy capturing events such as the Chelsea Flower show, Glyndebourne and rural life in Kent and Devon including sheep auctions. A recent project has been the dogs of Kensington, and their adoring owners. And also the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
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Top: Iestyn Davies Countertenor Glynbourne Middle: Karoke Bottom: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition by Avijit Datta ASIS FRPS 8
DI News April 2022
Q. And abroad As mentioned above, I have been lucky to travel the world for work (and pleasure). Pre pandemic, I’ve loved the Galapagos – the remoteness of some of the islands was magical; as a comparative biologist it also holds a special place in my heart. I’ve tried to encapsulate that magical feeling in the picture of blue footed Boobies in flight. I’ve been quite an adrenaline junkie and so enjoy white water rafting on the Zambezi and elsewhere. A waterproof tough camera was essential, tied firmly to my life jacket.
Q. Avijit are you currently working on a photographic project or planning one ? For many years I have been working on a project on diaspora and the preservation and teaching of indigenous identity and culture in a new land. Some years after starting the project I was delighted to see the exhibition “ Rite of Passage” on the same subject at Somerset House by the late French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui ( https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/leilaalaoui-rite-passage) . That delight was tempered three years later with sadness on learning Alaoui was gunned down and died shortly afterwards on a photographic assignment on women's rights sponsored by UN and Amnesty International in Burkina Faso. I find her life and work inspiring and sit on a panel sponsoring human rights defenders around the world. Q. So who inspires you photographically? Let’s try historically first. Gosh Melanie – who doesn’t inspire me ! To name a few - Edweard Muybridge’s ‘Human and Animal locomotion’ (1887), Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky’s pioneering work in colour photography, now in the US Library of Congress, the ‘Family of Man’ by Edward Steichen the moody photography of Alfred Steiglitz HonFRPS , Sir Don McCullin HonFRPS ’s ‘Irreconcilable Truths’ – I had the great pleasure of meeting him in the BBC Boardroom, where he told me that his favourite place to photograph was the North East of England, for its “chromic light” – you may recall his famous photograph of boys playing football on the beach at Scarborough. DI News April 2022
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Q. And who inspires you today? Giles Duley HonFRPS is a great inspiration as a humanitarian and photographer. In 2011, whilst on foot patrol with the US 75th Cavalry Regiment in Afghanistan, Duley stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). He was severely injured, losing both legs and his left arm. He was treated on the intensive care unit at my old hospital, Imperial College Healthcare Trust. During the COVID-19 pandemic he went back to the ICU where he was treated and captured images of the fight against COVID. He kindly wrote an illustrated article on this for me as the 19th of the RPS Contemporary COVID-19 series ( https://rps.org/news/groups/ contemporary/2021/january/inside-imperial-college-healthcare-nhs-trust-icus/ ). He’s subsequently founded the Legacy of War Foundation, a charity working with survivors of conflict, apposite today. He also has a TV series – ‘The one-armed chef’ – truly inspiring.
Easter Resurrection by Avijit Data ASIS FRPS
Q. How important is photography in your life today? Golly, Melanie – as you have probably gathered above, it’s an integral part of my life and my worldwide friendships. I was lucky to learn optics from a Nobel Laureate who made his own lenses, Sir Andrew Huxley OM and later art and photography Bill Brandt. I’d like to share that good fortune by developing learning to those less fortunate. I believe photography (and DI) is a glue which can join peoples of all backgrounds and nationalities to a common good of learning, development … and fun.
Thanks so much Avijit for your enlightening answers & for agreeing to be interrogated! Melanie 10
DI News April 2022
TO ALL MEMBERS We invite you to drop in for an ‘online afternoon tea meeting’ on May 21st at 16.00 (BST). It gives us all in the DI international community (39 countries and rising) the opportunity to meet up in a friendly mutually supportive environment to talk about what matters to us in DI as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows last year’s online DI survey. DI offers ten member benefits for only £9 per year, less than 20p a week (https:// rps.org/groups/digital-imaging-online/ ). You may have ideas for even more or to make the current offerings even better - we want to hear from you! We are organising breakout rooms so that members can formulate their suggestions together in a safe environment into a workable proposition. The meeting also gives DI members the opportunity to meet the DI committee and put faces to names. We look forward to meeting you on May 21st, - bring a cuppa . Avijit Datta Chair, RPS Digital Imaging dichair@rps.org Here is the Link to Register your interest to attend and receive the Zoom Invite http://rps.org/DITEATIME
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OVERSEAS MEMBER FROM THE US Professor Norm Barker, ASIS FRPS shares his photographic voyage of more than forty-two years as a Scientific/Biomedical Photographer at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. He specialises in photo-microscopy and macro photography. He is a Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society and the Biocommunications Association. His work appears in textbooks, journals and museums worldwide. Norm Barker, MA, MS, RBP, FBCA, ASIS FRPS Photography is a way of life and influences the way you see and perceive the world. I graduated from art school in 1980 with a degree in photography but knew I was not interested in making the blurry/arty type of photographs that were so popular at the time. I also realised that would be a difficult way to make a living. I was in the right place at the right time and hired right out of college and have had a long challenging career in scientific imaging. I run the Digital Imaging lab at Johns Hopkins, School of Medicine in the Department of Pathology, where I hold the unusual title of a tenured full Professor of and Art as Applied to Medicine.My work lies at the PrProfessor Barker at his Zeiss Microscope interface of art & science. One of the key components the two disciplines have in common is the practice of keen observation. This is critical for the scientist as well as the artist. The artist tries to interpret the world while the scientist tries to explain how things operate. Working in both the arts & sciences over the years has enabled me to hone my observational skills. Cultivating powers of keen examination is particularly important to the medium of photography, given its long history as a documentary tool. Clinical microbiologists use culture plates containing different types of agar based media to identify bacteria and fungi that cause infections in patients. Pathogenic microorganisms are isolated in the laboratory from clinical specimens on vmedia containing ingredients such as antibiotics, special nutrients, or dyes. These ingredients often enable the organisms to grow better or display a characteristic appearance or colour that makes them more easily identified from other organisms. These types of test are done by the millions, annually, at large academic medical centres. Culture Plates by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS 12
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With the support of my university I have been able to travel and publish twelve books and scores of scientific articles in journals, books and the popular press. My photographs are in the permanent collections of more than forty museums worldwide, including The Smithsonian, The George Eastman Museum, The American Museum of Natural History, The Nelson-Atkins Museum and The Science Museum in London. Over the years I have also contributed tens of thousands of photomicrographs to major text books and atlases. My current traveling exhibition and book “Hidden Beauty: Exploring The Aesthetics of Medical Science” shows the beauty of medicine and the human body and will be going on a museum tour in 2014-2022. My latest collaborative project has been being a curator along with colleagues from Rochester institute of Technology in New York to produce a beautiful traveling exhibit entitled: ‘Images from Science 3’
https://images.cad.rit.edu/gallery2019.html
Fossil Red Coral 10 times magnification: These beautiful fossils are found in Indonesia and are characterised by these tiny flower-like forms. They are highly valued and used in many different types of jewellery. The original corals were alive in reefs during the Miocene epoch, more than 20 million years ago. The spaces left by the living part of coral were replaced with deposits of agate. The carbonate skeleton of the corals were later dissolved and replaced by silicates, rich in iron and manganese. This specimen was cut and polished adding to its jewellike quality. Image by Norm Baker ASIS FRPS DI News April 2022
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This cross-section of an ammonite has been polished to show the internal chambers and the minerals deposited within them. The grey is mudstone, the white is calcite, and the brown is barite. The latter two are one of the most common pairs of minerals found in fossils. Calcite, the more usual, is invariably deposited first, with barite following it and often replacing it. Note the black and white tubular structure running along the dorsum of the ammonite. This is the siphon, the organelle responsible for maintaining the proper proportion of fluid and gases in the chambers in order to keep the animal upright. Image by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS
Araucarioxylon arizonicum: The lavenders, yellows, and reds in this specimen are typical of the rainbow wood from the Petrified Forest National Park of Arizona. The red and yellow are produced by large particulate forms of iron oxide, the yellow being limonite and the red being hematite. The purple hue comes from extremely fine spherules of hematite distributed throughout the quartz matrix, and not from manganese, as has sometimes been suggested. A well-defined pocket of fungus appears in the lower right corner of this cross-section of Araucarioxylon arizonicum, the most common of the fossil trees found in the Petrified Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. Image by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS 14
DI News April 2022
Dinosaur Bone: This specimen was found in the Morrison Formation, where dinosaur remains are prevalent. The age of this geologic formation corresponds to that of the middle part of the dinosaur period, the Jurassic, when there were no other very large animals. Finally, the bone itself is five or six times the thickness of the thickest long bone in an adult male human and, therefore, it had to have come from a very large beast indeed. Contrary to all appearances, the red structure within the quartz-filled medullary cavity is not a nutrient artery. Soft tissue rarely becomes fossilised, and when it does, it is rarely replaced by quartz. The red colour comes principally from hematite, an iron oxide. The bone in the lower right is metaphyseal bone, also called spongy bone, with blue chalcedony between the spicules. Image by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS
The Plancenticeras meeki, at 30 times magnification: This photograph shows ammonite shell under high magnification. Specimens such as this are sold for jewellery under the name amolite. Image by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS DI News April 2022
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Placenticeras intercalare, at 5 times magnification: This early fossil ammonite shows the suture marks that have formed on the animals outside shell. Suture patterns of an ammonite Placenticeras intercalare. The inside of the shell is divided into a chambered part and an unchambered part. The body of the animal occupied the unchambered part, or living chamber. The chambered portion of the shell was divided by partitions called septa. The contact of these septa with the external shell is called a suture. It is from the Late Cretaceous period and from The Bear Paw Formation, McGrath, Alberta Canada. The ammonite lived throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of history, 146–203 million years ago. Image by Norm Barker ASIS FRPS
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DI News April 2022
PEER-TO-PEER ZOOM GROUPS We are pleased to have received enthusiastic support for our suggestion of developing peer support groups within Digital Imaging. The concept is based on sound evidence, and involves groups of between 6 and 10 individuals coming together for enjoyable, stimulating, supportive discussion aimed at improving members’ photography. We now have 5 groups set up, in two critique groups each member brings an image to each session for discussion; in two processing groups each month one member offers a RAW file on which all members work then share their results (this is NOT limited to any particular software package); and one group will be critiquing members’ panels (this is not aimed primarily at distinction panels, but collections of images for any purpose). We still have a few spaces available in our groups, so if you would like to know more email me at digmem@rps.org
Link to the Event DI News April 2022
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A MEMBER’S LOCKDOWN JOURNEY
By David Lane During the last two years, we have all widened our social interactions, through the wonderful world of Zoom. I have only ever met David in a Zoom window, but we have shared many varied workshops together and I always look for his name in the lectures, we have all enjoyed. His is a constant and familiar face in the sea of faces, I have come to admire David, enjoy his questioning, his generosity for sharing his knowledge and advise and for his support for the RPS, DIG and me personally. I thank him for being so willing to share his story with me, without too much arm twisting! The Images shown are David’s Favourites. Two years ago, I was a hobbyist photographer who had been a member of a camera club for about 4 years, but I had never really stretched myself as an image maker. That all began to change on 23rd March 2020 when everything I normally did stopped overnight. No family visits to see children and grandchildren; no outings to see shows which we had been doing a couple of times a week; no voluntary work; no certainty about what was going to come in the days and weeks ahead; my camera club deciding to close down until September - a bleak and familiar tale for us all. With a few of my fellow club members, I started exploring this strange beast called ‘Zoom’ and suddenly a whole range of new opportunities opened up. I discovered the RPS was hosting a series of talks on-line, and they were free! I was suddenly exposed to extraordinary photographers working in genres I had never even considered. I’ve seen 47 RPS talks to date. Importantly, these started to challenge me and my work. I realised very quickly that I would have to do something radical if I wanted to be more than an average club competition photographer.
The only pre-pandemic image is of Tayo Aluko, an activist actor who I booked to perform in our local community centre in 2017. It’s a grab shot, but I love his intensity! 18
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These two street images were taken in Nottingham in late March when I had a day out with a couple of friends.
I joined the RPS in mid 2020. Until then, my Photoshop skills extended to no more than putting a stroke line around an image - I wanted to learn more, but found deciding where to start quite intimidating. By good luck, a colleague told me about St Celia of Arundel ARPS (DIGIT 92 - p14). Her wonderful and patient guidance put me on a journey of discovery that continues to this day (and will into the future). I’m enjoying meeting so many lovely people and learning so much from all the other RPS workshops. At the time of writing, I’ve attended 86 RPS workshop sessions, all with outstanding leaders. They've taught me how to print my own images; how to design and build my own website; how to conceive, design and produce photo books; and much more. The problem I now have is I often know I can do something, but can’t remember exactly how thank goodness for YouTube!
Sport has always been an important subject matter, and this hill climb image was taken at the first event I photographed after lockdown one. I’ve since revived my other sports photography, and the rugby image, on the following page, was taken at an outing organised by my camera club (Rolls Royce Derby Photographic Society). DI News April 2022
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When lockdown number (whatever) started in January 2021, I set myself the challenge to achieve an LRPS distinction that year. I didn’t know what I had let myself in for! Fortunately, the resources provided on the RPS website are very clear, and explain exactly what is needed to be successful. My distinction journey started with fellow club members' advice, leading on to attending RPS online advisory and assessment days, firstly as an observer, then as a participant. All the time I was listening to the advice and comments made about the images which had been submitted. As a result, I kept refining and improving my panel. I had an extremely useful 1:1 with Stewart Wall ARPS which gave me the confidence to make my submission.
The last, the Derby County image combines 3 of my favourite subjects, people, sport, and street. This protest march in January was a hugely significant event for the city, and for the club I have supported for over 40 years. I got loads of great images in a couple of hours and produced my very first photobook from some of them. 20
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I was delighted to be awarded my Licentiate in September. It’s a cliché, but my personal LRPS journey has been far more important to me than the final result (if you believe that you’ll believe anything)! The RPS, and all its wonderful speakers and teachers have helped me to look, see, and make images in a completely different way. Now, I’m exploring subjects and opportunities in my own way, trying new techniques, and hopefully copying the ideas of others less often. I would not have started this journey if the RPS had not adapted to the pandemic so quickly and creatively. I have learnt so much from extraordinary photographers from across the UK, and the world - people whose work I might never otherwise have seen. Thank you RPS and everyone involved in engaging with the members. I for one hope the online programme will continue long into the future! David Lane LRPS www.davidlanephotography.co.uk
The latest edition of DIGIT No 92 Is available now, read it by following the link in the email message announcing this newsletter.
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RHS BOTANICAL ART & PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW REPORT Along with Deborah Loth, I was invited to attend the Opening of the RHS Portfolio and Botanical Art Exhibition at the Sacchi Gallery, to view the wonderful panels of work. The botanical art was truly amazing, such artistry from very talented artists. The portfolio panels were incredibly varied and not only showed flowers but fungi and trees as well. Very hard to pick a favourite, the judging panel must have a very difficult task deciding the medals. It is thought that, three of the successful medal winners were inspired to enter after watching the DIG presentation, in collaboration with the RPS, that was run earlier this year. I personally know of two RPS members who were awarded medals, Alan Bousfield ARPS, a Silver and Paul Mitchell FRPS, a Gold Medal and Best in Show. Both were first time entrants and must be thrilled with their results. We are in talks with the RHS to organise another inspirational talk, followed by an online assessment and critique day for those interested in getting some initial feedback, before taking the leap and entering a Panel. Update to follow! I invited Alan, a successful Silver Medal winner to tell us his story…..
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ALAN BOUSFIELD’S STORY On the 15th January 2022, Melanie Chalk had organised a DIG zoom presentation called “Plants, Panels and Passion with Polina Plotnikova and Sian Tyrrell”. So, I tuned in to see what it was all about, and found it was about the Photographic side of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Botanical Art & Photography Show. Most of us will either know or have seen Polina’s images of flowers using ICM or those past their best, what you may not know is, that she has done extremely well over the years and is now one of the judges. Sian works for the RHS and one of her many rolls is to organise the photographic side of this exhibition. There are several single classes, but the main one is for a cohesive panel of 6 images with a very strong botanical bias. I had a panel of 6 Wild Orchids that I had put together for a camera club competition a few years ago, so perhaps this would meet the criteria. You had to send your 6 images as PDI’s, how you would like the panel displayed and a brief description about how your images meet the brief and what equipment you used, similar to RPS Distinctions process. Your images and proposal are then assessed by the judges and if they deem your images meet the criteria of the competition and are the best examples, you may be lucky enough to receive an email saying you have been shortlisted and to send your prints to the Saatchi Gallery for display in the RHS Botanical Art & Photographic Show. I received one of those emails! Orchids are a protected species, so you are not allowed to damage the plants and definitely not pick these lovely flowers. So, all photography must be done at the location in the weather conditions of the day. People say taking pictures of flowers is easy as they don’t move, which is partly true, but the flowers move in the lightest of breeze. When you look closely at an orchid there may be some slight defects or the way the flower stalk is arranged may not make the best image, so you need to find the ‘best looking flower’ to start with. But then you start looking at the proximity of other flowers and whether the background can be isolated to prevent distractions. To assist in getting all the flower in focus and the background totally out of focus, I used a process called focus stacking. In simple terms you set your macro lens to wide aperture say f5.6 and focus on the nearest part of the flower, you will notice that there is a very shallow dept of field and only a small part of the flower is in focus, take an image. You now need to select the next slice of the flower, then the next and so on. What you are trying to achieve is a number of ‘in focus’ slices of the flower from front to back. Instead of looking at individual slices you combine all the parts in focus together so that the whole flower is in focus. To assist me in this process I use a small device called a CamRanger https://camranger.com/ and some software called Helicon Focus to process the images and make my life easier. If during the process of taking a stack of say 25 images, the flower moves slightly in the breeze, all you can do is start again. DI News April 2022
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On Friday evening, arriving at the Saachi Gallery, you are first taken through two rooms containing some fantastic Botanical Art displaying minute detail using coloured pencils, watercolours and a variety of other art materials before moving into a third room where the fifteen chosen photographic panels are on display. If your work has been selected to be displayed in the Gallery, the judges will have made their selection of which panels of work are awarded the prestigious Royal Horticultural Medals, Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver, and Bronze, which you may have seen on the television at the Chelsea Show.To my astonishment and surprise a RHS Silver medal was placed next to my panel of Kent Orchids. Alan Bousfield ARPS
Thank you Alan for writing about your experience when entering this prestigious Competition and sharing your beautiful orchid images. You were very proactive following the DIG Presentation and it sounds like you found the process easy to enter and many congratulations on your success. Even Medal winners receive further feedback, pointing out any negative aspects, as to why they were not awarded a higher award. It seems to be a very positive experience, Below are the links to the Show and info for those who might be interested to enter in 2023! The SHOW open until April 29th HOW TO ENTER IN 2023 Also Alan is leading an ORCHID FIELD TRIP at Samphire Hoe Dover on May 1st 24
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RPS DISTINCTIONS The dates for assessments for the first half of 2022 are on the RPS website so if you intend to apply, don’t leave it till they are all booked up. This page allows you to see links to assessments for all distinctions and genres (not just LRPS): Assessments. The Distinctions team is offering in-person assessments at Bristol, and has resumed live streaming the assessments (except for photobooks) now technical problems are fixed. Observers can book here (tickets not released for April at the time of writing): Watch assessments.
Find out more: Each of the pages below includes handy links to guidelines and genres for distinctions, and a “how to apply” document: Licentiate (LRPS) Associate (ARPS) Fellowship (FRPS) The Photobook genre, available for all distinctions, has its own special guidelines and submission process (as opposed to an LRPS, ARPS or FRPS submission in book form). You can find out more here: Photobooks. Assessments are offered in April (sold out) and next in October. You might also like to see a recording of a recent Zoom talk hosted by Stewart Wall which is both informative and inspiring. And don’t forget, as well as projected and printed images, you can also apply for a Film, Digital and Multimedia Distinction at any level (submissions by July 30th), and also a written Research Distinction: Film And Research. To help you prepare, you can request a 1:1 portfolio review – an online session with a panel member appropriate to your genre/distinction, but be aware there will be a waiting list of a month or so. (Currently, 1:1 statement of intent reviews are not being advertised.) Some regions are offering Advisory Days in person and online – you can search for these on the website using the link. You can generally attend as an observer if you aren’t ready to step up yet. In addition, some Chapters and Regions offer online Distinctions Study Groups. You can also find these by searching the website. If you missed any of the excellent Distinctions Live talks, you can catch up here. website. If you missed any of the excellent Distinctions Live talks, you can catch up here. The ever-growing Facebook Group RPS Distinctions **Official Group** has over 3,900 members, and is a civilised venue to ask questions, share your successes – and disappointments – and ask for critique or expert advice on your proposed 26
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portfolio. If you aren’t sure which genre to apply for, you can post 6 images (plus your SOI if appropriate) for moderator advice. Accolade, which celebrates Digital Imaging members’ Distinctions successes, is useful for insight into the process in many different genres and at all levels. Issue 10 of Accolade is now available. All issues of Accolade can be found on the Digital Imaging website: DIG Accolade.
DIGITAL IMAGING EVENTS & LISTINGS Although some real-life (as opposed to online) events have been organised, they still may be disrupted by the COVID pandemic. So check on the events page or with the event organiser for the latest status of any event. There are more events in the pipeline. You can sign up to receive our events listing email at bit.ly/ RPSDIEvents. And if you’d like to lend a hand, Centres need volunteers to help with Zoom events, so contact Lyn Phillips (digsecretary@rps.org) to get involved. Please check that you haven’t already registered before you book so as to avoid duplicate bookings. Click on any of these ads to visit the event page:
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SIG-LINK Clicking on any of these ads will take you to the RPS Events page where you can find more information about events from other Special Interest Groups (SIGs):
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DI News April 2022
DIGITAL IMAGING DISCUSSION GROUP If you’re feeling a bit isolated and would like to hang out and chat about photography, please drop by Digital Imaging on Facebook where you can also ask – and answer - questions. You’ll need to join it before you can participate, but the advantage is that it’s a closed group open only to Digital Imaging members. It’s especially useful if you are experiencing FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out - as a number of useful things often show up there first.
THE RPS WEBSITE For guidance from the RPS on its website basics, visit https://rps.org/newwebsite. For detailed information on setting up your profile and how to set up a gallery, visit https://rps.org/media/i3aaf51z/myrps-editing.pdf. The RPS maintains a page with updates to COVID-19 issues here: https://rps.org/ covid-19. For everyone’s convenience, we include this list of shortcuts to the main Digital Imaging pages at the end of each newsletter. Digital Imaging website shortcuts: Digital Imaging Home page www.rps.org/DIG Membership www.rps.org/DIMembership Committee www.rps.org/DIGCommittee News www.rps.org/DIGNews Monthly Competition www.rps.org/DIGMonComp Accolade www.rps.org/DIGAccolade Print Circle www.rps.org/DIGCircle AGM www.rps.org/DIGAGM Print Exhibition www.rps.org/DIGExhibition Projected Image Competition www.rps.org/DIGPDI Tutorials www.rps.org/DIGTutorials Publications www.rps.org/digpubs There are links to all the Centres from the Digital Imaging Home Page. The three members-only links (DIGIT Archive, Accolade and Welcome Page) are to be found in the email message announcing this newsletter. The RPS Digital Imaging constitution can be downloaded HERE. You can subscribe to our events listing email here: bit.ly/RPSDIEvents. DI News April 2022
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