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NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018
Salisbury Cathedral by Tony Oliver ARPS
Welcome Welcome to the Southern Region Newsletter for August 2018. We’ve had a busy and interesting summer around the Region. On the 10th June we held the Southern Region Speaker Event showcasing five fascinating speakers, all with diverse talents. With all the wonderful weather we’ve been enjoying, we held a number of
Photowalks. Read Paul’s report about his recent Portland Photowalk. DIG Southern hosted their quarterly meeting with a Lightroom workshop from Janet Miles LRPS, CPAGB, AFIAP, BPE1. Jana went to the event and summarises some of the reasons for trying out Lightroom. In this newsletter you’ll also find an updated list of events that the Region and SIGs are holding for the remainder of the year and a call out for volunteers for the Region. Best wishes, Paul Cox ARPS Regional Organiser, Southern Region, The Royal Photographic Society
Southern Region Speaker Event, June 10th, Winchester
Report by Paul Cox ARPS
I would like to express my thanks to all the speakers, Richard Earney FRPS, Guest Speaker Graham Harrison, James and Hazel Frost, Paul Mitchell and our President, Robert Albright for their contributions. It really was a super and memorable day for everyone. My thanks equally extend to all those who attended and for the very positive feedback I have received about the event and the speakers. We organised this event as a thank you to all our members. Following its success, we are looking to organise a similar day every two years. The next one will, hopefully, be in 2020.
Portland Photowalk, August 18th, Portland
Report and photos by Paul Rigg LRPS Â 9 members and guests enjoyed a varied afternoon centered on Portland Bill in Dorset. The group captured the rich industrial archeology, natural history and landscape on offer on Portland, with the bonus of sport climbing and cliff diving. Despite the light not being perfect light and an abundance of sightseers, we still
managed to produce some memorable images. The photowalk flagged up many future possible projects that will hopefully be part of the Southern Region plan in the near future – watch this space.
Lightroom Workshop, DIG Southern, June 24th, Ringwood Report by Jana Murray I’d been mildly curious about Lightroom for a while. Many photographers swear by it. Yet, despite paying for the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography monthly plan (which includes Lightroom), I’d never once opened
the
programme.
Adobe
Bridge
and
Photoshop suited me just fine, thanks. Then, when I saw that the DIG Southern Quarterly Meeting was hosting a Lightroom workshop from Janet Miles LRPS, CPAGB, AFIAP, BPE1, my curiosity finally got the better of me and I signed up for it. And I wasn’t the only one interested. The event was very well attended, and enjoyable, with Janet sharing some general tips after the Lightroom workshop on printing, textures and layer masks.
If you are not already using Lightroom, here are some of the reasons Janet suggests you may wish to try it out: Images can be imported and deleted inside the programme. It’s easy to view and organise your photos. Edits are automatically saved with no degradation. You can easily cut and paste settings if you have photos that need the same edits, saving time. You can create Collections, along the same lines as iTunes Playlists. Janet also demonstrated how to use Lightroom in some detail. By the time I left I was armed with all the information I needed to try it out at home. I spent some time playing around in the programme but decided it wasn’t for me. The workshop satisfied my curiosity but I am going to stick with Adobe Bridge and Photoshop for now. We'd love to know what photo editing software you use, whether you prefer Lightroom or Photoshop and your reasons why. Drop me a line at southerneditor@rps.org and we will publish your responses in the next newsletter.
Events for your diary We have an exciting set of events planned for the rest of the year including a really special Photowalk in Salisbury and, of course, our AGM and meet the new Chief Operating Officer in October. Our final Advisory day of 2018 will be held at Old Basing Village Hall in Basingstoke from 1000 to 1600 on the 4th November. We are fully booked for panels but have plenty of space for spectators. If you are thinking of submitting an LRPS or ARPS panel, this is a great opportunity to watch and learn as others receive feedback on their panels. Date and Location
Event
9th September 2018
Distinctions Advisory Day – ARPS &
The Fishbourne Centre, Chichester, PO18 8BE 23rd September 2018
LRPS. Panel entries full, spectators welcome South East Documentary Group Meeting
Tangmere Village Hall, PO20 2HS
Guest Speaker David Fletcher
24th September 2018
Southern Documentary Group Bi-
Rownhams Village Hall, Nursling,
Monthly Meeting
Southampton, SO16 0YL
1930 to 2200
30th September 2018
Photowalk with Paul Rigg – Harnham
Middle Street, Salisbury SP2 8LR 7th October 2018 Portland DT5 2EN 11th October 2018 The Victoria Arms, Old Marston,
Meadows, Salisbury, meet at 1600 Introduction to Portland with Diana Wyn, Landscape Group Developing our Personal Documentary Projects – Workshop by Graham Wilson, Documentary Group
Oxford, OX3 0QA
1430 to 2000
21st October 2018
Southern Region Annual General
Fryern Pavilion, Chandlers Ford SO53
Meeting, 1100 to 1200
2LE
21st October 2018
Meet the new RPS Chief Operating
Fryern Pavilion, Chandlers Ford SO53
Officer, Mike Taylor, following the
2LE
AGM, 1200 to 1300
4th November 2018
Distinctions Advisory Day – ARPS &
Old Basing Village Hall, Basingstoke,
welcome, 1000 to 1600
RG24 7DA 18th November 2018 Tangmere Village Hall, Tangmere, PO20 2HS
LRPS. Panel entries full, spectators
South East Documentary Group Meeting - Guest Speaker, Mo Connelly 1000 to 1300
Mount cutting workshop with Longridge Mount Cutters
November 2018 Venue and date to be announced
1000 to 1600
Good Picture 2018 – Imaging
8th December 2018
Deconstruction
University of Westminster, Regent Street, London, W1B 2HW
1000 to 1600
For full details of these, and other events, please go to our website by clicking below.
Southern Region Events
Salisbury Photowalk
Salisbury Cathedral by Tony Oliver ARPS
Paul Rigg will be hosting his next Photowalk on Harnham Meadows in Salisbury on Sunday 30th September, meeting at 1600 on Middle Street. It will involve a leisurely stroll of about 1 mile on flat ground along the River Nadder, taking in the views made famous by John Constable. There will be opportunities to take great shots of the river and, of course, the inimitable Salisbury Cathedral. They will end up at the Old Inn to discuss the walk and review the memorable shots captured. This is a free event to both members and non-members.
AGM and Mike Taylor Don’t miss the Southern Region’s Annual General Meeting on 21st October where you will hear from the three officers, Regional Organiser, Secretary and Treasurer, on the performance of the Region for the 12 months prior to the meeting. As happens every year, all three officers’ posts are up for election/re-election, so if you think you would like to volunteer for one of the officers’ positions please email Paul Cox at southern@rps.org for a role description and nomination pack. After the AGM our new Chief Operating Officer, Mike Taylor, will be in the hall to introduce himself, speak about his role and meet members. This is your opportunity to meet and hear first-hand from the man responsible for the future of the RPS and the vision for the society. Please book your place via the event page on the website. Places are limited to 60.
Members Print Exhibition The deadline for our members’ print exhibition has been extended to the first half of 2019 to allow more time for members to prepare and submit their prints. Each member can submit up to 4 prints on any subject. Entries should be mounted, size 50 x 40cm. More details about how to enter will be provided in the next newsletter. You can also keep an eye on the website.
Longridge Mount Cutting Workshop We are extremely pleased to announce that the mount cutting workshop that was unfortunately cancelled in February this year is being re-planned for November 2018 (date and venue to be finalised). This workshop is an absolute must for anyone wanting to learn how to present images, either mounting and framing for your own hanging pleasure or for competition, exhibition or RPS Distinction Panels. With an initial hands-on demonstration in the morning and a number of workshops planned for the afternoon, there will be a plethora of information and activity to engage with. You will also experiment with the Signature; said to be the ‘Gucci’ of mount cutters, versatile for left and right handers, with specialised blades and a specific, supportive cutting medium. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience mount cutting and to learn about mounting your images effectively and with panache. Keep an eye on our events page on the RPS website for more information on date, time and workshop organisation.
Foto Fest South 2018 We will be attending Foto Fest again this year and would like to invite all our RPS members to visit our stand. We are offering a 10% discount on tickets using the code RPS10.
Volunteers Wanted Have you ever considered volunteering with the RPS? We are currently looking to boost our volunteer group with members who would like to play an active role in the organisation of Southern Region events, advisory days and workshops. If you think you would like to give some time to the RPS as a
volunteer, then please get in touch. We don’t expect volunteers to give up lots of time, or effort, just help out with events and maybe idea generation and become a little more involved with the RPS organisation in the region. We are also actively seeking volunteers to take up the specialist role of Social Media Editor. If you think you may be suitable for the role and would like to find out more, or you would like to be a general volunteer, please contact the Regional Organiser, Paul Cox, either by email or via his mobile 07748 115057.
Southern Member Q and A Paul Cox ARPS Interviewed by Jana Murray Did you know that the Southern Region has almost 1000 members and is the largest in the Society? We'd like to get to know each other a little better and, to help us along the way, will be featuring a member Q and A in every newsletter. Where better place to start than with our Southern Organiser, Paul Cox ARPS, who tells us about his photography interests as well as his role in the society and volunteering. If you’d like to be featured in the next newsletter, please contact Jana at southerneditor@rps.org Q. When did you first become interested in photography? A. My interest in photography was piqued by the photographer we engaged to shoot my marriage to my first wife in 1980. I have distinct memories of how she organised people (and kids) and managed to obtain some really beautiful images. From that experience I invested in an Olympus 35mm and set about destroying many reels of film. I didn’t get seriously involved with photography until the late 90s when I finally decided I really needed to understand this phenomenon wrapped up in an enigma; so enrolled on a couple of short courses and ended up taking a degree in photography.
Q. What do you like to photograph? A. I like the processes involved with the documentary genre, which takes me into many aspects of image making. I particularly like taking documentary series based on people and/or architecture, but I also have a penchant for long exposure waterscapes and abstracts that can be derived from those types of images. Â Q. Can you share three of your favourite images and tell us the idea behind them.
This is from a series I did for the Hampshire/Southampton Fire Service. It’s a favourite because it’s emotional, evocative, humble and progressive all in one image. The subject was one of only two firewomen in the Southampton district at the time and this image evokes her pride, strength and femininity in a masculine environment.
This is from a series called ‘Children With Hobbies’. The series was about children who had serious hobbies away from any type of screen and was a comment on the way children from 3 years to their late teens are besotted with computer games and social media, burying their heads in screens of all descriptions. This is a 6-year old girl whose hobby was The Brownies. In the series I photographed each subject with the same backdrop and with a contrasting adult-esque pose.
This is from a series called ‘Coast’ where my interpretation is beach-front or promenade beach-ware shops that have other purposes, like ice cream parlours. This image is a complete contrast to what you would expect to see outside one of these shops, which would normally be children with parents, but here are pensioners deciding what to buy, and a disabled scooter driver to complete the scene. Q. What advice would you give someone preparing a panel for ARPS? A. The first consideration I would strongly suggest is to read the distinction advice guide on the RPS website. You’ll get a good appreciation of the process from that document. Then, once you have decided that you want to go for an ARPS, treat the process as a project. Decide on your subject, research your subject, try to stay emotionally detached (easier said than done) and take your time – an ARPS is not something that can be achieved in a few months. The next thing is the statement – part of the subject decision process is to write a statement. The statement is probably the most important part of the APRS and is the element by which the submission is judged, i.e. “does the submission meet the statement”. Keep it brief and tight with no room for interpretation. Statements that are too open can be misinterpreted by the assessors, bringing an element of confusion and chance to the assessment process – something the applicant does not want to happen. Next is don’t be afraid to revise; periodically stand back and take a look at your
project and if it’s not working revise it. Last but not least, take advice, speak to people who hold the distinction, ask Head Office for help with a mentor. Give yourself every opportunity available for a successful outcome, but don’t be disheartened if the outcome is not successful first time around. Always remember that any criticism is not personal but, at the same time, any two people will give a different opinion. Q. What is your vision for the Southern Region? A. In short, my aim is to step up our engagement with the members, improve inclusivity, increase our reach and develop our offering to the members. The Southern Region covers a vast geographic area – Bognor Regis in the East, Bridport in the West, [almost] Reading to the north, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, with approximately 1,000 members. My objective is to make the Region more accessible to all members. My vision is to bring the Region to all parts, not just the main conurbations. We have begun this process by organising our Distinctions Advisory Days each year in [roughly] the four areas, North, South, East and West of the Region, choosing a different location in each area each year, if possible, so as to further improve accessibility. We have begun a volunteer recruitment drive to, hopefully, attract volunteers from the four areas in order that we can organise events closer to the members. More volunteers will lead to an increase in ideas for engagement, which will naturally evolve into more members taking part. Q. Why did you choose to volunteer as the RPS Southern Region Organiser? A. Quite simply, I believed that (given my previous experience - business, family and life) I could add value to the organisation and administration of the Region. Fortunately, the people on the Region’s committee thought so too, and the rest is history. Q. Why would you recommend volunteering and what roles are currently available? A. Volunteering in the Region gets you involved with the RPS at a different level. You have a voice in the region, you get to help out with events and the organisation of the Region, you get to represent the Region/RPS at events and your camera club (if you belong to one), and you get to see how the RPS works, nuts and bolts. It’s really interesting and rewarding, and challenging. And, it doesn’t take up a lot of your time, unless you want it to. As the saying goes – the more you put in, the more you get out.
At the minute we are looking for volunteers to take up the following roles: Social Media Coordinator Region wide Volunteers Q. What in essence makes a good photo? A. That is a $64 million question. As a Documentary Photographer my interpretation of a good photo will be completely different to, say, a Landscape Photographer, or a Wedding Photographer, etc. However, I come from the school of thought that believes that images should be printed to be appreciated, not just left on your hard drive, or your camera’s (or phone’s) memory card. So, my test is to ask myself the question “would I print and hang or display an image”. If the answer is ‘yes’ then that to me is a good image. If the answer is ‘no’ then I leave it in storage for another time – because many is the time that I have looked into my back catalogue and seen an image with fresh eyes and decided that with a little help it would be a good image – to print. And the answer the follow-up question is, yes, I do print a lot of my images.
Out and About in the Region Danebury Hill, near Stockbridge, Hampshire Jana will be contributing a series of blogs about special places to visit and photograph across the Southern region. Click below to read her first blog about Danebury Hill in Hampshire.
Danebury Hill Blog
Regional Contacts Regional Organiser
Paul Cox ARPS
southern@rps.org
Southern Secretary
David Ashcroft LRPS
southersecretary@rps.org
Southern Treasurer
Bhupinder Ghatahora ARPS
southerntreasurer@rps.org
Area Coordinators
Basingstoke
David Ashcroft/Bhupinder Ghatahora
Emails as above
Bournemouth & Dorset
David Peckham
davepeckham@mac.com
Channel Islands
Eric Ferbrache ARPS
rpsciorganiser@gmx.com
Portsmouth & East Hants
Martin Silman
southernevents@rps.org
Salisbury & South Wilts
Paul Rigg LRPS
paulrigg@outlook.com
Southampton & South Hants
Paul Cox
southern@rps.org
Specialist Volunteers
Web Editor
Paul Gilmour ARPS
southernweb@rps.org
Publishing Editor
Jana Murray
southerneditor@rps.org
Social Media Editor
Position vacant
Volunteers
Salisbury & South Wilts
Anthony Topham
atopham9@gmail.com
Southern
Paul Berkeley LRPS
info@sabreswitch.co.uk
Regional Special Interest Groups
Documentary Group (main)
Mo Connelly LRPS
mmm.connelly@gmail.com
Documentary Sub Group (Chichester)
Janey Devine FRPS
docse@rps.org
Digital Imaging Group
Barry Senior (Hon FRPS)
digsouthern@rps.org
Landscape Group
Jim Souper
landscapenews@rps.org
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