H.P.S.

   H.P.S.

Issue 100 November 2006

He started in the 1960s with David Bailey and has worked with all the top photographers. Most of his work is now iconic and all the top glossy magazines and Sunday supplements still use his photography today.

This is the first time I have seen him and I thought he

looked a bit like Woody Allen; in other words a bit nondescript. He was very soft-spoken and not easy to hear. He started with some of his current landscape work, not too bad but not quite up to Joe Cornish standard. He then showed us his nudes from the 1960s, still in a very low-key style of delivery. Then he showed us his images of the top celebrities and the Royals that he has photographed over the years.

This was when he came alive and started to show why he is one of the country’s leading photographers. He also revealed to us a lot of inside information; even how he "photoshopped" Tony and Cherie Blair’s photo for their Christmas card. His inside information of the stars and royals was brilliant; even the singer who he said was dull and not in the least bit interesting. He then showed us his fashion photography and it was outstanding. So all in all it was an inspirational evening.

This week I went to Latton Bush to see three photographers talk about their work. Patricia Jones from Kent, Gijs and Dini Gent from Holland. It only cost £10 for the whole day’s lecturers and it was well worth the money to see how these photographers approach their art.

I am sorry if you missed the Dutch photographers as it is too expensive to bring them to England too often. If you want inspiration then go to photographic exhibitions or, better still, try to go to photographic lectures.

Malcolm Tinn

Welcome to this issue of your Viewfinder; the last one for 2006. You will notice that it is issue number 100 and this milestone started me wondering how and when the Viewfinder started. Malcolm Tinn kindly outlined its history: the Viewfinder was started by John Sothcott in December 1991; there had been many volunteers to start one but nothing ever came of it until John actually grasped the nettle and did it. He remained editor for ten years until April 2001, when Reg Loader took over. Unfortunately, Reg could not continue as editor due to poor health and Tony Perryman took over and continued the editorship up to quite recently when I took over. So this December your Viewfinder will be 15 years old – started back in the days when film was king; I wonder if there are any members who remember (or even have retained) any Viewfinders from then? And, if so, would they like to drop me a few lines about it?

In this issue there is an article about a photographic trip to the Lake District that some members, including me, have recently been on. We have an article from Tony Hepworth with some suggestions on how to take successful flash photos and Steve Boocock questions whether digital photography is de-skilling photographers. And, as you have just seen, Malcolm Tinn outlines photographic lectures that he’s recently been to.

It is very pleasing to note just how much knowledge, talent and flair there is in club’s membership. I am always on the look out for more articles, ideas and comments on what the membership will find interesting. And you can submit them in any way that suits you: e-mail, hand-written or typed.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to putting together a bumper issue for when we return in 2007.

Paul Major

How to use flash properly in my photography has long been a mystery to me - it has always seemed to be one of the "dark arts", with no simple explanations as to how it works – that was until I read a book by Susan McCartney entitled "Mastering Flash Photography". The key is given within the first few pages and once you understand it (and I’m sure most of you already do) you’re well on your way to using flash creatively in your everyday photography.

The fact is, any modern flash unit attached to your hot-shoe (or the pop-up flash on board) will need practically no input from the user other than exposure compensation - in the same way as you would use your ambient light meter onboard the camera to compensate for very light hair or a white shirt – to achieve a satisfactory exposure. The flash fires a pre-flash immediately before the shutter opens to determine the distance to the foreground subject and the amount of light needed to illuminate it. At this point much depends on what mode you’re in:-

Aperture or shutter priority and manual: - The flash will illuminate your foreground subject but let the camera expose for the background or ambient light. Further more, modern computer controlled units will automatically dial down the flash output when ambient light levels are above a certain level, to produce fill-in flash only. If your flash unit doesn’t do this then it is simply necessary for you to manually dial down the flash exposure by 1 5 – 2 stops. The main point to understand here is that you are dealing with two exposures – one for the subject and one for the background – and they are, for all intents and purposes, acting independently.

Program or Auto: - The camera keeps the shutter speed between 1/60^th of a sec and its maximum sync speed (commonly 1/200 – 1/250sec) to eliminate the need for a tripod and to avoid camera shake. This is why you see so many flashes firing on the terraces of sporting events when light levels are low. The problem is that the flash assumes there is a foreground subject and consequently exposes for it. The camera however is unable to expose for the ambient light within the parameters set down by the flash. Result – gross under exposure.

In summary; only use on camera flash in aperture/shutter priority or manual mode, as this will give you some control over the amount of light used and will combine this with ambient light conditions.

As any experienced photographer will tell you – the light emitted from a flash gun is very harsh. To counter this there are two ways you might try to soften the light under normal conditions: -

Diffusers are translucent domes that fit snugly over the flash head and serve to give you a much softer lighting effect. Sto-Fen makes a very affordable unit at about £18 that is a very effective device. Be prepared to lose some 50% of your flash range with this type of unit – but don’t worry about exposure as your flash unit will take the diffuser into account. If you are working with popup camera flash you can cover the flash head with some paper tissue to achieve a similar effect.

Only usable on more advanced units, where the head can move independently of the body. By pointing the head towards a low ceiling you can bounce the light softly back down onto the subject. In the same way, you can use a nearby white wall; be aware that any colour on the wall or ceiling will influence the colour of light bouncing from it. LumiQuest make a variety of bounce cards that attach to the flash head and are convenient and affordable (between £12 - £20). Again, you will loose some 50% of your flash range. Both these systems are very versatile and greatly enhance the quality of light from your flash gun.

More complex ways of softening the light are available, but we are entering the world of studio photography and this is a different subject all together – over to you Malcolm!

Having now mastered your flash-gun, the question arises as to when you might use this extra light source. For example; many professional wildlife photographers will use flash for subjects out of range of the flash-gun to add that sparkle in the eyes of the subject so beloved of club judges. On subjects within range they might dial down the flash exposure by as much as 3 stops for the same effect. At this level of exposure compensation the flash is overpowered by the ambient light and is serving just to lift the main subjects lighting – but the effect can be the difference that sells the picture!

Here are some other examples of situations in which you might consider using flash:-

To freeze the motion of a nearby moving subject in low light. Ideal for sports photography, when you’re often wrestling aperture v shutter speed.
 
To lighten facial shadows for a portrait on a sunny day.

To emphasize a foreground subject on a dreary day. Be careful here though, as obvious evidence of flash will create a "phoney" feel to the shot. For this example you might want to dial in close to 2 stops of exposure compensation.
 

To light a portrait taken against a sunset or brighter background light.
 

To warm up colour or compensate for the blue cast of an overcast day on your foreground subject.

To create special effects with moving subjects when used in conjunction with a slow shutter speed.
To "paint with light". I’m not going to delve into this, so maybe someone else could take up the baton for this one?
 

To get a shot when no other light source is available – you might not want to enter the resulting image into competition though!

This article is by no means a complete course on the use of flash but I hope it might inspire you to try using it as a creative device. If you want to explore further the "dark art" of flash photography then I can recommend the book mentioned in the intro, or on the web try: -

www.planetneil.com/faq/flash-techniques.html

This site is free and has some excellent examples, as well as full explanations. Alternatively, talk to me in the bar after club.

Tony Hepworth

This isn’t an anti digital rant, as I truly believe that digital is a great tool for photographers who can benefit from it. My concern is that it seems to be making some people lazy with regard to the essential craft skills of taking photographs.

I like to visit London (and other cities) doing street photography, at busy places such as speakers corner and Covent Garden there are many photographers crowded together, most using digital cameras. I do get some funny looks using my 30 year old SLRs with screw mount Pentax lenses, but I’m very thick skinned!

With that kind of photography it is essential to keep the camera to your eye and be ready to capture the action as it happens. However, I see most of the digital users pressing the shutter button, then immediately looking at the LCD screen to see if it has come out OK. Of course, they miss a lot of the action doing that. Why do they feel the need to look at the screen after every shot? I can understand people who are not serious photographers, but some of these people have very expensive DSLRs and good lenses, they should know better!

I frequently hear digital users saying that they "can correct it in Photoshop" when they get home, which is fine, darkroom workers burn in skies etc. But what concerns me is that some seem to feel that Photoshop can solve all problems and create

masterpieces from nothing. The old saying that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear is as true with digital as with anything else.

At the studio evening I found it amusing when Malcolm mentioned that the digital workers would have to "find" the manual setting on their cameras! For a serious creative photographer it should be on manual most of the time, do you control the camera or does it control you? I wonder how little some "photographers" really know and understand about exposure. Having confidence in your knowledge and craft skills means not having to look at small screens all of the time. I do mess up sometimes and I do have some negs that have caught the moment but the exposure is bad, I learn from my mistakes for next time. At least I saw and captured the moment which I may have completely missed if I was staring at an LCD screen.

Steve Boocock

Whilst on holiday recently I lost my lens cap for my Sigma wide-angle lens. If any member has got a spare cap (78mm diameter); condition immaterial, I will happily negotiate a good price (pint & packet of crisps – that sort of thing).

Paul Major

As some of you may know, I’m currently training to be an electrician and hope to be starting my own business early next year. As a result of this I feel that it would be best for me to hand over the Programme Secretary’s job to somebody else next year. I’m working on next season’s programme at the moment which I should have finished by February or March, so it will be the 2008/9 programme that I would like to hand over. If anyone is interested please have a chat with either myself or Ivor to find out what is involved; it’s not difficult, and you do have some freedom to choose the lectures and assignment themes.

Steve Boocock

All members are most welcome to come to this year’s Christmas get-together. It’s on Thursday 14 December in the bar. Elsie Sinclair is kindly arranging some food and I do believe the bar sells alcoholic beverages…

A website that is worth a look is the Postal photo club’s site at: www.postalphotoclub.org.uk Aimed primarily at club photographers, it does show some very good images and I certainly found the site very user friendly. Take a look.

It was a fair morn; the wind was a gentle waft of Autumnal smells, and the sunrise held much promise. In fact, a perfect morning for the perfect image. There was only one thing against us: we were in cars travelling North out of Essex.

So it was that eight HPS members (in truth, seven and an ex-member) headed for the Lake District National Park for a week’s photography. We had started early and it wasn’t long before "the munchies" took hold. By then we were on the A1 and, as other seasoned travellers are well aware, this highway supports a splendid array of eateries – not least Little Chefs. It was into one of these homes of gastronomic delights that we entered for a cup of tea (called "splosh" for the rest of the week for some strange reason) and one of their Olympian (it was huge) breakfasts.

Suitably refreshed, it was on with the journey; our next stop being Swaledale in the Dales. John Thompson had suggested this location, and it was he who led the other two cars into this exceptionally pretty valley. The further North we travelled the more the cloud had built up, but as we travelled westwards the sun peeped through the clouds, allowing us the opportunity to capture an image or ten. And to allow Jo Cleall to practice her falling-over skills – a talent that she was obviously trying to perfect. She was climbing over a dry-stone wall with Graham Woolmer, Stan Chippett, Antonio Vong and Graham Chippett and very skilfully fell backwards, off the wall, landing squarely on her back. An excellent practice attempt. But there was better to come.

Sue Kennedy and myself were far less enterprising, and found a boring old gate to go through just as another shaft of sunlight hit the patchwork-quilt of dry-stone walls and a lovely little barn with red doors. The noise of the shutters’ firing was deafening, and probably put the sheep off their grass.

After a few more stops along this vale, we were back on the A66, soon crossing over the M6, and into Cumbria. We were staying in Keswick and John had found us a marvellous residence: close to the town centre, loads of bedrooms and bathrooms, vast numbers of plug sockets and a well kitted-out kitchen – what more could we want? Food. That was what we wanted; and it was found in the shape of a supermarket called "Booths" where we bought a few days’ worth of provisions along with the ingredients for a very tasty curry. Cooking was very much a group activity, with the occasional beer or glass of wine being taken to slake the thirst caused by the heat from our hectic culinary activities. After dinner, as we sat in the after-glow of the food and drink, we discussed what we wanted to do over the next week - and where we wanted to do it. Landscape photography featured quite highly…

…And so it was, the following morning (Sunday), we were up at 5.30 to the pleasant aroma of Stan burning eggs. Now, Stan proved to be an adept chef – as a later excellent spag-bog. he created proved - but he was also a consummate egg-burner. In his defence the frying pan had seen better days (probably as old as the house itself: early Victorian). It was just as well we had our resident expert washer-upper and dishwasher-packer extraordinaire, Graham (Woolmer), otherwise the frying pan would not have survived Stan’s tender treatment.

With full bellies we ventured out to Buttermere, hoping for the classic shot of those trees and the little shack…and Antonio promptly dropped his camera in the lake. He was delighted, as you can imagine. What made matters worse was the light refused to happen; staying cloudy and dull. Time for a coffee from the flask and further discussions. Even with the dismal weather, the colours were wonderful: the brilliant gold of the beech trees, verdant greens of the mosses and evergreens, and every conceivable hue of browns and beiges in between. Dazzling, when the sun shone, but still beautiful when it didn’t.

The week continued in the same vein – early starts (sometimes avoiding Stan’s eggs; sometimes not); back to the house for a brunch perhaps, and then out all day until darkness forced us indoors for dinner…and to drink beer. John was our resident beer expert (member of Camra, perhaps? – apologies for the pun), and several evenings found us having "lucky dip" beers: not knowing what we were drinking (or what strength!). This may have contributed to Jo’s next fall. Although not witnessed, it was by all accounts an unusual attempt to find the prone position in the fastest time possible. Tripping over her bed in her room, she ended up on all fours thereby losing several points on technical merit and artistic expression.

On the Wednesday, Jo, Graham (Chippett), Stan and myself walked up Great Gable, one of the many "munros" in the Lake District. We had chosen the Wednesday as the weather forecast had indicated it would be the worst day for photography (which it was). As we scrambled towards the 3000-foot peak, the clouds enveloped us, and a continuous drizzle set in. We struggled to the summit with a delightful view of no more than ten feet and a cold wind rattling our teeth and clothing.

We spent a brief few minutes eating a celebratory cheese sandwich and cup of coffee at the summit – "better than sex" was Stan’s comment on the coffee; I do wonder about him sometimes – before finding our exit route down a steep scree slope. As we lost height the clouds lifted every so often, revealing the Lakes in their Autumn livery. To the Southwest we could see Wastwater, to the West, Buttermere and to the North, Derwentwater. Fortunately, we had our cameras with us so were able to capture some of the striking scenery. It was on our way down that Jo decided to fall again and her third attempt was by far her best. One could tell that all the previous practice had obviously paid off: A trip to start, then a little run, another trip and down she went fully prone. Perfectly executed…and Stan got a photo.

Thursday the sun shone from dawn to dusk; we had chosen Derwentwater for our dawn shots and this proved a good choice as the first rays struck the mountains to the North. A little later, the morning sun reached the forested areas reflected in the water. Gorgeous. After sunrise we travelled down towards Rydal Water; each car going in different directions looking for the best locations for their images whilst the sun shone. Over dinner that night we all agreed that, with sun on it, the Lakes is a landscape photographer’s dream.

One of the advantages of the Lake District is that you can travel to any location in a reasonably short time. Nowhere is that far away. Obviously, the proof of the pudding etc. etc., and the results of the judged competitions over the next year or so will be the deciding factor. Suffice to say our shutter fingers were given lots of exercise and a happy time was had by all.

Paul Major

We had our first slide competition judged on 9 November. The judge for the evening was Vic Hainsworth and he gave the below results. As with the print competition, some good scores were given with Gordon Clark, Alan Norris, Maggie Tear and John Thompson getting 20, but it really is too soon to say who may be the front-runners.

Here is a selection of actual answers given in school examinations:

1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in Sarah Dessert and travelled by Calemot.

2. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He dies before he ever reached Canada.

3. Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.

4. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.

5. Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.

6. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates dies of an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

7. In the Olympic games, the Greeks ran the races, hurled the biscuits and threw the java.

8. Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long.

9. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The
Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out: "Tee Hee, Brutus".

10. Finally Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the same offense.

11. In midevil times most people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the futile ages was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature.

12. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removeable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the curculation of Blood. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper.

13. The greatest write of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in they year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He wrote tragedies, comedies and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Romeo's last wish was to be laid by Juliet.

14. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

15. One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the English put tacks in their tea.  Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. Finally the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay for taxis. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand". Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

16. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the constitution the people enjoyed the right to bare arms.

17. Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is noticeable in the autumn when the apples are falling off the trees.

18. Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Handel was half German half Italian and Half English. He was very large.

19. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music.

20. The nineteenth century was a time of a great many thoughts and inventions. People stopped reproducing by hand and started reproducing by machine.

21. Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbis. Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the Organ of the Species.

22. The First World War, cased by the assignation of the Arch-Duck by an anahist, ushered in a new error in the anals of human history.

23. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is in the East and the sun sets in the west.

My thanks to David Wheeler for sending me these.

 Harlow Photographic Society is affiliated to the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain through the East Anglian Federation of Photographic Society's