Not so august?

I have to say that “White on White” is definitely not easy. Attached are before and after of the attempt I put in to club. Confession – the after is “temperature adjusted”, screwed up on the brightness scale by about 60% and converted to black and white, then taken down for the print by 2 stops.




Does it work? We will find out next week.











Went to the final installation of the Grade 2 course the club has been running. Lying around was a print fairly similar to the idea I have been following. Spoke to one of the notables who promptly claimed ownership and said that it had got rubbished at the print night competition the previous night. Oooo-K! Good start that is. I did not press on the point, but if the print was as submitted I can think of two very good reasons why – not the least of which was the cropping as it was marked on the print I was looking at. Given that, my attempt will be lucky to get Acceptance, pushing hard for Merit.



For the open I am beginning to get a bit desperate. At this stage the breaking wave is winning – I might crop that to a 19:6 or thereabouts to take out all but the wave itself. Looking at that on-screen with the blinkers on it might just work for a HC.







The course final night was quite a good evening. In most respects. Out of the ten or so taking part most were a pretty good crew; a police forensic photographer, a retired lady whose husband has very bad Parkinson’s, a lass who is almost blind (and takes a mean photo), a couple others who are better than I am, and the rest. Well, let me limit the rest to just one gentleman. Best illustration of his attitude came toward the evening. There had been a discussion on bulb exposure for fireworks – up to 30 secs. I could not recall if the Lumix had a bulb setting so I tripped through the “snow” to the car and took it inside. No, it does not have a bulb setting; maximum exposure is 8 secs. I was just ruminating this with the person I had been talking to and a voice behind gives a sniff and says “You could not get a decent image with that. Buy a proper camera.”

UPDATE -

The two entries - both Merit. Well, not as bad as some that were rejected as not meeting "White on white" requirements.

The major objection to the vases was "over-exposed". The judge was one of the tutors from the classes and I have to say that he is right. It was not in the camera though as comparison of before (I must find out what caused the white balance to go that way...) and after. There was an intermediate which I rejected because it was too clear; the idea I had was to get the vases to "disappear". Strange.

Image of the night was without doubt presented by another C Grader. Absolute perfection as a product publicity shot; good enough for Vogue even. It will be up on the club site next month.

The April that was...

In some ways this photographing lark is a bit strange. I say that on very limited recent experience, but it is a feeling that matches with the two years I was previously involved (and competing) at club.


This last fortnight included the slides/projected images competition on Easter Monday. I had in two entries; the “privacy” one with the bowlers, and the other the Wairere Boulders picture of the interior of a “partial cave” above. Because it was Easter Monday, I was not there to hear the judge’s comments. Suffice to say that both earned H/C’s, a little to my surprise for the bowlers privacy. But, I can imagine the difficulty the judge may have had with the other.

Regulars (if they do exist) will know my rabbiting on about “minimalist” images. I set this one up as an instance of other approaches to the “minimum colour, minimum contrast” images that seem to rank in this strange offshoot of the craft.

There is another aspect to this; it comes (in my mind at least) under the heading of “realism”. It is a strange thing. One could not imagine that there could be anything more “real” than a photograph image. OK, there is also a boundary here. It lies between the “real, in the camera, in the eye” image and what can be achieved with varying degrees of processing.

The first, annoying, brush was the criticism of the waxeye image because of the “boring, dull grey” background. Yes, because that is what it was like; trying hard to rain and not quite succeeding.

The second - again I think I have mentioned this - is the “dramatic sky, shadow, dramatic landscape” legacy of the likes of Ansell Adams and his followers. Now do not get me wrong. Adams is the pinnacle of landscape photography in most quarters; he is in mine. He deserves the adulation and sincere imitation of any who take their imagery seriously.

Can you hear the “BUT” yet?

Adams’s great skill was in his ability to capture – in black and white – the colour and drama of what he was seeing. There is an additional talent of “right place, right time”. He had a great talent in the production of his images.

Right now, off on a different tack…

The probligo’s better half is a member of the local tennis club, and they have an annual Charity Day in support of the local hospice. It is very successful, and generously supported. She suggested that I contribute a print of my two “oyster catchers”. While this is by no means anywhere near competing with Adams or even some of the beginners at the camera club, it is a “good” image – I like it. SWMBO over-heard comment while it was on the table for sale, “… the sky is never that colour… too artificial…”. Sorry luvvies, it is that colour if you look; particularly through a polariser; or if you look rather than just “see”. The lovely deep cobalt blue that comes on a clear winter day when the sky has his face well scrubbed and all.

The advent of digital imaging, and the facility of processing those images, has widened the whole idea of photographic image into an art that rivals the fine arts of the past in both scope and variety. So one can project into modern photography the parallels of all the offshoots ranging from the (intentionally) surreal distortion of reality, to the quick sketch, to the monographic record, to personal impression and interpretation. A quiet couple of hours on the net will find photographic surrealism that would rival that of Ernst, Miro and Dali; impressionist use of form and colour to rival Manet, Monet and Pissaro; perhaps even the simple lines of primitivism and "child art".

I have at long last received my copy of the "approved text" for the club's course on landscape photography. One of the most stunning images in this book would likely qualify under the heading of "field colour abstract. There are essentially five blocks of colour with very little in the way of detail; blue sky, two foreground wedges of colour, and between them is a small black silhouette of forest.

And I think that is where the "BUT" arrives...

April already...

Quite an interesting month thus far.

Went to the first of the club "workshops" Tuesday week ago. A lot of faffing about, but one or two interesting bits. The four taking the course spent about the first 90 minutes introducing themselves. There was no opportunity given for the participants to introduce themselves - a pity that because I might now have the names but putting faces to them? Impossible.

Got "homework, due Thursday this week, and I flubbed about and got half of it in. There were ten frames required that I did not submit - two landscape subjects with POI shown in each of the four "thirds" corners, "golden square" corner and central. Could not find a bloody thing to fit the requirement. Submitted eight other frames that (I hope) meet the requirements of the remaining exercises... using different focal lengths etc. Examples shown...
...using different focal lengths...


... frame which works better as landscape rather than portrait presentation.



Set topic for the month is "Privacy". Could not make up my mind about either of the two below. The bowlers won for set topic and the dandelion is in for open.
The bowlers was taken at Clevedon last year. The Mrs probligo enjoys walking and decided to enter one of the SUB (Sarah Ulmer something; and look SU up in the cycling press from about 6 years back) 10km walks. Did very well, first in the 65-70 group. Ol' probligo hung around for photo ops and noticed the old codgers playing bowls next door. The catch took a bit of patience - three ends to be precise - before chance and a fair bit of sidling got everything in the right places. There is one clue which shows that it was cropped. See if you can pick it :).


The dandelion was taken on a Sunday drive not long after. Again out Clevedon way. There is a disused silo in the middle of a paddock which had some interesting colour and texture. I was walking back to the car and the dandelion caught my eye... Two frames later and the cat got up and walked away in disgust.


On the matter of "there ain't nothin new"...

Went to the library this am. Picked up a copy of a Brit photography magazine with an article about 1 minute plus exposure landscapes. Uses a ND10 filter. What was I saying? Still, there is unending possibility. Most of the ideas revolve around the "minimalist" ideas of moving water and old jetties. The ol' probligo has a few of his own. Experimentation at Easter in Opo.

Oh, May sees the first of the club special comps. I am going to put the foggy estuary in for digital image, and this one for the Maslen Cup (black and white landscape). Evil grin...