As a member of the Royal Photographic Society’s Digital Imaging Group I was asked to give some input on my successful Licentiate panel. The article was published in the group’s Accolade magazine Issue 6 on February 25th 2020
Here is the article along with the accompanying chosen images.
About my panel
After I finished the OU/RPS Digital Photography course, I concentrated on my Club images, only picking up my panel again after some nagging from OU/RPS course colleagues. My panel contains images from the course along with new images as I experimented with composition and new camera skills.
I enjoyed my Advisory Day except for it being suggested that I lose a couple of my favourite images! But overall the advice I received was excellent and after some post-processing work my panel was ready.
I did include an image from my first-ever model shoot and the Avro Vulcan flying with the Red Arrows – the first image that I ever sold!
My Favourite Image
The image of the Silver Diver on a pier overlooking the Oslo Inner Fjord was taken while we waited to fly to Kirkenes.
An A3 print of the original image is still on my study wall and re-minds me of all our subsequent visits to Oslo. It also acts as a re-minder that despite visiting Oslo since that weekend, I have yet to take an image of the statue that I like either because of the position of the boats or sunbathers!
The panel’s version has benefited from post-processing to lift the dark areas in front of the boat and to remove the adverts on the buildings.
f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 200 at 24 mm using EOS 5D Mark III
One that I would not put on the wall
Caught spray painting
I photograph street art whenever I can and asking the model to be spray painting graffiti on the shoot seemed a good idea at the time. When I look at this image now remember how much post processing it took on her arm and hand to reduce the glare.
For the panel I needed a portrait image and I was worried on the Assessment Day that this image would be the reason that I might ‘fail’.
Where I went to take my image/s
Bordeaux, Oslo and around Britain
Since retiring we pursue our passion for travel, and I take every opportunity to take photographs no matter where we are (or when.) Three images are from visits to Oslo and one from Bordeaux.
Midnight conversations at the stop
For example, after midnight in Bordeaux we were walking through a park and we passed a busy tram stop. I noticed that there were couples and small groups having conversations plus people by themselves on their phones. Then a tram passed by on the other side and I had my shot. This is the only image from two days in the city that I didn’t plan.
F/4 1/50 sec ISO 5000 at 55 mm using EOS 5D Mark III
