Photonews 2 Winter 2014-15

WCC Photonews: Digital Edition 2

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Photonews

Worcestershire Camera Club

Winter 2014-15


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Contents

Chairman’s View (Paul Mann ARPS CPAGB) Page 3

Editor’s Corner (Stewart Bourne ARPS) Page 4

The Perils of Early Photography Page 5(Bob Oakley CPAGB)

Full Circle (Stewart Bourne ARPS ) Page 7

Deteriorating Vision (Alex Isaacs LRPS) Page 10

The Contemporary Group Page 11(Clive Haynes FRPS and Tessa Mills FRPS)

Analysis of Judging (Dr E R Sethna FRPS) Page 15

Digital Group Review (Martin Addison FRPS) Page 29



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In case you missed it, we have just had Christmaswhich means that we are entering the second half of the Club meeting season.How was the first half? I enjoyed it. Thanks to Maddy Pennock we have had avariety of speakers, some better than others, presenting some interestingsubjects & pictures. Notable amongst them were Tim Pile with ‘Piles of Nudes’& Nettie Edwards with her iPhone photography. I shall always remember Nettieshowing a variety of small lenses for the iPhone, enthusiastically surrounded bymost of the lady members. Usually it is the men who hanker after gadgets butnot so in this case. If only I’d have had an iPhone to capture the moment!

Other notable speakers were Malcolm Imhoff with his beautiful & sensitive AVsand Anne Sutcliffe with her unique pictures & prints. Not all the speakers wereto everyone’s taste but I feel that one should be open-minded about subjects asthere is always some content to learn from or disagree with.

The print & DPI competitions have been well subscribed, keeping Adrian Buttbusy in his usual efficient way. The standard of judging has varied, as usual,from good to not so good but as it is all subjective that is to be expected. I amalways intrigued by the different subjects/standards shown at the less formalmeetings, such as the Digi and Contemporary groups, as opposed to the morerigid competitions. There are many reasons for this, but I suppose members feelmore relaxed about showing pictures that won’t be criticised as opposed topictures that often follow popular trends and rules. That is a very simplifiedview you might not agree with, but I am sure that you will have noticed thedifference too.

Finally, we enjoyed a great Christmas Party; thanks must go to Anne Burrows,Susan Oakley, Maddy Pennock and to all those who helped organise the eventand produce the delicious food. I believe that the Club was originally called the‘Worcestershire Tricycle and Camera Club’. It could change again & be called‘The Worcestershire Camera and Food Club’! If you missed this Christmas, thenext one will soon be upon us — perish the thought! Happy New Year.

Paul Mann

The Chairman's View Paul Mann ARPS CPAGB


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Well, Happy New Year and welcome to the second digital edition of Photonews,which I have to confess, has been a teensy-weensy bit of a struggle due to lackof copy, and a very interesting article by Lionel Matthews on photographing theCroome Court inventory having to be withdrawn at the last minute due toobstacles created by the dear old National Trust. Anyway, I could not delaypublication any longer, so here it is, and a big thank you to those who contributed.

We have articles by Bob Oakley, some musings by myself, Alex Isaacs, Cliveand Tessa, Martin Addison and a reprise of an article by Dr E R Sethna FRPS.The topics range from the perils of early photography and the theme of deterio-rating vision to a ‘new year’ review of the work of our Contemporary and Digitalspecial interest groups.

I am sure that you will agree that these groups, not forgetting Audio-Visual, arejewels in the crown of the club. I am also sure that you would wish to join me ingiving a big thank you to those who organise them and the often unsung heroeswho trundle kit around, set it up and maintain it.

Without ‘preaching’ I would like to remind you that our superb club is a collectivein that we only have ourselves to run, maintain and organise the huge variety ofactivities that we can all so easily take for granted. So please, give some thoughtto helping out in a practical way by taking on a post, job, task or responsibility orthe consequences for our club could be dire. You don’t have to be an expert,just willing.

Finally I would like to commend the article written by the late Dr E R SethnaFRPS on issues relating to the judging of photographic competitions. This articlewas brought to my attention by club member Douglas Gregor ARPS and,unbelievably, was published in 1992. If you change the mention of ‘slides’ toDPI, it could have been written last week. This is certainly one of the mostinteresting, workmanlike and thorough critiques of judging that I have ever read.

Stewart Bourne


Editor’s CornerStewart Bourne ARPS


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My first recollection of a camera was an Ensign Box camerahalf the size of a shoe box. It had only one “control” whichwas the shutter switch, so to get a good result the lightingconditions had to be right. My mother used this for manyyears, taking pictures of the family and on occasions at KewGardens when she and I went there on the District Line. Myfavourite place was the “gallery” that runs round the inside of

the Palm House, giving me a lifelong liking for the earthy aroma of old green-houses and conservatories.

When I started earning money I bought my first camera, a Yashica rangefinderand became an avid reader of “Amateur Photographer” which I still read today.I purchased a Johnson’s Wray Enlarger and various other equipment needed todevelop and print my own Black & White images. Hardly anything survives frommy early efforts apart from one picture taken in about 1963. It was taken at workand featured my first boss Percy Evans standing with his back towards me andanother member of staff behind him with a big elastic band aiming something inhis direction. Fortunately the elastic didn’t break or we would all have been introuble and I wouldn’t have survived another 40 years with Midland/HSBC.

It may be a coincidence but it wasn’t long after that before I was transferred toanother branch and for a brief period belonged to a camera club in Basildonbefore moving on to St. Albans.

The thrill of watching a print image emerge from the liquid in the developer traywas simply amazing and that is something I do regret about the demise of film.

The Perils of Early Photography byBob Oakley CPAGB


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I had a big problem – I didn’t have a proper darkroom so I used my parents’bathroom and blacked out the windows and door using blankets from their bed. Thiswas OK until they wanted to go to bed. You couldn’t hurry the washing process toremove chemicals from the prints before they could be dried but my father didn’t seethings that way. He hated anything that had any suggestion that it might be art andon that score photography was definitely “on the list” as a potential arty pursuit. Hetrained as a chemist, had several microscopes, read every issue of Science Newsand was interested in astronomy. He also warned me when I was choosing whichGCEs to take that I could do anything I wanted, as long as it wasn’t anything artistic.I took Science and Maths subjects and didn’t have any problem passing them butcouldn’t really get enthusiastic about Algebra or Calculus. I left college halfwaythrough A-Levels and got a job in an office. The first new book I ever bought wasabout the Impressionists. Clearly I had been a disappointment to him.

On one occasion the improvised darkroom caused a major problem. My fatherwanted to go to bed and he wanted the blankets back. After several exchanges ofwords I decided that a strategic retreat was called for and poured some of thechemicals into some old Tizer bottles which were put in the garage to use again ona more suitable occasion. A couple of weeks later my father decided to top up hiscar battery and picked up one of the bottles thinking it contained distilled water. Theresult was quite spectacular, with thick clouds of white smoke coming from thebattery. He chased me down the road but fortunately couldn’t catch me and by thetime I returned my mother had calmed him down. It wasn’t the art that caused theproblem it was the science – the chemicals.

Darkroom activities had to be suspended. By this time I had upgraded from theYashica to a Pentax SLR with a screw mount and moved on from B&W to Ekta-chrome, Kodachrome, Agfa and to slides. This was later upgraded to a Pentax MXwhich I still have. I kept all the darkroom equipment hoping one day to use it againfor B&W but never did and eventually it was sold.

A very long period went by. I had in that time degenerated into colour film developedat Jessops. A chance visit to a car boot sale was the start of me taking photographyseriously again when a large pile of “Amateur Photographer” magazines was for saleat £1 the lot. I couldn’t resist. Not long after that I retired and joined Andrew Gagg’sU3A Photography Group which gave me a further jolt to revive my old hobby. I wasstill using the Pentax MX but soon realised that Digital was the way forward andswitched to a Nikon D70. I also joined Worcestershire Camera Club, having comeas a visitor and found Clive Haynes’ talk on that night very inspirational.

I think my father would be turning in his grave if he could see some of the pictures Iproduce now. With digital I had my darkroom back without having to use thosepotentially dangerous chemicals and it was now possible to take black & white tonew heights.


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Full Circle by Stewart Bourne ARPS

I have recently been asking myself a few awkward ques-tions about why I take photographs and what I want todo with them afterwards. I decided that this year that Ican possibly call myself a photographer, whatever thatactually means above the level of using some device orother to create images from light, so I should probablyconsider these things.

I also decided that the initial question, concerning why I do this, wasn't actuallyworth pursuing. I do it because I do it and it satisfies an innate curiosity that I haveabout the world, that can only be satisfied through observing it from as manydifferent perspectives as possible. Science, art, literature, social science, philoso-phy, psychology and history have all provided me with particular viewpoints andsome very provisional understanding.

Photography provides me with yet another way of seeing, but with the addedbenefit of reflecting back at me a sort of often confusing synthesis of my ownthoughts and emotions, resulting from my curiosity about the journey through life.I am getting a little heavy here, which is not my intention, other than simply saying'that's what does it for me'. What 'does it' for you is likely to be different, but equallyvalid.

I have, over the last year or so, not enjoyed the best of health and, without beingdramatic, I don't know how long my eyes are going to last. Whilst not 'whingeing'about this, I know that other club members are in the same, or a significantly worseposition, it does prompt one to be aware of finite time scales and the need toprioritise those things that are important.

I decided, at the beginning of the club season this year, that I needed to establishsome photographic priorities instead of wandering through the photographic worldlike a wide-eyed child, snapping away at moods, situations and other 'sparkly'things that attract my attention. I don't want to lose this 'photographic innocence',I just want to become a little more intentional about pursuing the ideas that drawme, instead of hoping that they will magically appear in my viewfinder.

This brings me to the second question concerning the what, rather than the why.As I stated earlier, the reasons that I take photographs are purely personal, and,to a large degree, selfish, in that I do it just for me and have not always cared orgiven credence to what other people think. But that raises a question in that whenI have personally 'used up' my images, what should I do with them ? Should I postthem on Flickr, or Google+, print them and hang them on the wall, enter them forcompetitions or exhibitions or progressively fill up my hard drives with thousandsof images? I do post stuff on Flickr and occasionally on Google+. I have had stuff


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accepted for a few exhibitions and entered internal and external competitionswith occasional success, but I don't really know why I have done these things;they just happened along the road and seemed a good idea at the time.

Part of my prioritising exercise has involved taking a hard and critical look atthese things and resulted in some decisions. I am not going to enter any morecompetitions. I did not arrive at this decision for any noble or philosophicalreasons, it's just simply that I do not have the time for 'competition' photographyand a recognition that it now does nothing for me.

Please forgive me for getting a little 'heavy' again, but my spiritual beliefs arethat I have a duty to learn and understand as many aspects of life as I can in thetime that I have, and this drives my photography as much as my other studies.Competition photography distracts me from this duty. This is not to say that Ihave not learnt an enormous amount, particularly on the technical side, fromhaving my work appraised by judges. I have also learnt and implemented somemuch-needed photographic self-discipline from entering competitions and I alsostill enjoy attending them and listening to the comments.

The second issue, of what I should do with my images after I have createdthem, is a little more challenging. I would be a liar if I said that I did not get abuzz when someone either admires, hates, or at least is momentarily affectedby my work. This is a buzz that I am rather ashamed of as it lacks humility; thebuzz should be one of satisfaction in communicating an idea or emotion ratherthan basking in the glory of 'I did good, didn't I'. In the light of this recognition Ihave realised that, much as I thought otherwise, I do want to communicate withpeople through my images, although not necessarily, or solely, other photogra-phers. But how best to do this?

Consider these facts for a moment. Last year it was estimated that 8.5 billionimages were uploaded to the internet for public consumption. To put this intoperspective, if you took 1 photograph a second, 24/7, it would take you 269.36years to achieve this figure. As for Facebook, they get 208,300 photos uploadedevery minute and Instagram 27,800. To say the least, it is a little difficult to getyour work noticed, whatever your motives, on this digital arena that is awashwith images.

I believe that In this digital revolution, and in some important ways the viewingof images has come full circle; it has devolved. Everyone is now documentingtheir lives and attempting to share the results with the whole human race, andany passing aliens unlucky enough to pick up the signals. The cynic may drawthe conclusion that it's no longer 'I think, therefore I am' but rather 'I document,therefore I exist'.


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I believe that in order for your images to be noticed, above the momentary,transient level, there needs to be a temporary, or longer- term relationshipbetween the viewer and the image and that often this will be dependent uponcommercial, social or physical proximity. In other words, the viewer must usuallyhave some form of pre-existing reason to look at your image. By this I mean thatthey are members of a club, friends or family on Facebook, attending anexhibition, being faced with a poster in a building, searching for an image to buy,seeing it in a shop, looking at a book. The list could go on and on, but the pointremains essentially the same.

What I am saying is that now, the chances of someone stumbling upon yourimages by chance, in circumstances where they will devote time to considerthem, are getting relatively low, especially if you wish to include non-photogra-phers in your potential audience. When the digital revolution first made itpossible to upload images for public consumption, it was a viable means ofsharing your work because they were, compared with today, relatively few innumber. Then came the Smartphone and things grew exponentially.

For the above reasons I believe that, in many instances, many photographers,as distinct from documenters, have returned to the smaller and more intimatearenas, as well as more permanent media, such as books and prints, forshowing their work. We do this in the hope that it will be noticed in a moreconsidered way. This is not, in my opinion, a million miles away from the daysof film photography where the medium itself tended to determine how it couldbe shared.

You may not agree with any of these points, but they have, to a large extent,determined my priorities. Having decided that I do in fact want people to see andreact to my images in a more considered way, whatever that reaction might be,I need to prioritise the circumstances in which this stands a chance of actuallyhappening. I therefore intend to do more printing, have a go at a couple ofthemed books and produce more large canvases. I am seeking out and estab-lishing relationships with small venues in which to display my work includingpubs, bistro-style cafes, smaller arts centres and smaller exhibition venues suchas the Artrix in Bromsgrove. None of this is being undertaken or driven bydelusions of grandeur, I 'got over myself' a long time ago! I just want people toconsider my work at some level or another or, as I have come to realise, thereis really no point beyond self-enlightenment. I have also become part of a smallgroup of photographers who, although having very different interests and styles,share a similar sense of purpose.

So there it is, my New Year resolutions. I will attempt to place some order andpurpose on my photography and take the chance on connecting with a fewpeople at a more considered level, rather than casting my fate to the wind onthe Internet in a rather unplanned and haphazard way.


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We tend to take our faculties and senses very much for granted and it is onlywhen they are seriously threatened that we realise their true value.

This series of photographs shows how deteriorating vision manifests itself in twoways. Firstly, physically, in a worsening of critical vision in relation to sharpness,level of brightness, cloudiness ,clarity and colour.

Secondly, and of equal importance, the photographs also illustrate the emotion-al impact and effects of worsening vision.

These include :-The feeling of isolation.The feeling of anxiety.The feeling of not being in control.The feeling of a mountain to climb.

Deteriorating Vision by Alex Isaacs


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The Contemporary Group by Clive HaynesFRPS and Tessa Mills FRPS

It seems quite astonishing that almost one yearhas passed since this new WCC ‘Thursday Group’was established. When we suggested the idea weimagined that we would attract a modest number ofmembers who wished to explore and develop theirphotography in ways more deeply than by simplylistening to excellent lectures by eminent speakersand also as an antidote to conventional club com-

petition photography.

The response has been quite amazing and our monthly Thursday events havebecome a real focus for people to show work that reveals a high degree ofpersonal expression, strong narratives and concepts, panels of pictures andseries of images together with some fascinating observational photography; inshort, a whole world of expression. Without any ‘fear of failure’ or any elementof competiveness everyone is encouraged to try something new, to experimentwith ways of seeing, to be bold and above all to express themselves. Theemphasis remains upon what the picture is about rather than what it’s of.

An essential part of our meetings is time to really look at our pictures anddiscover more about what makes an image work, about its structure andsubtleties, the ideas and motivations of the photographer and to talk about thework. We discover much about the intention of the picture and our response toit. We don’t always agree and that’s part of the excitement within the group.We all learn through discussion and by example. The discussions are alwaysfair, frequently stimulating and each meeting reveals a new facets and nuancesabout the art and craft of photography.

Oh, yes and we mustn’t forget to say how much fun and laughter the meetingscontain. Humour is another great strength and motivator.

We’ve also arranged occasional outings to provide subjects to explore andstimulus for the imagination, plus the opportunity to get together to comparenotes and approaches. Occasionally we’ll suggest a theme or topic formembers to explore. There’s no obligation to follow this at all but sometimespeople find it provides them with ‘direction’ and we can all share the results atthe following meeting – or perhaps the one after that.

Another feature of our meetings is to share work from a variety of interestingphotographers working in the field of Contemporary and Conceptual Photogra-phy and this can often provoke both controversy and amusement.


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During the past year we’ve seen the development of photography and personalstyles within the group. Craft skills too are discussed and where appropriatesuggestions made about how to gain more expression from an image. Fre-quently there’s a distinct combination of ‘visual art’ and‘contemporary/conceptual’ approaches, and as the borders are often blurred,this is encouraged. Our intention is to broaden our photographic horizons andto reach beyond confines of conventionality. Photography may be finite yet weremain unbounded.

Do come along to one of our meetings where you’ll find a friendly welcome. Just‘dip in’ if you like and see what you think – the water’s warm and welcoming.Here are some images by CPG members for you to enjoy.

Images by Bob Oakley, Alex Isaacs, Jenny Rees-Mann & Tessa Mills


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Les Chateaux by Clive Haynes

Kilve- The Coast andthe Sea by Martin

Addison

Public Illusionby Paul Mann

Reading the Seats by Gill Haynes

The Big Picture by John Hoath

Street Photography by Jayne Winter


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Sub Aqua Experience

The School Gates at Oradour-sur-Glane by Darren Leeson

Memory of a Summer Meadow by Ann Hoath

Exhausted Workers byCatherine Lane


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Members’ Views

I joined the Contemporary Group at its conception earlier this year.

What I like about it is the great variety of work seen each month, the

smaller group size, the freedom and lack of rules, regulations and

competitiveness. There is also a sense of fun and good humour at all

of our meetings. After 50 years of landscape photography I have

discovered new horizons. I am now dabbling (or floundering) in the

world of conceptual art, projects, panels and street photography and I

am thoroughly enjoying it.I heartily thank Tessa and Clive for setting up the group and hope that

it continues to flourish. I look forward as always to our New Year’s

meetings.

John Hoath

I went to the first meeting of the Contemporary Group with a general interest

in the contemporary arts but with an aversion to competitive photography and

minimal knowledge of camera technique and image processing. I was a

changed person by the end of the evening, knowing that exciting new doors

had opened for me.

The structure of our evenings works well. The group employs the most

effective learning methods; viewing and discussion with plenty of humour!

The lack of rigid rules and central control is refreshing and inspirational and

leads to the high quality of members’ work.

I am excited by the versatility of projects open to me, my improving ability to

see subjects and my increasing confidence in the technical side of photogra-

phy. Thank you Clive and Tessa.Ann Hoath


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Analysis of JudgingThis objective study of the judging of photography was first published in 1992.

Introduction

The importance of judging, or what some would call selecting; or evaluating,cannot be denied. Where would club photography and the RPS be withoutcompetitions, exhibitions and the granting of Distinctions? And yet, judges arealmost invariably the object of criticism and denigration and rarely of praise. Thesubject never fails to arouse great passion and controversy. Knocking of judgesby lecturers and writers has become endemic but few have tried to study thesubject and improve it.

Talks and articles on judging usually amount to individuals stating how theyjudge, and then seek to justify their method as the best, without making anyeffort to compare their own techniques with that of others and without trying toevolve from observations credible principles of judging.

When I took up photography seriously, the subject of judging fascinated me,as it bore great resemblance to some aspects of my professional work as apsychiatrist, in which I dealt with abstract subjects which are difficult tomeasure or quantify. You cannot, for instance, measure the severity ofdepression by an instrument as you can with blood pressure. In psychiatry,we have developed sophisticated ways of dealing with such abstract subjectsby use of ‘scales’ and statistics, and I wondered whether I could apply mytraining in psychiatry to the study of judging in photography.

I knew from the outset that as so little established literature existed on thesubject, anything other than systematic observations on judging would beinappropriate. I therefore set about making my own observations on judging atall levels from club competitions to international exhibitions and salons. I did thisintensively over a period of between two and three years and have continuedmaking these observations less rigorously ever since. Being trained in observ-ing people and how they function and analysing the underlying reasons andmotives for their behaviour, it proved to be an interesting and rewarding exercise.I did not publicise the project, so the judging sessions I attended were in noway affected by my presence. Whenever I got the opportunity, I talked to thejudges without giving them any indication of my study. I can categorically saythat we have some excellent judges and I am greatly indebted to them forproviding me with the opportunity to analyse their methods and thus helping meto conceptualise better methods of judging.


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Those not particularly interested in the subject of judging need not be putoff from continuing to read this article, since it could equally be regarded asone on photography as an art form.

I have tried to categorise my observations into those which might bedescribed as negative aspects and those which are positive and these areconsidered in turn.

Negative Aspects

I have observed many negative approaches adopted within the judging processbut will restrict my comments to four of the most significant ones. These are:

(i). Overvalued ideas.(ii). Failure to see the picture as a whole.(iii). Critical rather than constructive approach.(iv). Consideration given to effort put in getting or

making of the picture.

Overvalued Ideas

This term, borrowed from psychiatry, describes well a common failing whicharises as a consequence of a judge having an idea which he currentlywishes to promote as being very important in picture making. Invariablythe idea is valid, but when held with great fervor the judge becomes sopreoccupied with it that he neglects all other aspects of the picture. The best wayto illustrate this failing is to state actual examples observed during the study.

A judge was of the opinion that obliques in composition are preferable toverticals and horizontals. He spent most of his time looking for obliques tomake his point instead of getting on with the task of judging. This conclusionwas justified by the fact that he used the term ‘oblique’ over 70 times duringthe session.

Importance of background was stressed by another judge who then setabout spending most of the time judging the background rather than thesubject matter.

The importance of a full range of tones from pure black to white in mono-chrome prints was stressed by a judge. However good, some prints whichconveyed a great deal of mood or which reflected a misty atmosphere, were


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rejected for not displaying a full tonal range, even though their feeling wouldhave been destroyed if they fulfilled this criterion.

It was the belief of another judge that most pictures should be light at the topand dark at the bottom, as that is what normally occurs in natural lighting. Anypicture bright at the base was marked down, including a stunning picture of astreet scene where contra-jour lighting was reflected by the footpath.

More than one judge expressed the view that monochrome is more creativethan color as the world is in color and it would require some creativity totranslate it into black and white. This implied that color pictures only depictedreality and lacked creativity. This is obviously not true as colors can, andhave been, manipulated for creativity. The judges who have held this viewwere in fact those who favored monochrome to color prints and that showedin their marking and giving of awards.

Several judges held the view that unless a picture was ‘creative’ it was notworth entering. In consequence only a small proportion of the total entrywas fully assessed and commented upon. One of those judges gave the topaward to a very gimmicky picture to the surprise of the club members. Whenthe judge was asked for his reasons, he remarked “I am sorry if you cannotunderstand such a picture.”

A couple of judges felt that pictures portraying movement by use of slowshutter speed, should have something sharp within the picture. Howevergood such pictures were, they were marked down if they did not containthis element. It would be true to say that no such rule is followed by mostjudges and some famous and well known pictures of this kind do notsatisfy this criterion.

Some judges were sticklers for ‘print quality’ by their own individual criteria.In such cases it meant that they gave little attention to the content of thepicture or what it communicates, but only judged the picture on the qualityof the printing.

Some judges emphasised the importance of presentation, particularly themounts used for prints. At times it appeared that assessment of presentationsuperseded that of the picture.

In a natural history competition a judge expressed his view that unless a pictureis taken in the wild, it is not a natural history picture, although no such rule wasstipulated by the club. The judge spent an inordinate amount of time guessingwhich pictures were taken in the wild (often reaching the wrong conclusion).


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This prevented him properly evaluating the pictures for their merit.

In another natural history competition the judge stated the view that mammalswere neglected by natural history photographers. It was obvious from theoutset that photographs of mammals would be treated favorably even thoughsome of the pictures of birds, insects and flowers were better, and that is whathappened.

Early in a session of judging the judge said that he did not like studio portraits,and he proceeded to pass over several pictures of this subject without judgingthem at all. Many other judges expressed dislike of a particular subject andopenly admitted that it was no use putting such pictures in front of them. As apsychiatrist, I often dislike patients referred to me. It would be inconceivable forme not to deal with them or treat them as fairly as any other patient. Should notthe photographic judge be professional enough to assess categories of pic-tures of which they are not fond, and at least compare such pictures with eachother?

From the above examples it can be seen that however valid an idea is,if it is ‘overvalued’ by a judge, he restricts his judging to a single issue andneglects the rest. It can also lead to judges making their own rules which areexclusive to them and applied indiscriminately.

Failure to see the whole image

A fundamental principle established by Gestalt theory is that “The whole is not thesum of its parts.” This is best explained by a couple of examples. When oneappreciates the beauty of a building, the architectural qualities it possesses arenot there in the individual bricks it is made of. It is only when they are put togetheras a structure that it acquires aesthetic qualities of its own. Similarly, a tune is notjust a sequence of notes. When played together they produce a tune, the qualityof which is not present in the individual notes. It is invariably the case thatthe qualities of the whole transcend the attributes of its components. Thesame principle should apply to a photograph. When seen as a whole,as an entity in itself, it has qualities which far transcend the parts ofwhich it is made. Regrettably, in photographic judging realisation of this factis sadly lacking. It appears that some judges look upon pictures as if they arejust a collection of areas of different tones or colors. From their commentsthey seem to dissect the picture and closely scrutinise the different areasrather than respond to the picture as a whole.

So common and widespread is this practice that we have all learnt to acceptit as an established way of judging. How often one hears judges comment at


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great length on a ‘bright area at the edge of the picture’, ‘the position of a tree’,or ‘the. placement of the hands’ in a portrait. These comments would be quiteacceptable and valid, and useful to the audience in improving their work, butthey must not be the main criteria of judging. They can only be secondarycomments after the judge has evaluated the picture as a whole. If a picture is anobject of art, it is the creation of an artist through which he or she tries tocommunicate, and that is the main and primary thing the judge should look for.That can only be done if the judge sees the picture as a whole, as an entity initself, and not as a collection of areas of different tones and colours.

There is another way of looking at the same issue which gives it a differentslant. In all art forms there is a medium used for production of a piece of art.In painting it is the canvas, paints and brushes; in music it is either the voice ora musical instrument, and in dance it is the use of the body and dress. Butthese are just the media which the artist uses to express himself. What theartist conveys could be described as the ‘message’. It is obvious that the truevalue of an artistic work is the message; the medium is no more than thevehicle employed to convey the message.

Photographic judging seems to be too preoccupied with themedium as if a photograph is just a technical exercise rather than anartistic expression. One accepts that probably the medium in photography ismore technical than, say, in painting, and warrants some consideration, but ifthe medium is wholly or largely what is judged, with little attention to the artisticexpression, then the whole point of judging is missed.

The realisation of this fact first came to me when I saw a lady judge aclub competition by placing a strong emphasis on artistic expression in thepicture as a whole rather than technical details, precisely as advocated above.When I complimented her on her method she was rather surprised as she hadnot realised that her method was different from that of other judges.

Repeatedly I found that many good judges worked intuitively and theynever analysed their method or developed a system of judging. Unfortu-nately, intuitive behaviour is not transferable, or capable of further growthby rational thought.

Constructive or over-critical ?

The modern view of testing in education is to find out what a candidateknows rather than what he does not. If a similar approach is taken inphotographic judging it should be to find out what is good in a picture and notwhat is wrong. Many judges work on the premise that judging means finding


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out what is wrong and the best picture is the one with the least faults.Comments from such judges can hardly be constructive.

The most important belief in psychology is that people learn, or changetheir behaviour, only when rewarded, and if that be the case, emphasis mustbe on identifying good features and on constructive advice on how to over-come shortcomings.

I have been reliably informed that judges in flower arranging all havetraining before they start judging and are instructed to evaluate the good thatthey find in the flower arrangements and not what is wrong or make harsh ornasty comments. If a constructive approach is followed there is certainly neverany room for nastiness, sarcasm or rudeness.

Even on rare occasions when criticism is warranted it could be done verypolitely and in a constructive manner. I am sure that many potentially goodphotographers have been lost to club photography because of ill-advisedcomments of judges. Judging should be looked upon as an agreeableexercise where the judge’s sole function is appreciation of the work he is askedto evaluate.

At one club I was invited to, the work was not only poor but the total entrywas so small that I could have finished the session in less than half an hour.I got the permission of the club to show some of my work strictly for the purposeof illustrating the points I was going to make on their pictures and not make atalk on my work. I proved to be a most enjoyable evening, not only for the club,but for me. The only trouble was that they asked me to do the same again nextyear.

Effort put into the picture

Many judges feel that in their marking they should include the effort on the partof the photographer in either the getting of the picture or the making of it. It ishard to justify this approach. If effort put in by the photographer is included injudging, then why not a host of other considerations which would effect thepicture-making such as: the equipment a photographer can afford, the amountof travel he can manage or even his height which might be an advantage to himin taking pictures. It would be best if judging was restricted to what is put in frontof the judge and nothing to do with how it was made, what effort went into it orwhat advantages or disadvantages the photographer had.

The more important, positive, aspects of judging are dealt with in thefollowing pages.

Positive Aspects

In good judging I found that three attributes of the pictures were takeninto consideration.

These in order of importance - were as follows:

1. What the picture communicates - the ‘message’ - with aweighting of 50–60%.

2. The content of the picture - the ‘medium’ - and how it is dealtwith, with a weighting of 30–35%.

3. The technical aspects of the picture, with a weighting of 10–15%.

The message of the picture

Appreciation of all art, including a photograph, is not primarily anintellectual exercise but an emotional one, which may be pleasurable,depressing, moving or frightening. It is the feelings, emotions and moodthat picture conveys which is the core of the ‘message’ and should form thebasis of evaluation of a picture. Good judging is done more by the heart than thehead, with the ability to feel a picture and not just visualise it. It is the buzz andtingle which one experiences on seeing a good picture which is at the heart ofjudging.

More often than not it is difficult to verbalise feelings and emotions that apicture conveys, and not all judges are blessed with verbal facility. A judgewho finds it difficult to express feelings and emotions of a picture shouldnot feel he is alone but rather should realise that almost all people finddifficulty in this area. Like all abilities this one increases with practise, andonce acquired, adds so much value to a judge’s comments that all shouldstrive to achieve it.

It is neither essential nor important for a judge to find out what the author ofthe picture was trying to communicate. What matters is what feelings andthoughts it engenders in the viewer - the judge. More often than not a pictureconveys different things to different people and credit should be given to apicture that manages to do that. Ambiguity of a picture could be its greatest


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charm by providing an image on which viewers can project their own thoughts,feelings and imagination.

Besides the feelings, emotions and mood, there are three other things that apicture may convey and they are:

1. A statement or story.

2. An idea or inventiveness.

3. Interpretation of the beauty or any other quality of the subject.

A picture may convey a statement or a story as in photojournalismor documentary photography, but again the best pictures in this field arealso laden with emotion. Pictures of refugees such as the Vietnamese boatpeople would fail if they did not convey their plight and suffering and thiswould be true of all forms of documentary photography such as that ofsocial upheaval, war, famine or celebration.

A picture could convey an idea or inventiveness. This would be true ofmuch of what one would call ‘creative’ photography where the photogra-pher’s creative input, whether achieved at the taking stage or bysubsequent manipulation, is far more important than the recorded image. Thisdoes not imply that photographs must be manipulated to be creative, butrather that they must reflect the personal input of the photographer byproviding an image onto which the viewer can project his own thoughts,fantasies and imaginations aroused by the image.

Lastly the photographer can add meaning to a picture by his ability tointerpret the beauty or otherwise of a subject he chooses to photograph.The results are often referred to as ‘pictorial’ or even ‘record’photography There is a tendency at present that anything that is not consid-ered as ‘creative’ or ‘contemporary’ has no place in photography. It wouldbe a mistake to take this extreme view. How often judges say that what isgood in a photograph existed in the subject matter and that the photographeronly recorded it. That is a very narrow view. Different photographers interpretthe same subject differently and some better than others, and good judgingrequires taking that into consideration.

To give an analogy: if a musician plays a classical masterpiece one could notsay that he only played what was composed by someone else. We give full creditto how he has interpreted the composer’s work. Similarly, a good photographerinterprets in his own inimitable way the favorable attributes in the subject hephotographs.


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Picture content and treatment

This is where the ability of a photographer to see what subject wouldlend itself to a good photograph is judged. What appears good to the eyedoes not necessarily make a good photograph. Different subjects havedifferent degrees of being photogenic. How often one sees a really goodphotograph of a subject many of us would not have dreamt of taking.Even when the subject matter is quite commonly selected for photography, likea portrait or a landscape, it is the choice of the person or the scene thatthe photographer makes which will determine the success or failure of a picture.Often it is the uniqueness or rarity of a subject which will make it interesting andworthy of high marking.

Equally important to the choice of subject is how it is dealt with, andthat includes:-

1. The choice and control of lighting; one of the mostimportant aspects in picture making.

2. What is included and what is not, in the picture.

3. The choice of background, setting or environment for thechosen subject.

4. Sharpness or the lack of it in the picture as a whole or indifferent parts of the picture.

5. The interpretation of movement.

6. The juxtaposition of tones and colours.

7. Exploitation of perspective.

8. The critical timing of taking the picture.

9. The arrangement of the different components of the picture- the composition.

10. Exploitation of pattern and texture.

11. The choice of format - horizontal or vertical and the shapeand dimensions of the picture.


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Judging technical aspects

The following should be considered in assessing the technical merits of a picture:

1. Handling of tonal range and colour rendition.

2. Correct exposure.

3. Sharpness of the picture - depending upon its appropri-ateness to the subject.

4. Quality of processing.

5. Retouching.

6. Appropriateness of choice of black and white or colour.

7. Presentation of the picture - mounts in prints andcropping in slides.

It can be argued that technical merit of the picture should be a prerequisite tothe assessment of artistic qualities which has been so strongly emphasised uptill now. In a sense this is true, but in reality it does not present difficulties.Technical ability is acquired far more easily than aesthetic. In consequence,experience shows that those capable of great artistic expression are rarelylacking in technical ability. What is more often seen is that those lackingin technical ability are also unable to excel in artistic interpretation. It isonly on exceptional occasions that a picture outstandingly good artisticallyhas to be rejected because of very poor technique.

A weighting to the above three aspects of judging has been suggested atthe beginning of this discussion, and in most cases what is suggested wouldbe appropriate. However, good judging would require some flexibility in theweighting. If a picture reveals an exceptionally high standard in one of theabove three features it would be entirely appropriate to modify weighting be-yond that suggested in the given range. A photograph which by its very naturedid not have a strong emotional message but which was a superb example oftiming of taking the picture would deserve extra weighting in B and lower in A.


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Conclusion

Though the three aspects of pictures to be taken into consideration in goodjudging have been stressed, it is by no means suggested that there shouldbe rules for what judges should like or dislike. Judging is and will remaina subjective exercise. That is why we have three or more judges in majorexhibitions or salons so that different tastes and interests are fullyrepresented. However, what is suggested is the need for agreement onwhat judges should take into consideration in judging and the above threeparameters could form the basis for it.

A good example of what should be taken into consideration injudging does exist in the ice skating we so often see on television.Judges are asked to mark on ‘technical merit’ and ‘artistic interpretation’. If, asin photography, the judges were allowed to mark on any aspect of iceskating they considered important then it is possible that one judgewho believed in the choice of music as the most important thing wouldmark wholly or largely on the music chosen. Another judge who considersthe choice of dress by the skaters as the most important will mark moreon this entirely different issue. Even more absurdly, a judge who believed thatthe difference in height of the skating pair was the most important thing wouldmark strongly on that issue.

This is what is happening a lot in photographic judging. Marking is as-sessed according to rules made by the individual judge and which areentirely personal and exclusive to them, or where the marking is based uponthe judge’s current fads, prejudices and overvalued ideas.

If there was a consensus on what should be taken into consideration inmarking and the weighting given to each attribute chosen, it would helpentrants to competitions and exhibitions to know what was expected of them,and the results of judging would be more consistent, and fairer.

Remaining issues on judging

Finally, there are a few remaining issues which need to be considered.

They are:

1. How should judges decide major awards?


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This difficulty particularly arises in major exhibitions and salons where thetotal entry runs into thousands. If it is an open exhibition covering everykind of subject and type of photography, it would appear to be a verydifficult, if not impossible, task to pick one image as the best of the lot.If the judges pick a landscape there will be a score of other landscapepictures which could be considered as equally good, and viewers mightask, why choose a landscape when there are scores of equally goodpictures on other subjects? To overcome this dilemma, I have found thatjudges on some occasions have chosen a totally ‘way-out’ image forthe top award which more often than not does not represent the totalentry nor has the highest artistic merit. Again, the lame excuse byjudges that it is we who are incapable of understanding the image oftheir choice, will not do. It is, in my opinion, the most arrogant statement thatone could make.

I believe that judges sometimes feel that they will be judged by theawards they give and on some occasions, to appear ‘with it’, they choosea ‘way-out’ or an outrageous image for an award. However, it has to beadmitted that it is a formidable, if not an impossible task, to chooseone image as the best from an entry of thousands.

The solution may be to give the top award to the most successfulentrant rather than the so-called best picture. This can be done by givingan award to the entrant who has the highest total score from thecustomary four prints or slides entered by that individual. It is more thanlikely that the highest total score is shared by several entrants. In thiscase, the judges would see each of the entrants’ four pictures togetherand decide which set of four is the best. In practice this is much easierthan picking just one image. This also remedies the top award going to apicture which may have been produced by chance or fluke. The principlesof giving awards should be based on rewarding the most competent andartistic photographer rather than the picture.

2. Should print workers only be chosen as judges for prints andslide workers for slides?

Theoretically, it should make no difference, as a good judge can appreciateand evaluate a good picture whether it be a print or slide. But having saidthat, as photography is relatively more technical than other art forms, it mightbe preferable, though not essential, to have a judge who does the type ofwork he is asked to judge. Quite often judges who have never done print workmake comments which show their lack of knowledge in that medium and


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that greatly diminishes the credibility of the judge.

3. Should judges be practising photographers and who are alsocurrent exhibitors?

If we wish to improve the standard of judging it would be best if sucha stipulation was made. If judges who are not practising photographersand current exhibitors continue to act as judges for years to come theymight adopt outdated ideas when photography has moved on sincethey were exhibitors. I would think many judges would not find this viewacceptable and that has been expressed to me strongly on many occa-sions, but my observations certainly support this view.

4. How can judges be made to improve their standards?

The only way judges will change their ways and methods would be whenwe reward them for their effort and expertise. This implies some form ofrecognition or some other form of reward, including payment, by the stan-dard attained. If judges are to be rewarded in some way, a system ofmonitoring would become a necessity. The way to do that is a subject initself.

5. How should Natural History photographs be judged?

I have not gone into this subject as I feel it would be hard to improve upon thecriteria for evaluating natural history pictures so cogently expressed byTony Wharton FRPS, in a past Nature Group Newsletter (issue 33, Autumn1985, pages 12 and 13). The only additional thing I would like to suggest isgreater emphasis on the aesthetic appeal of the picture than was implied in thisarticle.

In conclusion, I would not like to claim that this study is the last word on judgingor that it has answered all or most of the questions on this difficult subject.My only wish is that this study proves to be thought-provoking and leads tofurther studies, conferences, dialogue and correspondence so that in thefuture, preferably in the near future, we establish good and sound principles ofjudging.

Dr E R Sethna FRPS AFIAP © 1997The author acknowledged the help of Cliff Thornpson FRPS in preparing this article.

First published in Great Britain in 1992 by RPS in The Photographic JournalOnline version.

http://www.monolandscapes.talktalk.net/judging.htm




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Digital Group Review of 2014By Martin Addison FRPS

The Digital Group has continued to be extremely popular in2014 and we have had a wide range of activities andparticipants.

We started in January with a full evening taken by CliveHaynes, who demonstrated many aspects of Photoshop in his own unique way.As always, Clive did his talk with lots of enthusiasm and imparted many valuabletips on Photoshop and Topaz.

In February I demonstrated how to create black-and-white images in Lightroomand other examples of techniques in Photoshop and Lightroom. James Board-man-Woodend showed one of his excellent AVs on Iceland.

March was an evening for members to bring work they wanted editing to get thebest out of the files. I discussed the possible options and demonstrated thetechniques required in Photoshop/Elements/Lightroom.

The meeting in April was a practical session with members bringing camerasand tripods for an evening photographing a wide range of subject matter. Weorganised tables with flowers in fizzy water, iced flowers, creative flatbedscanning, cross polarization, still life set ups, feathers and many other opportu-nities. Stewart Bourne showed his own still-life set-up, Adrian demonstratedaspects of using flash and many other members became involved in what wasan extremely successful and popular evening.

We saw many of the results of the practical evening in the May meeting togetherwith other images including another AV from James. I did some work onmembers’ images.

In the June meeting Roger Blandford showed us how he created his verysuccessful image 'Maiden of the Birds'; this was a fascinating insight into the artof montage. He also showed images from a recent trip to Tuscany. Roger alsofeatured in the July meeting and showed a selection of his images includingnature, motor racing and landscape. I did a short talk and survey of some of themore recent compact system cameras which have become popular in recentyears.

Lightroom was the main subject in August, I did several demonstrations of howto develop images, followed by a session editing members’ images.


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I was away in September so Bob Oakley organised the meeting with the help ofClive Haynes. They showed a wide range of techniques in Elements andPhotoshop.

In October we had a full evening’s lecture by Andy Beel from Bristol. Andyshowed us many techniques to create top quality images in Black and White,this was a very popular evening.

There was a lot of flashing in November as Adrian Butt did an excellent eveningon how to use flash, both on- and off-camera. He was most informative about asubject with which many members were not very familiar.

It has become customary in the December meeting to celebrate our photogra-phy over the past year and a great many members brought their personalfavourites to share with the rest of the group. This was a great end to a verysuccessful year and following suggestions from members in the January meet-ing I have a wide range of ideas and subjects which we can focus on in the yearahead.

April practical eveningat the British Legion


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Looking at the trips we had in 2014, after a huge number in 2013, we had ratherfewer in 2014, but managed a walk by the river in Worcester, trips to Nash Pointin Wales and to Kilve in Somerset. We did another walk along the canal inWorcester and Darren organised two trips, one to the Wyre Forest and a streetphotography expedition in Birmingham. E-books from most of the trips are onthe WCC website; this is a great way to see what other members photographedon the day. I plan to increase the number of photo trips in 2015, so pleasesupport them as they are great fun.

I would like to thank all the members who have both contributed work, helpedin any way (including in particular Henry and Alan for setting up the equipmentand Tony for the screen) and those who have participated by bringing work toshow. Without you all we would not have a Digital Group.

A selection of e-books on the newly relaunched WCC website.


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Contributors:

Paul Mann (Chair) ARPS CPAGB

Bob Oakley CPAGB

Stewart Bourne ARPS

Alex Isaacs LRPS

Clive Haynes FRPS

Tessa Mills FRPS

Dr E R Sethna FRPS

Martin Addison FRPS

Cover photograph Winter Thoughts by Stewart Bourne ARPS

Back cover poster What did you do in the war, Daddy?, which was a First World War recruiting poster used by me to recruit contributions for Photonews.

In case anyone thinks that this is sexist, ageist, shows cultural bias etc, please substitute mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle or any signifi cant other that comes to mind!

Stewart Bourne, Editor


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What did you do for Photonews, Daddy?

www.worcestershirecameraclub.co.uk

Bishop Allenby HallSt. Stephen’s ChurchDroitwich RoadWorcester WR3 7HS

Editor: Stewart BourneTel : 01905 776533E-mail [email protected]

We meet at the above address on Tuesdays at 7.45 pm. All visitors and new members willreceive a very warm welcome. Why not have a look at our programme and contact details ontour web site and select an evening to visit us?

For further information please contact:-Secretary: Jenny Rees Mann (tel 01905 757262 or [email protected]: Paul Mann (tel 01905 757262) or [email protected]

www.worcestershirecameraclub.co.uk

http://www.worcestershirecameraclub.co.uk/index.html

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