Aiming for an 'L' - Advisory Day Report

Last Sunday was the day of my Advisory Day, in Amersham. I finished preparing my proposed panel the day before, when I discovered that the prints I'd mounted earlier had 'cockled'. Very annoying, but too late to do anything about it.

On arrival at the venue, I handed over my images to join the line of panels waiting. It was nice to meet Shirley Hollis who was in the queue with me, and who has already passed her 'L' and was at the day for feedback relating to her 'A'. Her friendliness was a nice 'extra' to the day. After handing over my work I was very grateful for two cups of tea, after which I began to feel a bit more normal!

The day started sharp to time, with two sample panels, an 'L' panel and an 'A' panel. The reasons for their success was discussed before moving on to looking at the print panels brought for comment.

The panels were put up one by one, laid out as per the photographer's designated order, with any 'spare' images put up on a second rack. Comments were made on each panel, from technical to presentation aspects, and in some cases images from the 'spares' were moved into the main panel. It was very interesting to see how the assessors moved images around and what their reasons were for doing so. For the printed panels a lot of the comments related to the 'look' of the panel, which pictures had been selected, and what order they were placed in. It was interesting that the assessors didn't always agree! There seemed to be more 'technical' comment on the projected images, but this may have been just the way it went 'on the day'. The panels varied enormously in content and style so it was also interesting to see other photographers' work.

Several panels were shown before mine was put up, by which time I was very nervous indeed. I was very relieved when my panel received some positive comments with one image requiring some technical tidying up and a couple of others needing to be reprinted at a smaller size to better balance the presentation. Quite straightforward adjustments, so I am on course for submitting my final panel for assessment in March at Focus on Imaging at the NEC.

I would definitely recommend attending an advisory day for anyone who is considering an RPS distinction. It was a very interesting, informative and enjoyable day.

Aiming for an 'L' - Part 2

My Advisory Day is now less than a week away (if the weather cooperates). All but two of my prints have arrived, including some extras which I ordered after I received the first batch & immediately decided that some weren't good enough. I've never cut a single mount, and decided that this particular project wasn't the one to start on. So I followed the recommendation of some professional photographers and ordered them, all cut to size. They arrived in a HUGE box - fortunately much of the size was the careful packaging, so I won't need to be a weight lifter to carry my panel after all.

I suppose it's also inevitable that now I've spent most of yesterday mounting all my prints - panel contenders and 'extras' as requested for the Advisory Day - I am not all that pleased with the result. The very first thing I should've realised BEFORE I ordered the mounts (or the prints, probably), was that on big prints you really need more than a 25mm overlap of mount to image. (Especially as the framer who mounted and framed my exhibition prints last year also mentioned this...) On some of my prints this isn't a problem, but there are four where it was a particular nuisance, and I suspect that at least these larger images will need to be dry mounted for the actual assessment day in March. I guess the feedback this weekend will let me know whether or not that's true.

I have ordered all my prints in a matt finish. It seems to suit them all, thankfully. The mounts are all 'old ivory' - off white. All the same overall size, which I hope will give my panel a tidy and professional look. I think it does, but then I know all too well how little 'what I like' counts sometimes!

Another cost - although not strictly necessary - was the purchase of a portfolio bag. I've had to compromise a bit because the cost of 'proper' portfolio boxes or cases was too much on top of the cost of the prints and mounts, so I've bought a 'designer case' (as in, a case used by designers, rather than one with jewels set in the handle). At least this time I can tell myself that it will get regular use, and not just for this one-off event.

So now I am almost prepared for the Advisory Day - just two more prints to mount. Here's hoping it's all going to be worth the time and effort!

Flowers in Stony Places

Flowers blooming in stony places, in old walls, on building sites, in desolate urban landscapes, are strangely uplifting. Somehow their splashes of colour or delicacy of form against drab, unfriendly backgrounds seem joyously defiant. A reminder of beauty in broken-ness. Or of the resilience of something as simple as a daisy.

Late last summer in a huge heap of broken concrete at the edge of a car park a sunflower bloomed. It cared not that it wasn't in a garden. No-one had carefully planted and watered and nurtured this seed. Somehow it had ended up amongst the broken slabs, and found just enough space to germinate. It grew straight and tall and vigorous, formed a flower 'sun' and turned it towards the sky. Mum passed it one day when she was feeling particularly sad and lonely. It's cheerful simplicity lifted her mood and restored something to her soul.

A sunflower isn't a complicated plant. Nor is a daisy or a gerbera. They are the kinds of flowers children might easily draw. The more beautiful in broken places because of their simple forms.

There's a poem by John Masefield which I like very much. It's very short, yet thought-provoking:

I have seen flowers come in stony places
And kind things done by men with ugly faces,
And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races,
So I trust, too.

It's that last line which makes the poem complete. Trusting through difficult, distressing, disappointing, or dispiriting times.
Trusting that a flower will bloom again in a stony place.

Review: Lowepro Off Trail 1

When my camera kit was stolen from a plane in Amsterdam one of the items I was most annoyed to lose was my camera bag. It was a CCS bag. My kit fitted into it perfectly. So naturally it was no longer available and I couldn't replace it.

Buying camera bags is a bit like searching for the Holy Grail, and I suspect most photographers have several bags, using different ones for different purposes. A quick count tells me that I have no fewer than eight! Of that eight, one is never used (it holds my old film gear which I've used once in the last couple of years), one is rarely used (it holds everything, and I rarely need everything all at once), one was bought for a wedding (I must've had a 'funny turn' when I did that), and one was bought to replace my most used bag, but in practice it hasn't. So my most used bag is still the Lowepro Off Trail 1.

The Off Trail works really well for me. It is a 'belt pack' bag. The main compartment fits either of my Nikons (D7000/16-85 lens or D60/50mm lens) comfortably. Both cameras have Op/tech wrist straps attached. When in the bag I cover the camera's review screen with a lens cloth and lay the wrist strap on top. This seems to work as I've never had a scratch on either camera.

There are two supplied side pockets/lens cases. One usually contains my SB400 flash plus other small bits and pieces, the other my keys and phone. I usually work with one camera/one lens, so rarely carry a second lens. If I do, I juggle the stuff in the existing cases so as to accommodate it, or swap out one of the smaller cases for a slightly bigger one containing my 55-200 zoom if necessary. You can buy a number of Lowepro accessories which can be attached using their Sliplock system, or even attach smaller camera cases. I sometimes add the case containing my Coolpix compact, for example.

The belt is wide and easily adjusted, and the pack has compression straps which make it easily adjustable to suit whatever I'm wearing. I tend to end up with the main compartment on my hip, but can easily move the bag to adjust the weight. Wearing it this way means I can also wear a small backpack if I want to. Personally I prefer this arrangement than carrying one bigger backpack with 'general' gear and photo kit in it. (Edit, July 2013: this was written before I discovered the excellent Lowepro Photo Sport 200, which is now my most used bag. However, the Off Trail still gets lots of use too.)

An advantage of a small bag is that it is impossible to carry lots of clobber in it, and this means it is comfortable to wear for long walks or events as the capacity restricts the weight it carries. The top loading main compartment means it is easy to get at my camera, & I never have to put down the bag to get at my kit. If I am walking and carrying the camera, I often rest the camera holding hand on the bag, thus saving my arm the weight.

I have personalised my bag by adding a key ring loop to one of the fixed loops built in, and clipping to it a filter pouch, lens cloth and a sandisk case containing spare memory cards and the remote which operates either camera.

I would definitely recommend this bag for anyone with a small DSLR kit. It is compact, comfortable, practical, easy to use, and perfectly suited for its purpose.

Question: What's your most used camera case and why?

Aiming for an 'L' - Part 1

Now that we're in 2010, my 'L' (Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society) assessment in March feels scarily close. Last year I picked up a copy of the RPS's 'Distinctions Handbook' and over the holidays I took time to read it carefully. It has been very useful and I hope will mean I'll avoid failing on something really stupid and easily avoidable. It is permanently on my desk at the moment, with scrappy bits of paper & various notes & highlights within.

For the last couple of months I've been looking at my work and putting together some provisional panels. Applying for an 'L' is proving a useful stage in my photographic journey already because it's making me look at my photography with a far more fussy eye. Making sure all the technical aspects are spot on is one thing, but creating a 'cohesive panel' is something else, and is proving a serious challenge.

Looking at other photographers' successful panels creates a mixture of inspiration and petrification. I think I've now reached the stage where I could find myself de-railed by too much examination of any more panels. After all, my 'L' needs to be about MY work, and my own style.

Aiming for an 'L' has had another side effect too. Really helpful input from other photographers who are more experienced than I am and who have walked this path before me! It's easy to get tunnel vision when looking at your own work. Having some other eyes (not those of friends & family!) looking at what I do & how I present it has been very helpful, and certainly affected what I consider to be my stronger work. Again, it has also been an area where I've had to filter the advice and while taking on board various helpful comments, the end decisions on what I present and how are still down to me and it's important that I own them and feel that the panel I finally present represents me in a true and fundamental way, so that in future when I look back I can genuinely see how my work has progressed.

Although my assessment is in March, I have booked to attend an Advisory Day later this month. I am hoping the feedback from this will tell me if I'm going the right way with my idea of a 'cohesive panel'! The bottom line too of course is simply whether I am good enough to apply... I'm looking forward to meeting other photographers at the event, and to seeing what they're putting together.

All but four of the prints I've selected for the advisory day have arrived. I've carefully examined them for technical quality (as what you see 'in print form' isn't always what you see on screen), and already rejected one. Presenting them is now occupying my mind, as I have a mix of formats to deal with. It's a good thing I took some extra time off after Christmas/New Year as this sort of thing takes an inordinate amount of time to work through (for me anyway). Still, with the snow falling outside it is useful to have a project to make my enforced time at home profitable. Later on though I shall forget about panels and projects, wrap up and venture forth with my camera for some more 'snow photos'. Although perhaps I will take my compact as falling over on slippery surfaces & smashing up my DSLR doesn't top my list of 'things to do while on holiday'!

More to come in due course on 'Aiming for an 'L''.