| Year joined DPS | 2010 |
| Signification positions held in DPS | Vice President 2015, President 2016, Councillor (current) |
| Honours | LPSNZ |
| Current camera | Olympus OMD EM10 |
| Favourite camera you have ever used/had | Pentax K100D (but I am growing to love my Olympus) |
| Which do you prefer: Film or Digital? | Digital |
| And why? | I have only really ever photographed using digital, apart from when I was a kid and was just snapping away not knowing what I was doing (and how much it was costing my parents to develop the film!) |
| Which do you prefer: Print or Projected? | |
| And why? | I like seeing the finished product. It feels like the final step in the process to me. |
| How did you get into photography? | My brother brought me a DSLR camera before I went on my OE in 2009 and I got hooked. |
| What is your most memorable moment from your time at DPS so far? | I have lots of good memories, but I think so far the most memorable has been celebrating 125 years of the society. It was great helping to get the exhibition and events organised and great to learn more about the history of the society in the process. |
| What keeps you inspired with your photography? | Seeing what others are up to experimenting with new techniques. |
| Where is the best place that you have been to take photos? | I have been lucky enough to visit London a few times now and absolutely love photographing there. I love the anonymity of being able to photograph people in the streets, the amazing street art, and the mix of old and new architecture. There is always something different and unusual to photograph. |
| Do you have any favourite photography related websites or web resources that you’d like to share with other members? |
Month: May 2017
Getting creative with Jenny: Part 3
In this 3 part special feature Dunedin Photographic Society member Jenny Longstaff shares how she goes about creating her fascinating artworks that start as simple photos. [PART 1] [PART 2]
Here is another design, utilising just one photo (a maple tree in Dunedin Botanic Garden) copied and modified with various Photoshop effects. The photos were then positioned and arranged in InDesign to a large file size as the final design was printed onto a PVC “banner” for display in the Botanic Garden.
Photoshop effects included manipulating colour balance and channel mixers, inverting colours, and using “twirl” in the “distort” filter menu.
The design is called “Variations for Vivaldi”, aiming to achieve a feeling of The Four Seasons and musical rhythms (the 5 wriggly lines at the bottom of the banner).
Getting creative with Jenny: Part 2
In this 3 part special feature Dunedin Photographic Society member Jenny Longstaff shares how she goes about creating her fascinating artworks that start as simple photos. [PART 1]
Here is another design, called “Maritime Networks”, created from 4 separate photos of fishing net details (location: Taieri Mouth) arranged into patterns, with a photo of fishing boats (location: Moeraki).
I chose 4 fishing net photos, paying attention to the colours and angles of the rope strands, then in Photoshop I modified the proportions so they were each equal-sized squares. The photos were then placed on a blank page in InDesign program, repeated and mirror-imaged as necessary, achieving a kaleidoscope effect – my version of “knitting” the designs into fishermen’s jerseys (or guernseys, or Arran-Isle patterns) As an aside: did you know that, in the past, each fisherman’s hand-knitted woollen jumper was unique, so he could be identified if he drowned?
You will notice that the top woven band includes vertical fish-shapes. The top circle represents the Moon; the bottom circle is the Earth, and the large dotted circle represents the connection with the Moon influencing the tides. It also represents maritime navigation with the stars or lights.
Getting creative with Jenny: Part 1
In this 3 part special feature Dunedin Photographic Society member Jenny Longstaff shares how she goes about creating her fascinating artworks that start as simple photos.
The first 2 images are repeat patterns:
- a kereru native NZ pigeon – photographed on my back yard clothesline
- an Australian rainbow lorikeet – photographed when I was hand-feeding it at Broulee on NSW south coast.
I removed the backgrounds (in Photoshop) so the shapes of the birds were clearly defined. Through my past working life as a book designer, I am familiar with the InDesign program, so I use that to position my photos on a blank page (dimensions to my own choice), then arrange copies of the photo to create the repeat patterns. Using commands such as copy and paste, mirror image, and flip vertically or horizontally, or changing the angle of placement, brings in as much variety as I need.
For the kereru design my main preoccupation was to create an ambiguous design of positive and negative areas that would not be immediately recognisable. In fact, some people never see the birds until they are pointed out to them!
For the lorikeet parrot designs I was playing with the vibrant colour arrangements. The images were included in an exhibition I held during the International Science Festival, which I called “Pigments of Imagination”, aimed at children. It was about colour theory and mixing, so the bird’s plumage was a good example of primary and secondary colours. I arranged them to enhance the feeling of rhythm and energy, and colour vibrations. A drop-shadow effect was added to the larger single bird to make it more 3-dimensional.
Sutton Salt Lake trip report
Almost a dozen DPS members met at the railway station in warm sunny conditions two
weeks ago. Our drivers took us out past Outram to Lake Mahinerangi. First we took some overviews of the lake and village working with gently windswept tussock grasses for foreground interest. Next stop nearby was the Canton stamping battery used 100 years back to extract gold from quartz rocks. Lots of rust and lichens to add texture to our shots.
After a quick drive to Middlemarch caffeine levels were restored and we were ready for the 20 minute walk into Sutton Salt Lake. This was cleverly timed so we arrived just before sunset and the unusual rocky landscape of schist torrs was enhanced by the long shadows. There was only a little water in the lake which is the only salt lake in NZ fed by rain only and no streams in or out. 
The sunset itself was not so dramatic but with a full moon rising over hills to the north east and lake reflections there was plenty of exciting photography to be done.
We made good time home in the dark and would like to thank our organisers and drivers for an interesting and satisfying afternoon.
Text and images by Ian Thomson
April 2017 Projected Image of the Month Results (Category: Multiple Exposures)
Appraised by Jenny Longstaff and Raimo Kuparinen
