Photography

Member Profile: Gary McClintock

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Year joined DPS 2016
Signification positions held in DPS Current council member – Print secretary
Honours LPSNZ
Current camera Canon 6D
Favourite camera you have ever used/had Although not my favourite camera I was recently amazed at how good my LG3 phone camera was. In 2016 all the photos I took and entered in any competitions were taken on my phone and lots of these are among my favourites. So easy!
Which do you prefer: Film or Digital? Digital
And why? While digital may not have the mystery of waiting to get 24 or 36 slides back the duds are way less expensive
Which do you prefer: Print or Projected? No preference
And why? I do like to see and hold a print but I like the flexibility of projected, particularly as it offers a economic way to get feedback
How did you get into photography? I started taking photos at high school when I was tramping as I have always enjoyed trying to capture the landscape but with little real thought. At teachers college I did a photography course. While developing and printing was interesting I was more excited by the challenge to look more carefully around me for photos and now believe one of the greatest benefits of photography is that it has changed how I see the world and there is potential for this to keep changing and growing.
What is your most memorable moment from your time at DPS so far? Most memorable moment was assisting the judges (not actually judging) at the Dunedin Festival of Photography. It reminded me how subjective the process is and how brutal it is. So best to try not to take things too seriously
What keeps you inspired with your photography? The reason I keep taking photographs is because it keeps giving me the opportunity to be out in the environment and loose myself in the process. Getting a photo that i like is a great bonus but the the being there is most important.
Do you have a particular theme that would summarise your photographs? Most of my photos can be summed up as anything other than people or pets. I particularly like trying to abstract out compositions in the landscapes natural and urban
Where is the best place that you have been to take photos? Christchurch after the earthquake was a unique opportunity and when ever I stayed in the centre of town I would go out in the morning with my phone.I think I have some great images that show how I saw the changing town.
What piece of equipment could you not do without in your camera bag? The most useful thing I have bought recently is a pair of waders. Not having to worry about getting wet means I can access places and set up for shots in places I could not get to before.
Do you have any advice for your fellow photographers? Take what you are excited by because the process of taking is at least as important as the product so do something you enjoy.

Do you have any favourite photography related websites or web resources that you’d like to share with other members?		 I found a book by Ulrich Hensel called Sites which shows images can be abstracted out of the city environment http://ulrich-hensel.de/en/slides

I also enjoy Guy Tal whose website features a section of images abstracted out of the natural landscape http://guytal.com/

If you would like to share your thoughts and images in a member profile, please contact cameracraft.DPSNZ@gmail.com

Upcoming: Spring Print Exhibition

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A reminder to all members, our Spring Print Exhibition is coming up soon and entries will close on Monday 14th August 2017. 

Please bring prints to the next meeting or e-mail  Gary (prints.dpsnz@gmail.com) to arrange a drop off.
Also note, all image titles must be entered through the online system here as well.  This helps ensure titles are printed on labels and certificates with the spelling you prefer 🙂
We have booked the Dunedin Community Gallery for the exhibition and so our meeting on the 11th September will be the official opening evening and then the images will be on display 12th-14th September.
Images are being selected for the Open section by Alan Dove, and for the Natural History section by Ross McIvor.
Details for entering:
  • Spring Print Exhibition is open to all financial members of the Society
  • Members can submit up to six entries in each of the Open and Natural History sections
  • Images previously accepted in seasonal exhibitions are not eligible
  • Images must be the original work of the exhibitor
  • Images may be trade or exhibitor printed
  • Prints must be mounted on a firm backing and have a mat
  • Prints can be any size to fit within the mat size you use:
    • Minimum size of mat 25cm x 30cm ( 10″ x 12″ )
    • Maximum size of mat 50cm x 40cm ( 20″ x 16″ )
  • Exhibitors name, image title and section must be on the reverse side of mount, at centre top
  • Image titles must be entered through the online system here.
Horsing Around, Melanie Middlemiss
Horsing Around, Melanie Middlemiss. Open Champion, 2017 Autumn Print Exhibition

Getting creative with Jenny: Part 3

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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.

1.maple tree
Photoshop effects included manipulating colour balance and channel mixers, inverting colours, and using “twirl” in the “distort” filter menu.

2.colour play

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).
3.variations for vivaldi

Getting creative with Jenny: Part 2

dunedinphotogsoc

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).

1.net details
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.
2.maritime networks

Getting creative with Jenny: Part 1

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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:
  1. a kereru native NZ pigeon – photographed on my back yard clothesline
  2. an Australian rainbow lorikeet – photographed when I was hand-feeding it at Broulee on NSW south coast.
1.kereru 3.rainbow lorikeet
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.
2.pigeon pairs4.parrot patterns

Sutton Salt Lake trip report

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Ian1Almost 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.

Ian2After 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. Ian3

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)

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Appraised by Jenny Longstaff and Raimo Kuparinen

Standings