Click here to see the above photograph. Autumn Beach by Geoff Matthews
In September, member Mick Brittain gave a presentation entitled ‘Art school to Photographic Society: In search of a personal style’. Reviewing his early life, Mick left school early to enrol at the Birmingham School of Photography, which introduced him to the 5×4 and 10×8 inch film camera formats, but the environment left him dissatisfied. He subsequently moved to Bournemouth, adopted 35mm photography, and became involved in photographing students at the local School of Fashion where he learnt the techniques of studio lighting and modelling.
Suitably encouraged, Mick relocated to London, only to find that fashion photography there was exclusive and extremely competitive. As a consequence, he turned to reprographic work for advertising agencies and magazines, becoming a specialist in interpreting clients’ requirements and enabling the early use of computers in publishing. Throughout his presentation, Mick showed photographs taken at various stages of his career, including some stunning photographs taken in Croatia – a favourite holiday destination.
In later years, Mick converted to digital photography and became interested in HDR (High Dynamic Range) using Adobe Photoshop, the intention being to create a ‘Super Real’ image of a particular scene. This involves the superimposition of several photographs and software manipulation to create a visually interesting effect, rather than necessarily being a true image of the subject. The final part of Mick’s presentation was devoted to showing examples of Super Real images, demonstrating the HDR technique. This was a stimulating presentation from an accomplished commercial photographer, which was greatly appreciated by his audience.
Our major event this year is the Society’s 9th Annual Exhibition of members’ work – first on 26 September, at The Institute, Adderbury from 10.00am – 4.00pm, and then on 24th October, in The Living Room, Deddington Parish Church of SS Peter & Paul, 9.30am – 2.30pm.
John Branton