Photography News issue 23

Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com

Profile

Before the Judge

Biography

Each issue, a respected judge or exhibition selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month, we hear from Susan Brown, whose long list of awards includes a Gold Medal in the Edinburgh Salon Susan Brown FRPS, EFIAP (b) DPAGB

SusanBrown Susan started out in photography in 1979 as something to keep her occupied whilst pregnant with her first child. Today, she’s one of the selectors for the Devon Guild of Craftsmen to advise on photographic entries and also judges exhibition for charitable organisation, The Photographic Angle. She’s also very involved with the Royal Photographic Society, sitting on the Licentiate panel as well as Pictorial and Creative panels for the Associateship and Fellowship. Sue’s also involved in the Mistresses of Light exhibition, featured in this issue. Home club I am not a member of a local camera club at the moment but a member of the Arena Group, which is affiliated to the PAGB. Favourite camera I love my Canon EOS 5D Mark III but I try not to get too hung up on the equipment I use. Favourite lens The 24-70mm L series f/2.8, it’s a lovely lens, very clear with high performance and the zoom covers most of what I use. Favourite accessory Because I am so fussy about an image being sharp where I want it to be, I use a Zacuto Z-Finder which fits over the viewing screen and magnifies the image by 3x. Favourite photographer Bill Brandt, I love his moody tones and contrasty monochrome work. He certainly influenced my early The sea and its changing moods and tides have become a passion. I enjoy playing with varying shutter speeds from around a second and up to five minutes. work in the darkroom. Favourite subjects

Words by Susan Brown

When I lived in Buckinghamshire I did quite a lot of club judging; living in Devon it seems more remote but as a PermaJet lecturer I travel a lot anyway so now do less club judging. The first Salon I helped to select was the Midland Salon back in the 1980s and not long ago I enjoyed going back to my first club to select the Bristol Salon. Most recently, I’ve selected at the Edinburgh Salon and I look forward to joining a team at Tallaght in Ireland this October. These are most enjoyable occasions, if time consuming; the organisers are very hospitable and I have been extremely well looked after. The most rewarding part of club level judging is with beginners. I usually discuss technical aspects and then focus on how an image may be improved, either at the taking or post stage. It may be the photographer won’t agree, but hopefully they’ll try my suggestions before deciding. I try to inspire rather than impose my views. When confronted with a snapshot, I try to remember we

all started here – I am aware the picture may be from a beginner. I look for the technical aspects first which are not too challenging, then discuss the possibilities of change of viewpoint or shutter speed which may improve the image, but always finish on a positive. I hope to give them something to think about. The standards in clubs and RPS panels alike seem to be getting higher and more diverse. I find some clubs can work too much to a formula; they are wary not to express individuality in case it does not conform, which is sad. It is better to stand out as an individual and if a judge likes it, it’s a bonus. Many judges enjoy seeing something different which may sway the result. With technology improving, producing quality images with little or no knowledge of photography is getting easier, and the standards are continually rising. It is therefore now more important to take the camera setting off auto and see what it is really capable of – it’ll make a world of difference!

It is better to stand out as an individual and if a judge likes it, it’s a bonus. Many judges enjoy seeing something different

It is rare that I am at a loss for words, but on one occasion I had to speak about an image that I found quite distasteful and the execution had emphasised this. I always try to start and finish on a positive note but on this occasion I was embarrassingly stumped, I just could not think of anything positive to say. Thank goodness it doesn’t happen often. The opposite of that is when an entry is so outstanding that it is inspiring. It is lovely to see an image and feel ‘I so wish I had taken that’. When quality, execution and subject matter all come together in the right conditions: magic! These images are in a class of their own and remain inmymemory for years. If there is a failing in competition images it is being a slave to fashion. There are times when I wonder what hashappenedtoindividuality.When competing, some photographers are frightened to think outside of the box and try something different for fear of failure. Failure is part of a journey to success, we all have to progress and need to keep pushing the boundaries. To me there are no rules in photography. The rule of thirds is a reasonable guideline for a beginner doing a landscape; but the best images are often those that break the rules for a dynamic, successful shot. It was Edward Weston who said: “Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.” We all have a pet hate and mine is HDR and the overuse of plug-ins,

when subtlety has gone out of the window. I do not like to see an image in which the software has decided on the outcome; just using a preset is so often obvious, overdone and unbelievable. However, if used with discretion so that the photographer has controlled the outcome that he or she wants to achieve, that is a different matter. There will always be trends in competitive photography, as well as HDR there is now more experimentation with surrealism. Some outstanding photographers have enormous success with their images somany try to emulate them. The other trend is the tendency to go on workshops. Workshops are fine as a learning tool if they encourage self-expression. Sadly there are some ‘spoon-fed’ workshops around and we see time and time again: similar images from the same workshops. Finally there is the trend of models. There are some models on the circuit at the moment who must now be very wealthy, I can almost guarantee seeing one of them in every competition. It’s quite refreshing to see an inexperienced model that the photographer has had to direct and has succeeded in getting a super image of. If asked to give advice to a photographer starting out I would say, be true to yourself and follow your passion. Just keep trying, you will know when an image finally feels right and what an exciting moment that is.

Right Seaweed on the beach at Bigbury Beach, South Devon.

susanbrownphotography.co.uk

What do you think?

Have you seen a photographic judge at work who you’d like to see profiled in Photography News ? If so please drop us a line to opinion@photography- news.co.uk with the judge’s name and, if possible, their contact details.