Photography News Issue 40

Photography News | Issue 40 | absolutephoto.com

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CameraClubof theYear in associationwith Theme 2: Wildlife

Chris Weston is a professional wildlife photographer and his work has been widely published in the national press. We asked for advice on how to capture great animal images. “I believe wildlife photography is about communication. When I make an image what I’m doing is telling the viewer, ‘This is what I feel about the subject. This is the way I see the world.’ So, before I press the shutter release, I askmyself, howwill I caption this image? If the only answer is the species name, I won’t make the image. Only when I have an interesting, relevant or provocative answer do I make the image. It’s a useful technique that has kept my hit rate high and my trash count low.” “Effective communication has to be unambiguous, so I’m mindful of what’s in the image space. One of the main reasons photographs fail is because there’s too much conflicting and competing information. “I also believe that gaining a sense of what it was like to be ‘in the moment’ is far more powerful than revealing an action. I don’t like to be a voyeur; I like to take part and I put this energy into my images by allowing wildlife to come close or shooting from direct angles. “The best way to make a connection is through eye contact. Human beings are visual creatures and communicate visually. To connect the viewer with my subjects I take great care in how I compose the face. Keeping eyes sharp is essential and paying heed to what the eyes are saying is part of the story.” Closingdate Midnight 5 February 2017

Top left Eye contact is the secret to making a connection between the viewer and a subject and holding the viewer’s attention. Left Using exposure technique to remove unwanted background “clutter” gives greater emphasis to the subject and focuses on the story youwant to tell. Belowleft One ofmy aims is to involve the viewer in themoment. Shooting fromunusual angles creates amore intense and energetic photograph. Above Before pressing the shutter, I askmyself, “Howwould I caption this image?”When I have an emotive answer I make the image. Right Careful attention to the subjects’ eyes andwhat they are ‘saying’ enables the photographer to set themood.

For more on ChrisWeston

Chris Weston runs photography workshops and overseas safaris. chrisweston.photography

Round 1: Portrait results New City Photographic Society are the first qualifiers for our final, which is taking place later this spring. But it was a very, very close thing, with New City winning the round from three rivals, Dorchester CC, Exeter CC and Nuneaton PS, by just a single point. Norwich & District PS were just a point further back. During this first round of the contest the competition could not have been any closer, so well done to the members of New City Photographic Society and commiserations to the runner-ups that made the contest so excitingly close.

Scores New City Photographic Society Nuneaton Photographic Society

89 88 88

Exeter Camera Club

Dorchester Camera Club 88 Norwich and District Photographic Society 87 Colchester Photographic Society 86 Seaford Photographic Society 85 Preston Photographic Society 85 Earl Shilton Camera Club 85 Park Street Camera Club 84 Harlow Photographic Society 84 Tonbridge Camera Club 83 City of London and Cripplegate PS 83 Wokingham and East Berkshire CC 82 Harpenden Photographic Society 82 Halstead & District Photographic Society 82 Great Notley Photography Club 82 Gloucester Camera Club 82 First Monday 82 West Wickham Photographic Society 81 Peterborough Photographic Society 81 Maidenhead Camera Club 81 F8 80 Dronfield Camera Club 80 Blandford Forum Camera Club 79 Ayr Photographic Society 79 Wisbech and District Photographic Society 78 Consett & District Photographic Society 77 Beckenham Photographic Society 77 Alba Photographic Society 77 Dunholme Camera Club 76 Birlingham Photography Club 74

The overall scores are shown here and the individual scores can be seen on the CCOTY gallery on absolutephoto.com.

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