CAPITAL INTEREST

2015 IN PICTURES
RPS LONDON MEMBERS
FAVOURITE IMAGES OF 2015
SHARE
THEIR
DISTINCTION SUCCESSES
SUCCESSFUL PANELS FROM FRAN WALDING ARPS
AND LYNDA BECKETT LRPS
CAPITAL INTEREST
© ANDY GOTTS
JANUARY 2016 / VOLUME 2 / NUMBER 1 / WW.RPS.ORG
‘I AM AN ORDINARY GUY DOING AN EXTRAORDINARY JOB’
ANDY GOTTS TALKS ABOUT LIFE AS A PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE FAMOUS SUCH AS ANGELA LANSBURY (ABOVE)
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JANUARY 2016
WILDLIFE AND LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
IN THIS ISSUE
Advice from award-winning photographer Robert Cannis
PAGE 2, 3
RPS LONDON NEWS, RPS LONDON BOOKWORM CLUB
PAGE 4
LONDON, INTERVIEW - ANDY GOTTS
PAGE 10-17
PHOTOS OF 2015 - RPS LONDON MEMBERS SHARE THEIR FAVOURITE IMAGES OF 2015
PAGE 18-21
DISTINCTION SUCCESSES - FRAN WALDING ARPS AND LYNDA BECKETT LRPS
PAGE 22,23
JULIA-MARGARET CAMERON - AN EXHIBITION REVIEW
PAGE 24,25
DAVE’S DIARY - OBSESSION - NOT THE PERFUME
PAGE 26
USEFUL LINKS
RPS LONDON NEWS
CAPITAL EXPOSURE EXHIBITION - WOOLWICH
RPS London is delighted that award-winning wildlife and landscape photographer, Robert
Canis, has joined the London blogging team. Each month, Robert will be telling us what’s happening in the natural world and how to get
the best images. Follow the London blogging team here.
DO YOU LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS?
Join the RPS London Bookworm Club!
Do you like reading books about photography? Are you keen to discuss issues in
photography? Then we would love you to join the RPS London bookworm club!
I m a g e © F r e d B a r r i n g t o n ARPS
The RPS London, Street exhibition at the Heritage Centre in Woolwich has been extended. The exhibition
now runs until the morning of 16th Jan 2016. For more information click here.
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We meet once a month in the Crusting Pipe (Covent Garden)
to talk about photography. No need to buy a book up front.
Just come along and join in the debate.
For more information email london@rps.org.
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THE INTERVIEW
CI: How do you describe yourself?
AG: I usually say I’m like a young Ricky Gervais but funnier! Seriously though, I am an ordinary guy
doing an extraordinary job. I don’t take a single day for granted and although I’m a photographer
of celebrities, I am not a celebrity myself. I’m privileged.
CI: What does photography mean to you?
AG: I’m a real movie buff. All I ever wanted to do was to get close to movies and work in the
movie industry so photography is a way to fulfil that dream. I’m a photographer of actors and I
get to fulfil my dream of working with my heroes.
Rhianna, Singer
ANDY GOTTS
THE NORFOLK-BORN, LONDON BASED PHOTOGRAPHER OF
HOLLYWOOD ACTORS, INCLUDING ROBERT DE NIRO, JULIA ROBERTS
AND BRAD PITT, TALKS TO CAPITAL INTEREST ABOUT CELEBRITY
PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY.
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ALL IMAGES © ANDY GOTTS
Selfie with celebrity, Andy Gotts and Eddie Redmayne
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CI: What do you want to say with your photographs?
AG: Celebrity photography is a genre in its own right. It’s incredibly hard to get into now and
I feel sorry for people who are trying to. Celebrity photos are massively retouched these days
but my photos aren’t.
ANDY GOTTS - THE INTERVIEW
ALL IMAGES © ANDY GOTTS
I’m trying to get an honest representation - almost a historic record of the person I am
photographing. I always use plain backgrounds so I can focus on the facial study.
Angela Lansbury, Actress
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Sting, Musician
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do you get what¹s in your mind onto
the photograph in just the way you want?
AG: I always research my subjects. When I
shot Morgan Freeman, for example, I wanted
to create my own shot without mimicking or
copying anyone else. It was the same with
Clint Eastwood - I had the shot in my mind for
years and I got it in the first shot of the sitting.
But often it is meeting the sitter in the middle
- I start with my ideas and then they contribute
in a way that I never could have expected.
It’s a lot harder to capture a portrait, a face,
compared with a set piece or person in an
environment. But I use black and white, or
very limited colour, to focus the viewer so that
their imagination has to do the work.
CI: What
do you think makes a memorable
photograph?
AG: It’s your initial reaction to the photo - a
memorable photo captures you straightaway.
CI: How
do you get yourself inspired for a
photoshoot?
AG: My inspiration comes from the movies. I
love old movies by Hitchcock and Lean and
also I’m a big fan of art - Caravaggio is a
favourite.
I don’t tend to look at other photographers’
work as I don’t want to be too influenced
and mimic - I try to look at other mediums,
although I love the work of Alvedon, Penn and
Albert Watson. But I don’t want them to creep
into my work.
CI: When
you are shooting, how much of it is
instinct vs planned?
AG: It’s a mix of both - I plan and research
beforehand but it probably all changes after
the first few shots. I think it’s about 40%
planning and 60% instinct. Although I always
say photography is 20% talent, 70% luck and
10% alcohol.
CI: Do
CI: What¹s been your most challenging
assignment?
AG: My recent shoot of Dick van Dyke, Mel
Brooks and Carl Reiner took 4 years to arrange
and the three men hadn’t spoken for about 50
years
CI: What do you think the future looks like for
photography and photographers?
AG: This is a bit of a double edged sword there used to be a few huge movie icons and
an enormous audience of people looking at
them, nowadays anyone and everyone is a
celebrity but the audience is smaller and of
course anyone with a couple of hundred
pounds can buy a good camera.
This dilutes the credibility of the professional
art of photography but at the same time it is
fantastic because more people are involved in
photography.
In the future no news event will not be
photographed! The selfie is the new
autograph! So it’s harder to make a living from
photography - even at weddings now, at least
80% of guests have a camera with them, so it
will be tough for some photographers, but I
think social and documentary photography is
becoming more popular.
So the future is looking rosy for digital
photography - but bleak for the traditional
darkroom, which is a real shame.
CI: Is there life outside photography for you?
AG: I’m a one man band. No agent, no PR, no
management, no PA, no assistant, just me. So I
have to do everything. Every day I’m planning,
researching or organising shoots, so no there’s
no life outside photography - except to drink
Champagne of course!
you have any unfulfilled photographic
ambitions?
AG: No! I’m lucky that I’ve managed to
do pretty much everything on my wish list.
Although I might like to photograph the
Queen.
ANDY GOTTS - THE INTERVIEW
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© ANDY GOTTS
CI: How
David Walliams, Comedian
The National Portrait Gallery holds a selection of his photographs in their permanent collection
and in 2009 Gotts was honoured with the presentation of the Fox Talbot Award.
In 2011 Gotts was conferred the degree Doctor of Arts by De Montfort University and he is a
former President of the British Institute of Professional Photographers.
2012 saw Gotts appointed MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours List Andy is noted for his
excellent book ‘Degrees’, A coffee table volume and ex-hibitions inspired by the game, the Six
Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Current projects for 2015 includes BAFTA – ‘Behind The Mask’, the Monty Python reunion and
‘iCons’ for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. As well as a special project for Vivienne Westwood
and her SAVE THE ARCTIC campaign.
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2015 IN PICTURES
We asked RPS London members to share their favourite image of 2015 and what a wonderfully
diverse array of images we’ve received from our talented membership.
Adrian McCarthy
Del Barrett ARPS
“My favourite has to be this one of Geoff Nicholson (author of the novel Bleeding London) taken
at the Bleeding London exhibition, as it represents the culmination of this amazing project.”
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Lorraine Grey LRPS
Barry Hoffman LRPS
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Dee Robinson ARPS
Freedom Square, Soweto
David Barnes LRPS
Gareth Phillips
Rainbow over tower london.jpg
“At a student march in London in November the majority of marchers seemed to be students
protesting about university fees. A small group dressed in black, faces covered were clearly on
the march to cause trouble. They carried sticks and placards edged in metal. When violence
broke out they were at the centre of the mayhem.”
Ilya Fisher
“An image taken this summer at
my local City Farm, Freightliners. I
just love the weed in this creature’s
mouth!”
Eric Richard
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Paul Bather ARPS
Jonathan Taylor
“Eventually
chose
this one as it’s one of
this year’s mysteries.
In August during
draining of model
boating pond at
Hampstead Heath
this 1970s Cortina
emerged.
No-one knows how
it got there or how
long it had been
under the water.
Possibly dumped by
joyriders. I wonder if
whoever pushed it in
there was still around
to see it emerge?”
Jen Pedler
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Mo Connelly
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Roger Kelly
“This is probably my favourite
of the year. The Thames played
a significant part in my personal
London photographic project during
2015 and I could often be seen
wandering the shoreline at low tide
for something interesting to shoot.
This merry band of musicians were
warming up their act on a cold
March afternoon, probably readying
themselves for the hectic south bank
throng about to be unleashed during
the coming months.”
Mike Roberts
“I was travelling by bus from Morden to Raynes Park and I just Had To Get Off and grab some
images. The light was just stunning.”
“At the Documentary
Group’s Workshop on
1st November led by
Gabrielle Motola, one
of our challenges was
to produce just three
photographs.
This
photograph was a
“grab shot” but, to
my mind, captured the
relationship between
the
two
women
(one is clearly under
instruction!) and I like
the steam rising from
the dumplings and the
sketches on the wall
behind, which give it a
sense of place.”
Penny Dixie ARPS
Obe at Woodberry Wetlands - “London
Wildlife Trust is using a Suffolk Punch called
Obe to help create an inner city nature
reserve in Hackney. The new reserve called
Woodberry Wetlands will open in Spring
2016.”
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Judy Hicks LRPS
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DISTINCTION SUCCESSES
ARPS PANEL
FRAN WALDING ARPS
Fran Walding ARPS describes her journey from LRPS to ARPS
Having achieved my LRPS Distinction in September 2014 I decided to try for the next level. I
realised that the standard required for ‘A’ would be much higher than needed for ‘L’ but I have
always liked to set myself challenges.
I love glass, in all it’s shapes and forms and love to spend time in the V&A glass display room with
it’s wonderful examples of ancient glass and it’s modern displays using glass as an artists medium
and I began to wonder if there was a way that I could possibly come up with a panel using glass
that would be interesting and, hopefully eye-catching.
I had already taken a few pictures showing the optical illusion created by the interaction between
glass and light and in the end I used this phenomenon as the basis of the whole panel.
Creating the images was great fun, as was putting the panel together and I finished it in far less
time than I expected.
The only part I didn’t enjoy was the actual assessment day and that was only because I always
find exams stressful and as welcoming and warm as the staff at Fenton House were, it was still, in
my mind, an exam
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All Images © Fran Walding ARPS
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LRPS PANEL
LYNDA BECKETT LRPS
Getting my ‘L’ panel sorted.
I’ve always had a camera. However it was less than five years ago I really started to use a stills
camera as my preferred media. I’m a TV Producer who loves modern art. I did a post-grad at St
Martin’s School of Art in Fine Art Film and TV, so I can paint and draw. My five years at art school
didn’t go to waste. I know a good composition when I see one.
In March 2015 my husband subscribed me to the RPS, mainly because he thought I was just
storing my photos on a hard-drive, rather than getting them out there. Joining the RPS prompted
me to do a ten-week Open University photography course that runs in conjunction with the RPS.
The OU course made me think about the technical side of photography and pushed me to get
my head around it. I was challenged to go out and do some street photography and to fiddle
with my ISO and F-stops. Before I had finished the course, I was hooked. I had decided I was
going to go for my ‘L’ at the beginning of November 2015.
The members of The Cave, London RPS, and other friends saw my work and encouraged me to
push forward. I then decided to go to an advisory day in London during the summer. I went to
an ‘A’ panel day, just to see what other people were submitting. Will Cheung FRPS, one of the
advisors on the day kindly agreed to have a look at the ‘L’ panel I was planning to submit. He
quickly pointed me in the right direction. I finally read and re-read the requirements of the ‘L’
panel, then set to work honing my images, replacing, reshooting and re-editing images before
sending them over to Will for another look.
A friend, who in a previous life had been a gallery assistant, chose the final ten images for my
panel. I needed someone to be more objective about the images than I could be.
At the end of October 2015 I went along to my ‘L’ advisory day. The advisors were great, very
honest about the images that did and didn’t work. If the image wasn’t sharp or was peaked either
black or white, it was out. They also gave advice on image size, mounting, and papers to print on.
That day was probably the most nerve-racking for me. If they had told me I was off target, I had
just four days to turn it around before going to Bath for the final assessment. Fortunately I was
on target.
November 4th 2015 was the big day. 10:30am came and the first panel was put up in front of the
five judges and chairman. It passed. Great. So did the second, third and fourth. In fact the first
eight passed. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Surely not everyone was going to
pass. Then just before lunch, my panel was placed on the wall. Surprisingly, I was calm. No point
panicking at this point. The seated judges finally rose and started towards individual images that
caught their eye. At this point everything I thought was wrong with each of the images passed
through my head. Finally the judges all sat down again. They wrote on their assessment sheets.
The chairman collected the sheets, gazed at them briefly and announced that I had passed.
Now I am thinking about subjects for the ‘A’.
All Images © Lynda Beckett LRPS
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JULIA MARGARET CAMERON
EXHIBITION REVIEW
By Adrian McCarthy
Currently we are privileged to have two exhibitions (in the
Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum)
showing the works of pioneering photographer Julia
Margaret Cameron 1815 to 1879 and celebrating the bicentenary of her birth.
I was lucky enough to attend the Press Preview at the
V&A and subsequently both exhibitions with the RPS
Historical Group for a curator led viewing which was most
interesting.
The exhibition in the V&A shows her early work and
projects carried out in England before she moved back to
Ceylon in 1875. The Science Museum is exhibiting mostly
different pictures and those produced in India after she
returned there.
The pioneering work done by Julia Margaret Cameron
was considered controversial by some at the time,
although others praised it for being energetic, artistic and
experimental.
A lot of the pictures on display in the Science museum were
originally bound into books, whereas in the V&A, most
were purchased directly from Julia Margaret Cameron
(although some have been acquired in more recent times).
A number of the photographs show the progression in
learning that JMC went through and even some of her
later photographs show evidence of the difficulties with
working with the wet collodion process.
The two exhibitions give an insight into early photography.
I thoroughly enjoyed both of these exhibitions and would
encourage readers to visit them.
All pictures reproduced here by Kind Permission of the
Victoria and Albert Museum.
Current Exhibitions:
V&A: Julia Margaret Cameron until 21st February 2016
Science Museum: Julia Margaret Cameron: Influence and
Intimacy until 28th March 2016
The Julia Margaret Cameron Exhibition at the V&A is
supported by the Bern Schwartz Family Foundation.
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DAVE’S DIARY
OBSESSION - NOT THE PERFUME
Dave Harris LRPS
point. My byword (36 pictures later) was simplicity. A double rail
(? safety gone bonkers) added a darker focal point. On the third.
Clickety click.
How many pictures of a railing can you take? Lots, believe me. All
the same really. Up a bit, down a bit, left, right, zoom in, zoom out.
Wait for a cloud or two. Repeat.
I’ll wait for someone to swim. Add a bit of human interest.
Another ‘roll’. Of my wife’s eyes.
I step back to capture some glint on the wall. In focus. Out of focus.
Back to the rail. Swimmer turns his head. Repeat. Whoops. Too late.
Wait. Repeat.
His head is turned the other way now. Is that better? Maybe. Repeat.
Man gets out.
Glint on wall, dark bit of railing on the third and no man. Don’t burn
out the glint. Stop down 1/3rd. 2/3rd. Full stop. Repeat.
I gander at the screen at the back. They look ok. Not brilliant.
Certainly not winners. The light isn’t interesting enough.
I’ll come back tonight, around sunset.
Which I do. But all the deckchairs have been set up. The finity pool!
I suppose I could have gone and laid them all flat. But I like to work
with what I’m given (ie. lazy).
I’ll use them to my advantage.
I arrived at the infinity pool for the first time.
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Blue sky. Afternoon sun. Empty pool.
In. Out. Up. Down. Wait. Repeat. Things were different in the film
era. You thought more (usually about how much the whole thing
was costing!)
I was captivated - photographically speaking.
Light ok. But the pool doesn’t show its best side at sunset.
You all know what an infinity pool is? It’s something about no visible edge, so you can see to infinity.
Tosh of course. You bang your head if you swim beyond the edge.
I’ll come back in the morning, around sunrise.
But it’s a visual treat - and one that set my creative juices going (harder and harder, these days!)
Which I do. Deckchairs still up. Sky ok. In. Out. Up. Down. Wait.
Repeat.
I went straight back to the room to get my camera before someone jumped in and ruined the effect.
An early morning swimmer arrives....Repeat.
I had all sorts of Sunday newspaper travel section images in my head. Sunburned model with folded
arms. Funky hat at an even funkier angle. Campari and Tonic by the side. Cocktail stick sticking out.
All holiday. Every evening. Every morning. I became obsessed. And
I never got one really good shot.
My first shots were the edge of the pool. There was a safety rail sticking up, so I used this as a focus
Dave Harris LRPS, 21 December 2015
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ALL IMAGES © DAVE HARRIS LRPS
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