Satellite Group Updates

In our April meeting we showed work on the theme of Time. We had some imaginative interpretations showing the passage of time from a few seconds, hours or years to more conceptual abstract notions of time. Literal interpretations included images of clocks, both real and artistic depictions, at various times of the day and pictures showing the effect of time on the faces of the elderly. A sequence of photographs of the incoming tide on the Thames was an apt demonstration of the passage of time over a period of hours, having a time-lapse quality when viewed in succession. In a sequence of street photographs, the placement of people within the frame showed how important waiting for the ‘right’ time to press the shutter can be. Time was also interpreted by movement, with slow shutter speeds blurring motion in a series of self-portraits, as well as in a video of slowly dripping water. The ravages of time could be seen in a set of images of decaying walls whilst a series of signs with dates seemed like relics of a bygone age frozen in time on London’s streets. Photographs of architectural facades were layered and drawn upon to give an illusion of the building’s history and in another series of worn urban facades themes of memory, mortality and ageing were hinted at.

Edith Templeton

East Gate Screen Fade by Janet Nabney

No Time by Jeanette Thomson

Jennifer Roberts

From the video Time and Water by Sue Czapska

Ruined Wall by John Nabney

The Ravages of Time by Maria Oldland

Peter Luck

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 8th May 2013 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. The meeting theme will be Out of the Box – a topic which is wide open to many different interpretations: from the obvious idea of ‘thinking outside of the box’ – unusual ideas or concepts; a change from your normal subject matter; different approaches to your habitual working methods; new and unusual processes; combining different media to something completely off the wall! Please bring along any work you wish to show, either your own or another photographer’s, in digital, print or book form. Digital files on a memory stick please.

Wow, has spring finally arrived – everything growing like mad, with blossom everywhere – fab.

March Meeting: Thanks to Lesley for hosting; the refreshments were of a particularly high standard (how does she know I can kill for After Eights) and clearly shows me how I need to sharpen my act.

The theme this month was a bit fiendish and asked for members to try and catch/depict something current/in the news in just one shot – not as easy as it seemed. The inspiration for this idea came from a blog I came across – 7 Photographs that show society’s debt to photography – and despite how hard it might have seemed I am grateful for everyone who entered into the spirit.

We discussed our exhibition options and the opportunity of displaying inside The Exchange in Putney seemed to be the most attractive option (The Putney Arts Centre, which although had good space, had fluctuating footfall for comparative money) and I was tasked with going away and seeing whether they had any space during the Wandsworth Arts Festival, as it would be good to tie in with this. An exhibition theme was discussed, at length, and a more open/lose title was decided upon – Portfolio15 – Perspectives. It was also floated as to whether anyone would mind us involving a local sponsor to try and cover some of the costs and there were no objections, as long as it was handled sensitively.

Our monthly theme was also a thing of much debate, with the consensus going with either ‘Incidental’ (coincidentally the fLIP quarterly theme) or if you wished ‘Fabrication’ or both. To echo some of the comment, it might be good to have one or two people take a crack at the fLIP theme and for someone from our group to actually appear in the magazine – not our decision of course but at least one has a huge advantage if you actually enter.

Our next meeting is set for 7pm Wednesday 24th April. Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible – All the best AW

contact Andrew Wilson at aw@unity-publishing.co.uk

Our theme for the month was the different ways of Combining Photographs. There was a diverse selection of images on show – from diptychs to sequences and series, double exposures, collages and video; It was interesting to see how the pairing of photographs could sometimes set up conversations with each other, becoming more than the sum of their parts, expanding the evocative and emotional possibilities of the imagery.

A collage of images of the same subject in different sizes and formats served to show the subject from different viewpoints. Ariadne van de Ven’s pair of portraits of a young girl taken within a few seconds of each other show the subject in two very different moods, giving the lie to the idea that you can capture a person’s essence or character in one single portrait. Chris Tribble also showed portraits, pairing a selection from his recent series of residents in his block of flats, undertaken for the London Villages Project. From a collage of photographs of the torn edges of advertising hoardings, Edith Templeton made a work of art in its own right. We were also shown a sequence of photographs by Peter Luck (uncharacteristically in colour!) of disparate images strung together as possible film locations, from which a narrative could be constructed. Chris Burrow’s book Dead Brolly Syndrome showed the effect of repeating a motif throughout, where these abandoned inanimate objects eventually attain a kind of tragic personality of their own! Sue Czapska’s video of an open book of Giotto’s paintings filmed against the background of children in a play area, combined sound, still and moving imagery in an imaginative way.

Girl in Green Dress by Ariadne Van de Ven

Collage by Edith Templeton

Pairs by Chris Tribble

From the video Pages of a Book by Sue Czapska

Peter Luck

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 10th April 2013 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. The theme of the meeting will be on the concept of Time in whichever way you wish to portray it – an abstract notion which can easily be made visible by the camera. This could include the passage of time – either over seconds, hours, days or years; the seasons and weather; movement; memories; combinations of photographs, single images,or video. The only limit is your imagination! Please bring along any work you wish to show, either your own or another photographer’s, in digital, print or book form. Digital files on a memory stick please.

As a natural progression from our roundup of the previous year’s work which took place last month, this time we focused on looking forward and discussing plans for future work and projects. A variety of projects already under way were shown and we discussed experimenting with new ways of working as some people felt that it was time for a change and that they were getting stale. Sometimes we need to pause and take stock and it always helps to examine your influences – Hugh Look and Ariadne van de Ven both gave a short talk on what was important to them in photography and brought along a selection of books and artefacts which had inspired them along the way. As always there was much vigorous debate about the work shown but our members always welcome constructive criticism!

Sue Czapska

Cavell Street 29/12/2012 morning by Peter Luck

From the series Picture the View by Ingrid Newton

Oskar Marchock

Belly Dance with Scarves by Maria Oldland

Robert Royston

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 13th March 2013 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. The theme of the meeting will be the different ways of Combining Photographs. This could include diptychs, triptychs, layers, sequences, books etc; also combining photography with different media such as painting, textiles, collage. Please bring along any work you wish to show, either your own or another photographer’s, in digital, print or book form. Digital files on a memory stick please.

At our November meeting, kindly hosted by master baker Lesley Bruce (wow her biscuits are to die for) we discussed what we might like to do for an exhibition in 2013. The idea to join The Wandsworth Arts festival was floated and our secretary, Andrew Wilson, was tasked with going away and seeing how this might be arranged. Last February we held an excellent exhibition at the Putney Library and it was felt that we should try and top that if we could. More on this in our January notes. Our theme for the month was ‘Silhouettes’, and a fabulous selection was put forward; the variety on show proved how skilled our group are.

Karen Dixon

Julian Newton

Leonard Caudrey

Lesley Bruce

At our January 2013 meeting we saw in the New Year welcoming three new guests – Ann, Alina and Tom – and we hope they were sufficiently impressed with what we do to return. Guests are welcome to join us for three meetings before being asked to officially join or not. Andrew Wilson reported back on the Wandsworth Arts festival, where he explained that there was not enough time to submit something this year but given the strength of our idea that we ought to consider returning with this in good time for next year, which the group agreed with. Andrew said he would seek an alternative idea for an exhibition for this year and report back in February.

The theme this month was ‘Messages’, and again the group excelled with their varied interpretation on this idea. Congratulations to Leonard on the occasion of his birthday and to Katie for having won a recent photographic competition – Katie is an inspiration to us all; she sadly suffers from MS and finds it hard to actually hold a camera, so to have won a competition is fabulous news. One of our other founding members, Justin Welch, has just returned from Cuba and kindly brought along a selection of the shots he took. A great exponent of his craft, Cuba is clearly a rich canvas from which to work and the colour, the light, the cars and the people really shone. We all got a wonderful feel for the place.

Justin Welch

We meet once a month on the 4th Wednesday and our next meeting will be on 27th February.

Contact Andrew Wilson at aw@unity-publishing.co.uk should you want more info about the group.

Our January meeting continued where we left off before Christmas with part 2 of My Photographic Year. The range of work shown was just as varied and inspirational as in the previous meeting – portraiture, documentary, still life and abstract – with some fine and unusual examples of experimentation. Photographs shown were a mixture of stand-alone, single images and project work. Here is a small selection.

Agnes by Mark Brown

Bird 2 by Janet Nabney

Using the Camera as a Paintbrush, Series 4 by Sue Czapska

Red Light by John Nabney

Rashida Mangera

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 13th February 2013 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. As a natural progression from our roundup of the previous year’s work, this time we will be looking forward and discussing plans for future work and projects. Whether you have already started on some new work, just have a tiny germ of an idea or are completely at a loss as to which direction to take, please bring along a small selection of images/ideas/thoughts to discuss on the night. Images on a memory stick or in print form please.

We had a record turnout for our December meeting and celebrated the season in style with cups of wine, mince pies and other goodies! It was really good to see so many new faces who will hopefully return next year. The topic of the month – My Photographic Year – proved so popular that we didn’t have enough time to show all images submitted so will continue with the theme next month. An end-of-year appraisal of work done is always good for the soul and provides an opportunity to assess achievements and start to make plans for the future. Here is a selection of images shown – more next month.

Daniel Kemp

Krystina Stimakovits

Chris Tribble

Chris Burrows

Brendan Delaney

Peter Luck

Katrin Nodop

Edith Templeton

Ingrid Newton

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 9th January 2013 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. As mentioned above, we will be continuing with last month’s theme of My Photographic Year. For anyone whose work didn’t get shown last month, please bring again a small selection of images you have taken over the last year only, in print, digital or book form.

Wishing all our members a happy, prosperous and photo-inspired new year!

We had a prints only meeting last month – a fine opportunity to study, handle and appreciate the print at close quarters. There were a range of prints on view – inkjet and C type colour digital prints, resin-coated and fibre-based black and white darkroom prints and even some examples of traditional darkroom colour printing which seem to be quite a rarity these days. The prints were handed round and closely scrutinised and compared, the textures and weights of different papers assessed and debated. It was a real pleasure to be able to appreciate the nuances which are so often lost when looking at images on a computer screen or via an overhead projector. Here are a selection of the many prints which were shown – you will just have to imagine the look and actual feel of them!

Nancy’s View by Janet Nabney

Edith Templeton

Krystina Stimakovits

Prisoner at the Tower by Chris Burrows

Moving the camera like a paintbrush: Chesil Beach II by Sue Czapska

Modesty by Richard Alton

Duisburg blast furnace 26th September 2012 midday by Peter Luck

From the series In the Midst of Life by Ingrid Newton

Brendan Delaney

From the series Luxe, Calme et Volupté by Hugh Look

Near Tate Modern by John Nabney

Katrin Nodop

A quick mention about our exhibition Chance Would be a Fine Thing which ran for two weeks earlier in the month. A big thank you to everyone involved – exhibitors, guests, visitors, and the staff at the Mile End Art Pavilion. All the planning and hard work came together in the end and we have gained valuable experience. The work looked amazing in the beautiful gallery space and everyone agreed that the wide and diverse interpretations of the theme of the exhibition had worked really well together. The Private View was a great success with a good turnout of friends and LIP colleagues. You can see images of the show here. There is also a review of the exhibition in the latest edition of fLIP magazine. Looking forward to our next one!

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th December 2012 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. We will be having a round-up of our years’ achievements – My Photographic Year – an opportunity to appraise the past year’s work and plan the direction of future projects. If you would like to take part, please bring along on the night a small selection of images you have taken over the last year only, in print, digital or book form. The meeting will be free of charge this month and wine, mince pies and other seasonal refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you.

In our last meeting we looked at the use of different formats – landscape, portrait, square, panorama etc and the ways that choice of format may affect our photographs, shaping and altering meaning and mood. As usual, there were as many different choices and reasons for them as there were people! Some people had particular favourite formats whereas others happily swopped formats to order, depending on the subject matter. There were examples of the same picture in different formats – standard landscape, 5×4 ratio, 16×9 wide or square and each variant had its own mood. One thing that became apparent was that composing in camera rather than imposing a format afterwards seemed to be the preferred method and for the most part resulted in a more harmonious effect. This is not to advocate that cropping is ‘wrong’ and in fact, some people did not like be constrained by a particular crop whilst shooting, preferring to make the decision in post-production.

The horizontal panoramic format was shown to be particularly suited to open landscape studies, giving the impression of how the eye works from one side to the other whilst walking, and also very good at rendering rhythmic pattern. Some unusual vertical crops of tree bark isolated the detail and played with the sense of scale. Still life studies, which are traditionally shot in landscape mode to emulate painting were shown instead in portrait format giving a striking effect. Where portraits are concerned, an observation was made that subjects automatically adopted a more formal pose when the camera was wielded in portrait mode, relaxing when it was turned to landscape!

Square formats are usually viewed as quite static and formal with the subject central in the frame, but diagonal or unusual compositions which broke the normal rules were shown to be equally effective. The square format was viewed by some as perfectly balanced, self-contained and harmonious (but then I admit, I am biased!) If the evening does nothing else, it will probably have persuaded some of us to be a bit more adventurous in our choice of format.

Steve Outerson

Katrin Nodop

Peter Luck

Edith Templeton

Ingrid Newton

Maria Oldland

Brendan Delaney

Hugh Look

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 14th November 2012 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT, when we will be having a prints only session. We have become so used to seeing our work displayed on monitors that sometimes we can forget what a pleasure it is to view good prints close-up. If you have any prints on any subject whatsoever, big or small, digital or darkroom, and would like to share them, please bring them along on the night. No electronic media this time.

And finally, just a reminder that the Central London Group will be holding our first group show next month 13th-18th November at the Art Pavilion, Mile End Park. The Private View is on Tues 13th November 6.30-8.30pm. Full details here. It promises to be an excellent and varied show and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

I hope you are all well and finding the odd moment to grab your cameras. Although the weather’s not been that good, we are forecast a few nice days next week which will be great – a last blast before the darker days of winter truly set in and the clocks go back… argh!

Never mind the gloom, lets all marvel at the wonderful selection of ‘progression’ pictures that we had last month – Leonard’s idea and it really turned on the inspiration for some of you – brilliant.

Lesley Bruce photo

Karen Dixon photo

Andrew Wilson photo

Our next meeting is set for Wednesday 24th October at 7pm. The theme put forward for this month was ‘unusual angles’ and if last month is any guide, I’m looking forward to some great stuff. Please remember to bring anything along you wish to share, either from our theme or something else you have on a USB Drive (preferred), or if that’s difficult, prints would be fine.

Our outing last month was suggested by Lesley, which was to meet in Bishops Park with our old film cameras. This was great fun and I hope that as many of you as possible will be able to bring along some examples of what you caught that day – we were very lucky with the weather I seem to remember.