Satellite Group Updates

Our first meeting of the new year got off to a flying start last week – many thanks to all those who attended and contributed. The topic was Out With the Old and In With the New – a chance to evaluate our past achievements and start thinking about future projects.

The work shown featured a range of images – long-term projects such as Peter Luck’s black and white photographs documenting urban landscapes in transition over the years; Chris Tribble’s commission from the British Council to photograph a language school in Morocco, sympathetically portraying the interaction between teacher and pupil; Brendan Delaney’s poignant series – London Cycling Deaths – documenting locations of cyclist fatalities in the neighbourhood where he lives; Edith Templeton’s magpie selection of her favourite subjects of shape, texture, colour and reflections; Ingrid Newton’s highlights from the year’s projects and blogs, from Hipstamatic to Hassleblad, lith prints to digital (note to self for the new year: focus!); Krystina Stimakovits shared her beautiful book of images taken through glass Thresholds, where the viewer is invited to step into ‘layered in-between worlds’. Looking towards the future, some members have recently embarked on new work – Brigitt Angst’s images of the Swiss Alps challenge and confuse the viewer’s assumptions about scale, and Teresa Levitt’s new departure into portraiture – her sparkler portraits show people’s relaxed poses and delighted absorption at parties. A combination of new challenges, reappraisal, and renewed focus should ensure that the coming year will be even more fruitful than the one just past. Just don’t forget where your strengths lie!

Sheffield early afternoon, 12th July 2009 by Peter Luck

Chris Tribble

From the series London Cycling Deaths by Brendan Delaney

Edith Templeton

From the blog Hymn to the Hipstamatic by Ingrid Newton

From the book Thresholds by Krystina Stimakovits

Brigitt Angst

From the series Sparkler Portraits by Teresa Levitt

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 8th February 2012 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. Our topic for the evening will be Selection – how we choose what we photograph, how framing and composition can affect the meaning and reading of an image. As usual if you would like to show examples of your work relating to the subject, please bring along up to 6 images either as prints or on a memory stick. We will also be turning our thoughts to mounting an exhibition of members’ work later in the year so any ideas, advice or offers of help all welcome.

Further examples of work from the group can be seen on our blog.

Our topic for the December meeting was ‘When does a technical flaw or weakness invalidate a photographic image’. This produced another interesting discussion.

One of the ideas emerging was that where composition is sufficiently strong this can sometimes carry an image, in spite of some technical limitations to its quality.
For example Brendan Delaney’s photograph was taken on an iPhone in a strobe-lit room of a night club, where cameras would not have been permitted. It has a grainy quality but the composition is powerful enough to balance this weakness.

Although, in Edith Templeton’s image of the moon and diagonal strings of lights, the lights were not in clear focus, most of us found it striking. We again discussed composition, here both simple and evocative. There was discussion of the value of a well-crafted object versus chance or random elements which can produce a special kind of beauty, provided the elements are, in themselves, pleasing.

Sue Czapska’s photo was taken moving the camera but had sufficient contrast to survive the distortion, producing an ominous effect, reminiscent of a Golem.

Ariadne’s black and white prints of Kolcata are always a delight – in this diptych the woman asked to be photographed, then stuck her tongue out (pulling the tourist’s leg). Working as quickly as the medium of film allows, two images were taken but the second one is totally out of focus. However, it is as a pair that the prints work, despite one being blurred.

The last contribution to our topic was from Hugh Look, who raised issues of when it is vital to have clear focus. Again this related to the overall composition. In an image of a young man moving in front of a blue brick wall, only the wall is in sharp focus. We suggested cropping to reduce the image to just these two elements, when the blurring might become a strength instead of a weakness.

Slimelight Club, Angel by Brendan Delaney

Moon Lights by Edith Templeton

Man in the Wood from the series Moving the Camera Like a Paintbrush by Sue Czapska

Bidi Woman 1 and 2 by Ariadne van de Ven

Hugh Look

For more images relating to this topic, please visit our blog.

There was also a briefing on the Hargreaves Report on Intellectual Property Law. This recommends a shift in onus of responsibility from those seeking to use material having to trace an owner of copyright and obtain permission, to the author needing to protect their rights by making their identity clear and providing a means of contact. Hugh’s advice is that the essential thing to do is to embed your name in images. Adding a way to contact you will assist but is not essential.

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 11th January 2012 at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. Given the season, our topic this month will be Out with the Old and in with the New which will give us the opportunity to review the past year’s achievements and also discuss our plans and photographic New Year’s Resolutions. As usual if you would like to show examples of your work relating to the subject, please bring along up to 6 images either as prints or on a memory stick.

There was a large turn-out for our November meeting where the subject of crossing the line in photography was discussed. It very soon became clear that everybody’s line was drawn in the sand in a different place – what one person felt unhappy photographing, another wouldn’t bat an eyelid when pressing the shutter release! It is fair to say though, that everyone was aware of their own limits beyond which they would not venture. The images shown ranged from the hilarious to the moving but for the most part, shared an authenticity and awareness of sometimes delicate situations.

Subjects included candid portraits of strangers in unflattering poses; portraits of friends or relations at vulnerable times in their lives; pictures of a personal nature relating to illness or death; photographs where consent was withheld or where the subject was unable to give informed consent; photographs involving tongue-in-cheek nudity reversing stereotypical gender roles; images where the photographer imposed their will on the subjects to make a particular point; photoshopping people out of the frame; pictures where the photographer crossed their own line in terms of authenticity.

Obviously in this day and age where the sharing of images on the internet is so ubiquitous, issues of invasion of privacy take on a greater significance but it was generally agreed that there are not many situations in the public realm which are totally out of bounds. It was suggested that as photographers, we should respect ‘private moments’ which take place in public and that perhaps we should ask ourselves ‘would we mind if someone did it to us?’ However, if that were the generally accepted rule, some of the most iconic shots and hard-hitting photojournalism of the past would never have seen the light of day. Now you can make up your own mind as to whether you think any lines have been crossed……

Brendan Delaney

Chris Tribble

From the series Equal Oppor-nudities by David Reed

A photograph I hate by Hugh Look

Ingrid Newton

97 and counting by Sue Czapska

For more images relating to this topic, please visit our blog.

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 7th December at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. Our topic for discussion will be When (lack of) technique gets in the way – investigating the idea of so-called ‘technical failure’ and ‘flaws’ in photographs and whether it matters. As usual if you would like to show examples either of your own or of the work of others which demonstrate these issues, please bring along up to 6 images either as prints or on a memory stick.

Our meeting was packed full of brilliant content – both photographically and of a practical nature. We reviewed everyone’s contributions to our theme of the month – freeze motion – which included the images below.

Photo by Justin Welch

Photo by Guy Conway

Photo by Andrew Wilson

Photo by Leonard Caudrey

Justin gave a demonstration on picture mounting, which was excellent. This was particularly timely, as we have our first exhibition coming up and everyone needs to consider how they may wish to present their work. The group is also now sharing work in progress online at liputney.posterous.com

For details of future meetings contact Andrew Wilson

Our October meeting carried on where we left off last month with the theme of ‘inspiration’. A number of people showed work demonstrating their inspiration – Chris Tribble finds his in the intensity of the gaze or the exchange of glances in his portraits of people performing, rehearsing or engrossed in watching; Sue Czpaska delights in ambiguity and the fluidity of things in flux where breaking the rules and the excitement of looking at the world with a different eye become the defining motivation for her photography; Brendan Foster’s street photographs portray a series of stories about the lives of people in his local neighbourhood and Katrin Nodop was inspired by a massive, abandoned holiday camp – a vast crumbling edifice – built for the German workers by Hitler on the Baltic coast of Germany.

Chris Tribble

Chris Tribble

From the series Shooting Blind over the Fence by Sue Czapska

From the series Shooting Blind over the Fence by Sue Czapska

Prora – Der Speisesaal by Katrin Nodop

Crucifix Lane from the Bermondsey series by Brendan Delaney

Some members felt inspired by the works of others. Amongst those discussed were the current exhibition at Photofusion in Brixton featuring Joachim Froese’s Archive and Andre Penteado’s Dad’s Suicide, both dealing with the difficult topic of death and memory; literary inspiration from psychogeographic and science fiction works and the painter John Martin’s exhibition Apocalypse at Tate Britain, and a book of photographs It’s Beautiful Here, Isn’t It? by Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri, who surely deserves to be better known in this country and whose enigmatic work has reawakened the creative instinct. A more in-depth discussion of some of the topics covered can be found on our blog.

Please note that our next meeting will take place on THURSDAY 10th November instead of the usual Wednesday at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. We will be looking at the idea of Crossing the Line in photography, including issues of invasion of privacy, abuse of power, cultural taboos or simply revealing too much of our own personal experiences. Are there or should there be limits to what can be shown? If you would like to show examples either of your own or of the work of others where you feel that the line has been crossed, or is too close for comfort, please bring along up to 6 images either as prints or on a memory stick.

September’s meeting was fun, we were pleased to welcome new member Kathryn Geels and some old faces. The pub crawl theme appeared to go down really well, with a tremendous amount of creativity on show:

Justin Welch photo

Justin Welch photo

Andrew Wilson photo

Kathryn Geels photo

This month’s outing is to Brentford and Strand on the Green, Saturday 15th October, and the theme for October is ‘freeze motion’. I very much look forward to seeing how we all tackle this, as it’s a lot broader than first appears.

For more details about the Putney Satellite Group, contact Andrew Wilson

Inspiration was the topic of the evening at our September meeting and the variety of work on show demonstrated just how wide-ranging and personal it can be. Some of the inspirations motivating the work shown included feelings of alienation in a foreign land; graffiti and textures to be found on the street; inspiration taken from other art forms such as music, literature and philosophy; interaction with strangers as the guiding principle behind portraits; shadows, reflections and abstract shapes; capturing the absorption of young performers at rehearsal; the strangeness inherent in everyday situations and transient moments; portraits that hint at a narrative and indicate complexity of character by capturing motion. Examples of some of the work shown can be seen below.

Wings by Suvi

Stardust by Heather Martin

From the series Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum by Hugh Look

Clockwork Orange by Barbara Luckhurst

Inside the Lair by Ingrid Newton

Michele by Stefanie Reichelt

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th October, at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. Our debate on photographic inspiration will continue – if there are any particular photography books which have inspired your creativity, please bring them along to share and discuss. As usual, if anyone wishes to show work, please bring along a maximum of 6 images which illustrate your inspiration – either as prints or on a memory stick.
For more examples of members’ work, please see the group blog http://lipcentralsatellite.blogspot.com/

We had a good August meeting, the second at our new venue – OPEN Ealing. Several members brought work along, including Marie Fitzgerald and Fabrizio Quagliuso, who showed us the work they’d submitted to the annual LIP show.

From The Underworld of the Parga Trees by Marie Fitzgerald

From Shine on Japan by Fabrizio Quagliuso

Jonny Baker brought along some photos he’d taken at the 80s rewind festival, including a Sue Pollard look-a-like. He also talked about the Ron Arad show he recently attended and enjoyed at The Roundhouse and showed us a short film he’d made of one of the exhibits. Freda Jesudason brought along her black and white photos taken on a recent trip to Israel.

Mullet by Jonny Baker

Mount of Olives by Freda Jesudason

Jonny Back has been trying out online companies to print wedding albums for his clients and brought a few along for us to look at. It was interesting to see how different papers and printers affect the look of the end product – and also to see Jonny’s various layout styles.

Chris Moxey gave a presentation of her ongoing series on domestic architecture, from modernist to post-war houses.

From The Wedding Album by Jonny Back

The Miller House, Palm Springs by Chris Moxey

Our next meeting will be at 7.30 on Tuesday October 4th at OPEN Ealing, 113 Uxbridge Road, London, W5 5TL. We welcome old and new members. Please bring along any work that you’d like to show the group.

Our August meeting was very well attended despite the rioting in London that week, and a wide variety of work from projects in progress was shown – see the examples below. Member Edith Templeton gave a most interesting and perceptive review of the current Thomas Struth exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, and the feedback from Ariadne van de Ven about the LIP Preparing for Exhibition workshop earlier in the month proved to be very useful in light of the approaching submission deadline for the annual exhibition.

From the series Un Common by Edith Templeton

From the series Using my Camera as a Paintbrush by Sue Czpaska

From the Across project by Quentin Ball

From the series Caresses by Krystina Stimakovits

From the series Talisman by Katrin Nodop

Jazz Car 28 by Jennifer Roberts

From the series Unreal City by Ingrid Newton

Our next meeting will take place on Wed 14th September, at 18.45 at the usual venue – The Artworkers Guild, 6 Queens Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT. Please note that this replaces the previously advertised date of 7th September. Topic for discussion will be Inspiration: what inspires us as photographers. Please bring along a maximum of 6 images which demonstrate your inspiration – either as prints or on a memory stick. New members are always welcome – just turn up on the night.

We will also be looking at issues surrounding copyright for photographers and giving a short review of the Eyewitness exhibition at the RA celebrating the influence of Hungarian photographers in the 20th century.

The Crouch End Satellite Group meets on the second Tuesday of each month to talk about and share photographic work, knowledge and views. We have occasional guest speakers. Contact Eva if you would like to attend a future meeting.

Here are some recent images from members of the group:

Boy by Amelia Anderson

Dunn’s Bakery by Eva Turrell

Parkland Walk by Gordana Johnson

Hornsey Road Baths by Tony Hale