Charlton House Exhibition

3 to 31 July 2013
Showcasing some of the very best of the groups work Charlton House, Charlton Road, London SE7 8RE Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm.
For more information visit: woolwichphotographic.com
Affiliates: FSLPS - Federation of South London Photographic Societies. KCPA - Kent County Photographic Society

Charlton House exhibition July 2013

This exhibition showcases some of the images that have done well in recent internal and inter-club competitions. Although competitions are only a part of what we do at the club, they are popular, and through the critiques and judging, Members can hone their skills and improve their pictures. Here the photographers talk about their pictures and what being a member of AWPS means to them.
Jean Bright Lanzarote Stairs (Print of the Year 2009 Advanced group) I took this about four years ago with a Canon digital camera, it is in the Mirador del Rio, which is now a Cesar Manrique tourist attraction in Lanzarote. I like the way the staircase winds round to the archway at the top.

Barry Bristow Blues (Print of the Year 2013 Intermediate group) Im also a member of Danson Camera club and this was taken at one of their studio evenings. One of the members brought in his guitar and dressed up for this shot. We experimented with various lighting to achieve a live gig look and I thought a black and white conversion would give it the classic rock look.

Elaine Cranmer Night Light on South Bank (2nd place, Print of the Year 2013 Intermediate group) Having been introduced to light painting at an AWPS practical evening I couldnt resist capturing this light ball set amongst the iconic graffiti of Londons South Bank.

Tech: Tripod, 45 second exposure, Nikon D7000.

John Ewer Figure in the mist (DPI of the Year 2013)

Taken on an early misty morning in February, at the Old Royal Naval College - where I work - using a Pentax Kr DSLR. I loved the effect of the sunlight coming through the mist in subdued tones and the detail fading with distance towards Greenwich park, past the Queens House. I was lucky to notice a lady visitor about to walk past me, and I lined her up as a near silhouette to balance the bright sun. I have learnt a lot from my peers in AWPS and I am enjoying my photography more than ever.
Sue Green Leopard (Print of the Year 2011)

This was taken on the Massai Mara early morning. The light was perfect and the leopard (Olive - as known in the BBC Big cat diary) sat on a mound of grass viewing a group of Thompsons gazelles in the distance. She sat for about 5 minutes providing the perfect photo opportunity before moving on. My early photography was mainly self-taught. Following a trip to the Ngoro crater in Tanzania my interest in natural history photography grew. I was smitten by Africa, I have visited many times and Im going back again this year! I hope to capture some of the wildebeest and zebra during their migratory crossings over the Mara river. Joining Aperture Camera Club has enabled me to raise my photography to another level. Like all forms of expression it can create valuable opinions and a consequential value scale that can be shared by all. I have found this experience challenging and extremely helpful.
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Jonathan Hood End of the day (DPI Round 5 winner 2013)

With the sun rapidly setting the race was on to see if the boy with herd of goats kicking up the dust would emerge in to the light from behind the trees. He didnt but his goats did so the shot was saved. Shot on the plains of Began in Burma, once home to 4,000 Buddhist temples some of which are size of small Cathedrals. Never recovered from the visitations of the Mongols. A wondrous sight. Since joining AWPS, I am awed by beauty, humour and quirkiness that my fellow club members record from whats on their own doorsteps.
Andy Linden LRPS Walking in Winter (Print of the Year 2012 Advanced group) The Jogger (Print of the Year 2013 Advanced group)

The Jogger was taken on a foggy morning in November 2011 and Walking In Winter was taken in Feb 2012. Both were taken with a Canon DSLR, and both rely on timing for their impact. With both pictures I saw the composition first and then, with The Jogger, I waited for the figure to run into the right position, and for the couple in Walking in Winter to walk between the trees to a place where there wasnt a tree to obscure them. Im a member of the Royal Photographic Society and hold the Licentiateship Distinction (LRPS), but I enjoy much more being a member of the Aperture Woolwich Photographic Society, as its a great place to meet people with the same interest, to learn tips and techniques from them and to improve your photography by getting ideas and inspiration.

Trudy Mackie Little Sally Speedster (2nd place, DPI of the Year 2013) Cable Car View (3rd place, DPI of the Year 2013) Corridor to the box (Print of the Year 2010, Intermediate)

Little Sally Speedster was taken a few years ago in Hastings, the location initially caught my eye due to being full of angles and repetitive patterns and I immediately jumped to the idea of mono images. While musing on how best to set up the image, I spotted the child scooting towards me and I hoped shed line-up with the gap in the shelter. When I reviewed my images later, the fact that she had turned away and never reached the spot Id hoped for, was actually better in terms of the composition I think, and helped to create an amusing, imagined story line. This one also confirms for me how important the title of an image can be. Cable Car View was taken on my compact from another cable car, this image harks back to my previous incarnation as a watercolour artist. The light often leads me down this sort of editing route. I put this in the competition to see how it would look projected large and was surprisingly pleased that my relatively small file was successful in The Bob DPI competition, as well as printing up just as I had envisaged. Corridor to the Box was taken in the Tate Moderns Turbine Hall, the slow exposure, due to the low level of light, gives some minor movement to the members of the public in the gallery. The scene was almost totally black, white and grey at the time and when the person in red moved towards me to from the gloomy corridor at the side of the installation it became a moment that begged to be captured. This was my first successful image at AWPS and I found myself learning quickly and developing my photography very easily at the club thanks to its friendly and enthusiastic members who I now consider to be good friends.
Angela McCarty Green Tree frog (1st place Round 4, Print of The Year 2013) A friend of mine had a green tree frog, so I made him the subject of my photography one afternoon. He was a trickly little creature to photograph, as everytime I managed to position him towards the camera he would turn his back, or at times jump from the bamboo on to the back drop.

Being a member of a photography club encourages you to get out and take pictures regularly, learn more about photography and socialise generally with other members.
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Dave Mason Tower Bridge subway (FSLP Owen Trophy, mono print 2011) Tough Girls (Finalist, Print of the Year 2013 Advanced group)

Tower Bridge Subway was taken during one of the regular AWPS evening shoots. These events allow members to enjoy a practical photography experience with like-minded people. For me the image has a degree of theatre about it, perhaps produced by the harsh artificial subway lighting. Tough Gals was taken at an annual winter event in Wolverhampton. Here men and women put themselves through an extreme endurance test. The event takes the competitors through all types of obstacles and is more about a personal challenge rather than a straight forward race. There is a great camaraderie amongst the runners as they happily endure what can only be described as torture!

Stu Mayhew Sunrise over Tower Bridge (Winner of AWPS Taken on a Mobile 2013) Somewhere in a dream (Winner of the Mick Smithson Shield, KCPA Ross Cup 2011) )

Sunrise over Tower Bridge was taken and edited on an iPhone 5 using an app called Snapseed, It was taken on a misty morning and this adds to the impressionistic nature of the image. Somewhere in a Dream was created using a surprisingly easy, but very effective, image-editing technique to create the illusion of the floating figure. This remains one of my favourite images. Being a member of AWPS for nearly six years has not only helped develop my camera skills but, more importantly, has helped me make strong friendships with local people who share my passion for photography.

Paul Parkinson LRPS 9/11 Memorial (Print of the Year 2013, Advanced group) Freestyle (Certificated image, FSLPS DPI competitions 2012/13) Visiting the 9/11 Memorial Site in New York was a far more emotional and emotive experience than I expected. The first thing you get is the noise. The sound of the waterfalls is stunning. Some say it is intended to mirror the sound of the buildings coming down. I was staggered by it. It took me a while to regain composure and find a view would help me get across the scope and scale of the Memorial and at the same time at least try to honour the victims of the tragedy. My aim was to show the waterfalls, the infinity pools and the central drop with the buildings behind towering over. It only came together when I looked at it in black and white. Black and White. Life and Death. I may have cried a little. Freestyle was taken at the Bromley Ski Centre, Sandy Lane, Orpington. Tuesday evening is Freestyle Night where skiers and snowboarders take jumps and ride rails. For about eight weeks a year they are back lit by the most wonderful sunsets. This is a rider doing a grab of his board whilst flying through the air after taking a kicker. I have been a member of the club for two years, having joined AWPS from another club which wasnt working out for me. Since then my photography has improved in leaps and bounds through the help and assistance of many of the members; the highlight being the award, by the Royal Photographic Society, of their Licentiateship Distinction, the LRPS, last year.

Marshall Pinsent Royal Victoria Dock (Certificated image FSLPS DPI competitions) Stanah Boardwalk (3rd place, Print of the Year 2013 finals) Royal Victoria Dock was shot on a cold late afternoon in November. It is from an on-going project to record changes to the London docks and the River Thames. Its an image made from multiple exposures, 4 were used to create a High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) tonemapped layer, elements of which were mixed and painted into several other layered exposures, then I added an eye of newt, toe of frog and simmered overnight at gas mark 2 bon appetit! Stanah Boardwalk was taken last year on a walk by the River Wyre in Lancashire. The light was right, the tide was out, there was even some interesting cloud action. There are lots of photogenic weather beaten timber moorings like this along the river bank, but the detail that drew my attention to this one was the hand-painted sign with the somewhat dubious claim, Video Camera in Use. This is one of the first shots I took with my new little compact Fujifilm X10. I now carry this camera with me everywhere and apparently there is a video function, but its very rarely in use!. I joined AWPS when it was quite a small, friendly club now its a quite big club but still friendly and full of people happy to share their ideas, expertise and love of photography.

Neal Puttock Cutty Sark (4th place, Print of the Year 2013, Advanced group) Roxanne (Finalist, DPI of the Year 2013) Cutty Sark was taken on a photo-walk with AWPS in Greenwich Town Centre. It was shot from outside, to achieve this, I had to push my lens flat to the glass and use a rubber lenshood to cut back any reflections. Although Im not a fan of what theyve done to the Cutty Sark, I do like the lines in the roof, and the strong colours on the hull of the ship. Roxanne was taken on a very cold night in Bruges. The rain had not long stopped, which left a fantastic sheen on the cobbles, and some well placed puddles. I had already spotted this bar earlier, and had taken a photo but it wasnt very interesting. On my way back to the hotel I thought Id try again, and with luck, this lady came out for a cigarette and kept very still, which was essential as I was using quite a long exposure. The first couple of photos were ruined by passing cars, but then luck was on my side - no cars, the woman remained still and I captured an image Im still very happy with.

Our next exhibition is at the wwwElixir Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It runs throughout August and September 2013, and will feature a wide range of members work. Website www.woolwichphotographic.com Blog aperture-wps.blogspot.com Facebook facebook.com/groups/ApertureMembers Twitter twitter.com/aperturewps flickr www.flickr.com/groups/woolwich/pool