On March 9 Adobe guru Rob Sylvan gave an excellent presentation on new features in Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. He has shared links to a number of useful resources, which you can download at the link below.
Additional content and/or links in the Members Only area
Boston-area photographer and educator Suzanne Revy spoke to the BCA Photo Group on Fine Art Photography. She told us about her own experience in becoming ‘known’, and the ins and outs of juried shows and portfolio reviews, online submissions, resources for transporting your images and more. Suzanne prepared an outline summary of main points and links to resources. Click to download.
Suzanne Revy showing an example portfolio review presentation
Greg Marinovich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative photojournalist, was the presenter at the BCA Photo Group’ opening meeting of the 2019 - 2020 BCA Photo Group season on Tuesday, September 10. The meeting was well attended by approximately 40 members and guests. Greg talked - and fielded questions - about his personal history in photography and how he became a professional photojournalist. His talk was illustrated by a great variety of images illustrating his long history working in conflict areas, often shooting highly disturbing subjects in dangerous conditions. In many cases the images are a historical documentation of events for which there is little other record other than local memory - we ignore and forget far too easily. For a roomful of photographers it was a powerful example of the potential impact and importance of the medium.
To read more about Greg visit his web site.
Bruce Myren gave a provocative presentation on photo projects to an audience of more than 40 BCA members and guests. He spoke about his own process in conceiving, researching, and executing two long-term projects - The Fortieth Parallel and The Washington Elm - and also referenced several other projects that were shorter term or ongoing. Bruce’s talk was a wonderful insight into his artistic process and the diligence and dedication to an idea that lie behind it.
It was fascinating to learn that in 2012 Bruce ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to obtain funds needed to complete the Fortieth Parallel project, which was originally conceived in 1991 and had been ongoing in the interval since. The Kickstarter campaign page (link below) provides a good description of what the project was about and how Bruce executed it.
The presentation was very well received and sparked an extensive question/answer period.
At the meeting Bruce showed a printout of Chapter 2, Selecting a Subject, from On Being a Photographer, by David Hurn and Bill Jay. That book is now out of print. Bruce kindly sent a pdf of the chapter, which can be downloaded from the link below. You can also find pdf’s of the entire book on numerous web sites, with a link to one of these below.
Links
Our opening meeting of the year was very well attended, with more than 40 members and guests in attendance. Sarah Pollman gave a stimulating presentation titled “Image as Metaphor: Creating Projects with Deeper Meaning”. She talked about her development and process as a fine art photographer, illustrated with examples of several of her own projects.
Sarah closed out the presentation with a series of text slides outlining some aspects of conceiving and executing a body of work - a cohesive project. She has graciously shared those slides for download at the link below.
At our May meeting we were treated to a wonderful talk by Lou Jones titled 'From Hobby to Perfection: Taking Your Photography to the Next Level'. This highly interactive presentation was richly illustrated with examples from Lou's copious body of work. The audience of more than 40 members and guests was highly engaged, with many questions about Lou's thought processes and techniques. One thing that came through loud and clear was the sheer amount of determination, preparation, and hard work that goes into getting the shots that stand out from the crowd, both for his commercial and personal work.
It is well worth a visit to Lou's web site, and to his YouTube video on shooting cityscapes. Links here:
Guest speaker David 'Stoney' Stone kicked off 2018 with an inspiring presentation on smartphone photography at our January 9 meeting. His richly illustrated talk demonstrated the 'art of the possible' with this ubiquitous tool, reinforcing the notion that the best camera is the one you have ready to use.
Stoney talked about some of the apps he uses both for greater control of initial image capture and for post-processing right on the phone. His own phone photography almost never goes to the computer!
Below is a list of some of the apps Stoney mentioned in his talk. Most (if not all) are available for both iPhone and Android phones. Search by name to learn more about them and find the version for your phone.
ProCamera - manual camera control and more
Camera Plus Pro - manual camera control and more
Snapseed - on-phone editing
Hipstamatic - retro-styled images based on various analog film and lens combinations
Tintype (by Hipstamatic) - Inspired by daguerreotypes, tintypes, and other photographic processes from over a hundred years ago
Prisma - transforms photos into works of art using the styles of famous artists
We had the pleasure of hosting Collette Pelletier, whose company represents Moab and Legion papers, as the speaker for our November 14 meeting. Collette gave an informative presentation on photographic inkjet printing papers.
She described the different manufacturing processes used to make the papers, and the advantages and disadvantages of alpha cellulose vs. cotton rag vs. metallic bases. She discussed in detail the differences in appearance and typical uses for papers with different surface finishes. Moreover, she passed around sample photographs printed on a number of papers in Moab's line, including the Entrada cotton rag paper with a matte finish, the Juniper cotton rag paper with a baryta semi-gloss finish, and the Slickrock metallic finish paper.
Collette was accompanied by a representative from Hunt's Camera, who had brought a good selection of Moab paper for sale at a discount, including sample packs, many of which were purchased by members at the end of the meeting.
We had a terrific first speaker of the 2017 - 2018 season, David Wells, who gave an excellent presentation on Travel Photography to a packed house.
Based in Providence, Rhode Island, David is an award-winning photographer who is a two-time Fulbright Fellow, and whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Fortune, and the Sunday New York Times, among many others. There's a lot more information and resources at his web site davidhwells.com.
David gave us a detailed rundown on how he approaches travel photography, how he handles different lighting, angle of view, lens selection, finding "choke points", working with people, and much more.
He left a "cheat sheet" with lots of helpful information and links, including information about his workshops. Click to download the "cheat sheet".
Lance Keimig was the featured speaker at our May 9 meeting. Lance is a highly regarded photographer and educator specializing in Night Photography. Several of our members had taken with workshops with him and recommended him as a speaker, and we're glad they did! There was a great turnout for the meeting - we kept having to bring out more chairs.
Lance first talked about the history of night photography, showing a series of images from the earliest practitioners of the art and describing how it has evolved along with the development of new equipment. Next up were images to illustrate the aesthetics of the genre, the special contrasts and colors you can only get at night. Then on to the equipment needed for night photography - recommendations in regard to tripods, lenses, flashlights (for seeing your camera controls and for light painting) and more. Lance then covered the procedures, including preparation, exposure and other camera settings, key details like when to use long exposure noise reduction, and high ISO exposure testing. He talked about the characteristics of the kinds of light sources you are likely to encounter in the field at night, both natural and artificial and their effects on images and implications for white balance.
All in all it was an extremely stimulating and informative evening and was well received by the attendees. For more information about night photography, Lance Keimig, and his workshops, visit www.thenightskye.com. Go the Downloads link where you can access a pdf on the history of night photography along with other useful information.
Lance is also one of five photographers who comprise National Parks at Night. The web site is well worth a visit, and they offer an interesting blog on various aspects of night photography.
The BCA Photo Group was privileged to have Michael Hintlian as our speaker on January 10. His topic was ‘What is your Big Dig project? What it takes and why you should do it.’ He gave a very personal presentation on his self-assigned, self-funded, multi-year, completely unofficial project to document Boston’s Big Dig. Armed with a hardhat, vest, camera, thousands of rolls of black & white film, and nerve, he repeatedly ventured into Big Dig work sites at all times of day and year to photograph the work and the workers.
The nature - and necessity - of a long-term undertaking was clearly explained in his talk. Michael recounted why he undertook this journey and how even after several years of shooting it was not completely clear to him what his project actually was – the core of what his project meant to him and how he was trying to communicate it. The heart of the work was present but not yet recognized in the thousands of shots he had made. A review of his work with another photographer gave him the final insight into the story he was trying to tell, and from there the work gelled into a unified whole.
It was an important lesson. Transformative work demands dedication, experimentation, repetition, and just plain living with a project long-term to reach the insight needed to execute a project in a way that satisfies the toughest critic of all – the photographer him/herself.
To see Michael Hintlian's work, including images from his Big Dig project, visit his web site.
The November 29th monthly general meeting was a bit of a departure from our format. Rather than the usual digital projection, we were fortunate to have Arlette and Gus Kayafas from Gallery Kayafas bring out framed original prints from their personal collection and discuss them with us. As collectors, Arlette and Gus are second to none and have donated thousands of prints to several major museums. They also are current overseers of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
Gallery Kayafas opened in 2002 and is one of the premier art galleries in the Boston area. It was named Best of Boston by Boston Magazine in 2013 and 2015 and by Improper Bostonian in 2016. What makes Gallery Kayafas special is both that its prime focus is photography and that the work shown must be creations that Arlette and Gus feel strongly about and would own for themselves. The gallery is the result of their desire to share their large collection, which they have been accumulating for almost 50 years.
The main feature of the evening was a 'show and tell' of eleven of their favorite works from that collection. These pictures normally hang on the walls of their own home and it was a special event for them to make the trip to Bedford. Gus and Arlette were kind (and brave) enough to bring originals so we could immerse ourselves in the full experience of the works. They were all displayed on easels and at the end of the discussion we were able to examine the pieces up close.
Ten of the photographs were black and whites by such luminaries as August Sander, Minor White, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Diane Arbus and Peter Kayafas, their son, whose work is in major collections and museums. The sole color image was Harold ‘Doc’ Edgerton’s iconic shot of a bullet cutting a playing card in half. You can see the complete list of what they brought at the bottom of this post. Each is worthy of your exploration online. Almost all these pieces were personally given by the artist to Arlette and Gus, usually in some form of trade. We got to hear the stories of how these works entered their collection.
All of the work was impactful, but for many the highlight was August Sander’s piece, My Wife in Joy and Sorrow. The image was taken in 1911 of his wife holding their twin children just after birth. The overwhelming aspect of the piece is that one of the babies was stillborn. The picture itself is emotionally wrenching but as challenging is the simple idea that Sander could conceive and execute the picture in such a moment.
While the clear highlight of the evening was the detailed discussion of each of the pieces, Arlette also covered several broader topics of interest to the group including how to start as collectors and how to approach galleries as artists.
Though they have one of the largest private collections of significant photographs, Arlette emphasized that each picture is a collection unto itself and that every one of us can and should be a collector. The goal should not be to have a “collection” but to have images that you enjoy looking at, that move you.
She gave some specific advice about how we can begin our collections:
Of course, a lot of us are also very interested in having our own work shown in galleries and other venues. Arlette pointed out that probably the most important thing is to get known. The art world is hard to break into and you need to work at it to succeed. Perhaps not surprisingly, her advice on this topic wasn’t much different from that about collecting: go to galleries to see what’s out there and meet people, submit work to shows and auctions, etc.
She did, though, have some specific suggestions:
We are truly grateful to both Arlette and Gus for coming out to the “burbs”. It was a full evening of experience and information and was very well received. We had over 50 attendees, one of our larger meetings ever. If you enjoyed this type of presentation, please let us know and we’ll plan for more like this in the future.
Works Displayed
Diane Arbus - Albino Sword Swallower (1970)
Harry Callahan - Three Trees Rome (1963), Eleanor in the Water (1949)
Harold E. Edgerton - Cutting the Card Quickly (1964)
Peter Kayafas - North Dakota (2010), Totems Series
Nicholas Nixon - Watermelon Girl (1992), Perkins School for the Blind Series
August Sander - My Wife in Joy and Sorrow (1911), Pastry Cook (1928)
Aaron Siskind - Jerome, Arizona (1949), Durango, Mexico (ca 1953)
Minor White - Hands and Bowl (1969)
Blog photographs by Joe Gallagher and Charles Mazel
The BCA Photo Group will kick off another year full of meetings September 13, 7-9 pm, at the First Parish Bedford, 75 Great Road, Elm Street entrance. The first of five guest speakers for the year is Dominic Chavez, a freelance photographer based in Boston, Massachusetts. Chavez will speak on “Photographing the Human Condition: Finding Your Voice and Telling Your Story”.
Chavez has spent much of his career on the road working in some of the world’s most challenging places. He has recorded the effects of war in Colombia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Angola; the AIDS crisis in more than a dozen countries in Africa; and the battle to eradicate polio in countries in Africa and Asia. In addition, he has covered stories locally and nationally, focusing on the aftermath of 9/11; homeless populations; and those addicted to drugs.
His professional career includes positions at the Denver Post and the Boston Globe. His work has been nationally recognized with many awards, including the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Media Fellowship as well as the Pictures of the Year competition. Chavez has helped produce eight books and his photographs have been exhibited internationally. He has presented a talk at Tedx Connecticut and has been interviewed on WGBH-One Guest.
The Photo Group is composed of nearly 50 members. Unlike most photo clubs, the Bedford Group is non-competitive, emphasizing education and information sharing. Other speakers schedule to appear during the year include Arlette Kayafas (Nov. 29) and Michael Hintlian (Jan. 10, 2017).
Every other month, the meetings are non-competitive image sharing sessions where members’ work is shown and discussed. Guest “critiquers” from the New England School of Photography and other institutions provide helpful and supportive feedback.
A third series of meetings generally falling on the 4th Tuesday of the month deal with more technical (how-to-do-it) issues. Led by member Dennis Rainville, Mark Levinson, Michael Milicia, and Marv Goldschmitt, these sessions will include information on equipment, image capture, post-processing, printing, and different genres of photography.
Guests are welcome at all meetings.
We are excited to host Bryan Peterson for a day-long seminar. Bryan is a successful commercial photographer whose clients include American Express, Kodak, UPS, Phillips and Citibank. He has received awards from the Communication Arts Photography Annual seven times, Print Magazine four times and has also won the prestigious New York Art Directors Gold Award. He has also served as a contributing editor at Popular Photography and Outdoor Photographer magazines. Bryan is the co-founder of the Perfect Picture School of Photography, the world’s number one on-line photography school.
Read MoreYou may remember Amy Giese led a fantastically informative session at our final Photo Group critique meeting last spring. We ended up discussing not only the content of the images, but also what members were aiming for when they took the shots, and how we make our decisions about the subjects and style of our photographs.
We are very pleased that Amy has agreed to offer a one-day workshop on this topic. We need a minimum of 10 people to sign up, and are limited by space considerations to a maximum of 20 participants.
Read MoreHello everyone, well we are coming into what I would call the "brown season" from a landscape photography point of view. The colors are gone, the leaves have fallen, and what do we do with the photographs that lack color and interest as is?
Turn them into black and white!
Read MoreHi all!!
Time to think about getting out and photographing spider webs out in the fields. It's that time of year again. Best time is now until early To mid September.
This is probably the best time of year to photograph the webs of field spiders.
The grass is knee high or better, mornings are nice and dewey and the sun is coming up at a reasonable hour.
