PUBLIC BLOG — NDPS | Norwich & District Photographic Society

E. M. (Mike) Trendell FRPS
(1925-2021)

Norwich & District Photographic Society has just learnt that Mike Trendell died peacefully at his home during the morning of Friday 26th March.

Mike had been a stalwart and a giant of the Society for nearly 50 years. He was first elected Chairman in 1979-80 and again from 2001-2002 and he served as President of the Society from 1984-1986. In addition, as Exhibition Secretary he organised the Society’s Annual Exhibition at Norwich Cathedral in the North Transept for many years prior to the new Hostry Exhibition Area opening.

In 2019 Mike was, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Society over many years elected an Honorary Member of NDPS and it is fitting that the 103rd Annual Exhibition (the last held before the current pandemic struck) included a special display of his photography.

A talented photographer, Mike was awarded his ARPS for a panel depicting his Coast to Coast walk from St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay that stitches together two coasts, three national parks and 200 miles of footpath to create the ultimate long distance walk in England.

To gain his Fellowship (FRPS) of the Royal Photographic Society Mike spent two years putting together a portfolio of pictures of English parish church architecture spanning hundreds of years, from the Anglo-Saxons right up to the 20th century. And, of course, he found many fantastic subjects right here in Norfolk which is famed for its magnificent collection of places of worship.

Mike actively exhibited his work through both the RPS and solo exhibitions he organised himself. An in-depth look at a selection of Norfolk’s lovely medieval churches – held in 2019 at Christ Church, Eaton, Norwich was his last successful solo exhibition.

Mike’s friendship, encouragement and energetic spirit which had always been an essential part of his personality will be long remembered by all his friends and colleagues at Norwich & District Photographic Society.

The entire membership send our sincere condolences to his daughter Charlotte (who informed us of Mike’s passing), his family and friends everywhere.

Maurice YoungMarch 29, 2021tribute, mike trendell

ARPS Distinctions - Royal Photographic Society by Dave Balcombe & Malcolm Wood

Yesterday evening's presentation to the Society was made by Dave and Malcolm, both Society members, both accomplished photographers and both describing their panels that achieved them ARPS distinctions from the RPS.

Malcolm began the evening by talking about his fine art 'landscape' panel. The use of quotation marks here is intentional because all of Malcolm's shots were taken one meter away from the subject! The Statement of Intent for his panel showed that this was his motivation, to take images close to the subject and transform them into what would appear as long distance shots. We also learned that nearly all of his pictures were taken within the bounds of his house. The result was a collection of inventive images worthy of an ARPS.

There were some good technical tips here too, pointing the camera downwards tended to make half the picture slightly out of focus which gave the impression of distance and depth, gain an LRPS first and make sure that prints are technically correct and properly mounted.

Dave followed with a description of his ARPS panel. He said that one of the most difficult steps was inspiration and it took some time for him to reach the conclusion that patterns would be the answer for him, in fact that idea germinated when he took a picture of the roof of Newcastle railway station! Once under way he made a collection of 2,000 source pictures to work on. Again there were some good tips, the judges are not interested in your camera kit but do make sure that there are no technical faults in the prints!

Dave explained the assessment procedure, the red and green cards, the first and second vote and he even showed the room where the assessment is made. He produced some figures to demonstrate that all the RPS awards were not so easy to gain and how seeking advice and help is essential.

He went on to talk of other awards and qualifications that members could consider attempting.

An enormous thank you to Malcolm and Dave for a great evening and a collection of outstanding photographs. Inspiration is in the air .

Distinctions, Photographic AwardsMaurice YoungMarch 24, 2021ARPS, landscape, fine art, patterns, ndps members, photo-talk

Underwater Photography 2 by David Keep

David returned to NDPS with his second spine chilling presentation on Thursday night. The last time he was here he left us looking into the eyes of a crocodile he was photographing! It would seem madness to be so close to an animal that has not changed for 150 million years and is the closest thing possible to a dinosaur. But David was there with his camera and his Go-Pro.

We arrived at the crocodile after a long list of other big creatures. He began with the personable manatee in Florida, a creature that could grow to 4 meters and reach 1.5 tonnes but would not tolerate water temperature below 20 degrees C.

From Florida we made the trip to the Gulf of Mexico where David showed his photos of the 10 meter, 20 tonne Whale Shark, hoovering food through its mouth and out through its gills. Enormous beautifully marked creatures. Then on to Hammerhead Sharks off the coast of Miami. Rather ugly creatures but the second largest shark.

Dave explained how he used a canine hydrotherapy pool to photograph Thai the dog and next we were off the Farne Island of Northumberland with the Atlantic Grey Seals with their exceptionally sensitive whiskers used to decipher vibrations in the water left by fish!

Off to Cuba for the crocodiles and finally David told the story of his award winning shot of gannets feeding underwater. Another set of stunning images and another story of determination and courage to get the shots.

This Thursday eNDPS event was attended by our friends from Sheffield Photographic Society and Old Coulsden Camera Club - Thank you for joining us…!

Our thanks to David for yet another evening of adventure and outstanding photography.

Living and Working as a Professional Photographer in Namibia by Scott Hurd

This week’s regular Tuesday meeting saw members and guests attended this Zoom presentation from a consummate professional photographer. Scott led us through his journey from England to Namibia and told us, by means of his wonderful photographs, how his work unfolds in that sub-Saharan, west coast country.

But Scott began his talk by outlining the origins of man in this area and throughout added more and more information, bit by bit, and brought us into the present day - so much so that he told us about the Namibian fight against Covid and how successful the country had been in containing the pandemic.

What a fantastic country - the Skeleton Coast, Fish River Canyon and the Benguela Current. It is no wonder that tourism makes up such a big part of Namibia's GDP.

Health and safety needed to be considered - he showed us a publicity shot of a floating bar, a beautiful bar in a tropical sunset. But the bridge to it had missing planks and the handrail was only really there for the high voltage cable! This is Africa. But Namibia is changing it has the best roads in Africa (and the worst drivers in Africa).

The scope of work Scott has undertaken is inspiring, we saw photos of children at school, fabulous weddings and, of course, the wildlife. Black and white rhinos, hippopotamus, desert elephants and pangolins. How can these animals be saved from poachers who sell their scales for medicine and their bodies for food. Scott's work in photographing all these endangered species certainly helps to raise awareness worldwide.

His assignments included being there when a gold mine was first discovered and recording every stage of the industrial development, photographing the front line anti-poaching squads and shooting the President.

Perhaps his oddest shoot was the Calendar Girls shoot for an all-female equivalent of the Women's Institute.

The evening was a cornucopia of plenty! Thanks Scott.

The people of Madagasscar - Pierrot Men

On Monday 15th March through the moder day wonders of zoom invited members of the Society joined 'The Regular's Table' in Koblenz to hear a presentation by Pierrot Men entitled The People of Madagascar. This invitation came to us through our friends in Foto-Club Koblenz and in particular NDPS Honorary Member Helmut Wagner and his colleague Walter Nussbaum.

The Regular's Table is a group of about thirty photographers, all members of the Deutscher Verband fur Fotografie, who are organised into the regional association of Rhenanis - Palatinate and Hessia. The aims of the group are to exchange ideas and experiences in the field of photography with the intention of improving their skills beyond club level.

Pierot Men presented a series of photographs, all taken on the island of Madagascar, to thirty seven attendees. Many of the pictures were in black and white and many from film. Pierot spoke in French and a member of Koblenz translated into German.

The pictures proved to be an eclectic mix of reportage, street photography and social interest. All the subjects of the photographs seemed eager to have their likeness taken - when they were aware of the photographer! Often the photographs were taken without pre-planning and they showed a rare immediacy of purpose.

A very interesting and thought provoking series of images. We are indebted to The Regulars Table for the invitation and to Helmut for organising the evening. Thanks also for the English translations in the Comments Box.

Regular's TableMaurice YoungMarch 20, 2021madagascar, people photography, photo-talk, monochrome, pierott men

Landscape Photography and Aerial Photography by the inspiring Mieke Boynton

Last night's presentation from Mieke, more than 10,500 miles away from her home the beautiful Alpine Valleys of North-East Victoria in Australia, broke the Societies record of distance for a presenter and allowed 58 members and guests to enjoy a fantastic evening of wonderful photography and infectious joy from a world class practitioner. For Mieke this was the start of her day 6.00 am!

The presentation was in two distinct parts, the first part about her background and her inspiring landscape photography and in the second part we were transported into the air for helicopter rides over Kimberley and Iceland.

Meike gave us a short CV - art school; scholarship in America; teacher in Melbourne; a librarian; discovering camping and connecting with nature and the aboriginal culture when she moved to Kimberley. How she discovered that photography was an art form not just a record of what it looked like!

She asked us what makes a landscape photograph special. She gave us a list. Seven points that she considered important in her landscape photography. Then she showed a selection of her photos and we had to explain to her what she had captured in each shot. Real listener participation. We saw pictures from Patagonia, Tasmania, Iceland, Kimberley, New Zealand, Norway (red wine and the aurora), Namibia and Morocco.

And she answered her own question about what makes a landscape photograph special by saying that she showed people what they don't normally see!

Special Presentation, Special EventMaurice YoungMarch 10, 2021landscape, aerial photography, photo-talk

Interesting Stuff by Justin Minns

The main event during last night’s meeting was the fantastic landscape photographer, Justin Minns. No stranger to NDPS and making his third presentation to the Society, he divided his presentation into four sections; Local Interest, Making it interesting, Interesting Places and Interesting Timing.

He began with a quote from the great photographer, Jim Richardson 'If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff', and the title of his presentation was right there! Justin took us through his first section with a collection of photographs of East Anglia from beaches to windmills and bluebell woods. He talked of the seasons, the subtleties of light and atmospheric mist and his photos were laced with fine examples of these.

In his second section, Making it Interesting, Justin gave examples of motion, intentional camera shake, long focal length, slow shutter speeds and infra-red photography. All illustrated with breath-taking examples.

In Interesting Places he took us to Yosemite, The Canadian Rockies, Slovakia and Madeira, fabulous locations and fabulous photos. Finally he talked on Interesting Timing, being at the right place at the right time, how frost make things interesting and snow transforms a landscape. How fog does something similar and how the Blue Hour (only 20 minutes!) works.

Justin ended with a John Constable quote 'I never saw an ugly thing in my life; for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade and perspective will always make it beautiful'. A point of view that Justin shares. These were outstanding examples of landscape photography not only technically brilliant but also beautiful and awe inspiring.

Many thanks Justin for a spellbinding evening.

Special PresentationMaurice YoungMarch 3, 2021interesting stuff, photo-talk

The Beautiful Light by Jane Goodall

Yesterday's presentation by the wonderful Jane Goodall was received with enthusiasm and joy by nearly 60 participants including Claudia Frost who watched Jane from her home a few miles West of Chicago in the USA - 3,975 miles away beating the NDPS record for the furthest guest by more than 800 miles.

This was all about photo composition with the mind in mind. Always try to work out how your mind relates to the picture and how this can make or break a good composition. She urged us to be objective behind our cameras and tripods and look for the visual clues to capture the many sensory inputs in a scene. Remember, our brains work in 3d but a photograph is in 2d! She invited us to consider the difference between 'field of view' and 'depth of field' but in any case work with the sun, the source of light, and don't forget the 'finger trick'.

As aids to good photography she emphasised the need for careful planning and the use of The Photographer's Ephemeris and Imray's Tide Planner to be sure that everything works on the day. She emphasised not only the use of a tripod but stout wellington boots and the need for compact packing of equipment and care in crossing slippery rocks on a seashore.

But her most surprising tip, to make sure you see any problems or something unusual in your frame, was to follow the training of an army sniper! Search your scene from right to left, an unnatural eye movement and one that would make anything out of the ordinary stick out like a sore thumb!

It's impossible to cover all the photo tips and all the breath-taking photos she presented but as an indication of the breadth of this presentation Jane produced three consecutive photos to illustrate a particular point - Overstrand, Death Valley and Normandy. This reviewer has never seen three more disparate locations to highlight a technique.

Thanks Jane for a great presentation.

Special Presentation, Special EventMaurice YoungFebruary 24, 2021landscape, photo-talk, gower, northumberland, scotland, simplicity

The Spirit of Western America by Nic Stover

Western American - ‘Go west young man’

Yesterday evening's presentation was a record breaking get together - Nic Stover spoke from California, the furthest presenter so far; he used 147 pictures to illustrate his presentation the greatest number so far; and he began by saying 'I am just back from Death Valley!' The very best attention grabbing opening gambit.

Nic led us through a photographic tour of Federal owned parks on the west coast of America. Stunning photographs of deserts, canyons, lakes and forests all explained with reference to three famous Americans - John Muir (the father of the National Parks); Meriwether Lewis (the famous American explorer); and Edward Abbey (American author and essayist famous for his advocacy of environmental issues).

Nic described California and the West Coast in terms of 'est'. The biggest, Mt. Witney; The Hottest, Badwater Salt Flats; The Oldest, The Bristlecone Pine Trees; The Bluest, Lake Taho. And what a fantastic set of pictures to accompany this presentation, each was carefully prepared, and Nic gave some hints on how to approach these subjects for best results. They were beautifully captured and presented. There were jaw dropping pictures of canyons, grand landscapes, patterns, intimate landscapes and 'funky' rocks.

A wonderful evening for our members and guests.

Maurice YoungFebruary 10, 2021

Talking Pictures with Chris Palmer

This was Chris Palmer's second presentation to the Society and it proved to be as engaging and informative as his first! The title of the presentation made us wonder if the pictures talk or if Chris will talk about the pictures!

Well, both were true. And one of the most important points that Chris made about making photographs was that the picture should 'talk' to the viewer and the whole of his presentation had this as a theme.

But what does Chris suggest to achieve this talking picture? An important start to a good picture is to force yourself to take time and he said that he found that using a tripod slowed him down and gave him time to consider not only composition but aperture, shutter speed and so on. And also he took the opportunity of considering the scene from several viewpoints to discover the best position and then making portrait images or landscape images and changing position to ask himself which gave the best result.

His mission statement was to get the most out of every picture.

Most of his pictures were uncropped and he aimed to do everything 'in camera' with as little post processing as possible.

The second part of the presentation was called 'On The Beach' and Chris presented a whole series of beach shots in wide angle and close-up and in all kinds of weather. He advocated using long exposures and ultraviolet filters to get the correct colours of rocks, seaweed and crustaceans.

A wonderful evening of advice, suggestions and, above all, a whole series of outstanding photographs.

Maurice YoungFebruary 3, 2021

Annual Three-way International Battle

Norwich & District Photographic Society has won this year’s Annual Three-way Battle with our friends Foto-Club Koblenz in Germany and Ciné - Photo Club Nivernais in France

Over the three legs of the competition during which renowned photographic judges in Koblenz, Nivernais and Norwich reviewed and scored the same 63 images (20 + 1 reserve from each club) shown anonymously in a random sequence Norwich amassed a magnificient total of 510.0 points (all images being marked out of 10). Koblenz came second with 456.5 points and Nivernais third with a final score of 419.0 points.

Norwich now holds the Alan Taylor Memorial Trophy until the 2022 competition which will be organised in keeping with tradition by Ciné - Photo Club Nivernais

Congratulating NDPS Helmut Wagner from Koblenz wrote ‘Congratulations to NDPS for having won clearly this year´s Three Way Battle . You really had excellent photos and the scores of the judges and many opinions of our members have shown that’.

Inter-club Battle, CompetitionMaurice YoungFebruary 2, 2021koblenz, nivernais, norwich, battle, three-way

Sheffield Photographic Society and Norwich & District Photographic Society

Last night (28 January 2021) was the first joint meeting with Sheffield Photographic Society that delivered on its objective for the members of both Societies to begin ‘Getting to Know’ each other. Following the running order of the programme both Societies offered selections of photos presented by a number of members that depicted the two Cities and their surrounding countryside – chiefly the Peak District, the North Norfolk Coast, and the Broads. Of course, all the photos were of an excellent standard and the accompanying explanations added to the enjoyment of the large number of members who at log-on to the zoom meeting in Sheffield and Norwich….more

PartnershipsMaurice YoungJanuary 29, 2021joint-meeting, city centres, the peak district, sheffield, norfolk coast, norwich

Another First for NDPS

NDPS is committed to booking inspirational speakers from around the globe and on Tuesday 9th March we have our visit Special Presentation from Australia - see programme for full details

Be inspired by the breathtaking photography of Mieke Boynton who was the first Australian and first woman to win the prestigious Epson International Pano Awards, with three of her abstract aerial photographs receiving Gold Awards.

“Landscape and Aerial Photography” is a 90min presentation by Internationally-acclaimed landscape photographer Mieke Boynton.

In 2008, she travelled to the rugged and remote Kimberley region of Western Australia and promptly fell in love with the landscape. She took up photography as a means to share her amazement with family and friends, and quickly caught the photography “bug.”

She is now a full-time professional photographer, specialising in landscape and aerial photography, and has won numerous International awards including the prestigious Epson International Pano Awards. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, and was named the AIPP Victorian Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2019.

She regularly exhibits her work and thoroughly enjoys teaching photography through online workshops and individual tutorial sessions. Her “Landscape and Aerial Photography” presentation begins with a very brief explanation of her background, and then – through audience interaction – highlights a series of maximum-impact elements of Landscape Photography in an engaging and entertaining way.

She also presents a selection of her abstract aerial photography and provides some useful advice for members if they wish to try their hand at this genre. There are plenty of opportunities for discussion and questions too…!

Special Presentation, Special EventMaurice YoungJanuary 28, 2021australia, landscape, aerial photography, photo-talk

The World of a Wildlife Photographer - David Boag

Yesterday's presentation to the Society was by this professional wildlife photographer, billed as enthusiastic, encouraging and entertaining he certainly lived up to his billing. There was no 'Muck and Mystery' from this self-effacing speaker!

This was (mostly) a journey through his work for book illustration interlaced with anecdotes not just about the photos, which were wonderful, but also about the human interactions in his professional journey through life to pay the mortgage and feed and clothe the family.

There were many things to take away from this presentation. Firstly he explained that because the end use of the photographs was a book then he always worked on specific projects and he always had a theme. But he said that he was not special in any way and anyone could take these photographs providing they wanted to.

David's view of the weather raised a smile in the audience as he gave his view that there were not four seasons. There were 365 seasons! Every day is different and you can take pictures in any weather conditions and not produce boring pictures but ones that have a monetary and artistic worth.

He said that it is vital to know your equipment and how it works, never forgetting that it is the photographer who takes the picture not the camera. A 'poor' photographer will still be 'poor' even with expensive top of the range equipment. Having mastered the camera remember the theme and concentrate on timing the shot.

A very entertaining and informative evening by a consummate professional. Our thanks to David .

Special Event, Special PresentationMaurice YoungJanuary 20, 2021photo-talk, nature, wildlife

The Julian Claxton Charity - Give a Child a Camera

The recent presentation by Julian Claxton about the work of his charirty ‘Give a Child a Camera’ provoked much debate amongst members of the Society, including Martin Claxton (not related) who has written a commentary complete with photographs about a trip he made to Nicaragura back in the late 1970s..

I enjoyed watching the recent photography presentation by Julian Claxton and listening to the background story of his charitable work. I will shortly be sending him a bridge camera that I haven’t used for a while and a donation towards the support for an individual child. Julian seems to be a very altruistic person and I could identify with many of his aims, though my own charitable ventures were never as fruitful. My resources were always low, but I tried to help when I could and particularly if it involved me working abroad, such as on trips to Nicaragua and Romania. I heard some of the advice that was being given to Julian by other members of NDPS, who evidently have a great deal of experience in this field, and I hope he is able to continue and develop the project, despite the unrest in Uganda under the repressive Museveni regime.

After Julian’s presentation, I dug out some of my old photos from my trip to Nicaragua and scanned them over the weekend. I’m sending this selection of photos and commentary to Julian and I thought you might like to have a glance at them as well.

Best regards, Martin

Give a Child a CameraMaurice YoungJanuary 15, 2021nicaragua, charity, photo-talk

Lockdown and Photography - guidance from the Royal Photographic Society

With the Country in a third lockdown the Royal Photographic Society has published guidance specific to photography, and is also launching a new range of creative opportunities to help inspire and support people to continue their photography.

Here is a LINK to access the guidance from the RPS

CoronavirusMaurice YoungJanuary 13, 2021guidance, lockdown, photography

Give a Child a Camera

Yesterday's Special Presentation, the first of 2021, was given by Julian Claxton, the award winning professional photographer and founder of the project 'Give A Child A Camera'.

Julian's presentation covered the period from 2012 to the present day. It all began with a big adventure, a cycle ride from his home in Suffolk to Rwanda and his discovery of a simple school in a remote, rural corner of Uganda. In this single classroom school the idea of empowering these young children through the making of interesting and emotional pictures of the children's lives took root. Julian collected old film (!) cameras donated by people in the UK, took them back to Uganda and gave them to the children. He taught them the names of the parts of a camera and how cameras and film worked.

Then he gave all the new camera owners the mission to record the story of their life through portraits, family and landscape. The hope was that the exercise would build a new sense of confidence and independence in the young people and, hopefully, demonstrate, learn and understand the art of making photographs. Maybe even think about a career in photography.

E. M. (Mike) Trendell FRPS
(1925-2021)

Western American - ‘Go west young man’

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E. M. (Mike) Trendell FRPS(1925-2021)

Western American - ‘Go west young man’

Follow Us

Get in Touch

Membership Enquiry

E. M. (Mike) Trendell FRPS
(1925-2021)