September 2008 Newsletter
Inside This Month’s Newsletter…
- Sep 3: Critique session
- Sep 12-13: Show us your true colours
- Sep 17: Mystery session
- Oct 1: Exhibition planning PLUS member’s spot
- Oct 15: Guest speakers Robyn Greening & Bill Alp (Going Commercial)
- August’s events
- Exhibitions in Wellington
- A Discussion on Pricing Your Work, by Anne Tate
- Letter from the editor
- L.I.F.E. photographic competition
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sep 3: Critique session: Bring six recent photos that you’d like feedback on
and we’ll tear them to shreds – no, no, down boy, I mean we’ll say nice
things about them. Prints or digital. Learn the creative art of
critiquing. All bribes accepted.
Sep 12-13: Karori Arts & Crafts Winter Challenge:“Show Us Your True Colours”
The KAC Committee invite you to join them for some fun with a Winter
Challenge on the theme of “Show Us Your True Colours”. We would love
members from all KAC groups (ie garden group, book group, patchworkers,
embroiderers, photographers, painters, walkers etc etc) to join in, and
interpret the theme in your own way. You will have until Friday 12th
September to complete your entry, and bring in to KAC ready for display
on Saturday morning. You are welcome to do a group or individual entry.
Saturday 13th September we will have a “bring and share” morning tea at
10.00am and view all the entries. It will be great to see you all and
how everyone has interpreted the theme!!
Please note that this will be held in conjunction with an Open Day, so
it has more of a flavour of an exhibition, and framed pictures would
probably be easier to display. Please register your intention to enter
with Stella Mason as soon as possible.
Sep 17: Mystery session
Yep, it’s a mystery to us too. More on this later.
Oct 1: Daylight saving outdoor workshop
to celebrate the start of daylight saving More details closer to the
time. (Daylight saving starts on Sunday 28 September).
November: Karori Camera Club exhibition at Malvina Major Home
Our original plans for the annual exhibition at the Arts & Crafts Centre
in September came a bit unstuck so, as an alternative, we are pursuing
the idea of an exhibition at the Malvina Major retirement village
between Khandallah and Johnsonville. At this stage we don’t have exact
dates or an indication of how much space will be available, but the MM
people are very enthusiastic about having us, and we will keep you
informed as details get sorted out.
AUGUST’S EVENTS
When the last newsletter went out, I was unaware that Andrew
Bonallack at Citylife newspaper was so impressed by our efforts at the
Karori-Hutt Battle, that he included a selection of our photographs in
the next issue.
Aug 12: Wellington Regional Interclub Battle
Karori led most of the way and just got pipped at the post in the last
two rounds! Karori also achieved the most top placings. Thanks so much
to all of you who entered images and matted them, and congratulations!
Aug 20: Exhibition planning PLUS portrait workshop
Just about had a total blank on what we actually did, and then
remembered sitting on a stool while cameras flashed away at me. No one
dared to show me what they’d taken – I’m surprised the lenses didn’t
shatter. Hamish Leask also braved the paparazzi, and glowered
appealingly at the cameras. Two good points that I picked up on were
that Mark and Stella got Hamish more involved in the process by showing
him the pictures that they were taking, and letting him operate the
remote control.
EXHIBITIONS IN WELLINGTON
Rita Angus
Without the slightest doubt, the exhibition to see at the moment is
the Rita Angus Exhibition at Te Papa. It is wonderful.
Photospace Gallery - 1st flr, 37 Courtenay Place (above Sahara Cafe)
Mixed Messages - David Boyce, 21 August - 20 September
Page Blackie gallery - 42 Victoria St
New photos, Antarctica - Grahame Sydney - 19 Aug-13 September
Two bodies in one car - Patrick Reynolds
Te Papa - Cable St
Toi TePapa - includes photographers Aberhart, Richard Collins, John
Johns, Noble, Peryer & Len Wesney, but also worth seeing for the Maori
art and European paintings, sculpture and ceramics.
New Dowse - Laings Rd, Lower Hutt.
Sinfonia Antarctica - “Responding to life on ‘terra incognita’,
thirteen NZ artists, writers and musicians richly illustrate this
icescape with an artistic medley that touches on everything from the
global warming to the Erebus disaster. Experience the great white
continent as seen through the eyes of Dick Frizzell, Nigel Brown and
Grahame Sydney, ceramicist Raewyn Atkinson, writers Bill Manhire and
Chris Orsman, jeweller Kirsten Haydon, textile artist Clare Plug and
photographers Anne Noble, Andris Apse and Joyce Campbell.”
Toi Poneke gallery - Wellington Arts Centre, 61 Abel Smith St,
29 August to 19 September. Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm, closed weekends Outside
Culture - Angela Blachnitzky
Ron Barber Gallery - 91 Aro St.
Mon-Sat 10am-5pm Alan Knowles (photographs) & Joanna Tyson, 6 - 20 September
Thanks to the Photospace website, www.photospace.co.nz, for the above information.
A DISCUSSION ON PRICING YOUR WORK.
Anne Tate is a very fine photographer, Latin dancer, PSNZ secretary
and, alas, loyal member of the Hutt Camera Club.
I've been asked to put some thoughts together for those wishing to
make their photographs for sale at the forthcoming exhibition.
I come from the position that recreational photographers should not
give their work away at ridiculous prices just because they do not earn
their living from photography. I don’t expect to charge what a
professional does but neither will I give away work; this undermines the
professionals and also de-values your “art”.
From past experience one of the hurdles you have to overcome when trying
to sell your work is the opinion of the great unwashed… the “hell I'm
not paying that - I could take that picture” opinion. Well, we all know
they can't. Even with digital making photography accessible to everyone,
you still need an “eye” and technical expertise to make great images. My
usual response is “I have put time, expertise, technical know-how and a
discerning eye into that image - if you think you can do better, then go
ahead.”
My pricing rationale was developed prior to the widespread uptake of
digital cameras but will still give you an idea of where to start.
Firstly I look at my direct costs - in my case: film purchase,
developing costs, printing, enlarging, mounting/matting, framing (where
appropriate), and this could also include chemicals, paper, electricity
etc if I printed the photo myself. Depending on the circumstances the
tangible costs can come out anywhere upwards of $50 depending on the
criteria involved.
Depending on whether or not I went out to specifically shoot an image to
sell it, I might build in travelling costs. I might also consider the
cost of my time. This is always a hard concept for people to grasp and
many many small business owners struggle with this. But your time is NOT
free. Whether or not you wish to charge for it is however, another
matter. If you start selling images as a business you will definitely
have to look at this issue, or you’ll go under.
You also need to consider whether you will be charged a
commission/percentage of sale and factor that in. Some places take a
small 10%, others up to 33% or more, so it’s important to look at
this.
Lastly, I think what sort of profit margin do I want here, what is
reasonable? Obviously it’s a bit more difficult to define for digital
workers - the tangible costs are much less. Although the technical
expertise may arguably be higher. Your goal should be to recover your
costs and make a reasonable profit to recompense you for your time and
expertise.
The stage I am at now, I would not sell a matted, but unframed image
under $200.00/$250.00 except in rare circumstances.
But I didn't start there. I started around $95.00/$120.00 and worked
it up as my pictures sold. I have actually been on the receiving end of
a telling off for pricing my work too cheaply at $250.00 - but that came
from an Auckland photographer who regularly sells work at around $2,000.
The simple fact of the matter is that my reputation/past sales cannot
sustain that level - hopefully some day it might.
OK to recap......I determine my “actual” costs to make sure I’m not
operating at a loss, then I work out what I think is a reasonable price
to pay for what is essentially going to be a piece of “art” for someone.
Sure we are not likely to get “art” prices but photography is becoming
more and more accepted as decorative art.
I cannot stress too highly that recreational or amateur photographers
must not fall into the trap of devaluing their work just because they do
not earn their living from it. You might not be good enough to charge
top whack pro prices, but underselling damages all of us from pro's to
semi-pro to recreational photog.
Anne Tate
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Recently I’ve been going through my old slides, and marvelling at the
high proportion of excellent shots that I took on overseas trips (no
false modesty here!). When I was trekking in Nepal, on a limited budget
and with limited film, I probably reckoned on an average 5-6 shots per
day, so I had to be very self-disciplined in what I took and meticulous
in how I took it.
Then I look ruefully at the huge number of photos I seem to take with
the digital camera. It’s easy to justify, of course, with few
constraints on space, learning to use a new camera, doing a club
workshop, and so on, but … maybe I’m going way over the top? Do I really
need to take that many?
Back in the days of film, two approaches stood out, one by Jim
Brandenburg – “one photograph a day”; and the other by Galen Rowell.
Brandenburg (National Geographic November 1997) set himself a challenge
that for 90 days between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice, he
would make only one photograph a day. “There would be no second
exposure, no second chance. My work would be stripped to the bone and
rely on whatever photographic and woods skills I have. Each photograph
would be a true original, like a painting – not the best selected from
rolls and rolls of similar frames.”
Galen Rowell, in “Mountain Light” (Century Hutchinson Ltd 1986), talks
about a scene he photographed when he was still an amateur. “With
hindsight I could kick myself for saving film and making only two
exposures of this scene. I wouldn’t change a thing in my primary
visualisation of this image, but if confronted by the same situation
today, I would cover myself in many additional ways, shooting at least a
full 36-exposure roll. Why settle for one original? What if a flaw in
the film or processing is on the best frame? How easy it would have been
at the source to make backup originals that would have cost eleven cents
apiece at the time.” “Since 1971 I have spent more than thirty nights
sleeping in the same area, hoping for a repeat performance of light that
has never arrived. If I witness it again, I will begin with a
composition similar to this image, bracketing for exposures at
half-stops. Then I will shoot the same scene in verticals. Switching to
a wider lens, I will repeat all eight images, with space in the sky or
foreground for copy. Finally I will repeat the whole business all over
again with a graduated neutral-density filter adjusted to hold back
light from the foreground in order to bring out the mountains. After I
finish all the creative variants I can think of, I’ll start all over
again and go for insurance shots of my favourites if the light still
holds …”
A more modern approach is by David Noton, writing in the Practical
Photography May 2008 issue. He went over to Switzerland to photograph an
Alpine scene – ONE Alpine scene, according to the article. He got up
before dawn, went to the spot he found the day before, and when the
light was right: “I’m going to shoot three frames, one for the sky and
snowy peaks, one for the middle distance, and one for the vines in the
lower sector of the frame. I can then tweak each individually to
optimise contrast and density using levels and curves – both at RAW
conversion stage and then fine-tune them in Photoshop.”
The similarity between these three photographers is that, first of all,
they knew they had a good image – the composition and lighting all came
together, and the differences were how they responded to it – one
allowed himself a single frame; another had to make sure that he had it
captured; and the last one took only what he needed to allow completion
later. For those of us learning to photograph, I think we still grapple
with the composition – we tend to take lots of photographs with slightly
differing compositions in the hope of getting one or two of them “right”
rather than making some judgement calls before clicking the shutter.
Noton has some good words on this: “Blasting away, filling a memory card
and then trying to make something of it later in Photoshop just condemns
you to endless hours of futile manipulation. My approach is to think
through all the stages before I even open the camera bag.” “I have a
theory that 90% of the hard work of photography is done before you even
touch the camera. What is important for the landscape photographer,
above all else, is the art of pre-visualisation. The ability to look at
a scene in the harsh light of noon, or under leaden grey skies, and
imagine how that same vista will look at different times of day and in
different seasons.”
Well, that’s OK for a professional landscape photographer, but does it
apply to Joe Bloggs going for a stroll around the waterfront on Sunday
morning? Is there indeed any point in wandering around the waterfront in
the harsh light of noon trying to visualise how a view will look at
sunrise? Sometimes – yes! I was on holiday in Northland, and down at
Unahi wharf early one morning, I got talking to an old lady who said
that when it was low tide at sunrise, there were hundreds of spoonbills
out on the tidal flats. So, obviously, when the tides were right, I went
back down to see if I could get some photos - the birds were miles away,
but I’ve got a longer lens now, so next time…
So, next time I go out photographing, I’m going to consciously keep the
camera under wraps until I’ve figured out what I’m going to shoot, and
what aperture, exposure correction etc I need. If it’s an amazing image,
however, I’m going to throw discretion to the winds and make damn sure
that I’ve got it – remembering to check the monitor and ensure that
focus and aperture are correct, that the composition is good, with no
distracting elements … all the right stuff. I might also take the
unabashed Garfield approach: “That’s so gorgeous, I’m going to take
another. And another. And ANOTHER!” – that’s not lack of discipline –
it’s joie de vivre.
Before I finish, another thing I can’t reconcile with Noton or
Brandenburg – the light keeps changing! – the clouds keep moving! Who’s
brave enough to say “that’s the perfect moment”, when it might keep
getting better for the next five minutes?
L.I.F.E NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
Renee Hollis says:
I am the organiser of the L.I.F.E New Zealand photographic competition.
I am currently marketing a nationwide search for the best photographs of
"people" and would like you to be involved in this project. I have
searched the yellow pages and am very impressed with your photographs.
[OK, own up – who put photos in the Yellow Pages?]
How it works?
Photographs will be submitted to the L.I.F.E organizers (01 Sept – 01
Nov 2008), early entries will be accepted.
A panel of judges will choose the very best photographs.
he photographs will be published in a 'coffee table style" book called AROHA / LOVE.
The focus of the competition and the book is to celebrate the uniqueness
of New Zealanders and to promote up and coming New Zealand
photographers.
Photographers will be promoted in the book, with a small profile and a
published photograph. A cash prize will be given to the overall supreme
winner and their photograph will be printed on the cover of the book.
This competition is inspired by the world famous M.I.L.K photographic
series. In this case L.I.F.E represents: Laughter, Intimacy, Friendship
and Emotion.
The competition is open to all ages and abilities. There is no entry
limit and it is free to enter. For more information on the photographic
competition and the book AROHA /LOVE, check out the official website
with all the details: www.lifephotocomp.co.nz
Renee Hollis L.I.F.E organiser: email: lifephotocomp@gmail.com,
Work/home phone: (03) 547 0038, Cell phone: 021 269 4301.
FOOTNOTES
The Karori Camera Club is part of the Karori Arts & Crafts Centre.
For information on all Centre activities, contact Stella Mason, 476-6817
during working hours.
Karori Camera Club meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every
month at the Karori Arts & Crafts Centre, at 7.30 pm. Our website
Small, but meaningful">http://karori.cameraclub.org.nz lists current
and recent events, and links to individual members’ websites. For any
enquiries, or a copy of our 2008 programme/information to newcomers,
contact our co-convenors Stella Daniel (twinkle@paradise.net.nz) or Mark
Berger (photosoc_kcc@moothall.co.nz). For contributions to the newsletter,
contact Bill Leask at bill.sue.leask@paradise.net.nz.