RPS Western Region - In Focus
Here we focus on the work and photographic backgrounds of
some of the members of the RPS Western Region.
Several members have agreed to contribute.
Their comments and favourite images are listed below..........
Current Member in Focus is :
Andy Beel FRPS
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Ebbing Tide
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Andy Beel FRPS |
Andy Beel was awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s premier distinction in 1990. His panel of split Selenium toned monochrome prints featured defocused female nudes. His journey to a Fellowship was somewhat brief only taking him eighteen months from the award of the Licentiateship .
When viewing Andy’s work it may be noted that his approach to photography is somewhat different in the thinking and therefore the output of other club photographers. He has always been fiercely independent of the photographic club style of seeing, composition and printmaking. The evidence for this comes in the choice of subjects, lighting and above all composition. His prints are easily recognisable as being from a pure photographic background. His objective is to produce a photographic image that contains the scene as captured not a composite or constructed from elements.
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He considers the photographic club competition to be of little benefit to those who want to develop their own individual style of photographing, printing, selecting and presenting work. As is well known club judges are well meaning but are often not in tune or familiar with the competitors chosen subject or location. Andy’s view is a more beneficial approach is to receive creative and technical criticism from one person whose opinion and judgement that is truly respected and valued. The source and influences on a photographer’s personal seeing style is a topic that Andy is keenly interested in pursuing.
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Beyond the Wall
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Andy Beel FRPS
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The real digital starting point for Andy was an affordable digital SLR that possessed the speed, functions and handling of a 35mm film camera. Up until that time camera hardware was in an adolescent state of development, i.e. not always: understandable, coherent or focussed! The other major improvement in equipment was the output profiled inkjet printer with eight or nine inks.
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Photoshop provides hours of frustration and a growing waste paper bin. Andy firmly believes those who think, say or write that Fine Art Photographs produced digitally are cheap, quick and above all else - easy, are also playing with pixies in their spare time. What is true is the suggestion that Inkjet printing has provided a huge number of people with the opportunity to produce prints that have not or would not have the chance to produce prints in the darkroom. This development can only be good for photography in general.
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He now lectures on the Club and Society circuit with a view to describing the production parameters of the fine black and white print made digitally. His current lecture is wry-fully entitled “Digital Photography – the how not to guide”.
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Marsh Reeds
by
Andy Beel FRPS |
The Island of Skye
by
Andy Beel FRPS
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RPS Western Members In Focus:
Robert Albright FRPS
Andy Beel FRPS
Ray Grace LRPS
John Hankin LRPS
John Long ARPS
Valerie Rawlins FRPS
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