Over 30 members as well as a guest came to this our second face to face meeting at our new clubroom. Those that were able to join us experienced a fascinating presentation by renowned amateur photographer, Adrian Lines. Adrian is a versatile, prolific and highly skilled photographer. To get a flavour of the range of his work, just look at his gallery through this link to 500px:
This new talk focussed on the creative work which has increasingly become Adrian’s trademark. He displayed around 50 images taking us through their construction and then deconstruction, explaining his methods in terms that all could understand. What came over was a passion for monochrome, an understanding of colour harmony, and a desire for each finished work to display emotion and narrative.
Those of us who are less inclined to make composite images went away with a range of key insights which we can all bring to our work. Adrian’s use of selective ‘dodging and burning’ deployed darkroom techniques to train the viewer’s eye to key elements of his images. Careful use of localised clarity and sharpening gave his images a 3D effect to ensure the main subject stood out. Although the presentation was a digital one, Adrian emphasised that his aim was always to produce a finish print on which he can ‘freeze’ the image to display it how he wants it to be viewed.
Essential truths such as ‘you can get away with all things if the composition is right’ were a reminder that getting it right in the frame should always be the starting point of any image.
Adrian professed to be no expert on Adobe Photoshop. His skilful use of the package was based on him learning 6 things and repeatedly using them. I was particularly struck by his creation of realistic reflective pools in a number of composite images.
The talk concluded with him showing a range of lock-down self-portraits in his simple home studio, each characterised by clothing and artefacts collected from near and far. Many of these are unlikely to see the light of day in competitions but each displayed the attention to detail we have come to expect from this most accomplished of photographers.