Keith Allen presented a very personal account of the highs and lows of doing the CPAGB distinction (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain). He admitted that at first he had no idea if what these fancy letters meant, “It was just about going to interesting places and getting some good shots, it’s the whole experience that I enjoy.”
He said his first step was to look at other people’s submissions on line www.thepagb.org.uk
Keith said for landscape you have to be good because there are many good landscape photographers. Monochrome can also be a bit tricky or anything too clever.
Regarding print, he said there was a big difference between digital presentation and print – sometimes images that look great on screen can look poor when printed.
(click on the images to see full frame slideshow)
Phil Reeds took members on a world wide tour including India and Namibia. “I came away from Namibia thinking I’ve just got to go back”. Phil said that when you look at photos shared on the web everyone is wanting to make photos like everyone else. “it put me off and wasn’t for me”
Phils work is certainly distinctive and he’s not afraid of experimenting. He has tried ICM, intentional camera movement, and said he likes to think of things he’s never normally do.
His experimental images made by freezing flowers in water were remarkable. As one member put it, in the Reeds household you might hear, “the good news is I’ve got you some of flowers, the bad news is they’re in the freezer”.
