Infinity Plus_Photography

I have always enthusiastically taken photographs, it became more serious many years ago when I joined a City and Guilds course, inspired by that, I set up my own black and white darkroom and gained my LRPS. Then I changed to developing and printing in colour.
When digital appeared on the scene it was the answer I was looking for, no more smelly chemicals, and I gained my Associateship with the RPS with a digital panel.
I particularly enjoy taking wildlife, nature and animal pictures. I mostly take my pictures in the UK as I do not get the chance to travel as much as I would like.
I have found being a member of a group such as Infinity Plus and enormous help with my pictures as the candid and constructive help from the members and being able to see fellow members work regularly is a great asset.

I can't remember a time when there hasn't been a camera (or two, or three.... ) close to hand.

It didn't take long to realise that my search for the definitive image that would bring fame and fortune was futile. So photography is very much a hobby, an opportunity to be creative and a foil for the often cold practicality of my working life as a scientist and business manager.

If you think about how the world can be represented: from the accurate record at one extreme to the complete abstract at the other, I sit toward the abstract. I like my pictures to show impressions of reality.

Personal spaces is a recurring theme in my pictures. It was while working on this that I came across the technique of using a computer to stitch images together to make pictures with a very wide field of view. Here was a technique that allowed me to combine a panel of pictures. The distortions and the unworldly feel of these pictures are added attractions. Much of my work now involves composite images. Hopefully the challenges of conceiving and making these will keep the grey cells active for a while longer.....................

One constant and enduring aspect of my photography is exploring the relationships between subjects on a theme. I enjoy working on ‘projects’, frequently with many subject strands in parallel.  Having an objective certainly increases and sharpens one’s visual acuity.
The pictures that follow are selected from previous and continuing themes.  A ‘theme’ can be part of a more general ‘mode’ – that is to say a method or style of working, such as close-up, texture, abstract, construction, the location, monochrome, infrared, etc.
Sharing pictures with colleagues in small discussion groups such as Infinity Plus, or via an Internet forum or, perhaps, presenting a lecture to an informed audience is another delight and a most enjoyable dimension of or art.
Discovering the subject and taking the picture is only one part of the ‘Continuum of the Image’.  I’ll explain this in a little more detail: Having chosen the subject, selected angles and pre-visualised a treatment to reveal my response, the next step is to process and manage the picture.  Image processing introduces numerous possibilities, for instance, the subtle gradation and emphasis of tone, careful editing of content and possibly, selecting a suitable treatment.  Each decision will influence how the image ultimately communicates. 
When the picture is presented there’s the opportunity for further enjoyment the image interacts with the viewer.  Here a second visual dialogue takes place as the audience interpret what they see tempered by their conceptions and experiences.  Frequently a whole new meaning and alternative world can be revealed in an interchange between author and audience.  In moving through the ‘Continuum of the Image’ from seeing and shooting to presentation, there are no ‘wrong answers’ only ‘different interpretations’. The way forward is to be open in the appreciation of our art whilst being prepared to work with a picture and enjoy the outcome.

Malcolm first became interested in photography in the 1960’s.  Attending evening classes to learn more about dark-room work and photographic techniques he has never forgotten the thrill of seeing an image appear, as if by magic, in the developing dish.

 He joined the Worcestershire Camera Club and was very fortunate to see the work of many of the great Worcester ‘Pictorial’ photographers who were members during the 1960’s and 1970’s.  Malcolm feels that this strong Pictorial style has influenced him over the years and has increased his enjoyment of photography.  The advent of Digital cameras and techniques has given even greater scope for the photographer to bring out the essential essence of the original scene.  Malcolm continues to show his work at exhibitions and to photographic societies. 

He finds belonging to Infinity Plus gives a great opportunity to hear members’ very individual interpretations of work produced and that it is also stimulating how a group of photographers, with their own very distinctive styles, interpret the World through the remarkable medium of photography.

He is currently studying for a MA in Photographic Studies at the University of Westminster.  He specialises in contemporary topographic landscape photography influenced by The New Topographic Movement of 1970 and, more recently, by the work of Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach.

Awards and Acceptances:
BIPP International Print Awards 2003 BIPP Midlands Region Awards 2006
London Salon of Photography 2005 Royal Photographic Society International Print Exhibition 2006
BIPP/Towergate Fine Art Competition Winner 2007 Royal Photographic Society International Print Exhibition 2007

Published photographs:
Best of Friends, The Yearbook of Creative Monochrome, Vols, 1, 7, 8, & 9
Guardian Weekend magazine 9.12.2006

Currently, Vicky’s photography focuses on self-portraits and portraits. Her work, which is influenced by Eleanor Brotherus and Tina Barney, is linked to events in her life and often relates to archival family photographs. She also likes to experiment with different ways of presenting her photographic work and is particularly fond of printing photographs onto cloth and working in installations. Her work has been accepted into the RPS Annual International Competition in 2005 and 2008. In addition, in 2008, she was awarded a silver medal and prize money of £2000.

The series People and Space represents a radical turning point in Vicky’s photographic work, as it was her first piece of work to be initiated by a conceptual idea.  People and Space was completed in 2005, the same year as it was successfully submitted to the RPS Distinctions Committee gaining an her an ARPS in the Contemporary category. This series also formed part of the portfolio that gained her a place on the BA (Hons) Fine Art Photography course at the University of Gloucestershire, where she graduated with First Class Honours in 2008. Vicky is now studying for a MA in Photographic Studies at the University of Westminster.

As an artist approaching photography I particularly enjoy the instant capture of images, and the freedom of progressing rapidly with ideas by using my camera as a tool.   Computers are an essential part of this process, but the 'work flow'  for me is the personal seeing of a potential image through to its creation.  I use my computer to get the effect that I'm looking for, rather than exploring a computer technique for its own sake.   
I have an on-going  fascination with light reflected into dark spaces, enhanced by an interest in natural abstraction.  This has led to an awareness of further possibilities with reflections, and thus, an investigation into the photographer's presence upon the scene being photographed, using  the twin properties of glass: transparency and reflection. Reflections have a timeless feel  with 'behind' and 'in front' being presented on a flat printed page. 

The Crypt of Worcester Cathedral has been a  source of inspiration and has enriched my appreciation of how transient our culture is now, and always has been.

I never know where photography will lead me, but as Soren Kierkegaard  said :   "Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward."

I first took an interest in photography when I was a child growing up beside the sea in the picturesque Isle of Purbeck in the beautiful English county of Dorset.  Inspired by my father (a keen amateur photographer himself, and Secretary of the Swanage Camera Club), I worked initially in monochrome.  However, frustrated by the dedication and rigour required to produce high quality prints in the darkroom, I quickly moved on to taking (and manipulating) 35mm colour transparencies.

In 1997 I became an early adopter of digital photography, and I found it to be a supportive and stimulating tool that allowed me to pursue my own individual and creative style based on the recurring themes of pattern, design, colour and texture.

I have been a member of Sheffield Photographic Society since September 2004.  Before that I was a member of Worcestershire Camera Club for over twenty years.  I am also one of the founding members of Infinity Plus.

Jill only became interested in photography after her third child was born. Inspired by a visit to Venice with only a compact camera, she then acquired her first SLR and from then on was well and truly hooked!

In order to understand her camera better and to have darkroom facilities, she took a City and Guilds course at Hereford Art College and there achieved her Licentiateship in conventional photography.

She then became interested in Digital Imaging which gave her a greater freedom to experiment in the painterly style that she found herself being drawn to.

Jill belongs to Infinity Plus and a small Hereford based group Inkjett who have regular exhibitions in libraries in Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester.

In 2008 Jill attained her Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society with a panel of pictures of Hellebores. Floral art photography is Jill’s favourite subject matter which combines well with her husband’s passion for plant collecting.