First to kick off the presentations was Mandy and how she got her LIPF panel in September 2021 which took place online. Mandy reiterated how valuable the advice was, that she got from more experienced members of the club and how she whittled down a number of images to the final ten needed for her panel.
From putting together a set of images and up to her assessment day took seven months, a lengthy process. Mandy then went through a number of images in her final panel, pointing out what the judges had picked up on. She also showed us how little alterations made the photograph more pleasing to the eye. On the day of Mandy’s assessment there was a total of 14 assessments of which 8 passed and 6 failed. Mandy was naturally anxious of how her panel had faired; however, she got her LIPF distinction and it was worth all the effort she had put in, and very well deserved.
Second in the firing line was Alan with his presentation. Alan's talk was about 3 of the many influences on his choice of photography. Firstly, he showed us how he adapted waterdrop photography into his own style by adding food colouring to the water and dropping the water droplets onto familiar products, for example, brown water. Secondly, Alan had seen a lady's photographs in a newspaper, she had seen the psychedelic colours on the surface of a bubble which she was described to her blind husband. Alan set up his camera, with a macro lens and placed it on a tripod, parallel to the film of soap. Alan explained that even though the surface only lasted for a short length of time he was still able to get some amazing photographs. Alan's last set of images were influenced by a film called Sin City. Much of the film portrayed wet stormy nights, so Alan bought a couple of plastic toy guns and convinced his son to model for him, as he tried to replicate the camera angle and lighting. He told us that he was able to add the rain later in Photoshop.
Next up was John who gave a talk on his LIPF panel, pre-pandemic. John told us that he had put in a number of panels before in club competitions but had not really given a distinction any thought. Due to the fact that John did his panel before Covid 19, there was no facility for online adjudications. He had to print and mount his photos, and travel in person to Portlaoise in Southern Ireland. John explained how the prints had to sit together as a balanced set of images, and the photographer had to demonstrate competence and a variety of photographic skills. John also had to whittle down a number of images to his final ten. He had a few other panels that he had made up for club competitions and he selected a few photos from a couple of those to go into his final panel. John got his LIPF distinction in February 2020, another very well-deserved award.
Last but not least was Conor who showed us a collection of his images. As Connor starts to scroll through some of his photographs, he explains that he did a foundation diploma in photography during lockdown. Conor is a keen street photographer and since doing this course, it has changed the way he thinks about his street photography, and is now taking a different approach. One of these approaches is the use of harsh shadows and light, as a type of canvas for his street photography. Conor doesn't only love taking photos of people in the street, he also likes to talk to them and hear their story. He explains how he's getting to know Belfast and where the best setup for street photograph would be. After his street photography Conor showed us a selection of photographs using techniques some different methods that he had learned on his course which were fascinating. All in all, it made for a very interesting and informative presentation.
BNDCC Members obtain Distinction Success
On Saturday 16 September Mandy Milligan presented a panel of ten images to The Irish Photographic Federation (IPF) and was successful in obtaining a Licentiate of The Irish Photographic Federation (LIPF) accreditation.
BNDCC encourage members to work towards achieving such distinctions from either The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) or The Irish Photographic Federation (IPF). Both bodies are organized in similar ways and offer accreditation in Licentiate, Associate and Fellowship standards and both organizations can be regarded as sister bodies with common aims and objectives.
The annual club panels competition a group of six images with a common theme and arranged in a pleasing manner is intended to prepare members for applying for distinctions. BNDCC also boasts of a very active group of Audio Visual workers who are successful in competition at home and in the UK. Jack Thompson, Mark Allen, Jane McIlroy and Judith Kimber have all enjoyed considerable success for their work
Judith has said in conversation and in her own words. 'Last Sunday October 03 I was awarded first place in The Royal Photographic Society's International Audio Video Festival from amongst 65 international entries . My work was 'Safe' a piece telling the story of one of my ancestors called Cate Elliott. In the Workhouse at Irvinestown during the famine years. I took most of the photographs for this piece in workhouses at Bawnboy, Co Cavan and P Fortuna, Co Galway and the main voice performer is local actor Rosie Barry.
'Then on Thursday October 01 I was delighted to hear that I had been awarded a Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society in Film and Multimedia. The close timing of these two events was a very happy coincidence-the work submitted for my Fellowships was a different programme of Audio Visual pieces. This represented several years of hard work I take all of the photographs myself, write the scripts, compose the music and produce the finished pieces myself.'
Every member of the club wish these photographers their congratulations on achieving these great successes.